College life was a different thing, for sure.

Hitomi had a lot on her plate once she'd gotten her dad's permission to move out. There were the classes, of course. That was a problem she didn't expect to have. She had hoped, when she began her semester, that she would've been able to reasonably group her classes together. That would've been the dream. Problem was, though, was that some of the classes she had to take for her degree ended up being spaced out during the day. Some days had more classes than others, too, so that made planning out the week ahead difficult at first.

There was also the need for money. Believe it or not, Hitomi still needed to support herself. Food, heating and air, electricity? None of those were handed to her for free, so she had to spend a little time figuring out what she could do. She'd found a job as an assistant instructor at a local karate dojo that, surprisingly, paid well. Maybe being in the Top 3 of two Dead or Alive tournaments had something to do with that.

But right now? None of that mattered. All that mattered was the TV in her apartment's living room and the eggs cooking away in the frying pan in her hand.

"I can't see anything. Just the same ol' Brett Cassidy. Maybe I should smack it outta ya?"

Hitomi winced a bit at the loud crack that came from the TV.

"Wow, he really didn't hold back with that slap, did he?"

She continued to watch her breakfast cook, listening to the TV continuing to play the OurTube video she had up. Today was a rare day off during her week; she had no classes she needed to attend, and the dojo was closed for the day. Today was all about her.

So, to start off, she worked on a big breakfast. Eggs were finishing up, pancakes sat hot on a plate nearby. Hitomi could already feel the rumblings of hunger, and she was ready to dig in.

"Ooh, this is gonna be so good!"

Once her breakfast was finished, she'd taken her plate along with a small jar of syrup to her living room. The World Elite Wrestling highlights she was listening to filled the room, causing her to wince as she turned the volume down. She sat down, ready to dig into her food and watch the recap of the show she missed. Just as her knife started to dig into a pancake, however, a sound caused her to stop.

A knock at the door.

She growled slightly as she stood up and walked to the door.

"Whoever this is better have a good reason for ruining my morning, or I'm gonna give them such a punch!"

She nearly yanked the door open, ready to let whoever her visitor was have it. One look at the familiar face on the other side, however, cooled her off in a near instant.

The young blonde boy smiled widely as he brought a hand up in a small wave.

"Hey."

"Eliot!" Hitomi cried giddily, "It's been so long! What are you doing here?"

The British fighter scratched at the back of his head. "Well, I was actually in the area, so I thought I'd stop by."

Hitomi's smile faded in favor of a raised eyebrow. "You just happened to be in Germany?"

"It's kind of a funny story. Mind if I come in?"

Hitomi reached forward, grabbing Eliot by the wrist and nearly yanking him into the apartment.

A couple of minutes, as well as a politely-turned down invitation for a breakfast portion for him, passed before the two were sat in her living room. Eliot looked at the TV, watching the new highlight video playing on it.

"World Elite Wrestling? I didn't know you were into that?"

"Oh, yeah! Ever since Tina signed on with them, I've been watching whenever I can. She looks like she's having a lot of fun with it."

Eliot nodded. "That's good. I just never would've pegged you as a wrestling fan."

"Well, between the Armstrongs and La Mariposa, I think we got enough proof at the tournaments that pro wrestling can work in real life."

"Good point."

The two sat in silence for a few moments, watching the show in front of them. Eliot would occasionally peek out of the corner of his eye, smiling slightly at seeing Hitomi being fully engrossed. Another minute or two before Hitomi broke their silence.

"So, were you gonna tell me what you're doing in Germany?"

Eliot blinked at that. "Huh?"

Hitomi turned to him. "Remember? You told me there was a reason that you're in the country? What is it?"

"Oh," Eliot answered before blowing a raspberry, " that. So, you know Brad Wong? My roommate and training partner?"

Hitomi put a finger to her chin, thinking for a moment.

"Oh, the drunk guy?"

"Well, he doesn't drink as much these days, but yeah, that guy. Anyway, let me take a second to contradict myself. We're basically on an adventure right now. He wants to taste different drinks around the world, just to say that he did. Naturally, I had to come with him to make sure he doesn't make too big of an ass of himself."

"Wait, so if you're supposed to be watching him, why are you here?"

Eliot waved a hand. "He's passed out right now after visiting a bar or two last night. I figure I've got a few hours to kill before I have to go back to making sure Brad doesn't get himself killed."

"Makes sense. So, why visit me?"

Eliot shrugged at that. "I just thought that if I had to pass time, I might as well do it with someone I enjoy being around. At least, someone that isn't dead to the world and reeking of booze."

The two shared a small laugh before settling into another comfortable quiet.

"You know what we should do?" Hitomi asked.

"What's that?"

"We should have a sparring match."

"Seriously?" Eliot asked, "We talk to each other for the first time in a couple of months, and the thing that pops into your mind is a fight?"

Hitomi giggled. "Yeah, I know, but having the routine that I do's kinda made me a little restless. I haven't really had a chance to cut loose since the last tourney, y'know?"

"Don't you have a job teaching karate?"

"Yeah, but it's not the same. Being in DOA's kinda got me hooked on fighting other styles."

"Where would we even go?" he asked, looking around the small apartment, "There's definitely not enough room in here, and I really doubt people would be okay with us fighting in the street."

"I've got a key to the roof," Hitomi answered. She giggled a little at the odd look he gave her. "Being a top contender makes people come up with perks to give you, apparently."

