Kid-Keitaro

Chapter 1 - Arrival

The evening sun shone down on two figures as they ascended the long stone stair case. The woman on the left held a small suitcase in her left and the small hand of her nephew in her right. Looking down at the young boy, Haruka Urashima couldn't help but smile as the child happily followed alongside her. Noticing that he was being watched he looked up and gave her a bright smile.

"Haru nee-san when did you say granny was going to be back?"

-Thwack- Haruka lightly biffed him on his head with her fan.

"I told you before Kei-kun, that its Aunty not Nee-san." She chided him good naturedly.

Rubbing his now sore head, Keitaro giggled and smiled up at her; allowing Haruka to clearly see his eyes gleaming with happiness despite the long scruffy hair which covered the top half of his face.

"Sorry Aunty Haru." He apologised as he took her hand in his again while still giggling.

Returning his smile Haruka answered his question "She said that she will be back around dinnertime so she won't be long. Still plenty of time to introduce you to all the girls, OK?"

"OK!" Keitaro said happily.

As they reached the top Haruka lead him inside and called out "GIRLS!" After a minute or so of no response Haruka said "I guess we'll just have to go looking for them."

-Grrrroooowwwwllllll-

Looking down she saw her nephew holding his stomach with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Been a while since you've eaten huh?" she laughed. "OK how about this, I'll go see if anyone's started to make dinner yet and if there's time for a small snack and you can go see if you can find any of the girls?"

"Alright Aunty" He replied.

"Good, now remember if you run into any of the girls to be polite, and before you go into any room to knock and wait for a response. If no one answers don't just go walking in OK?"

"Yes Aunty"

"Good. And if you find yourself in the hotspring, stay away from the water, I don't want to be fishing you out of there after you've been here only five minutes." She continued as she ruffled his hair. After she had sent him on his way Haruka moved towards the kitchen 'I wonder what the girls are up to. Shinobu-chan usually has dinner started by now.'

Wandering through the halls Keitaro wore a small smile on his face as he remembered his last visit to this place with his parents. They had brought him here to see the cherry blossoms bloom and to spend time with his aunt and grandmother. He remembered himself and his grandmother watching his aunt sparring against one of her friends who was visiting at the time. He remembered helping them to clean and wax some of the floors and then to have sliding contests in which all three had ended in a laughing, exhausted pile. He remembered his whole family going to the festival at the local shrine and how he had ridden on his father's shoulders to watch the fireworks and how he had fallen asleep in his mother's arms on the way back. He remembered all this with a sad smile.

As his mind wondered he heard voices from a doorway he had just passed. Pressing his ear to the door he listened to see if he did in fact hear voices from this room. When he was confident that there were indeed voices coming from within he knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Come on in, it's just me and Motoko-chan in here." A voice called out from the other side.

Sliding open the door Keitaro poked his head inside and said "Hi I'm Keitarrr!" he trailed off with a cry as he looked into the room. Apparently he had walked into a changing room in which a honey haired brunette stood in just her panties and a taller, dark haired girl who only had slightly more clothing on than the other. The two sides just looked at each other before Keitaro came to his senses and said "I'm Sorry!" before retreating out the door, sliding it closed behind him and running off, trying to get back to his aunt. He was barely half way down the hall when his feet left the ground and he was hoisted upwards. Looking behind him he saw the two girls from the changing room, now covered in towels, standing behind him. The black haired girl had caught the back of his T-shirt with her wooden sword and lifted him up.

"What do you think you are doing here little boy?" his captor growled at him.

"I-I w-was…" he tried to explain but panic had taken over and he was struggling to string his words together.

"Don't you know this is a girls dorm? That means no guys allowed!" the brunette glared at him.

"Y-yes…" he managed to say as his arms flailed around, trying to get loose.

"Then why are you here? Did you perhaps want to peek at us while we were changing or steal our underwear?!" the girl holding him up snapped at him.

