Pink Camellias
02 – Boyfriends
SethSolare
- - -
Naru walked next to Keitaro, clinging to his arm, and up the steps to Hinata House. It had been months since they started seriously dating. Keitaro had been diligently working on school since he turned down that research position. As wonderful as a job as that could've been, he knew he wanted to be with Naru more than anything. And everyday, they would walk home together after class.
"Do you ever wonder what it would've been like taking that research position, Kei?" Naru asked after a bit of silence.
"The one from Nyamo? Every once in a while, when class sucks, I tend to wonder if the research would be more fun," Keitaro responded. "Why? You tired of me, already?"
"What? No! Not at all! I just though, you know, I don't want to be the cause of your unhappiness and stuff," she said softly.
"Insecure much? Come on, you know I want to be here." He stopped at the top of the steps and turned Naru toward him. "I'm happy because I'm with you. And that's all I need," he said, kissing her on the forehead.
"I'm not entirely insecure. I just want to make sure that this is what you want," she said. Naru walked on up toward the house. "I love you, Kei." She skipped off ahead into the house. Upon entering, she shook off her shoes and walked upstairs to her room. For the months that they'd been together, she still wanted to keep their rooms separate. She loved having the hole in the floor. Like the Liddo-kun on top of it, it was like a relic of their relationship.
"Geez, I sounded like a really needy girlfriend back there," she thought to herself. She turned toward the mirror, staring at herself in the eyes. "He's happy here, and I know that." She gathered up a few clothes for her bath along with a towel.
"I wonder if we could take a bath together." Her face was calm for a second before she started to shake her head about with a disgusted look on her face. "AH! No way would that happen. He'd probably nosebleed all over the place if I asked him. And even though we're dating, he's still a pervert. And no way would we ever do that in a public bath!" She giggled to herself at the thought. As far as their relationship went, she kept to kissing. "Sure, making out is great. But, I don't think we're all that ready for sex, considering what happened last time."
After securing her relationship with him with their admittance to Grandma Hina, Naru didn't want to rush things. Of course, they had been friends for years, now, "But relationships take time. Besides, I'm totally worth it, I'd say. He can afford to wait!" She giggled again to herself before walking on down to the baths.
When she got there, she noticed Motoko's clothes already laying out in the adjacent room. She realized that they haven't talked in days. And Naru had been so busy at Tokyo U that she hadn't had chance to talk to her. "Guess it would be time to catch up."
She walked into through the steam and breathed in heavily. "Someone there?" she heard Motoko ask.
"It's Naru. How're you doing, Motoko?" she asked with a cheery voice. She moved on over to Motoko and sat down.
"I'm good. I heard Haruka will be coming back, soon. Kitsune really seems to want to take a break," Motoko said, happily.
"Hey, I've noticed you two have been hanging out a lot. You're not going to go all crazy on me, are you?" Naru asked with a smile.
"She's not entirely influential like that. Besides, I don't think anyone could ever drink like she does," Motoko smiled back at Naru.
Motoko's mind drifted a bit toward the boy from earlier on in the afternoon. Yumihiko was just so pretty. He had such a nice build. Not too muscular, but not scrawny at all, unlike Keitaro. Though, she had to admit. Keitaro had gotten a bit more muscular since he started archaeology.
"I guess artifacts can be heavy," she thought to herself.
And ever since Keitaro and Naru started dating, Naru seemed to just be much happier. She had this glow about her that made her seem so much more beautiful than ever. And Motoko wished, more than anything, that she had that glow. "More guys are attracted to her now than when she was single. What is it about taken girls that are so appealing, anyway?" Motoko thought to herself.
"What's up, Motoko? You seem pretty deep in thought there," Naru said, noticing Motoko's facial expression.
"Huh? Oh, well, I met a guy today," she admitted with a blush.
"Oh, really? Was he really cute?" Naru teased.
"Um, yeah. H-he was. I mean, he is cute. He's really not a bad person to look at for a while." At this point, Motoko's face had turned a nice, deep red. "And he has such a nice smile. His eyes are so, um, kind? And his hands look soft, too."
