'We Fell in Love'
'Love Hina' is by Ken Akamatsu

Writer's notes: This is my first opportunity to do some writing on my own. When the original writer gave me this story, he told me to have fun with it. Like him, I also enjoy reading AU/OOC stories and since this is what this is, his vision will continue. Please enjoy.

Story begins in the 2010's and is more contemporary than the manga.

Keitaro, Kitsune, Naru, Kanako, Shinobu, Sarah and Haruka are very much OOC. The other characters are somewhat OOC, as you will see.

Unlike the Kitsune that we love, and sometimes hate, this woman takes her life a lot more seriously than in the manga. She is a full time college student and about to start the second semester of her second year. She also has a full time job. Between these two things, she does not have time for much else, until...

Kitsune works at one of the Urashima stores, but will not make the connection until much later on.

Keitaro too is much different from the manga: he is not obsessed with the old 'promise girl' pledge; his love is art and not archaeology; has a great relationship with his parents as well as many good close friends; not clumsy as he was in the manga and knows where his hands are at all times. (Hence, he has never tripped and pulled down a girl's skirt.) In addition, he is looking for someone 'special'.

Kanako loves Keitaro only as her darling brother and has no overt romantic feelings towards him. We will see why as the story unfolds. She wants to run the Hinata with him as his assistant.

Time line: The end of August- just before school starts up again.

Chapter 1: A life worth living

Opening thoughts…

For some the hand of fate never brings true love into their lives. For some it may be love at first sight and the red string of enishi the pair might recognize right away. For others, recognition by the participants may be absent at first and just might need some help in seeing the missing pieces. When you are young and foolish, enishi may go unseen, as many people need seasoning by life's experiences before being ready to see that certain someone who they will be with on their life's journey together.

This is such a story.

We have two young people who fit this to a tee. Their paths have crossed each other's on many occasions. A glance here, a sighting there and that's all in their normal everyday routine in this thing we call life.

Let us meet our lovebirds even before they meet each other.

Here we meet the first one…

"Kitsune, aren't you up yet?" queries a young woman in the top bunk barely conscious.

Not hearing an alarm clock go off, she naturally assumes that the other woman is still asleep down below.

"Kitsune, come on," the woman says again in a whiny tone about an hour later. Opening her eyes, she regrets doing so because the bright morning sunshine is flooding her room.

Squinting, she then looks over at her clock.

7:45 a.m. reads the LED lit little monstrosity that is the bane of every college student the world over.

Groaning after rolling to her other side, she then leans over her upper bunk to see if Kitsune is still in bed. Almost calls out the other woman's name again, she sees that her bunk is not only empty but it was somewhat made today. Sure, the job is not perfect but the occupant is not a total slob.

Getting out of her own bunk the young woman stretches to get the kinks out of her limbs after reaching the floor.

When she leans forward to work out her hamstrings, she catches a glimpse of the hand written note on her desk:

Mariko-san,
I got up quietly this morning because I have an early shift at the Urashima Confectionary in downtown Tokyo today and I did not want to wake you.
I did not drink your OJ because I will get a good breakfast at work.
See ya tonight, Kit

Mariko reads this and realizes that her roomy is back to being busy after returning from her summer holiday in Osaka. Sitting down, she wonders what she is going to do today.

Meanwhile, on a tram to the business district of downtown Tokyo is one Konno Mitsune aka Kitsune. Turning twenty back on August 1st, she is also student at the Tokyo University of the Arts where she is majoring in journalism. She takes this particular tram a lot and waits for her stop to come up.

Kitsune likes her job and the place where she is going to because her employer treats her very well. She likes the people who work there along with the items that they serve. They make the candy and bakery products on the premises and the money she makes is very good. He pays her extra when she volunteers to help at any of their six stores in the metro area.

The latter comes in very handy along with the treats that she takes home after closing time.

Kitsune has her backpack slung over one shoulder, and like most of today's modern college students, it has her life inside. In it is her wallet, a new laptop, cell phone, the syllabus for her upcoming semester and a new agreement from the Tokyo Shimbun, so she is not hurting financially. She could quit the bakery but she is having too much fun working here.

Her editor told her that her columns are becoming very popular with young people her age. They want her to write about the problems and good things that University women are going through these days to get ahead. Kitsune is very familiar with this particular subject. She has many experiences from her own life to write about.

The last check she received from the Shimbun not only paid for half a semester of school, but her ticket home to see her mother and older brother during the summer break. 'That trip was a lot of fun' she thinks as she hops off the tram at her stop.

The sidewalk outside of the store is as busy as ever. The owner has always stated that getting this location was an act of good Karma and/or divine intervention. The sign over the entrance reads as follows, Urashima Chocolatier and Bakery, est. 1987.

