Love Hina belongs to Akumatsu Ken, while this fic belongs to me.
Keitaro entered first and fiddled with something on the other side of the door, a pealing sound following before letting the person enter. Once they were both across the threshold, she looked over her shoulder to see him reapplying what appeared to be a paper tag onto the door alongside several other one, each with the name of one of the former residents on it.
"Is that…?" she began to ask, not getting an answer as Keitaro locked the door before turning to them, arms crossed.
"Let me make one thing clear," he began, voice and expression flat "This isn't happening because I trust you, or because I honestly think you're willing to actually take what I said into consideration – this is because you've shown willingness to make a choice, and I'm willing to be fair by responding to it and allowing you to prove its sincerity."
Her shoulders are only allowed to relax for a moment when Keitaro's tone tensed "Be that as it may though, I still don't trust you. I expect you to stay in my sight during the tour for the new resident, and to behave yourself during. You are not to touch the seals on the door, and you don't go anywhere near the annex unless I'm present. If you do anything during the next hour and a half that shows me you aren't taking this or my earlier threat seriously, I will have you removed from the dorm and you can forget about ever having your room back, or a room period."
The last part is said rather harshly, and causes her hands to twitch uncomfortably, a mix of upset over being viewed so suspiciously and indignant over being treated in such a cold manner pooling in her stomach as she rather felt like a child who got their hand caught in the cookie jar one to many times and now Mom won't let them go in the kitchen anymore.
But she had a job to do, and she couldn't afford to raise his alertness anymore than they already did by saying something she shouldn't. It took a moment of chewing the inside of her cheek near raw before nodding.
Keitaro nods back and gestures for her to take front, and they head for the office without another word
"...A spy?" Naru asked, frowning slightly as Haruka nodded with a sigh.
"Our biggest issue at the moment is that we have no clue what Keitaro has planned once you signed right?" she states, the group all nodding reluctantly "Then let's have someone go to him and say they're ready to sign the new lease so they can figure out what's going on – Get a lay of the land and a look at the new guy so everyone can consider their options better."
The girls all murmur curiously as she waits them out before continuing "Whoever gets picked will observe things for three days. If the situation's that bad or the guy Keitaro brought in is a creep, then the spy can report back to us and we can use this to get him to back off a little with his new policies, maybe even get Granny involved if it comes to it." she explains, pointedly turning a certain-someone's directions when she sees a eager glint in her eyes "But, if they come back with nothing to complain about or the newbie is at least acceptable enough to afford logging, then this is clearly a long game thing and you guys will have to make a choice here."
There's thoughtful muttering stirring in the air between seatmates, understanding her ploy but not feeling sure about how doable it would be, and even after pulling away from the rest, Naru looks far from close to convinced. "And if we still don't want to?"
The older Urashima stared, and rather than respond to the question or the defiant look burning in the girl's brown orbs the while, instead stated bluntly "By the way, you're definitely out of the running for this Naru." and cut off the following protest with "Too much has happened between you two already, so it's not a good idea to just send you in while you're both still..."
Naru plucked a book from the shelf, rushing to the counter to hurry back to lunch (and avoid the curious eyes of other students that stuck to her moment she entered the campus library)
The redhead looked like she wanted to make an argument (or at least yell about whatever she thought Haruka thought about the situation between her and Keitaro's relationship), but quiet, pleading tugs from Mutsumi forces her to back down
"It seems cowardly if you ask me." Motoko muttered grimly, arms crossed as her face set into a hard frown "I'd much rather prefer confronting Urashima directly – It's the proper thing to do as a noble warrior and to show him the error of his ways. Tricks are the tools of charlatans after all."
There's a deep sigh "A direct confrontation isn't a choice right now" Haruka points out. "No matter how 'below' you it is, it's the best way to deal with this and avoid any more trouble."
Motoko's eyes narrowed at that, and before a row could commence, Mutsumi poked in between them
"Now now, no need to put it like that." Mutsumi offer placatingly, then turned to a slowly fuming Motoko "It's not like you'd be tricking him Moto-han, you'd just be…not giving him the full reason you're really there. It shouldn't be too bad."
