Chapter 8
Raihiko had made it to her destination with zero problems. She let out a sigh as she silently vlosed the door abd turned on the lights. She walked over to the open area as she stretched. She wasted no time in pulling her tonfa out and began to twirl them expertly in simple little warm ups, getting a good feel for her beloved weapons. It felt so good to have them in her hands again. As she got further into it she blocked out everything else as she got further and further into her trance. It was wonderful. Just what she needed.
From inside the bar, Anna slowly slipped out and noticed the gym lights were on. She had no idea who would be training at such an hour, but she could only assume it was a hot, well-built man. She slid down the hallway and cracked open the door, only to be hit with major disappointment as her eyes fixed on the annoying woman she had encountered before. The one who took Chaolan's attention from HER. But, oho! What was this? Weapons? She grinned and made her way in, leaned against the wall and adjusted her cleavage accordingly. "Aha… So you are a tonfa user, hm? I simply cannot abide by them. I'm more fond of guns myself."
Being in her own world, Raihiko hadnt noticed the new body until she spoke. Rai twirled around, her Tonfa out in the offensive position until she realized who it was. Great. Well. Maybe if she faked nothing was wrong. Because nothing was wrong. She wasnt doing a single thing wrong. Wait. She was talking. Something about guns.
"My Sensei says guns are for cowards who can't defend themselves properly." she said as she went back to her complex twirls and spun her tonfa around effortlessly before flipping back.
Anna let out a long, drawn out chuckle. "Sounds like your sensei is just bitter he's a relic living in a modern world. I can assure you that I have defended myself countless times with a gun and I fully intend on doing so as many times as it takes." She pushed her hand into her cleavage. "But, I don't take them for granted. I do have other means." She produced small throwing knives and threw them at a nearby dummy. "We all have to look out for ourselves any way we can."
Raihiko stopped and looked at her as she threw her knife. That was enough for today. She didny feel right about this woman. She made fun of her Sensei and he wasnt here to defend himself. That was very wrong indeed. She quickly stowed her tonfa before bowing mockingly at the woman.
"Gomen. I must retire. Must be on my toes for the tournament." she said as she stood and headed for the door. She did not like this woman. At all.
Anna smirked at the woman and rested a hand on her hip. "Oh? So soon? What a pity… Here I was hoping to see these so-called skills of yours that you seem to place so highly." She brushed a hand through her hair and stood to face Raihiko. "See you tomorrow then, sugar… In the arena."
Her words surprised Rai, but she wouldnt let on. She continued her stride out the door and to the lift. Once on she finally let her facade down. The fucking nerve of that witch!
But her words echoed in her ears. See her in the arena? Did that mean she was against the woman? How did these people find out who they were against?! She made a note to ask Sergei next she saw him. She made sure to note the fact that the woman had daggers in her clevage. Maybe she had others hidden? She would have to be careful. She had to really focus. She would not let the bimbo win. Screw that.
Anna grinned to herself smugly as she left and soon she also exited the room after taking back her blades that were still embedded in the training dummy. Once back in the bar, she was approached by Chaolan. "Where did you run off to?"
"Oh, no where sugar. I was just… Getting some air."
Back in his room, Sergei rolled over in his sleep and snorted himself awake. The dream was most odd. He sat up and scratched his head confused. He was very troubled by it, in fact, so much so that he was out of bed pacing around his room like a mad man. He had no choice in the matter. He would have to sort things out. He threw on his trousers and shirt, loosely buttoned it up and made for Rai's room as fast as he could. He knocked on the door, eyes firmly on the ground.
Raihiko was in the middle of one hell of a dream. Very… Very inappropriate.
She groaned as she ewas aroused from her lovely dream. Was someome knocking on her door? Fuck. Who the hell could it be?
She rolled out of bed, straightening her kasaiben, tying it tighter as she trudged to the door, grabbign a tonfa on her way. Who knew who it was. She opened the door slightly, looking out. Her eyes widened as she saw who was at her door. She opened it quickly for him and stood back to allow him to enter. She walked ober and set her tonfa back with its twin.
