Promises Kept: Ch. 1

1998: Day 1: The Day Keitaro came.

Keitaro finally ceased his near-endless wandering when he found the almost concealed path to his location. Between two short buildings was what looked to be a forest path. Following along the stone steps, the noise of the small city left him, almost like he stepped into another world.

He followed along the path until it opened up, and he found himself at the bottom of the steps to the Hinata Inn. "Man, it's been a while since I've been here." He muttered. He started climbing up the stairway, and stopped when he got halfway close to a small tea shop. He paused to look at the place, but stopped when he noticed the 'closed' sign on the doorway. He shrugged, and decided to continue his journey up the steps, he eventually made it to the top, and was rewarded with a splendid view of the grand old building, and the surrounding area.

He paused for another moment to enjoy the serenity of the place before entering. The cool wind, the gentle blowing of the leaves, the sounds of birds chirping. He decided he was going to enjoy the gentle peacefulness of the Inn.

"Hello? Granny Hina? Anybody here?" He called, coming through teh door, and laying down his heavy back-pack. When no-one responded after a while, he decided to give himself a well-deserved rest, and take a nice relaxing dip in the hot-springs that the Inn was built around. He found the place easily, and soon took off his clothes, setting them in the hamper, and entered into the warm-soothing water. He let himself daydream over recent events, and tried to relax.

He went into a slight-daze, so it took him a while to realize when someone else stepped into the baths too. He looked up and saw a feminine figure, with long brown hair. "Um excuse me, hi, uh, just wanted you to know I was here." Keitaro said, thinking the other person didn't notice him at first either.

The person turned to look at him, and after a moment's hesitation, proceeded to scream her lungs out. Keitaro not knowing what to do, got up, and ran out of the hotsprings. He shut the door after him, and made sure to secure a towel around his waist. "What the heck was that about?" He wondered.

"I heard a scream what is it?" Another female voice called. Keitaro turned in time to see a woman with flaming red hair come in. "Peeping Tom!" She called.

"No, wait, there's been a mistake-" Keitaro didn't manage to finish, as the girl punched him so hard in the face, he smashed against the clothes locker, and fell onto the ground. The girl was preparing another punch for him when he rolled out of the way, and ran past her into the hallway.

"Peeping Tom, where?" Called out a young woman carrying a long-unsheathed sword. Keitaro's blood ran cold as he saw her run at him poised to strike. He ran in the opposite direction down the hallway, and turned to run up to the stairs, narrowly avoiding a strike that continued past the door, and obliterated a screen door.

Having no time to ponder what just happened, Keitaro kept running up the stairs but slipped when he got to the top on some kind of toy.

"Aw you just destroyed one of my tanks!" Keitaro looked up to see some young foreign girl with dark skin in some kind of military uniform.

"Hey there." He said, not knowing what to say.

"Now I must have my armies retaliate!" She said, grinning evilly, turning a dial on the remote control in her hands.

The other tanks that lined the floor turned their turrets on him, and fired. And when the projectiles impacted, they exploded. Keitaro leapt up, and danced around the miniature tank shells trying not to get his foot blown off, he took the first chance he could to jump out of the tanks fire, and continue his fleeing.

"Su, did you see where that man went?" The samurai girl asked.

"That way!" She said, helpfully.

Keitaro turned the next corner and saw two young girls, both identical to the other simply standing in the hallway. Unfortunately, he thought he might have accidently flashed them, when he took the next turn, and his towel flipped up. This was confirmed as he ran down the hallway, when he heard them shriek and tell the sword girl, the peeping tom had shown them his 'man bits'.

Keitaro decided to use his knowledge of the inn to his advantage, and determine the quickest way out. He ran down a flight of stairs that led him right into the living room, very close to the entrance leading to the stairway. He figured it would be best to leave the inn and come back when someone wasn't actively trying to kill him.

He turned his head to see the sword girl and tank girl hot on his trail coming from the staircase, and the red-head coming from the hallway leading to the hot-springs. "Naru-san, don't let the peeping tom get away."

Keitaro turned to see ahead of him, and said "Naru?"

"Keitaro?"

Unfortunately for Keitaro, the combined speed of Keitaro's fleeing, and the force of Naru's oncoming punch resulted in a collision for the two on Keitaro's face, and it was lights out for him.

Keitaro had a dream. A dream he hadn't had in a long while, one of his childhood. He and his two best friends, both girls, were in a sandbox, trying to make something out of a mound of sand. The three of them were talking, and smiling so genuinely. He couldn't make out what anyone was saying, but he knew they were all happy.

After a while, one of his friends turned to look at him.

"Hey Kei-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"We're going to see each other again right?" She asked. His other friend stopped what she was doing, and looked at him as well.

"Of course, we're going to Todai!" He said.

"But that's going to be a while right? Not until we're adults." She said. "Will we see each other before then?"

"Do you want to?" He asked.

"Of course we do, right Na-chan?" The other girl nodded vehemently.

"Well then, I'll make sure that we see each other." He told them.

"You promise?"

"Of course I do." He said with the seriousness an adult would laugh at.

