Himeko parried a blow from Chikane she had hardly seen coming. 'She's fast!' thought Himeko, now counter attacking. Her counter was a feint to the right, then quickly snapping her shinai to the left. Chikane saw the bluff, however, and blocked just in time to avoid being hit in the ribs.

Chikane then attacked over and over, and Himeko couldn't block them all. She dodged out of the way of a couple, but one caught her wrist as she tried to do so again. "Kote!" cried Chikane as contact was made and the referees all raised red flags to indicate a point. The women went back to their crouching positions.

'She's so strong and fast!' thought an amazed Himeko. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get one hit in!' But she would not lost without giving Chikane seven different kinds of hell beforehand. With the referee's signal, Himeko launched herself at Chikane and caught her slightly off guard. Himeko swung at Chikane's head, but the other girl blocked, causing a deadlock.

The two kendoka pushed against each other's blades, but Himeko finally prevailed. With a burst of strength, Himeko slammed Chikane's blade aside and followed with a strike at the ribs, which connected "Do!" Himeko yelled triumphantly as she saw the white flags go up.

The score was 1–1. The next point would decide the match and the winner of the tournament.

Himeko went back to her crouching position and cleared her mind of all but Chikane: the way she walked, the was she ran, her hair, her curves, her bust—Himeko shook her head—the way she countered, swung the shinai… 'Yeah, that stuff…' she told herself, trying not to think of the first half of that train of thought. She failed. Himeko was suddenly and inexplicably caught up in how beautiful Chikane was. She'd never been so distracted during a kendo match before, so being so preoccupied out of the blue like this worried her a bit. Nevertheless, she would try her best.

At the referee's final start signal, Chikane and Himeko flew at each other, Chikane gaining a slight upper hand.

Himeko stumbled back slightly, but was able to regain her footing, block, and counter attack. In the heat of battle, the blonde woman's prior thoughts were lost and replaced with one thing: how to win.

Himeko tried many different tactics against Chikane. She tried swinging harder, but was just thrown off balance and nearly struck. She tried swinging fast and light, but there wasn't enough power in her swings and Chikane parried easily. She also tried not swinging at all, simply moving around quickly and trying to find a blind spot. As far as she could tell, there wasn't one. She was beginning to panic.

Finally, the end of the battle had come. Chikane took an over-head swing which Himeko blocked, but it resulted in another deadlock. The struggle went back and forth for a few moments before Himeko made a grave mistake. She pushed too hard on her shinai, not thinking about the stress it had already taken. The practice sword splintered near the tsuba, and broke in two, sending Himeko sprawling to the floor.

In kendo, being rendered defenseless gives a point to the opponent. Chikane now had two points. She had won the tournament. "There is victory and defeat!" yelled the head referee, raising his red flag.

The people in the building rooting for Solar High School exploded with cheers, but Chikane wasn't celebrating just yet. She was leaning down, offering a hand to help Himeko up. Himeko accepted it and pulled herself up. Then, both women went back to their starting positions, removed their masks, and bowed to each other. Both were smiling brightly, showing there were no hard feelings between them. Himeko, however, was also fighting a blush.


"Oh…" Himeko moaned as she stared at the splinters of her shinai, which were collected in her lap. Chikane had helped gather them, then had said she'd needed to go or her bus would leaver her. Himeko thanked her and the girls took their leave of each other.

"Don't worry, Himeko-chan! We've all decided to pitch in and get you a new one!" Souma said, indicating the rest of the club, including Makoto.

"Oh no, I couldn't accept that!" Himeko exclaimed, fighting the blood rushing to her face.

"We insist. It's the least we can do," Risei said, putting a hand on Himeko's shoulder to reassure her.

"But I lost…?" Himeko said with a puzzled look on her face.

"So? You sure showed that Chikane chick a hell of a fight!" Himeko nearly toppled over as Risei clapped her on the back.

"Thanks, guys!" Himekogiggled as she gave each member of the club a bear hug and kissed Makoto on the cheek. Some of the boys looked at Makotojealously, and she gave them a look that said 'Ha ha!'

'Come one guys, let's go home," Himeko said and led the was back ot the bus.


