As cable TV says, "Contains strong language not suitable for children." Of course, are any of you that are under 13 really going to listen to me? Probably not. And yes, I did feel it was necessary. And, I'll have you know, I've written many things without the above disclaimer. So, I wouldn't use it if I could avoid it. Besides, it's only one word…

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Pink Camellias
03 – Teahouse
SethSolare

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Naru usually woke up first. She wanted, since she and Keitaro had started dating, that he would wake her up with a kiss. Instead, she woke him up by moving a lot. It didn't but her very often, but Naru starved for something romantic. He was thoughtful, sometimes, but it wasn't exactly an everyday thing. The days were pretty normal and, aside from kissing and sleeping together, not much else had changed since their early days.

This morning, though, she noticed that an arm was cradled around her. Usually, Keitaro wrapped her with his arm from behind when they slept. This particular morning, he wasn't even in the bed. She sat up quickly and darted her eyes around the room looking for Keitaro. When she turned toward her table, there he was, sitting, watching. He smiled at her morning face, which could be considered terrible, at best, before she plopped back down and covered her face with a blanket.

"I'm ugly in the mornings! Stop looking at me, you creepy creepy… weirdo!" she yelled, muffled under the blankets.

Keitaro laughed at her look. Usually, it seemed like Naru would wake up so early that she had time to brush her hair, wash her face, brush her teeth, and, occasionally, put on a bit of makeup before waking him up. Keitaro kneeled next to the bed and lifted the covers a bit, revealing Naru, burying her face in the pillows. "I've never seen your morning look. I knew for certain you didn't look that good when you woke up," he laughed.

Then, Naru flipped her head toward Keitaro to face him, an angry look on her face. From her awkward position, her fist leaped out from under the blankets and hammered him in the face. "I'm beautiful! This is natural! I wake up an angel, I just had a bad morning!" Her fist left a nice impression on his face before he slumped down from his kneeled positiong.

"Oh yeah, you look stunning," Keitaro said, weakly.

"Stunning ugly? Is that what you mean? Is it?" Naru asked, muffled once again by pillows and blankets.

"No, you look great."

"Very funny. Now get out of my room so you won't have to lie to me the next time you say that," Naru said, pointing in the direction of her Liddo-kun on the floor.

"Fine, fine," Keitaro responded. "I'm already ready to go, I'll be making breakfast with Shinobu or something." And Keitaro dropped down into his room. From below, he heard the shuffling of Naru in her room, getting ready for the day. Content with hearing the start of her morning routine, he walked out of his room and down to the kitchen.

From outside of it, he already heard the sound of Shinobu making breakfast. The sound of her fuzzy little slippers sliding on the floor made a perfect image in his head. "I wonder if Naru would ever do this," he thought. He laughed after a bit, knowing how strange that would be if Naru became more domestic. She was her own woman and would probably leave Keitaro to do all the housework. "I'm probably better at cooking than she is anyway."

Keitaro opened the door to the kitchen, greeted by the smell of Shinobu's breakfast. "Good morning, Keitaro," Shinobu greeted, passing by him with a chopping board of ingredients. She had grown out of calling him "sempai" after a while. She felt a bit more grown up because of it, too. "Did you sleep well? And where's Naru? She's usually down here before you are."

"I actually woke up first," Keitaro answered. He walks over to the freezer and pulled out a pre-made bag of ice. They were small enough to be used on any area that Naru decided to attack.

"Guess she doesn't want you looking at her morning face, which, by the way, is really funny to look at," Shinobu giggled. Keitaro let out a nervous laugh and applied the ice to his cheek. "Oh, by the way, you guys might have to fend for yourselves for dinner tonight. Since finals came up, Keisuke promised that the first day off afterwards, he was going to do something nice."

"Wow. That's pretty neat. Did he tell you what?" Keitaro asked, a bit suspicious of the guy. In fact, Keitaro didn't like him one bit. "I'm not jealous. I just don't think any guy is worthy of Shinobu."

"You don't have to act like you like him, you know. I already know you don't; Naru told me." Shinobu went on while starting to plate the food for the morning. "But, if I invite him over, one night, I expect that you do," she said, shooting a glare at Keitaro.

"Eh? Uh, yeah. I don't hate him, anyway. I don't know where Naru got that idea."

"I think she got it from you when you said, 'I really don't like Shinobu's boyfriend,'" Shinobu said tuning her attention to her current task.

"Heh, I guess you caught me. Fine, I'll try to be nice if he comes over," Keitaro agreed.

"Good!" Shinobu exclaimed, finishing the last bit of her work. "I'll tell him he can come over tomorrow, then."

Keitaro twitched a bit when he heard that, realizing that he had just fallen for Shinobu's little innocent act. Over the years, she'd learned that he still thought of her as a little girl. And, if he wasn't going to treat her like a growing adult, she decided that it would be better if she used his attitude to get what she wanted. "She's getting really good at that," Keitaro thought, laughing nervously.