"Is everythig ok?" she asked as she sat on the end of her bed.
He looked around for a moment, clearly troubled, before entering. As soon as he was inside he swooped towards her, grabbed hold of one of her hands and fell to one knee, his head held low. He breathed deeply a few times before he finally managed to force out words. "Pozhaluysta, prosti menya! I…" He scrunched his eyes shut. "I am afraid I have done something terrible!"
Raihiko didnt know what to think as he grabbed her hand.
"W-what could be so terrible?" she wasnt gonna lie. He was freaking her out. What did he do? Did he set her up? Was he there to assassinate her and her kind gestures got through to him? She had no idea what he had said before, probably russian. But she was thoroughly freaked at this moment.
He apologised several times before he finally looked up into her face, an almost desperate look on his face. "I…" He took a second to gauge her reaction. "I… Had… very ungentlemanly dream about you. I am sorry!" He hung his head again. "Please forgive."
Raihiko looked at him, her face flushing as she realized what he was talking about. He…. Had a vulgar dream about her? That was what was so wrong? She couldnt help herself. She laughed. She shouldnt have. But she did. She reached down to take his chin in her hand and brought his face up so their eyes met. Electricity shot down her arm as she did so.
"Gomen'nassai! I dont mean to laugh but that is what this is about? I thougjt it was more serious!" she was relieved. She very much figured that something terrible was about to happen. But wait… Why wwould he be having such dreams about her?
As she brought his chin up, he stared into her face for a moment, but as soon as she'd finished talking he hung his head in shame again, stray strands of hair trailing down his cheeks. It was inappropriate of him to have such dreams. It was something he knew he wouldn't be able to kep inside and he certainly would not have been able to face her the following day if he'd have kept it to himself. He responded in her own language, not that he knew much of it, but he felt it more respectful. "Hai…"
Raihiko didnt want him to feel bad… But shr was curious. She moved to kneel in front of him, forcing him to look at her once more.
"Sergei… Is that how you feel about me?" she asked just above a whisper as she rubbed the scar on his chin with her thumb. It was a bold move, but she had to know. And oh… How she wished she could trace every scar he had… The ruimed flesh was absolutely beautiful in her eyes.
She wasnt entirely sure how to react to that. At least he didnt say no, right? What was she thinking? She just met the guy! And rae had saidbhe was not exactly a kitten to play with… But to see him so… Vulnerable in front of her as he was… He wasn't dressed up entirely, if anything he looked as thougj he just threw the first thing on he saw, and half assed at that too. "Well. While we are apologizing i must also. I too had a rather… Unprofessional dream about you as well, before you woke me up." she finally managed to force out. She couldnt believe she was telling him about her dream… But he looked so distraught! Maybe if he knew he wasnt the only one…
"Gomen'nassai. It seems we are both terrible." she tried to joke as she forced a smile.
Sergei slowly rose to his feet and looked down at her as she spoke. She had also dreamed about the same thing? There was an old saying about having the same dream as another… As she apologised, he bowed again, his eyes lowered to the floor, straightened up again and stared at her. He had seen her as a fellow competitor before, but it was as if the dream had flipped a switch in his head. He felt intensely awkward.
As he stood, then bowed, she felt maybe she had offended him. He looked completely different now, nearly unreadable as he looked up at him.
"I… Am sorry. I dony know why i said that. I… Just forget it." she said as she lowered her head in shame. For men to have dreams like that was normal. For women, apparently it was odd. Perhaps he was offended after all.
He could see the troubled look wash over her face. That was not at all acceptable. He swooped forwards, placed two fingers under her chin and raised her head much like she had done, only this time he arched his back so that his face was close to hers. Once he was satisfied with the proximity, he placed a very light kiss on her lips, straightened back up, clicked his heels together and made for the door.
She sat still, the gesture not quite registering in her mind just yet. His lips were so soft against hers. Before he could open the door she quickly stood.
