Pink Camellias
05 – Comforts and Interruptions
SethSolare

- - -

Yumihiko's workplace, a teahouse in the middle of town, was about a 15 minute walk from the dorm. It sat on its own along the road. The building itself was twice the size of the Hinata teahouse and looked fairly modern. The windows rose to cover the height and length of the front of the structure. Metal beams fashioned into squares held the windows in place. The doors, too, were glass.

Within, the tables were organized as small islands unto themselves. Each table was round and had a nice, cherry wood finish. Eight chairs surrounded the each of the tables and held a similar look of the tables, with the exception of a black cushion on the seat.

Motoko stayed outside of the building sitting on a stone bench outside. Her leg wouldn't stop bouncing up and down and she tried to be conscious of everything she did. She sat up straight. She tucked back her short her behind her ears. She placed her hands in her lap which still would not stop moving.

"Why am I so nervous? He's just a boy." She stood up from her seat and began to walk down the gravel pathway to the street. When she made it to the end of the short path, she looked down at where the gravel met the street. "He's just a boy," she reassured herself. She turned around to go back to the bench. But, instead, she felt herself press up against another person. Realizing where she was, she let out a bit of scream.

"Ow," Yumihiko said playfully. "No need to scream. It's just me."

Motoko laughed nervously. Her face reddened and she stepped back a bit. Her head tilted toward the ground and her hands gravitated to behind her body. There was silence for a few minutes and she felt an increasing amount of discomfort well up in her. She quickly turned her head to her left, the direction of the dorm, "So what'd you want to do?"

"I was thinking we could just walk around town and do a bit of relaxation before exam scores get posted," he suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that," Motoko responded, her voice breathy. She shook off as much of her nervousness as she could before following after him.

"So how old are you, Motoko?" he asked.

"Twenty. I'm twenty years old," she said. As she said this, she could hardly believe that she had grown to a twenty year old. "How about you?" she asked. She hoped he would be at least the same age. Maybe older.

"I'm twenty, also. It's a new twenty, but it's my age nonetheless."

"Oh," she said. She continued to walk until she noticed he was no longer beside her. She stopped abruptly before looking up at the sign above the doors. It had only been about 100 meters from the teahouse to where they stood now. "A bookstore?"

"Yeah, I notice you like hanging out here. And I personally love books," he said, pushing the door open for her.

She let out a little bit of a giggle before walking through the open door. The front shelves were filled with study guides for the exam season. Many of the new releases were on display at the front counter. All around, she found acclaimed bestsellers and cardboard ads for new books.

"What kind of stuff do you like to read?" he asked, coming into the store from behind her.

"Oh, you know, classics and stuff. I've read the 'Art of War,'" she said. "Oh, and I happen to read trashy romance crap. I'm a really sappy kind of girl, really!" she ridiculed herself. "Art of War? Who in their right mind admits they read that on a date?"

"I've read that. My uncle is very much into all that military stuff. Old war movies and things like that are his thing. And he loves making me watch them, too," he laughed.

Motoko moved on over to the new releases section. "What about you?" she asked.

"I admit I like romantic stuff. Kind of weird like that," he said with a bit of a grin. "It's nice to read about happy things from time to time."

"Yeah, I read stuff like that, too," she said, blushing a bit. He looked over at her face, which she was attempting to bury in a book. "You do that a lot?"

"Eh?" she was startled by the remark. She felt a bit of a chill go through her as she looked over at his smiling face.

"You blush a lot." He coolly pushed the book from her face. "Relax. We're just going around on town."

"He's just a boy," she told herself again. But, she couldn't help it. She just felt uncomfortable being with him. Of course, he was cute. He had this great look. He was calm. His voice was soothing. He didn't look frail, unlike Keitaro. "He's like he's perfect."

She smiled at him, trying to feign contentment. He smiled back, "That's better."

- -

"That was Motoko's sister, Tsuruko. She's coming to visit in four days, Keitaro," Naru whispered in his ear after returning from her phone call. She then walked around the couch and sat back down next to Keitaro in the foyer.

"Tsuruko's coming?" Shinobu asked, attempting to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah. Come to think of it, it's been forever since she visited us. And they're posting the Tokyo U exam results on Monday. Maybe she might be coming to congratulate Motoko," Naru offered. She felt the tension in the room as Keisuke and Keitaro tried to size each other up.