And just like that the three smiled and continued their playing, no longer worrying for the future.

"Your boyfriend?" Keitaro heard.

"Yeah, and-"

"You and him? Seriously?"

"I'm sorry Naru-san, but you have poor taste in men."

"I do not! Keitaro didn't do anything wrong!"

"He walked into the hotsprings while I was naked!"

"He tried to assault me!"

"He broke one of my toys!"

"He showed us his 'thing'!"

"I assure you it was all just a misunderstanding!"

"How can you say that Naru?"

"Because that's just how it always is with him."

"Umm… what's going on?"

"Keitaro!" Was one response he got, followed by a hug. The other responses were several glares and an overwhelming sense of murderous intent.

"What happened?" Keitaro asked. He tried to examine his surroundings and found that firstly he was dressed again. Secondly he was now bound at his wrists and ankles. And thirdly, he was surrounded by women, all of whom looked like they wanted to murder him. "What'd I do?" He asked once more.

"You tried to feast your lecherous eyes upon our bodies, and assaulted several of the women living here." Stated the girl he recognized as the one who chased him with a sword.

"You goofed again you idiot." Keitaro turned to see his life-long girlfriend standing over him.

"Naru! You're here! Why are you here?" He asked, happy and horribly confused at the same time.

"Stop looking up her skirt you pervert!" One of the girls said, kicking him while he was on the floor.

"He's my boyfriend; he's allowed to look up my skirt!" Naru bit back.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Keitaro said, not having a clue as to what was happening to him.

The response he recieved was another wave of murderous intent, but Naru decided to take pity on him, and crouched down to his level.

"Just tell us your side of the story, ok?" Naru said.

"Um, well ok." Keitaro said, trying to adjust himself to a sitting position to face the many scary women who were glaring at him. "Um, well, um, do I have to its a little embarrassing?"

"Tell us if you wish to keep that pathetic thing between your legs intact." Said the sword girl.

"Ok, well, um, I'm moving out of the house from my parents, and I was told by my grandma I could stay at the inn here. When I got here, I was tired, and I decided to use the hot springs. A while later, I think it was her, the glasses girl, she stepped in, but I don't think she saw me, so I told her I was here. I didn't know what to do, so I ran, and when I got to the changing room, the red-head punched me in the face and I ran again, then the sword girl came at me with a sword, and then I tripped over a toy tank that the foreign girl was playing with, and suddenly all the toys were exploding. I ran some more, and I saw the two twins over there, and then I kept running until I was this room, and someone punched me in the face. I didn't see who that was."

All of the girls stared at Naru. "See, all just a big misunderstanding!" She said.

"Naru-san you were the one to knock-him out." One of the twins stated.

"Well it was an accident, I didn't recognize him!" Naru said, crossing her arms.

"How do you not recognize your own boyfriend?" The other twin asked.

"Well, it's been a while since we've seen each-other." Naru said hotly.

"I still do not see how that story of his doesn't make him a pervert!" The red-head said, wanting to get back to punishing the supposed peeping tom.

"And we have names you know!" The glasses girl said.

"I don't know any of your names!" Keitaro told them.

"It's just as possible that he is simply lying." Said the sword girl.

"He can't lie." Naru said simply.

"Do you think it's possible that your boyfriend may have changed since you've last seen him, Naru-san?" The samurai girl asked.

"No I don't." Naru said simply.

"He's obviously lying; he's not even that good at it." Said the glasses girl. "This place is quite obviously an all-female girl's dormitory."

"Yeah, that means no men!" The red-head said angrily.

"It's a what?" Was Keitaro's response.

"They're actually right about that." Naru conceded.

"It's been turned into a girl's dorm? And you knew about this?" Keitaro asked.

"I'm actually staying here myself."

"I bet he doesn't even have a granny." The red-head said.

"Yes I do! She said I could stay here! Honest she did!"

"Yeah, if you have a granny, what's her name?" The foreign girl asked.

"Hinata." Keitaro said. "Hinata Urashima."

There was a brief pause as everyone digested that piece of information.

"So that means you're…"

"I'm Keitaro Urashima." He told them. "My grandmother runs this inn."

"Keitaro-sama?" Everyone turned to look at the samurai girl, whose serious face had taken a deep red blush.

"Mo-chan?" Keitaro asked. The girls blush deepened as he used such a familiar nickname.

"You know this pervert!" A couple of the girls asked her.

"You know this girl?" Naru asked her boyfriend, in a slightly hostile tone.

"We met a few years ago." Keitaro said. "I never expected to meet her here. Or that she would try to kill me…"

"I-I apologize for that-"

"Don't say sorry, that pervert got what was coming to him!" The glasses girl said.

"Y-yes, you're absolutely correct."

"Besides, he could still be lying!"

"Yeah, maybe he's just been spying on us." The foreign girl said. "And he's been waiting to make his move!"

"Exactly!"

"His last name is Urashima, and his grandmother runs this place, we used to play here as kids!" Naru defended him.

"Where is Granny Hina anyway, I'm sure she can vouch for me!" Keitaro said.

