By the way, in case you haven't figured it out, our story started on a Friday afternoon. And now, it's a Wednesday afternoon. I keep track of these things. Really. I have a nice flow chart… in my head.

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Pink Camellias
15 – Unintentional
SethSolare

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Haruka sat down in her teahouse after letting the last people out for that afternoon. It was a good day, there. She wished she had as many customers when the place was hers. She laid her head down on the table, some tea cups still on it. She stared at them for a bit, remembering that she hadn't worked this hard in such a long time. "I only had to do research with Seta. Why did I even want to do this job?" she thought, trying to motivate herself to clean up the place.

The cups, though, disappeared from view as a pair of hands reached for them and took them from the table. Kitsune put the few dishes on a tray that seemed to be filled with many of the other dishes on the table. She smiled at Haruka before disappearing into the kitchen.

Though tired, Haruka sat up and trudged over to the kitchen. Inside, Kitsune was happily washing the dishes. She liked the work. It was tiresome thinking of everything that happened the night before. Now, she just wanted to simply forget about it. "It's all up to her now," she thought to herself.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Haruka asked.

"Huh?" Kitsune asked, smiling back at Haruka.

"Wait, you're not here because you've got issues? This is kind of new," she said, puzzled. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, I've got issues, but I think I've got it handled." Kitsune went back to washing the dishes.

"Do you think you might want to talk about it? I'm suddenly becoming less informed of you girls' lives out here. In fact, when I wasn't even in Hinata, I knew more. Suddenly, I'm an island all by myself. So please give me something to talk about," Haruka pleaded. Her voice, however, was muted and bored as it usually was. Kitsune wondered if Haruka was even interested.

"Well, I think I actually did something stupid." Kitsune started. "Like, I kinda gave Motoko an ultimatum. Stupid. Really stupid."

Haruka sat up on the counter and lit a cigarette. She stared up at the ceiling before continuing with the conversation, "Actually, that's what a lot of us do. Stupid things. I mean, I kind of gave Seta one a long time ago. Naru gave Kei one a while back. You're just next on the list." She puffed once again, "Don't worry, Su and Shinobu'll do it eventually, too."

"That's not comforting," Kitsune said.

"It's really not. But it's what happens," Haruka walked over to the sink and bumped Kitsune over, doing dishes along side her.

"So, I guess everyone's just really stupid when it comes to love," Kitsune's once bright expression diminished into a slightly more neutral one. She stepped away from the sink and paced to the end of the room.

"It's not a big surprise is it?" Haruka asked. "Don't they say, 'We're all fools in love'?"

Kitsune, though compelled to ask the reason, remained silent. She was sure the answer would have been a shrug of the shoulders and a puff of a cigarette.

"So what did you tell her?" Haruka goaded after some silence.

Kitsune shrugged, her eyes giving off a hint of discomfort. "She has until Friday to tell me if she really wants to be with me."

Haruka spun around to Kitsune, "Friday? Wow, I gave Seta a month to tell us which one he loved. You're giving her, what, 2 days? That's pretty harsh. Do you really think she can make a big relationship decision with her inexperience and, well, lack of any lesbian contact?"

Kitsune frowned. "It's not like she hasn't wanted a relationship. Those trashy romance novels she writes are worse than two girls kissing. I mean, I didn't even know she knew those words."

Haruka slowly raised an eyebrow. "That's totally beside the point."

"Well," Kitsune said, trying to get back to the question, "I think she can't, either. Realistically, she has as much of a clue as I do."

"At least you admit that this ultimatum thing is bad." Haruka dried off her hands, finished with her chore. A warm kettle of tea sat on the stove and Haruka poured herself a small cup of it.

"Maybe she should've just gone home," Kitsune said in a soft voice, her expression saddening.

Haruka thought about those words. After some silence, she responded, "Why? What would be the point? If she went home, it's going to be some unsettled thing in your memory. Motoko would end up wishing that she made a decision. Given the ultimatum, it's going to make her wish she had chosen you. You're gonna torture yourself thinking about her. She's going to go crazy not thinking about you. And, in the end, both of you are going to hate your lives more."

