"Speaking"

'Thinking'

Disclaimer: The characters are owned by Ken Akamatsu. I do not own these characters or the series Love Hina, but I did come up with this idea for it. ;)

Take the Time

Chapter 1: Groundhog

"PERVERT!"

"WAAAAH!"

A shriek, a punch, and a man flying out of a building is the normal routine within the confines of a small dormitory named Hinata House. Keitaro flew off into the distance before he landed into a tree, breaking a few branches on the way down and roughly landed on the ground on the side of his neck that shouldn't even be humanly possible to recover from. The man sighed as he pulled himself back up slowly with his hands resting on his knees, "Naru's been punching me more recently. I mean, I didn't even do anything this time," He said as he brushed leaves off of his white button down shirt, "I don't even see the dormitory from this distance. Might as well start walking now."

The breeze was cool and sensational as he trudged hopelessly back to his home. He looked up into the sky and noticed the purple and red hues that emanated in the air. It was such a pretty sight to behold and left the man feeling a little better. He didn't think that it would be this difficult to live in this place but here he walked back to it as if he was hypnotized. It was something that he couldn't forget or ignore. He had to go back. It's his job as the landlord. But to be honest, Keitaro was tired. Looking as if he found a sign from heaven, he saw a bench and decided to sit down. A long sigh escaped his lips as he leaned into the backrest with his head flipped behind it, "Sometimes I really do wonder what I'm doing all of this for. It seems like nothing ever gets better. I've been trying to get on their good side and I always somehow mess everything up. Even with Naru as my girlfriend, I can never seem to keep things normal or happy. Everything always gets destroyed. The mood, the dormitory…"

"Urashima?"

His eyes opened abruptly and took notice of a raven haired woman standing next to the bench. Her hair was cut short and she wore a T-shirt with some blue jeans, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh ah!" He fidgeted in his seat as he tried to explain himself, "I kinda got sent into the air by Naru again. Haha!"

"Is what you said true?"

"Huh?" Keitaro went wide eyed as he saw her own eyes slant slightly in sadness, "What do you mean?"

"All of those things you said. Does it really feel that way to you?"

"You were eavesdropping on me?" Keitaro said a little panicked. He thought he was alone. He was far enough from the dorms, but he entirely forgot that Motoko went on a trip back to Kyoto recently, 'I completely forgot! Motoko was coming back today and she heard the things that I said.' "I uhm… Uh…" He was tongue tied and completely lost for words, but Motoko didn't give him too much time before she sat down next to him.

"Keitaro… If you need someone to talk to, do not hesitate to talk to me," She started while looking into his eyes, "Do you really feel like the Hinata House has become a burden?

The guy sighed heavily as he carefully weighed his options. He could run away, but then he would possibly have to deal with Motoko following him and fighting him to submission. Feeling like he didn't have any way out, he quietly spoke, "I… I kinda feel like nothing is working out. Even with me going to Tokyo U and how Naru and I are finally together, I still feel like something isn't right."

"Is it me?" The woman with widened eyes asked curiously, 'Could Keitaro really be second guessing his relationship with Naru and possibly thinking about us? But that's not right… What's going on?' "Is it any of us at Hinata-Sou that are causing this dilemma?"

"Sigh, I don't think it's just you guys. I think it also has something to do with how I feel about myself. I just don't feel like Naru and I should be together. I don't know… Maybe I'm just a little confused." He chuckled softly, "It's almost as if I'm lost."

Motoko looked to the man somberly, 'It's possible that the daily routine that he deals with is finally taking its toll on him. I feel worried.' She took a light breath through her nose before she spoke, "Keitaro…" She replied while laying a hand on his shoulder, "If there's anything I can do to help you, you know that I'm there for you."

He got up rather abruptly before he just started walking away. He stopped a few paces ahead and turned his face to meet hers, "Hehe, I know Motoko-chan, thanks for talking to me. I just need a little more time to think things over. I may be a little late coming home. Don't worry about me though."