Himeko went home after the tournament and still had to get up the next morning for half a day of school. "Ya know, Himeko, in America they get all of Saturday and Sunday off of school! Isn't that so unfair?" Makoto whined playfully as she and Himeko were walking home to hang out for the day.

"Really? That isn't fair!" said Himeko happily. "Hey, Mako-chan! Do you want to go shopping? We haven't been in a while."

Makoto thought it over for all of half a second. "Sure! Go to your place and get ready. I'll pick you up in half an hour, okay?"

"Okay! See you in a little bit!" Himeko called over her shoulder as she turned down her street and ran to her house.

Half an hour later, Himeko climbed into Makoto's car and they headed out for the mall. Himeko had swapped her uniform for a lightly longer jean skirt, a modest white tank top, and a light jean jacket. Makoto simply had a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt that said 'Have a day,' on the front. As always, Himeko's red bow was present. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" Himeko responded and rattled her purse, letting Makoto hear the rattling of coins and the rustle of bills. She never really spent the money she got for allowance, so she had a considerable amount of money: 20,000 yen.

"Well, where d'ya wanna go first?"

"Um, I was thinking-" but Himeko was cut off by the growling of her own stomach. "…That…I was a little hungry…" she finished with all her blood rushing to fill up her face.

Makoto was struggling to keep the car straight through her laughter. "Alright! Food it is!" she laughed and pulled into the parking lot closest to the food court.

The girls talked about what they needed to shop for over lunch. Himeko said she wanted some new earrings and maybe a necklace, to which Makoto grimaced. "I hate jewelry," she said playfully, taking a drink of her tea. They both agreed, however, that their under garments were getting a little worn, so they decided to head for the nearest lingerie shop. Himeko was successfully hiding a bit of anxiety at this. Shopping for unmentionables embarrassed her terribly.

To Himeko's relief, however, Makoto insisted Himeko get her jewelry shopping done first. The girls headed to Himeko's favorite shop, which was more of a stand than anything. She loved the little kiosk because the jewelry was beautiful, on par with franchise shops, but had very reasonable prices.

"Oh…what do you think, Mako-chan? These ones," Himeko asked, holding a gold hoop about an inch in diameter up to her right ear. "Or these ones?" she finished, holding a slightly smaller silver hoop up to her left ear.

"Um…oh, I don't know, Himeko. You know I'm no good at this stuff!" Makoto said, annoyed, but gave in when she saw the pitiful look on Himeko's face. "Oh, fine. I like the gold ones."

"Yay! Me too!" Himeko said and turned around to pay the owner of the shop: 2,000 yen. He also decided to get a simple gold chain to go with the earrings for another 2,000 yen. "All right…I guess I'm done. Ready to go to our next stop?"

"Yep! You should put those one, they'd be pretty on you," Makoto said and laughed as Himeko blushed and did so with the mirror on the counter. "Done? Then let's go."

The girls made their way to a lingerie shop, Makoto in the lead. They walked in and Himeko was instantly uncomfortable. She was always embarrassed to buy things like this, she thought it was a little too personal to be doing in public. With Makoto here, however, she was a little more confident.

Himeko parted ways a little; Makoto headed for the stringy, lacy things, while Himeko movedcloser to the more conservative items. "Himeko…come on. You always go to the regular stuff. Live a little! Come look at this stuff with me," Makoto implored, grabbing Himeko's arm and leading her to the more risqué pieces.

"Okay, if you insist," Himeko figured it couldn't hurt to look. Her eye was actually drawn to a few pairs of panties, all with bras of a matching color. The first was a lavender g-string with lace around the edges, but it showed a little bit too much of her rear than she liked. The other two were black; one was like the lavender one, but a little less revealing. The last one really surprised her: it was a thong whose sides were only made up of lace, and it barely covered her front, either. She was surprised when she found herself at the front desk buying all three sets, almost completely depleting her cash reserves.

"I'm proud of you, Himeko! You came out of your shell today. I gotta say though, I'm shocked you got that thong…"

"So am I, to tell the truth. I guess it just caught my eye is all," Himeko said happily as she got into Makoto's car. "I really never thought I'd buy something like this…" she repeated thoughtfully, holding up the black thong to get a better look at it. "I guess trying new things doesn't hurt, right?"

The girls were quiet for most of the ride home, occasionally commenting about a song on the radio, until they got to Himeko's house. Makoto dropped Himeko off, informer her that she had some errands to run the next day, so they wouldn't be able to hang out.