"Hurry up, Su! This is absolutely horrible!" Shinobu thought to herself. It had been twenty minutes since she had returned home with Keisuke in tow. "I probably should've stuck to tomorrow. Maybe Kei would be a bit more ready for this."

Keisuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Does Su cook often?" he asked, knowing the answer to the question.

"Oh, no way, I had to punch this dork over here to get him to agree to even give her a chance. Granted, her cooking before was pretty terrible, but I figure, why not, you know?" Naru rattled off, with an awkward smile. But, again, silence drowned the room. She nudged Keitaro in the side a few times.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Su's cooking is pretty bad." Keitaro's voice was bland.

Naru was about to call out to Su until the front door slid open. Two familiar figures stood on either side of Kitsune.

"Hey, everyone! Miss me?" Sarah said, jumping into the room. But the lack of a response halted her from approaching the scene in front of her.

"Wow, I feel at home already," Haruka whispered to Kitsune. Walking into the room, she stood before the boy next to Shinobu on the couch. "You're new here. Did we open this place up to guys now?" Haruka asked with a calm, soothing voice.

"No," Shinobu responded quickly. "He's my boyfriend, Miss Haruka."

"Ah, so you're Keisuke. Kitsune told me about you two," she walked in the direction of kitchen, to which Sarah already left. "Cute," she said, walking down the hall.

Naru turned to Kitsune who leaned against the wall in the hallway that led to the dining room. She mouthed out the word "help" with a worried expression.

"Hey, let's all go to the table," Kitsune said, jumping up from her position. She pulled Shinobu off the couch and Keisuke quickly followed after. Likewise, Naru grabbed onto Keitaro and pulled him up.

"What're you doing?" Naru asked in complete disbelief.

"I don't like him. Seems like a terrible guy," Keitaro said smugly.

"Well, I don't know what your problem is. Shinobu likes him and he seems nice and-"

"See? You said it yourself. He seems nice. But really, deep down, he's bad for her. You wait and see," he said haughtily. He stepped past Naru into the hallway, but as he passed her, he felt himself traveling straight up into the air. And he admitted to himself that Naru's uppercuts had gotten much stronger.

- -

After they had uneventfully, silently finished eating, Shinobu started picking up the dishes as she usually did. Her worried look hadn't left her face since she entered the house. And, if she didn't get out of the room, she was convinced she'd stay that way. Su, however, determined to make herself look like a good housekeeper, gathered up the plates with her.

Shinobu looked over at her friend. She then started gathering up the rest of the plates as fast she could and, with a beckon of her head, asked Su into the kitchen.

"You all can go," Su said, obviously disturbed by the atmosphere in the room. Kitsune was the only one that stood and left the room. But, before she did, she took Keisuke with her and winked at the disappearing Shinobu, who retreated to the kitchen.

Following after her, Su looked over at her friend who had her hands in her face. She sat at the little island in the middle of the kitchen in a stool. Su walked what she had over to the sink and turned on the water.

"What was that all about?" Su said.

Shinobu grumbled an incoherent reply.

"Right," Su responded disappointedly. She continued washing the dishes for a bit longer before dropping the sponge and shutting off the water. "Or what? What's going on with you?" Su asked, attempting a cheery demeanor. She bounced next to Shinobu and leaned on the counter.

"Kei is making this whole thing crappy. He thinks Keisuke is a horrible person for me. Like, he thinks he's insensitive. He thinks he's not good enough, not smart enough to be my boyfriend." Shinobu raised her head and turned to Su. "Like he really knows what he's like." She went back to burying her face in her hands.

"Well, it's not like Keitaro really knows the guy," Su said. "Give Kei a chance, and he'll like him. He's the kind of person that likes everyone." Su turned around and went back to doing the dishes. As she did, though, she heard Shinobu push the stool back and move behind her.

"Let me do these. I feel like I need to do something normal," she said, snatching the sponge from Su's hand. "Go make sure Kitsune doesn't hurt him, or something."

"But," Su stopped. "I would, but your boyfriend is a jerk. He was about to jump me if I didn't get rid of him," she thought, recalling the scene at the market.

"But, what?" Shinobu asked, exasperated.

"Nothing. I'll go look," she tried to look as apathetic as she could. She left the room and stepped out into the hall. From there, she could hear Naru yelling at Keitaro in the dining room. She went upstairs to the second floor and ran over to Shinobu's room. From outside the door, she could hear Kitsune and Keisuke talking. "Well, he's not screaming. That's good." She slid the door open and walked in.

