Disclaimer: "Love Hina" is the property of Ken Akamatsu. I claim no ownership to any of these characters or the universe they live in. This work of fiction was created purely as a mental exercise to see if I could actually write something. If it happens to entertain anyone other than myself, all the better.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Keitaro was having an awful day.

Despite having broken up with Naru almost a year ago, she was still coming up with a multitude of grievances regarding their former relationship. It seemed to happen almost daily, and for some odd reason it always seemed to be his fault.

This time, they argued about her desire to go out and see other people. The former fiancé announced her intent to do so at breakfast that morning and got support from everyone at the inn, including Keitaro. The young man merely wanted Naru to be happy and wished her well. Unfortunately, it appeared that his supportive response was not the reaction Naru sought and the longtime Tokyo university student left the dining room in a huff. Confused, Keitaro excused himself and went about his daily business.

The young man was later confronted by Mitsune, who harassed him about his callous disregard for Naru's feelings. When he asked why his former fiancé took his show of support as offensive, the resident slacker went on a tangent about how insensitive he was about their old relationship and how he should have opposed the idea and fought to get her back. The already befuddled landlord could only respond dumbly, saying that he really didn't want to get back with Naru. This only served to anger Mitsune further, causing her to storm out of the manager's quarters.

Later that afternoon, Keitaro was confronted by Motoko. The Shinmei-Ryu swordswoman accused him of trying to sabotage Naru's chances at happiness. Already reeling over from Mitsune's earlier tirade, the young man begged ignorance and asked what exactly was he being accused of. Motoko went on about how his support that morning was obviously false and that his treacherous plans to hurt Naru will not work. Legitimately confused, he opted for a direct approach and asked her what in blazes was she talking about. Unfortunately, his extremely frank question only served to anger the sword maiden. And in a span of one secret sword technique later, he found himself launched into the air in the direction of the inn's roof.

Shinobu was happily hanging up the laundry on the roof when she heard the scream. Turning toward the direction of the noise, she noticed her sempai flying toward her. Frozen in fear, the young girl screamed back as Keitaro fell from the sky only to land into the clothes lines. The combined tension of the lines and hanging clothes cushioned the landlord's fall, but it also served to scatter all the freshly washed and hug clothes all over the roof. Seeing the results of her day's work ruined, the young girl left the rooftop crying.

It took Keitaro a good while to untangle himself from the rooftop mess. Once down the stairs, he was confronted once again by Naru who asked what he did to upset Shinobu. He did his best to explain what had happened, but the former fiancé could only see red every time he tried to justify his actions. After being screamed at for over an hour, the frustrated landlord made his way to the Hinata Café to talk to his aunt and maybe calm his nerves with one of her soothing tea blends.

Unfortunately, this was not to be as he was accosted by the remaining tenant of the inn. Oblivious to the day's events, Kaolla Su had been in her lab busily working on yet another new gadget she hoped would uncover the secret behind Keitaro's resilience and immortality.

The precocious little scientist had a habit of developing some form of technological gadget and then using Keitaro as a test subject, most often by surprise. It had aroused Su's curiosity that despite the violent tendencies of her follow tenants, he still managed to survive. With a seemingly endless pool of technology at her disposal, most of them probably stolen from her home country, there was a steady stream of new inventions from the young genius as she was eager to discover what was so special about their resident landlord

Keitaro endured experiment after experiment, having resigned to his fate as Su's favorite test subject. Despite the trouble it caused him, he admired Su's genius and drive. It was hard not to get swept up in her exuberance as she obsessed about him and his invulnerability. The Hinata Inn's resident manager was unable to deny the adorable look on the princess's face when she explained the capabilities of her latest device. He just couldn't help but like the girl, even though he wished she'd turn it down a notch. After all, none of her experiments had been fatal, but they were still very, very, painful.

And so, on his way to the Hinata Café, Keitaro would find himself face to face with a Molmolian princess armed with some form of weapon and an evil looking grin. Before he could utter a word, she unleashed a torrent of energy particles on him that tore at his body and mind in ways he had not felt before. The young man experienced extraordinary pain, a blinding light, and then finally darkness.

When his vision slowly returned, Keitaro felt wave after wave of extremely foreign emotions. Never had he felt such rage, anxiety, frustration, and hate. The young man steeled himself, trying to get the dark feelings under control. Eventually, his inherent resilience reasserted itself and his psyche managed to force down the negativity he was experiencing. As his vision cleared, he shook the last of the cobwebs out of his brain and managed to regain some of his own motor functions.

It was then that Keitaro began to notice a sniffling sound. Turning toward it, he saw a teary eyed Kaolla Su. Her expression was full of sorrow, shock, and amazingly, guilt. The young man stared at her for a bit. Despite the pain he had endured, his first thoughts were of Su and why she was crying. He tried to speak, but somehow words weren't coming out. The princess fared no better, as she blubbered what sounded like an apology then ran off, dropping her strange gadget on the floor.

The landlord looked in fear at the device in fear that sparked and buzzed angrily on the floor. He began to back away when he heard a click, followed by a whining noise that got louder and louder. As he got to his feet, the device exploded blowing the young man toward a wall. And once again, all Keitaro knew was darkness.

Keitaro woke up later with to see Kanako's concerned face. She had been cradling his head on her lap protectively while waiting for his body to recover from whatever had knocked him unconscious. Smiling warmly at his sister, he thanked her for her concern and got up. When the Goth girl inquired who the principals were that assaulted him, the young man stated that it was a just a huge misunderstanding and to think nothing of it. Obediently Kanako asked no more questions, quietly escorting her brother to the manager's quarters.

When the young man finally went to bed, he tried to piece together the day's events and wondered how it all turned it this way. His thoughts eventually turned to the incident with Su, and he wondered what had happened during his blackout that would have caused her to run away in tears. As sleep caught up to him, he made a note to catch up with the princess in the morning and find out exactly what happened.

Unfortunately, Keitaro would never get the chance to find out. For the next several days, Su would be uncharacteristically absent during meals. Inquiries about the young girl's whereabouts would be met with very pointed and accusatory questions thrown back at him by Naru and Motoko. Unwilling to add any more drama to an already uncomfortable situation, Keitaro just kept doing his daily routine hoping that he could one day square things up with the formerly high-spirited princess.

For the next few weeks, Keitaro would sense the Su's presence while doing his odd jobs around the Hinata Inn. Each time it happened he would look around, but never actually find her anywhere nearby. He would call out pleadingly, concerned about her state of mind, asking for a chance to talk and perhaps settle things between them. Sadly, he would never actually get a response from the hiding girl.

A week later, he stopped sensing her around completely.