"N-no!" he squeaked, the way his shirt was being pulled up making it hard to breath.

"Sure! Like we'd believe a little pervert like you. I should show you what we normally do to perverts." His other captor said while cracking her knuckles.

"What's going on here?!" a new voice said from down the hall way. All three pairs of eyes fell upon a woman in her early 20s with short blond hair, who looked back in utter bemusement.

"Oh Kitsune, it's nothing we just found this little pervert running around."

"What's wrong with the two of you! He can't possible be more the eight years old!" Walking over to the trio she gently unhooked the young boy and brought him close to her chest. She could still fell him trembling in her arms so she gently rubbed his back to calm him down, "It's OK sweetie, no ones going to hurt you." After he had stopped shaking somewhat she said. "My name is Mitsune Konno, but you can call me Kitsune, OK sweetie?"

"O-OK" he said still frightened.

"Great!" she said enthusiastically, with a reassuring smile. "Can you tell me your name?"

"K-Keitaro." He whispered, keeping an eye on the other two girls.

"OK, Keitaro-kun can you tell me why you wandering around here?" She asked still stoking his back.

"A-Aunty Haru t-told me to in-introduce myself." He stuttered.

"Aunty Haru? You don't mean Haruka Urashima do you?" Kitsune asked, all three girls turning significantly paler at this possibility.

When he nodded the brunette asked "S-so your Haruka's nephew?"

"Yes he is." A stern voice intruded on the conversation. Looking in the direction of the voice they saw Haruka glaring at all three girls.

"Aunty!" Keitaro cried as he squirmed out of Kitsune's embrace and ran over to hide behind his aunt's leg.

"Naru-chan, Motoko-chan, Kitsune, is there a reason why my nephew is terrified?" Haruka asked as she reassuringly ran her fingers through his hair.

"Hey don't ask me I just got here!" Kitsune quickly put in, walking away from the other two.

"um... well you see he... um" Naru tried to explain but failed miserably.

"I'll deal with you two later." Haruka said coldly as she bent over to pick up her nephew who wrapped his arms around her neck. As she walked away she called over her shoulder "Go find Shinobu-chan and Su-chan and then meet us in the living room." She told them before disappearing down the hall.

"I think you two should go find those girls as soon at possible." Kitsune smirked.

"Wait aren't you going to help?" Naru asked.

"Why should I? Haruka's not mad at me." She laughed as she made her way to the meeting.

"NO! ABSOLUTLY NOWAY!" Naru screamed.

"This is not up for debate Naru-chan. Keitaro-kun is going to be living here from now on." Haruka said staring Naru down.

"But we can't have a boy around! What if he tries to peek at us again! He already walked in on me and Motoko-chan!"

"I did knock." Keitaro mumbled. When Naru glared at him he tried to hide behind Su and Kitsune. Since the meeting had begun he had been sitting between the two. Kitsune had been the first to find out about the new resident as she had come straight to the living room after Naru and Motoko had gone in search of the other girls. She had talked with both nephew and aunt while he ate a small sandwich. She had found him to be a very sweet young child and they instantly got along with one another. She didn't ask why he was going to be living here as she sensed that it was a touchy subject. She could also tell how the other girls were going to react to the news.

Su, as soon as she saw him had inspected him from every angle to determine if he had any food on him. Once that was done she pulled him into a hug, rubbing cheeks together commenting on how soft and cuddly he is.

Shinobu had reacted in her usual shy manner of bowing and greeting him politely.

Naru and Motoko on the other hand…

"Haruka-san I must agree with Naru-sempai. A girl's dormitory is not a suitable place for a boy to live!"

"What exactly makes you two think that you have a say in what goes on around here?" Haruka growled.

"We're paying tenants with rights you know!" Naru spat out.

"If that's how you feel you both know where the door is I'm not keeping you here." she said simply.

"You're throwing us out?!" Motoko cried.

"Not at all. It's your choice if you stay here or not but Keitaro's staying here whatever you choose to do."