Motoko only watched as he disappeared into the distance, walking the opposite way of the Hinata-Sou. She glanced down into her lap and flexed her fingers mindlessly. She didn't know what the guy was thinking, but he seemed to be in an even worse state than ever before, 'I think Naru is causing him some problems. I may have to relay this information to her soon. Although…' She shook her head, 'No, I can't do that. It would be wrong to her. But…' Unfortunately for Motoko, she was still trying to ignore her feelings for Keitaro. It tended to be difficult when she saw him basically everyday. She swallowed before walking to the dormitory.

Her slow ascension on the steps left her pondering silently to her tapping shoes. The wind blew slightly while she took a few strands and tucked them behind her ear. Sliding the front door open, she was welcomed with the scent of food wafting through the air, "I'm home everyone," Motoko said to no one in particular. While she was taking off her shoes, little footsteps padded towards the front door.

"Yaaaay! Motoko! I'm happy to see you!" Suu shouted exuberantly while giving her a bone crushing hug, "Did ya get me anything!?"

"Not this time Suu-chan," She replied with a smile. It was always nice to come back to all the ones she cared for, "I hope you have been good to Keitaro and the others."

"I have," Suu answered with a smile, "Naru's been a little angrier recently but it's been great anyway!"

Motoko saved that piece of information in her mind as Suu let go of her.

"Ah! Motoko-sempai! Welcome home!" Shinobu said in surprise, "I'm almost finished making dinner so please wait just a little while longer."

"Of course," Motoko said as she walked away from the kitchen, "I will be in my room if anyone needs me."

"Y-Yes!"

Motoko thoughtfully walked up the stairs to her room when she saw Naru walking down the steps simultaneously.

"Oh! Motoko! I didn't expect you to be here," Naru gasped with a smile, "How was your trip?"

Motoko stared at the other woman before smiling lightly, "It was enjoyable. It helped me with my meditation and concentration."

"Hey, that's great!" She responded while slapping Kendo girl's back lightly, "At least you didn't have to deal with Keitaro while you were gone. Recently, he's been a-"

"Actually, Naru, if I may have a word with you."

"Uhm, sure."

Motoko looked into her eyes rather intensely and gave the other girl a bit of an awkward chill, "I ran into Keitaro on the way here. He seemed to have come from one of his recent flights from your strong punch."

"Sigh, Yeah, I've about had it with him," She responded tiredly, "He grabbed me in an uncomfortable place and I had to deal with him like I normally do. He never learns." She shook her head in defeat.

Eyes narrowed slightly, "It is true that Urashima can be a bit perverse, but you are his girlfriend are you not?" The raven haired woman asked in a no nonsense tone, "You've been together a little over a year and yet he can't touch you without getting hit?"

Naru opened her eyes at Motoko's sudden backlash, "W-where's all this coming from?"

Motoko tsked as she continued to walk upwards and away from the other girl, "Sometimes, I wonder if you even deserve Keitaro."

With nothing more to say, the kendoist left the other woman to her thoughts. Naru stood dumbfounded at Motoko's brutal honesty, 'Why was she saying such things? She just gets home and immediately berates me. I mean, Keitaro does deserve to get hit…' Forgetting entirely what she was coming downstairs for, she walked back upstairs and went to her room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Keitaro opened the entrance to Hinata-Sou and took off his sneakers. Glancing at his watch he noticed that it was a little past eight at night. Dinner had already taken place and the dormitory was a lot quieter than earlier during the day. Having the long walk helped his emotions a little, but his thoughts still lingered and ran rampant in his head, 'Does Naru really like me? I mean, I know that she cares about me, but does she really love me? I just feel like we've lost something important in our relationship.'

"OW!"

Keitaro looked up and noticed that he stepped on Naru's foot. He didn't even realize that she was there. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts to ever register the fact that the poor man was walking into someone. Getting down on his knees, he pushed his head into the ground and begged, "I'm sorry Naru! I honestly didn't see you there. It was my mistake. Honest!"

The girl rubbed her foot continuously as she looked at him. She was trying to get his attention before he ultimately stepped on her and that aggravated her. She shook her fist at the poor man, "Watch where you're going next time! You could have fallen on top of me!"