"Hey, you," Kitsune said. She stood up and walked over to Su. Whispering in her ear, "Hey, I've gotta go check on the teahouse. Haruka wanted me to head over there when I could."

And before Su could protest, Kitsune was already off and away, darting toward the stairs. "She's not, like, mad or anything?" Su asked Keisuke, turning to him.

"No. She just asked about me and Shinobu." Su walked over to the table he was sitting at and took her place opposite him. Her face was serious, unlike most any other time she was at home. She shifted from side to side in silence. Her eyes roamed the room, as though it were entirely new to her.

Then, a voice shook her from her condition. "You didn't answer me this afternoon," Keisuke said. She looked in front of her yet found no one. Slowly turning to her right, she found him, sitting next to her.

"Of course I didn't." She inched over away from him, but he moved as she moved.

"No?" He asked, his eyes seemed glazed. "I know you're lying. You do want to be with me. You like me. And you're such a nice girl, too, forsaking your own happiness for your friend's."

"Stop it," she said, now backing away from him. She groped for the edge of the table, as if the action could keep her mentally balanced.

"I know what you feel." He moved closer toward her and grabbed her by the wrist. He pulled her in close to him, her body pushed up against his. Slowly, he held placed a hand behind her neck. "See? You're not even trying to get out of this."

"Y-You're hand," she breathed heavily. "No. I can't move. I have to get away. I have to get out. Someone, please help me," she thought. She struggled trying to wrest her of his grip. But whatever strength she had seemed to dwindle as he pulled her in. His face and lips drew nearer to her and her mind drifted away.

She remembered that this same thing had happened behind the school. Before she introduced him to Shinobu, she remembered that he took her aside one day. He kissed her. He admitted that he loved her. And she weakly kissed him back. She happily gave into whatever selfish desire to be with someone that she had for those brief seconds. For that short period of time, she felt loved. She felt at ease. She no longer felt like an awkward girl far from her home, but she felt comfortable. For that time, she loved.

But, slowly, it drifted away. Slowly, her desire subsided and she pushed him away.

Weakly, she twisted her hand from his. But it made no difference. He had already let go and was approaching her. The muscles in her face relaxed, and she felt herself giving in to him, again. Again, she felt herself compelled to feel as loved as she did before. And, closing her eyes, she felt his lips touch hers. And for those brief seconds, she felt gone. She felt empty. She felt absolutely nothing.

She heard a gasp and her eyes shot open. Immediately, her hand reacted as one pushed him away and another contacted his face. She slapped him on the cheek. Her face, scrunched up with tears forming in her eyes, was red. Now, she felt anger. She stood from her position and walked to the door in silence.

"Get out of our house," she said. Keisuke rose behind her.

"What will you tell Sh-"

"That you got sick from my food," she interrupted. She opened the door to Shinobu's room and stepped aside, "Now get out." Her words were barely a whisper.

Keisuke left the room in silence, a look of disbelief on his face. He walked down the nearby stairs and to the door. Su stood in the doorway, again, immobile. She could hear the sound of the front door opening and closing. And, looking out of the windowed hallway, she saw Keisuke leaving the house.

Su walked out of the room and slid the door behind her. She walked further down the hall and to the stairs and heard footsteps retreating down the hallway. It was only then that she realized that the gasp she heard earlier wasn't hers.

- -

Yumihiko and Motoko walked out of the restaurant into the fading light of the evening, smiles on both of their faces. Motoko looked over at him and felt her happiness well up within her. She clasped her hands in front of her, perfectly content. She loved going out and, in her head, officially determined that dating was fun. "In fact, I haven't had this much fun, ever," she smiled to herself.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked her as they walked down the street.

"I'm thinking about how much fun I had tonight," she admitted. She pointed down a street, toward the direction of the Hinata house. "It was nice going out with you."

"Nice? Just nice?" he asked with a playful smile.

"It was good. And stop pining for more," she giggled to herself.

He stopped in front of an ice cream place and stopped her. "How about some?" he asked, nodding to the store.

"I'm absolutely full. I couldn't eat another bite," she said.

Yumihiko shrugged and continued on. It wasn't much farther to the Hinata house and Motoko felt anxious. She wasn't ready for the night to end. And as they approached the house, she felt a feeling of nervousness overcome her again. "I started the date like this. I shouldn't be ending it like this at all," she thought, trying to calm herself.

