Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina.

-oOoOoOo-

Keitaro and Motoko glanced at each other

"When did we start to entertain the idea of us dating?" Keitaro asked.

"I am fairly certain that time during summer when we all went to the beach might be when the seed was planted. It was where I began to note your better traits." Motoko muttered as she looked down at the floor and rubbed her chin.

"I think I was about the same when it came to you, but what about that second duel?" Keitaro asked. Inwardly, he thought, 'I was where I sat down and thought about my dating prospects.'

"Perhaps, but the time I ran away from the Hinata was when I considered changing my views about you. Though, tell them about the second duel first..." Motoko replied as she looked at him with a gentle smile that warmed him up enough that he smiled back.

"Before you begin, I have to ask about a few things," Tsuruko asked. "Second duel? What motivated this one and who won?"

Keitaro took a sharp breath before he explained, "Naru and I walked in on Motoko as she was changing. So she challenged me, with the terms being that the loser does whatever the winner says. She planned on putting me through something she called, 'one special Hell training' that she would give me."

"And what did you plan on asking her to do?" Tsuruko asked, her joyful tone sounding a bit fake as she raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't think of anything until after the duel, where Kitsune made a few suggestions. I didn't want Motoko to do any of them, so I asked Motoko to show more of her feminine side," Keitaro answered.

"Ah. Then I have no more questions at this time, other than how did you win" Tsuruko replied, raising one eyebrow. Inwardly she thought, 'Leaving that part of a challenge open until after the duel is… stupid. Motoko should be thankful that Urashima isn't the kind of pervert that Narusegawa tried to claim he was.'

"As for how the duel went, he had a wooden bat and she had a sword without any guard. She broke through the bat, but Keitaro was able to catch the blade before she sliced him in two!" Su cheerfully explained. Motoko grew a bit nervous when Tsuruko shot her a glare that said 'We will talk about this later!'

"It was a fluke…" Keitaro muttered as he briefly looked away.

Motoko quickly said, "Nonsense. It was a sign, possibly the first one he ever had, that was proof that he has more talent than he or anyone thought about him."

Motoko calmed down a little when Tsuruko seemed slightly pleased when she heard that.

Keitaro looked around the room as he gathered his thoughts before he said, "I guess after that second duel, the one where I actually won, I asked her to show more of her feminine side. After enduring a few rounds of the rest of the residents attempts to girl up Motoko, to various degrees of success, A now miniskirted Motoko and I were sent out for groceries. So after we left the Hinata to go shopping, we got off the train and I realized that her skirt was really short, so…"

-oOoOoOo-

In the past...

Keitaro had been looking down at the ground, trying to decide what to get first when Motoko briefly looked back in annoyance and said, "Urashima, please walk faster. I do not wish to be out like this any longer than I have to!"

So Keitaro began to look up. His eyes had been focused on her legs, so he thought, 'Huh, Motoko sure does have some nice legs...'

When his eyes finally reached her skirt, memories of him and the girls tripping and falling, then either he wound up accidentally looking up their skirts or their skirts getting pulled off, and finally ending in him getting hit. A quick look up at her face when Motoko was looking around let him know that Motoko was uncomfortable. So he nervously said, "Then let's get you a longer skirt. Shouldn't cost too much."

He almost bumped into her, as she had stopped to ponder his words. Then Keitaro began to back away when Motoko slowly turned to glare at him as she asked, "Are you trying to peep under my skirt like a pervert, Urashima?"

"How is offering to get you a longer skirt being a pervert?" Keitaro asked as he put his hands up in a placating manner.

"You might try to look in the changing room while I'm in there…" Motoko growled as she continued to walk forward and making Keitaro walk backwards.

"I'll give you the money out of my wallet and wait outside for you?" Keitaro asked in response. Motoko stopped and so did Keitaro. "Just make sure we have enough for groceries."

Motoko paused for a few seconds as she took in Keitaro's words. There wasn't any anger in her expression, merely some slight surprise.

"That is acceptable. Let's go," Motoko said before she turned around and began to walk away, hiding her smile from Keitaro. He caught up to her and walked besides her as best he could.

-oOo-

Some time later…

Keitaro was waiting besides the clothing store.

'Wonder what dress Motoko is going to -' Keitaro thought before he heard someone utter an 'Ahem' noise. He looked to towards the door and there Motoko was standing, wearing a longer skirt and holding the bag that held the mini-skirt she had been wearing..

It was a dark blue skirt that reached below her knees. She looked a bit embarrassed, though there were twitches at the corners of her mouth, like she was suppressing a smile.

"I thank you for giving me the money to acquire an acceptable skirt. I will try to make it up to you in the future," Motoko said before she turned around and began to walk away. "But let's finish the task we've been sent on."

"Let's take our time though," Keitaro replied as he followed after her. When Motoko turned her head around at him, Keitaro quickly said, "Kitsune and Su are probably going to tease us the moment they spot you wearing a new skirt. If you put on the other skirt, it'll probably be flipped up by the wind when we go up the stairs to the Hinata!"