Mitsune nods "Yeah! I mean, doesn't your Shinmeryuu code have anything on playing possum to get one up on somebody? S'not that big of a deal."
The young woman's shoulder's hunched immediately, reminding the group of a distempered cat (with her disheveled appearance just adding to the imagery)
"Of course it is!" she cried furiously, looking absolutely offended that her dormmate in arms would even suggest such a thing "The warrior's code dictates that in situations like this, the only course of action is to force Urashima to properly face us so he may atone for his misdeeds and understand his sins against us. Despicable things like spying are for...scalawags and dastards, not honorable fighters like myself!"
A tense silence clung to the air as the Aoyama heir then tentatively reached for her Bouken, fingers gliding over the handle as her gaze turned pensive "As disgusted as I am by that diabolical pervert and his cowardly acts towards us these past few weeks, the last thing I will do is allow him to force me to throw away the guidelines of my personal code! It'd bring shame to both the Shinmeryuu school and the Aoyama clan name, and I will not have it!"
Motoko made several practice swings, only to stop because she had to scratch at the sudden itch enveloping the blotched skin on her hands.
Mitsune leans back, clearly unnerved. She likely hadn't expected Motoko to react so strongly against the idea (or to the joking suggestion that her clan would have such a loophole for her). The others meanwhile just exchanged looks, frustrated but defeated. It was clear Motoko wasn't going to budge on her stance, no matter how they chose the phrase it.
Haruka lets out a quiet huff and readjusts herself in her seat, barely letting the uncomfortable moment pass "Alright, Motoko's out – who else wants to try?"
She quietly tap the table as Keitaro sat across from them, settling in their seat again. The living room looked a lot cleaner than they expected (and a lot barer, since their stuff wasn't there to occupy all the odd nooks and crannies like before), leaving them with not much to look around at.
A noise from the doorway surprises them, but instead of the new tenant like they're expecting, Tama instead crawls by. The tiny turtle spots them and squeaks in delight as she crawls over quickly, stopping right at her chair while bouncing on her little flipper.
She looks at Keitaro as if to ask permission, and when he made no motion to forbid or stop her, she reached down and rubbed the top of her head with their finger, eliciting a satisfied cooing noise before the turtle moved over to the landlord, who lowed his hand to pet her shell a bit.
Satisfied with the attention, Tama waved at them both before crawling away.
"You're still taking care of her?" she asked, and Keitaro gives a curt nod
"Tama's still is my pet." he replied, tone still as flat as before. "Besides, it's not like taking care of him stopped being my job just because you all were gone."
There was a lot to say about that sentence, but in the end, she decided to respond with
"You still keep calling her 'him' I see." she hums, then raises a brow at him "Seriously, that's pretty mean to poor Tama-chan's femininity!"
Keitaro eyes her briefly before looking away
"Girl turtles don't have long tails last I checked." he countered "Plus Tama started growing claws recently."
She stared quietly at both the clippedness of the response to the teasing and the information given "That still doesn't mean she's a boy."
"His species is related to sea turtles, and those traits only show up in males. Its not hard to put two and two together with that considered."
She can't really give a reply to that (even a joking one), and in the end an awkward tense air filtered between them, forcing them into a long, pitiable silence.
It disturbed her, because these types of atmospheres never happened before (never happened with him before). It was just a testament to how much had changed in the past four weeks. She had been banking on the fact that despite the hard feelings still on hand, there was still enough goodwill between them that maybe inching towards their old dynamic would help ease the strain and make things easier on her end.
But it didn't, and now she had no clue what to do.
Suddenly, there was a knock from the front entrance, and she didn't have to guess hard over who it was.
Keitaro got up from his seat without a word, and she promptly followed suite.
Suddenly, Shinobu shyly raised her hand
"W-what about me?" she asks, quivering a bit when the others turned to her "Senpai trusts me – o-or at least, he still should…And, and we got along well, so…I-"
"No way!" Naru snaps immediately, cutting off whatever was going to come next after her brief pause "It's too dangerous for you – what if that pervert tries something? None of us would be around to help you!"
"I agree." Motoko says with a nod, arms crossed "While I still have no wish to participate in such a ruse, I don't wish to see you put yourself in unneeded peril by allowing you to walk into Urashima's clutches. As it is now, the dorm's far too unsafe."
