By this time in the night, it was very dark. Not the kind of dark to send shivers down the spine, or to seem halloweenish. It was simply, dark. From out of the blackness, a door swiftly opened, and immediately slammed shut. Within the process of the door closing, Keitaro Urashima leaned against the door, and slid down until he was sitting on his rear. His breathing was rapid, due to him running for a good distance. He ceased all breathing when a rapid knock sounded off. It seemed to echo in the dark room he stayed. At first Keitaro said nothing, and moved nowhere.

"Boss! Open up, it's me Skinny!"

Keitaro felt a shimmer of relief rejuvenate his body. The young man stood on his feet and opened the door for his companion. Once the small pine martin walked through the entrance, Keitaro closed and locked the door behind both of them. The young man didn't notice as the small animal looked around in disappointment.

"Lights please", Skinny asked.

In response to the simple request, Keitaro flipped the switch for a single light bulb above. The light was dim, and somewhat shameful. His living situation was not much better either.

"Boss", Skinny asked. Why are we still living in an abandoned warehouse?

The Urashima boy sighed and held the ridge of his nose with two fingers. Obviously this was a conversation the two of them had before.

"It's just temporary Skinny. When we're done here, we'll head back for base."

The answer was simple, but it was not a very pleasing one for the small animal. As Keitaro placed his gun and knife in a metal case, Skinny asked another question.

"How come you don't move back in with those girls you used to talk about?"

This was another question that caught Keitaro off guard. Like earlier in the day, Keitaro needed time to think. The images of people continued flooding his head, from his promise girl, to his aunt, to the other tenants, and finally, Naru.

"Skinny", Keitaro began. "It's...it's complicated little buddy.

"It can't be anymore complicated than this", Skinny argued back.

Keitaro eyed the pine martin as he referred to their living situation. It was a surprise to anyone that the dark warehouse could sustain any kind of life. It was desolate, dirty, and somewhat dangerous to even hang around. No one dared to enter out of fear that the place may collapse. At first, Keitaro thought it was a descent idea seeing that it was uncostly and private. Now, he wasn't so sure that his theory would live up to its standard.

"We're living in a dump of a warehouse boss. Face it we're living by a thread", Skinny notioned. "We've got no home to return to, your tutoring is expensive beyond belief, and you haven't been out to have fun until today."

Keitaro hung his head in disappointment. The small furry mammal had a point. Before he could defend himself, the little creäture cut in.

"Boss, this is your chance to get some relief!"

"That's enough Skinny!"

It was the martin's turn to be silent this time. Normally his master wouldn't yell unless he did something wrong, or Keitaro was serious.

Keitaro started with "I know things are uneasy, but we have a long road ahead of us. It will get better soon, I promise. For now, I just have to focus on my studies, earn my promotion for work, and once I'm in Todai, everything will click in place."

No one said anything between each other. The silence settled in much like the blackness outside. It was dense, and simply...silent.

"As for our living situation", Keitaro added, "we don't need to be in anywhere fancy. So long as we have a sturdy roof over our head, we'll be fine.

Perhaps it was all coincidence, or Keitaro's old bad luck. Whatever the cause was, half of the warehouse's roof collapsed onto the floor. Both Keitaro and Skinny coughed a bit from the debris. Once the dust settled, the Urashima boy looked at the full extent of the damage. With a quick nod to himself, Keitaro considered all he had said so far.

"Ok, I'll think about moving in with them again", Keitaro defeatedly said.

"It's a start boss, it's a start", the martin said in a comforting tone.

Keitaro sighed to himself while rubbing his neck in annoyance, and some self-pity. Even though he felt submerged in the darkness of night, there was always a flicker of light. The question was, why did the light have to be Hinata Sou of all places?

Around the time of being past early, but before late, Shinobu was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. All the while, the other girls continued hounding her with one question after the next.

"Motoko demanded "What were Keitaro's intentions for you Shinobu?"

"Is he still a dork", Sarah childishly asked.

