Love Hina 1. New Beginnings

_Fifteen Years ago..._

Two young children were playing in a sandbox, a boy and a girl, both about 5 years old. "Kei-kun?" said the cute voice of the girl as she looked up from the sand they were playing in.

"Yes?" said Keitaro as he maneuvered his shovel, for some reason he had a strange feeling fluttering in his tummy as he stared up at his friend.

"Do you know, when two people go to Tokyo University love each other, they will live happily ever after?" At Keitaro's questioning glance the girl giggled and kissed him on the cheek. "Lets go to Tokyo U when we grow up, promise?"

Keitaro, not sure he would be able to trust his voice simply said, "Y-Yes."

_Today_...

'_Fate and destiny is a fickle thing and even in some cases downright cruel._' Urashima Keitaro thought as he got off the train in Hinata city. '_Grandma isn't the type to ask people to visit out of the blue like this, she must have some kind of reason. It's probably for the best that I leave home for awhile anyway, Mom's been quite unbearable._' Keitaro thought to himself as he sat down on on a bench and laid back with his hands kneaded behind his head. Days like this are better spent enjoying the little things life had to offer. The sound of sniffling interrupted his musings as he craned his neck to detect where it was coming from.

A cute young girl sat alone on a bench sniffling to herself. Keitaro unable to stand the sight decided to cheer her up a bit. He walked up and sat down next to her. "You know, its really quite a lovely day isn't it."

The girl surprised by someone walking up and talking to her could only hesitantly agree. "Y-Yes it is." She looked over at the young man next to her and saw him looking out towards the ocean with his hands formed in a box shape.

Once he saw her looking at him he said, "Whenever I get sad, I like to pretend That I'm looking at a painting of the world around me. For instance, I box my hands and look at the sun setting in the distance and think about what a wonderful scene it is. I stare at it and marvel at the beauty around me that I take for granted. Once I think I can't appreciate it anymore than I do, I simply take my hands away and realize, its not just a beautiful scene, its reality for me. And all the wondrous things I was imagining doing as I stared at it before can now become reality." Keitaro added with a smile as he saw the girl bring her hands up and stare through her hands at the scene before her.

Shinobu stared out at the ocean for a bit and imagined playing in the sand at the beach and swimming at dusk before stargazing. After a minute or two she took her hands away and smiled a little bit. '_I Do feel better..._' she thought to herself in wonder as she turned to thank the man who had spoken to her. Looking around she only saw three old men of the town council standing near staring with their hands boxed at the distant sunset, trying to figure out what she was doing. The young man she had spoken to earlier was gone.

Keitaro continued towards the Hinata Inn in a lazy manner. He soaked in as much of the town he remembered from his youth as he could. '_One could say that this is where I started something that has become a centering theme my entire life._' As he approached the hotel he stared up at the building feeling an inrush of memories as he walked in.

"Grandma! Aunt Haruka? Anybody here?" Keitaro Yelled, '_Must not be something important, if grandma isn't here to meet me, she is the host after all.._' he yawned a bit and stretched his arms, '_ahh whatever, guess I can just crash on the couch till she shows._ He sat his satchel down and proceeded to collapse on the couch in the living room. It didn't take long for him to drift off into a peaceful slumber.

Half an hour later Naru and Kitsune came down to the living room with red faces and relaxed smiles as they chatted happily with one another. "Ahh, nothing like a nice long soak in the hot springs eh Naru?" Kitsune said with a cheeky grin as they headed towards the kitchen.

Naru with a smiled on her face was about to respond till she spotted something "Umm... who is that?" she said as she pointed to the couch where Keitaro continued to snooze away.

"You expect me to know?" Kitsune said with a defensive look, At Naru's raised eyebrow she continued, "One time! And the guy was better looking, and I was boozed up. Look, I have no idea who he is..."

"Well, he's napping in a girls dorm so he's about to be tossed out." Naru muttered as she walked over to Keitaro. "Hey..." Naru said loudly, "HEY!" she yelled. She finally shook him a little bit and yelled, "Wake up!" at a muttering Naru finally stood back up, satisfied she had woken him up.

"...stikdmf..." said Keitaro as he waved his hand dismissively and rolled over on his side.

One would never ever peg Narusegawa Naru as a patient person, **ever.** Thought there was going to be more to that statement did you... well there isn't. "You lazy bum! This is a girls dormitory, you just can't walk in here off the streets and sleep here!" she yelled at his lazing form. Kitsune however was loving every second of it. '_Naru is getting mad, this guy hasn't said a word yet and I already know he's entertaining, I wonder why he's here though._ ' She thought to herself as Naru's yelling attracted the other tenants of the Hinata Sou.

"Narusegawa-sempai, what is the distur..."Aoyama Motoko said but stopped in mid-sentence as her eye's narrowed on Keitaro's form, his **male** form and she said, "Why is there a strange man on the couch?" in a cool tone her eyes traveling to Kitsune. Kitsune sighed in exasperation and shook her head indicating she wasn't the cause of this.

Kaolla Su leapt from Motoko's shoulders and said, "Is he a bum? can I use my Su-Missle array on him?" Su asked cheerily as she inspected him closer. She began to stretch his mouth and made him smile while she laughed. "He sleeps like my Poppa, I like him, lets keep him!" She leapt away and took off towards her room as Keitaro simply swatted at empty air before rolling back over.

"He must be some kind of vagrant, I can't imagine any other kind of person simply sleeping wherever..." Motoko muttered.

"Naru nodded and said, "Well, what do you guys think? Should we just toss the couch out with him on it since he won't wake up?"

Kitsune shook her head emphatically and said, "No way! I crash on that couch all the time to watch the races and drink, I'll be damned if we give a couch to a Hobo just because he won't wake up. Just pour some water on him or something." Kitsune finished as Naru smiled at the idea and Motoko merely nodded.

As Naru went into the Kitchen, the front door opened reveling Haruka. Motoko walked forward and said, "Haruka-san, we were just getting ready to rid ourselves of a vagrant, perhaps you can help me subdue him if he gets violent. I'd rather not dirty my sword hitting helpless bums around."

At Haruka's questioning look Motoko merely stepped to the side and allowed her to view the couch in question where Keitaro was still dead asleep. Recognizing Keitaro, Haruka opened her mouth but was quickly cut off by Naru who charged into the room and threw the glass of water on the sleeping bum in question.

"Gaaaaaakkkk! Thats cold! Whats the matter with you!?" Keitaro yelled as he sat up shivering. "Aww you got my bag too, ah-"

"Hello Nephew, seems like you were just getting comfortable." said Haruka in her typical deadpan.

"Hey Auntie Haruka-"

"Auntie..." said Kitsune and Motoko in unison as Naru simply held the glass forward in shock apparently too confused to resume function.

"**BAM**"

"Ouchie! Haruka, why'd you hit me, I haven't seen you in 2 months and this is how you greet me?!" Exclaimed Keitaro as he rubbed his head with a scowl.

"What have I said?" Haruka asked in a condescending manner.

Keitaro simply rubbed his head and blushed at having to repeat it in front of everyone and mumbled something inaudible.

Haruka smirked and put her hand to her ear before she said, "What was that nephew?" Her eyes gleaming in amusement.

Kitsune, Naru, and Motoko simply watched this unfold with eyebrows quirked as Keitaro crossed his arms on his chest and said, "Don't call you Auntie, cause your too young and beautiful to be called something that implys both age and lack of beauty." Keitaro said with practiced monotone that came with being told something a million times.

Haruka simply smiled and said, "Its good to see you, Keitaro, what brings you here?"

Keitaro returned the smile and said, "It is good to see you again aun- ahh Haruka, I'm looking for Grandma, she called me earlier today and told me to come see her here."

Haruka simply looked at him and said, "You do know that Granny Hina has not been here in almost a year don't you? This place has since been changed into a girls dormitory." The three girls simply nodded in affirmation, glares being thrown by two, and a saucy wink by the third.

Keitaro's eyes narrowed and his brow knitted together as he sat back down on the couch. Possibilities played out in various scenarios in his head all focused on why Granny Hina would have called him here and not have told him about the oh so forgettable fact that her hotel had become a girls dorm. Before the inevitable came to mind. '_Granny Hina must be trying to set me up with one of the girls here..._' he immediately felt a sense of betrayal as he thought of his Grandma, he had talked with her about the promised girl a few times and she had seemigly supported his path.

_Flashback..._

"Granny do you believe in destiny?" said a thirteen year old Keitaro who was visiting on break from school.

"Hmm I believe that there are those who have a destiny and those who don't Kei-chan" Granny Hina said with a bit of a cackle.

Keitaro looked at the woman as they stared out at the sun and finally after a minute or two said, "Do you think that I have a destiny Granny?" His eyes shined in hope as he looked at one of the people he admired most, Granny Hina was indeed very old, but with that came wisdom that no book could offer.

Hina simply looked at Keitaro and said, "Kei-chan, why would you ask me that, you know very well that you have a destiny, your destiny was sealed when you came here for your first time. I know your true motivations for your studies and ambition to get into Tokyo university, and I must say, I approve wholeheartedly." She added with a wink as they both turned and continued to admire the distant sunset in silence.

_End Flashback..._

'_Though she only said I **had** a destiny and that it was tied to this place. I wonder..._' further thoughts were cut off however by snapping fingers.

Keitaro sat like that for about thirty second before Naru looked from him to Haruka and said, "Umm what is he doing?" Naru eyed Keitaro mistrustfully and thought, '_I hope he's not getting any ideas, he froze after he heard this was a girls dorm, must be a pervo as well as a bum..._'

Motoko examined his expression and quickly connected it to some kind of meditation, perhaps not like hers, '_less spirtual, and more mental..._' she noted as she watched him, her curiosity increased by his strange behavior.

Kitsune was quietly examining the young man as he sat in thought, '_that intense expression kind of makes him look sexy.._' her train of thought was ruined by Naru's question as she jerked up, and wondered what he was doing as well.

Haruka sighed and said, "He's thinking, while he's mulling something over he tends to misplace reality." Haruka then turned before snapping her fingers in from of her nephew's face, his eyes stayed in place for a moment more before he seemingly broke out of his trance.

"Haruka, do you truthfully know why Granny would have called me here if she were not here." His tone far more serious that it was five minutes ago, as he plaintively stared at his aunt, his eyes demanding an answer.

Kitsune shivered at the sound of his voice, '_His voice must have gone down an octave or two, between that and his expression he almost looks like a totally different person..._' she mused silently to herself as she made a note to question Haruka more about her nephew later on.

Motoko had also noted the change and widened her eyes a bit in surprise, '_His demanding tone sounds like something I'd imagined one of my main characters from my novels having. He seems to be giving off a totally different aura than before.._' Motoko mused quietly remembering the way some of her best opponents in kendo seemed to have a battle persona, which was different than their normal personality.

Haruka simply shook her head as she took a drag from her cigarette, "I don't know for sure, but I imagine she'll let us know sooner rather than later, you should probably crash here tonight and hopefully she'll be satisfied at stirring up enough hell to finally tell us what she wants."

