It occurred to me as I developed the opening scene of this chapter that Naru and Keitaro are the only ones in the whole dorm that have an exposed railing outside of their room. The other girls have a nice wooden panel at the bottom and, half way up the wall, a window. It then dawned on me that it might be a good idea to be able to have sliding wood panels on the outside of every single room in the dorm. Why? Because the girls got jealous and made Keitaro build a neat addition to the place!

This element was added by me to the little dorm they call home.

- - -

Pink Camellias
08 – Visitors
SethSolare

- - -

Darkness fell over the Hinata House in the late evening hours. Kitsune wandered the dark hallways with two bottles of water. In the moonlit hallways, her skin and hair glowed slightly. The beams of light danced on her skin as she moved about. Small creaks from the floor boards, the ruffling of her clothes against her body, and the light splashing of water in the bottles were all that could be heard.

As she reached the top steps of the dorm, she turned down the hallway and walked quietly to a figure leaning out of a window. Motoko turned at the slight shuffling of feet and unlatched the panels below her revealing an open railing.

The railing was made of wood with two horizontal pieces, one at waist height, another at the knee, nailed to a vertical piece. The wood did not match the exterior well. The sliding panels were recently added to Hinata House outside of every room. The windows sat on their own track on the ceiling, the lower panels on the floor.

Kitsune sat down on the floor, dangling her feet over the edge. Kitsune sat down next to her, passing the girl a bottle of water.

"You excited about tomorrow?" Kitsune asked after getting settled on the floor.

Motoko opened the bottle, taking a large drink of water. She let out a sigh, staring up at the moon. "A bit. I don't know what to be excited about more, though."

Kitsune turned to look over at the other woman. A slight grin grew on her face, which slowly transformed into a kinder, softer smile. She closed her eyes, reflecting on the words. Once she opened them she was turned again toward the moonlit Hinata. "I think you should be more excited about your grades. But, you will get a big kiss when you pass. Though, I do think it's a bit pointless to go check, seeing as how we already know what happened."

"You shouldn't be so confident, Kitsune. You never know," Motoko said, taking another drink.

"You should be more confident, because you passed." Kitsune turned again to Motoko. She moved her head to rest on the railing as she faced sideways. Closing her eyes, "I could sleep here. I'm just so tired."

"It's because you spent the whole day worrying," Motoko turned toward her love, with kind eyes and a soft smile, "little, old me."

"Stop it!" Kitsune cried, letting out a little laugh.

"Not so loud. You'll wake Su," Motoko said, covering up Kitsune's mouth. "And she's not in a good mood right now."

"What? Su? What do you mean?" Kitsune said, her expression turning into puzzled.

Motoko's appearance became more calm and solemn quickly. She closed her eyes, folding her arms on the lower rail. She, then, rested her head on her arms with a sigh. "She just seemed really down. Sure, it happens. But, Su's been pretty happy until recently, I'd say."

"Don't you think it's rude to talk about her like this in front of her room?" Kitsune said with a laugh.

"There's no harm. She tends to share everything with me. Su's like my amazing little sister, you know? Or maybe she's like everyone's little sister, here," Motoko said, her expression unchanged.

"I guess so. I just think it's weird that we're just talking about her in front of her room."

Motoko laughed slightly, "Well, actually, she's a really heavy sleeper. One of her robots could blow up her room and she'd never hear it or notice until morning."

"What's up with her anyway?" Kitsune asked. She sat up straight and took another sip from her bottle. She leaned back, propping herself up with her hands, awaiting for Motoko say something.

"Well, she made out with Keisuke and wasn't able to tell Shinobu until today." Motoko looked around, hoping none of the others were around. "And I have no idea what happened."

"I haven't seen either of them at all today except at breakfast. I mean, granted, we spent the entire day together. But I should've seen them at least once more today." Kitsune turned a look toward Su's door, contemplating Motoko's story. "Is she really that messed up about that?"

"Why wouldn't she? Su kept saying she was selfish. That she was mean. All kinds of things. I think she's mad that she can't even trust herself to be a good friend." Motoko turned toward Su's door as well. She sighed, thinking in silence. Using her free hand, she pushed back some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I don't think Shinobu forgave her," she said in a quiet voice.

Kitsune looked over at her, noticing Motoko's expression. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, her lips tight. "I'm thinking you're regretting something," Kitsune said, running a hand through the other's dark hair.

"I can't protect Su, right now. I don't know what to do at all. I can't help at all. I promised I'd always help her, but what can I do if Su's pain comes from her?" Motoko's eyes closed, trying to shut out her despair. Motoko pulled up her legs from the edge of the hallway and laid her body sideways, her head in Kitsune's lap.

Kitsune sat up, slouching a bit. She took hold of the other girl's hand as Motoko brought them around her torso to touch the floor. Kitsune played with Motoko's soft hair and looked down at the young girl below her. "You can't do much, Motoko. Su's grown up and needs to really learn what she needs to do. At some point, even you can't protect her." Motoko turned up, facing Kitsune. "Sorry that sounded so mean."