Naru began to chuckle a bit, "Oh?" The more she attempted to suppress the laugh, the harder it got to do it. And suddenly, she just burst out laughing.
"Naru! Don't laugh at me!" Motoko said, angrily.
"I'm sorry. It' s just that I've never, ever, ever seen you act like this. You're just so darn cute!" Naru's enthusiasm peaked at a squeal of her voice, as if she was still a junior high student.
"Well, so what if I'm acting like a girl? I mean, I haven't had a chance to ever really have a boyfriend, unlike you Naru."
"Hey, wait, what?" Naru's laughter quickly changed to a very quizzical expression. Furrowing her eyebrows, she continued, "What do you mean, 'haven't had a chance'? There've been tons of guys that wanted to go out with you, Motoko. In fact, I bet even Keitaro had a crush on you at some point," Naru stifled a laugh there. Realizing what she just said, she decided to add more, "But, you know, who hasn't he had a crush on?"
"But he's in love with you. And it wouldn't be right of me to act in such a manner toward a man who doesn't love me." Motoko's face saddened a bit. She remembered how she confessed her feelings for him back on the beach when she cut her hair. More importantly, she kissed him when she failed her exam. She was happy for that moment, but it was only a moment in her life.
"Oh, well, um, I guess. I guess it would be a bit awkward, yeah," Naru's voice and cheer dwindled a bit. She didn't really want the conversation to continue, seeing as how this was about her boyfriend, not Motoko's.
"I'm not that jealous, am I? I mean, Keitaro loves me. And I know he doesn't even have the guts to cheat, let alone think about another woman. I'm his promise girl, and that's certain." Naru decided that she wouldn't dwell on his unlikely infidelity. Motoko was more important at that moment, and it was her job to cheer her up. "I know, how about I help you get with this guy you met. Let's start with the basics. How about his name?"
"Yumihiko." Motoko said, dryly.
"Um, okay, and he's cute. Does he seem interested in you?"
Motoko looked over at Naru quizzically, "How am I supposed to know? Ask him? That's just too embarrassing!"
"I mean, does he give away hints? You know like, is he always looking at you? Does he say cute things to you? Does he, like, open door and stuff?"
"I only met him today," Motoko responded. Then, thinking back quickly, "Well, he does go to my school. I do know that. I'm pretty sure he's in my class, too."
"Well, then you've got something. You should try and talk to him," Naru suggested. "This is going well. Maybe she might get with this guy," she thought to herself. She hoped, though wouldn't actually admit it to herself, that Motoko would try and get past Keitaro.
"He works at a tea shop I went to today. That's where I met him," Motoko's voice became a little brighter. Part of her hoped that she would be able to do this. She told herself that this has nothing to do with being a warrior. "This is about my womanhood."
"Well, talk to him, there. It's totally romantic when you guys go back to the same spot everyday. And you say, 'Hi,' everyday. And you just go back and forth and, suddenly, he can't take it anymore and magically asks you out!" Naru had this dreamy look in her eyes for a second.
"Eh? I-I don't know about that," Motoko stuttered.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm just being a bit of a space cadet," Naru responded. She said her words with a smile and began to soak a bit longer in silence.
"You're just helping me because you don't want me near Keitaro," Motoko thought. "Oh wait, no! That's mean! I shouldn't say that. I should be happy for them. Keitaro is a better man because of her, and she a better woman. Forgive me, Naru." Motoko rose from her bath and began walking back inside, She smiled at Naru, who was now facing her, "Thank you! I'll try to use your advice, for sure, Naru."
"No problem. That's what I'm here for." Naru turned her body away from Motoko and rested her head on her arms on the rocks.
"Myuh!" Tama cried out as she landed in front of Naru. She waved at Motoko, who watched the turtle with devilish eyes, waving back.
As Motoko left the bath, Naru picked up Tama, "Keitaro's not the kind of guy who would cheat, is he?" Tama let out a puzzled squeak before Naru let her go.