"W-wait! You're… Just gonna kiss me like that and leave?" she wasnt really upset per se.. Just confused. How could she be this attacted to a man she had just met? It was mind boggling. She stood her ground as she watched him.
He stopped for a moment, considering his words (Or lack thereof) carefully, before turning back to face her. He lowered his head and took a breath. "Forgive… I…" Sergei raised his head so their eyes met. "It is late. So I thought you… Need sleep. Tournament tomorrow."
She was nervous as she walked up to him. Yes. He was right. She would need her sleep and save her energy for the fight the following day. But she was no longer tired. Her adrenaline was coursing through her veins, her body was tingling from the electricity that followed.
Rai moved closer to him, as she grabbed his collar to attempt to bring him closer to her level. She let out a shakey breath before she finally leaned up and her eyes slowly closed as she pressed her lips against his.
He stood there motionless for a few moments, before he finally realised that he was being very rude by not responding. He slowly arched his back so that she would not have to strain so hard to reach and just allowed her to continue to kiss him. He pushed back, ever so lightly, so that she knew he wasn't rejecting it.
As she realized he wasnt kissing back as much as she'd hoped, he was pulling away, she felt silly. Her face heated up as she looked at him sheepishly.
"I..am sorry. I just…" she didnt know how to finish that sentence. She felt so awkward. She had never had anything more than a few flings when ahe stayed at the university so she was really no good at… This.
"I… Will see you tomorrow?" she asked as she backed away a bit. She didnt know what else to do.
He blinked at her in confusion, his back still arched forwards. Had he not returned it correctly? Had he offended her somehow? Was it his breath? Oh no, it must have been that onion sandwich he had at dinner! He straightened up, cleared his throat and immedietly placed a hand over his mouth just in case.
"Mm."
Maybe she was just that bad of a kisser? She never felt so awkward. Her anxiety was getting the best of her. She wasn't sure what to do. So she changed the subject. "I am against Anna tomorrow. That woman who was mean facing me this morning. H-how does everyone find out who they are against? I never found out…"
Sergei, hand still covering his mouth, looked away for a moment, before looking back at her. He didn't like the awkward tension. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife. He made sure his hand was firmly over his mouth before finally speaking.
"Mmmphhhfff phhmmrff."
She blinked as she tilted her head to the side.
"I… Am sorry? I did not quite understand.." she said as she folded her arms inside her white Nagajuben as she watched him. He was acting strange. Perhaps he was disgusted with her? Maybe she should have just let him leave. So infuriating!
He slowly moved his hand from his mouth and averted his eyes. "Apologies. I thought… Breath was bad… You find…" He cleared his throat. "Matches in conference room."
She blinked. "What? No! No that was… I thought maybe you… I offended you is all… And… Wait… There is a conference room?" she tilted her head to the side. Of course. That explained a lot. "I actually… Enjoyed the kiss." she could have slapped herself. She was a fighter not some lovesick fucking teen! Why the hell did he have such an affect on her?
He slowly peeled his hand away and gave her a polite bow. He had not spoken so much in a long time and he was feeling somewhat parched, his throat felt so dry. At least, that's what he assumed the cause was. "As did I… If… Perhaps… Again sometime?" He wouldn't mind trying again. It felt strangely pleasant. He had done it in a kind gesture so she didn't feel bad, but he had to admit, it made him feel rather nice. That was not something that happened too often outside of the ring.
He wanted to do it again? He … Wasnt repulsed by her after all? The new information made her stomach flip and her skin began to tingle.
"I… Actually would like that… Soon." she smiled as her face warmed. Why did he have such an affect on her? What would happen if they were pitted against one another at a later date? What if… No. She had to think in the now. She would worry herself into a panic attack if she thought about it too long.
He stood as straight as he could and nodded to her. That would be most enjoyable indeed. Perhaps he should… No. That would be too bold. Too ungentlemanly. He would wait for her to give him permission, or do it herself. It was bad of him to kiss her without asking in the first place without piling on the sins even more. "Da. Soon."