"Plus you'd be there for three days." Mitsune adds "You and Su's last day of school isn't till next Tuesday right? Wouldn't adding all this on mess up your schedule."
"Plus Su doesn't want to stop eating the food Shinobu makes!" Su states, her concern obviously more one of a personal nature, but at least looked worried "and Sarah would be lonely without you there! Su thinks Shinobu should stay!"
Shinobu's shoulders shake (though the others mistake it for fear than what it truly was) as she tries to argue her case, only to be talked over and down to until her mouth wrenched shut, lower lip peeling as her teeth kneaded it endlessly.
Shinobu sits at her desk, scribbling another note down onto the list, only the scratch it out.
"So no for Shinobu?" Haruka asks, eying the younger dark haired girl cautiously (If she noticed something off, she wasn't saying). At the very least, she wanted to hear what the other girl had to say for herself.
Before she could though, Su had jumped from her spot near by, nearly bowling her over and getting the group's attention.
"How about Su does it!" The Molmolian girl asked, hopping up and down enthusiastically "Su knows lots about spying, and she can make something to protect her if everyone's still worried about that!"
Naru seemed reluctant to respond, clearly torn between not wanting to dampen the girl's enthusiasm and being unsure exactly how to voice her objection. Certainly, with Su's tech expertise, it'd be easier to monitor what's going on inside, but….
"Would you even have time?" Mutsumi asks, thick brows furrowed in concern "It's not like there are that many robot labs available to the public after school, and Kei-Kun might not let you near yours at the dorm."
"Sure he will!" Su argued "Big brother knows how important her lab is to her, and once he lets her be home again, he can't keep her from it! Then she can make stuff for everyone so they can come home too!"
Naru's eyes glint at that, and Haruka pinched her brown while Motoko sighed, glancing at Su worriedly. Though her hesitance wasn't on the same level as it was for Shinobu earlier, it was still quite high "While I trust you are being honest, Lady Su, I'm still concerned over your safety. The blasted schemer did destroy your machines before, and there's no telling what he would have planned for your new ones..."
"Rather than protecting yourself, I'm more worried about you not exposing yourself," Mitsune says before stating "I mean, not to said rude or anything, but you're...not exactly what we call 'subtle' hon."
The other couldn't help but nod to themselves in agreement. Enthusiastic as she was, Su would likely end up telling Keitaro what her true motives were the instant she showed up at the front door without really thinking about it, and some were (unsaid) concerned there was a chance she'd get distracted and forget what her actually task was.
Su hopped over to Shinobu's desk, nearly knocking the girl over. She giggled as she locked her arms into a lopsided hug.
Su plopped back down into her seat, pouting at the floor. Haruka didn't even need to ask if she still wanted to do it.
Mitsune grinned, sitting up proudly "Well then, I guess it's all up to me-"
"No."
The silverhaired woman blinked in surprise as everyone practically tried glaring her down into submission "Wha – why not! You guys know I can play helplessly hopeless good enough to fool a bartender! Doing the same for Kei-chan-"
"Is exactly what he'll expect and would see you coming a mile away." Haruka points out, eyes narrowed "No offense, but if we send you, we might as well just rip up everyone's leases ourselves."
That didn't seem to deter the foxish woman, so the older Urashima cut her off with another revelation "And don't think I didn't smell all that alcohol on you when you came here, or see that lotto ticket you tried to hide. If we let you do this, can you even promise to get it done without being skunk drunk off your rocker – or getting ""lost" on your way back from the races?"
Mitsune frowned uncomfortably at all of Haruka's statements, though didn't move to argue any more – which all but proved her point. Even without her alcoholism and betting habits getting in the way, Keitaro would be too wary of her were she to go, and would likely realize their plan before she could even lie about it.
Mitsune leaned over the bar counter, eyes glued to the tv nestled on the small ledge nearby in the corner. A list of names scrolled down, and the patrons all cheered while she collapsed in agony.
