[[Manga/LoveHina Keitaro Urashima]] didn't exactly get the warmest welcome from the girls staying at the Hinata House. Then again, his grandmother hadn't exactly had the foresight to warn him beforehand that it'd been converted into an all-girls' dormitory. So what if he happened to run into Haruka beforehand, found out what was being set up and made a deal with her: if the girls don't want him there, then he'll leave.

''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7856098/1/Love-Hina-Like-It-Could-Have-Been Love Hina: Like It Could Have Been]]'' explores the consequences of this. Their initial sense of triumph when Keitaro walks out soon gives way to shock as they find themselves having to take up the duties he would have assumed. Reality bites back.

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!!This ''Manga/LoveHina'' FanFic contains examples of:

* AllMenArePerverts: Naru tries to justify her refusal to control her temper around guys with this claim.
* BreakTheHaughty: Or rather, 'Force the Haughty to go through CharacterDevelopment by making them face actual consequences for their actions'.
* [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Old Woman Out]]: When Hina learns how things are going from Haruka, she's not happy with how her plans went OffTheRails. Haruka responds by calling her out and giving her an earful right back.
* CatapultNightmare: Motoko suffers one in the second chapter.
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Haruka lights up after updating Granny Hina on the implosion of her plot and Granny rants her out.
* DeadFic: Hasn't been updated since 2012.
* ExactWords: Twice in Keitaro's spar with Motoko. First she said "first touch wins" so he touches he with his hand and second he tells her he did not like his bokken training, [[spoiler:when he wins the spar, she tells him that she thought he did not like it. He replies, "I didn't like it. I didn't say I was bad at it."]]
* GoingCommando: At one point, Naru forgets to put on panties under her dress.
* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: If one of the girls damages the Inn, such as Naru throwing a fit or one of Su's inventions going awry, the one responsible will have to pay for the bulk of the repairs but everyone is required to chip in.
* MortonsFork: Haruka presents the girls with one: either they'll do all the chores that their manager was supposed to handle themselves, or she'll raise their rent so that she can afford to hire workers to perform those tasks. Most of said workers, she adds, will be male.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Yay, you drove away the guy who was going to be the manager of your living quarters! Your reward is splitting up all of the chores and responsibilities he had among yourselves, and a very pissed-off matron who's no longer willing to cut you any slack.
* PointOfDivergence: Keitaro happens to run into Haruka before reaching the Inn. He also patched up some issues with his parents beforehand, meaning that he doesn't have to "jump into this pit that Granny dug out for me."
* PoorCommunicationKills: So far, everyone's working hard to avert this whenever a NotWhatItLooksLike situation comes up.
* PrettyFreeloader: When the story begins, Kitsune's two months behind on her rent. Haruka states that if she's not paid up by the end of the month, she's out.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Despite saying that she'd kick Kitsune out if she didn't have the money, Haruka sees that Kitsune has ''almost'' all the money needed to pay back what she owes. Taking into account how hard Kitsune has been working to make that money, she gives her another month to get the rest of it.
** In another Kitsune example related to the money, Haruka isn't happy that Kitsune is still going to the dog races and drinking. She does understand that Kitsune both isn't doing either of those things nearly as much as she did, and needs some way to blow off steam, so she goes easy on her condemnation of those things (as long as Kitsune gets all the remaining money paid by next month).
* RefusalOfTheCall: As soon as he reads the letter and realizes that Granny Hina was setting him up, Keitaro's ready to turn right around and leave. Haruka convinces him to at least meet the girls, but he's hardly heartbroken when they won't give him a chance. This isn't the end of his interactions with them, however, as he works a part-time job in construction.
* RuleOfThree: Haruka establishes a Three Strike system. If a tenant receives three warnings, then the third serves as her eviction notice.
* {{Squee}}: Kanako lets out one when Keitaro calls her and mentions [[spoiler:he is considering taking up kendo again]].
* TemptingFate: After he leaves, Haruka asks the girls if they're satisfied. Naru smiles and Motoko declares "We have no need for a male here."
* UnprovokedPervertPayback: Deconstructed. Kitsune reminds Naru of an incident where an older man got shoved aside on the train, stumbled, and put his hand on Naru's shoulder while trying to steady himself. She nearly broke his jaw. When she brings it up, Naru doggedly insists he deserved it. No one really buys it.
* VocalMinority: InUniverse -- Naru and Motoko are the only two who immediately, angrily protest Keitaro's presence. However, Haruka points out that none of the others tried to speak up or do anything, watching them drive him away. As far as she's concerned, that makes them all equally guilty.
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