Motoko looked back out at the darkness of Hinata, "That's okay. It's not like I don't agree with you. I just wish it wasn't true."

Motoko closed her eyes, slowly drifting off into sleep. Kitsune stayed awake, holding her new girlfriend close to her. As Motoko finally went to sleep, Kitsune carried her into her room. The already laid out futon, and two pillows laid out side-by-side, sat in the middle of the room. Motoko's plain, white blanket was neatly rolled out and covered the length of the futon.

Kitsune smiled at Motoko's optimism. "Heh. I don't think I'm that easy. I'll just go to sleep in my room." Kitsune placed Motoko on the futon, covering her up with the blanket. Brushing aside her hair, she gave Motoko a light kiss before leaving. As she exited the room, she decided to leave just one of the doors slightly opened. She looked on as the moonlight glowed on Motoko's skin before retiring to her own room downstairs.

- -

The next morning, Keitaro woke early, leaving Naru sleeping in the futon. He quickly dressed, pulling on some pants and a shirt before running downstairs. "That girl can really sleep," he laughed to himself. He barged into the empty kitchen pulling out pots and pans as he ran around.

The sounds and smells of cooking permeated through the doors of the kitchen as he started Shinobu's usual morning ritual. Aside from having an early class, he was far more excited about the two boarding girls' test results. And, as he went on cooking, he felt some arms wrap around his waist.

"Hey, you." Naru grabbed onto him as he shut off the burners. She pushed herself up on her toes, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "You're pretty vibrant this morning."

"Class. Test scores. It's pretty cool, you know?"

"You're trying to re-live your life through the other girls?" she asked, letting him go. She snaked her head around to give him a puzzled look.

"Well, it is something they cheered me on for. The least I can do is the same, right?" Keitaro shrugged.

"I guess," she responded brightly. "Let me help." She took a pan from the stove and began putting food onto each neatly arranged plate. She smiled along with him, happy that the two other girls had finally made it this far. She recalled the day before, Motoko and Kitsune's happiness. She loved that her best friend had finally stopped feeling sorry for her single life. She was happy that the girl who had grown up the most had finally gotten a reward for it.

"What're you smiling about?" Keitaro asked.

"Motoko and Kitsune are dating, now," she said plainly, humming a little song.

He froze. He felt his bones and joints stiffen. His eyes stuck in place. And whatever words he had to say wouldn't come out. His neck, however, slightly went limp, turning his head sideways. "W-what?" he asked slowly.

"Apparently, they had this thing yesterday. And they're together now."

"Motoko? She's a-a… lesbian?" Keitaro whispered the word, feeling slightly dirty for saying it. Naru, on the other hand, gave him a dull stare.

"It's a new development. Personally, I think it's great that it's Kitsune. She's a great girlfriend, from what I can remember. Of course, that was years ago. And she might've just gotten better as she got older."

Keitaro snapped out of his weird stare for a second, "Wait, I thought she only picked up your scraps."

Naru, calmly, placed the pan on the island in the middle of the kitchen. She stepped over to Keitaro, her smile bright. However, Keitaro, a few second later, felt a bit of the world go black, his face in pain. "If you weren't holding breakfast, you'd be through the window," she said, retracting her fist.

He shook off the slightly painful smack; a red, stinging sensation was all that was left. He laughed nervously, before returning to finishing the food. "Trying to make me sound like a villain, eh? She got guys all by herself," Naru said. She placed a pan on the counter before walking toward the door. As she reached for the handle, Shinobu popped up on the other side of the opening door.

"Oh, good morning, Naru. I didn't know you'd be up this early," Shinobu said, trying to peek around Naru. "You guys made breakfast?"

"Keitaro did. I kinda helped," Naru smiled.

"Why's his face red? Did you get burned, Keitaro?" Shinobu rushed past Naru. She looked over his face, trying to figure out what happened. After a few seconds of inspection, her expression turned to realization, "Oh, you said something stupid and she hit you, right? Good job, there."

Keitaro laughed nervously again, holding up one of the finished plates. Shinobu promptly took one from him along with the others on the island. Using her back, she pushed open the door to the dining room, setting up plates at all of the chairs. When she reached Su's place, though, she halted for a second, thinking not to even place one there.

"I don't need them asking," she thought to herself as she placed the plate on the table.

It wasn't long after that the rest of the girls came down, one by one, to have breakfast. The morning, which was usually so loud and hectic, was dry, quiet, and boring. No one spoke, no one glanced at another, save for Motoko and Kitsune. And, one by one, all left the table until only Keitaro and Naru were left.

"That was weird," Naru said quietly.

Keitaro simply nodded. "I guess they're just freaked out about going to see their test scores."

"You're probably right. And we should get going now if you want to make it class," she said, standing from her seat.

- -

Motoko stood before the huge panels of names as she did before. However, she didn't care to look for Naru's, Keitaro's, or Mutsumi's names, the owners of which had been too late to see the results and make it to class. The three already went off on their, promising a party when they got home.