Su quickly made her way back into the room with a Bazooka of some kind on her shoulder. She set it on the ground and gave a thumbs up as she said, "Yeah, if the lazy bum wants to stay the night, lets let 'em I wanna play and he looks fun when he's awake."

Kitsune nodded and said, "I agree, we can't just make this poor guy leave if he'll just be coming back tomorrow to find out what Granny Hina wants with him." She grinned and winked at him after she said this making a bit of a blush rise to Keitaro's cheeks.

"Absolutely not, this is a girls dormitory, related to the owner or not, its not proper to allow him to stay." said Naru with her arms crossed.

"I agree with Naru-sempai, while I think he's too lazy to be a pervert and he's done nothing dishonorable so far, it would be dishonorable to allow him respite here." Motoko said with a neutral expression.

"Ahh I wasn't even thinking of actually staying the nig-" Keitaro said before he was interrupted by Haruka.

"Why, not Keitaro? This place is a lot closer to Tokyo U, right?"Haruka said knowing silently what would happen.

"Tokyo U?!" cried everyone in unison, except Su who simply sat back and said, "Whats Tokyo ewe, is it tasty?"

Keitaro who'd caught onto the pun snickered and said, "No little one, Tokyo U is a place where college students go to continue their schooling. He looked at everyone else who were all gazing expectantly at him before he said, "What?"

"Are you really a Tokyo U student." asked Naru, Kitsune and Motoko leaned in waiting for ananswer as Keitaro shook his head.

"No, not anymore." He said as he smiled up at them watching them all fall to the ground. Once they all got up he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I'm a Tokyo University Alumnus now, I'm Urashima Keitaro." He said with a bow to them.


	2. Test of mind, Test of Self

_**Last Time on Lazy Genius:**_

"_No, Not anymore" He said as he smiled up at them watching them all fall to the ground. Once they all got up he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I'm a Tokyo University Alumnus Now, I'm Urashima Keitaro." he said with a bow to them._

The Hinata Sou was the very definition of calm and peaceful on the outside. The birds were chirping merrily and all in all the Hinata house looked like something from a picturesque post card. Then came the shout of, "WHAT?!" and the birds all took off at the same time, sensing danger.

"You've already graduated?" said Naru in a disbelieving voice. Keitaro simply smiled and nodded as she paced back and forth.

"How can this be? I was under the impression that Tokyo U did not supply less than 4 year education." Motoko asked with a questioning look on her face, "Perhaps you just look younger than you are?" she supplied hoping to be told he was 3 or four years older than he looked.

Keitaro simply shook his head and said, "I turned twenty 3 months ago." He had to keep himself from grinning, these girls seemed like the type to deal out physical punishment on hair trigger reflex, though he had yet to meet any girls besides his promise girl who didn't do that. Perhaps he could look into that anomaly when he had time. '_My promise girl..._' he thought as his mind began to run through its scenarios again. He'd been snapped out of it before he could think things all the way through. Grandma supported his quest for the promise girl, perhaps she had wanted him here to **_meet_** the promise girl, or perhaps they'd missed each other at the university and she would come back to Hinata because its where the promise was made. There were too many factors to sort through quickly. He doubted his grandmother was out to hurt him, but based on the little tricks she decided to toss his way it was never a bad thing to be cautious. His head snapped up as he felt eyes on him and he said, "I'm sorry, what's up?"

The girls all looked at one another before they rushed off to a huddle, leaving Haruka and Keitaro on one side of the room. The two of them simply looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

_In the huddle..._

"I still think we should let 'em stay, I bet he runs fast when he's being chased by missiles." said Su in her customary fashion as she leapt out of the huddle and on to Motoko's shoulders before bobbing her head down into the huddle with a cute grin.

"Yeah, I mean seriously, if he's a Tokyo University Alumni at 20, he's gotta be like a genius or something, guys like that are usually rolling in the money once they graduate." said Kitsune who to punctuate her train of thought stuck her head out of the huddle and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Keitaro, who blushed before she put her head back down in the huddle.

"If he is a Tokyo University Graduate, then he is most likely trustworthy. If you both wish him to stay, I'll not stand in your way." Motoko added, her mind reeling over the information. He was a Genius of the Mind it seemed, as she was a Genius of the Body. If she knew anything, it was how focused one could be on one's specialty, to the exclusion of almost all else. There seemed to be little chance of him being a pervert.

"Hmmph, I think hes lying, if he wants to stay here, he should prove it." Naru said as her head poked up out of the huddle and she glared at the guy in question. He was in mid yawn however and seemed to be talking to Haruka about something so he didn't notice.

"An Excellent plan Narusagawa-sempai, how can we make him prove it?" Motoko asked.

"I've got a few of my cram school practice tests up in my room that I haven't done yet. If he can do them without getting any wrong, I'll believe it." Naru said with a smirk as she dashed out of the huddle and upstairs. The other girls broke the huddle and walked back over to the couch.

Keitaro looked away from his conversation, "Hey, you're back, how was the huddle?" he added in a deadpan tone and expression that made the girls realize for the first time that yes, he was truly related to Haruka at least. Haruka had left to go back to the Teashop at some point during the huddle they noticed so it wasn't as weird as it could have been.

"It was nice, why don't you join us next time, all huddled in close together..." Kitsune said as she struggled not to laugh at the strangled gasp and look on Keitaro's face.

Motoko also blushed a bit as she admonished Kitsune, "That is unnecessary, Kitsune."

Su meanwhile, had already leapfrogged off of Motoko's shoulders onto Keitaro who was stunned from Kitsune's light innuendo. She grabbed Keitaro's face and rubbed it cheek to cheek with hers before she said, "Hypothesis proved, Keitaro feels good. Next time we huddle, he gets ta' be my partner." She said with a laugh as she leapt off his shoulders and ran back over to the other girls with her arms out as she made airplane noises.

Keitaro recovered from the surprise attack quickly and was already in thought as he stared at Su. '_She seems to be at genius level intelligence, just from what I've seen so far. Based on the technology that she's brought out, she's gifted in weapons technology, but she's either trying to hide it or she's too unbalanced to be properly educated. If they do allow me to visit, it would be in my best interest to test out a few hypothesizes myself, outside of the search for the promise girl._' Keitaro was brought out of his thoughts by Motoko's voice.

"Urashima-san, we feel that you would be trustworthy enough as a Tokyo University Alumnus to be allowed to spent the night here, but we require proof that you are. To that end we'd like you to take a test." Motoko said in an authoritative voice.

Keitaro shrugged and said, "Sounds reasonable, but also sounds like way too much work, I'll just rent out a room at an inn or something." Keitaro rose from his seat and stretched before bowing to the girls, "Thank you for your hospitality." He said as he began to walk towards the door.

Naru meanwhile had been at the foot of the stairs and had heard his parting remark. "I knew he was lying." Naru said with a bit of disgust in her voice. "He's probably just some dumb ass that wanted to sound cool in front of a few girls, but realized in mid-lie that he'd goofed up."

Keitaro had stopped halfway to the door and with his back turned he said in a deceptively quiet voice, "What did you call me?"

Naru snorted and said, "I called you a lying dumb ass."

Keitaro turned around and thrust his hand out and in the lower tone of voice he'd used earlier simply said, "Please hand me the test."

Naru rolled her eyes and handed him the test. He deftly took it out of her hands and set it down. With a grunt of acknowledgment he sat down and began writing.

_Twenty minutes later..._

The girls sat in the common room looking at one another as they waited. Kitsune was the first to speak, "So, how long is the test supposed to take."

Naru shrugged and said, "The Test took me about an hour to do and I only got a 93 on it, If he's striving for perfection, it'll take him quite a bit longer than that, but if he's such a genius, then it'll be easy for him right?"

Su grinned and said, "I told him I would give him a banana if he got it done fast, that way we can start playing."

"He seemed to be ready to leave, Narusagawa, I would question the wisdom of baiting him into taking the test, perhaps you wish him to stay?" asked Motoko with a small smile.

Kitsune's jaw dropped before she started laughing, "I-I think" she had to pause in between giggles "Motoko-chan was teasing you, hell must have frozen over or something."

Motoko looked over at Kitsune and said with a neutral expression, "You are a bad influence." Kitsune just smiled big, which Su quickly emulated as they began to laugh some more at Naru's stupefied expression. Motoko turned to Naru and said, "Naru-sempai, my apologies. I didn't mean to tease you, though it is a valid question."

Naru finally came out of the shock brought on by being teased by Motoko of all people before she grumbled, "I just don't like Liars is all."

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door closing. Naru smiled triumphantly as they got up and went into the front room where Keitaro was taking the test. The test was laid out on the desk with both a pencil and a pen out on top of it. Keitaro, it seemed, had left. Naru pulled out her answer sheet and quickly began to scan answers. "Un-unbelievable! Every single answer is right, and he even corrected the syntax of some of the questions!" her expression was absolutely gob smacked.

_Outside_...

Keitaro reached the bottom of the steps from the front walk when he heard a voice calling out to him. He turned and looked at Kitsune and Su as they both stared at him.

"Why are you heading out tiger, ya passed the test." said Kitsune as she leaned against the railing on the steps.

Keitaro merely shrugged and said, "It was Haruka's suggestion, while I wouldn't mind staying the night, the simple fact is that finding an inn and checking in are going to be met with a great deal less resistance than my staying here would be. If I had to fill out a test on the level of Tokyo U acceptance just to be able to stay the night, I'd probably be hassled the rest of the night." He held up a hand to forestall any other comments, "Perhaps not about staying, but if you guys wished me not to stay so much that you'd try to prevent me by making me take a test just to be able to, then the test won't change your mind. You'd just feel you'd **have **to accept me. I'd just rather avoid the mental and emotional turmoil that forced acceptance brings."

Motoko and Naru had both arrived sometime during the speech and as Keitaro turned around Naru spoke. "Look, I'm sorry I called you a liar, we'd all like for you to stay here tonight. I'm the one who called for a test to prove your truthfulness,and the others had already agreed to let you stay, so there is no more resistance." Naru said with a smile at the end.

Keitaro nodded his head with a blush as he began to walk up the stairs '_She knows how to turn the wattage up on her smiles thats for sure..._'. The girls each introduced themselves as Keitaro approached. They all walked in together and the doors to Hinata Inn closed in an almost symbolic gesture.

As they closed the front doors Keitaro looked at the others and said, "So which room am I sleeping in? Is Grandma Hina's room still furnished?" As the others nodded he took his satchel and walked upstairs.

Keitaro had already dumped his satchel to the side of the room and ignoring the smell of old lady that seemed to linger dropped onto his futon and began to doze off.

The girls all looked at one another before they nodded and went to go talk to Haruka to find out more about their house guest. They quickly made their way down to the teashop and looked around expecting to see a few of Haruka's regulars. What they saw instead was Haruka seated at one of her tables as she waited expectantly. She looked up from her tea and nodded to them and simply said, "Yo."

The four girls looked to each other to ask the first question, but it fell to Kitsune as usual. "Whats the deal with your Nephew?"

Haruka continued to sip her drink as she looked up and said, "What about him?"

"How about how is he a Tokyo U grad at 20?" Naru said in an exasperated manner.