It seems everyone in Japan has a sweet tooth and seemingly wish to satisfy it here.

"Ohaiyo, minna-san. Ohaiyo Urashima-san," says Kitsune breathlessly coming in the front door and stepping behind the counter.

This is her first day of work since coming back from her summer holiday.

Putting her bag in the back office, she grabs a clean apron. Seeing on the latest schedule that she's acting manager after Urashima Kenichi the owner leaves for the day, Kitsune nods and moves on.

A thermos of tea and one of coffee sit on the wrapping table along with some pastries that Kitsune loves. After downing some of the strong coffee and a couple of Danish, she starts in on her day.

"Welcome back, Kitsune-san," says Urashima Kenichi smiling at her and then asks, "Did you have fun in Osaka?"

He likes having the ash-blonde Osakan behind the counter because she knows how to please his regular customers with her smile, friendliness and wit.

'Just maybe,' thinks Kenichi as an afterthought. He has been going hard at it since 4 a.m. and when he is done here, he still other places to go. It helps that he has trained a good staff to keep his places going until closing time, so life here is good.

"Yes, Urashima-san" answers Kitsune starting right in behind the counter after her impromptu breakfast.

In the early morning, it gets so busy around the shop that she does not get a chance to say anything more than just a greeting. She and the other employees are now almost running flat out just trying to keep up with their customers.

This is the usual scenario here, so it is a good thing that she ate those pastries when she did because lunchtime today is going to be a late one.

"Oh yes, Kitsune," says Kenichi rolling out another rack of sweets to re-stock the fast emptying shelves, "Later on, look in the walk-in before you leave today. There are two bags of special treats for you on the back shelf because I know tomorrow's your birthday."

The normal cacophony and kerfuffle of story activity.

"Oh yeah, also check the schedule Kitsune," adds her boss, "You're acting manager today as I have to leave in a short while, family business."

The register keeps ringing while product goes out the door and into the open mouths of happy people.

"Okay Urashima-san," says Kitsune happily acknowledging her boss, "I've read it already."

Then it is right back at it.

Meanwhile, in a quiet suburb of Tokyo…

We now meet the other main player in our love story.

"Onii-chan, wake up!" cries fifteen-year-old Urashima Kanako who is straddling her sleeping 'Onii-chan's' chest, "You promised to take me to the park today."

Since it is still warm outside, she is dressed in a blue knee-length bib-denim skirt with a light cotton blouse underneath.

Smiling at the man whose chest she is sitting on, Kanako is unsuspecting that he is already awake.

If she were still in her nightie, Kanako would probably crawl under the sheets with him because they would snuggle until they decided to get up. For now, she just wants to spend the day with the man she adores.

Placing her hands on Keitaro's shoulders, Kanako shakes him slightly not paying much attention when he opens one eye quickly and smiles.

Quickly, he brings his hands up and starts tickling her.

"Gotcha," says her Onii-chan while digging his fingers gently into her ribs.

Howling delightedly, Kanako sees him wakes up in a good mood.

After about a minute of this, he stops and pulls her down close to him. Wrapping his 'Imouto-chan' in his arms, she snuggles in as deeply as she can into him before they have to get up.

This young man is one Urashima Keitaro, a twenty-year-old third year student at Tokyo University of the Arts in Yokohama. He is following his dream to become an artist and illustrator.

As well as being a student, he also teaches martial arts with Kanako, as both are masters of their families' style.

However, she has a talent to deaden any nerve in the human body, even ones that you did not even think existed.

The two have also incorporated many other disciplines into what they have now. He does not believe MMA or UFC is a path that people should follow, and is very much a traditionalist.

This pair is also very protective of each other.

"Do you still want me to do a new portrait of you today, Kana-chan?" asks Keitaro sitting up in his bed.

Kanako moves to the end of the bed to give him some room to swing his legs off the mattress.

"I'd like that, Onii-chan," says Kanako, "You promised to do that for me just before school starts back up again." She knows that when her Onii-chan makes a promise, he always keeps it.

Smiling when he stands up and stretches, she knew he had a late night of it as he smells of beer.

Putting his glasses on, Keitaro looks at the clock.

7:53 a.m. says his clock.

Five and a half hours sleep, that is about par for the course he thinks. While trying to shake the cobwebs out of his brain, he opens his dresser for some clean boxers, but that is not the end of it.

Getting off the end of his bed, Kanako pushes him in the direction of his own private bathroom.

If she did not already take a shower earlier this morning, she would be in there with him washing his back as she does most nights.

"Kana-chan, did you get Kei-kun up?" asks her Kaa-san. Urashima Kasumi is the glue that holds this family together and has three charges that go at it all hours. When Kasumi married into the Urashima family, she did so with her eyes wide open, and is very well aware of what is possible with them.

