Chapter 19

Hmm ok, so if I do this like this...Perfect! Hitomi made a little dance in her mind, writing down on her notepad. She was currently buried deep inside her books, doing a little bit of studying to be prepared for the next semester even though the lectures wouldn't start for a good while.

She put her pen aside, gave her solution a quick once over and, when she was satisfied closed it, putting it aside, then closed the book which she had used as well.

Taking off her reading glasses she made her way into the kitchen, opting for a quick snack and something to drink. She decided on a simple sandwich and orange juice. Her gaze wandered over to the clock while she ate and her eyes widened as she saw the time. That late already?

Leifang's plane was set to be arriving at the airport soon. A few days after what Hitomi now labeled as the Bedroom Incident she had gotten an e-mail from the Chinese, telling her when she would arrive and also asking her if she would be so kind to help her get her things to the hotel she would be staying in.

Hitomi had protested, telling her over and over that it was ok to just stay at her place, but her friend wouldn't have any of it, saying it wouldn't be good if she relied on her for every little thing. In the end Hitomi just conceded, letting Leifang have her way.

It was probably for the better, what with her new found attraction towards her friend, which Hitomi decided would be best to simply ignore until it would fade away by itself.

Worked for Hayate, would work for Leifang as well. It was hard enough to deal with the fact that she was into girls as well as boys, something that made showering with her team members really uncomfortable now, as she found herself checking them out each and every time. And it really wasn't just a passing fancy, deep inside she found herself enjoying the view. That she started to get used to the fact so quickly didn't help matters either.

With a sigh she put away her food and covered her face with the palm of her hands, rubbing it a little as if massaging her face like that could give her the answer to all of her problems.

She groaned into her hands upon realizing that she would have to tell her father. It wouldn't be much of a deal, but talking to one's parent about anything sex related was just embarrassing no matter what the topic. But she had to tell him eventually. You didn't keep secrets like that to family, at least in her opinion.

Hitomi lifted her hands from her face and took a deep breath. "SHIT!"she shouted at the top of her lungs, venting her feelings a little bit and already feeling better. She then returned to her snack.

After finishing up she cleaned up her kitchen and went into her bedroom to change clothes, stopping before the mirror as she was about to head outside, realigning her hairband, which had become a bit loose while she changed, and inspected her face to see if there was anything she needed to fix.

She halted when she realized what she did and gave herself a mental kick in the ass. What are you doing!? You're just picking up your friend and not going on a date with her!

The Karateka shook her head, grabbed her keys, put on her boots and walked to the next bus station that would take her to the airport.

During the ride she kept her thoughts occupied with the various topics that she still would have to study later, math being an especially big pain in the ass. She wasn't bad at it, but she always had difficulty learning the topic.

I think I'll just take something easy later, no need to make by head catch fire she thought, watching the passersby on the streets as the bus continued to drive towards its destination.

At the airport Hitomi was rather glad that is wasn't as big as some other ones in the country, thus she didn't need to wade through a sea of people like she would otherwise.

She checked her watch again. Twenty minutes left.

The brunette shrugged and sat down in a vacant seat crossing her legs and decided to simply wait here until Leifang would come.

She hummed to herself, pulling out a pack of bubblegum out of her pocket and pulled out a stripe, putting it into her mouth. Another quick look at her watch told her that there were still eighteen minutes left.

Sighing she started to get the feeling those would be really long eighteen minutes.

"Delayed!?" Hitomi asked the lady behind the counter, putting her hands on it and leaning forward slightly. She had waited for the plane to arrive until she noticed that even after forty-five minutes it hadn't landed and, having gotten worried, decided to ask why it took so long for the plane to land.

"Yes, there was a problem that had to be resolved before they could take off, but the plane will arrive in an hour and a half. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience." the lady said.

"Yeah, well. Thanks for the information."she said and pushed herself off the counter, walking back to the seat she was occupying and letting herself sag into it. "Great."

What was she supposed to do now?

Going back home would just be a waste of time since she couldn't get anything done before having to head out again. So she would have to kill some time here.

She continued to sit there, pretty much only twiddling her thumbs and whistling the odd melody or two until she got tired of that and started to play I spy with herself, which wasn't really as fun for a lengthy period of time.

With nothing else to do she decided she might as well explore the place.

The Karateka walked across the hallways of the airport lazily, seeing people come and go, watching the security staff do their job, which currently was just waltzing over the place showing presence and watched some of the planes that took off.

She should have brought something to read with her.

Luckily she found a small café on her voyage through the airport, so at least she could drink something while she waited.

Hitomi sat down at a table, taking a quick look at the menu, then ordered a cup of hot chocolate and a piece of apple pie when the waiter asked what she wanted to order, giving the man a small smile. She then leaned back, simply closing her eyes as she waited.

It didn't take long until he came back with her order and she thanked him before tasting the pie, enjoying the rich taste.

The hot chocolate was exactly how she liked it as well.