"Granny Hina's been on vacation since three weeks ago." The glasses girl said. "Travelling the world."

"She's what?" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"Come on you guys, can't you just cut him some slack?" Naru said.

"Naru, we clearly can't count on you, you've been brainwashed by this madman." The glasses-girl said.

"Brain-washed? Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Um, can I say something?" Keitaro asked.

"NO!" Was the overwhelming response.

"Well can I say something then?" Someone else asked. Everyone turned to shut up the new voice but froze when they saw who it was.

"Aunt Haruka! You've came to save me!" Keitaro said.

Haruka, holding a bag of groceries, walked over to Keitaro, and kicked him back down to the ground. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that." She said, going over to the counter to put down her bag. "What kind a freaky fetish play are you two going at now then?"

"Haruka that was the worst thing you could have possibly said!" Naru told her.

"Let me guess, Keitaro landed his face in someone's skirt?" She asked, taking the groceries out of the bag. "Or did he maybe fall onto someone's breasts? Or did he just walk in on someone naked? Or was it all of the above?"

"Haruka you're really not helping!" Keitaro said, as the glares he got went from bad or worse.

"Was it that you two were screwing on the couch or something?" She asked.

"He really is a pervert!" Said the foreign girl.

"This vile person is no longer the honorable man I once knew." The samurai girl said, drawing her sword once again.

"Nah he's not a pervert." Haruka said. "He's just an idiot."

"Exactly, see!" Keitaro said. "Hey!"

"And by the way, any of you touch a hair on his head, there's gonna be hell to pay." She took a cigarette from her pocket, and placed in her mouth.

The level of killer intent Keitaro was feeling went down as Haruka said this. "By the way, you gonna keep him tied up like that?"

"Of course! Who knows what he'd do if we let him loose!" The glasses girl said.

"Girls, you've got a boxer, a samurai, and a girl who tinkers with explosives for fun, not to mention a trained police-woman to defend you. Speaking of whom, where is Hiromi-san?"

"Out." One of them said, as Naru finally went about undoing Keitaro's bindings.

"I see." Haruka said, lighting her cigarette.

"How do you know this guy, Dorm Manager?" The foreign girl asked.

"He's my nephew, my favorite nephew actually." She told them.

"Haruka-san, I'm you're only nephew." He told her.

"Exactly."

"I don't care what you say; I don't want that pervert staying here any longer." The glasses girl said. "He can just turn around and go back to whatever dark place he came from."

"Yeah, we don't need him here invading our privacy." Said the red-head.

"Bye-bye pervert!" Said the foreign girl.

"Hmm-Hmm." The twins nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps it would be best if you were to leave Kei-Urashima-San." The sword-girl stated.

"Yeah I guess it would." Keitaro said dejectedly. He didn't know what he could do now, but for the moment he was happy he to be able to leave without having had any permanent damage done to him.

"I'm sorry, but that's not for you girls to decide." Haruka said, taking the last breath of her cigarette.

"Look, Dorm Manager, I get he might be your nephew, but there's no way in hell you can let this disgusting peeping pervert stay in a dorm full of young women, especially after all the stuff he's done." The glasses girl stated.

"Well, I might not, but the owner of the inn can." Haruka said, taking a brown envelope from the bag. "Keitaro, this belongs to you."

Keitaro carefully took the envelope, as if any stray movement might set the girls off. As he silently read the words on the paper, his eyes became progressively larger, and larger. Naru became curious, and went over to take a look for herself.

"What does it say?" Asked the red-head.

"It says that Hinata Urashima has signed over the entire Hinata estate in addition to a large monetary sum to Keitaro's inheritance. In order for him to be eligible to receive this, he must run the estate for a total of four years." Haruka said.

"So that means…." Keitaro said, not knowing what was happening to him.

"It means you are in charge of an all-female dorm, and are able to do whatever you please with the place." Haruka announced. "And on that note, I shall be leaving."

The mayhem that ensued was worse than anything that preceded it.

On this day, Keitaro Urashima reunited with his beloved girlfriend, and become the manager of an all-girl dorm. Nobody knew what they were getting into.

Authors Note:

So I've been a fan of Love Hina for a while, I think it's one of the first Anime I ever watched.

I got this idea in my head a few weeks back, and it buzzed around enough that I started writing it down, until I realized I had written about five chapters of it. So, here is the first chapter. I hope everyone liked it.

Obviously the idea is that Keitaro, through the virtue of being Keitaro, made sure to keep in touch with the friends he made at his Grandmother's inn. When I thought about it, in the anime, it's a very un-Keitaro thing to do, not keeping in touch with his childhood friends. So he simply made sure to keep in touch with his promised girl, and here we are. However, I found that in doing this, we remove a lot of that tension that is the heart of the story of having pretty girls trying to kill Keitaro, and so we have several OC's. They will be expanded on more in the next chapter. Also this will be the first time for me using the japanese honorifics. I'll be trying to keep the story english based aside from these, but I'm more than willing to take critiques or advice in this department.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next one.