- -
Shinobu picked up her clothes around her room. As much of a clean person as she was, her room was a mess. She had been studying for days on end for her upcoming final. And, today, was her last day of school before summer vacation. She made plans that morning to meet up with Su and Motoko for a nice afternoon party. Though Motoko had already graduated ahead of them, Su wouldn't dare have a party without her wonderful friend there. However, Motoko disappeared and Su and Shinobu went off to do their own thing.
Stuffing the last of her clothes into a corner, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Done!" she exclaimed. She stood in the middle of her, now, clean room and stared at the bare table in the middle of her room. "I still don't feel accomplished," Shinobu thought, frowning at her empty room.
Suddenly thinking of a good idea, she went over to her desk and pulled out her diary and began writing. She drew a few pictures of her ceremony in her child-like style that she had always used since she was 13. Part of the way through her entry, she stopped in the middle of her writing and went over to her bookshelf. "Did I get this idea from Naru or something?" She grinned to herself, noticing that all of her diaries were sorted by year.
Now that she was 17, her shelf was filled with a good 12 volumes of life, tracing back all the way to when she was 10 years old. She pulled out the diary of her 10 year old self, reading only the first few pages. The rest of it was blank.
"I guess I was shy with myself back then." She giggled and pulled out some of the new diaries. As she got older, one simple book wasn't enough to hold a year's worth of writing and drawing. Shinobu took a seat on the floor as she continued to flip through the pages for a few minutes.
From behind, though, a blonde haired figure peeked in through a small opening in Shinobu's doorway. Su carefully slid the door open and sneaked up behind Shinobu. Carefully, she read along with her and smiled to herself while keeping her head above Shinobu. After a bit more reading, Shinobu closed her diary and tried to stand up. But, instead, she bumped her head on Su's chin.
"Su! W-W-What're you doing here?" Shinobu asked, startled.
Su, laughing, "I was reading about your little crush on Keitaro!"
"Don't say that so loud!" Shinobu yelled, covering up Su's mouth.
"Does it matter now? That's, like, 2 years ago. And you've got your own man, now," Su teased. And it was true. Shinobu finally had a boyfriend, after all this time. Granted, her feelings for Keitaro weren't completely gone, but she did want to move on. She had only been dating her current boyfriend for about 2 months.
"Eh? I-I guess not," Shinobu answered.
"Well, if that's the case, I'll take Keitaro!" Su said enthusiastically.
Shinobu grinned for a second, "But, first, you'll have to beat Naru in mortal combat!" She laughed at herself for such a stupid joke. "Well, at least Naru gets to keep him," Shinobu tried to convince herself.
"Oh well, maybe I'll go after Keisuke, then."
"W-What? NO! You can't have him! He's mine," Shinobu spat back, arms folded.
Su only laughed. And Shinobu giggled along with her. But Su didn't stay that way for much longer. She slowly stopped laughing and sat on the floor with a serious expression. Shinobu, puzzled by her change of mood, sat down as well. "Something bothering you, Su?"
"Well, Motoko just kind of left us, today. We made plans and stuff. Do you think something happened to her? Do you think Motoko is sick?" Su asked, a look of a bit of sadness on her face.
"Motoko doesn't get sick, ever. But something definitely happened to her, today. Or maybe she's just getting all girly on us." The two of them remembered just how moody Motoko got during her time of the month.
"Heh. Maybe it's that. I don't know. She just seemed way too moody than normal, don't you. I mean, normal as in Motoko-normal," Su went on.
"I have no idea what's going on," Shinobu said.
Then came a retort from the hallway, "Or maybe, instead of meeting up with you guys, she got held up somewhere else because she met a cute guy," Kitsune said.
The two younger girls on the floor shot a look over to the doorway. After a few seconds of registering Kitsune's face, the two of them burst out laughing.
"No way! Motoko would never fall for just any guy. She still beats the crap out of Keitaro, and she really likes him!" Shinobu joked.