"Yes! I'm so sorry Naru!" He said frighteningly quickly. He really didn't feel like walking home again, especially after his long thought filled walk that he had before. He just wanted to eat a little and go to bed. Was that too much to ask for?

She sighed and stood up again, "Geez Keitaro, sometimes I worry about you. Where've you been anyway? You were supposed to be home several hours ago."

"Sorry Naru. After you punched me, I decided to go for a walk and I got lost in thought. Before I knew it, it was already seven o'clock and I was almost in the city."

"I'm surprised you didn't get mugged," Naru replied off handedly.

"Yeah right, they'd take one good look at me and know I'm struggling. They'd probably give me something instead of trying to steal from me," He said listlessly.

"Just be careful if you start going out there like that. You could end up hurting yourself," She retorted while walking to the kitchen, "Sometimes, I just don't get you."

"Hehe, Yeah," Was all Keitaro could reply as he walked to the bath. He could really use one right now.

After soaking in the bath, he walked downstairs to grab some leftovers from the refrigerator. Looking at what was prepared, he wished that he made it home earlier. Unfortunately, he will have to warm it up in the microwave but he didn't mind too much. He pulled the foods out and put portions of them on a plate, placing it in the microwave and pressing a random number. He leaned against the smooth cool counter and stared at the ceiling.

"Are you feeling well?"

His thoughts left him as he looked over to the door of the kitchen and noticed someone standing there, "Oh, hey Motoko. I'm feeling fine. I'm just heating up some food is all. How are you?"

"I'm feeling well. I was just about to rest when I saw the kitchen light left on. I expected you to be down here," She crossed her arms as she rested against the door frame. Actually, she was waiting for him to come home. The things that she said to him really struck a chord. She had to say something. It tightened her heart seeing the man that she lo- Well, she can't really say that anymore.

"Yeah, I'm a little hungry, but I made it too late for dinner," He chuckled, "I'm just a screw up sometimes."

She lowered her eyes at his accusation, "What makes you say that?"

He gazed upon the ground and took a long breath, "With the way everything has been going recently, I just feel like I'm a failure. It's hard to keep moving forward whenever I feel like I'm standing still."

"Keitaro, you're not standing still," Motoko replied in a whisper, "You've got to think positive."

"Stop saying that Motoko," Keitaro replied with a frown, "I really am just a failure."

Before he could react, Motoko placed her hand upon his head and slightly ruffled his hair. Her face had a slight blush to it as she smiled, "Keitaro, no one is perfect."

His eyes widened as he took in what she just said, "You…"

At that moment, a beeping noise echoed through their ear splitting silence, but Keitaro completely forgot about his food as he looked into the eyes of the woman in front of him. 'Those words…'

"An honorable and intelligent man spoke those words to me during my lowest times," Her arm lowered to her side as she continued, "He inspired me to become something that I never thought I would be. He helped me overcome my own fears and self-loathing," Keitaro looked down to his feet in contemplation as she continued, "That man is still there, but he is also facing his difficult times. Even if no one else notices, I will always be wary of his internal struggles for he was wary of mine."

"Motoko, I… I don't know what to say."

She smiled as she walked back over to the kitchen entrance, "Just say that you won't give up. Have more faith in yourself. You're not as bad off as you want yourself to believe."

Keitaro's throat ran dry as he tried to speak, "T-Thank you… I… needed that."

"You're most welcome," She replied with a firm smile, "Now if you will excuse me, I must retreat to my room for rest. I have to practice in the morning."

"Yeah, talk uh… talk to you tomorrow," He answered as he watched her leave. While he pulled his food out of the microwave, he couldn't help but think about her comments, 'Motoko has changed so much. She's entirely different from how she was when we first met. She didn't really like me back then either.' He grinned slightly as he pulled out some chopsticks to eat.

