Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Lost ❯ Daily Business ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Love Hina is the property of Ken Akamatzu, serialized in Japan by Kodansha publishing, and in the USA by Tokyopop. All Love Hina characters and setting belong to their respective author/publisher/conglomerate. This is a derivative work of fiction, not for profit.

This story may contain Adult Content, prefaced at the beginning of the chapter for all you small children stealing your parents' computers to read something naughty (^_-) If it's illegal for you to read, and you choose to ignore my warnings, then it's your problem, and you can deal with the consequences.

At times, this story may be excessively violent. Thus, depending on the site you are viewing from, it should have either an M, Y or X, R, 16-18+ or some suitable rating. That being said, if something in here is offensive to you, I'm not forcing you to read it, so don't.

Constructive criticism is more than welcome, but people trolling will be ridiculed and shunned.

 

Italics, like this, represent inner monologue of characters, spoken text will be quoted, “like this”

 

This story is generally set during the anime series, and could probably occur anytime before episode 20 or so.

 

*---

 

Chapter One

Daily Business

 

 

Keitaro Urashima was flying. Well, more accurately, he was falling, as he had just been on the receiving end of a certain young brunette's temper. Man... He thought. What did I even do this time. Totally unjustified. She always overreacts to everything. Like always, it was an honest mistake. He had accidentally bumped into her in the hallways at the Hinata Dorm, and they both fell. Fate decided to step in, and he wound up on top of her in a classic Keitaro Positionâ„¢. He lay on top of her, his hand on her chest, one leg between hers, dangerously close to feeling her up. Shoving him off, Naru stood up, an effigy of burning hatred, and did what any self-respecting woman would do when confronted by the world's most perverted apartment manager: Right Uppercut. And so, here he was, two thousand some odd feet up and falling.

 

Well, at the very least, it's a really nice day. He smiled. Freefalling was actually pretty nice. The wind was cool and flowed through his hair, and almost made him forget about how much is face stung where he had been hit. Some things were looking up at least, and it was almost lunchtime as well. Shinobu's cooking always made him feel better about the world. Looking down, he saw the Hinata Inn deck rapidly approaching.

 

Motoko was on the deck, training in her usual way of slicing the leaves. It was already late into the fall, and not many trees still had leaves left on them, but she would train until there were none left at all, and then some. Motoko had been cutting leaves for the greater part of the morning. She took great pride in being able to neatly halve everything that was within her striking range, eloquently dancing around the wooden floor without a sound or hint of hesitation. Noticing a particularly large object out of the corner of her eyes, she paused. Looking up, she saw the apartment manager about to make a crash landing next to her.

 

Keitaro was so used to being in this situation that landing had become more instinct than skill . Twisting his body around, he managed to mostly break his fall, the wood absorbing most of the impact. There was a large muted thump as the deck boards creaked and bent to accommodate the sudden application of force, but they held steady. The impact still hurt a lot, but he had gotten used to it. Landing hurt less than takeoff and carried far fewer emotional problems, so it was somewhat of a soothing experience.

 

Motoko watched the landing, and almost believed it was someone else for a second. The way Keitaro stopped on the deck was flawless, from a martial artist's standpoint. Everything about the way he landed was designed to spread out the force of abruptly stopping such a rapid descent; mitigating the damage it would cause him, instead making a loud noise and scaring the dust away. Watching him get up and the unusual grace that he just exhibited made her heart beat just a little quicker. Surprised at her reaction, and angry at being interrupted during her training, she decided that this man was a good target for her wrath.

 

“Urashima!” She yelled, mostly to try and keep him from noticing the slight blush she had. “You interrupted my practice again!”

“Mmh, Motoko-chan… er… I'm sorry. I'll make sure not to disturb you further. Excuse me…”

Hmph. Motoko thought in contempt as she moved to cut him off. What a coward. No wonder Naru takes such advantage of him, he never stands up for himself. “And just what did you do to Naru to wind up here anyways, something perverted no doubt.”

“I uh, I didn't…” He started, but Motoko cut him off again.