Kitsune listened intently. As much as she loved Haruka's advice, though, it grated on her. She was amazed at how Haruka could give advice so freely like a mother, but it was given so bluntly and cold.

"They say that people who try to push something out of their mind, think of it more often. And when Motoko trains, she won't have any focus if she's trying to forget about you. And you, you get to be so secretive about everything that you sometimes don't even tell Naru. You're going to hold in how much it hurts and you're going to crash.

"In the end, her going away is bad. And that's all there is to it," Haruka stopped for a quick puff of her cigarette and a sip of tea.

"So, then what? She stays here, and she says no to me. How's that any better?" Kitsune asked in a whisper.

"It's not much better. But instead of not answering you and leaving this place, she answers you and stays. The fact the she answers you will stop you from being so twisted up inside. You know?" Haruka said the words softly. She passed a cup of tea over to Kitsune, smiling softly.

"It doesn't sound better," Kitsune said, taking a sip from her cup.

Haruka shrugged, "That's what I thought. And now look," she said gently, holding up her wedding ring.

- -

By the evening, Keitaro and Naru were entirely too tired from the day of school. Keitaro managed to feel less tired, considering that Naru had her tutoring job. After waiting the few hours for her outside, they made the long trek home after a bit of dinner. "Such a typical day," Keitaro thought to himself, as he plopped down in the middle of Naru's room, Naru next to him.

He stared up at the ceiling, too exhausted to move. However, he found the energy, at least, to speak, "So, Su me called during your tutoring class."

"Uh huh, and so?" Naru asked, too tired to be interested.

"It's about Kitsune and Motoko, actually. And apparently she's trying to set up Motoko's last boyfriend with Shinobu." He spoke in a slightly discreet voice.

"You mean Yumi? Motoko and him still talk? Even after all that other stuff?" Naru asked suddenly less tired.

"Well, it's only been a few days since they even thought about going out. So, it's not like he's had a lot of time to hate her. And, besides, he seems like a really level-headed guy." Keitaro sat up as he spoke.

"Absolutely unlike you. I mean, if a girl were to dump you, it'd be the absolute end of the world," she laughed.

Keitaro grumbled at her. "What would happen to Kitsune if someone dumped her?" He asked her this calmly. Turning toward her, he looked at her with worry.

"Dumped her? Who'd want to do that? Don't tell me Motoko's even thinking about it," Naru sat up as well. She gave him the same look he gave her.

"I don't know. It just seems like Motoko's having second thoughts. And Su mentioned something about it." Keitaro looked away from Naru.

Naru, likewise, stared down at the floor, "Kitsune'd be crushed. She loves her," Naru said.

"Maybe Motoko should consider, you know, taking a break. Head home with her sister. All that kind of stuff," Keitaro suggested.

"Why?" she asked, slightly annoyed. "That'd be horrible."

"Not really. Motoko needs some time to think things out. Sure, Kitsune's ready to jump right on in, but Motoko's still afraid of it all." Keitaro stood up.

Looking up at him, "And then what? Kitsune's going to be stuck here without anyone. She may seem all resilient, but the last real relationship she was in destroyed her." Naru stood up and paced toward the back of her room. "I don't want to have to deal with that, again. She was crushed and I couldn't help her."

"Yeah, I can understand that. But how can they be in a real relationship if one of them doesn't know what she even wants? Wouldn't it be entirely unfair of Motoko to just string Kitsune along, letting her think that they were a happy couple? I mean, Motoko's probably not even sure she's a lesbian or bi or whatever," Keitaro seemed to become agitated, too.

"All Kitsune wants is a few short moments of happiness. Even if it's fleeting, she'll be happy with it. Instead, she's going to be tortured with not even seeing the person she loves. And, when you went to America, I had to live without you for months and it made me crazy. We weren't officially a couple then. And these two have kissed and everything. And they've done it several times. I'm sure if Motoko had any qualm about it, she'd probably be more avoidant of Kitsune." Naru argued. "But, no, she seems entirely gravitated toward Kitsune. I think she's pretty much made up her mind on the lesbian thing."

Keitaro grumbled, "How do you know she's so sure about it? Did she tell you? Because Motoko seems to have a really good track record of keeping things like that from everyone."