"Why doesn't he just live down in the tea shop with you?" Naru yelled.

A vein throbbed in Haruka's forehead. She was going to hurt them. It was inevitable. These two girls had pushed her to the limit of her patience. How dare they try to tell her that Keitaro wasn't welcome in his family home. The house that his mother grew up in. The house that he would inherit. These girls who had lived in the Hinata for barely over a year thought they had the right to say if Keitaro could live here or not.

Clenching her fist and glaring at them Haruka took a step forward when she felt a hand grip hers. Looking down she saw Keitaro holding onto her with pleading eyes. Sighing she gave him a small smile. Turning back to Naru and Motoko she said to them

"Regardless of whatever the two of you say Keitaro-kun living here now. So you can either put up with it or move out those are your choices."

"Why doesn't he just go stay with his Mum and Dad?! They should act like real parents and take care of their own kid!"

She regretted her words as soon as she spoke them. Everyone could tell that she made a mistake. The temperature of the room plummeted, Keitaro's restraining hand fell to his side and his gaze lowered to the floor and Haruka's eyes burned with cold fury.

Through clenched teeth she growled "Su-chan, can you and Shinobu-chan take Keitaro-kun and show him your room?"

"O-Ok!" Su chirped, easily recognising that it would not be wise to be around Haruka at this moment in time. Grabbing Keitaro's and Shinobu's hand she dragged them to her room.

"um… Haruka I er…" Naru started. As Haruka heard Su's door slide open and then shut

-SLAP-

Naru was on the floor. No one had seen Haruka move. One minute she was watching the children go upstairs and then the next she was towering over Naru, glaring.

"Listen here you little brat, I don't give a shit about what you think or want! This decision has been made by me and by my mother, if you have a problem with that then you can just pack up your stuff and get the hell out of here! If we wanted your opinion then we would have asked!"

Naru backed away from the angry woman but she felt that even being on an other continent would not be far enough away.

"And one more thing, Keitaro's my nephew, Hina's grandson, when you insult his parents you insult my Sister and my Brother-in-law, Hina's Daughter and Son-in-law. And if you dare to talk about them that way in front of Keitaro again being kicked out of here will be the least of you worries! Is that clear?!"

"Y-yes." Naru said weakly.

Pulling out a cigarette and lighting it Haruka inhaled deeply before saying "Not that its any of your business but the reason why Keitaro is not living with his parents is that they died nearly two years ago." This revelation caused all three girls to gasp.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know." She mumbled, rubbing her sore cheek.

"And that makes what you said alright, does it?" Haruka snarled.

"My, my aren't we all energetic." A voice called out from the door. All eyes turned to the source. There stood a small elderly woman with a large smile on her face.

"I presume this means that you have already introduced Kei-kun to everyone, Haruka-chan." Hina went on; ignoring the fact that Naru was on the floor rubbing her red cheek. Licking her thumb and forefinger Hina somehow reached up and extinguished the cigarette of her much taller daughter. "So where is my grandson?"

"The younger girls are showing him Su-chan's room." She said briefly mourning her lost cigarette.

"Alright I'll go get them, girls I'll leave you to make dinner. I'm sure that we could all do with something eat."

Meanwhile in Su's Room

"… and these are my banana trees where I grow my tasty bananas." Su explained as she led Keitaro and Shinobu around her room. Keitaro just looked around in amazement. The jungle room which Su inhabited mystified the young boy. "How… how did you do this?"

"Fu Fu Fu so you want to know my secrets Keitaro-kun." She laughed while patting his head. "OK I'll tell you…" she then launched into a very detailed description of all the processes involved in creating her jungle paradise. "… and that's all there is to it." She finished cheerfully.

