Love Hina – The Once and Future Manager

Fanfic

Naru, her voice heavy with emotion, sobs as she replies, "B-because he didn't w-want us to worry, that's why. He didn't want to h-hurt us by letting us see how much w-w-we were h-hurting him. He didn't want us to feel guilty for what we were doing to him. All the times we ignored him or treated him like he was dirt, he still thought of us first. Not only was he the best manager, b-but he was our best friend. And we never saw it! We treated him like he didn't matter. When he.."

"DAMN IT AND DAMN YOU ALL! Now you finally figure it out." Everyone spins around to see Haruka standing at the back of the room.

Chapter Eight – Repercussions

Late on a Friday afternoon, Hinata

Haruka has watched the entire proceedings and can no longer remain quiet. "Now you see him for what he truly was. After you've hurt him, embarrassed him, degraded him, abused him, played with his heart, and then forced him to leave the only place he ever felt truly at home! And you thought he was the worst manager in the world! That's just about all most of you ever had to tell me about him, in spite of everything he did around here, as if I couldn't see the truth!"

She stands in front of the girls, her fists on her hips as she spits out, "It was always 'He can't do this, Haruka. He can't do that, Haruka. He's incapable, Haruka. He's lazy, Haruka. He's a pervert, Haruka. He should never have been made the manager here, Haruka. He's a male, Haruka. What was Granny thinking when she asked him to come here, Haruka?' A half a year I've listened to you whine and complain and bitch, with Keitaro telling me the whole time not to say anything, not to take any actions against you. That boy protected you from your own pettiness and vanities and prejudices. Well, guess what? He's not here to stop me from speaking my piece to the four of you now!"

Facing each girl in turn, Haruka starts in on them.

"Su. For six months, Keitaro was your test subject, footrest, and punching bag. I understand you thought it was all in good fun, but give me a break. Fun is one thing; physical assault is another. Add to that the number of times you went after Keitaro with what could, at best, be called 'deadly weapons', and it is beyond me how he stayed sane, not knowing when your next random attack was likely to happen, or where it would come from."

Su looks Haruka in the eye, nodding her head slowly.

"Kitsune, you never hit Keitaro, as far as I know. But you sure as hell had your damned fun setting him up to get the living daylights beat out of him by Naru and Motoko. You knew how naïve and trusting Keitaro is, and you used that, telling him the hot springs were empty when they weren't, or that Naru needed him right away in her room, when she was actually changing or getting ready to go to the baths, or dozens of other lies to put him in situations he would not have been in on his own. And let's not forget the money you swindled from him. You more than anyone else were responsible for Keitaro not being able to get the things he needed because he was broke most of the time. All so that you could pay your rent, or bet on your stupid horse races, or get more sake so you could get drunk and trick him into more mistakes for your amusement."

Kitsune sits there unmoving, not seeming to react to Haruka's tirade.

Turning, she sarcastically speaks to the sword maiden. "Motoko Aoyama. Heir to the Shinmei School of Swordsmanship. The proud sword master. Protector of the innocent and defenseless. Tell me, how many times did you attack Keitaro AFTER you thoroughly examined the situation to determine what was going on? If ever? How many times did Keitaro deserve your 'justice' when he was actually helping someone and you mistook the situation? Motoko, look at me." Haruka asks. "Tell me something. Your school's techniques. Were they designed to capture evil-doers . . . or to kill them?"

Her hands trembling, Motoko lowers her eyes, unable to face her.

Naru jerks nervously as Haruka steps in front of her. "Naru, I've known you for years. I had hoped you and Keitaro could at least have been friends. Kami knows he has strong feelings for you, and yet you treat him like he's more of a nuisance than anything else. But he kept coming back, like an idiot, begging your forgiveness. How many times should it have been YOU crawling to HIM asking forgiveness? If I had known what it was going to be like, I would have tried to talk Granny out of ever asking Keitaro to be the kanrinin here. Of course, Keitaro could have shown a little more backbone in how he interacted with all of you," Haruka hushes Naru before the girl can latch onto that statement as an excuse, "but even as he is, you had no right to treat him like you did. I know you've had a rough time with men, Naru, but for the love of all that's holy, why did you take it out so violently on my nephew? Honestly, was he really the perverted beast you always made him out to be?"