Naru, her voice much more tense, "You haven't even really seen them together. And Kitsune's the one telling me about how they spent the night together, kissed in the rain, cried together. Motoko isn't deciding to be with a woman; she's deciding to be with Kitsune. And if she's not here, she's never going to know for sure."

"But it's all going to be a lie for both of them. Motoko won't even be in the relationship. And Kitsune's going to be in it too much. In the end, all they're going to do is hurt each other." Keitaro's voice became stern, his expression serious.

Naru glared back at him, "Kitsune's my best friend. And I think I know what she would find important in her life. I'd know how happy she would be even if it was sort of a lie. It doesn't matter to her."

"What about Motoko? Do you think it doesn't matter to her?" Keitaro's voice grew louder.

"Of course it matters to her. She's going to make herself miserable, wishing she had chosen to at least face her problems. Instead, all she's going to do is run away."

"What kind of decision can she make if she's just floundering around without knowing what to do? What she wants? I don't want either of them to feel miserable later."

Naru looked away from him, pacing back around the room, "All Kitsune wants is just a moment of relief. All she wants is just to sit back and be happy, even if it doesn't last."

Keitaro visibly got angrier, looking over Naru, "You keep thinking about Kitsune. What about Motoko? Do you even know what she wants? It's like you don't even care about her. You don't even care about your friends."

Naru became speechless. She glared at him, angry and hurt. Keitaro looked at her, his expression softening slightly. He, too, was in disbelief that he said something like that.

Silence came between them. A stare between the two was all the communication they had left in them. Naru, hurt, looked down and away from Keitaro, "Get out of my room, Keitaro."

He moved over to her, "I didn't-"

"How dare you," Naru interrupted, a weak voice came from her mouth. "You accuse me of thinking I don't care about Motoko or Kitsune. Motoko can make her choice here. She can spend whatever time she wants in a weak relationship with Kitsune. But she'd be in a relationship. She'd be with someone. It would make her happy. And you think I don't care." Naru walked over to the floorboard with her Liddo-kun sitting atop it. Arms folded, she pushed board away with her foot.

Without a word, Keitaro guiltily went down to his room.

- -

Motoko pressed her towel up to her chest while her other hand held her other towel to her hair. She walked upstairs to her room. "Leaving your clothes in your room, not a good idea," she thought to herself. She sneaked up the stairs, trying not to make noise and call attention to herself. When she made it to the second floor, she peaked around the corner to see if anyone was in the hallway.

"Maybe she's working," she thought to herself. Slowly, she snuck away into the stairwell again. However, before she turned around, she bumped into someone.

"Shouldn't you be wearing clothes or something?" Kitsune asked as she came from the top floor.

"Ack!" Motoko shouted, jumping back. After collecting herself, "Oh, uh, yeah. I left my clothes in my room. I'm just kind of out of it." Motoko pulled the towel covering her in tighter.

"Okay," Kitsune acknowledged. She looked over Motoko suspiciously, "What? You seem weirded out."

"What? Oh, me? No, not really," she said shifting her weight to another foot. "It's just, you know, I'm kinda half-naked on Keitaro's floor." Her mind drifted a bit more, "I'm kinda half-naked in front of you."

"Oh, that. Yeah, that's a bit weird, yeah." Kitsune looked away, slightly embarrassed. "What am I, Keitaro? It's not like I haven't seen her naked," she thought.

"Why's she looking away? It's not like we haven't seen each other before." Motoko attempted to step past Kitsune. The gray haired girl stepped aside and headed off toward her room. "G-good night, Kitsune," she said nervously.

"Yeah, good night to you, too," Kitsune called back to her. "That was weird."

"This would be easier if she didn't live here," Motoko thought to herself. She moved quickly to her room, shivering slightly.

She walked over to her table where she had first left her clothes. Still feeling slightly uncomfortable, she quickly put on her clothes – shorts and an oversized pajama top. "Why does it have to be weird?" she asked herself as she sat down, drying off her hair.

Tossing her towel aside, she walked over to her dresser taking a hairbrush from it. Her cell phone pulsed its little green light as she stared at it. Taking it off her dresser, she looked through her saved numbers, scanning through each name. There weren't many – Keitaro, Kitsune, Naru, Shinobu, Su. There were a few school friends, Haruka, and Tsuruko. However, she stopped at a name in particular.