Haruka looked over the group before her as they debated and sighed, desperately wishing for a cigarette right at the moment (maybe she should look into those nicotine patches she heard one of her customers blabbering about before storming off). Even after everything she just said, they still couldn't come to an agreement? And on a plan that was supposed to get everyone to pull together more properly
"So no one wants to do it then?" she asks, getting the girls to fall silent as they turned to her, each wearing a mask of confusion and indecision. They obviously didn't want to go through with the plan one way or the other, but they also clearly had no clue how to proceed now that it wasn't an option for them – and sadly Haruka was in the same boat.
(Spin spin spin goes the wheel)
"Well, now what?"
Someone said something, and the entire room exploded into noises of pleading and arguing. It was getting increasingly obvious to her no one was going to get home in time.
The new tenant looks nothing like she expects.
That is to say, she feels like she overshot her estimate on what he'd look like. She had barely any info to start with, so she expected everything from "ordinary plain salaryman" to "overly buff karate enthusiast" to "Unbathed geeky NEET"
Instead, before her is a kid – or at least a kid comparable to herself. He's young and clean-shaven, the kind of guy you see frequenting happy-hour with his boss because he's a newbie and "needs to be shown the ropes". The apricot-colored suit and polkadot tie he has on is a bit garish, but looks kind of help off balance his rather poor fashion-sense.
"Sorry again for dropping in like this, a-and for being late!" he says, running a nervous hand through his choppy tawny-brown hair "I didn't expect to get assigned so soon, especially since I'm still studying for my license, so I was a bit of a rush getting my stuff packed to make the train here."
"Like I said, it's fine." Keitaro says politely, allowing him inside "I'm just glad you let me know ahead of time so I could get things ready."
Seeming relieved, he smiled, then blinked when he finally noticed her.
"Oh, did someone else come early too?" he asks, but before she could answer him Keitaro stepped in again.
"She's an old resident who's here to hear about the new terms of her lease." he says, and she stiffens at the fact that while his tone is still a bit steely, it's face less so in the face of the new person than she herself "Once we finish getting yours done, I'll be getting things settled with her."
The new tenant nods, then turns to her, holding a hand out.
"Then I guess that means we're going to be roomies then?" he laughed "As said before, my name's Ren Amami! It's nice to meet you!"
She looks back and forth between the hand and its owner before taking it in her grasp.
"Nice to meet you too, Ren-chan! I'm-"
Once things settled, Haruka took stock and realize nothing had been. At the time, she thought if she had suggested her plan, it'd get everyone to swallow their collective pride and maybe try working together on a united solution, but so far all it did was divide them further.
Naru couldn't be the spy because she's was too emotionally raw. The minute the powder keg that caused her suspension got lit again, it would spell disaster for everyone.
Motoko refused to because it was "dishonorable". She'd rather let her skin slough off thanks to whatever that terrible rash she got was than even think about pretending to make nice with Keitaro for three days.
Shinobu obviously wanted to do it, but the older girls seemed against the idea and there was no way to get this to work if they didn't concede. Same with Su.
Mitsune was...a whole other issue. She was too obvious and likely wouldn't be able to get anything done.
And her and Mutsumi were definitely out of the running – even if they could convince him to lift their ban, anything they said would likely fall on deaf ears.
"This is exactly what I was talking about when I said 'spinning your wheels'," she muttered, going unheard by the rising din. At the rate things were going, their only option left would be having to build themselves a new Hinata out of thin air, and she was certain none of them had to time, money, or energy for that even.
The arguing hadn't ceased still, and part of her began to wonder if she should tell them the other reason she called for the emergency meeting, that they would soon have more to worry about then new residents taking up their personal spaces if things kept going the way they were.
Suddenly, creaking is heard from upstairs, and it was then everyone remembered that they were at Noriyasu's house and that both he and Sarah were still asleep.
When nothing more happened, Haruka hand a hand through her hair and face them, steeling her expression "Look, someone has to do this. You guys only have a week left – that's seven days." then sighed when she saw the tense looks exchanged at that reminder "Unless someone here has a better idea, one of you has to bite the bullet here, because you are all literally staring down the barrel at this point."
There was complete silence at that point, but not the type she was hoping for, nor is there any response that tells her they want this solved just as much as she did.
And Haruka Urashima, watching the hesitance, the terror, the complete naked fear in the eyes of the girls she watched grow in the dorm she once called home alongside her grandmother, sighed so deeply you could probably hear it echo throughout the house.