Motoko let her anger boil over. “Coward!” She yelled. “You disgust me! Begone! Shinmei-Style Secret Arts: Air Splitting Sword!” Motoko cut the air, and an invisible Ki trail followed by a huge gust of wind flew forth, striking the ground next to Keitaro and throwing him sideways up onto the roof of the Inn. “Hmpfh,” she stated, and then resumed her practice. Keitaro, on the other hand, promptly passed out as a defense mechanism. After all, if he was unconscious they couldn't assume he was being perverted, right?

 

*---

 

Downstairs, Shinobu Maehara was working in the kitchen, preparing lunch for the six residents of the Hinata Dorms. She took a lot of pride in her cooking skills, and was trying out a new recipe for lunch today. I hope Senpai likes it, was just about all she thought the whole way through preparing the meal. She had overheard Naru clobbering him earlier in the morning, and decided to be extra nice and take advantage of the situation. Not like I can really compete with Naru… He's so fixated with her he doesn't even look at me. She frowned and forced those kinds of thoughts out of her head as she went back to preparing the meal. About halfway through, she heard the sound of something heavy hitting the roof, and correctly surmised that Keitaro must be back from his courtesy flight on Naru Air. She was about to go up and check on him when the phone rang.

 

“Moshi Moshi, Hinata Residence” she said, picking up the receiver.

“Hello! Is Aoyama Motoko available?” said the woman on the other end.

“Umm...” Shinobu started by was interrupted by Motoko's Battle Cry followed shortly by a very loud thud from the roof. Poor Senpai, thought Shinobu, I'll have to make sure to be extra nice today. Those two never give up…

“Hello?” came the voice from the receiver. Shinobu realized she was spacing out, and answered “Motoko is outside training at the moment, should I go get her for you miss…?” she trailed off, realizing she had not asked who it was.

“Tsuruko. Tsuruko Aoyama, Motoko's older sister. And no, it's alright. Please give her this message for me: I will be stopping by to visit tomorrow, and have some very important news to discuss, concerning her advancement in our school”

“Yes, I'll be sure to tell her. I'm sure she will be excited to hear the news. We'll be expecting you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow then.” Tsukuro finished, and Shinobu replaced the receiver on its cradle. How exciting for Motoko, she's been training so hard lately! And if she leaves, maybe Senpai won't be hurt as often. Checking quickly to make sure lunch was cooking alright, she hurried to the deck to find Motoko.

 

*---

 

Keitaro woke up fairly quickly from his second impromptu flight in an hour. Right, ouch. I'm just not having very good luck today at all. Better make sure not to say anything else and just leave quickly. Making every effort not to disturb Motoko, he quickly made his way off the roof and towards the deck stairs.

 

Kitsune had come up after hearing Motoko's yell, figuring she was missing a good show. She was sitting on the stairs, and had guessed as to what had played out between him and Motoko earlier. Being the fox that she was, she decided to see if she could stir the pot a little more, then butter him up later to see if she could shave a bit off her rent or con some drinking money out of him. This shouldn't be so hard, just make Motoko think he's being perverted again, then go `Apologize' later, she grinned. As Keitaro was getting closer to the stairs, she `accidentally' bumped into him, knocking both of them down with him on top of her. Letting out a small “aah” for effect, she caught Motoko's attention just as she had planned. Perfect, she thought. Let's hope Motoko takes the bait.

 

Keitaro had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen as he fell. Why me! he screamed mentally as he scrambled to his feet as fast as he could. Turning to look at Motoko, he saw the fire in her eyes and started coming up with an explanation. “Motoko-chan, It wasn't… I mean… an accident… not my fault!” He stammered.

“URASHIMA!” Motoko screeched. “What do you think you're doing!? If you want to be perverted at least have the decency to GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! Air splitting sword!” Motoko cut hard through the air at where Keitaro was scrambling to get off Kitsune. As soon as she had finished the cut, she heard a scream. Looking right behind Keitaro she now saw Shinobu, who had been hidden behind Keitaro when she swung. Shinobu wore an expression of absolute horror on her face. Motoko heard Shinobu scream, and the sound pierced her soul. All she could do now was watch.