"I see…" Was all Keitaro could say. He was even more confused than he was before the explanation. Looking at Shinobu for a translation the girl shrugged; she was just as confused as he was.

smiling down at him Su pulled Keitaro away from the banana plantation towards a clearing with a hammock hanging from between two trees. Jumping into the hammock she pulled Keitaro up after her and helped Shinobu up. Hugging him she once again rubbed her cheeks against his before purring out "mmmm Keitaro's so soft." Which caused him to burst out in a fit of giggles as her cheek tickled his. Shinobu couldn't help by smile at the pair.

"Keitaro-kun can I ask you something?" Shinobu hesitantly asked.

"OK." He said as he and Su settled down.

"Why are you coming to live here with us? Did something happen to your parents?"

Keitaro was silent for a moment before saying "They died two years ago and I had to live in an orphanage."

"I'm- I'm sorry." Shinobu said, instantly regretting brining it up.

"It's OK, I made lots of friends there and now I get to live here with all of you." He said with a plastic smile.

Keitaro was pulled into a hug by Shinobu "And we're glad that you that you're living her." She smiled and stroked his hair, surprising herself at how bold she was being.

Keitaro was caught off guard by the hug but quickly reciprocated it and said "Thanks Shinobu nee-san." Shinobu smiled brightly at her new honorific.

"I wana hug Keitaro as well!" Su yelled as she leapt at them.

"Ah Su nee-san!" Keitaro cried as she glomped them, causing all three to fall into a heap on the ground.

"Are you alright Keitaro-kun?" Shinobu asked worriedly. After checking to see if everything was still attached, he broke out in a huge grin and infectious giggles that soon got the two girls laughing along with him.

"I see you're having fun Kei-kun" a voice chuckled.

Looking up the three children saw Hina smiling gently at them.

"GRANNY!" Keitaro cried happily as he extracted himself from the pile and rushed over to his grandmother to be enveloped in a hug.

Squeezing him strongly Hina kissed him on his forehead "How are you Kei-kun?"

"I'm fine Granny. Su nee-san and Shinobu nee-san were showing me her room."

"Is that so? And are you two getting along with my Grandson?" Hina asked the two girls.

"Yes Granny." Shinobu said politely

"Yep, Keitaro's so soft and cuddly." Once again sneaking up behind him and hugging him.

"Fu Fu Fu it's good to know Kei-kun will have you two looking after him." Hina laughed. "Now come on you three, lets go have some dinner."

"Oh no I completely forgot about dinner!" Shinobu said horrified.

"Calm down Shinobu-chan, Haruka-chan and the others are preparing dinner tonight so don't worry." Hina assured the girl.

"OK." She said, still worried about not doing what she thought was job.

"Good, now lets go and check on dinner." she smiled.

Hinata Sou Living Room After Dinner

Dinner was a strange affair all round. Keitaro had been flanked by Shinobu and Su while Hina and Haruka sat across from him. Naru and Motoko sat as far away from Keitaro as possible while still being at the dinner table and occasionally glaring at Keitaro when they thought it was safe to do so. Kitsune had just sat back and enjoyed the show. Once everyone had finished Hina announced that she had something to tell everyone and so ushered everyone into the living room. Su had dragged Keitaro onto her lap, not wanting her new favourite cuddling partner to be snapped up by someone else. Kitsune sat on their right and Shinobu on their left while Naru and Motoko stood to the side.

Standing in the centre of the room was Hina with Haruka to the right, a binder in her hand. "OK I just have a couple of announcements so I'll just get straight to the point and not take up much of your time. First of all, as I'm sure you are all aware of by now, my grandson Keitaro will now be living here. My second announcement is that I am stepping down as manager of Hinata Sou and going on a tour of the world's hotsprings."

"WHAT!" all the girls yelled with the exception of Su who was still rubbing against Keitaros face.

"What are you talking about Granny? How can you be quitting? What about us?!" Everyone bombarded her with questions.

Calling for quiet she said "I have of course put a lot of thought into this. I'm getting on a bit and I want to see the world again. Since most of your parents wouldn't allow you to stay here unsupervised, I have already chosen my successor." The girls that were paying attention breathed a sigh of relief but were unnerved by Harukas smirk. "The person who will be taking over is Keitaro-kun."

