Disclaimer: I don't own any Azumanga Daioh characters. This story is rated R for language and explicit sexual content. Don't read it if you don't like it.

Note: This chapter, like the first chapter, contains some (edit)s towards the end. Again, if you would like to read the story without the (edits)s, you can find it at fosff dot net.

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Chapter 3

Kaorin peered out from behind the corner and watched as the two girls walked out of the pet store. Following them hadn't proved to be a very easy task, especially when she had followed them from school. The walls that lined the streets in the neighborhoods didn't always provide a corner to hide around. There would be long stretches of nothing but street and sidewalk, and her only hope of remaining hidden would be to stay as far back as possible until her targets were almost out of her sight.

Kaorin had followed Kagura all the way back to her house to find out exactly where she lived. This was a crucial bit of information that she would need if she was going to keep her sights on the athlete. It was fortunate that their neighborhoods weren't all that far away from each other.

Once Kagura's residence had been pin pointed, Kaorin dashed back to her own house, threw off her school uniform, and struggled into another skirt and long-sleeved shirt. Then as an afterthought she pulled on a sweater and grabbed a Giants baseball cap from her closet. Rule number one in following a person was to see and not be seen. She had never actively trailed anyone before, but it was just common sense to try and look as inconspicuous as possible.

When Kagura had left her house that evening, Kaorin had been right there waiting behind the wall on the other side of the street. Waiting was always the worst part. Her conscience couldn't even comprehend what would have happened if she got caught. No excuse that she could have contrived would have been sufficient enough to justify her presence in Kagura's neighborhood. It was still a chance that she had to take. She would never find anything substantial about the athlete if she only saw her at school. The most knowledge of a person came when they didn't know that they were being watched. Thus, her mental list of details began.

Kagura always walked in the middle of the sidewalk. More often than not, she kept her hands into the pockets of her jacket. Sometimes she would hum to herself. Any person who passed in the other direction would get sized up with a brief glance, and depending on their reaction, she would either grin or remain expressionless. This was something far different from Kaorin who was always the first to grin at a passer by and stayed more to the inner portion of a sidewalk.

Kaorin had followed Kagura to the mall where Sakaki had stood waiting outside one of the athletic apparel stores. At that time, Kaorin had been on the upper level of the mall peering down as she watched the two greet each other, and it was a good thing that she had been. Her reaction to seeing Miss Sakaki in a miniskirt was always the same: arousal followed shortly by a small twinge of guilt. Miss Sakaki had such wonderful, shapely legs. The skirt that she had to wear to school didn't do them the conforming justice that they deserved. Kaorin fantasized that if only she could have touched those legs, just once to graze her fingers against them, she never would have washed her hand again. Feeling herself become dizzy, she had closed her eyes tight and ducked her head between her arms. By the time she looked back up, the vision was gone. The girls had disappeared into the store.

The evening had taken a downward twist from there. Kaorin had followed them from store to store, always trying to keep close enough to pick up bits and pieces of their conversation. At the same time she wanted to keep herself far enough away to avoid suspicion. Several times she was sure that she had been spotted. It was usually Kagura who did the double takes in her general direction, but if indeed the athlete had seen her then she did a good job of not letting on to it. However, this was an infrequent occurence and Kaorin was mostly left free to continue her observations.

She had noticed that Kagura never touched Sakaki in a more than friendly manner, and Sakaki never stood very close to Kagura. Sometimes Kagura would frown at the taller girl and clench her fist, only to shrug it off a moment later. Sakaki paid no mind to these instances and responded to them in her usual one-word way. It was no wonder that pinning them as an intimate couple would have been difficult.

To hide away from Miss Sakaki felt wrong and Kaorin hated herself for it. She didn't want to be sneaky. Would it have been too much to ask just to spend a little time with the girl that she revered so much? Her previous attempts at conversation and engagement with Sakaki had all ended in failure. The circumstances had resorted her to this. If she was going to get Miss Sakaki, then she was going to have to play a little bit dirty.

When Kagura had finally purchased her one item for the evening, Kaorin had waited until she left the store to dash over and check the rack that the item had come from. Light blue exercise jackets and matching long pants, sizes four through six. Kagura must have been somewhere between 5'1" and 5'5". Kaorin was barely 5'0. She had wondered if Sakaki preferred girls who were closer to her own height.

Kaorin sighed and stepped out from the corner she had been hiding behind. It seemed as though the pet store had been the last stop, but if it wasn't then it didn't matter anyway. She had already gathered enough information about Kagura to know that she and the athlete were on two entirely different levels. If Kagura was really Miss Sakaki's type then she had no room to compete. With this heavy fact weighing upon her shoulders, she turned and headed back to the train station.

Lying awake in her bed that night, she knew that she had to do something. The current Kaorin didn't stand a chance against someone like Kagura. Whether it was confidence, athleticism, bust size, or even height, Kagura had her beat. The only exception to those aspects was in the field of academics. She made good grades while Kagura flaunted lowly scores.

There was a part of her that suggested she be happy for Miss Sakaki. Miss Sakaki certainly seemed to enjoy the time that she had with Kagura, but in a selfish way that wasn't good enough for her. If she was only given a chance then she could prove herself. Miss Sakaki would never find another girl like her who was willing to love her as much. Sighing, she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face into her pillow.

Kaorin's heart was kind and considerate, but it wasn't entirely noble. It wasn't right that she had been nothing but devoted to her idol for all that time, only to be rewarded with the image of Miss Sakaki as part of another's happy ending.