Turning off the light, Keitaro walked to his futon to lay down. He had college again in the morning and knowing how it was going to turn out, he would have to study more after class. He needed the energy and wasn't going to play around tonight. He reached over to his alarm clock and set it to his usual time, then pulled the covers over his shoulders and sighed one final time. That small talk he had with Motoko really brightened up his spirits, 'That reminds me. Naru didn't even notice that I was struggling at all. I would figure that she would be the first person to notice it. She didn't even say good night to me,' He sighed as he stared up at the hole in his ceiling, "The least you could do is pop your head down and tell me good night."

He rolled over in his futon as he gave up on his frustrations. He honestly didn't have any more energy to focus on such mentally demanding things. He slowly closed his eyes and tried to drift off into unconsciousness, 'I wonder if Motoko would have treated me differently if she was my girlfriend? Wait… Did I really say that just now?' He snickered through his nose while trying to sleep, 'Yeah, that's a silly thought. I know she told me that she loved me back then, but it just seems so strange to think about Sword wielding, anti-man Motoko having feelings for me,' He tried to follow that stream of consciousness and found his explorative side curious, 'I wonder what that would have been like… eh.. it's whatever. I'll just sleep now.'

Keitaro began to idly think about food and his classes before he drifted off into a deep sleep.

*Morning*

5:59

6:00

*Fsh.. Then put yourrr little hand in miiiine~ There ain't no hill or mountain~ We can't cliiimb~ Babe… I got you babe~

Keitaro slowly opened his eyes to the music playing on his alarm. He didn't remember setting his alarm to the radio and looked over to his right. It blared bright red numbers that said it was six in the morning, 'That's weird. I've never heard this song before. It doesn't help that it's in English.'

"Okay campers! Rise and shine and don't forget your little booties because it's COLD out there!" "It's COLD out there everyday. What is this Miami Beach?" "Not hardly. You can expect hazardous travel later with that blizzard thing." "That blizzard… thing?" "Yeah" "Oh well here's a…"

'Did I tap into an American radio station or something? Suu must have tinkered with my alarm clock,' He could only sigh as he pressed the button to his alarm, completely silencing the device, 'I'm gonna have a talk with her later,' He began to put on his glasses when he found out that they were bigger than before, "Huh? These are my old glasses. Agh! Suu must be playing a prank on me today. This must be "Mess with Keitaro" day!" He rustled his clothes as he pulled them off. He was wearing entirely different night clothes than he put on last night. He only sighed further as he went to look for his clothes. None of his newer fashionable clothes were in the closet and he could only sigh even further as he found a button up shirt and some blue jeans. Quickly putting those on, he looked around his room and noticed a lot of things were missing. Most of his books that he owned from studying weren't even there and the room looked more barren than when he last saw it, 'I must have been conked out last night for me to miss all of the noise. There's no way that I wouldn't be able to hear her coming into my room and taking everything like this.' "I'll have a talk with her later."

He opened his door and walked into the hallway. The sunlight was echoing against the walls and gave the halls a warm glow of the morning sun. He sauntered to the kitchen and prepared himself a light breakfast meal and noticed that the kitchen looked a little more aged than usual. He didn't really pay it too much mind though because he wanted to be on time for his class at Tokyo U. It was a good thing that he didn't oversleep for a change. He was actually surprised that Naru wasn't already awake and moving. She was usually awake before he was and sometimes she would even wake him up before she got ready. It must not have been one of those days, 'Naru must have went on without me. It doesn't surprise me that she didn't wake me up.'

Taking a final sip of his drink, he walked outside and left the Hinata-Sou. His trip was short, but he didn't mind. He believed that having a small break from Naru would be a good thing. His thoughts seemed to be a little clearer this morning, "I think today will be a great day."

"WHAT!?"

"I-I'm sorry sir, but you're not on our list. We don't even know who you are."

"But there has to be a mistake! I've been in Tokyo U since last year."

"We're terribly sorry. We don't know what else to tell you."

"Urgh! Damn it Suu! Now you've gone too far!" He stormed out of the front office of Tokyo U and ran quickly back to the trolley. He had a lot of talking to do to that young lady and wouldn't stop until he got everything fixed, "She's totally ruining my day! I didn't even think she would go this far!"