But Shinobu, though she had to trick him to do it, was happy. She hummed a little song while bringing the food out into the dining room where Motoko was already sitting with Su and Sarah.

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After breakfast, Kitsune quickly left the dorm for the teahouse. The other girls hadn't noticed she had even left the building until Su saw Kitsune leaving for the teahouse from the window of the kitchen. "She's been acting weird lately," Su pointed out. "Do you think she's sick?"

"My cooking isn't that bad, is it Su?" Shinobu asked. She actually felt pretty serious about the question. She suddenly felt worried that maybe Kitsune had become allergic to the food that Shinobu started buying. "I started going to a new marketplace about a week ago," she offered.

"I doubt that. She's been acting strange since before that. This has been going on for nearly a month and a half, now," Motoko said. "Naru, do you know what the problem might be?"
"No, not really," she lied. Since last night, overhearing the conversation between Kitsune and Keitaro, it became very clear what Kitsune's problem was. "Not that being in love is a problem."

"Well, someone ought to check on her. She doesn't seem okay with anything at all. She didn't even finish eating," Shinobu said, realizing that Kitsune barely ate a thing. The other girls and Keitaro stood up and moved the dishes back into the kitchen. After putting them all in the sink, they dispersed to their own activities except for Motoko and Shinobu, who stayed to clean the dishes.

"Do you think she's, like, medically depressed?" Motoko offered. "I know doctors ask if there was any weight loss or signs of fatigue when suggesting depression."

"It could be. But, then again, what could she be depressed about?"

Motoko stood silent for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and walking off. "I'll ask her about it." And Motoko left the dorm, sword in hand.

She walked down the steps toward the Hinata teahouse in her casual, weekend clothes. She didn't consider herself a very fashionable person, yet she loved the new trend of skirts. With her tank top, she wore a red bohemian skirt. "When did I ever like clothes this much?" she pondered as she walked. She felt even stranger when she stared at the sword she was carrying.

Her collection of weaponry had grown since her return from home. This particular sword, however, had no hand guard, and was enclosed in a light brown, wood sheath. The hilt itself had a beautiful, iridescent flower set into it, made from mother of pearl. Tied around the hilt were two, small red cat bells, held in place by a purple ribbon.

"Feels like it's been forever since I've held a sword," she smiled at the object in her hand. The bells rang with her movements. After a few steps, she started purposely planting her feet harder into the ground to make the bells ring louder. "This is my favorite one, too." Looking where she was going again, she descended to the teahouse, smiling.

When she made it down, she turned toward the entrance of the teahouse. Then, she heard someone call her name from behind her. "Miss Aoyama? Motoko?" she heard a familiar voice call. She turned behind her to find the boy from the day before.

"Y-Yumihiko, hello," she said, bowing to him. He stopped before her waving a bit.

"You only know my first name. I forgot. Then I shall properly introduce myself before going further," he bowed in return. "My full name is Yumihiko Ishihara."

"Ishihara. It is nice to meet you again. I'm glad I got to see you, um, again," she said feeling her cheeks start to heat up.

"You know, Aoyama-"

"Motoko is fine," she interrupted.

"Oh, well, Motoko, seeing as how we have a whole day to ourselves, would you like to perhaps go and have a bit of day to ourselves?" he asked, smiling at his own cleverness.

"Uh, well, I'm kind of in the middle of something. B-But, I don't think, you know. It wouldn't be a bad idea at all. No, it's not. I could meet up with you later," Motoko suggested. Her thoughts started meshing together rather quickly. Her ability to think straight began to dwindle. And she even felt herself weaken in the legs. "He's just a guy. He's just a guy that's currently asking me out on a date."

"Well, good. I'm sure you remember where we met, right?" he asked. "I'll be in front of the tea shop, five o'clock. Okay?"

"Yes. Yes, that's," she felt a lump in her throat form. Swallowing and taking a deep breath, "Yes. I will be there Ishih-"

"Yumi is fine." He smiled, bowed, and walked away.

"He's got this, I don't know, confidence. It's a kind of overpowering politeness and… confidence. Is that what I like? Confidence?" She was puzzled at her own tastes in men. There was, indeed, Keitaro who was never the stunning example of self-assurance. And now, Yumihiko, who was the exact opposite.

She turned toward the teahouse. But, from within, she heard loud crashing of a few dishes. She rushed inside to find not a single soul in the main area. Then, she heard a shuffle from the kitchen area. Turning her attention and senses to the area, she walked slowly over to the door, which was half open.

"Shit!" a voice screamed angrily, and a cup went flying at Motoko. Instinctively, she reached for her sword and clicked it out of the hilt with one hand. Using her free hand, she drew the weapon and, without a thought, the cup was cleaved in two. The blade, however, was so sharp that one of the pieces did not deviate from its course and hit Motoko right in the head with a nice thud.