"Well he graduated high school at 15 and applied for Tokyo U. He'd been working hard all of his life, dreaming about going to Tokyo U. When an opportunity to graduate early presented itself, he took it and the extra work it entailed, just to be able to go to Tokyo U." Haruka said taking a long draw on her cigarette.

The girls all looked to each other slightly surprised, the image of a workaholic Tokyo U aspirant didn't really mesh well with the lazy, yet smart, devil may care attitude of the Keitaro Urashima they had sleeping up in the Manager's room.

"He doesn't seem like the type of guy that would do something like that..." Naru finally said, and most of the other girls nodded as well, although Su simply seemed to nod because everyone was doing it and it looked fun.

Haruka shrugged and said, "All I can tell you is that until about 4 months ago, the Keitaro you just met didn't exist. Keitaro was a driven genius with quite a few rivals from what he told me, between his accelerated degree program and the various side projects he was working on, he'd get three or four hours of sleep a night. The rest of the time was spent working in apprenticeships for professors or on schoolwork."

Motoko shook her head and muttered something. Once she realized everyone had turned to her to hear what she said she finally spoke up, "There are those who overtax the body and injure themselves, I was under the impression that the same thing could happen to the mind, Burnout, I believe it was called."

Haruka shook her head and said, "I thought that as well, Keitaro is resilient, but the body and mind have limits, right? He takes to his research with the same voracious nature as before, but he does it alone. I think a particular incident is related, burnout might be a factor, but something else comes to the fore."

Kitsune who'd been quiet since the first question spoke up once again and said, "I know why we came here, but it was supposed to yield little or no info, why are you telling us this? I mean the guy is your nephew and even with things that you are free to talk about you usually say, 'That's something you'll have to find out on your own.' "The last part had mimicked Haruka's deadpan voice very well.

Haruka smiled and said, "Keitaro figured that even if he wasn't allowed to stay there'd be questions about him. He told me to answer what I could."

The group all looked to each other before Kitsune smiled and said, "We allowed him to stay, he went straight up to Grandma Hina's room to sleep."

Haruka narrowed her eyes and frowned, "He said he would answer your questions himself if he was allowed to stay. That lazy..." The sound of the fax machine going off in the back room got everyone's attention as they all walked back . Usually the only person to fax the Teashop was Granny Hina and they all hoped for a few answers. As they paper came out Haruka pulled it off the printer. She broke from her normal expression to raise an eyebrow which was as close to an expression of shock as the girls had ever seen on her. The second paper was also quickly coming out and it looked official to the girls.

"What is all this? Is it from Granny Hina?" Naru asked silently bracing herself, seeing as how it had surprised even Haruka.

Haruka nodded, "Yeah, Granny has just given the deed of Hinata Sou over to Keitaro," she said motioning to the legal document that had just finished printing. "Provided he becomes the manager..."

From up in Granny Hina's room, Keitaro rolled over and put his pillow over his head after hearing a loud screech of, "WHAT?!"

Author's note

Thanks to everyone whose reviewed, based on some of your suggestions I edited the syntax and grammar in chapter one. I covered up a few obvious and not so obvious mistakes on my part.


	3. To prove myself

_Last Time on Urashima Keitaro: Lazy Genius..._

"_**What is all this? Is it from Granny Hina?" Naru asked silently bracing herself, seeing as how it had surprised even Haruka. **_

_**Haruka nodded, "Yeah, Granny has just given the deed of Hinata Sou over to Keitaro," she said motioning to the legal document that had just finished printing. "Provided he becomes the manager..."**_

_**From up in Granny Hina's room, Keitaro rolled over and put his pillow over his head after hearing a loud screech of, "WHAT?!"**_

_Five minutes after hearing about the Deed in the Hinata common room..._

Kitsune looked over the other residents speculatively. She reviewed the factors in her head, '_He's decent looking, in a nerdish kind of way, he's a genius, and now he might become my landlord..._' then spoke, "I say we give him a chance, its obvious he's not a perv or anything, so I don't see anything wrong with letting him stay on as manager." The crew had spoke amongst themselves in the teahouse for a few minutes before they knocked on the door to Keitaro's room and told him the news. He had been silent for a few moments and they nearly opened the door before he had said to decide amongst themselves and that he wouldn't force the change upon them.

Motoko seemed in thought before she said, "I don't doubt his character, and thats partially the problem. His character seems to indicate that the duties as manager wouldn't be completed. Even if he still researches as fervently as he did before whatever changed him, he doesn't seem the type to submit to mundane chores."

Naru nodded in agreement before she said, "Yeah, he may be a Tokyo Alum, and I may have been wrong about him before, but this evidence is staring us in the face."

Su finally chimed in her childish tone ringing with a tad more maturity than normal as she said, "Well, lets let him try before we send him away, he would be loads 'a fun ta' have around."

Motoko nodded before she said, "Yes, it would be the honorable thing to do to allow him a trial period to prove to us that the duties of landlord can be fulfilled. He did after all prove to us that he is worthy of our trust and if he didn't want this he would have point blank told us."

Kitsune nodded with a grin on her face as she said, "Well, lets compile a list of chores and if they are done by the end of the day tomorrow, we'll allow him to become our manager." They quickly began to draft a list of regular chores and a couple of things that needed done badly. Once they all agreed to its contents they decided it was complete.

The group nodded and went back upstairs to inform Keitaro that they would give him a chance to prove that he could manage the duties of the landlord effectively. Upon knocking Keitaro opened the door to Granny Hina's room and said, "So, whats the decision?"

Kitsune walked forward and handed Keitaro the compiled list. "We believe that you're a good guy and as smart as you say, but we need to make sure that the Hinata Sou is well taken care of. This is a list of daily chores here, plus a few extra things, if these are done by the end of the day tomorrow, then..." she winked at him which caused a slight blush on Keitaro's part. "You'll be our new Landlord."

Keitaro stared at the list for a moment his thoughts racing forward as he contemplated his options. '_If I become the landlord I can continue the search for my promise girl from the best possible position. As landlord I'll have more options and access to places and things which would be infinitely more helpful._' a small part of his mind roared in protest at the thought of chores before he focused on the matter at hand. '_If I put forth a herculean effort I'll get these done by sunset._' At the thought of such harsh physical labor his mind desperately pulled for any kind of helpful memory. One came in a flash.

_Flashback..._

_Keitaro stumbled into the lab with dark rings under his eyes as he approached Hayate-sensei._

_Hayate-sensei shook his head and said, "Keitaro, you're going to end up in a grave before you graduate if you don't get more sleep."_

_Keitaro yawned and sleepily muttered, "We need as many man hours put into this project as possible Hayate-sensei." _

_Hayate-sensei shook his head with a grin and said, "Its never just about working hard, its about putting your intelligence to the best possible use. Use that IQ of yours and seek out ways to increase productivity."_

_Keitaro nodded and said, "Yes, sensei." as they both started to get to work._

_End Flashback..._

'_Hayate-sensei..._' he thought before he shook his head clearing such thoughts from his mind. His mind began to work on ways around his situation. '_If only this was as easy as academic wo-_' the though process stopped and a grin came to his face and he looked at the Hinata girls and said, "I'll prove that these chores can be done and will be done. I'd better get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be busy. Good night, and thank you for the chance."

The group nodded and began to walk away. As Keitaro was shutting the door he stopped and said, "Uhh Su, Kitsune, can I talk with you for a moment." The two nodded as they walked back to the door. "I just wanted to say, thank you for earlier, you guys were willing to let me stay even before you knew anything about me. It's nice to know that there are people out there who are kind without expecting anything in return. So..." he bowed low in gratitude, "Thank you."

Su grinned and gave Keitaro a thumbs up, "No problems, Su likes Keitaro. Tokyo Ewe or not."

Kitsune, genuinely embarrassed by the praise blushed a bit and said, "No problem sugar, I couldn't let a cutie like you get tossed out of the house without a bit of a fight."

Keitaro blushed red and said, "Ahh hehe well."

Kitsune just put her hand on his chest and said, "Just get some rest okay, tomorrow will be a big day." with that she shoved him backward playfully and watched as he stumbled back before falling flat on his back. "Sorry hun, I didn't think I pushed you that hard."She muttered apologetically

Keitaro laughed a bit and said, "Thats alright, I'm a little naturally clumsy." with an embarrassed rub of the back of his neck. He got back up and quickly bowed, "Good night you guys..." With a wave the two girls headed either off to their own rooms or to the common room as Keitaro shut the door to his room. He laid back on his Futon and stared at the ceiling in contemplation. He hadn't even been here a day and he'd found some people that didn't seem to care whether he was a genius or not for any reason other than it would make him more trustworthy. Ever since his first day of school when he was six people had treated him differently.

_Flashback..._

"_Hi guys, can I play with you?" Said little Keitaro as he walked up to a group of boys playing in the sand. _

"_Okay, you can be monster that knocks down our castles." said one of the boys as the others nodded in agreement. _

_Keitaro smiled for a moment and walked over to the sandbox. "Keitaro-Chan!" the voice of the teacher stopped Keitaro as Rita-sensei, his new teacher, came running out. _

"_Yes Rita-sensei?" Keitaro asked innocently as his teacher stopped in front of him. _

"_I'd like you to come with me." Rita-sensei said to Keitaro as she stuck out her hand indicating he grab it. Keitaro turned back and looked as the other kids began to start their castles over... another kid got to be the monster. _

_End Flashback..._

He remembered what had caused it too. It was his drawing, a terrible but endearing thing like most young children drew but that wasn't what caused his teacher's distress. It had been a turtle. He had put his full name at the top of the picture and labeled the small animal. Apparently his teacher was caught off guard by the fact that he could read and write already. '_When she mentioned it to Mother and Father it was all over..._' Keitaro thought as more memories had come to mind. His first days at the Takahishi Academy for Gifted Youngsters, quickly becoming alienated because he drew most of the teacher's attention. Through it all the thought of the promise girl, someone who had liked him just for him had kept him going. '_I've got to find her, its one of the only dreams I have left..._' Keitaro thought as he drifted off to a soundless sleep.

The next morning Keitaro opened his eyes and rolled off of his futon. He stretched as he headed out of his room.. '_Though none of the girls have said anything so far, I doubt I'll be welcome in the Hot springs, wasn't there a bathtub on the third floor..._' he wondered as he set off. He quickly found it and cleaned up as he prepared for the day ahead. '_This little plan of mine is going to take just as much luck as brains, something I never like to rely on in plans..._' he thought forebodingly as he quickly changed into his fresh clothes. "Time to go to town." he said aloud as he slipped out the front door.

As Keitaro walked down the front steps he kept his eyes peeled. '_I'll need supplies for some of these things and spare parts for that nearly busted boiler..._' Keitaro mentally checked off as he towards the Hardware store. Upon entering he greeted the man at the counter and began to stockpile the necessary parts and equipment. He had more than enough money in his account to pay for it, but he hoped that the man at the counter would take debit cards. As Keitaro walked forward he flashed his debit card with a questioning look as he set his items on the counter. A small nod from the man was all that was exchanged. He scanned the card and handed it back as he bagged the parts for Keitaro. The two men nodded silently to each other as they parted ways one thankful not to have to idly chatter about the weather or something, while the other glad there were no questions involving how to install items properly.