"You know what?" She says, finally getting up "It's really late."
If the girls disagreed with her, she didn't hear it as she headed straight for the door and out of the house.
Ren is a very talkative person – which worked for her because steadily the cold shoulder from Keitaro since arriving was starting to get to her and frankly, she needed someone to have a rapport with.
He's apparently studying to be a teacher, and moved to the Hinata dorms because the internship he had needed to complete for his degree was in the area, and being closer by was more convenient for commuting.
"They said they were going to have me start during fall term and that it'd take a while to have me assigned to a school, so the plan was to check this place out first and then move in during summer vacation if I ended up liking it and the location worked out with my internship." he says, scratching his cheek as he adjusted his grip on his luggage "But then a school in the area contacted them about wanting someone for their spring term and needing extra help for their summer school course, and my name just happened to be the first one on the list of available people."
"That sounds pretty lucky." She says, lacing her fingers together cutely, "You must have been really happy to get assigned so close."
"Yeah," he chuckled, gleeful tone turning exasperated as he adds "Kind of wish they had let me know sooner though – It was kind of a pain in the ass having to get everything packed up last minute."
She laughed sympathetically and earns a smile, only to stop when he asked "What about yourself? Urashima-san said you're an old resident right? Did you move out for work and then come back?"
She swallowed hard, letting her eye wander to the man ahead of them, who's looking back at them, tapping his clipboard quietly before looking back ahead.
"W-well," she began, cursing herself for stuttering "It's...kind of complicated, y'know? Stuff happened, things were said, and now I'm back here! Honestly, it's way more boring than your thing."
He looks at her, clearly confused by her vague answer, then turned to look ahead, humming thoughtfully as his eyes lidded.
It wasn't judgmental gaze like she expects, but it isn't necessarily understanding either.
The tour is disorienting. So much is still the same, but there's tiny changes that can be seen throughout the dorm with a single glance. Dents and scrapes that are no long visible, doors and walls repainted, Furniture that's been either outright replaced and refurbished, extra rooms she didn't even know existed springing up out of no where. The longer they walked, the less this felt like the Hinata she had known for several years.
They ended their journey in the landlord's office, where Keitaro handed Ren a copy of the lease for him to look over while asking him a few more questions about living in the dorms while answering some questions back.
(Her eyes glance around for anything odd or out of place out of habit, but so far she saw nothing)
"So what do you think?" he asks, and Ren sets the paper down, seeming to be thinking out his response.
"Well, the rules seem reasonable enough," he admits with a shrug, only to add wnile tapping on a section of the lease "I feel a little weird on some of them though, like the 7:45pm curfew for starters. It feels a bit punishing for those of us who might have late night activities like clubs or work, especially when a lot of stuff can happen to make getting home a hassle."
Her gazes falls on Keitaro unconsciously, whose face is cold stone, and she suddenly remembers his callousness in front of them when they disputed the new rules he proposed. She was certain he was going to just glare at him, or force him out of the dorms right that second. After all, he had no trouble getting rid of the people who had lived here for years on such short basis and simply a whim.
Instead though, Keitaro nodded, humming thoughtfully as he grabbed his clipboard "That's a reasonable complaint." he states before writing something down, barely looking up as he spoke "Naturally, if you have an understandable excuse for violating curfew or inform me ahead of time of you possibly being late, you can avoid getting a point – and I'm willing to be considerate of sudden random events, if provable."
He then set the pen down, expression turning serious than what she was used to back then when he faced them again "However, the reason it's that way is because while it might seem punishing, it becomes an issue if residents start making staying out late a habit, and especially so if that results in you bringing these "excuses" and "random events" back with you and it starts troubling everyone else..."
The last part is said with a cold gaze sent in her direction, and she shivers.
He then looked back to Ren, who seemed not to notice the brief visual exchange but seemed put off by the implication, and relaxed his face "That also being said, this is a community dorm. Changes can't just be made on one person's preference." and put away the board "So, once the other tenents arrive, I'll set some time aside to discuss the rules of the dorm with everyone and you can bring up your concerns with the rest then. If enough of the other residents present agree with your stance and any arguments in favor are brought up that are reasonably sensible, I'll put extending curfew into consideration, and then practice."
