Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina.
-oOoOoOo-
Keitaro was returning to the Sweets shop. The task wasn't hard, just a tad time consuming because they lived a some distance away.
He smiled when he saw Motoko. 'She looks cute in the uniform! I might have to… wait.'
He realized that Motoko was trying to act cute as she was passing out fliers. She had on a forced smile and was doing her best to speak in a cutesy tone. It was a bit ruined because it was clearly fake and she was uncomfortable with it. Enough so that it was making a few passerbys uncomfortable.
"Motoko?" Keitaro asked.
"Keitaro?" Motoko uttered as she turned towards him. Tears formed in her eyes as she hug-tackled him.
"You look cute, Motoko," Keitaro replied, giving her a quick hug.
"You might be the first one to think that today. I tried to base my actions somewhat on Shinobu, but I clearly failed on that end," Motoko replied as she let him go.
"I have some advice," Keitaro said with a smile. Motoko cheered up and listened closely. "Instead of trying to be cute like Shinobu, try acting like your cool beautiful self."
After taking a deep breath, Motoko replied, "I'll try."
"That's all I ask," Keitaro replied as he walked off to give her some space.
"Keitaro!" Urashima-mama called out.
"Duty calls," Keitaro muttered. Motoko nodded as he waved at her when he went inside.
Motoko put on a calm face as she had a light smile on her face.
"Wagashi Urashima! We have so many delicious treats!" Motoko said. 'If I am to fail, then let it be that I was acting as myself in this task!'
When Keitaro returned, he saw that she was not only passing out fliers, but there was a line forming. He chuckled when he saw that most of them were schoolgirls who looked upon Motoko like she was some sort of star.
When the crowd managed to leave and give Motoko some space, Keitaro decided to talk with her. He said, "Hey, Motoko. I'm glad you're doing much better."
Motoko gave him a bright smile as she said, "Yes. Your advice did wonders, Keitaro."
"Much like how your advice with training helped me," Keitaro replied with a warm smile.
"The situation kind of reminded me of School in a way," Motoko said absentmindedly. "I seemed to attract a bit of a fanclub there… though Kitsune claimed they were more like groupies."
"Speaking of them," Keitaro began. Motoko took in a quick fearful gasp of air. After a moment, Keitaro added, "I wonder what their reaction will be, once you tell them?"
Motoko shivered for a moment before she muttered, "I'm going to hold off as long as possible…"
"Why?" Keitaro asked.
"The less said the better," Motoko grumbled. "Now I need to get back to work."
Much later, when Motoko had handed out the last flier, she said, "Now let's go see what other tasks your mother has for us."
"...Right," Keitaro muttered as he followed her into the store.
"Motoko-kun, you and my hubby do cleanup and stock. Keitaro, you prepare dinner. I'll go over the accounting for the day," Urashima-mama said, gesturing towards each person.
Keitaro nodded before he headed to the kitchen in the back. Urashima-papa and Motoko walked over to the closet in the corner, where he handed her a broom and a butler dustpan before grabbing one for himself. Urashima-mama headed to the back as well, where her office was.
As they were cleaning up, Urashima-papa asked, "So… tell me about yourself, Motoko-san. I know a little from what my wife tells me, as well as what Tsuruko-san tells me when she picks up some pocky."
"My sister comes here?!" Motoko asked as she stared at Urashima-papa in a bit of panic.
"Yes. We do sell good candy. I wouldn't be surprised if she bought some candy for you from here in the past," Urashima-papa replied. A sweatdrop of embarrassment appeared behind Motoko's head. He continued, "I'll tell you about myself if you talk about yourself. Would that help?"
"A little. I am the heir to the Shinmei-ryu, but have lived at Hina Urashima's Hinata in the last few years," Motoko said.
"I was a bit of a wandering artist. I played music and painted stuff here and there. I settled down when I met my future wife, though," Urashima-Papa said as he swept.
"Before I met Keitaro, I didn't like men all that much," Motoko added. She grew a bit sad for a moment as she regretted a large number of her sexist actions. All the ones towards Keitaro, Motoko felt she needed to be punished for them by Keitaro.
Urashima-Papa noted Motoko's body language and asked, "And once you gave him a chance, he helped you grow as a person, right?"
"Why yes, yes he did. Though I wish I had been feeling well at the time," Motoko said with a slight smile.
"Heh. I take it that's a long story. Tell me and my wife over dinner. I bet it'll help you get my wife's permission," Urashima-Papa replied. "As for my part, I met my wife at a roller disco. Hey, it was the 1970's!"
"Yes, Urashima-san," Motoko said with a nod. Urashima-Papa seemed a little disappointed that he didn't get to defend himself further for some reason. Motoko then asked, Forgive me for asking this, but what is your personal name?"
"Oh. Kintaro," Urashima-papa answered. "And before you ask, my wife's name is Keiko."
Merely smelling dinner made Motoko wonder, 'Why didn't he cook at the Hinata? Was he afraid of showing up Shinobu? She's still a better cook and can still show him a thing or two.'
After taking a bite, Keiko stated, "You've been slacking off, Keitaro."
"There's a better cook at the hinata and-" Keitaro began.
"No excuses. If anything, that should've been incentive to practice more," Keiko quickly said. "But enough of that for the moment. I believe the two of you have a story to tell us."
The Urashima parents calmly listened to the abridged story that the couple told them. When they were done, Kintaro clapped his hands and said, "That was a lovely story! Sure, it started off on the wrong foot… Well, feet… Or maybe a couple of miles…"
"I blame my mother. She likes to meddle too much for her own good," Keiko said sounding annoyed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she had a favorite among your fellow tenants."
"Any ideas who?" Motoko asked, hoping it was herself.
