A few words from the author: readers are appreciated, reviewers are appreciated even more.

Legal mumbo jumbo: if I owned Love Hina, I would issue a public statement saying that all fanfiction writers would not have to write these stupid disclaimers again. Hopefully this story will different enough to satisfy 808 and Halo Expert.

Notes on the text: Story is AU. Content warnings will be printed at beginnings of chapters, relevant information will be printed at bottom of chapters.

Enjoy

Nobody really knew when the war actually started. . .

Did it start when China's leader, chairman Lao announced his intention to make China a world power. . .

Did it start with North Korea's strategic alliance with China. . .

Did it start when the North Koreans mobilized a 950,000 man army without anybody noticing. . .

Did it start when North Korean tanks rolled south across the DMZ and attacked South Korea. . .

Did it start when satellite pictures revealed a massive concentration of fighter jets and transport planes in the northeast areas of China. . .

To some it started when the United States interveined on behalf of South Korea. . .

To others it started when Anderson Air Force Base in Guam was attacked during the night and almost completely destroyed. . .

Still others thought it started when Japan quietly instituted a "Universal Civil Service" act. . .

To thousands it started when they saw their husbands, sons, and fathers getting into buses headed for "Civil service". . .

For one young student, the war started when he recieved a letter from the Japanese government. . .

November 20, 2009; 1243 local time; Somewhere over Hinata

Keitaro had seen what was going on, he saw the news on TV. He, like many others thought of the war as something far away, something that didn't really concern him. He was just an ordinary cram-school student, he didn't have time to worry about politics.

To tell the truth, international politics was the last thing on his mind right now. Currently his mind, and the rest of his body was flying through the air. Keitaro used this time to reflect on the wisdom of knocking before going in to clean the hotsprings, this tidbit of wisdom was too late to stop Naru's angry fist from sending him soaring into the sky towards town.

Three old men were walking down the street when Keitaro crashed into a dumpster behind them.

"Gravity, more than." said one without turning around.

"A good idea." Finished another.

"It's the law." said the third.

"And not likely to be repealed." they all said together.

Keitaro stood up, brushed himself off, and started walking back to the inn. He walked along the cobblestone streets towards Hinata's grand staircase. He heard a commotion coming from inside Haruka's tea-shop, he unknowingly walked inside and saw three olive-clad JSDF (Japan Self Defense Force) soldiers sitting around a table having tea and chatting. 'There seems to be more and more of them around these days' Keitaro thought as he walked over to his aunt to see what was going on.

"Hey, Keitaro." She said. "What are you doing here, and why to you have a banana peel in your hair?"

Keitaro put his hand on his head and sure enough, there was a banana peel. He took it off and threw it away before responding "I forgot to knock before cleaning the hotsprings."

Haruka nodded before pulling out a letter from her apron. "The postman brought it to me this morning, it's from the government."

Keitaro opened the letter and read it silently to himself. According to the letter he was to report to the bus stop at the edge of town at 1300 hours on the 23rd of November, 2009.

November 23, 2009; 1245 local time; Hinata Inn

Everything was ready to go. Haruka had agreed to manage the Inn while he was gone, he was all packed, and Shinobu had even made him a special lunch to eat at the bus stop. His suitcase contained a few changes of clothes, an eyeglass repair kit, and a group picture of all the guests in the Hinata Inn. He said his goodbyes to everyone (Tama-chan even gave him a goodbye "Nyu!") walked down the grand staircase towards town.

Keitaro sat down at the bus stop and started eating his lunch. Soon he was joined by Kentaro, Shirai, and Masayuki. The three of them had gotten similar letters. The bus arrived on time and they climbed into the bus and sat down. As the bus drove away Keitaro looked back at the Hinata Inn fading in the distance. Little did he know of the trials and tribulations he would face before he ever saw the inn again.