Despite being granted a chance to defend his position, Ren still seemed hesitant "Will it be the same for the other rules?"
"Yes, but do know some rules will not be up for discussion, such as rent payment." He states before adding "Which reminds me, you brought the down payment right?"
The new board jolts in surprise before replying "Yes!", rummaging through the front pocket of his luggage before pulling out a paper check.
"Don't worry, my accounts all full up this month! No worries about it bouncing!" he says with a mock salute, and Keitaro just gives an awkward grunt of acknowledgement before clipping it onto the clipboard and asking if he had anymore questions.
Meanwhile, she's still reeling from the scene she just witnessed. She had expected yelling, coldness, absolute disregard for Ren's concerns and arguments. Instead, Keitaro had been the picture of calm, polite and amicable like he usually was. This was nothing like how he had treated them during the eviction!
Which meant...that on that day...he really...
It's dificult to mask the tearing up with a yawn, but she manages it. She couldn't get caught flatfooted again like before. If he was willing to be more polite to a complete stranger than her, then that meant she would just have to work on selling her pitch to get to that same level
(It also meant that she could not screw up here, no matter what)
"Then aside from the curfew, bath house hours, and the issues with your remaining luggage, you're fine with what's been discussed today and what's written on the lease?"
Ren nodded, and with pleased smile and a quick flick of the wrist, Keitaro hands him the pen.
"Then allow me to say –Welcome to the Hinata Dorms, Amami-san."
After Haruka left, everyone else did too, hearts and head heavy at the thought of what tomorrow would bring.
Seven days. After tomorrow they'd only have seven days left.
...Fuck!
After Ren finished signing his contract and picking a room (he didn't end up with hers, to her quiet relief), it soon came her turn to deal with the new contract.
The trip back to his office had been just as daunting as the first time around, and her nerves had been left all alight as they both stiffly sat down
"Before I have you sign," Keitaro asked, leveling her a piercing glare "Why don't you tell me the real reason you changed you changed your mind about the new lease?"
She laughed nervously at that. Of course he didn't really believe she really had a change of heart, especially after holding out so stubbornly for several weeks.
She could have lied, could have told him an excuse like usual, or even just flat out admit she was at the end of her very short rope and really needed a hand.
So instead, she told Keitaro exactly why she was here, as asked.
It was becoming more and more obvious that they were running out of options, and even more and more obvious no one wanted to acknowledge it. Oh sure, they had managed to begrudgingly admit there wasn't much time left during their second meet up, but in the end, none of them really wanted to be the one to have to say "maybe it's time to throw in the towel?". After all, they had (stupidly) promised to fight this till the end. Backing out now would just make whoever took the plunge a coward (and a traitor).
It seemed like at the rate things were going, they'd all have to kiss their lives at the Hinata goodbye.
So, as the sun slowly up past the hills and she stared up from the lower streets, she made a decision
Naturally, he was upset with her reveal, and it honestly surprise he he didn't just throw her out right then and there – in fact, it took her ensuring the others weren't aware of what she had done and that she wasn't going to trick him into letting her stay for free to get him to sit patiently and let her tell him everything that went down yesterday and what had prompted her to come here to sign the newly drafted dorm lease.
Keitaro stared at her when she finished.
"Why are you telling me all this?" he asks, clearly suspicious (and frankly, she couldn't blame him) "If you hadn't said anything, you would have probably gotten away with it mostly."
She can't help but eye him for that "Mostly?"
He gives an offended huff "I'm not as dumb as you girls like to think, no matter how many times I failed the TokyoU entrance exam." then sharply adds "Especially when I'm already use to your particular brand of nonsense at this point."
She can't help but wince at the realization that her careful ruse had been already peaked through. She had thought just keeping to herself and playing Miss Polite-Houseguest was working but that seemed to be the opposite of what happened.
Damn, Haruka was right.
"So," he leans on his crossed knee, cheek pressed to his hand "Why did you tell me? What are you hoping to get out of betraying the others?"
Now its her turn to give an offended huffed "This isn't a betrayal. I'm doing exactly as we planned."