"Did Keitaro have a wad of cash on him", was Kitsune's concern.

Kanako wanted to know, "Where did my brother learn to fight like that?"

"What was that little furry mongoose he had", was Su's question for Shinobu

In the event of these questions, Shinobu ignored them all. She was hoping to simply wait out there questions for the night and hope they forget about it by tomorrow. Or at least deal with them in the morning. As she tried to walk back to her room, Motoko grabbed her small shoulder so Shinobu could face the rest of them.

"Shinobu", Motoko spoke out, "Why did you go to meet him?"

"It's because...I..."

She was stuttering again. It was a habit of hers that haunted her until this day. She remembered that she stuttered very little when she was with Keitaro earlier. Gathering up some of the courage she showed earlier, Shinobu spoke to the rest of the tenants with a more stern tone.

"...What I do on my own time is no one's business but my own!"

The other girls were a bit surprised by Shinobu's reaction. The look on her face was assertive compared to its normal view. The expression changed after due time as Shinobu realized how she was talking to her resident family. Without another word, the small girl, quickly evaded into her room; leaving the others to linger in the hallway for a short time. When Shinobu was sure that everyone abandoned the premises, Shinobu sat on her bed and opened the small case Keitaro gave her. She closely examined the beautiful bracelet. As she was lost in her train of thought, she heard a slight tapping noise at her window. Shinobu looked through the glass, and saw none other than the person she was thinking about. As quickly as she could, Shinobu unlatched, and opened her window for Keitaro.

"Hey Shinobu, can we talk", asked the surprising Urashima boy.

Despite the girls asking a mess of questions about Keitaro, there was one girl missing from the group. In the higher levels of Hinata Sou, Naru paced back and forth in her room. Thoughts rambled through her head and it was definitely showing. At first glance someone would say she was crazy, especially when she was talking to herself at the moment.

"That Keitaro, he has changed much since the last time I saw him. What was with that fighting style? Why did he have a gun? And, why did he run?"

The last question Naru had was rather cliché. She knew exactly why he ran, and it was because of her. Naru was the whole reason Keitaro left. She had been referring that to herself over and over for the last hour. Since they arrived back at Hinata Sou, she hadn't spoken to anyone. She began thinking that maybe it was time to talk to Shinobu about this.

"Maybe Shinobu knows something about him."

Before she knew it, Naru was walking out of her room towards the younger tenant's. On her way, Naru tried to justify the questions she was going to ask Shinobu in less than sixty seconds.

"So I'll just ask how Keitaro has been, and what he has been up to lately. Yeah, that's not too complicated. It's a simple question. If she says anything, I'll just tell her I'm not trying to get in her business; I'm just concerned for him. No wait, that sounds too obvious! I'll just say I'm curious, that's all. No, that sounds even more suspicious!"

Before Naru was about to pull out her hair in frustration, she heard voices coming out of Shinobu's room. She tip toed closer to the girls room and pressed her ear against the door. Naru's eyes suddenly lit up as she recognized Keitaro's voice. One reaction would have been to bust into the door to say what she needed to say. Then there was the possibility that he would make a run for it. Listening to her cautious side, Naru slid the door open by an inch. It was enough for her to peer through and see both of her designated targets. Both Shinobu and Keitaro looked deep in conversation. She sat on a small chair as he sat on the window ledge.

"Shinobu", started Keitaro, "I want to apologize for what happened today. I ruined the night, and I ran away without saying goodbye."

"No, no it's okay really! I had a wonderful time with you today Sempai."

Having his back turned to Naru, only Shinobu got to see him smile at that moment. However, the smile disappeared after Shinobu's next question.

"But, why did you run Sempai?"

"...I don't know...I just freaked I guess."

Suddenly Keitaro's feet became the most interesting thing to him as they dangled out of Shinobu's window. Both Keitaro and Shinobu looked out at the night's moon. It was all quietness for a short moment. Not having much else to say Keitaro, spoked what would hopefully be his last words for the night.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time Shinobu", Keitaro said while trying to lighten the mood. "It was fun, and I enjoyed seeing you again. I better shove over, it's getting late."

