Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Tales of a Ronin ❯ Welcome to the Hinata House ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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A/N: Okay, folks it's been like 3 months now, and I just remembered that I'm a fanfic author with some stories that are not finished. So, Stizzo is back for the time being just to prove that he is, in fact, alive. *Listens to all 5 of you that still give a damn cheer*

Thank you, thank you.... Actually, I'd like to thank the people who reviewed my last chapter, and all of you for bearing with me. Thank you jennijenai, skywkr666, Harvey Bautista, Strider XII, Knight's Shadow, Kei-kun, Obscured Illusions (I think I've met your deadline of a year), Doctor Emmit Brown, Sonic Hunter, bakasai42 for the reviews.

I do not own Love Hina and never will, unless I manage to obtain an army thugs and pay Akumatsu-sama a visit. Then I believe I'll obtain the rights quite easily, but I haven't yet. I mean, I can't. I mean.... *head explodes*

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Tales of a Ronin: Chapter 04 - Welcome to the Hinata House!

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It was the "Keitaro Curse" in the making, he was sure of it. It always comes right when his confidence has hit its peak. When things are looking good. When he lets his guard down. That's when the bad luck comes back with a vengeance, destroying his life yet again. And these falls hurt the worst.

It was all taking shape right now. He is out with a pretty girl that seems to like him and nothing has gone wrong. He hasn't really been a mega-playboy, but Mitsune seemed to be having fun, and so was he. He actually liked talking with Mitsune. She had a sharp wit, and a very keen sense of humor. Keitaro knew better, though. Something was going to happen... but what?

"You know, you aren't bad company, Urashima," Mitsune said as they pulled to a stop. It was night now, and both riders were rather tired and would be happy to see their beds when they got the chance.

Mitsune got off the back of the motorcycle, sighing. She looked up the steps of the Hinata and turned back to the ronin. He was staring up at building, frowning thoughtfully. "Hey, you live here? The Hinata Inn?"

"Hinata House. It's a girl's dormitory now," Mitsune corrected. "It was built about 40 or 50 years ago judging from it's condition, and is pretty run-down if you ask me. Though it is well-designed, and definitely very spacious..." Mitsune coughed, blushing slightly. "Look at me, talking about architecture on a date! Please kill me if I start to discuss basements."

"It's no problem. It's a good thing to be smart, not just pretty," Keitaro replied. "It's good to see that you are so knowledgeable about this sort of thing."

"So, you think I'm pretty and smart?" Mitsune needled, grinning. "That's nice. Tell me more."

"Not good enough, huh?" Keitaro said, pretending to think. "Should I compare your eye to the moon or something?"

"If you can see them," Mitsune replied, indicating the slits on her face.

"Ignorance is bliss?" Keitaro put in, sheepishly.

Mitsune chuckled. "Not quite, 'Romeo'." Keitaro chuckled slightly as well, shrugging as Mitsune punched him in the shoulder. "I like you, though. I think we'll be good buddies."

//Buddy?// Keitaro thought ruefully. //Doomed to fail before I even started. The story of my life.// He smiled though, hiding his disappointment.

"...So..." Mitsune said shifting slightly.

"I'll see you later, Konno-san. Good night." Keitaro said, shrugging.

"Good night, Urashima. Let's hang out again sometime," Mitsune waved as she began to climb the stairs up to the building. Mitsune watched as Keitaro started the bike and head off. "No good night kiss? The kid really has to learn to read in between the lines." With a shake of her head and a chuckle, she continued up the stairs.


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Keitaro pulled up to the Tea House that his Aunt ran at the base of the Hinata House, his wariness returning to him rapidly. While being relegated to 'buddy' status wasn't exactly perfect, it wasn't exactly tearing him up inside either. He was just happy to have met such a cool person at all.

So where was the big bang going to come from? It was going to come eventually, he knew it. Between this job coming up just in the nick of time, to making a new friend, this day has been without a blemish. Well, he DID fall off his bike and need to be rushed to the hospital, but that wasn't really all that noteworthy. He wasn't even that sore anymore.

"Aunt Haruka!" Keitaro called as he opened the door. "It's Keitaro! Sorry I'm late!"

"Cousin Keitaro!?"

Shocked, Keitaro looked at the counter and, sure enough, there was his 7 year-old cousin managing the store. //She always was a very... capable little girl.// Keitaro thought, sweatdropping.

"Hey, Mari-chan!" Keitaro holding his arms open as the girl ran to him. "How have you been?"

"Bored!" She replied, bonking him on the head, before hugging him again. "I haven't seen you for two months now. Why didn't you visit?"

"I've been having some problems. My parents finally threw me out," Keitaro said sighing.

This only seemed to excite the girl. "Really? Now you can live with us!"

