Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina, Ken Akamatsu does. And also, the song I used in this chapter is not mine, it's a song written and composed by a Filipino band called Eraserheads.
Claimer: Somehow… because this story is AU and the characters are OOC, I can say that I own the personality of the characters here. Yet, I based it with the real Love Hina series. So, the characters are still Ken Akamatsu's. )
Chapter 1: The Promise River
Keitaro Urashima is a 12 year old Japanese boy who grew up in Canada, but now, his parents have decided to stay in Tokyo and live there. In the heat of one sunny afternoon, Keitaro went to the nearest river to breathe some fresh air.
"How hot can Tokyo get?! I need to breathe fresh air… maybe I'll just go to the river." Keitaro exclaimed to himself as he went straight to the river.
As he was walking, he saw a little girl that is about the age of 8 or 9. The little girl looks like she's crying, so he went towards her direction to know...
Keitaro made some noise with his foot as he walks so that he could get her attention, and he did. The little girl looked up to him, "H-Hi!" Keitaro greeted.
The little girl did not respond, she just looked at him, trying to stop herself from sobbing.
Keitaro smiled, "Uhm… Can I know why you're crying?" he asked.
The girl shook her head, "D-Don't mind me…" she said.
"Ahh you know, y-you… could… Hmm, you can tell me your problem. I think you need someone to confide your problems with and… I can be that someone." He stated and then he sat beside her.
The girl moved, "Can't you understand! I said don't mind me! Act as if you don't see me! Will you please go away! Just go away!" she screamed with tears falling from her eyes.
"Yeah, I don't understand. How can I not mind you? I can't act normally when I know there is one little girl crying near me! You know… I can help you." He insisted, he can't help but pity the poor little girl.
"What do you care?! You're not even my friend! You don't even know me!" She yelled once again, this time, in a louder tone.
"I can be! I can be your friend. You see, my family and I just flew here. I don't know anyone here yet… so we could be, we could be friends." Keitaro said and he gave out a smile, he understood why the girl yelled at him.
"Y-You… want to be friends with me?" She asked as she wipes away the tears with her right hand.
He nodded, "Yes, I want to be friends with you and I mean it. So, can I know now why you cried?" and asked.
That made the little girl cry once more, "My mother and father are always arguing... They always fight with each other! They don't even care even if I'm around. They are like cats and dogs fighting! I can't stand it anymore… I want to go away from my parents, very far away from them. It seems that they don't love me anymore, they don't even care about my feelings. I'm an only child, that's why I don't have sisters or brothers to cry on or even to play with. I'm just a little girl; I need affection especially from my parents. Sometimes I even envy those little girls because they have loving parents, parents who walk them into the park, who plays with them in the playground and parents who truly cares for them. Unlike me, I don't have those; I only have my toys and my dolls to play with. But I don't need those stupid toys! I need someone to protect me and someone who'll care for me!" She confided, and after that she sobbed and cried.
Keitaro just stared at the little girl; he doesn't know what to say to her that would not make her feelings worst. He cleared his throat, "Shhhh… stop crying. Don't worry, I'm here now, I told you, we could be friends. We could even be the best of friends. From now on, I'll make sure that nobody would hurt you anymore. I'll always be right at your side. I'll never leave you. That's my promise to you, so can you please stop crying and promise me that from now on, you'll never ever let even a single tear fall from your eyes?" and said as he wipes the tears from the little girl's eyes.
The little girl pouted, "Don't engage yourself into a promise if you're not even sure you can keep it."
He smiled, "I'm sure, totally sure! I would fulfill my promise, I'll never leave you. So, are we now, best friends?"
The face of the little girl lit up, "Best Friends."
That made Keitaro smile again, "Hey, wait, we are now best friends yet we don't know each other. Anyway, I'm Urashima Keitaro, 12 years old and I live near Tokyo University." he stated.
That made her laugh, "Oh… yeah. My name is Naru Narusegawa, 8 years old and I also live near Todai. Wait a sec, I heard we have new neighbors, is that you?" she asked.
"I guess, yeah. What a coincidence, so you own the blue house?" he asked.
Narusegawa nodded.
"Hey, Neighbor Best Friend!" he exclaimed.
Narusegawa giggled and they both laughed.
"Keitaro… I want to thank you for listening to me. For making me feel better and for wanting to be my friend. You didn't hesitate even if you don't know me. So, I want to promise you something too, I promise you that I would never ever let even a single tear fall from my eyes again. I would never cry again, because I know you're with me now. I also promise you that you'll always be my best friend, even when we get old and marry someone. Can you also promise that I'll be your only Neighbor Best Friend?"
"No worries Naru, thank you too. Sure, I also promise you that you'll be my one and only Neighbor Best Friend. So its settled, Narusegawa and Keitaro would be best friends for eternity! Even if their hair turns gray! That's a vow of friendship!" He exclaimed.
She laughed, "Hey, stop shouting! You look like you're going nuts!"
Keitaro stood up and ran around in circles while dancing, "No! I want to shout to the whole world that Keitaro Urashima met his best friend, Naru Narusegawa, here in this river! I want to tell the whole wide world! Woo! We would call this river, the Promise River" and yelled.
She continued laughing, "Hey you silly, stop that!"
So he stopped and sat beside her, "Hey, I have a song for you! This is my favorite song… and it fits my promise to you very well too. I would sing it for you, the song goes like this…"
Lift your head, baby don't be scared
Of the things that could go wrong along the way
You'll get by with a smile
You can't win at everything but you can try…
Baby you don't have to worry
Coz' there ain't no need to worry
No one ever said that there's an easy way
And when they're closing all their doors
And they don't want you anymore
This sounds funny but I'll say it anyway
Girl I'll stay through the bad times
Even if I have to fetch you everyday
We'll get by, with a smile
We can't win at everything but we can try…
Coz' in a world where everybody hates a happy ending story
It's the wonder love that makes the world go 'round
But don't let it bring you down
And turn your face into a frown
Get along with a little prayer and a song…
"So, how was it? Did you like it? I'm one really good singer huh!" Keitaro said with a grin.
She giggled, "Uhm, well, it's... it's raining!"
Keitaro laughed, "Hey, you rude girl!"
She chuckled, "Just kidding… I'm so happy Keitaro. You made me so happy, I have never been so much delighted before… You are my 1st real Best Friend. Before, no one wants to be friends with me, I don't even know why." She said with a sigh, "My best friends were just my toys, my teddy bears and my dolls… and then you came, now, you are my Best Friend. So, I really want to thank you for wanting me to be your Best Friend and for accepting me for who I am. You're so good Keitaro..."
He smiled, "No worries, Naru. I'll take care of you, my Neighbor Best Friend!" Keitaro exclaimed happily.
From then on, Narusegawa and Keitaro had the best of each other. They meet everyday, play, laugh and trip all the way. Narusegawa have never felt so much fulfillment and contentment until she met Keitaro. They grew up together and went to school together... They took care of each other very well. Narusegawa was so happy, from the moment she met Keitaro Urashima, she knew the true meaning of being happy. Only he showed her how a true best friend means and what a true best friend is. From then on, she laughs and smiles truly. Narusegawa and Keitaro were so happy until…
A/N: Chapter 1 edited, it isn't renewed, because the flow is still the same, I just added some stuffs and edited some mistakes. So… thank you for reading. Reviews are welcome. )