 

Shinobu had been walking up the steps to the deck when Keitaro bumped into Kitsune. Shinobu had been concerned, and had rushed over to see if both of them were all right. She heard Motoko's trademark technique called out and looked up just in time to see Motoko swing. Time slowed down for her. She saw the arc that Shisui followed, the ripple of the power through the air coming straight at her. She screamed, but it didn't really register in her head. She had seen these blasts rocket Keitaro several thousand feet in the air, and she knew that when it hit her, they'd be picking up the pieces for Days. This slash was meant to hit Keitaro, and it was meant to do damage. She was too close, and it was all over for her. Crushing her eyes shut, she waited for the blast to hit.

Suddenly, she was jerked sharply to the side, and her scream was cut off as the breath was taken out of her lungs by Motoko's ki-strike.

I've died. This is the afterlife. … She opened her eyes and looked around, and quickly discovered she was, in fact, not dead. Somehow Keitaro had pulled her out of the way several feet before the strike hit. Clumsy Keitaro had just performed a superhuman feat of speed, not only to dodge one of Motoko's strikes, but to keep her from getting hurt as well. Maybe he wasn't as clumsy as he let on.

Keitaro was doubled over closer to where she had been a moment ago, a sizeable cut on his right arm, blood trickling slowly down. “Senpai! Your hurt!” Shinobu rushed over to his side again.

“It's not so bad, are you alright?” He replied.

“Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Let me help you get cleaned up…”

 

Kitsune had slinked off away from the scene, feeling somewhat guilty about the whole thing. She had not expected Shinobu to be there, and wanted to get away before someone realized that this was probably deliberate. So much for conning some money out of him… I'm glad that nobody was seriously hurt though, She thought as she retreated into her room.

 

Motoko was in shock, staring blankly at the other three. Keitaro had moved faster than she had ever seen anyone move, except for her elder sister. Much faster than she knew herself to be capable of moving. However, that was only half the reason. She had gotten so careless as to almost injure innocent Shinobu in the exchange as well. Shisui fell out of her hands and clattered to the ground. The noise shook her back into reality somewhat and startled the other two. Motoko slowly walked over to the group, and kneeled on the ground. Bowing, she said gravely “Please forgive me Shinobu, I had not seen you there. I was too careless. It was not time for lunch yet and I did not expect anyone else to come up on the balcony.”

“It's fine, Motoko, I'm all right. Senpai is much worse off.” She responded, glaring hard at Motoko. That bitch! She could have killed me! She thought, surprised by her own animosity. And she hurt my Senpai again! I've never seen him cut like this though. She was about to chide Motoko for being reckless when Keitaro cut her off.

“I'm gonna go take care of this cut. Motoko, I need to speak with you later. You could have really hurt someone today.” Keitaro was angry, and Motoko could have sworn that he was glowing with fury. She was surprised at the power behind his voice and could only nod weakly. “Come to my room after lunch,” he said as he walked off the balcony, cradling his injured arm. A few droplets of blood dripped through his hand and landed on the deck, making a trail behind him as he left. Shinobu ran after him, heading downstairs to get a first-aid kit.

Motoko gathered up Shisui and quickly ran to her room, unable to face Shinobu. She hid the rest of the morning meditating on what had happened, and did not emerge for lunch. Keitaro preferred it that way, starting to become very nervous about what would happen later. Sure I was all confident when I demanded she come talk to me, and I want to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone, but what do I do now. The two of us alone in my room is gonna send the totally wrong message to Naru, assuming Motoko just doesn't blast me out of the ceiling again…

Lunch was a subdued affair. Everyone at the table was quiet. Naru had left to go study alone after her run in with Keitaro in the morning, and Su was off testing her latest invention. Kitsune was preoccupied with not looking at Keitaro or Shinobu, and nobody was really all that hungry. “Thank you for the food Shinobu” Keitaro said, as he got up. “I'll be in my room taking care of a few things. Please ask Motoko to come find me if you see her.”

“Hai, Senpai,” Shinobu answered. “Oh, Senpai? When you talk to Motoko, please let her know her sister will be visiting on important business tomorrow. Something about the school.” She shivered a little at the thought of Motoko.

“Alright I can do that. Take it easy for the rest of the day, Shinobu-chan. Let me worry about dinner…”

Shinobu was about to protest, but decided better of it. There were other household things that needed to be done. Besides, she needed some time to take her mind off of what had just happened.