From behind the door, Naru was ready to go grab Keitaro, and not let him go. Interestingly enough, Shinobu got there first. As tightly as she could, Shinobu held onto Keitaro's arm with her tiny little hands. This prevented the Urashima boy from escaping, and it saved Naru from blowing her cover.

"Please be our manager again", Shinobu bluntly asked him.

"W-what?"

Keitaro was lost. Maybe it was because of her sad little eyes, or the unexpected question. Somehow, Keitaro had that feeling again, like being lost in the dark. Still, there was that little bit of light.

"We need you Sempai, I need you", the little girl pleaded.

"But Shinobu, I...I...don't know..."

"Please reconsider Sempai! Please...for me?"

How could anyone refuse this? How could he refuse? The boy felt like a deer staring into headlights. His conscience told him to stay away, but his heart weeped for him to stay closer. For the whole time he remembered the darkness of Hinata Sou, he almost forgot about the little lights within.

"...I'll, I'll think about it."

"Promise", Shinobu asked, worried he woud say no.

Her eyes were watering again. It was a habit almost as bad as her stuttering. She had a slight chill run through her. It wasn't from the night's air, it was from Keitaro as he wiped away the tears with a smile.

"It's a promise", Keitaro gently told his friend.

Shinobu wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes. She sniveled a little bit as she spoke to her older friend.

"Thank you Keitaro...I...I need another favor." Her expression changed from sad to hopeful. "Can you meet me here at Hinata Sou?"

"I have some work to take care of for the next few days. How about Thursday", the Urashima boy proposed.

"Can you meet me in the evening this time Sempai?"

He smiled before answering, "No problem Shinobu. I have to go now, it's really late."

With a last goodbye, Shinobu released his arm. Still hiding behind the door, Naru watched as Keitaro dropped out of the window and landed who knows where. Naru was barely considering that they were on the second story of Hinata Sou. How Keitaro managed to climb up to Shinobu's room, was a mystery. Before she got too carried away in her thoughts, Naru made herself scarce and slipped away to her own room.

For a few moments, Shinobu looked out her window at the night sky. It was odd how there were many stars when Shinobu was on her date with Keitaro, yet now that he was gone there were none. Yet somehow, the crescent moon was shining a little bit brighter at this time of night. The white shape in the night was just a small light in the darkness. It made her think of how Keitaro was back in her life, but seeing him brought only more sadness. It wasn't his fault, it was just a price that had to be paid. Still, the questions was in her skull of, "What can I do? How can I make this better".

"He's been gone a really long time, I don't want to lose him again so has to be something I can do to make him stay. I know he's still upset, but there has to be a way we can have a fresh start."

This was a feeling Shinobu had experienced before. It was the same one from when her own parents were fighting. It was an emotion that tore everyone up on the inside. Shinobu didn't like this feeling. There wasn't much she could do then, but she definently felt as if she could do something different this time. The girl began to think and plot. It was a good ten minutes before she moved from her sitting spot.

The little girl known as Shinobu Maehara was never one for loud noises. None the less, here she was in the middle of the living room, pounding a pair of cooking pans together. The noise echoed through out the tea house, reaching everyone's room. One by one, the girls grogilly walked into the living room. By now, everyone was in the room from aunt Haruka, to Kuro and Tama.

"Shinobu, what is the meaning of this", Kanako said while cradlying her cat.

Kitsune rubbed her eyes while telling Shinobu, "Yeah Shinobu, some of us are tryin to get our beauty sleep."

Now sure that Shinobu had everyone's attention, she stopped banging the cooking utensils together.

"I know how to get Keitaro to be our manager again", Shinobu answered, "but I need all of your help."

This was enough to wake everyone up to full attention. From there, Shinobu huddled closer to the girls to explain the plan of how to get their old manager back, Keitaro Urashima.