A/N: Crass language, grungy writing, a little bit of everything including the kitchen sink, and a lot of fun to write. A sort of spiritual successor to the stories in the following order:

Kissing Smoke
Violet Haze
Alabaster Promise

You do not have to have read them to understand this, as this multiple chapter fiction will flesh the three weeks and beyond into more detail. Other characters are flung into the mix too. Thank you to my friend Kyle, who just moved back to Nakano to live in his family home, and sent me detailed concept pictures of his home and recreational life.

Stress Me Out
Chapter 1
Week 1, Sunday
(Location: A little home a short walk away from Nakano Station)

Life – the one word that was both a blessing and a curse.

There no getting out of it, no way to get around it, and certainly no way to avoid the facts of it. Since God seemed to have a twisted sense of humor, they might as well live it up. That's certainly what was going on in the cramped three bedroom home on the outskirts of Nakano. It was the most densely populated neighborhood in Tokyo, but it was a relaxed place in spite of that.

Well, relaxed for the greater Tokyo area, at any rate. As the residents always seemed to say; once you live in Nakano, you stay in Nakano.

Nao rolled over, with a groan. The sound of incredibly loud music blasted through the all too thin walls. The base boomed into her bedroom from the bathroom next door. It was too early for alternative rock at five in the morning, especially when there was some sort of harmonica mixed into it.

By the sound of it, it had to be Natsuki.

"The fuck, asshole!" The sound only got louder, and Nao knew she was going to be ignored. "Another really shitty start, to another really shitty day."

Flipping her sheet clear off the bed, she plucked a smoke, and flipped her hair out of her eyes, grumbling the entire time. Lighting up and grabbing a pair of panties that were hanging out of her drawer, she didn't bother to cover her top. She was too tired.

Half asleep, she had to fight with her broken door handle before meandering down the hallway smacking on the door across the hall. "Mai, food."

"Not now." Mai called sleepily, her voice muffled from the door. "Make it yourself."

"Like hell." Nao growled, smacking on the door louder until muffled cursing reached her ears, and a disheveled Mai opened the door.

Tired and pissed off violet eyes met equally annoyed forest green. Mai just stood there, clad in some sunny yellow pajamas before finding her voice. "What bug crawled up your butt and died this time?"

"Do you not hear the shit coming out of the bathroom?" Nao ranted, pointing down the short hallway. "The mutt's blasting god only knows what, and it's the ass crack of dawn."

Mai rolled her eyes, opening her bedroom door, dragging Nao in with her and shutting the door with a slam. "I am not cooking breakfast at five in the morning, either go to sleep, or leave me alone."

"You reek of booze…" Nao smirked dirtily. "Hey, is that whiskey?"

Mai crawled back into her nice warm bed, sending Nao a glare. If looks could kill, Nao would have been dead ten times over. "Sleep now, details later."

Frankly, it was whiskey… and a lot of it.

Nao, not one to turn down an offer for being lazy crawled into the other side of Mai's bed. Bunching up the blankets between them, she put out the cigarette and made herself comfortable. Exhaling the last of her smoke, watching as it dissipated into the air, she flicked her eyes over to Mai. The woman was already asleep again. "Must be a hell of a hangover." Nao laughed to herself.

Hours passed before Mai and Nao woke up. It was even longer until either one of them had the decency to greet the world.

Natsuki was in a mood to relax and waste the day away since she worked nights. She no sooner walked into the living area with a fried egg sandwich to settle in, that she noticed the expressions of her housemates. They both looked half dead, barely awake, though for one of them, that look was natural. For the other, it was a bit of a rarity. Though, Natsuki had to admit it was becoming more common as of recently.

Sticking a potato chip into her mouth, she gave the women a smirk. "What's with you two?"

Both women were gathered around a coffee table that was half busted, one set of bare feet using it as a foot rest. The house was not only in a state of disrepair, but disarray as well.

"Medicating, but screw that…" Nao muttered with a pipe hanging out of her mouth. Drawing in deeply as the lighter threatened to burn her thumb, she eyed Natsuki. "What gives with the five am shower? Was that really necessary?"

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Some drunk guy puked on me in the subway."

"You're kidding…" Mai said from behind her book. "Talk about a bad day..."

"Yeah, mutt..." Nao agreed. "Sick joke."

Natsuki sent her a glare. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Nao lifted her hands in mock surrender. "Peace and love, mutt, peace and love." The midmorning was a slow one. Dressed white tank top and a pair of ripped jean shorts, she forwent modesty at all cost as she took another hit of her pipe.

"Yeah, yeah." Natsuki growled lowly, she wasn't even focused on Nao anymore. Instead, she was on the hunt for something. "I'll peace your love..."

"The hell's wrong with your now ass, mutt?" Nao asked as Natsuki bent down to check under the television stand for something.

The mutt in question, Natsuki, was half American, half Japanese - hence the completely derogatory nickname.

