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.
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.
This Love Hina Fan Fic contains examples of:
- All Men Are Perverts: Naru tries to justify her refusal to control her temper around guys with this claim.
- Break the Haughty: Or rather, 'Force the Haughty to go through Character Development by making them face actual consequences for their actions'.
- Calling The Old Woman Out: When Hina learns how things are going from Haruka, she's not happy with how her plans went Off the Rails. Haruka responds by calling her out and giving her an earful right back.
- Catapult Nightmare: Motoko suffers one in the second chapter.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Haruka lights up after updating Granny Hina on the implosion of her plot and Granny rants her out.
- Dead Fic: Hasn't been updated since 2012.
- Exact Words: 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, 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."
- Going Commando: At one point, Naru forgets to put on panties under her dress.
- I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: 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.
- Morton's Fork: 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.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: 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.
- Point of Divergence: 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."
- Poor Communication Kills: So far, everyone's working hard to avert this whenever a Not What It Looks Like situation comes up.
- Pretty Freeloader: 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.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: 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).
- Refusal of the Call: 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.
- Rule of Three: 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 he is considering taking up kendo again.
- Tempting Fate: After he leaves, Haruka asks the girls if they're satisfied. Naru smiles and Motoko declares "We have no need for a male here."
- Unprovoked Pervert Payback: 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.
- Vocal Minority: In-Universe — 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.