Naru shakes her head, whimpering "N-no, he w-wasn't. He w-was clumsy, and s-sometimes couldn't help it when he fell on one of us. But I never meant to treat him like that. It's j-just . . . just that I . . I . . I . . " her voice cracks as she can go on no more, her tears flowing down her cheeks as she holds her face in her hands "I'm sorry, Keitaro."

Hearing Haruka's words with the others, an emotionally drained Shinobu ashamedly makes her way back into the room, having washed her last meal off her face and hands and recovered enough to walk, unsteadily, again. Haruka reaches out tenderly to her, and Shinobu steps over and takes her hand. Haruka kneels, and pats the girl on her cheek. "It's alright, Shinobu, you have no reason to be ashamed at your honest reaction to what you saw. Come on, give me a smile, for Keitaro's sake, okay?" Straightening the young girls' hair, she smiles until Shinobu returns it, a small, weak attempt, but a smile no less. "Aaauuuu! Haruka, we're sorry!" Shinobu hugs the older woman and cries into her apron. Haruka stays there for a few minutes, whispering comforting words to the youngest resident.

When Shinobu manages to get control over her emotions, Haruka stands, still holding the young cooks' hand. "The only saving grace among the lot of you is Shinobu here. She accepted Keitaro for who he was, no questions asked, from the first day he came here. She cared for him for just being him." Shinobu is not the only one to blush heavily at that statement. And more than one of the other girls feels a sharp pain in their chests as the realization that they care for Keitaro as well makes itself known.

"B-but Haruka-san, I-I could have done m-more to help Sempai. I should have . ." Haruka places her finger on Shinobu's lips. "No, Shinobu. Keitaro wouldn't want you blaming yourself. He knows that you care, even if you didn't want to speak out against your friends. It's not your fault you were stuck in such an awkward position."

Looking at the other residents, "Shinobu didn't accept him for who he could be, or for who he should be, or for what she could turn him into. Her feelings were just for him being Keitaro. It's the cruelest shame she isn't four years older. Keitaro might have finally found someone who was worthy of taking care of him, and for him to take care of, for the first time in his life, instead of another girl who'd just use him like a toy, until he broke and they threw him into the trash." The last comment comes with Haruka's eyes burning holes through Naru as Shinobu blushes three shades of red.

"It must have torn Shinobu apart to have to choose which way her vote went, not wanting to hurt Keitaro, but also not wanting to betray her friends. Damn, it makes me want to wash my mouth out just calling you people that name. Friends! You don't deserve the title. And you" she says, looking at Su, "I know that you cared for Keitaro as well. I was surprised that you voted against him. Tell me, honestly, did Naru and Motoko gang up on you and Shinobu to make it a unanimous vote against Keitaro, or was it a one-person hit-job by Naru?" The sight of Shinobu and Su turning to look at Kitsune surprises Haruka.

"Ya'll got it wrong, Haruka. Naru and Motoko had nothing to do with it." Kitsune states, rising shakily to her feet.

"B-but, I would have thought Naru would have done that, or Motoko!" Haruka exclaims.

Kitsune shakes her head. "Naru expected only a majority vote, three against and two for; she figured she could watch him squirm a bit for two weeks until we accepted him again. Everyone else here expected that that's the way it was gonna work, too. Keitaro would work his ass off for two weeks, and then we'd forgive and forget and allow him to remain our manager."

Looking Haruka dead in the eye, Kitsune raises her head and says, "I'm the one who convinced Su and Shinobu to vote against him and make it unanimous."

Naru's head snaps up in anger to stare at Kitsune "What? After everything you just showed us, you WANTED to make him have to resign with a unanimous vote? Why?" she screams as she grabs Kitsune by the shirt collar and shakes her angrily.

Tears splatter from Kitsune's face as she shakes her head, violently, spitting out the words in a near shriek; "TO SAVE HIS DAMNED LIFE! TO PROTECT HIM FROM US! TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO FIND SOME HAPPINESS BEFORE WE ENDED UP MAIMING HIM OR KILLING HIM OR CRUSHING LOVE AND COMPASSION AND DECENT HUMAN KINDNESS OUT OF HIM ENTIRELY! THAT'S WHY! FOR HIS SAKE! I DID IT FOR HIM, MY FRIEND, BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING HE HAS DONE FOR US!"

Stunned, everyone stares at her, never having seen this kind of reaction out of her.