 

*---

 

Keitaro sat in his room, sweating. She's gonna come in here, take one look at me, and totally Air splitting sword my ass out the ceiling for another flight. Maybe I can set some kind of new record today… Still, she looked genuinely scared about hurting Shinobu. Or maybe surprised that I actually did something without tripping over my own feet. I wonder if I should tell her that it's just luck, there's no way I could do that again…

He finished changing the wrapping along his arm. The temporary job he had done before lunch had bled through, and he wanted to make sure it didn't get infected. It wasn't very deep, but it still stung, and would probably leave a thin scar. Motoko's air-blade was sharp, and he had not been able to move Shinobu and himself out of harm's way fast enough, so he had taken part of it on his arm. She'll probably know something's up now… He thought. Maybe she'll take it easier on me if she thinks I could put up a decent fight. Then again, maybe she'll just try harder to pick fights… There's no way I could win in a match. Keitaro sighed… Motoko would be arriving any minute, and he still had no idea how to keep his feet on the ground and his head on his shoulders.

 

Motoko, meanwhile, was meditating in her room. Unable to clear her thoughts, they wandered from topic to topic. She was rattled, never before had she made so big of a mistake. The scene kept replaying itself over and over in her head. The look of terror on little Shinobu's face sent a chill down her spine that wouldn't seem to go away. The droplets of blood falling from his hand pressed over the cut she had made stuck out as well. She had never actually Keitaro cut before. All her strikes were carefully placed so that he did not suffer any real damage, so when indestructible Keitaro had been bleeding, it was sort of a shock to her.

The way Keitaro had moved didn't sit right with her either. Keitaro was so un-coordinated, so clumsy, and so stupid. Moving with that kind of precision took years of practice, and very good control, things Keitaro was sorely lacking. The speed he reacted at had nearly been too quick for her to see. The only other person she knew that could move like that was her older sister. Shaking, she stood up. I do need to go apologize to Keitaro and Shinobu, she thought as she left her room and headed down the hall.

 

*---

 

Motoko knocked quietly on Keitaro's door, silently hoping he wouldn't hear and she could have more time to think.

“Come in Motoko,” Keitaro said from inside the room, his voice betraying the uncertainty he felt. She slid the door open and stepped inside. Keitaro's room was neat, orderly. It always annoyed her how this man could be so picky about certain things, and so careless most of the time. She forced her thoughts about this away, and focused on why she was here. She would not lose her temper, and apologize properly, just this once.

“Motoko,” Keitaro began, but started to lose his nerve. He was more than a little afraid of Motoko, and didn't really want to get on her bad side. The cut on his arm stung as a physical reminder that he didn't stand a chance against her if she really wanted to hurt him. “Um… Could you please try and be a little more careful? That was very close for Shinobu and all. I don't really mind if you beat up on me for doing things, but you really could have hurt Shinobu there…”

Motoko bowed her head. After a long uncomfortable silence, she said, “I… well, um… I'm sorry Keitaro. I misjudged the situation and made a mistake. I promise to take a little more time from now on before I act.”

Keitaro was dumbfounded. Motoko? Apologizing? Now that's rare. Too bad I didn't catch this on tape. “Um… It's fine then, make sure you apologize to Shinobu as well, and everything should be back to normal.” Keitaro replied, more nervous than anything. As Motoko turned to leave, Keitaro remembered Shinobu's request. “Oh, and Motoko? Shinobu says your sister will be stopping by tomorrow. Something to do with official school business. Make sure to introduce her?”

Motoko froze solid as ice. “Tsukuro…” She whispered. The name echoed in her head. Aneue, here? How do I face her after something like this? She turned and fled back to her room, not bothering to close the door after.

 

*-----

To be continued…

 

 

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Author's notes:

First Posting: 10/06/2007

Last Revised: 10/08/2007

 

Chapter one is mostly setup for the plot, so nothing really consequential happens here. This story has been outlined for the next 10 or so chapters, and I really don't have much to do, so I'll try and get these out as soon as they're proofread.

 

Rev1: Edited for continuity, added some content. Tried to be more descriptive because it was a better use of my time at work than actually working ;-]