Shinobu, on the other hand, barely left the house. After making it to the bottom of the steps, she flipped a glance over to the teahouse. She quickly darted off for Haruka as she yelled that she would help out.

Motoko spent her time staring at the ground, unable to glance up. Of course, next to her, Su was already celebrating. "Come on, Motoko. Look for your name, already. It's a mess trying to find your name and not your exam number," Su urged.

"I don't really want to," she responded shyly. "And why are you so happy? Yesterday you could barely stand and now you want to run around and-" she ended with a sigh.

"Every once in a while, I'm allowed to delude myself into happiness. You, on the other hand, can actually be happy without a burden," Su said calmly, standing still as she said this.

Motoko looked over at Su. Sighing again, she reached into a small messenger bag. From it, she pulled out her exam ticket and handed it Su. "Do it for me. I can't look," she said folding her arms.

"You're such a baby, Motoko," Su walked off down the rows of celebrating and disappointed students. Motoko stood in her exact same spot, not wanting to move. "If it's not Tsuruko, then I'll just be disappointing myself," she told herself. She quietly began to pray in her head as she closed her eyes.

Her calm, however, was broken rather quickly. As she started, she felt a soft touch on her lips. Her eyes flickered. A smile slowly crept on her face. "It feels… nice." It wasn't until she opened her eyes that she found Kitsune staring right at her. "Eh? What was that about?" Motoko asked loudly.

"Geez, I just wanted to congratulate you on passing. Silly girl," Kitsune smiled at Motoko as she gently stroked her cheek. Kitsune then stepped closer, cuddling up to Motoko as she wrapped her arms around her. Kitsune continued with a deep, slightly seductive voice. "You're definitely a hot catch now, Motoko. I better watch out!"

"C-cut it out! That's embarrassing!" Motoko pushed Kitsune off of her. "I'm not Keitaro or something. It's just creepy. Especially with that voice! A-and URGH!" Motoko felt very weak all of a sudden. Her face scrunched up as she jumped over to Kitsune and grabbed hold of her. "I can't believe I did it. I finally made it. The torture's OVER!" she cried.

Kitsune took hold of the girl and gently ran her hands through her hair. "You know, this is weird that you're taller than me," Kitsune laughed. However, from behind her, another laugh came. At first she thought it was Su. But Su was still standing behind Motoko's weeping form. Uncomfortably, Kitsune, while holding tight to Motoko, turned her head around to find a familiar face.

"I recall the name, Yumi, correct?" she asked the man behind her.

"Yup. How's she doing?" he asked Kitsune.

"She got in. Personally, I'd be pretty happy about it. I don't know what's wrong with her," Kitsune responded with a smile.

"Eh? Yumi? You got in?" Motoko lifted up her head from Kitsune's shoulder, her eyes and cheeks slightly red. Kitsune laughed as she gently let the girl stand on her own.

"I did indeed. Is this… the person?" he asked pointing to Kitsune.

"Yes, I am," Kitsune said slowly, shyly. "I'm Kitsune. And the one behind us with the barrel of energy is Su."

"It's good to have met you, Kitsune. I trust that Motoko is happy, yeah?" he asked, his eyes and smile aglow.

Kitsune giggled at the phrasing of the question. Motoko wiped a tear away as she looked up to respond, "I'm good. I got in. I-I have her. It's great," she sighed happily.

"That's good to hear. I thought I saw a woman much like you back home before I left. I thought it was you, actually." Yumihiko laughed a bit. "I kind of embarrassed myself by frantically asking this stranger how she did on her Tokyo U exam."

Motoko laughed slightly while tying her hair in a ribbon. "That's kinda weird. I don't know anyone in Hinata that really looks like me. I'm pretty tall and stuff."

"Actually, I think she was taller than you," he said, his face giving a quizzical look.

"Taller?" Kitsune asked.

Su, then, whispered something rather quick in Kitsune's ear. As she did, it came to her that only one person could fit the mild description. She suddenly felt slightly weird about the whole thing before she realized that Motoko had also figured it out.

"T-that's my sister," Motoko blushed. "I thought she was coming tomorrow!"

"And the house is a total mess," Su yelled, though she didn't seem disturbed by it at all.

"We need to get home," Kitsune said, forcing a smile.

"Well, I guess it's a big deal. So, you might as well," he said as the girls ran off. "And I'll stop by your teahouse sometime." He waved at the fleeing figures before turning toward his new, happy school.

- - -

Wow… okay. It's taken me a really long time to put this one out. I kinda feel weird because it's only a transition chapter. Oh well, it's not the worst thing ever. However, it's also not my favorite chapter. Sigh. However, Motoko's little thing at the beginning where she lays out two pillows... I thought it was kinda cute. I used to be the same. P

Also, I am happy to note that I've got about 2-4 chapters before I finish this thing. I have a few ideas on hand.

Lastly, next chapter will be really short. At least, in my head it seems short. I'm not too sure yet. In any case, thanks to all those who review and stuff. Later.

SS