"I'm looking for the remote, stupid." Long dark hair, pretty green eyes, and a completely obsessive about her underwear, it was no surprise that she chose a pair of tight hip huggers that rode low on her, sporting black lace in a way that even had Nao looking, albeit disgustedly. "Give it to me, butt-lick."

"Fine and dandy," Nao shrugged, as she pulled the remote from the sofa cushions. "Doesn't explain the floss up your crack."

"Never mind my butt." Natsuki growled, pulling the pipe away from her friend, flinging it into the table. Setting down her breakfast and settling in for the day herself, she grabbed the television remote that Nao had been sitting on. "Get off yours and do the dishes. Over half of them are yours."

"I'm chill, thanks." Nao said as she leaned forward, grabbing a cigarette instead. Lighting it she eyed her other friend, who was busy doing her nails. "So, Mai, you didn't come home last night. This morning you were hung over. Details."

Mai was the well-endowed woman of the three, but usually covered herself up the mot as a result. She looked up from her place and put down the trashy romance she was fingering through while she waited for her toenails to dry. Violet eyes flicked no Forest green, then to newly interested emerald. "What's there to tell? Clearly I went out drinking last night."

"Damn it Mai!" Nao ranted with renewed frustration. "Details!"

"You asked for it. I was puttering around on the Broadway after work, and met up with the girls to go bar hopping. Somewhere between then and home, I met this complete fish out of water." Mai gushed with a grin as she reached for her light pink polish to give her toes another coat. "We did a few shots, and it went from there."

"By a fish out of water, you mean…" Natsuki trailed off, now completely ignoring the news broadcast.

"Kyoto native, no doubt." Mai said without looking up from her task, her voice simply contented as could be. "Not from around here, too pretty. Exotic, crimson eyes - the works!"

Grabbing a hand full of chips from Natsuki's plate, Nao also began to use the table as a footrest. "Clearly, that woman knew how to sling 'em back. So you two drank together, that can't just be it."

Mai shook her head. "We made-out on the dancefloor, she followed me outside, and then we crawled into the back of her car. The rest as they say, is history."

"Wait a sec, she had a car?" Nao asked with her eyes wide and a newly formed grin playing on her lips. The troublesome look was never a good sigh. "And you screwed her…Sounds like jackpot. Did she pay you?"

"You know, you don't have to be rich to own a car…" Natsuki murmured agitatedly from her place.

"I'm not into that. I wasn't looking to get paid." Mai said capping the polish and picking her book back up. "I was bored, she was a good time. That's all."

"No way, that's not all…" Natsuki blinked, almost confused. "You don't do one night stands…"

"She has my number." Mai shrugged from behind her paperback. "Ball's in her court, and I promise you, she'll play."

…
(Maruyama, Nakano-ku, Tokyo: Shizuru's residence)

One single suitcase packed with only the things she really needed. Other than that, the private room was barren of any personal effects. The bed pushed against the wall, had a light blue and white comforter. The desk was small, made of light colored wood, and currently remained empty aside from the black lamp. No pictures on the cream colored walls, no television either. Only a radio. The drawers were built into the walls, and the closets were small.

It was like a jail, a new kind of one than the hell she had been stuck in before...this jail had a key, and that key was hers.

It was so small, void of warmth, but that was okay. It was a step up, an escape, and she was free now. To do what she wished, to be with who she wanted, and to answer to her own mind. For once in her life, she was totally and completely free.

Knowing that was a heavier burden than she thought it would be.

She'd downed one drink after another the night before, and even though her head pounded in agony, she was numb to even that. She didn't feel like eating, and the crumpled paper on the desk sat glaring at her, just like her wedding band did. It was an empty feeling.

He didn't love her, and frankly, she didn't love him. That silver piece of metal was a lie, just like his perfect smile, and their happy home life. A lie she'd carefully constructed ever since she could recall.

When was the last time she actually enjoyed his company? – High School?
When was the last time he really touched her? – A few months after their wedding, give or take? It wasn't within the past year or so.
When was the last time she actually wanted him to do that? – Not after the first time. That, she was sure of.
Why hadn't she ended things sooner? - She wasn't sure, but that paper with a scribbled number…that meant something.

In the haze of her mind, she remembered that kiss, the way the gentle teeth nipped at her bottom lip, a purely possessive action when Shizuru came to think of it. Everything that woman did the night before, every kiss, every caress, and every touch. Something about all of it made Shizuru burn with a breathless heat. One that, if she were honest, she could scarcely recall desiring from her now ex-husband.

And he was indeed her ex-husband now, the paperwork had gone through.

She wasn't going to look back.

Truth be told, she never did want to marry him, but, she was good little Catholic woman, and did as her parents wanted. What had that taken her too? A lackluster job, a broken marriage, no family, and hardly any friends. She only had herself to blame, giving into the pressure as she had. It was delusional to think she could get away with a happy future with the way her mind had been made up for her. For the entirety of her life, she'd listened to others, and defiantly, she had cut ties with those venomous people.

It left her alone though, and she craved warmth.