"Alright, fine," Eliot sighed, "I guess we could go for a couple of minutes."

"Awesome! Meet me by the staircase in five! I gotta get changed!"

Before Eliot could say another word, Hitomi bounced off of the sofa and ran back into her room. He sat in silence for a moment, the TV acting as background noise, as he watched her run off.

"Okay, but what am I supposed to wear?"

Internally, Hitomi was thankful that the answer was, apparently, "not a shirt." Once she'd finished changing into her gi, she'd met with Eliot and unlocked the door to the roof. The sun shone brightly on them, though a slight breeze kept things from being too hot. Eliot had apparently forgotten that he was with Hitomi, as he'd thrown to the T-shirt he was wearing off to the side and began working through a warm-up routine barechested.

Hitomi finished her stretches, watching her sparring partner as he worked through his own warm-up. There was a flow to his movements that she was drawn to. Her friendship with Leifang had planted an interest in Chinese martial arts. The often circular motion of the many diverse techniques stood in stark contrast to the more direct-to-the-point moves in Japanese styles. It made the sparring session between the two young women, along with the formal tournament matches, more interesting and more of a challenge for Hitomi.

Eliot doing them, however, caused her to notice things a little more closely. She could almost see his flexing with each motion. Small beads of sweat began to form along his body, rolling along his skin with each passing second. Hitomi never noticed that fact that staring so intently at him. She would later argue that she was watching him to see if there were any weaknesses in his style that she could find.

Neither of them bought the excuse, not even years later.

"You ready, Hitomi?" He asked, snapping her out of her daze.

"Oh, yeah! Ready when you are!"

Eliot smirked. "Alright then, good luck!"

"You too!"

The two exchanged quick bows before settling into their fighting stances. Hitomi noticed the differences between the two of them almost immediately. Hitomi bounced lightly on her feet, her heels almost never touching the ground while Eliot never budged. She kept her hands up, though loose instead of balled up in fists. Eliot, on the other hand, kept his down low, near his waist.

She knew in the back of her head that his hand position meant nothing. Just because they were down, didn't mean his guard was.

Eliot smirked. "That hot up here?"

"Haha, very funny. It's not that bad."

"You're probably right, but I wouldn't know. I'm wearing shoes."

Hitomi's eyes narrowed slightly. The two held their ground for few moments, the cool breeze helping to keep them alert. Before long, however, Hitomi made a move. She stepped in so quickly, only the most seasoned of martial artists would've been caught off-guard. Eliot, to his credit, happened to be such a martial artist. Instead of being surprised, he took a step of his own back, forcing the punch the karateka had thrown to fall just short. What did surprise him about the attack, though, was the force of the intended blow. Hitomi had become well known around the world as a fighter with almost terrifying strength. Her livestreamed matches showcased just how powerful she could be. Eliot knew about that, but what he didn't know was how seriously Hitomi wanted to take this sparring match.

The air from the punch that blew into him hard enough to blast some of the sweat off told him everything he needed to know. Eliot's eyes hardened for a moment before he snapped into action. Before she could pull her fist back, he took a step to the side, one forward, and pivoted on his front foot, allowing him to slam the side of his body into hers. The move sent the karateka flying back a few feet, landing hard on her back.

"Ow," she groaned, pushing herself up onto her elbows, "what was that for?"

"You started it!" he cried, "You were the one coming at me, guns blazing!"

Hitomi growled, quickly getting to her feet. She ran in on him, hoping to get him to spring her quickly forming trap. He did, quickly throwing his hands up toward her head. She leaned forward, forcing his attack to miss high. She then struck with an open palm to his chin before lifting him off the ground. She flipped him over her shoulders, dropping him hard on the ground before throwing a punch at his head. She stopped an inch away from making contact, forcing the British kung-fu fighter to flinch.

Hitomi giggled a bit. "Gotcha."

Eliot didn't respond. Instead, he took a chance. He had never learned to fight from his back. Gen Fu's lessons never covered that kind of situation, implying that Eliot wouldn't need to do so. Instead of relying on what he was taught, he chose to act on impulse. He grabbed the sleeve of Hitomi's gi and yanked as hard as he could. Hitomi, who wasn't ready for such an action, quickly lost her balance and yelped as she stumbled forward. Her foot got caught on his head, causing her to trip. She managed to roll as she fell, landing on her back with her head on his abdomen.

The two lay on the rooftop for some time, neither of them wanting to move. Eliot because he didn't want to risk Hitomi's head dropping to the ground. Hitomi because she found him comfortable.

"You, uh...you want to get up?"

Hitomi giggled. "Not really."

A few more seconds passed. Hitomi found the feeling of Eliot's breathing comforting. It didn't hurt that, at one point, he'd brought a hand down and carefully threaded his fingers through her hair.

"We really should get up, you know?"

"Why?"

"Well, for one, I'm gonna have to go check in Brad at some point."

Another giggle. "Okay, but how about you give me a good reason."

"We need to finish our match?"

Hitomi nuzzled into him a bit. "Not good enough."

Eliot smiled, though she couldn't see it. "Okay, how about this: I can't exactly take you out on a date like this." Hitomi snapped her head up at that.

"Okay, that's a pretty good reason. Is it alright if we finish up first, though?"

"Sure, why not?"

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