"WHAT?!" Everyone screamed.

"Granny how can you expect a child to run this place by himself?" Naru said in disbelief.

"He won't be by himself. I'll be co-manager until he is old enough to look after this place by himself. And you should watch how you talk about your new manager and landlord." Haruka said still smirking.

"Landlord?!" Naru yelled.

"Yes I'm giving Keitaro the deed to Hinata Sou. Any questions?"

"um…" Keitaro said while raising his hand "What would I have to do?"

Smiling at him Hina said "Not much at first, perhaps collecting rent and helping the girls with chores, basically what ever jobs Haruka thinks you are ready for."

"And we mean helping, no doing for you." Haruka put in looking specifically at Kitsune "Extensions on rent have to be agreed upon by myself and Keitaro-kun, and he also has a say on who's allowed to live her." She said, this time looking at Naru and Motoko.

"You mean…" Motoko started.

"Yes Kei-kun has the right and power to evict any of you providing that Haruka-chan agrees with his reasons." The girls were silent as they contemplated the implications of this. Then Su raised her hand.

"Does this mean that Keitaro is going to stay here?" her mind only just catching up with the conversation.

"Yes Su-chan Keitaro-kun will be living here from now on." Hina smiled at the strange girl.

"YAY! Keitaro can play with me everyday!" She yelled happily, squeezing him extra tightly.

"Well if there are no more questions all we need to do is sign some papers and then we everything will be in Keitaros name." Hina finished, gesturing to her daughter for the appropriate papers.

"Well I think this calls for a celebration to welcome our new landlord!" Kitsune cheered winking at Keitaro.

"Just don't go overboard." Haruka said warningly.

"We'll see!" Kitsune laughed loudly.

Managers Room (Now Keitaro's bedroom)

Keitaro was laying in his futon with Hina and Haruka tucking him in. The party had gone on until Hina had declared it too late for the younger residents to be awake. Kitsune had kept her drinking to a minimum with the help of Harukas watchful eyes, Naru and Motoko only staying because it had turned into a joint welcoming party for Keitaro and going away party for Hina.

"When are you leaving Granny?" Keitaro asked.

"First thing tomorrow morning, Kei-kun" Hina explained softly.

"So I won't see you before you go?" he asked sadly.

"Probably not I'm afraid." She stated as she lightly stroked his hair. "But don't worry about it Haru-chan will be here to have breakfast with you and there's Kitsune as well as Su-chan and Shinobu-chan for you to play with."

"OK" he said sadly. "um Granny, about adopting-"

"Don't worry about that, as soon as the paperwork goes through it will all be official, just in Haruka's name."

"OK." He said tiredly, but happily.

Bending down Hina kissed him on his forehead and hugged him "I love you Kei-kun." She whispered into his ear.

"Love you too Granny." He whispered back. When she let him go Keitaro held open his arms for his aunt who happily filled the void left by her mother.

"Love you Aunty." He said.

"Love you Kei-kun, now get some sleep OK, it's been a long day. If you need any thing Kitsune is just next door and Shinobu-chan just down the hall."

"Good night." He mumbled as he fell asleep.

Smiling, the two women silently left his room.

"Are you sure that leaving is the best thing to do? He's been through a lot and he could use the support." Haruka asked her mother.

"He'll be fine; after all he has you, Su-chan, Shinobu-chan and Kitsune to look after him." Hina assured her daughter.

"Naru-chan and Motoko-chan aren't happy about this." Haruka pointed out.

"They'll get used to it." Hina dismissed her concerns.

"If your sure." Haruka mumbled, lighting up another cigarette.

"Yes I am, and i don't want you smoking around Kei-kun. You might not care about your lungs but that doesn't mean he has to suffer because of your bad habbit." She preached once again putting out her daughters cigarette.

"Yes mother." Haruka sighed.

