Love Hina: Once Again
Forty Six
"Usagi!" Rei Hino laughed as they met at the Hina Shrine.
"WE MISSED YOU!" Usagi cried, hugging her.
"Easy, Usagi," Ami Mizuno smiled as she patted her shoulder.
"Sorry," Minako Aino smiled at their two friends.
"Yo," Haruka Tenoh waved, Michiru Kaoru walking beside her.
"Where's Makoto?" Rei asked, curious.
"At some martial arts contest," Usagi explained.
"I wanted to go too," Haruka admitted, "but, work."
"She has a thing she committed to doing tomorrow," Hotaru Tomoe noted, amused, "she cant go in all bruised."
"You're assuming I'd get hit," Haruka defended herself.
Everyone just kinda looked at her.
"Okay, point," Haruka admitted.
Setsuna followed them, looking oddly satisfied.
"Is that a HICKEY?" Ami blinked, surprised.
"Ah...," Setsuna looked sheepish.
"Oh, she's dating Juri-sama! Remember, we went to her bar that time," Usagi said brightly.
"When you all followed me and Ami there," Rei noted dryly.
"Congratulations," Ami said gracefully.
"Thank you," Setsuna replied. "How's school?" she asked curiously.
"I'm ahead of schedule," Ami admitted, "I'm on track to graduate early."
"Which really should not surprise any of us," Minako noted.
"MINA!" Rei scolded, but she was smiling.
"And you're still with Phantom Quest Corp?" Usagi asked Rei. "Ghost busting and such?"
"Yes," Rei nodded as she said, "It's interesting work, and I've expanded my knowledge of the supernatural."
"But is it FUN?" Usagi pressed.
"Well, yes.." Rei admitted.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The reason Utena was not caught up in all of the fighting stuff, was that she was off visiting her recently discovered relatives.
"I have COUSINS?" Utena had blurted.
Chiho Tenjou nodded, "Your great grandfather, Hiro, had several children. Anyway, I tracked down your second cousins
"Yes, though.. well, they're kind of assholes."
"What?" Anthy blinked.
Anthy and Chiho still didn't get along, but they were at least polite. It helped that Anthy apparently had no interest in Utena's money, too.
Chiho noted, "The son, Yuuya Tenjou, inherited property and such from the Grandfather, which his parents attempted to steal. Thankfully, the old man had a good lawyer, and the will was airtight."
"So the parents...?" Utena asked, though she suspected what she would say.
"Disowned the kid. His siblings also bullied him, tho apparently they've turned a new leaf recently," Chiho added.
"Do you think I should contact them?" Utena wondered aloud.
"Yuuya seems a decent sort, though I would LOVE to hire his trainer," Chiho mused.
"Hmm?" Anthy wondered.
"Before," Chiho showed a picture of a stout, if kindly looking boy, "and after." A slim, athletic boy who, in a way, looked like Utena.
"Damn," Utena blinked.
Anthy also looked as she mused, "That isn't the product of normal training."
"Steroids?" Chiho asked.
"Or magic," Anthy mused.
"Why is it always magic?" Utena muttered. She sighed, "But yeah, maybe I SHOULD meet him, at least..."
"Here's the address," Chiho passed a paper over.
"You figured I'd go?" Utena smiled.
"Best to be prepared," Chiho shruggged.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Yuuya Tenjou's life had gotten very, VERY weird over the past several months. He had found a hidden room in the home he inherited from his Grandfather, walked through a portal into another world, fought monsters, leveled up a LOT...
"Yuuya!" Miu Midou called out, waving.
"Miu," Yuuya smiled back.
Yuuya had met Miu while shoping, the model there to do a photo shoot, but her male partner was late. The photographer saw Yuuya and basically drafted him to fill in, much to Yuuya's shock. Weirdly it ended up being fun...
"Arf!" the puppy, Night, barked welcomingly as the brown haired woman knelt to pet him.
Yuuya often wondered why Miu liked to be around him.
(In this, Yuuya was rather blind. His adventures in the other world had left him fit, he had grown nearly a foot, and lost all the baby fat. He had also, unknowingly, increased his 'charisma' stat, and was bowling over almost anyone he met. Alas, after many years of bullying, he was oblivious.)
"I was thinking we could go to the cafe," Miu suggested, smiling warmly.
"Yuuya Tenjou?" a voice called.
Yuuya looked up, worriedly. There had been some strange folks aroundf because of the photo shoot, including people from the modeling agency. He had turned then down,of course.
The woman was striking, her short pink hair cut close to her head. She wore casual clothes, but there was a powerful aura around her...
"Yes?" Yuuya recover from his surprise.
"My name is Utena Tenjou," she smiled, "we're cousins, I believe."
Miu looked between them as she mused, "There is a resemblance..."
"I was hoping we could talk, but obviously no pressure," Utena added.
Yuuya looked over at Miu, "Do you mind if we postpone?"
"It's fine," Miu agreed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Anthy Himemiya was hanging back as Utena met her cousin. The boy shimmered with mystical energies, though they were invisible to the naked eye.
'It seems we were right in thinking he's magic,' Anthy mused.
The boy's home was equally interesting. SOMEONE with powerful magical skills had cast spells (wards) to conceal the house from people with magic. If she wasn't nearly on top of it, she wouldn't have been able to find it.
And the wards were hiding something inside. WHAT she couldn't tell, but it was powerful enough she could sense it through the wards...
"What are you doing lurking around our brother's home?" a voice demanded.
Anthy turned, purple hair tied back, as she studied the two teens she had sensed coming up to her. "You are Yuuya's siblings, then? I thought you didn't like him."
The light brown haired boy flinched, while his twin sister just glared. "We know we messed up," Sora, the girl, admitted.
"I owe him my life," Youta added, sighing. He shook himself and asked, "Again, what are you doing here?"
"My friend is visiting your brother," Anthy decided on the truth, "I'm keeping an eye on the place until she returns."
Sora frowned at her, "Really?"
"Please tell me your friend isn't a girl," Youta sighed.
"It is," Anthy supplied, amused.
"Ugh, not another in the harem!" Sora rolled her eyes.
"Harem?" Anthy asked, amused.
"There's several girls at Ousei Academy chasing him," Sora growled, "the model, Miu, and this odd chick we've seen around the place."
"Spying on your brother?" Anthy teased.
"SOMEONE has to keep an eye on him!" Youta defended them.
Anthy... was faintly surprised at feeling fondness for the two. They seemed to have gotten over their issues with their brother, anyway.
Over at the house she saw Utena leaving, bowing slightly to the young man and passing him a business card.
"It looks like my friend is done, so I'll be going," Anthy told them. She added, "I suspect we'll meet again."
To be continued...
Notes: Yuuya Tenjou is from the series 'I Got a Cheat Skill In Another World, And Became Unrivaled in the Real World Too' Which got a anime in 2024. And yes, his family is really that awful. This is one of the few isekai series where a hero has adventures in another world, changes and has it impact his life in 'the real world.'