Again, his gaze turns distrustful "Kind of hard to spy on someone when they know your spying on you." he points out
"Not when it's mutual." she states, answering his raised brow with a teasing smirk "Let me explain…."
Since no one was going to do anything, so she'd take initiative and settle the issue herself.
However, approaching it her usual way would get her kicked to the curb before she could even lie about what she's doing, and Haruka's plan was just a guaranteed noose around the neck the minute she stepped inside.
So she's do what she always did when things looked grim and the house was against her
Deal all in
When she finished, Keitaro's distrustfully look hadn't vanished, but he looked less willing to show her the door.
"So let me see if I have this straight?" he asks, tapping the table with his pen "You want sign the new lease, receive your old room, let the others know you signed, and then spend the next three days telling them what I'm doing and how you've been living?"
"Uhuh" she answers with a lively nod
"Meanwhile, you'll let me know how things are going with the rest on their said and if and when they're ready to sign the new lease?"
"Yep," she said proudly, hand on her ample chest "You know how we Hinata girls are with the unknown Kei-chan. It took us all a long time to get used to how things were here even before Granny handed you the place – getting use to each other, learning all the housing rules, not to mention trying to get Haruka to warm up to us" she pauses to readjust her sitting position "And now things are changing on us again and it's just making us all feel out of sorts. I mean, can you even understand how that feels, having the dorm we've lived in all our girlhoods suddenly made coed, and only learning about it right after getting kicked out."
If the coldness he was exhibiting towards her before was chilling, then the one he was showing her now would likely give the arctic a run for its money
"Yeah," he says, smile tight and frigid "Can't imagine coming back to a place you've known all your life and suddenly have it turned into something else complete different, all without anyone telling you first."
A small squeak comes out as she takes a quick moment to quickly look away, sweating nervously. Shoot. Poor choice of words – abort abort! "W-what I mean is, everyone's just having trouble wrapping their heads around it, you know? They're so used to how things were and now they're having a bit of a time readjusting to the fact!" She bits her lip as she thinks over her next sentence "It's not that anyone's against it, the changes that is! They're just…worried they won't do well under the new rules and such."
"Except you of course." he responds, still smiling, and she isn't sure enough about the level of sincerity used to answer back right away. "Which is why you came here with this wild idea of yours."
She blinks, then nods vigorously, eager to hopefully push this into the direction she needs "Exactly! Everyone knows the best way for young ones to learn is by example, and I'm a prime candidate if there ever was one. Once the gals see how me of all people is managing to thrive so amazingly under your fancy new rules, they'll stop being stubborn and start coming around! Then we can have things just like the old days again!"
Keitaro doesn't reply immediately, but his harden expression softens a little thoughtfully, to her brief relief- "And can you assure me you can follow all my 'fancy new rules'? That isn't going to be a repeat of the past three years of you telling me you lost your rent money at the race track or trying accuse me of grabbing your boobs when I ask why you haven't come down for dinner?"
She stiffened at that, feeling the tension from before return to the room and press at her from all side "S-sure thing! Consider that all the mistakes of a young, foolish me!"
He doesn't respond to her stiff laughter, and eventually she slowly deflates as she allowed her expression to take a more somber look and looked around the room. She's been in the office so few times, but it still looked the same as ever.
But then she looks again and realizes it doesn't – there are trinkets missing, photos left face down, things moved, or gone, or added, or maybe just never existed in the first place. This room that was supposed to be familiar to her now felt like a stranger's domain.
(And she can only blame herself for the way it is right now, that things have become so broken between her and the man she meet that cold tokyo winter have now become so broken and disjointed.)
She takes a steadying breath "Look, I seriously get it." she admitted, picking at her skirt "I – no, we...really messed up. No matter how patient you usually are with us, even a guy like you has his limits. I see that now – and so can the rest of the girls if you help me with my plan! Sure they're being stubborn now, but if we work together, we can get them on board with whatever your plans are for the dorm and stop all this."
He still doesn't respond, and she's fearful she might have lost her chance until he finally asks "And everyone would be okay with this? You'd make them okay with this?"