"I bet if she ever told a guy she liked him, she'd swing her sword wildly and send him flying into outer space," Su joined her.
Kitsune let out a small frown before shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. That's just what she told me," she said before walking in the direction of her room. Suddenly, the two girls stopped laughing and ran out of the room. They ran in front of Kitsune as fast as they could before stopping her.
"No way!" they yelled in unison.
"It's not like Motoko's incapable of loving someone, you know. I've been single for years, and just because I'm like that doesn't mean that I can't get a boyfriend. In fact, I bet I could get one tomorrow if I really wanted to. But I don't." Kitsune said in a stern voice. "And if Motoko's found someone she likes, then fine! Not like I care." She walked on past the two girls.
Su and Shinobu looked at each other, confused. "What'd she get so mad about?" Shinobu asked. Su only shrugged a response before going back to Shinobu's room.
"Let's start studying for your Tokyo U entrance exams, Shinobu. Your test is coming up really soon, and you've got a whole year to get ready. Though, maybe Motoko will come down. She's really much better at this than I am. And our grades are gonna be posted really really soon!"
"Yeah, I can't wait. I hope you guys pass," Shinobu said, excitedly. "Do you think her sister will get mad if she doesn't get in this year?" Shinobu asked.
"Definitely! We'll get to see a cool fight, too, if it happens," Su said, excited.
"I will not fail my test." Motoko entered Shinobu's room and sat down at her place at the table. "Shinobu, preparing a year in advance. Very wise. I hope you do better than I did," Motoko smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm pretty much ready to take the test." Shinobu said.
"And I'm sorry I did not meet you after you school let out. I had to pass by our cram school. I, uh, left something there yesterday," Motoko said, setting her books up on the table in an orderly fashion.
"It wouldn't happen to be one of your trashy romance notebooks, eh, Motoko?" Su laughed.
"N-no! I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about," she said opening up a few books. But when she opened her notebook, she quickly closed it. Her eyes darted back and forth at the two girls, who then stared up at the ceiling mockingly. "This is just an old high school notebook. It's nothing at all," Motoko said, clearing her throat.
"I bet it is," Shinobu said opening up her own books.
Quickly trying to change the subject, Motoko looked over at Su, "By the way, Su, when is your graduation ceremony? Since, you know, you are no longer a high school student." Motoko smiled.
"It's a week from today. So, I hope you don't forget a notebook at cram school and not come to it," Su teased.
"Eh? I-I won't forget. And I don't write trashy romance crap!" Motoko yelled at the two of them. It occurred to Motoko that she had to bring something up to the other two girls. "By the way, do you know why Kitsune was angry?" And the other two shrugged.
- -
Kitsune sat in her room, beer in hand, flipping through the newspaper. Even though the news was already 24 hours old, she felt she had nothing better to do. She had her little radio on, listening to some of her favorite songs.
Instead of reading, though, she stared at the paper. The music became background noise. "I'm a loser. No one wants to be with a loser. I run that stupid tea shop and I can't get a guy in there." She refolded the paper and shut off the radio before plopping down on her bed.
"Haruka better get back soon. It's amazing that she managed to keep herself sane there." Kitsune drank down the last of her can. She stared out of her open door before walking outside. She slowly leaned over the edge of the railing, humming to herself.
"Sounds like a good song," Keitaro said, who was standing in front of his own doorway.
"Oh, hey, Kei. How're you doing this evening?" Kitsune asked with a bright voice.
"I'm alright. Though, I heard you banging and crashing your way to your room a while ago. You okay?" he asked.
"Do you think I'm a loser?" she asked, bluntly.
Keitaro stood still, dumbstruck by the question. Sure, Kitsune didn't do a whole lot besides write freelance stuff and run the old teahouse, but it definitely wasn't loser material. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he responded.
"All I do is run the tea house and sit around at home. How in the world is that attractive?" she asked. Keitaro said nothing.
"You know, rarely do I ever say to myself, 'I wish I had someone.' I'm not a needy girl. I just want to be in love, you know? Kind of like what you and Naru have." She dipped her head down. "I wish I had someone that loved me."