Haruka speaks first, "But Kitsune, if even one, just one vote had been in his favor, Keitaro would at least have left here feeling that someone cared and that would have made all the difference in the world to him. But you took even that small comfort away from him just to make your point, and then drove that damned point right through his heart! Why?"

Kitsune continues, quieter and sadder."Because if he felt there was even a small chance of reconciliation with us, it woulda eaten him up inside until he came back, begging us to forgive him, pleading for another chance. We'all know that's the truth. His sense of honor wouldn't've let him do otherwise. As long as he felt some kinda tie to Hinata, like it was home, or to us, like we was his friends, he would try to come back. This way, he's free and clear, no strings attached. He did everything we ever asked of him and more. He was our manager, our friend, and," she says, looking Naru in the eyes "he loved us, each one of us. Some of us more than others, but none of us half-heartedly. Even Ah could see that. And damn us all, we treated him like crap. So, this way, Keitaro doesn't owe us a thing." Dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, she says "Crap, he's better than that, he deserves better than he ever got from us."

"So you are saying you NEVER want Keitaro to come back? EVER?" Naru screams at Kitsune, still clutching the older girl, mayhem intent in her eyes.

"Nope." Kitsune says, her sly smile returning as she finishes wiping the tears from her face.

Perplexed, Naru stops in her tracks, waiting for an explanation. Everyone shares her desire to know what the Fox is talking about.

"This last month has been the hardest month Ah've had to go through in a long time. Not having Keitaro around just ain't right, and not just because we all had to do his work around here. And all of ya'll know it. But, if it had just been him off on a vacation or something like that, the moment he walked back in that door everything we've done to him woulda started up all over again, and his living hell woulda continued."

Haruka, understanding dawning on her, says, her anger at the Fox starting to dissipate, "You're saying everyone needed a wake-up call, isn't it? That's what getting my nephew kicked out of here was all about?"

"Give the lady a cigar! Ya'll is absolutely right, Haruka. Ah learned this lesson over a month ago, but Ah wanted to let Keitaro have some time to see what his life could be like. No beatings morning, noon, and night. No one playing hot potato with his heart. Just time for him to reflect and relax."

Picking up a glass of tea and drinking it with shaking hands, she says, "I-if Keitaro ever to comes back, Ah know our basic personalities would kick back in pretty quick, and his abuse would start again. But this way, having lived with the idea that he's never coming back, and learning what we put him through, maybe, just maybe, we'd've learned enough to show him we care, that we respect him, and that we would accept him for who he is. And maybe, we'd learn to have the decency to at least ASK him if he's okay after beating the snot outta him, and make sure he's willing to let us help him, rather than let him protect us from seeing the ugly side of ourselves."

Naru, tears sharing understanding on her face, turns to head for the door. "We need to go find Keitaro, now! We have to tell him we've learned our lesson and bring him home!"

Kitsune, shaking her head sadly, grabs Naru's arm and presses her down, keeping her from rushing out. As Naru sits, Kitsune collapses to the couch beside her, seemingly having burned through whatever energy she had called upon to bring them all to this point, the tea cup falling from her shaking hand.

Shinobu grabs another cup of tea and places it in her hands, helping her to hold it until Kitsune can control the violent shaking in her hands. After a few sips, Kitsune looks up, her face ashen, her eyes, although now dry, as sad as they had ever seen them. "There's one risk Ah took when Ah planned this whole thing, but Ah decided that Keitaro-san was worth it. Even if we'all find him, he may have already decided he is better off without us, and won't want to return to Hinata-sou, no matter how much we ask, beg or plead. If that's so, we only have ourselves to blame."

The others begin to realize the truth in this. Which of them would willingly walk back into an almost living hell if they had the choice?

Kitsune speaks, her voice cracked and barely above a whisper, "After having the freedom to think clearly for the first time in six months, he m-may be lost to us forever. And if that's the case, Ah . ." sniff " Ah can only wish for him the best, cuz he sure got the worst from us. Only by being honest with ourselves and him do we have any hope of bringing him back, if living without us is what he has decided. And Ah mean all of us. If anyone here has any doubts about having Keitaro back, whether he's male or not" this said with a sad glance at Motoko, "we can just stop now and not waste our time. Ah for one will not drag him back here under false pretenses just to have him treated like trash again without some compassion from all of us, not just Shinobu."

Naru's tears fall unhindered to her lap to land in the palms of her upturned hands, unable to look at her friends. "Keitaro! I'm sorry. Oh Kami-sama, I'm so sorry. P-please, f-f-forgive me."