Propping up her chin on the palm of her hand she watched the other people, small families that returned from their vacation, couples holding hands as they headed for the exit.

Her thoughts turned to her friend; what was she doing right now?

Another sigh made its way past her lips. Why was she always so unlucky when it came to people she was interested in? She could remember a time when it wasn't like that, having had a pretty normal boyfriend in a pretty normal relationship that ended in a normal way.

Then all of a sudden she found a guy, who would later turn out to be a ninja of all things, and from then on it was nothing but trouble ending with her feelings not being returned.

Really it was better if she just ignored it until it would go away. She knew it but in her mind she already pictured her friend's beautiful lips, her eyes, cute nose and above all things her legs, which had to be the most perfect legs she'd ever laid eyes upon and would simply-

She shook her head violently. Dammit Hitomi, stop! She slapped herself on the cheeks to get back her focus and forced herself to think of her studies while getting back to enjoying her order.

And the next.

And the one after that. It wasn't like she really had anything to do and the apple pie was really good. It was no Sachertorte but you couldn't have everything, right?

She knew it would come back to bite her and she would have to bust her ass to burn those calories, but that was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

With that she occupied herself until it was time that her friend would arrive.

When the announcement came that the flight would arrive the only thing going through her mind was Finally!

She paid the bill, which was higher than she'd liked, made her way to where she was over an hour ago and sat down, waiting for the small rush of people that would come through the gate watching for any sign of her friend.

And there she was passing an elderly couple, a cheerful smile on her lips, making Hitomi's insides tingle as she got up and walked towards her friend, who spotted her. "Hitomi!" the Chinese called, waving.

They stopped in front of one another and Hitomi found herself strangely reminded of when she left Hong Kong, not knowing what she should do as she looked at her, trying to keep focused on her face and not to look anywhere indecent, especially since Leifang was wearing a shirt that showed of a nice amount of cleavage.

"Hey..." she said simply, returning the smile with a smaller one of her own. The Chinese looked at her as if she was expecting something, putting her hand on her hips and tilting her head a little. "What?"

"Aren't you gonna make good on your threat from a few weeks ago?" The Chinese asked. Hitomi looked at her in confusion. Her friend used her hand to gesticulate while being so gracious to tell her what she meant. "You know 'Hugs and kisses, hugs and kisses everywhere'"

Hitomi felt blood rush to her face as she flushed slightly. Yeah she had said that and was already starting to regret it. Imperceptibly hesitant she took a step forward and hugged her friend, who returned it immediately. She closed her eyes, feeling herself heat up from the closeness and, without thinking, planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Well now I feel welcome." Leifang giggled and they let go of each other. The German finally dared to give her a once over. She looked...good, but really when did she not?

The twosome picked up the Chinese's luggage and hailed a cab, Hitomi telling the driver to which hotel he needed to drive, then whistled through her teeth when they arrived since it was a five star one, but really she shouldn't be surprised at all.

After Leifang checked in they were shown to the Chinese's room, which was, of course, one of the best in the whole hotel and Hitomi found herself in the same situation as back in New York. High life she thought.

"Yes, thank you." Leifang told the bellhop, who took his leave, then turned towards her closing the door. "Would you mind helping me unpack?" she asked, smiling.

"Sure, no sweat." They unpacked all of the Chinese's clothes and other articles, Hitomi taking extra care to put everything away neatly, but avoiding the more intimate type of clothes like the plague. She didn't need more things to make her uncomfortable. She had enough of that for today, thank you very much.

After unpacking they sat down on the queen-sized bed, chatting a little about this and that.

"So, you have some plans for tonight?" Leifang asked spontaneously, catching the Karateka off guard. She looked around the suite, trying to think up an answer. She had to study but it wouldn't be the end of the world if she took a break for today, but on the other hand it might be better if she left for now; it was unfair but she needed to be alone right now.

"Sorry, I have to study for my next semester and I'll be rather busy with that for a while." she told her, genuinely feeling sorry.

"It's all right." Leifang gave her a reassuring smile, then patted her hand, causing a few butterflies to flutter in her stomach. She needed to get out. "Better if I get used to the different time zone anyway. So how about tomorrow then?

"I don't know..."

"I could help you study." Leifang suggested. "And maybe we could make some food together too, I really enjoyed when we did it the last time."

Hitomi looked into her friend's eyes and already knew that she couldn't say no to her. Leifang was really looking forward to it and part of her was feeling already guilty for blowing her off for the day. "Yeah, sure, why not?" she gave her friend a smile.

Leifang gave her a beautiful one in return.

Hitomi had a feeling that tomorrow would be more distracting than anything else.

I think Hitomi is starting a really unhealthy habit there.But she sure doesn't have it easy. Who in their right mind would get the hots for a girl like Leifang?
...
Wait, don't answer that.

Just a little heads up, I might be able to upload two chapters next week if my holiday on thursday as well as the weekend is kind to me. But regardless of that: see you next week.