"I guess I should call him," she thought to herself. She pushed the call button, putting the phone to her ear while brushing her damp hair. As the phone rang, she moved over to the light switch in her room and shut it off, turning her room into darkness.

"Hello?" a voice answered.

"Hey, Yumi. It's Motoko," she said in a bright, cheery voice.

"Hey, yourself. And I recognized you from the moment you showed up on caller ID," he laughed.

"Yeah, well, you know. I'm just calling to see how you're doing." Motoko sat down on her futon in the back of her room in the dark.

"I'm alright, you?" he asked.

"The usual," she said in a soft voice.

Yumihiko cleared his throat, "So, I'm guessing by the fact that you sound all mellow is because there's something unusual going on."

Motoko grumbled and flopped down on her futon, now staring at the ceiling, "Yeah, fine. There is something 'unusual' going on."

Yumihiko acknowledged her with just a noise.

"Well, I was thinking that since the whole thing between, you know, us didn't work out, you wouldn't mind helping me cheer up a friend?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

Motoko shifted in her futon, her shoulders feeling slightly jittery. "Well, maybe you wouldn't mind taking her on a, uh, date? Like, a blind date?" she asked slowly.

"Well, I-"

"Oh well, you don't have to," Motoko interrupted. "I understand if you don't. It's kind of weird me calling out of the blue asking you to date my friend. It's weird, really. So, just don't worry about it."

After some silence, Yumihiko spoke, "It's alright. I mean, as long as she's not crazy, it'd not bad."

"Oh, no, she's not. She's the calmest person at the house. She's, you know, normal. And that's not to say that the others here are abnormal. She just normal-er." Motoko rolled her eyes at herself, "Normal-er? What? Why did I even say that?"

"Normal is fine. When do you think this is gonna go on?" he asked.

Motoko hadn't actually thought about it. She fumbled for an answer, "Well, Friday is Su's graduation. And we're all going, so, I guess that's a no for Friday. Uhm, is tomorrow okay? It's just so short notice. You don't have to say yes, you know."

"No, tomorrow's fine. Should I plan this out, or are you?" he asked.

"Well," Motoko said, thinking as quickly as she could, "you could just hang out. She's a pretty simple girl. She gets excited by a lot, really. You could just pick whatever you like."

"Whatever I like?"

"Whatever you like. You know," she paused, trying to think of something. "Whatever."

Yumihiko cleared his throat, "Alright. Tomorrow at--" he said, drawing his words out.

"Oh, uh, 6?" Motoko responded.

"Okay, in front of the little fountain in downtown, alright?" he said.

Motoko nodded, sighing, "Yeah, that's good. So, yeah."

"Okay. Hey, I gotta get going. I'm closing the shop tonight, so I'm kind of in the middle of cleaning up," he said.

"Yeah, oh, okay. I guess I'll see you," she said.

"Oh, you will. Sorry about going so quickly, kinda can't help it. I'll try and call you tomorrow," he assured her.

Motoko sat up from her futon, "On, no, you don't have to. Just, whatever."

"Well, alright, then. See you, later." After those words, Yumihiko's phone clicked off.

"Whatever? What am I, 14?" she asked herself – plopping back down on her futon, closing her eyes. "That was just weird," she told herself.

- - -

Well, the last section doesn't have much to do with the title of the chapter, but I felt that this section was necessary, seeing as how I wanted to start the next chapter on the next morning. What that was about was simply the weirdness of talking and seeing your "ex-es." Sure, Kitsune isn't really an ex. And Yumi and Motoko only went on one date. So, really, it just seems kinda weird for her.

Anyway, I had the need to create a conflict for Keitaro and Naru. Sure, they're a great couple, but who doesn't get in fights? Only the nothing fights are the bad ones. I realized that for them to really get mad at each other, it had to be something important. Their friends seemed like a good reason to fight. In the end, you say things you don't mean or just argue in circles until you say something you don't mean. Usually that's how fights end up. And it seemed important that these two looked like a real couple, not just some destined one that never has anything bad happen.

SS