"You will find him someday, Kitsune," Keitaro said, putting a hand on her back.
"Remember how I told you a while back that I was in love with Naru at some point?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," Keitaro blushed a bit.
"Don't be a prude," she said with a bit of agitation. She stared at him intently before continuing, "Anyway, what if I liked, you know, a girl, and she wasn't all that into it and stuff? And she's an amazing person, too. I mean, would I just have to let her go?"
"I hardly know. It's not a situation I'm really familiar with," Keitaro answered nervously.
Kitsune laughed a bit, "Of course, you don't."
"Don't you know any guys that are interesting?"
"Does it matter? If you love someone, what difference does it make? Does it matter, really? If you find someone that you're happy with, is it so wrong to want to be with them? I mean, you know, if you love someone, is it not okay?"
"I think you're saying the same thing over and over," Keitaro joked.
"I'm nervous!" Kitsune yelled back. "Anyway, like, if you just love someone, is that not enough? Or does the person you love have to fit a profile for you to actually love them? Why can't it just be out of spontaneity, even if you didn't want it to happen? Like with you and Naru."
"What do you mean?" Keitaro asked, puzzled.
"It's no secret that Naru didn't like you when you first got here. And as much as she tried to hate you, in the end, she fell madly in love with you." Kitsune went on with a soft voice. "And, in the end, she became more in love with you than you did for her."
"Well, when you put it that way, I guess it doesn't make a big difference." The pair stood silent a bit longer before Keitaro spoke again, "I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm just saying that you be sure of you're feelings. I certainly don't judge you because you're a bi, Kitsune. Naru doesn't. I'm sure the other girls-"
"The others don't know. Only you, Naru, and Haruka," Kitsune interrupted.
"Oh. Well, they love you anyway, Kitsune. We're all together here, and no one here would ever hate you for who you are. Unless, of course, you were a serial killer," Keitaro laughed, uncomfortable as he was. It wasn't often he got to talk about love with anyone. He felt weird talking to Naru about it, let alone a girl that still might like him.
"Don't be so nervous Keitaro. I'm not going to do anything while you're still with my best friend." And Kitsune turned back into her room. "Thanks for talking to me. You're always so nice," she said before closing her door.
Keitaro waved at her through the closed door.
And as he did, Naru peaked out of Keitaro's room. "So who do you think she likes?" Naru asked him in a low voice.
"I don't know. I wouldn't know where to begin with Kitsune," he smiled at Naru.
"Well, let's stop supposing about her love life. It's rude and a bit insensitive, considering that she's sad about it," Naru said, before turning back into his room. "By the way, my room or yours, tonight?"
"Yours, I guess," Keitaro responded, as he saw Naru already pushing the table in his room underneath the opening in the floor. "Or you can just pick."
Naru smiled back at him before climbing up into her own room.
- - -
Some avid fans, myself included, will notice that I included Shinobu's current age. Most of the big fans of the manga will be able to tell the ages of the other girls from this. Su is 18, Motoko is 20, Naru is 22, and Keitaro is 24. For the wikipedia people, it does indeed say that Motoko ends the series four years older than Shinobu. But the manga kids know that vol. 1 states all the girls' ages. I forgot how I guessed that the wikipedia thing was wrong, but I think I got help from knowing Su's age.
Anyway, I went ahead and assumed that Naru's 18th birthday was sometime between the Tokyo U exam and the beginning of the series, possibly sometime around February, just because I like the idea P. I assumed Su's was sometime around then, too. I went ahead and said sometime around early March. That way, in this fic, Su is 18 before she graduates. By the way, trivia, Shinobu's birthday is November 15th. Anyway, I had to make a bunch of assumptions because data's just not there, and I like to adhere to specific rules. Gives me structure and stuff.
As for discussing the issues of this particular chapter, I'm not going to, in this session. Gives too much away. I will explain them in more detail as the issues, not the plot, become more obvious.
SS