Keitaro left the hardware store with a grin on his face as he mentally checked off the first part of the plan. '_Phase one complete, now for phase two..._' He turned slightly as he began to head towards a different part of town.

_At the Library..._

"This is hopeless..." Muttered Haru Moriseta as he buried his face in his hands.

"Yeah, we might as well spend the rest of our day as free men, our folks won't let us skate by with another failed grade." sighed Koichi Teke as he shook his head in a disgusted manner.

"Whatever, its my fault for agreeing to do this project with my two _idiot _best friends, and Maehara-san, the only person in the class as bad at math as we are." Hikaru Miamoto said as he glared at his two miserable best friends.

Shinobu meanwhile was in her own special circle of hell. These three were the toughest boys in her class and due to the fact that she really didn't have any friends she was added on to their incomplete group by the teacher. Her spirits perked immediately as she noticed someone familiar.

"Umm, I think I might be able to get us some help..." She whispered quietly as she got up and walked over to the person she had spotted. "H-hello, you may not recognize me-" she was cut off by the stranger's smile as he turned towards her.

"Of course I remember you, you're that cute girl who was crying down by the bus stop." A thought occurred to him as soon as he finished the sentence. "My name is Urashima Keitaro by the way." he said as he nodded a bit.

Shinobu blushed at being called cute by an older man before she finally composed herself enough to get out, "I'm Maehara Shinobu, This may seem odd, but I have a request..." she trailed off as a blush colored her cheeks a bit and she looked down.

Keitaro smiled at the girl and said, "Sure what do you need Maehara-san?"

Shinobu seemed to steel herself and a look of determination spread a crossed her face as she said, "Can you help my group mates and I? We're doing a project for math class that is worth 25 of our total grade. None of us seem to get it, especially not me, I'm really dumb at math." her head lowering in shame as she dug her toe in the ground nervously.

Keitaro surprised her by grabbing her shoulders and as he said, "Don't sell yourself short Maehara-san I'm sure you are quite smart, everyone can learn math it just takes the right approach. Lead me over to your friends."

Shinobu was about to correct him about them being her friends but decided not to as they approached the table. The boy looked up in awe at the 'help' Shinobu Maehara, the shyest girl in their school had managed to get.

Keitaro smiled at the group as he looked over the math problem. He looked back up and said, "Okay, what I want to do is show you a few ways we can do these problems that are different than what you are learning okay?" The group as a whole nodded as Keitaro picked a a piece of paper and motioned for everyone to get near as he walked through the problem drawing out diagrams and throughly explaining what he was doing. After about twenty minutes, he'd finished explaining the problem as he looked at the group.

"Wow, Why didn't Rubito-sensei do it that way? It seems way easier..." Asked Haru as he stared at the problem.

"Oh my god, I understood that, it can't be..." Koichi muttered as he began to search for a pocket protector he was sure was about to spring up out of his pocket.

"How can this be, math suddenly becoming easy? You're really smart, you must be a university student, are you really Maehara-san's friend?" Asked Hikaru as the eyes of the other two boys fixed themselves on Keitaro awaiting an answer.

Keitaro looked over to Shinobu and smiled before he said, "I haven't know Maehara-san long, but already she is a good friend." the girl in question blushed crimson as the boys seemed to contemplate something to themselves. Keitaro smiled and decided to drop his bomb on the group.

"With my help understanding these math problems, I could practically ensure you guys an A+ on your project..." His eyes got downcast as he said, "It's really too bad..."

"What! Whats too bad?" Hikaru shouted urgently, the carrot dangled in front of his face.

"Well, I'm trying to be the new landlord of the Hinata Inn. They gave me this list of chores to do with the condition that if I finish them by sundown, I'll be the permanent landlord." he said as he laid the list on the table for the group to see. "I'd have no time to do these chores and help you with your project..." Keitaro said as he shook his head sadly.

"Ha! Is that all? Koichi, Hikaru, Shinobu, and I could do these chores in no time flat." Said Haru confidently as he put the list down.

"He's right! We're known throughout the school as the Three Titans of the upper grade." said Hikaru with a smug look.

"Wow, thats a great idea guys! If we hurry we can really stun your teacher and have you learn enough to get A's on your next test." Said Keitaro as he pointed towards the Hinata Inn. "Lets go!" He shouted his tone becoming motivational as the other boys cheered.

Shinobu meanwhile simply looked at Keitaro with a sweat drop on the back of her head. '_Did he just get them to agree to do his chores?_' she wondered as the boy's rushed to pick up their books. Keitaro saw her look and winked with a smile.

_At Hinata Inn..._

Naru, Motoko, And Su sat around the breakfast table each eating their breakfast. The meal had been quiet thus far, but at the rate Su was going on the sugary cereal she was eating; things would liven up soon enough.

"Kitsune is not down from her room yet..." Naru noted with a frown as she dug into the eggs she had made.

"Hmmm." Motoko said as she continued to pick at her meal.

Su finally finished her meal with a slurp and said, "I wonder where Keitaro is, I wanted 'ta try out my new Suzooka on him, but he was gone when I checked up on him. Do you think he quit?"

"Hmmm" Motoko said, not looking up as she continued.

"Alright! Heres how were gonna split it." Came the voice of a young boy from outside the girls all looked at each other before going to the window. They saw Keitaro and a group of four kids Su's age or a little younger.

"I know those guys, Haru, Koichi, Hikaru, and the girl is Shinobu-chan, I didn't know they were all friends." Said Su as she looked out at the group questioningly.

"Is this really what it looks like?" said Naru in disbelief.

Kitsune who had decided to show up at that point got right behind Naru and said, "It looks like he's gotten some kids to help him shoulder the work. We never did say **_How_** the chore were to be done, did we?"

Keitaro looked at the group who had been discussing their plans quietly before he said, "Alright we all do two things each then work on cleaning the hot springs, and pruning the trees as a whole group, agreed?"

The group broke apart and went in different directions as Keitaro smiled and waved at the girls in the window. Motoko had already left the dining room at that point and was already out near Keitaro.

"Urashima-san what is the meaning of this?" Motoko said in a no-nonsense tone.

Keitaro smiled and said, "I got some friends to help me in exchange for my help in studying and proofreading their math project."

Motoko raised her eyebrow and said, "We gave you that list so you could prove to us that the chores would be well in hand all the time, not just this once."

Keitaro kept his smile and said, "You underestimate the addictive quality of my tutoring, at my High School a lot of my underclassmen were quite eager to receive tutoring from me, I'm sure they'll come back and we'll strike up a deal that benefits everyone."

A wind blew by and a few strands of Motoko's hair flew to the side giving her silence a dramatic quality. '_Wow, this whole situation seems to give her a mystical quality..._' Keitaro thought as the silence continued for a moment more.

Motoko simply turned and began walking back into the house. She stopped after a few steps and facing away from him said, "Do well to keep up your end of the bargain. A person of honor always keeps their word."

Keitaro nodded seriously and said, "Of course, call me what you will, but I **_am_** a man of my word."

Motoko nodded as they both headed in opposite directions. The chores continued without much incident till early in the afternoon. The group then then met in Granny Hina's room where Keitaro described each problem in detail and then gave each of the group members sample problems to determine that they'd learned it. Keitaro was surprised by the warm feeling he got from teaching others '_I wonder if this was how my teachers felt..._' he thought. Shinobu offered to make supper as Keitaro worked with the boys on the speaking part of the presentation. Shinobu offered not to take part in that She'd relaxed more during the day around everyone, but hadn't come **_that_** far yet.

Dinner was a pleasant affair for everyone as they all sat at the large table in the kitchen. "Shinobu-san this food is delicious!" Keitaro said as he continued to devour his food at a fast pace.

The other members of the house voiced their agreement and Shinobu turned atomic red and said, "Umm thank you, its meant as a thank you for helping our group so much Keitaro-san."

"You guys probably helped him more than he helped you..."Naru said in a deadpan as Keitaro rubbed the back of his neck with a smile on his face.

"The chores did get done though Naru-san, thats what counts, and a lot of things that really needed done were completed as well." Keitaro defended as Shinobu and the boys nodded proudly.

Su nodded, a little hyper due to all the company. "He's right, we gotta give our new manager the the welcome!"

Kitsune grinned while Naru rolled her eyes and Motoko nodded slightly. As one they all yelled, "WELCOME TO HINATA HOUSE!"

Keitaro smiled while the three boys gave him a thumbs up and Shinobu quietly said, "Congratulations Keitaro-san."

After supper Keitaro led the kids out of the house and they all said their good-byes. The boys all began to head towards their houses while talking loudly. Shinobu hung back and watched the boys leave with Keitaro.

"What a great day! Sure we had to do chores, but we met some totally awesome math samurai and received training that will help us ace the presentation!" said Haru as he walked with his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, who would've thought that Maehara-san would know someone like that!" Said Koichi as he ambled lazily behind Haru.

"Maehara-san was really surprising, I think I could eat her cooking forever." Said Hikaru as the continued down the stairs.

"Yeah we should-" at that point the boys got too far away and their voices became too light to hear.

Shinobu turned to Keitaro and before he knew what was happening he was wrapped in a hug. "Thank you Keitaro-san!" Shinobu said as she realized what she'd done and leaped back with a blush.

Keitaro smiled and said, "I meant what I said earlier today, I haven't known you long Shinobu, but I consider you a close friend." with that he ruffled her hair playfully.

Shinobu seemed to stop for a second and looked like she was trying to muster the courage for something, before she knew what was happening she blurted out, "Can I call you sempai?"

Keitaro seemed surprised before he smiled wider than he had in a long time. "Sure Shinobu, if you or the guys ever need more help, you know where to head, right?"

Shinobu nodded before she took off towards the steps, she turned around and smiled, the first one Keitaro had seen since he'd known her as she waved, "Goodnight, Sempai!"

Keitaro smiled at the girls in the Hinata house and said, "I'm going to go to bed, its been a busy day. Plus I've got to get my stuff and move it in tomorrow." '_and tell mom that I won't be living at home to get nagged at anymore..._' Keitaro thought.

Kitsune grinned mischievously as she walked forward and gave Keitaro a hug, "Congrats, hun, you passed the test, and you were quiet devious. 'I think I like that about you...'" she said as she whispered the last part in his ear seductively.

As soon as Kitsune released the hug he was tackled by Su who rubbed her face against his affectionately. "Yea! We gets to have a Keitaro to play with!" with a quick leap she was off to parts unknown in the house.

Naru looked at Keitaro and said, "You're our new manager, be sure to take your responsibilities seriously." she said wagging her finger at him as she walked towards her room to study.

Motoko simply nodded at him and he nodded back, all that needed to be said between them had been said earlier that day.

Keitaro went up to his room and laid back on his futon. As he closed his eyes images from the day came to him unbidden to him. Keitaro and Haru both in the hot springs after accidentally falling in trying to clean near it as the other two boys looked on doubled over in laughter and Shinobu attempted to suppress giggles. The group gathered around the paper as Keitaro explained a certain math problem. Hikaru accidentally attempting to cut down a branch with a birds nest and an irate bird chasing Hikaru around the grounds. He finally felt himself drifting off to sleep as he continued to think about the day. The dream came rather quickly after that.