Something had to change. Tomorrow would mark the first day of her transformation. For the love of Miss Sakaki, Kaorin was willing to strip the boundaries of her identity and claim that of another. An invariable golden wolf in a mangy sheep's clothing. Anything was worth doing. Anything for Miss Sakaki.

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Kagura smiled softly as she looked upon the girl curled up beside her. Sakaki was sleeping peacefully, hugging a stuffed rabbit to her chest. Both of them were (edit).

The evening had turned out to be longer than expected. After they left the pet store, Kagura had walked Sakaki back to her house with the full intention of simply saying good night. When they got to the house they saw that there were no cars in the driveway and all of the lights were turned off. A note on the front door informed them that Sakaki's parents had left to attend an honorary dinner for a friend of theirs and that they would be home late.

The opportunity had been too rare and golden to pass up. They had (edit). Because of the extreme need for secrecy, they almost never (edit). When (edit). The couch had been their mutual target that night, but they never quite made it that far. Kagura had (edit). Afterwards they were quick to gather up their clothing and high tail it to Sakaki's bedroom where the last (edit).

It was now nearing midnight and Kagura knew that she should have been on her way home. Yet Sakaki had fallen asleep and she hated to just leave her. She inched close to the back of the slumbering girl and propped up on an elbow, resting her head to her hand. With her other hand she reached over and gently dusted Sakaki's bangs away from her face. She couldn't tell if Sakaki was blushing or not, though she could make out the smallest hint of a grin. It was no wonder why, considering the rampant, unbridled consummation that had taken place between them only minutes before. A similar grinpulledat her own lips.

Kagura still remembered her first conversation with Sakaki. It had been at the beginning of their second year after the sports fest where Sakaki had beaten her in almost every single event that they competed in. She had never been beaten by another girl until that day and Sakaki became an instant subject of intrigue. The interest was not returned, however. Sakaki hadn't even remembered her. From that day on it had been a one-sided rivalry. Kagura spent most of her time trying to challenge Sakaki, and consequently because of that time that they were together, they became rather good friends.

Somewhere along the timeline of their friendship there happened a shift in relation. Kagura couldn't have pin pointed it, and Sakaki probably couldn't have either. The concept of love had been completely out of the question. Love was heavy and deep, not conceivable by girls as young as they were. Neither of them had called it love. It had been a mutual insinuation of a shared sensation that for Kagura, had at first only happened whenever she challenged Sakaki to a competition. Sakaki wouldn't win all of the time, though she did win most of the time. She was naturally athletic and Kagura found herself drawn to that talent. Finally there was someone who could provide a decent contest. Yet over time it wasn't only the talent that Kagura became attracted to.

One social boundary at a time, they came closer to each other until it had happened one day after school. The sun had just begun to set and Kagura was finishing up her last lap around the school yard. After school, while most other kids headed home or to the library to study, three evenings a week Kagura stayed to continue her endurance training for the swim team. When she had stopped that evening, she had looked up to see Sakaki standing on the other side of the field, watching her. Nothing needed to be said between them. Both of them already knew. Walking home that night they had dared to hold hands, and that had been the beginning of it.

Kagura had come to learn more details about Sakaki than probably anyone else had ever cared to. Because of her withdrawn nature, Sakaki had never had very many friends. She had resorted to collecting stuffed animals, not in place of human friendship, but as compensation for the lack of it.

Then there had been the cats. Kagura hadn't understood Sakaki's attraction to them, especially since none of the cats seemed to like her very much. Of particular interest was the little grey cat that they often encountered on their way to and from school. Each time Sakaki would reach out, and each time it would respond unfailingly with the points of its fanged maw.

For all of the cat's painful offenses, Sakaki never retaliated against it. She wouldn't have laid a hand on it even if she had wanted to. Kagura had been witness to this odd association when Sakaki had allowed the cat to bite her hand just so she would have a chance to pet it. She had expected to see a cringe, a frown, tears, or anything but the faint blush in the girl's cheeks. Sakaki was masochistic in her desire to create peace between the cat and herself. If biting her was what the cat wanted then she would allow it as long as she got to pet him in return. Disciplining him as Kagura had suggested hadn't even crossed her mind. It was this aspect that made Kagura realize that Sakaki was not the cold, stoic girl that everyone assumed her to be. The real Sakaki probably would have been a big let down to all the girls in the school who idolized her for being cool.

Kagura settled down behind her girlfriend and rested her head to the pillow. She slipped her arm under Sakaki's and sought out her hand so that their fingers could lace together.

A friendly rivalry, a functioning relationship, or maybe they were just really good friends who were open enough to admit love and affection. The exact definition of what they were would never become clear. It was never clear in any relationship. No matter what they may have been, Kagura was willing to accept it for what it was. It made her happy and that's all that mattered.

Sakaki shifted in her sleep and relaxed her hold on her stuffed rabbit just enough to allow Kagura's hand to fit with her own. They were a statistical impossibility as two high school girls who had been together for almost a year. They had taken risks to keep their relationship intact and Kagura was taking a risk right now just by being there in her bed. The consequences would be devastating if anyone found out about them. They would be sent to separate schools, denied any further contact with each other, and possibly sent out for corrective behavioral therapy. Yet Kagura had stayed, if only for the opportunity to give them a little more time together. Sakaki had accepted it. Kagura was the only girl who didn't fawn over her like she was some kind of a super star just because she was tall and quiet. The lack of drooling attention made her feel normal.....And somehow, it made her feel cute.

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Note: Finally I got to post something. XD