"Ow!" she cried out. The piece, along with her sword, hit the ground with a nice knocking sound on the wood floor. Motoko dropped down to the floor and crawled on over to the doorway of the kitchen. But, as she did, Kitsune, too, crawled out from the floor-length drapery that covered doorway. Again, Motoko heard a nice knocking sound on her skull.

"Ack! Motoko!" Kitsune said, shifting her weight back and to her right. She was now sitting on her knees and leaning on the door frame. "Oh, M-Motoko. What're you doing in here?"

"I heard someone yell in here. Was that you?" Motoko was now sitting on her knees as well. She took up a better posture and arranged her skirt. She then realized that she left her sword unsheathed. She picked up the sheath and blade and, after joining them together again, set it aside.

"Yeah," she responded, rubbing her forehead. "Sorry."

"It's nothing. I'm not hurt," Motoko said. "But are you alright?"

Kitsune looked up to face Motoko. "It's nothing, I'm fine. Just a bit stressed out," she said. Kitsune rose from her position and picked up one-half of the cup. "You didn't have to cut it you know." Her voice sounded stern, agitated, as if a mother was scolding a child.

"It would've broken if I ducked," Motoko reasoned.

Kitsune stopped before the second half of the cup and turned to a kneeling Motoko. "I've dropped cups many times before. These are very durable. And you had to cut one in half?" Kitsune asked, only becoming more frustrated.

"It would've hit me in the head!"

Kitsune's voice became louder, "Well." And quickly, realizing her anger had gotten the best of her, she calmed down. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I guess I'm more stressed out than I thought I was."

Motoko reached behind her and grabbed the other half of the cup at Kitsune's feet. "You're not going to throw this at me again if I give it to you, are you?" Motoko said, offering her the half with a smile.

Kitsune gave her a smug look before taking the half from her. "I'm fine, really."

"You don't look yourself, Kitsune. Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, really," she repeated.

Motoko went about the rest of the teahouse, collecting the last of the cups. Kitsune, who had entered the kitchen, began washing the used dishes. "I wonder what that boy wanted to talk to her about. I hope that's not the guy from yesterday. I mean, if it is, what then?" Kitsune asked herself.

Motoko walked into the kitchen and joined Kitsune in the cleaning process. Kitsune glanced over at her while she worked. Motoko, at that moment, seemed very motherly. Rarely did she ever seem very feminine. But when she did, Motoko looked so beautiful. "She's just so beautiful. I mean, she's hot, but she's beautiful. And cute, too." Kitsune blushed at her own thoughts. "I have to say something," she thought.

But when she opened her mouth, Motoko began speaking. "Yumihiko came by here," she said.

"Huh? Who?" Kitsune asked with a bit of disappointment.

"Yumihiko, the guy from yesterday, came by."

"Oh? What did he want?"

Motoko smiled widely and blushed. She felt utterly happy, at this moment. It hadn't hit her when she was outside, but now that she felt comfortable, she couldn't hide her smile at all. "He asked me to go meet him at the teahouse he works at."

"Oh," Kitsune responded in a whisper. She put her sponge down and let Motoko finish the work. Kitsune walked into the serving room. "She didn't even notice that I stopped. Or she may not even care." She took a seat at one of the tables, hands in her lap. From there, she stared at the wall across from her.

"Are you absolutely sure you're OK? You want to talk about it even?" Motoko said, startling Kitsune from her blank thoughts.

Collecting herself, Kitsune looked up at her and smiled. "You don't have to keep asking. Really, I'm just fine."

"Well, alright. But, you know, if Naru's not around, you can talk to me," Motoko said, placing a hand on Kitsune's shoulder. She reached up in response and held onto Motoko's hand for a second. "I'll be meeting him this afternoon. Wish me luck!" And Motoko left the teahouse.

Kitsune sat alone, silent, in the empty room. She stared again at the wall in front of her. "It's not like she knows. I shouldn't be getting all worked up over this. It's my fault, anyway," she thought.

After a few minutes of blank staring, she heard two people enter the teahouse and the plop of a few bags on the floor. "It's good to know you kept my place clean, Kitsune."

She turned behind her with a slight smile. "Welcome back, Haruka. Sarah."

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Another chapter completed. A few words concerning the opening conversation between Naru and Keitaro. When you start dating someone, you pretty much see them after they get all nice looking for the date. It's nice and all, and it makes them look really great. But, as we all know, when we wake up in the morning, we look pretty terrible. And to me, Naru seems the kind of person that wants her boyfriend to think she's absolutely perfect all the time.

Anyway, I wrote this little note after I started chapter 4. I'm just blazing through this. And I'm enjoying it.

SS