Her cellphone rang four times before going to voicemail. Seeing his name, she deleted it without even listening to his words. He called too many times, the persistence of that bastard knew no bounds. She no sooner put her phone down that he sent a text instead. She deleted that too.

Good riddance…

It was time to get on with her new life, and it was new entirely. Every bit of it, an adventure in complete irrationality.

She had never lived in a share-house before. Even though she knew it was a fairly popular thing to do, especially for single folks. The nearest thing she had ever experienced to it was her dormitory. She'd lived away from home since middle school and high school. This, Shizuru decided upon moving in, wasn't too different.

The ground floor had six private rooms, the middle story had ten, and the top had nine: twenty-five tenets in all. The private rooms were small, and all of the main living areas were shared, hence the name. It wasn't exactly what she was used to, but it was cheap, and it was all she really needed.

A new life started with a new home, and a new job, both of which she now had. Now though, she really could use a new friend. That paper sat glaring in her direction, almost begging her to consider it. She dialed that number, trying to remember that woman's name.

Mari - No that wasn't it.
May – That didn't sound right.
Mai - That was it.

Shizuru was sure of it. That was her name, it just had to be.

One ring, she took a breath.
Two rings, She licked her lips and steadied herself.
Three rings, she considered hanging up.
Four rings, there was no turning back.

"…Hello?"

Shizuru nipped on her lower lip. "Yes, hello. I'm Shizuru Fujino, we met last night?"

"I remember…" There was something too playfully smug about that voice. "I take it that you had a good time?"

"A very, very, good time…" Shizuru thought to herself, though she would never dare let that slip out of her mouth. "Let's just say, you left an impression on me and leave it at that, shall we?"

"Whatever you say, Shizuru." That voice… Far too smug indeed… Too flighty, too playful… Too easy to get trapped into it. "So, were you wanting to hook up, cause if so, I work this afternoon. It would have to be late-night."

"Actually…" Shizuru took a breath, boy this was getting awkward. "I'm new to the area. I just moved here last week, and I still don't know my way around. I was hoping you might want to show me around, help me to get acclimated."

"We could do that, say – tomorrow? I'd offer to do it today, but even if I did, I'd have to bail out in a little less than an hour. Tomorrow I have off, so we can waste the day away, if it comes to that."

"That sounds wonderful." Shizuru admitted, almost put at ease by the simplicity of Mai's words.

"Where do you live? I'll come pick you up, if you want." Shizuru could hear the rustling around that indicated that Mai was reaching around for something. Likely, some paper and a writing utensil of some sort.

"Maruyama, the share house. I'm on the second floor." Shizuru said slowly, listening to Mai as she jotted it down. "Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah, I've got a friend that lives there." She said without missing a beat. "You're about ten minutes from me. I'll be there to pick you up at noon."

…
(A teahouse in Kyoto)

It was always important to observe one's place, and economically speaking, the upheaval of women in the workplace neither made sense to the eldest Fujino, nor did it appeal to her nature. A woman was born and raised for the home. To see to her husband, and raise her children. There was a long standing pride in that, and she would not let it be said that tending the home was an easy task.

In fact, if the aging woman had anything to say of it, she would say that mothering a child and seeing to her husband was more than a full time job. It was also, in her prestigious opinion, a noble one.

It was unfortunate that her daughter, Shizuru, didn't see things that way.

It was such a misfortune, such a sad one, truly. The eldest Fujino simply could not understand, try as she might. She had trouble even comprehending the nature of the divorce that had cast a rather dark cloud over the family name. Even the most unhappy of wives would not, or at least should not, divorce her husband.

"Will she not answer your call?" She asked to the young man across from her, whom she highly regarded.

"No answer – I can't say that I'm surprised though." A white haired man said as he gently set his phone on the table beside him. "We didn't part on the best of terms."

"I can't believe you sighed that horrid paperwork." An older woman sighed as she closed her eyes with resignation. "I can't imagine why my daughter would act with such shortsightedness, but as her husband, Nagi, I expected better of you."

He smiled his perfect smile, the devilishness of his nature concealed by his perfectly white teeth. He was a short man, shrewd, but wealthy. "Ex-husband." He corrected as he lifted his tea to his lips. "She reclaimed your last name during the divorce."

Brown eyes lifted to him, a deep frown tugging her lips downwards. She gave him a cross look. "You love her, don't you…"

He nodded. "Shizuru is a fine woman, I've said so myself. It was why I asked for her hand in marriage."

"And why she married you." The woman said to him softly.

"Shizuru is merely acting out, she'll come back to me." Nagi said, conversationally, looking his best. "She doesn't have what it takes to be defiant for long. When she comes back, I'll gladly accept her with open arms." There was a hint of his usual cockiness in his words, but, Shizuru's mother didn't seem bothered by it. Instead, she let her eyes gentle, and she nodded.

"You are far too good for my whimsical daughter." She said to him as she sipped her tea. "I'll trust you to take care of her then, just as you have always done, Nagi Homura."