A few moments passed as Motoko looked at him. At first, she was angry, but then she seemed to calm down. She let out a sigh before she muttered, "You're probably right. I can see all of that happening."

As she faced forward, a small smile managed to appear on her face as she then said, "So let's do some window shopping. Perhaps we might find something to buy the next time either one of us goes out?"

"Y-yeah!" Keitaro answered as he walked besides her.

-oOo-

After they returned to the Hinata…

As the two walked up the stairs, Motoko briefly looked at one of the bags she was holding and smiled. Noticing that Keitaro was now looking at her, she quickly hid her smile and looked forward at the Hinata, though a small blush appeared on her face.

As they reached the top step, they were greeted by the other tenants.

Kitsune was the first one to notice Motoko's new skirt, so she covered her mouth and chuckled, "Oh-ho! Looks like they went on a date while we weren't looking!"

"It's not like that!" Motoko exclaimed as she childishly stomped. "Urashima actually used his brain for once and suggested that I get a longer skirt!"

"So what was wrong with the other one?" Su asked as she tilted her head a little bit.

Before Motoko could say anything, Keitaro answered, "Way too short and too many bad things could happen with me around her with me being a klutz."

Kitsune frowned, while Naru nodded. The latter placed her hands on her hips as she said, "Good thinking, but don't get a big ego over it."

Keitaro's shoulders slumped a bit as Naru and the others walked away, leaving Motoko by his side. Seeing that he was a bit depressed, Motoko quietly said, "If it matters, I… would not… refuse going on another excursion like we did today, Urashima.

Keitaro then watched as she quickly walked into the Hinata. He smiled a bit as he walked in as well.

-oOo-

After dinner, Keitaro followed Motoko up to the Balcony roof.

After looking back to make sure he wasn't being followed, Keitaro closed the door behind him, getting Motoko's attention. She asked in a fairly neutral tone, "What is it, Urashima?

Keitaro looked down, rubbed the back of his head, and muttered, "Ah-m… I thought about what I had you do today… I think forcing you to be more feminine against your wishes might have been a mistake…"

As she leaned against the railing, she thought about his words and what had happened that day. After coming to a conclusion, "While my fellow tenants enjoyed their fun at my expense, You at least tried to help me, even though you were the cause of it."

Keitaro shuddered a bit, like he had been hit with an arrow by her words.

"Well, if it helps any, you're at your best when you are your usual self, so you don't have to follow my demand anymore, if you don't want to," Keitaro replied.

Motoko looked up and thought for a bit more. Keitaro didn't like the cat-like smile appearing on her face.

"I'll accept your offer, but only if you're willing to train with me in hopes of making you less clumsy," Motoko said. Noticing his nervous reaction, she then added, "Don't worry, it won't be the training from Hell that I wanted to put you through earlier."

Keitaro then let out a sigh of relief before he rubbed the back of his head and answered, "I'll think about it, though it does sound very tempting…"

-oOo-

Present Day

"...and after a day or two, he accepted and then we began some simple training. It didn't seem to have any effect on him until a few weeks later, when he accidentally tripped himself and Kitsune in one of the hallways, but somehow caught her and also prevented himself from falling," Motoko explained. She let out an annoyed sigh. "Then she called him 'her hero' which made him trip and fall.

Kitsune vaguely remembered that and giggled. She stopped when Naru looked at her with shocked and accusing eyes.

"Hey, I like to tease, remember?" Kitsune grumbled, not wanting to see Naru run away and accusing her of trying to 'steal' Keitaro or something.

"Y-yeah… I know…" Naru muttered.

'Another sign that this might not end well… Though I do like how Motoko seems to be getting out of her shell. I should thank Urashima later,' Tsuruko thought. She smiled a bit when she said, "I find the outing a bit cute. How many times have you worn the skirt afterwards, Motoko?"

"..A few times," Motoko said, feeling a bit wary, like she was about to enter a trap.

"More often than that! You wore that skirt every few days, until you bought a few matching ones!" Su cheerfully said before she ate another cookie in one bite.

'I wish Keitaro took me out on a date and bought me a skirt,' Shinobu thought as she momentarily sulked.

"How many times did she get teased?" Sarah asked the Hinata Inventor.

"A few days. Then everyone forgot about it," Su answered. Then she put her finger on her lips as she pondered something. "Funny thing is that when she wore that particular skirt, Keitaro didn't seem as clumsy."

"Huh…" Sarah muttered before she drank some tea.

Tsuruko raised an eyebrow as she mentally noted Su's comment. The elder Aoyama then asked, "So how long before the two of you decided to date?"

Both Keitaro and Motoko smiled a little.

"Well, I guess it was during summer…" Keitaro said, his smile turning into a grin as he began to hold Motoko's hand.

"And it was also when I confessed my feelings to him," Motoko said, now sporting a similar grin.

-oOoOoOo-

Author's note -

This fanfic was an idea started by Antimatter of . They are also the planner of this fic.

A thanks to Threadweaver of for looking over this chapter.