_Keitaro's Dream..._

_Keitaro looked around and noticed the playground where he'd first been noticed as special. He felt a tug on his hand as Rita-sensei proceeded to pull him away. The children were playing and Keitaro felt himself wrench his hand from her grasp and run back towards the sandbox. He sat down and began to play with the kids. Their faces began to morph into younger versions on the Hinata girls and the group he had helped today. _

Keitaro turned over in his sleep as his mouth began to twitch and before long a smile began to form.

Author's note

Okay, its a bit longer that the other chapters, and if any of you spot something wrong be sure to let me know, its tough beta reading my own work, my mind knows what I was trying to write and fills in the gaps rather irritatingly. If anyone is a beta reader please let me know, thanks.


	4. To Change the System

_Last Time on Urashima Keitaro: Lazy Genius..._

_**Keitaro's Dream...**_

_**Keitaro looked around and noticed the playground where he'd first been noticed as special. He felt a tug on his hand as Rita-sensei proceeded to pull him away. The children were playing and Keitaro felt himself wrench his hand from her grasp and run back towards the sandbox. He sat down and began to play with the kids. Their faces began to morph into younger versions on the Hinata girls and the group he had helped today.**_

_**End Dream... **_

**Keitaro turned over in his sleep as his mouth began to twitch and before long a smile began to form.**

"Alright guys," said Keitaro as he stood in his parent's living room. "Rendashi-san," Keitaro said pointing to the largest mover, "Please get the book collection marked over there." he motioned to one corner of the room. "Namura-san," Keitaro said as the man grunted in acknowledgment, "The beakers and fragile glass equipment is yours to work on, all the fragile items are marked."

"So, you're really moving out son?" Keitaro's father said plaintively as he stared at the men doing their work. Keitaro's father, Kisuke was a taller man for being Japanese, just barely short of 6 feet with black hair, though a few flecks of gray could be seen.

Keitaro looked over at his father and smiled, "Yes father, all birds must leave the nest sometime, it is a simple fact of nature." Keitaro smile was returned with a heartfelt one from his father as the both looked around for a moment and briefly hugged before backing up and whistling in a nonchalant manner.

"I saw that, my husband and his only son showing their feelings, it was a beautiful scene." Said Keitaro's mother, Kaede. She was a rather lovely woman who had like his father aged rather well. Though admittedly she had her quirks.

Keitaro's father groaned in a mock sad manner before he stage whispered to Keitaro, "Son she saw us, its over."

Keitaro simply shook his head and in a forlorn manner said, "Well, I won't be around to get teased by old lady Okamoto when she comes to the Sweet Shop, pops. The whole neighborhood will hear about it and the old ladies will think its cute." the older ladies of the neighborhood hit on his father, though in a joking manner.

Keitaro hugged his mother who started to tear slightly, "My son managing an all girls dorm, now I'm practically guaranteed those grandchildren I want." Keitaro winced as his mother went on about how he would fall in love and make many grandbabies for her to take care of in her old age. Keitaro was about to refute that argument but was stopped by his father with a hand on the shoulder and a shake of the head.

Keitaro and his father both set out to begin to help the movers move items into the moving van before a phone call interrupted them. "Keitaro! Its for you, its Doctor Agami, your engineering professor." came Kaede's shout as she brought out the phone. Keitaro's face took on a curious cast as he grabbed the phone from his mother.

"Hello Agami-sensei, its nice to hear from you, its been awhile." Said Keitaro as he sat down at the table.

"Ahh Jamaica, that sounds nice, so you and your wife-" Keitaro nodded for a few moments and said, "I've been interested in that particular effect as well, but if your wife wishes a vacation you should probably catalog the effects once you've been there for awhile."

Keitaro shifted in his seat as his countenance grew confused for a second before he said, "Well, its nice that you'd consider me that, but-" He sighed silently before he said, "Yes yes, I do owe you, its just that I made-" Keitaro's look of increasing dread said on the other side of the conversation something he didn't like was being said, "Yes Agami-sensei, I'll do it... I promised you I'd return the favor someday."

Keitaro leaned back in his chair and let his head lull back as he stared at the ceiling. He kept listening for a moment before he finally said, "Alright Agami-sensei, enjoy your trip, Good-bye." As he hit the off button his head hit the table with a resounding 'Thump!'.

Kisuke watched his son before he raised a single eyebrow and said, "What was that about?"

Keitaro simply sighed and said, "Agami-sensei is going on a trip with his wife to Jamaica, since he has tenure at Tokyo U they came up with a replacement for him for the 3 months he's going to be gone. He seems to have agreed to teach at one of the local cram-schools though, and is under contract to find his own replacement. As his 'favorite student'," Keitaro said with a deadpan voice and finger quotations, "He naturally wished for me to be his replacement."

Kaede walked in during the explanation and smiled wide, "My boy, my beautiful little boy is going to be a teacher." She began to do a victory dance as she circled a stunned Keitaro and Kisuke chanting about girls being attracted to the sexy sensei.

Keitaro turned to his father and said, "Dad, will you ever be able to tell me why-"

Kisuke held up a hand to forestall his son's question and said, "Because, your mother makes me feel like the happiest man on earth." As she began to do the robot Kisuke sweatdropped and said, "Well, most of the time anyhow."

_Later on at the Hinata Inn..._

Keitaro watched as the movers took all of his items out of the moving van and towards his specified place. Hinata Inn was a large place even on the regular floors but to a young man who was knowledgeable in the secret passages in the house, finding a place for his laboratory was easy enough. He would have to take precautions and install some security equipment but that shouldn't be too hard. Keitaro meanwhile moved his clothing and futon upstairs to Granny Hina's room. He grinned, glad that the movers were available on such short notice. As he began to unpack he thought a bit about his newest job. '_If I'm going to teach students, some of whom might be my age or even a little older, I'll need to make a good impression. Especially considering that most of my problem solving methods differ somewhat from what they've been taught. I have to figure out some way to impress them appearance wise. It'll definitely be easier for me this way..._' he thought as he furrowed his brow and continued to mechanically put away his clothes unaware of the voice attempting to reach his ears.

Kitsune stood at the doorway with a confused look on her face as Keitaro stood there unpacking his clothes with that intense expression back on his face. '_He really is out of it when he's like that... heh, I know just how to jolt him out of that._' With that Kitsune slowly made her way over to the man and wrapped her arms around him from his right side pressing both of her impressive assets against his arm.

Keitaro's eyes seemed to focus and his face became inquisitive as he slowly turned his head to glance over at Kitsune who had a cheeky grin on her face as she said, "Hey tiger, back from lala land?"

Keitaro, as he was unsure of his vocal response system at the moment simply nodded his head. Kitsune seemed to understand the implied 'won't be able to talk if you're doing that' and let go of him with her cheeky grin growing wider. With a moment to compose himself he said, "Uh, hello Kitsune-san did you need something?" he asked as his intense expression began to relax and his normal lazy countenance began to resurface.

Kitsune simply shifted on the balls of her feet and said, "Just wondering what all that stuff is that those big guys are taking in here."

Keitaro smiled as he said, "Ahh that stuff, its most of my lab equipment. Normally I work out of the school's lab and they said they'll let me continue on using their equipment despite my graduating, but some of my private projects I cook up at home so no one will mess with them."

Kitsune seemed to nod at this before she said, "It's a good thing Su is at school then, she has a tendency to be kind of destructive."

Keitaro nodded with a bit of a wince and said, "Yeah, it kind of seemed like that to me as well, thats why I waited till a little after noon to get this stuff moved in." Keitaro seemed to think of something for a moment before he said, "Say Kitsune, would you be willing to accompany me into town?"

Kitsune's grin became a little teasing as she said, "Wow tiger, you move quicker than expected, already asking me out on a date."

Keitaro shook his head a little with an embarrassed blush and said, "Well, I'm more hoping to have a woman's point of view for some clothes I'm going to buy."

Kitsune's eyebrow rose as she said, "Why would you be buying new clothes?"

Keitaro after a moment of deliberation began to speak, "One of my sensei's is going on a vacation and needs me to cover for his classes at a cram school. I figured that it would be in my best interests to get a suit or something so I look more professional, it'll take less effort to get them to respect and listen to me this way." He scratched the back of his head and said, "Especially considering that I might be the same age as some of the students." a slightly embarrassed blush covered his cheeks at that as he looked back over at her.

Kitsune smiled and said, "Alright, I'll turn you into sensei worthy of respect, but I gotta warn ya, I'll be picking out some expensive clothes and probably a new set of glasses."

Keitaro fingered the rims of his glasses unconsciously and said, "I wouldn't worry about money being a problem. I was recently paid for my hard work in a government funded research project." the last part was said with a trace of bitterness in his tone of voice.

Kitsune caught it but decided not to say anything, '_I wonder why he's so mad about it, what kind of project?_' her natural curiosity was overcome by the knowledge that money was no object. "Alright tiger, lets make you into a respectable sensei." as she grabbed his hand and lead him to the door.

They bowed to the movers who were just finishing and took off towards town. As they walked towards the downtown area of Hinata city they passed a few clothing shops that Kitsune passed off as 'not worthy'. They finally stopped in front of a lavishly decorated building with expensive looking clothes in the display window. The sign on top said, "Taro's Quality Tailor".

Kitsune stopped and said, "Perfect! Tiger, we're gonna make you look like a million bucks." She quickly pushed the doors open and said, "Alright, we have an emergency, this man needs Armani!"

A young man in his late twenties almost appeared out of nowhere and said, "Ahh excellent, I must say, he would probably look great with a Navy Blue Armani Pinstripe."

Keitaro stood there speechless as the man began to quickly measure his arms and legs and began to search for the perfect suit. Kitsune grinned and grabbed Keitaro's glasses and said, "I'll be back Tiger, I'm going to go to the place I saw down the block and order a decent pair of glasses for you."

Keitaro only had time to nod before Kitsune dashed out the door with a full spending induced hyper activeness that seemed on Su's level. The man measuring him said, "Well, now you've learned to never ask a woman to take you shopping." He looked at the dumbfounded young man and said, "Did you tell her that money was no object?"

Keitaro finally snapped out of his stupor and said, "I might have alluded that she wouldn't have to worry about denting my account, in a roundabout way."

The man began to laugh as he said, "Name's Taro, and if what just happened is any indication of normal behavior then I'll be seeing a lot of you. Your girlfriend seems like the type who enjoys shopping."

Keitaro laughed a little and said, "She's just my friend, I asked her for help searching for some new clothes. I had no idea that she would go all gung-ho on me."

Taro winked as he finally pulled out a right suit and Keitaro admitted to himself that it looked really nice. "Well, I can tell you, I've been a tailor for 8 years, and nothing is more dangerous than a woman shopping with no spending limit, as I'm sure you now know." Taro added with a look of sympathy. "Not all of us get the chance to find that out with a girl whose not a girlfriend, so consider yourself lucky."