Around half past eight in the morning, Keitaro finally made it back to the dormitory. He climbed those steps rather quickly, and noticed his instant fatigue that washed over him, 'Man, have I really been ignoring my health this badly?' Insisting that he exercised more, he continued relentlessly up the staircase to the Hinata-Sou. Making it to the top, winded and trying to catch his breath, he stomped heavy footsteps inside the main room, "SUU! Where are you!?"

No quicker than he said her name, she ran into the main room and planted a super kick in his face, "HEY KEITARO!"

"GWAH!" His nose bled profusely as he tried to stifle the flow with his fingers, "Suu! Why did you change my stuff in my room? Also, why did you mess with my Tokyo U registration!? I can't go to class because of you!"

The dark skinned girl looked at him strangely before she smiled, "Sorry Keitaro. I don't know what you're talking about," Then she darted away from him rather swiftly and disappeared from sight.

'Was it me or did she look younger?' He couldn't help but notice the way she looked whenever she came in. She was also more hyper than usual. It was like a feeling of Déjà vu. Breathing tiredly, he told himself he would get back to her later. Right now, he had to talk to Naru and let her know what happened, 'If anything, she would at least help me fix my problem.' "If only Naru were here. Too bad she's already at Tokyo U."

"What are you blabbering about now?"

Looking over to his right, he saw Naru standing in her morning clothes beside him. She had just walked down the stairs and saw the guy with a bloody nose. Of course, she went to investigate, 'Naru looks a little strange. I can't place my finger on it.' "Oh, I'm so happy that you're here. I need your help with Suu! She changed all of the things in my room and even changed my registration at Tokyo U! They told me that I wasn't a student there at all. AT ALL!" He began to shake her shoulders while moping. The tear streaks down his cheeks very evident upon his face.

Naru only looked at him with a slight blush before she developed a tick mark, "What do you mean?! You don't even go to Tokyo University. Stop lying! We already know that you're a preparation student. It's too late to try and get out of that now."

"What?" He widened his eyes in confusion, "Are you in on Suu's pranks too? Ah hah hah hah, Okay, I get it. It's very funny. You guys can cut it out now. I just want to go to class today like I'm supposed to."

"Keitaro, are you feeling alright?" Naru asked with furrowed eyebrows, "You're not a Tokyo U student. You and I both know that you go with me to the Prep school. You're only a 49th percentile to top it off!"

"What?" 'No, this can't be…' Things started to come crashing down on him as he slowly started to figure out just what exactly was going on here.

"Urashima!?"

A voice that normally sounded more feminine now had more edge and assertiveness to it, 'And younger?'

"It's this early in the morning and you're already starting your ways," Motoko replied rather harshly and without any care.

"Hold on Motoko," Naru caught her while the other woman was trying to unsheathe her blade, "I think Keitaro might not be feeling well."

He took a good look at Motoko and immediately noticed the difference. 'Her hair is long. She looks way younger than before. Naru looks younger. I have none of my new clothes. My books are gone. My glasses. My college registration… That can only mean. That means…' "I'm in the past."

"Huh?" Naru said confused as she looked at the ronin, but not too much longer before he started to swoon and fell over. Naru gasped and that was the last thing that he heard before he blacked out.

Author's Notes: Wow. I can't believe I actually started writing this. For some reason, I got sick to death of just reading fanfictions of Love Hina. I wanted to actually write one of my own and this is the result. I came up with some pretty good planning for this one. The entire story is basically thought out all of the way. It won't be too long. Maybe ten chapters or more. No more than 20 for sure. I think this story could actually happen if it was set in this particular way. You'll just have to see what I mean as the story progresses. I'm really loving the ideas I have for it. I've always been reading stories where the girls somehow go back in time. This one has Keitaro go back in time instead. I don't know why no one has thought it this way. Also, in case you didn't get the reference, the whole idea behind the clock with the song and the radio guys is a cameo of the move Groundhog's Day. It's one of my favourite movies and inspired me to write this story. No, Keitaro will not live the same day over and over. It was just a one-time cameo that I wanted to put in for giggles and enjoyment.

Read and Review please. It helps me with how people view the story so far. Thank you very much!