Keitaro laughed, releasing the girl. "As if Aunt Haruka would let me. I walk 10 minutes from this spot and I'll be in a girls dorm!"

"They'd like you," Mari replied. "Besides, it's not like you'd live there."

Keitaro grinned. "That's about as likely as me owning the place!" With that they both erupted into a fit of laughter. "But, wow, you've gotten big, Mari-chan. I'm going to have to fight off a lot of young boys in a little while. Hell, I'll probably have to fight off a lot of older guys too."

Keitaro took a good look at his cousin. She wore her dark hair long unlike her mother, but had something of her cool exterior normally. Right now, though, her eyes shone with childish excitement and she smiled brightly. Keitaro realized that he might actually have to fight off horny boys and pedophiles in the near future, and made a mental note to resume his martial arts training at some point.

"Don't beat them up too bad. I might want them to come back," Mari replied smiling. "Anyway, mom isn't here right now. I think she's up at the girl's dormitory you saw earlier."

"Really? Well, I kinda need to see her..." Keitaro said.

"It's no problem," Mari said, waving her hand. "I'll go up there with you. They'll let you see your own aunt." She grabbed his hand and dragged him out the shop. "And then you can ask her if you can live with us."

"What? Hey, not so rough!"


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Mitsune was lounging on the couch in the lobby area of the dorm. She had elected to take a quick shower tonight instead of a bath, to avoid the questions she knew the other tenants would ask her. Not that she was really embarrassed that she spent the day with Keitaro-he really made pretty good company, but she knew there'd be lectures. Then it would lead to her friends "protecting" her again, and scaring the guy off. Sometimes they scared her too.

There was a sharp knock at the door. It was pretty late, and it was unlikely anybody would be coming to visit this late. However, it could be one of the other tenants, or Haruka's kid looking for her mom. She could always rely on Su's anti-intruder device if she got into trouble though.

The knock came again, more urgently this time. "Hey! Is anyone there!?" Mari's cried from the other side.

"I'm coming!" Mitsune called back as she stood and stretched. She jogged to the door and opened it up. "Who's on fire, Mari?" she said with a grin. Her grin slid off her face, though, as she looked up and saw Keitaro standing right behind the small girl. "So, Urashima... You forget where Tokyo is? It's about an hour or so that way..."

"Actually, I'm here to see my Aunt. I stopped by her tea shop, and Mari told me she was here," Keitaro said. "You think you could go get her for me?"

"Aunt?" Mitsune mumbled to herself. "Haruka is your aunt?"

"Yup," Mari cut in impatiently. "You know, having the same name as us would imply that we're related in some fashion." Mitsune look a bit irritated for the first time since Keitaro met her. Mari looked back up at her coolly, though Keitaro could pick up a bit of amusement on her face. The challenge was plain, even to him.

//There's some bad blood there,// he thought, sighing. //I'll just stay out of it.//

"Um... could someone get my Aunt?" Keitaro put in nervously. He nearly whimpered as both girls shot him impatient looks.

"Sure, Urashima. Please come in and sit," Mitsune said putting on a smile. "I'll keep you out of trouble while 'chibi' here gets your aunt."

"Hey~!" Mari squawked as she was pulled inside and hustled from the room by Mitsune. "I won't forget this...!" she shouted as the door slammed shut.

Keitaro sweatdropped, and once again decided to stay out of the fight. While he was stepping into the front door, he stubbed his foot on something. Biting back a curse, he hopped up and down on one foot. "Ow ow ow... What was that?"

"What?" Mitsune asked, turning around. Her jaw dropped and Keitaro thought he could see her eye as well.

Keitaro opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but his one foot that was one the ground was suddenly lifted from the floor, making him bite his tongue. Disoriented, he hung there for a moment, wondering what was going on.

A machine came out of the wall loaded with a large assortment weapons. Keitaro shrieked and tried to break his bonds, wiggling around on the wall. Inspecting his face carefully. It pulled away after a bit, seeming to relax.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" The machine blared. "PROCEEDING TO ELIMINATE SUSPECT!"

"Waaa~!!!" Keitaro wailed. "Konno-san! Stop this crazy thing!"

"He's not an intruder! I invited him in! Cease function! Stop!" Mitsune shouted. //Man, I knew I should've memorized the safety code!// she thought.

The machine opened fire, and continued blasting until it was out of ammo. When the smoke cleared, Keitaro was bent into an S shape, narrowly dodging all of the rounds that were shot at him. Tears were streaming down his face, and he was rather pale.

"You okay, Urashima?" Mitsune asked, sweatdropping.

"I think I wet myself," Keitaro replied in a tiny voice.

Mitsune shuddered. "So, this is Su's anti-intruder device? I must say, I'm surprised it wasn't worse." //I guess it's my fault this time. I forgot I still had that thing still armed. I didn't know backs could bend that way, though...//

"What could be worse!?" Keitaro shouted. "It threw everything at me except for the kitchen sink!"