They continued on and Taro had Keitaro try on the suit and he measured it. Kitsune soon returned and after ordering another suit just like it to be delivered to Hinata Inn by the end of the day, dragged Keitaro to the Beauty Salon. As they stood outside of it he simply looked over to Kitsune and with a deadpan expression said, "No way."

Kitsune only smiled and said, "Aww come on tiger, I'm not asking for you to get your nails painted, but they do men's hair here as well."

As he was being bodily dragged into the Beauty Salon the only thing he could think was, '_For a genius, I am an idiot.._'The stylist decided that after giving Keitaro's hair a trim the best idea would be to go for a slicked back look. The quote in her words was that it would, "Really make the Armani work for you Urashima-san." On the plus side, once they were done there, they went to go pick up the frames Kitsune had ordered. Keitaro really liked them, they were sleek and silver with small oval frames and they made him look more intellectual than dorky, that last part was according to Kitsune.

As they were walking back to Hinata Kitsune looked over at Keitaro and said, "I never did ask you tiger, but which cram school are you going to be teaching at?"

Keitaro seemed to snap back to reality and looked over at Kitsune and said, "Ahh I just know the address for it, its in downtown Tokyo, 234 Akamini rd.."

Kitsune's smiled widened and she thought to herself '_the same school that Naru is going to, how perfect!_' she schooled her features and said, "Are you going to tell any of the other girls that you're going to be teaching?" she questioned casually.

Keitaro shrugged and said, "Probably, I need to inform everyone that I have taken on an additional responsibility." '_despite that fact that I was emotionally blackmailed into it..._' he thought wryly.

Kitsune thought quickly and looked over at Keitaro, '_It won't be nearly as fun if Naru finds out about this at supper tonight, but he's a little too smart to fall for any reasons I give him not to say anything. Perhaps I'll just go with the truth..._' "Hey tiger, I kind of have an idea for a good joke." with that she explained the situation to Keitaro.

Keitaro merely quirked his eyebrow and gave Kitsune an appraising look. He finally shrugged his shoulders and said, "Alright, I guess I'll hold off on giving everyone the news then." he said as he mussed his slicked back hair into it's normal position. '_Plus, Naru will tell everyone about my new job for me..._' he thought with a bit of a lazy grin coming onto his features.

The two finished walking up the stairs in companionable silence as they approached the Inn. Keitaro looked over to Kitsune and said, "Thanks again for helping me today Kitsune-san, I appreciate it." '_though we are never doing that again..._' Keitaro thought stubbornly.

Kitsune grinned a little and said, "Are you kidding! I had a blast, the only thing that would have made it better was if we were shopping for me." She gave Keitaro a wink and said, "Maybe we'll do that some other time..." with a sultry tone. She paused to laugh at Keitaro's expression and took off to her room leaving a gob smacked genius in the hallway.

After a moment or two of recovery, Keitaro descended the hidden staircase to the lower floors of the Hinata House to set up his lab. He continued to work for a few hours setting up his equipment as he heard a lot of fighting upstairs. He crept quietly out of the secret passageway and made like he was coming downstairs from his room. "Whats going on you guys?" he asked in confusion as he saw the four tenants in the process of arguing about something.

"We're all deciding who cooks tonight, I say we fight, and the loser gets ta' cook!" said Su in an exuberant manner as she leapt to a crouching position on top of Keitaro's even more heavy head.

"We normally do shifts tiger, and last night was supposed to be my night, since little Shinobu cooked I thought that would pass the buck onto Naru." said Kitsune.

Naru shook her head and glared a little at Kitsune, "No way you're conning your way out of this Kitsune, you didn't cook last night."

Kitsune shrugged and said, "Ahh, but none of you had to either, I don't see how it's any different from ordering takeout."

Motoko merely sighed and looked over to Keitaro with a serious expression she said, "As the manager here, it is your job to settle disputes between tenants. For the sake of my ears come up with a solution."

Keitaro was about to respond when everyone heard a knock at the door. As Keitaro opened the door he was greeted with the sight of Shinobu who was shivering slightly in the cool night's air. Keitaro smiled and said, "Ahh come on in Shinobu, how did the presentation go today?" '_hopefully the girls forget that they are fighting. Why is it my job to settle their fights, this is an apartment, not a preschool..._' he silently groused as he led Shinobu into the house. The girls all followed into the common room, both to find out how Shinobu and her partners did as well as find out how well Keitaro was at tutoring.

"It went well, sensei gave our group the highest grade in the class, Hikaru-san, Koichi-san, and Haru-san were so stunned that they fainted. They got sent home early." Shinobu said as she giggled a bit. Her face seemed to cloud over with sadness even at recalling a happy memory.

Keitaro sensed the change in mood and said, "Is there another reason you've come over here Shinobu?" His expression turning serious as he looked at her in a concerned manner.

Shinobu looked down at the floor and she mumbled, "I-I've run away from home..." she looked up to Keitaro and the girls with tearful eyes and said, "Please, let me live here with you all."

Naru was the first to speak as she knelt down beside Shinobu and said, "Shinobu-chan we'd be happy to have you, but your mom and dad would be worried about you."

Shinobu shook her head and said, "No they're not, they don't care about me, they only care about themselves. They're are trying to force me to choose which of them to live with since they are getting a divorce!"

Another knock at the door sounded after a few moments of silence as the group contemplated Shinobu's words. Haruka entered the common room and said, "Shinobu's parents are heading here, they want to know why she ran off on the she's supposed to move."

Keitaro, who until now had been silent quickly spoke in a deeper more commanding tone than what he'd been using a few minutes ago. "Girls, please take Shinobu upstairs. I'll bring her parents up to see her after I've talked with them for a few moments. Haruka, please come with me and if need be keep the peace."

Haruka gave a look to her nephew and nodded as she inhaled on her cigarette. The girls seemed reluctant to comply but Keitaro's tone indicated his seriousness. They nodded in unison as they all brought Shinobu who looked confused, but a little relieved that Keitaro sempai was going to take care of everything. Two frantic parents soon rushed into the room.

Shinobu's father quickly spoke, "Where is my daughter, is she here?"

Keitaro tried to get the situation under control as he put his hands up in the air to calm the two down. "Yes she is here, but I'd like to have a talk with both of you right now."

Shinobu's mother barely heard him past yes and was already trying to get by Keitaro. She was stopped though, by the sheer force of his glare. '_His eyes are so cold..._' she thought as she retreated backwards.

Shinobu's father wasn't as intimidated and said, "Listen here, we'll call the authorities if we have to."

Keitaro's glare only intensified as he said, "Go ahead and do that, that sounds like appropriate behavior for both of you. Go ahead and put the burden of your problems on someone else, get others involved, ignore facts. I graduated from Tokyo University 2 months ago, its has the highest concentration of Lawyer graduates in Japan, and all of them are good at what they do. Breaking and entering, trespassing... any of those sound familiar." At their stunned expressions Keitaro softened his glare and said, "I promise Shinobu is safe and sound, but you both need to realize some things. Please come talk with me for a few minutes." This time, ready to listen, they followed him.

_twenty minutes later, upstairs..._

As the group sat upstairs in the hallway they all wondered worryingly what was going on. '_Sempai, you've already done so much for me, I'm being a burden..._' thought Shinobu as she recalled the jeers and taunts that the girls in her class used.

'_Urashima-san, is it wise to enter a domestic dispute, no amount of intelligence can solve matters of the heart..._' Motoko thought as she rested her hand on her boken in a gesture of nervousness.

'_Tiger, despite your lazy nature you'll do whatever it takes to help a friend, even one you just met like me and Shinobu..._' Thought Kitsune as she rested her hand on Shinobu's head in a comforting manner.

'_This poor girl, That new manager shouldn't butt into personal problems like this, but I feel sorry for her too..._' thought Naru as she watched the steps diligently.

'_Keitaro is leveling up his diplomacy, if he gets high enough on the skill test he'll get Shinobu to join us, if he fails his check, he could go to jail..._' thought Su as she munched on a banana.

They were all pulled from their thoughts as as Keitaro and Shinobu's parents came up the stairs. The group went as one to the outside balcony. Keitaro walked up to Shinobu and said, "Shinobu, your parents would like to talk to you, the girls and I will be in the next room if you need us."

Shinobu nodded and whispered, "Thank you sempai." She then turned to her parents expecting them to be angry with her and each other, but instead she met with two remorseful, caring, gazes just like her parents used to have before they started fighting. She noticed though, they weren't looking at each other, just her.

"Shinobu," Shinobu's father began, "I'm sorry your mother and I got so caught up in our fighting with each other. We forgot that even though our feelings for each other have changed, your feelings for us haven't."

Shinobu mother brushed her daughter's hair out of her eyes and gazed at her lovingly as she said, "We know its been hard on you Shinobu-chan, and we're sorry, we've only just realized what were asking of you."

_Flashback..._

_Keitaro stood with Shinobu's parents and said, "Each of you grab a end of this string and pull as hard as you can." As they did so the string broke under the pull from both sides. _

_Before they could say anything Keitaro said, "That wasn't even close to the kind of pressure you've each been placing on Shinobu." They both looked at Keitaro with surprised looks of horror as they stared at their respective strings._

_End Flashback..._

"We only want whats best for you, sweetie." said Shinobu's father as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Shinobu hugged her father, ran over and hugged her mother and said, "I could never choose between you, I wish to stay here, even though things have been bad for me, they've gotten better because other this place and the people here."

"Shinobu, we would be glad to let you stay here, but money is tight and..." Shinobu's father began as the door to the balcony fell open and five embarrassed people fell out into the night air.

Keitaro stood back up and attempted to look nonchalant as he said, "Sir, I wouldn't worry too much about that. I'm sure we could work something out." He smiled at the three people on the balcony and said, "I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Shinobu is happy here. Of course you both are welcome to visit whenever you'd like." 'M_aybe they'll forget about the embarrassing entrance..._' Keitaro hoped as the three people standing in front nodded in agreement and a bargain was struck.

As Shinobu and her family left to get her things Su jumped on Keitaro's shoulders and draped her head upside down in front of his face with an inquisitive look. Keitaro looked at his tenant and said, "Uhh what is it Su?"

Su grinned and grabbed his new glasses and said, "Keitaro leveled up his diplomacy and got a new transformation." She held up the glasses and said, "See! He has new glasses that shoot optical beams."

The night quickly turned hectic with a little splash of Su's benevolent Chaos as the others joined Keitaro to help the semi blind genius find Su and by proxy his new 'Enhanced Optical Beam Shot' glasses.

_The next day..._

The next day brought out a new shift in two places as old conceptions of people were tossed aside and old standards and practices were thrown out the window. As Shinobu entered her class she saw several of the more popular girls gathered around one of their favorite people to tease. Her name was Taichi, she was the girl who sat next to Shinobu. Normally she wouldn't even dream of butting in to help someone. One; because it was scary, and two; because they would realize she was here and start teasing her. '_Sempai wouldn't let this happen ..._' she thought mournfully as her mouth began to work independent of her brain. "H-Hey, leave her alone!"

The three girls that were teasing Taichi, stopped and tried to recognize the voice as they turned and saw Shinobu. They realized that that was the first time they'd ever heard her speak at regular volume as they began to launch their verbal assault. Koko was the first up as she said, "What are you going to do about it Maehara, you think you're some sort of super heroine now?"