The other girls sit there for a few moments digesting everything they had seen and heard.

"So, who here is willing to do what it takes to make this a real home for Keitaro, to try and convince him to come back to us." Kitsune asks, one hand already in the air. Three other sets of hands and tear-stained faces immediately match hers.

Haruka looks at Motoko, who is staring down at her sword. "Well Motoko, what'll it be? All for one, or none for all?"

Rising, the sword maiden stammers to reply. Finally, after closing her eyes, she lays her sword on the table, and steps forward to Haruka. Kneeling in front of her, Motoko bows, her forehead going completely to the floor. "I cannot guarantee that my actions will be quick to change. Years of mistrust of males is deeply ingrained in my being. However, I swear to you that, if an incident occurs between your nephew and I, I will not shrug it off as before. I will contemplate my actions to determine if what I did was deserved or a mistake on my part. If so, I will seek his forgiveness, if he is willing to do grant it. I will accept his judgment, as he…" Motoko's body trembles, and she looks up at Haruka with tears streaming down her face "..as he has already proven himself more than worthy of the place he has found for himself here amongst us."

Haruka holds her hand out to the sword maiden, helping her to her feet and giving her a quick hug. Adjusting her cigarette holder, "Kitsune's right. If everyone here isn't in agreement, Keitaro will only face more emotional pain, and that's if he even comes back."

Pretending to look at her watch, Haruka says, "Excuse me a minute, I have a call I have to make." Going to the entryway, Haruka picks up the phone and dials a number.

After a minute, Su, who has been silent for the entire proceedings, speaks up, "There's something else. Kitsunes didn't catches it, because I forgots to put a speaker on it. But I heards it this time."

Everyone turns to her. "A lot of the times Keitaros was about to get hit, he whispered something."

Haruka walks back into the room and stands near the front door.

Naru, her face turning ashen again, asks "Wh-what, Su? What d-did he say?"

Tears on her face, Su rewinds the tape, and connects the tracker's audio amplifier to the VCR. She presses a different button, and starts the tape again. She fast forwards it to the moment before Motoko and Naru launch one of their classic double-team attacks. Adjusting the device in her hands, the image zooms to Keitaro's face, and they can hear him whisper: "I forgive you. Please forgive me" just before their combined attack launches him into the hot springs.

She replays many of the moments right before Keitaro is hit, with nearly the same phrase being heard, over and over.

After about ten minutes, Su stops the recording and looks at the floor where her foot is making small circles. "Keitaros says that lots of times to us. Mostly to Narus or Motokos. Or boths of you."

Motoko whispers "Urashima! You forgave me even before I struck you? How is that possible?"

Sobs overwhelm Naru as she slumps forward, her face in her hands. "Oh, Keitaro! How could you say that after everything we, after everything I've done to you?"

Behind the girls, a voice speaks out "I'm sorry everyone. I know it's kind of late, but can I please have another chance?"

Jumping up, the girls spin around to see Keitaro standing just inside the front door. Haruka, her arms crossed, stands at his side.

In a mad rush, the girls run to their kanrinin. Naru, tears on her face, her features ranging from joy to relief to shame and to anger, yells "Keitaro! Thank Heavens! Where . . where the hell have you been? Where do you get off making me, uh, making us worry about you like this, you baka?" Rearing back, she instinctively prepares to punch the young man. The other residents freeze at what is about to happen.

A hand, its grip stronger than steel, wraps around Naru's wrist and spins her around.

Haruka, having moved almost faster than they could see, steps forward to stop the attack and glares at Naru, who only now realizes what she was about to do. The honey-haired girl's knees go weak, and only Haruka's strong grip keeps her from collapsing to the floor.

"Everyone just stand right where you are at." Haruka says. Looking at the Fox, she nods her head, "Now I understand why you wanted her to do this, Kitsune. It wasn't a joke you had planned at all." Turning to Keitaro, she tells him, "You can remove the disguise now, Mutsumi."

Pulling a wig and glasses off, the melon-girl shakes her long brunette hair loose. "Oh my! Oh dear! I thought I was going to take an unexpected trip to the hot springs like Kei-kun often did. And these bindings are so tight, I . ." The young woman collapses to the floor, her unblinking eyes wide, and her breath non-existent. Tama-chan floats through the door and lands on the Okinawan's head, raising a flipper to the residents. "Myuh."