Love Hina: Once Again
One
Kanako Urashima looked at her elder brother, her brown
eyes gently worried. "Are you sure about this,
Oniisama?" she asked him, black ponytail falling down
her back. She wore a white vest over her usual black
dress, her clothes as neat as if she was going to a
business meeting.
Keitaro Urashima smiled fondly as his little sister,
his brown hair falling in a unruly mess before his
glasses. He looked good dressed in his labcoat over
school clothes, kneeling in the manager's room of the
Hinata girl's dorm. "I think so," he answered
seriously, "my being a part time manager isn't good
for the dorm."
"But I'm not sure I'm the best person to replace you,"
Kanako pointed out seriously, "I kind of made a mess
of things before."
"That's an understatement," Kuro the black cat
muttered, flicking his long ears.
"Hush," Kanako chided him.
"Oh I don't know," the quiet voice said as she entered
the room, "I think you did a pretty good job,
considering." Naru Narusegawa smiled as she slid the
door shut behind her, carrying in the tray of drinks.
She knelt beside Keitaro as she added, "I haven't seen
you since the wedding."
"Grandmother has had me busy with my training," Kanako
said just a bit stiffly. In truth she had been trying
to adjust to the idea of her brother and Naru's
marriage, as well as letting go of her own dreams on
the subject.
Naru's smiled was gently sympathetic, "I'm sure." She
took a deep breath, "I'm going into full time teaching
this fall, so I can't run the dorm, either."
"You've always dreamed of running the dorm," Keitaro
pointed out, "here's your chance."
"No," Kanako corrected firmly, "I dreamed of running
the Hinata Inn."
"I think there's a way you can run both the dorm for
the girls and have a inn here, too," Keitaro said to
her enthusiastically.
"Oh?" Kanako looked curious.
"With the destruction of the annex we suddenly have a
whole new section to build in," Naru offered with a
grin, "and the insurance would cover the cost of
building a separate Inn, and even opening up the rest
of the vacant rooms in the dorm."
"That could work..." Kanako blinked.
"How would you do it?" Keitaro asked curiously, taking
a drink.
"Like I did earlier I'd offer reduced rents to any
residents who want to work in the new inn," Kanako
offered promptly before adding a bit sheepishly,
"though I think I'll run the dorm a bit more loosely
than last time."
Naru fought back a laugh even as Keitaro looked mildly
confused, the young man still largely unaware of the
reign of terror Kanako had instituted last time.
Meanwhile over at the Cafe Hinata there was a
conference going on, several young women gathered
around the table. Mitsune Konno smiled as the sandy
blonde served the drinks, then Kitsune asked, "So how
much trouble are we in?"
Shinobu Maehara looked worried, the black haired
younger woman flushing slightly, "But Sempai wouldn't
let anything happen."
"Still," Motoko Aoyama said as she drank her tea, her
shrine maiden's garb crisply neat, "I have my
misgivings about the evil one's return."
"Calling her the Evil One is a bit much," Kitsune sat
down with a smile, her Cafe Hinata apron a bit messy.
Since she and Mutsumi Otohime being given the cafe
Kitsune had really blossomed, becoming a capable
manager of the business.
"I thought she was fun," Koalla Su noted cheerfully,
the dusky skinned blonde grinning.
"You think that everyone is fun," Shinobu teased.
"So who is she again?" Ema Maeda asked them
tentatively, her long brown hair flowing. The newest
resident of Hinata Inn was still getting used to the
place, even a few months after her arrival just before
Keitaro and Naru's wedding, but she seemed to be
settling in nicely.
"Kanako is Keitaro's younger sister by adoption,"
Kitsune cheerfully explained, "who ran the dorm for
awhile after Keitaro went to study abroad. She tried
to convert the place back into a Inn and we resisted,
sorta."
"Sort of? I seem to remember armed conflict," Mutsumi
reminded them as she sent the last few lunch customers
out. The busty graduate student settled down with a
happy sigh, her brown hair flowing in waves, two
antenna sticking up from the front.
"Armed conflict?" Ema squeaked.
"Thankfully Keitaro returned before Kanako could go
through with her attempt to destroy the Inn with
explosives," Motoko noted, drinking a bit more tea.
"And she tried to burn Kitsune at the stake," Su added
eagerly.
"Now you're scaring her," Shinobu scolded, seeing the
look on Ema's face.
"Kanako settled down quite a bit before she left,"
Kitsune noted.
"I think we should giver her a chance," Mutsumi said,
looking around and meeting everyone's eyes. "A lot of
what happened before was our fault, too," she reminded
them.
"Hmph," Motoko smoothly rose, collecting her sword
from nearby then walking out of the cafe without
another word.
"Guess she's still carrying a grudge," Su blinked.
"I don't think I've ever seen her do that, just leave
without a word," Ema looked to where the law student
and sword master had gone.
"She and Kanako..." Kitsune hesitated, "she won't talk
about it but something happened just after Kanako
arrived." She looked over at Mutsumi, "But yeah, I
think you're right."
"We'll give Kanako a chance and see what happens,"
Shinobu agreed.
"Besides we can always gang up on her if something bad
happens," Su added cheerfully.
"Su!" everyone scolded.
Motoko strode away from the cafe and up the sidewalk,
her own thoughts in turmoil behind her cool
expression. The Gods Cry School taught her to focus to
seek inner calm, but she found it difficult even under
the blue skies of the Hinata Dorm.
"Skree!"
Flinging up a arm Motoko caught Shippu, the
phoenix-like bird that she had inherited from her
sister Tsuruko along with the leadership of the Gods
Cry School. She always seemed to know when Motoko
needed her, the bird returning to provide comfort and
a bit of peace.
"I wish things were that easy," Motoko murmured as she
stroked the bird's head absentmindedly as she returned
to the dorms and headed to her room... only to stop in
surprise as she saw who waited there.
Kanako stood by the door, fidgeting a bit as she
waited. Her face was grave as she saw Motoko approach,
"Hello."
"What do you want?" Motoko coldly asked, knowing that
she was being rude but still unable to help herself.
Kanako hesitated, then she knelt on the floor before
the startled Motoko. " Aoyama-sama," she said
formally, "I committed a great wrong when I met you,
and humbly wish to beg your forgiveness." Then she
bowed, pressing her head to the floor.
"Get up," Motoko said, deeply uncomfortable.
Kanako rose, dusting off her skirt, her expression
serious. "I took gross advantage of you when we first
met, an act I deeply regret. More so now, since I've
gotten to know what kind of person you are. I don't
expect you to forget what happened," she finished,
"but I hope you might forgive."
Motoko hesitated, studying Kanako thoughtfully for a
moment. "So," she said softly, "the rumor is true, you
are coming back to manage the dorms?"
"Hopefully doing a better job than last time," Kanako
nodded.
Her cat Kuro bounded up on her shoulder as he
remarked, "Couldn't do much worse."
"Hush," Kanako frowned at him.
"You're right that I won't forget," Motoko agreed,
"but... I will give you a chance." She met Kanako's
eyes, "But if anything like that happens to someone
else at the dorms, I will show no mercy."
"You have my word," Kanako nodded, "besides, I'm not a
lesbian."
A grim little smile appeared on Motoko's lips,
"Kanako, you are the one who jumped me." With that she
slid the door open and went into her room, leaving a
very thoughtful Kanako standing out in the hallway.
To be continued...
Authors Notes: This is the first chapter of a Love
Hina based crossover series, set shortly after the end
of the manga and the anime Love Hina Again. By the way
Ema is a new character from the final manga, not my creation.
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