"Good, now come on and help me pack."

Kitsunes Room

'Well this is going to be interesting.' The fox eyed girl thought with a smirk 'And it certainly annoyed Motoko-chan and Naru-chan.' Wearing just a tank top and panties, Kitsune stretched out and thought about the new arrival. 'I might have to have to have a have a word with those two. If they aren't careful they'll end up getting thrown out. He's not that bad, just walked in the wrong room at the wrong time.'

Her musings were cut short as she heard a whimpering sound. 'What's that?' she thought. Slowly she exited her room and looked around. Hearing the sound again she turned to the room next to hers 'Is that Keitaro?' she wondered with a frown. Silently sliding open the door she saw that he was tossing and turning in his sleep, letting out a soft whimper every so often.

Rushing over to him and shook him awake "Keitaro! Wake up!"

Slowly opening his eyes he said "Huh? Kitsune-san? What are you doing here?"

"I heard something from this room, it looked like you were having a nightmare. Are you OK?"

"Y-yea, I'm fine." He insisted with a shaky smile.

'You really aren't a good liar Keitaro.' She thought. Smiling down at him Kitsune gently stroked his cheek and said "I was getting a bit lonely in my room, do you mind if I spend the night you."

"Sure!" his smile more firm than before. Sliding over he pulled his pillow out, offering it to Kitsune.

"Thank you sweetie." Sliding under the covers she lay down and pulled Keitaro into her chest. She could still feel him shaking.

"It's OK Kitsune nee-san" he mumbled, nuzzling into her breasts, before falling asleep.

'Typical guy, falling asleep in my chest and thinks he's doing me a favour.' She thought amused. as she stroked his back keitaro snuggled closer and mumbled out "Mama…"

'Poor little thing, I wonder if his nightmare was about parents.' Kitsune thought sadly. Hugging him closer, she idly thought 'First guy in ages to snuggle against my chest and he isn't even 10 yet. He is cute though if you take away this fringe.' She reached up to his face and brushed his hair away. "Oh my god…" she said, her eyes widening to their fullest as she looked at a large scar travelling from his forehead down his nose.

Authors Note

Ok new story and i hope you liked it. Couple of things first i've not abandond Sempai, My Saviour i just want to get the first chapter of a couple of stories done. i've got about 4 other story ideas besides this and sempai and out of all of them i only know how i'm going to end 3 of them (this one, sempai and one other called ancestor).

1. How kei looks: ok Keitaro's 8 years old and the top of his head just reaches Harukas hips. his long hair looks like Nodoka's from Mahou Sensei Negima did originally and the scar on his forhead looks like Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy 8. Also he doesn't wear glasses

2. all the girls look the same

3. ages : Haruka- 24 Kitsune- 21 Naru- 17 Motoko- 15 Su & Shinobu- 13

4. i know i may have shown Naru and motoko as a bit extreme but all i ask is that you read all the chapters before you pass judgement.

unsigned reviews: to answer questions you anonymous users have i'll put the responces here untill next chap so if you reviewed without being signed in just check back here to see if i answered you.

To:

anon: i'm glad you liked the fic so far and i hope you keep reading until the end, to answer your first to questions you'll just have to read on. as for the ages, your right about them i just tweeked them for this fic.

Niles748: thanks for the review and i'm glad you liked it.

Mike 5 tone: thanks for your kind words and i'm glad you liked, hopefull you'll find the next chapter just as enjoyable. (I wasn't sure on the title either so any suggestions are welcome.)

pops: thanks for your review and i'm working on the next chapter right now. as to your questions i'm afriad that i'm keeping the plot close to my chest. i've got more or less a good idea about what i want to put in the story so you'll have to wait and see. as for why he's an orphan it plays into a much wider picture i have of the direction of this fic which i couldn't see working if his parents were still alive.

i think thats everything any questions just ask please review and tell me what you think. i will be reveiling the origin on his scar in the next chapter