"'It's all about the kiss, you know?'" she could hear Naru say. "'That's how you know for sure.'"

"What if he wants to kiss? What am I gonna do, then?" she thought, self-conscious of how she looked.

"Well, you're home," she heard him say. She looked around her and noticed the teahouse, the steps, and the roof of the dorm at the top of the steps. She looked back at him.

"Yeah. I guess so," she said, nervously. He smiled at her.

"Nervous again, huh?"

"What? No, not at all," she lied. She straightened up and returned his smile.

"You had fun, then?"

She nodded. His soft features made her melt. She looked at him and tried to relax a bit. "Maybe I should do it." She moved in closer to him. "He's taller than me," was all she could think about at the moment. Her mind, it seemed, refused to stick to a single thought. Her thoughts bounced to and fro.

Understanding her actions, he drew himself closer to her. Gently, he moved his head towards hers and closed his eyes. Motoko tilted her head and leaned in to him. She felt his warm breath fall onto her lips. She pressed a hand onto his chest and closed her eyes as well. A hand wrapped around her neck. The touch made her shiver. Her breath quickened. She felt as if her heart had stopped completely.

And, when he kissed her, her mind blanked.

She held the kiss for a few seconds before breaking it off. She looked up at him as he opened his eyes, his smile as soft as ever. She wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him again.

Her mind blanked once more. But as she held the kiss, she could only think of someone else. She tried to shut the other out, but her mind continually refocused. His lips were not as soft. His touch not as kind. His intent not as loving.

"Kitsune," she thought.

She pulled herself away from him, and Yumihiko opened his eyes to see her again. He saw her sad look and tried to figure out what she was thinking. Unable to read her, "What's wrong?" he asked in a calm voice.

"I'm sorry," she said. She covered up her face in the shadow of the falling night. "I just don't feel comfortable doing this."

"N-no, I'm sorry. I knew you were nervous I shouldn't have even looked like I-"

"Don't be sorry. You were a great date," she assured.

"Then, what?" he asked, befuddled by her demeanor.

"I don't know what to say. I just think that, I'm not ready for this," she lied. Her thoughts leaped out to Kitsune again. She couldn't keep her out of her head, as much as she wanted to.

"I understand. But can we do this again?" he said, a bit of hope glimmered in his eye.

Motoko shook her head sadly, unable to look him in the face. And as kind as he was, he lifted her head with a soft hand to face him. He smiled at her again.

"It's okay," he said with a laugh. "It was a date. It's not like I asked you to marry me. Besides, you're the one who said no. So, cheer up."

Motoko tried to push out a smile, but it wasn't of any use. She nodded in agreement at him. With a tug of his hand, he tilted her head back down. She felt him kiss her on the forehead.

"Really, it's okay. Maybe I'll see you on Monday for the exam results." He looked over her expression, trying to figure out what could be wrong.

"Yeah, maybe we will," she said, her eyes focusing on him, finally. She managed to force an awkward smile which he returned.

"You should get on inside, then."

She nodded with a smile as he began to walk past her. Then, she took hold of his arm gently and he turned to look at her.

"Thank you for a wonderful night. I'll remember this," she let go of him as he walked away with a smile on his face. Her eyes followed him behind her and she turned to watch him. Now, though, she was facing the direction of the Hinata teahouse. And, there stood Kitsune.

"Had a good time?" she asked from the door, after checking to see if Yumihiko was out of ear-shot.

Motoko drew in breath as if to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. She felt her muscles stiffen, and her throat became dry. She tried to think of anything to say. She tried to force a smile. And when that didn't work, she moved toward the house.

Finally, after taking two steps up the stairs, she turned to Kitsune. "It was nice," she said. "I'm going to my room." And Motoko took off for the dorm.

Kitsune didn't question her. Though her curiosity of the night's events grew, she figured the look on Motoko's face meant "don't ask." She turned back into the teahouse. She checked the stairway to see if Haruka's light was off - which it was - before walking into the kitchen.

She sat down and saw the image of Yumihiko and Motoko kissing.

She thought back to when she kissed Motoko.

And, then, she cried.

- - -

Sad ending.

To make up for last chapter's shortness, I made this one longer that I normally did. In fact, this is, quite possibly, my most favorite chapter that I've written. It's sad and sweet at the same time. Anyway, I hope you all loved reading this as much as I REALLY loved writing it. I'm not going to say much about it. But, I will say that this is turning into something more than I thought it would be.

SS