Before the other two could get their snide remarks out a loud voice interrupted, "As a matter of fact she IS a super heroine now!" The three other girls looked over with shocked expressions as Hikaru, Koichi, and Haru approached and stood behind Shinobu.

Haru stepped forward beside Shinobu and began in a narrator voice, "Where once there were 3 titans, a new change occurred and due to the power of the Legendary Math Samurai the three changed."

Hikaru picked up where Haru left off and said, "The three became four and were no longer the titans of the upper class!"

Koichi sighed and with an apologetic look at the already blushing Shinobu began in a more drawn out tone, "They instead became the four gods of the Upper class." He then posed and said, "Genbu!"

Haru Smiled and said, "Byakko!" as he posed as well.

Hikaru brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes in an attempt to look cool as he posed and said, "Seiryuu!"

The three then looked at Shinobu expectantly as her eyes widened and she just managed to get out a strangled, "Suzaku?" as the other three cheered and said in creepy unison, "East, West, North, South, beware the wrath of the Four Gods!" The rest of the class had turned their attention to them as the three toughest boys in junior high had decided to add one of the shyest girls to their group.

"Why do you think those three and Maehara-san are in a gang together?" whispered one person.

"Maehara-san seems shy, but I bet she's tough like them." whispered another student.

The three boy were drinking in the attention like they normally would and the hot headed Hikaru stepped forward and said, "Anyone messes with one of us, and they gotta deal with all of us, right?"

The other two boys and even Shinobu found herself nodding. Despite all the attention which made her want to sink into the floor, and despite the fact that she'd been found as the most interesting topic of conversation in the class at the moment, she began to smile just a little at the antics of Haru who was berating Hikaru for 'Showboating'. '_Have I...Have I changed?_' she thought as the teacher entered and told them all to get to their seats. She looked over at Taichi who was smiling gratefully at her and looked back to her desk. '_I HAVE changed...just a little..._'

_Later on that day, in Tokyo..._

The students in the Taeshiotso Cram school were exchanging pleasantries. That is until the doors flew open and a man who seemed to exude a sense of confidence and authority strode purposefully into the classroom. He approached the front of the class and placed his briefcase on the desk in front of him. He cut a dashing figure in his rather expensive looking suit, small intellectual glasses, and slicked back hair. Though one loose strand of hair hung forward in an almost defiant manner; it only served to enhance his look as he continued to appraise the class. A couple of people seemed to vaguely recognize the man in front of them but had already passed it off as coincidence as he began to talk.

He approached the teaching podium and said, "Welcome students, as you may or may not know, Professor Yoshi Agami has taken a leave of absence from his duties as an instructor. He has placed his trust in me as his replacement to guide you towards your goals at passing your college entrance tests. I will give you nothing less than the best of my abilities while I am here and I will consider it an insult both to me and you, for you all not to do the same. Before we begin today, are there any questions?"

A young man raised his hand and said, "You haven't formally introduced yourself, unless I missed it?"

A young woman similarly raised her hand and said, "Um how old are you exactly? You don't seem old enough to teach."

The young teacher up at the front smiled a little at the questions and said, "I had planned on questions about the curriculum, though I am glad I have such inquisitive minds. As for my name," he stood aside revealing the blackboard which now had his name on it. '_a few theatrics and a very old magic trick, and I think I have their undivided attention..._' he thought as he said, "Like the board says, I'm your new sensei, Urashima Keitaro, age 20."

The room was dead quiet except for two strangled gasps.

-Authors note-

I'm sorry it took so long to get this out. I admit to having a bit of Keitaro's lazy nature and not nearly enough genius to make up for that fact. I hope a longer chapter will do instead. I just realized I made Shinobu join a gang, I just wrote the part and I'm still thinking WTF! Though if its any consolation, it will probably be like the butter cream gang. As far as the Beta reader goes, some of you have offered, but I lose track of emails rather quickly on my main email account which this goes to. If you'd still like to help let me know and I'll message you through your reply URL here at ffnet.


	5. Settling in

_**Last time on Urashima Keitaro: Lazy Genius: **_

_**He approached the teaching podium and said, "Welcome students, as you may or may not know, Professor Yoshi Agami has taken a leave of absence from his duties as an instructor. He has placed his trust in me as his replacement to guide you towards your goals at passing your college entrance tests. I will give you nothing less than the best of my abilities while I am here and I will consider it an insult both to me and you, for you all not to do the same. Before we begin today, are there any questions?"**_

_**A young man raised his hand and said, "You haven't formally introduced yourself, unless I missed it?"**_

_**A young woman similarly raised her hand and said, "Um how old are you exactly? You don't seem old enough to teach."**_

_**The young teacher up at the front smiled a little at the questions and said, "I had planned on questions about the curriculum, though I am glad I have such inquisitive minds. As for my name," he stood aside revealing the blackboard which now had his name on it. 'a few theatrics and a very old magic trick, and I think I have their undivided attention...' he thought as he said, "Like the board says, I'm your new sensei, Urashima Keitaro, age 20."**_

_**The room was dead quiet except for two strangled gasps.**_

The moment of silent lasted roughly 3 seconds after the gasps before murmuring broke out among the students.

"20! He's a year younger than me!" said one young man incredulously

"This has to be a joke, where is the camera?" Said a young man who was cocking his head to the side.

"He's dreamy isn't he?" whispered one of the girls in the back to another who did a "so-so" motion with her hand

Keitaro raised his hand and due to the amount of attention he'd gathered he only needed to do that to quiet the group. He cleared his throat and if he'd heard the murmured comments he didn't let it phase him as he pressed on. "You all may be questioning my credentials, but I can assure you I am qualified to teach you what you need to pass this exam. I managed to place 2nd in the country on it, when I was 15." The murmuring began once more. Keitaro simply began once more to talk and it quickly quieted so the students could hear what he had to say. "I would like to take the time we have together today to accomplish few things."

Keitaro reached into his briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers as he began to pass them forward. "These are some of the practice tests from one of the crams schools from last year. It took me a bit of convincing but I managed to get the Sensei to give them to me." The class broke out into murmurs once again as they took the papers.

"He seems dedicated, only someone who wants to be a teacher really bad would be this prepared on the first day." murmured one student to another

"Yeah, I'm glad he's willing to work so hard for us." the other whispered back.

One student though, was thinking differently as she glared through her thick glasses up at the "New Sensei" '_This Practice test he "Labored" to get is from my desk, he just made photocopies of it!_'. She was about to protest before Keitaro began to speak once more.

Keitaro walked back up to the front and said, "Now, I will give you an hour to fill out what you can. Once the hour is up, I will survey the class and see what problems we need to focus on the most. This improves the efficiency of the learning process 70! The normal method involves polling and reviewing the curriculum based on our nation as a whole. Things are rarely so cut and dry and we hardly would ever have a class that would exactly fit that. I seek to custom tailor lesson plans to specific classes." His expression became a little bit impassioned as he said, "It is my hope to introduce this as the new preferred teaching method in cram schools everywhere." Most of the students looked quite impressed with his idea, though some seemed worried about being Guinea pigs in some kind of teaching experiment.

Keitaro seemed regretful as he spoke his next sentence. "It will require a lot of personal monitoring though, which is why I would like to ask the class if anyone is willing to be my teacher's aid? Your duties would include finding new problems for the practice tests and giving them to me, I will choose the appropriate ones and produce the test which my aid or aid would photocopy for me. They would also be in charge of picking up and delivering tests once everyone is finished as well as passing them out."

Only one person sweatdropped as she looked at the rest of the now mostly eager students and thought, 'Being teacher's aid? Those are almost ALL the duties the cram school teacher has other than lecturing...'

"Please Sensei! We would be honored to be your teacher's aids!" said a slightly taller young man as he stood up and pulled his slightly shorter(and pudgier) friend with him.

Keitaro nodded pleased with finding two enthusiastic students as he said, "May I have the names of my two new teacher's Aids?"

"Kimiaki Shirai, sir!"Said the shorter one

"Masayuki Haitani."Said the taller one who'd volunteered for his friend.

"Why did you have us volunteer for this, Haitani?" whispered Shirai through his smile.

"Girls love guys in positions of authority! This guy looks as nerdy as us, but look at the girls all staring at him so intently!" whispered Haitani through his smiled as they saluted.

Keitaro nodded and said, "Thank you gentleman, Everyone remember to give Haitani and Shirai your respect for assisting your education."

With that the students began to work on their tests and eventually Keitaro surveyed them and picked out the first topic of his lecture for the next day they got together. He even gave them a few hints on solving the problem if they wished to begin to tackle it on their own. The students became more impressed with their teacher's prowess at the problems and even the reluctant Naru had to admit he was good at teaching people how to preform difficult problems.'That doesn't mean he's any less the lazy hobo he was when I met him!' she quickly thought as the class began to leave.

The other person who'd recognized Keitaro uneasily made her way to the front of the class as the small crowd of people with questions, both about him and about the problem from earlier began to dissipate. "Ummm Urashima-sensei..."she quietly murmured as she pulled an errant couple of hair strands behind her ear and then nervously played with the ends of her mousy brown hair.

Keitaro looked up from the podium he'd been shuffling papers on. He motioned Haitani and Shirai over to talk to once he finished talking to the young lady before him. "Yes my new stu-" his eyes seemed to focus on her as he said, "You look familiar, do I know you?"

The girl nodded and said, "Umm I'm Kenta Rin, you know my brother..." She looked over to her new sensei and noticed he had a far-off look in his eyes for a moment before he shook that away.

"Kenta-san, I don't know how much you know about your brother's eccentricities, but it would probably be best if he did not know that I am the one teaching you." said Keitaro in a serious tone as he noted her reaction.

She seemed to slump in relief and said, "Jiro-nii would definitely become distracted if he knew that Urashima-sensei. I was hoping that I could get you not to send home anything that would have your name on it."

Keitaro nodded and said, "Of course Kenta-san I make sure that the progress reports have Agami's name on it, since he is officially the original teacher."

As the girl was turning to leave Keitaro said, "Kenta-san, despite the past your brother and I have, I will do all I can to teach you effectively, please do not think otherwise." The girl nodded slightly and quickly rushed out as Keitaro began to talk with Shirai and Haitani.

"Will you two be able to find examples of problems like the one we saw today?" Said Keitaro as he looked over at his two new Aids.

"I'm sure I can find something online easily, Urashima-sensei!" said Shirai enthusiastically as he smiled at his new sensei in a confident manner.

Keitaro nodded at this and said, "Since you two are willing to help out so much don't hesitate to ask me for help on whatever you don't understand. I also thought that once a week we should go discuss our weekly lesson plan over beef bowls, my treat of course."

"Yes Sir!" they both replied in unison as they walked away, dreaming about the girls falling all over themselves to hook up with the two new fantastic teacher aids.

Keitaro smiled as he shuffled his papers into his briefcase and closed it. He nearly jumped at seeing another girl in the class. Her thick coke bottle glasses and pigtails seemed to mark her as an avid student. '_I thought I was the only one left in the room..._' "Can I help you?" he asked as he smiled in a comforting manner.