"Yes, Kaa-san. He's in the shower," answers Kanako coming down the stairs. Sitting at the table with her mother, she waits for Keitaro to join them for breakfast.

Kasumi smiles with pride at her adopted daughter.

"Ohaiyo, Kaa-san," says Keitaro offhandedly after coming down the stairs, "Sorry about coming home last night. My friends wanted me to do their portraits before they would let me go home. Kina-chan had an issue with me because I wouldn't let her pose topless for me at the bar."

"Kei-kun! Onii-chan!" says the two women of the house simultaneously. Giggling at the news, both of them know that he is a talented artist and about Kina's obsession with him.

"Well anyway," says Keitaro sits at the breakfast table next to his younger sister, "Kana-chan and I are going to the park today so I can do a new portrait of her."

These two are closer than a real brother and sister could ever hope to be as they protect each other's secrets.

Downing some of his mother's strong hot coffee to clear out any remaining cobwebs, Keitaro is very hungry so he is glad that his mother is a great cook.

His father is long gone because today he is working at the families' shop in the downtown Tokyo's business district.

None of them will see him until dinner.

Kanako is a little more genteel in eating than Keitaro. Being a college student and busy like he always is Keitaro has developed a bad habit of scarfing his food down while barely tasting it.

His mother understands this about her son very well. She just smiles at him while he enjoys his breakfast.

The warm weather outside is just what the two need this morning as they head to the local park. The stylized lions at the front gate of the park look like the ones from the Heian or Tokugawa Eras. Keitaro has already made them the subject of a few of his paintings. Nevertheless, smiling at each other they hold hands as they continue into the park.

There are other couples in the park: some are reading together on a blanket, some were texting their friends, a few are being romantic and some just walk through hand-in-hand. In addition, there are families having fun together with their little children on the swings and slides with proud parents taking pictures for future memories.

Kanako has a lunch basket that her mother put together for them along with a light blanket. She wants to spend as much of the day with her beloved Onii-chan as she can. The two have been very close since her adoption ten years ago and he watches over her very closely.

Besides holding Kanako's hand, Keitaro is holding a new sketchpad and his favorite drawing kit. These two, if you did not know them, look like another romantic couple coming into the park for a day of fun and frivolity.

"Kana-chan, are you happy about heading back to the Academy next week?" asks Keitaro. He cares about everything that happens with his little sister.

"Yes, Onii-chan," answers Kanako smiling at him, "Thank you for helping me study this summer."

"Oh, you're the smarter one of the two of us," says Keitaro in his usual self-depreciating manner. He knows that she is giving him credit for something that he feels that he does not deserve. Maybe he thinks that she is thanking him for giving her lots of moral support and being in the same room with her when she studied for her high school entrance exam last winter.

Passing that exam with a perfect score, and for that she got a full scholarship to attend the top high school academy in the central part of Japan. Now ranked number one in her class, she is looking forward to classes starting back up soon.

"Thank you, Onii-chan," is all she can say while turning her head and blushing. To Kanako, he always seems to compliment her for just about everything that she does.

In his eyes, she can do no wrong and does not mind him praising her either because she practically worships him.

Deep down inside though, they both of them realize that the other has flaws and is not perfect, though neither of them will ever admit this.

Late in the afternoon…

We learn a little more about the female half of this story in a little interaction with her roommate and a little personal history.

"Hey, what've you got there Kit?" asks Mariko. She knows that Kitsune comes home from work at about this time.

Kitsune puts the bags of goodies from her boss on the floor for a moment and closes the door behind her. She then walks over the short distance to their little kitchenette and places the bags on the counter.

Mariko comes over to where Kitsune is as she empties the contents out of the bags.

"We have treats of all kinds plus those meats buns you love from Urashima's," says Kitsune in a breathless manner smiling at how generous her boss is for her birthday. "Mariko-chan, look at this, here's those Choco-cherries that you love. You can have them, but these dipped pretzels are mine. These bags are really full." Her bosses' generosity is one of the reasons why she works so hard at the shop.

"Are the meat buns for dinner tonight Kit?" asks Mariko making a pitcher of fresh ice tea for the two of them, and then she adds, "I stopped at the market earlier and picked up deli made nori and fresh wasabi."

"They'd be good together," says Kitsune in a breathless manner smiling at how generous her boss is for her birthday, "I like wasabi with just about everything."

"Yeah, I know Kit, you even added a big dollop in the nabe I made for us last winter," says Mariko coming back in mock disgust.

"I only put it in my portion after it was already in my bowl. You just like everything so plain," says Kitsune giggling at her roommate's dislike of spicy food and condiments.

Kitsune sits her desk, unloads the contents of her backpack and thinks about what had transpired today. It was a very busy day that only got more so after her boss clocked out at noon.