A small spark of hope lit up in her chest as she nodded, sitting up straight and tall to stare him down proudly "I swear to you, once these three days are up and I get the rest to see things my way, everything will be better than ever! We'll all be such perfect, rule-following angels that you won't even recognize us!"
Keitaro met her gaze and hummed, placing a careful hand on her new lease, and she could feel herself drooling as she slowly reached for it
Only to have him pull it away
"Thank you Konno-san, you can leave now."
Mitsune's face fell instantly
Mitsune didn't show up for their next meeting.
The others had wondered where she had went, but ultimately didn't think too hard on it. Knowing her, she was likely still pass-out drunk at a nearby bar and had forgotten about the promise to meet up more frequently that they had made. Besides, Haruka hadn't shown up either – but no one wanted to say anything about that either, least they acknowledge her (final) words to them on Friday.
So the meeting went as usual, as the five former residents put all their focus on making plans to get the Hinata back, with little to no headway – in fact, communications seemed to break down a lot quicker this time around, everyone still wound up from their lack of progress from the last time. In the end, there was too much infighting and things had to be put to a halt quickly.
Shinobu decided to take the opportunity to do grocery shopping (pointedly ignoring Su's statement that she had already done so). There were some new recipes she wanted to try out, and maybe the sight of food could help Seta and Sarah out of whatever mood had taken over the two as of late. She isn't sure exactly what happened yesterday that created such a tense (and painfully familiar) atmosphere in the house, but she was certain it wasn't anything some vegetable soup couldn't fix! Oh, she could probably reused some of the pan-fried chicken she made last week for stock! It was going to go bad soon and no one was eating it-
She froze in the middle of the sidewalk, confusion and terror making its roots in her.
Someone, someway, instead of being in front of the store, she had ended up on route to the Hinata again. Even from as far away as she was standing, she could still make out the roof of the dorm and the trees surrounding slowly gaining their blossom buds. Close enough that she just needed to cross the street and over the traintracks to make it over.
But that wasn't what scared her into stillness
No – What had done the deed was the sight of Mitsune, heading towards the staircase that lead to the front door. She couldn't understand why the silverhaired woman was here, or what prompted this sudden bout of madness that she would be so bold as to walk right towards the den of the beast when she knew for a fact that Senpai would-
Then she turned and walked up the stairs, not even hesitating, or stumbling, or putting any effort to be sneaky. She didn't even notice Shinobu watching her from afar, waiting for her to run down in a panic after realizing her mistake and remembering this was no longer their home.
So she waited
And she waited
And she waited
And then the train passed, and she waited still.
She waited until it was dark and she had somehow come back to Seta's home, and Su had asked her what she had gotten from the store even though there were no bags and talked about how bored she is since Sarah's still on punishment and Shinobu heard none of it as she fell to her knees and started sobbing.
[1 week left until the end of Winter term of Tokyo U]
Congrats to the people who guessed Mitsune! Admittedly, I was going to go Motoko, but then realized that ultimately, she would never go through with it since her moral code (and pride) would never really allow her to "surrender" to Keitaro, even metaphorically for the sake of helping get the dorm back. Mitsune might be the one to cause trouble 89% of the time in canon, but she's also at least shown ability to acknowledge when the chips are down and her tricks aren't viable anymore. At the very least, if it was a situation like the Molmol Arc where she had chance of taking advantage of the situation, she would have gone down with the ship and hold out as long as she could – but it isn't, and thems just be the breaks. Best to just come clean and hope there's still enough pity for her to get her lease back (or at least that was the plan)
Honestly, the spy plan would have never worked anyways - as stated, Keitaro isn't a complete idiot (or at least this version isn't). No matter who had gone, he would have caught on eventually and everyone would have been screwed. (and the sad part is Haruka knows this too - she only suggested the plan in hopes the girls would finally give up the ghost and sign under the idea that it was "totally" part of their spectacular plan to trick Keitaro into surrendering the dorm back)
And hey, first new resident introduced. Fun fact, I had Ren planned out way in advance since the fic was started. He was going to be an actually teacher (and a bit more reserved/no-nonsense), but for some reason he transformed into this goofy college kid with bad fashion-sense ;-u-. Still, I hope everyone likes him and will enjoy his presence alongside everyone else I have planned to join the dorm.
Again, thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!