"REMOVAL METHOD ONE FAILED. PROCEEDING TO THROW THE KITCHEN SINK."

Mitsune and Keitaro watched in a daze as the machine took off, presumably for the kitchen. Their disbelief grew when the sound of a sink being ripped out the wall could be heard, along with a surprised yelp. It came back into the room dragging it's prize, along with a young girl who was trying to wrench the sink from it's grasp.

"Hey, I still need that!" she yelled through clenched teeth, as she pulled. "At least let me keep the dishes!"

"Shinobu, just let it go..." Mitsune sighed. Turning towards the stairs she called out. "Su! Your crazy machine is trying to kill our guest!"

It was a curious fear, Keitaro felt. He couldn't recall ever being attacked with a kitchen sink before, though it probably hurt about as much as most blunt objects. He wondered if the machine was really going to throw the thing, or if he'd bash him with it, or...

"SINK ACQUIRED. TARGET LOCKED. PREPARE TO DIE."

//Bash it is,// Keitaro thought, shaking.


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~

Keitaro was sitting against a tree watching the other children playing. He wanted to play too, but he was injured. Report cards had gone home yesterday and his father wasn't very pleased with his grades.

"Everybody in this family has always been good at school. Why do you have to be such a failure? Are you making fun of our good name?"

"No... I... I...."

"Shut up!"

So his father beat him, and threw him around, and berated him until his mother intervened. He still had a sprained ankle and his right wrist was likely sprained as well. His little sister had cried and tried to comfort him, but he knew it was all true. Every single word. He was a failure. He was always last at everything, school, sports, martial arts... everything! His family didn't even like him. When his mother saved him from his father, the disappointment was plain on her face.

A light touch registered on Keitaro's shoulder and he looked up to see his teacher staring at him. Her eyes studied him carefully, and he could see her wince as she took in the bandages wrapped around his wrist and ankle.

"What happened, Keitaro?" she asked finally, kneeling next to him. Her voice was soft, and she looked angry.

Keitaro merely looked up at her a moment before smiling. "I fell off my bike and hurt myself yesterday. It's so boring now that I can't play with the other kids." He replied after a while.

The teacher knew this was a lie. Keitaro rarely played with the other children during recess, so being hurt probably wouldn't bother him. And there is no way he could get those injuries from falling off a bike. She looked down again, her hand shaking with rage. "Is that all?"

"Yup. That's all that happened," he said, still smiling.

The teacher rose, not believing a word. Keitaro wouldn't go back on his word, and there was nothing she could do as long as he kept defending his parents. She wanted to throw her head back and scream with frustration, but instead she just smiled back and left. Looking back, she could see Keitaro's smile had faded and he was studying the other children again.

~

Keitaro woke up inside Haruka's apartment above the Tea House with a slight headache. Rubbing his face, he was surprised to find tears. They were probably brought on by the dream.

//That dream....//

It wasn't the only time he was beaten when he was younger. His family's disappointment in him would bring them to the boiling point many times, and he could do nothing but endure the harsh words, beatings, and the looks... That look that could tell you "you're worthless" better than the words themselves ever could. It was always there, even when they weren't mad at him. God, he would rather have them beat him to death than to see that look again.

...It hurt so much...

Scrubbing his face furiously, Keitaro stood up and got ready to go home. //I need to forget about all of that. I'm not little anymore. I left all of that behind.//

Sneaking outside, he found his motorcycle, and walked it a good distance away from the Tea House to avoid waking anybody. Satisfied that nobody would hear him pulling off, he got on the bike and started the ignition. He noticed a note taped to the handlebars.

Keitaro,
Be here tomorrow at 9:00 am. Wear something comfortable.
- Haruka

Keitaro sighed. He was going to have to miss prep school, tomorrow and there was a big test in three weeks. Great.

It was odd, though. The incident at the dorm was far from pleasant, but it still wasn't big enough. Things were still going good for him overall, and he couldn't make himself relax. What was going to happen? Where would the big bang come from? This was going to be a huge one... something life-altering.

He could feel it.


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~ Urashima Haruka ~


- She's a single mother

- Attends school part-time (A/N: Yeah, yeah I altered this very slightly. Bite me.)

- Is constantly trying to quit smoking because it's a bad influence for her daughter. Might get a little weird when dealing with cravings. (A/N: I added this.)




~ Urashima "Mari" Mariko ~


- Dislikes her name, so she shortened it to Mari.

- Is the child of Seta and Haruka, but she despises her father.

- Keitaro used to watch over her a lot when she was younger, so she looks up to him.

- Also a try to imitate her mother, but her playfulness comes through too often.



A/N: Okay, that's done. I already have an idea of what I want to do for next chapter, so it shouldn't take all that long to finish. See you then.