"None. I'd have to meet all of you to get a good idea who," Keiko answered with a shrug. Motoko's shoulders slumped a little. "As for permission for your relationship… Well, you have my hubby's permission. As for me… Well, I'm happy for you, but I need a bit of time to think about it. There's a lot of concerns I have. Admittedly, I suspect you two meet a lot of them, but the other ones? I'd rather not throw you in headfirst into them."
Motoko nodded, but Keitaro asked in a confused manner, "What? What are you talking about?"
"Never you mind, Keitaro," both Motoko and Keiko said at the same time.
Keitaro narrowed his eyes as he thought, 'Whatever they are hiding, it must be big…'
"So… Let's be honest, Motoko-chan," Keiko began.
"Why chan? You used kun earlier," Motoko asked.
"That was during business hours, this is not. Also, I'm a mother and you were hanging on Keitaro enough to get me a little annoyed," Keiko answered. "Back to what I was saying. According to what I was able to glean from your story, you saw my son as something that you needed to sharpen your sword on for a time."
Both Motoko and Keitaro began to get nervous.
"Not gonna lie. That's a big strike against getting my permission… but then I remember the negative part came about because of my mother's meddling, so a lot of it was negated," Keiko added. The young couple seemed a bit relieved, though Motoko felt a little angered at Hina being insulted. "So go wash up. I need to think about this as my hubby and I clean up the table."
Keitaro and Motoko nodded before they walked off. Keiko watched them as they left for the Bathroom before she sighed.
"Thoughts, honey?" Kintaro asked.
"She hates perverts to a high degree. Wonder what caused that?" Keiko asked back.
"That's probably too sensitive a topic for us to even ask her. It's doubtful Keitaro knows about the reason behind it, but at least it's not stopping the lovebirds from getting close to each other," Kintaro answered. "Heh. Maybe it's related to her sister and it makes Motoko both put older women on a pedestal and also feel betrayed if the older women get in a relationship with a man."
Keiko looked at her husband and muttered, "Interesting theory if true."
Kintaro smiled back.
-o-
As they entered the bathroom, Keitaro smiled as he said, "Boy. This brings back memories."
"My… I guess I've been spoiled by the Hinata's hot springs…" Motoko said as she walked to one side and looked away from Keitaro.
"Oh yeah… This would be kinda small compared to that," Keitaro replied as he and Motoko began to undress. Looking down at his cast, Keitaro said, "Well, at least you can soak in the bathtub."
"Do you need help putting the bags on your casts?" Motoko asked as she slipped off her hakama. However, she did so in an unwittingly seductive way.
Doing his best to not peek at Motoko and failing every once in awhile, Keitaro said, "I'll be fine. I've gotten used to it. Betcha when the casts come off, it'll feel weird for a while."
Motoko chuckled. She looked in a nearby mirror to look at Keitaro. She blushed as Keitaro took of his shirt and revealed how muscular he had gotten from her training. 'No matter how much I see him, I still blush like a schoolgirl when he reveals his upper body.'
-o-
After the couple were done washing and bathing themselves, Keitaro and Motoko got dressed and left.
Keiko and her husband was waiting nearby. She asked, "So… I bet you'll enjoy sleeping in the same room and in the same bed. Just don't do anything too familiar, alright?"
The Urashima matriarch enjoyed how both Keitaro and Motoko blushed like mad. However, Motoko said, "I… I'm still a maiden…"
Keiko had a momentary look of surprise as she thought, 'Woah. So she has more restraint than I thought she would.'
Kintaro looked outright shocked He said, "What?! Back in my day, I had a hard time keeping my hands off of my future wife and-"
Anything else he had to say was lost to time when Keiko delivered a quick love tap that knocked him to the floor. She then said, "Alright, kids. It's time for bed."
Keitaro and Motoko nodded and quickly headed to his room. After putting on their pajamas, they awkwardly slid into the futon. Sensing Motoko getting nervous, Keitaro put his arms around her to calm her down.
Motoko blushed as she thought, 'I can't believe I'm in Keitaro's childhood bed! I wonder how jealous the girls at the hinata would be if they knew?'
-o-
As Shinobu was getting ready for bed, a strong mix of hatred and jealousy briefly ran through her.
-o-
As she snuggled against Keitaro, Motoko's thoughts continued.
'A western-style bed is a different experience from a futon. I wonder if it was his choice or his mothers'? Then again, does it matter?'
'This is the place where he rested for a couple of decades as he slept as he worked towards getting into Todai. I wonder how much a symbol it is to him? Is it as memorable to him as my bedroom at the Shinmei-ryu, where I worked hard to get as strong as I am?'
Motoko smiled as her thoughts continued.
'Then again, Keitaro's probably helped me more than me training by myself or at the Shinmei-Ryu. Having him as my fiance made me such a lucky girl… I wonder...'
"Keitaro… Am I the first girl to be in this position with you?" Motoko asked with a smile.
"Hmn… Well, that would be my sister, Kanako. She came to me whenever she had a nightmare," Keitaro answered.
Motoko became a little disappointed but asked, "You did mention her a few times. Could you tell me a little bit about her?"
"Well, she likes to dress up, but she does have her tells," Keitaro said. After a few moments of Motoko expectantly looking at him, Keitaro asked, "What?"
"Could… you tell me her tells?" Motoko asked, hoping her fiance wouldn't have one of his moments.
"Oh… Well… huh. I forgot," Keitaro sheepishly answered. "But I have no doubts you'll be able to see them, once you meet her!"
A frowning Motoko muttered, "Keitaro no baka."
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Notes from HotelKatz : This fanfic was an idea started by Antimatter of TheFanfictionForums. They are also the planner of this fic.
A round of thanks to everybody at TheFanfictionForums for their help.
So the Urashima parents got names because of Meech Macko's review from later chapter. They named the mother, while Antimatter named the father.