The product that they made today just flew out the front door boggling her mind with how popular Urashima's has become. The bakers and candy makers everyday have their work cut out for them, but that makes the day go by faster until the 5 o'clock p.m. closing time. Locking the place up before she and her fellow employees get the place to look immaculate for the next morning, they all know that Urashima-san or one of his senior bakers will be back at 4 a.m. to start everything up all over again.

Kitsune, after having her tea, grabs her basket and heads over to the locker room in their dormitory to clean up from work.

Not lonely because of all her friends, she does not have anyone special in her life right now. The young man she dated in high school tried to take advantage of her because she was better developed than her classmates were. Breaking up after kicking him in the balls, she held her Onii-chan back from ripping her ex-boyfriend in half. Mitsune and her Onii-chan are very close to their Kaa-san since their Tou-san deserted the family when they were young. The whole of the Konno family has drawn together and it has become very tight. When accepted into the Tokyo University of the Arts in Yokohama, her Kaa-san and Onii-chan took her out for dinner before presenting her with her first laptop and a statement saying that her first semester was paid-in-full.

Yes, she is also very beautiful, though she does not care about that right now. Mitsune could use her looks and body as a weapon, but she is having too much fun right now with school, her friends and at work. She is not into the dating scene because that is not her thing.

She wants to wait for the right man to come along.

Urashima residence, early evening…

A little interaction with the family is a good thing. Let us see for ourselves. It ends with an interesting question.

"Onii-chan, that wasn't fair," says Kanako whining a little as she and Keitaro walk home together from a local Dojo.

They are both hungry and are looking forward to dinner.

In addition, their Tou-san is probably home and has brought treats for them to enjoy after tonight's dinner.

Therefore, they head straight home without any more delay.

"What are you complaining about, Kana-chan?" asks Keitaro laughing a little, "You know that if you don't finish the move properly I'll take advantage of that and you know what the results will be, don't you?" He had embarrassed her in front of others because she got a little ahead of herself and opened herself up for his counter.

Kanako is better than he is at many things, but the family arts is just one of a very few of things that he is actually better at than she is.

Keitaro tries to keep the teasing from getting too out of hand because he is actually very proud of her for picking up the family arts so quickly.

Kanako does have one important skill where she surpasses even her Tou-san or Haruka; it seems she can deaden someone's nerves with very little effort by using mere pressure points. She has left bullies and perverts numb or even crippled in her wake when they think that she is just some random vulnerable young girl. That is, until they find that they cannot move before she goes 'totally ballistic' on them.

She is catching up to him extremely fast though and he is very aware that she will surpass him very soon. Keitaro is very proud of her.

"Okaeri," says their Kaa-san as she gets the post.

"Tadaima," says the two entering their house together. Taking off their shoes, the two put on their slippers when they enter the house.

"Get washed up and ready dinner you two, we're having teriyaki beef, rice, miso and vegetables so hurry up," their mother says smiling at them. Waking her husband, she arouses him from his nap in front of the TV.

The two siblings go upstairs and does as she asks.

"How was your day with Kana-chan, Kei-kun?" asks Kenichi. He takes a genuine interest in both of his children. Although adopting Kanako, he treats her the same as Keitaro.

"Great Tou-san, except Kana-chan thinks I was cheating when she had me on the mat at the Dojo," says Keitaro looking at Kanako.

"Did you forget to finish the moves that you're supposed to use to incapacitate someone again, Kana-chan?" asks her Tou-san before she can argue with Keitaro.

"Hai, Tou-san," answers Kanako looking downwards and turning bright red with embarrassment.

"I did get a great portrait of Kana-chan in the park the today though," says Keitaro who does not like to tease Kanako for very long.

She looks up at him as her visage pales back to normal, "I believe it's one of the best that I done so far," he finishes.

She is smiling at him now.

"Good save son," says Kenichi under his breath before slurping down his miso. He knows his son will never to be mean to his Imouto-chan. Keitaro is just too plain nice as it is, until he gets angry.

He shudders slightly at that passing thought.

"Yeah," mutters Keitaro in a quiet reply to keep Kanako from deadening some of his nerves while he is at the table.

"Kei-kun, are you dating anyone right now?" asks Kasumi. She sees her son almost hiccup in his miso.

Wiping off his face with a napkin, he shakes his head sheepishly.

Kasumi has talked to her husband about finding someone for Keitaro. She does not want to subject him to an Omiai, because the Urashima's have always said that marriage should be elective in their clan.

Only one person comes to mind during this discussion, and they both know her. They both like her too and think she would be the perfect wife for Keitaro.

Konno Mitsune is the woman that they both have agreed upon after getting to know her.

Across town as she is typing on her new laptop, Kitsune sneezes and asks no one in particular, "I wonder who's talking about me."

End of Chapter