Himeko went inside, took her shoes off, and told her father that she was going to bed early. She said good night and dashed up the stairs, purchases in hand. The trust was, she had an odd desire to try on her new lingerie and giver herself a good long once-over in her mirror. She hadn't tried them on at the shop because she knew her size, and that was entirely too embarrassing.

She took off her jacket and threw it on the bed, then took her socks off and tossed them next to her bed. She then relieved herself of her skirt and top, letting them fall to the floor. She reached around her back and undid her bra, letting her breasts fall slightly with a tiny bounce. She then removed her panties and looked at her naked form in the mirror. Kendo had made her more muscular than most girls, but it in no way took away from her beauty.

She glanced over her entire body, never having thought of herself as beautiful before. Her breasts were large, but not overly so, her stomach was flat, but not caved in. Also, ever since the need had risen, Himeko had shaved her lower regions. She thought hair down there was…gross.

She tried on the black g-string set first, admiring how the bra made her breasts look, how the panties were sexy, but not too revealing. Next was the lavender counter-part. The bra pushed her breasts up, making them look bigger, and Himeko actually liked how the panties showed just enough of her back to be flirty. She hadn't liked that a lot in the shop, but now that she got a look at them on her, she had to admit she liked it quite a bit.

Last game the black thong and its bra. The bra was the right size, but it barely covered her up; she could almost see her nipples. When she slipped on the panties, she felt a fluttering in her stomach. She thought it a little strange, but paid it no mind, convincing herself that it was just anticipation of trying something new. They were a perfect fit, which meant that almost nothing was covered. As she looked at herself in the mirror, Himeko couldn't help but think she was sexy. That night she decided to sleep in the thong and accompanying bra. In the spirit of trying new things, of course.


The next day, Sunday, was pretty uneventful. Himeko got up and exchanged her thong for the black g-string, put on a pair of tight jeans and a plain t-shirt, and went downstairs to have breakfast.

Her father never cooked, so Himeko always prepared meals. It wasn't that he refused; it was just that the man could cook about as well as he could build a rocket with his bare hands from sticks and stones. He had actually managed to burn a pot of noodles he was boiling. To this day, Himeko still had no idea how. Himeko didn't mind, though, she quite enjoyed cooking.

Himeko prepared a traditional Japanese breakfast – smoked salmon, rolled omelets, and rice – and set it all on the table. "Dad, breakfast is ready!" she called to the living room where we father was undoubtedly watching something about sports.

"Alright, just a second!" he called back, and got up a few seconds later on a commercial. "Wow, this looks good. Thanks, Hime-chan," Kurusugawa Oboro said and sat down. He didn't notice his daughter's blush at being called by his nickname for her. She thought being called a princess when she was 17 was a little much, even for a father. "So," he began, "What did you and Makoto do yesterday.

If it was possible, Himeko's face turned redder at the thought of telling her father the truth, so she didn't tell the whole thing. "Oh, not much just hung out at the mall. I did get some new earrings and a necklace, though," Himeko said, beginning to eat.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time," Oboro said, eating as well. When they were finished they each did their own dishes and Himeko decided she was in the mood for movies. After watching a couple romantic comedies, she decided she wasn't in the mood for movies anymore. She went in her back yard and rooted around until she found a roughly shinai-sized stick, with which she practiced until her arms hurt.

With nothing else to do, Himeko went to bed early. 'I have a test tomorrow, anyway,' she reasoned as her head hit the pillow. For some reason, a reason she couldn't pin, Himeko had a strange send of foreboding about the coming school day.


A/N: Alrighty!!! There it is, sorry it took so long! I hope the fight doesn't disappoint you guys, I tried to make it as good as possible. There is a reason for Himeko losing, so don't stone me to death just yet, okay? *ducks* Fights just aren't my strong suit, so I have to work on them. I think this gave me a good opportunity, no? Now, for the reason it took so long: The Blue Screen of Death!!! My computer crashed and I just now got it fixed. The first thing I did when I got it up and running was type this up and publish it!!! Okay, I'm putting a new poll up on my author page, so go and vote please!!! Again, it will impact the direction of the story! Thanks to all of you still reading!!!

-Kon