"Don't think I don't know where you got that test" she said as she snorted to herself in disgust, "you really are a lazy bum." the girl said as Keitaro quickly connected the dots.

"Naru-san? Is that really you, you look..." his eyes widened as he thought about what would happen if he finished that sentence. "...Studious."

Naru simply huffed and said, "If you're going to be my teacher, you'd better give it your best and not half-ass it. If I don't get into Tokyo-u because you got lazy and didn't get us prepared enough..." She decided not to voice out the rest of it and left it to Keitaro's imagination.

Keitaro chuckled nervously as he held up his arms in a placating motion "Ahh Naru-san don't worry, I'd never harm anyone's future with my lovable quirks."

Naru turned and began to walk out muttering something about "lovable quirks." Once she was gone Keitaro sighed as he slumped forward resting his elbows on his podium. '_It's Days like this I wish I had taken Seto-sensei up on his martial arts lessons_' he thought to himself as he walked out the door.

_Meanwhile..._

The Hinata Inn was quiet as a van pulled up to it. Attached to the end of the van was a mobile stall that was usually used in the transportation of horses and cattle. The jarring of the stop caused the occupant of the stall to wake up. The driver looked back at the stall which was now thrashing wildly and sighed. "I definitely don't get paid enough for this." With that he grabbed his clipboard and walked towards the front door.

After a couple of knocks Kitsune opened the door and causally leaned against the door frame as he looked out at the delivery man. She'd just awoken from an alcohol induced coma and looked out blearily at the man. "Wsgaf doas wannd." she muttered blearily as she stared at the man.

The delivery man who was smiling cheerfully said, "Hello miss, is there a Kentago Uroshima at this residence?"

Kitsune leaned against the door for a moment or two absorbing what the man said before she muttered, "Nah, hig nahdg id keighags urahkdma."

The man nodded before he said, "Ahh my mistake this writing is a little sloppy, but there is a Keitaro Urashima living here?"

Kitsune nodded and then muttered, "Fnn"

The man nodded and began to chuckle, "Really? He's teaching a cram school class that your best friend is in, Sounds like a sticky situation. Can you sign for this in his stead?"

She nodded and reached out signing quickly before she muttered, "Wsgaf id feh stjkll?"

The delivery man chuckled and said, "The form says that Urashima-san's father was the sender so it must be his. As for what it is-"

"Whats in this, is it something tasty?" came a shout from down the stairs as both the delivery man and Kitsune realized Suu was home. Kitsune quickly grabbed the man and shut the door of the Inn. She had dealt with Suu long enough that she knew that Suu was prone to asking questions with her hands. As the door to the stall opened all hell broke loose.

_A few minutes later, outside Hinata House..._

Keitaro was approaching the Hinata Inn at a sedate pace glancing about and taking in the town as he had a few other times. '_There is always something new and different to see. This is especially true if one slows to take a longer look at things that are normally taken at face value..._' he thought as he strolled down the alley that would put Hinata in view. His eyes widened once he saw what was going on.

The front area was in a state of pandemonium. The various shouts of Su filled the air as she chased after her new quarry. Said creature gave as good as it was getting though, and soon had Su beating feet and running away on one of her Mechanical Horses. In the front window Keitaro saw both Kitsune and some man in a brown uniform that he could only assume was the delivery man looking on in surprised fascination. The creature finally caught the scent of something familiar that made it stop and look directly at Keitaro. Keitaro's eyes widened and he took off running at a speed that he normally saved for direct death threats. It took off with an astonishing speed after Keitaro with Su galloping behind on her Mechanical horse hooting and hollering like some kind of cowboy.

Kitsune watched watched her new manager run away and shrugged lightly. She finally looked over at delivery man and said, "That has to be one of the most strange things thats happened this week." finally sobered enough to speak out normally.

The delivery man looked at her in a confused manner and said, "What? I can't understand you with all that mumbling."

_Streets of Hinata City..._

"Crap!" Keitaro yelled as he dashed down the street now with two pursuers. Suu had decided that she wanted to capture Keitaro along with her new "friend". Keitaro knew it was useless to run from his fate. His pursuer had all the advantages in this kind of chase. He pondered stopping but before that thought got transmitted to the rest of his body, he felt pressure on the small of his back. Keitaro closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

_Hinata Inn..._

A now muddy and disheveled Keitaro stumbled back to the steps of the inn. He shot the occasional glare at both Suu and the enormously large canine that had been released from the stall. The slobber glistened on his face as he stared down forlornly at the new suit he still had on. Both Suu and said Canine were both looking very pleased with themselves as they continued up the steps.

Most of the inn had gathered outside to see what the commotion was about and the emotions ranged from confused(Kitsune), wary(Motoko), concerned(Shinobu), annoyed(Naru), and mildly amused(Haruka).

Keitaro realized that this situation would take some explaining and sighed before he said, "Everyone this is Jinta, my dog."

Motoko was the first to ask a question as she stared at the behemoth canine before her. "Urashima-san, I assume that you were going to ask before assuming that your dog could live here."

Keitaro nodded in a beleaguered manner before he said, "My parents more than likely sent him here because they wanted him out of their hair." He sighed and said, "Jinta can be kind of a handful."Said dog perked at its name being said and sidled up to his master eagerly wagging his tail. Keitaro rested his hand on the top of the dog's head and closed his eyes in weary acceptance.

Shinobu was the first to speak after that explanation and said, "Sempai, just what kind of dog is Jinta? I've never heard of dogs getting this large."

Keitaro smiled at the memory of his first encounter with Jinta.

_Flashback..._

"Urashima-san I understand your wish to have a pet, but why would you choose this particular puppy. He happens to be the runt in this litter, runts are notorious for dying within 10 or so weeks of being born." The caretaker of Jinta's mother said.

Keitaro held the pup up to his face and was rewarded with a slight nuzzling and a small whimper. Keitaro looked back at the man and said, "This dog was born into this life with no advantages. I would simply like to make sure that he is rewarded instead of penalized."

_End Flashback..._

He looked over to Shinobu and knelt down next to his friend and said, "Jinta here is a Saint Bernard, a breed of dog known for it's fortitude and strength. When Jinta was very young, he was the runt of his litter and wasn't expected to live very long. That was three years and many treatments ago though."

Seeing the confused looks on the tenants he said, "Though I made sure my education was as eclectic as possible, I've always been fascinated by the body. When many of my peers decided to delve further into technology and robotics, I decided I would take that path less traveled. I became a bioengineering major, studying the process of chemical releases in the body. Jinta here was my final project."

Haruka adjusted her cigarette, "So, instead of being a little runt, Jinta here is a mammoth-sized Saint Bernard?" Haruka summarized, inhaling another hit from her cigarette.

Keitaro nodded at this when Naru finally decided to voice her opinion. "No! You can't expect us to live with a pony-sized dog. You've pushed the envelope too many times!"

Keitaro nodded and said, "My mother and father decided to send Jinta here because he was too much to handle in the city. The grounds around here are quite large though, could he perhaps simply stay around here as an outside dog?"

As Naru looked at Jinta she noted the dog's eyes which had become large and watery and his tongue hung out as he cocked his head to the side in a decidedly innocent manner. Though it could hardly be considered "cute" given Jinta's size, it was rather endearing. She looked back over to Keitaro who she noticed was fighting more to get his dog to be allowed to stay here than he had to be allowed to stay himself. '_Is he trying harder because he's becoming less lazy or because he's fighting for a friend..._' she wondered silently as she looked to the rest of the tenants. "Fine, but one mistake..." she said, after a moments of silence.

Motoko finally spoke and said, "This simply adds to your responsibilities to the Hinata Inn Urashima-san." as she looked at the dog. '_This animal is the result of Urashima's experimentation. I suppose strength of body isn't the only path that can defy fate._

Kitsune shrugged and said, "I suppose it would be alright to let this guy stay with us. He'll be like a second guardian against perverts with Motoko-chan." As if to answer the statement, Jinta ceased his innocent face and stood to his full height, trying to look as imposing as possible. That got a laugh out of Kitsune as she stared at the dog. 'C_an he understand us, or is Keitaro giving him signals or something?_'

Suu nodded and leapt onto the back of her new friend and said, "Suu likes Jinta, he can stay and I'll retrofit him with a laser cannon/banana detection device." Keitaro looked over at Suu and remembered that one of his goals was to determine Suu's level of intelligence.

Motoko looked over at Shinobu who had yet to speak and said, "Shinobu-san, you are a tenant here now and you also have a choice over whether this dog can stay or not."

Shinobu blushed brightly as everyone's attention turned to her, but firmed the resolve she'd gained from earlier and said, "I would like to have Jinta here as well, h-he seems like a good dog." Jinta bounded over to the girl very quickly and gave her a very sloppy kiss as Suu and Kitsune laughed.

_Elsewhere..._

As Kenta Rin entered her house she looked over to her father and said, "Good afternoon, father."

Kenta Genma looked up from his paper and smiled as he said, "Hello daughter, how was your first day at Cram school?"

Rin smiled at her father and said, "It was good father, I learned quite a lot and our teacher is very good."

Genma nodded in approval and said, "I'm glad you like it dear. You may not be a genius like Jiro, but you know that I'm proud of you right?" At Rin's nod he said, "Good, can you take some food out to your brother, he hasn't left the garage since this morning. I think he working on some new device for Karenta Corporation. Why he insists on using the garage I'll never know..."

Rin nodded grabbed a few items for her brother and headed to the garage. As she opened the door she noted her brother underneath a large covered item with a pair of overalls on. She proceeded in and said, "Ummm, Jiro-nii, I have some food for you..."

The legs moved a bit as a wrench slid out from under the covered object and Jiro said, "Thanks Rinny, can you hand me a Phillip's head screwdriver." As Rin grabbed the screwdriver and slid it under the cover Jiro said, "So how was your cram school?"

Rin stood there for a moment and said, "It was excellent Jiro-nii, Professor Agami is a wonderful teacher, just like you said."

Jiro slid out from under the cover and said, "Didn't I tell you, you have nothing to worry about with him teaching you. You might even beat my score on the exam."

Rin reddened and said, "I doubt that Jiro-nii, but thank you for the support. I'll let you get back to work on your secret project."

Jiro smiled and slid back under the covered object as he said, "Thanks for bringing out food for me sis!" He continued to work for a few more minutes before his private phone began to ring. He let it go and before long his answering machine got it. "_You've reached the Mechanical Mecca, I'm unable to come to the phone right now, and until I devise a better phone you'll have to leave your name, number, and reason for calling. Thanks."_

The beep came moments later and a young woman's voice sounded over the phone. "_Kenta-san, This is Mai Tenou, faculty correspondent for Tokyo University. In regards your request for a meeting with Professor Agami, he left for Jamaica this morning for an extended holiday with his wife, but I will let you know the moment he returns."_

Jiro Pulled himself out from under his cover with a questioning look on his face as he stared into space for a moment and said, "Why would Rin lie to me?"

Author's note:

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out guys, I was trying to figure out where to go with this and it branched out too much for me to pick a path I liked most. I am still looking for a beta, please PM me over FFnet or you can contact me via aim. Namejestaking


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Love Hina