Chapter 21

Hitomi leaned over the book she had burrowed from the university's library yesterday, deeply engrossed in the text, taking notes occasionally when she found something that she thought was important.

A sigh made her look up directly at her friend, who had propped her chin in her folded hands looking back at the Karateka. She had been helping her study for the past few days ever since she arrived, but today she seemed a bit...sullen?

"What's wrong?" she asked her friend, who removed one of her hands from under her chin.

"Nothing. Well, nothing serious. But don't you think studying the whole day," she pointed towards the books on the table. "Is a bit boring? It's been all you've done since I came. And you were at your father's dojo earlier too. What I'm trying to say is: why don't we do something fun today?"

"Fun?" Hitomi raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, we could go out tonight, just the two of us. Everyone needs a break." Leifang said and gave her a smile that made it hard for Hitomi to refuse.

Hitomi took off her glasses and ran a hand over her face, then moved it to the back of her neck, massaging it slightly. Even if she wanted to refuse, Leifang was right. She had been sitting there ever since she came home from the dojo and now it was evening. She had tried too hard to focus on her studies so that she wouldn't have to think about other certain matters currently occupying her mind, but in the end it only stressed her out more. She needed a break. A simple night out would be nice.

Sure she would spend it with the person that she was currently attracted to and she knew it would make her a little uncomfortable later on. Still, it would at least help her relax a little.

And who knows, maybe she would find someone else that might strike her fancy more than her friend did.

"Sure. Why not." she said and her friend's face lit up.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, then her face became thoughtful. "Hmm, I will need to get ready and changed for tonight though, so I think I'll head over to the hotel now to take a bath and all that. Do you know a place we could go to?"

"Um no, I don't exactly spend my evenings at town all the time. But I can ask around. Just gimme a call later once you're ready and I'll pick you up from the hotel."

"Sure, it's a date then."

Please don't say it like that Hitomi thought, shifting in place.

She accompanied her to the door and waved her off, closing the door behind her and leaning against it with her back, listening to the clacking of her friend's heels echoing through the hallway. She took a deep breath and exhaled it heavily.

Keep cool, Hitomi. You can do this, you have to do this and when it's over you can manage the rest of her stay with no problems. She told herself and rubbed her face with one hand, then ran it through her hair, stopping at her headband.

"Alrighty." she said and headed back into the living room to get some more studying done. After about an hour and a half she put her things away and headed into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and taking care of other aspects of her personal hygiene while she was at it.

She looked at her reflection, brushing her pinky across her eyebrows checking if they needed some plucking and nodded in satisfaction. She then grabbed a bit of lip gloss and lifted it to her lips, but halted a hair's breadth away.

Hitomi looked at the make up article, then at herself, contemplating what she should do. With a sigh she closed it and put it away, grabbing a brush and running it through her hair, then put back her trademark hairband, smiling at herself.

She pulled the towel from her body, throwing it into the laundry, and made her way to her bedroom naked as the day she was born before grabbing a pair of white undies and putting them on.

The brunette opened her wardrobe and stood there for a few moments, contemplating what she should wear. In a spur of the moment the grabbed into it and pulled out a short, black leather skirt that left part of her left thigh exposed and had two green stripes on the side, which she hadn't worn for quite some time, pulling it on and inspected her backside in the mirror. Good, it was still fitting.

She pulled out the matching sleeveless leather top, and put it on, leaving the zipper halfway down to show a little bit of cleavage. Giving herself a last once over she left her bedroom and went to her front door, putting on one a pair of black, high heeled boots and heading into the hallway.

Hitomi took the few steps towards Viktor's apartment and rang his doorbell, hoping he was at home or else she would need to have to check the internet for some place that her and Leifang could go to. And that wasn't a really reliable source.

A few moments passed until the door opened, revealing Viktor holding a small pot in one hand while stirring its contents. "I'm not buying any-Ah Hit-girl, what's up?" he asked, then eyed her up and down lifting a black eyebrow.

"Are you going on a date or something? It's rare to see you out of your usual style."

Hitomi grimaced inwardly at the mention of the word date. "Or something. Leifang and I decided to do something fun today."

"Cool, but I don't see how that is concerning me." he said in a sing-song voice, giving her a cheeky grin, still stirring, making Hitomi try to sneak a peek.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"If you must know just some simple Bolognese sauce." the Karateka took a look into the pot, then sniffed at it before dipping her pinky in, ignoring his protests, and taking a taste.

"Needs more spice." she commented. "Anyway I'm here to ask if you know a place Leifang and me could go to. You're more familiar with that part of town."

"'That part of town', girl you make it sound like a ghetto. So, any kind of place in particular you want to know about?" he asked, opting to ignore what she just did with the sauce.

"Uh..." she said and brushed a nail across her right cheek.

"I see. Ok what does she like to do?"

"Well the last time we went out we were at a karaoke bar,"

"Yeah ok, nope." he interjected.

"And we went to a club."

"Hmm ok, I know this one club, rather new and I know for a fact that the staff can speak english. It's a requirement since it's aimed at tourists. Wait a sec I'm gonna write down how to get there." he went back into his apartment and came back a few moments later, the pot having left his hand and replaced by a small note that he handed over to the brunette. "There you go."

Hitomi inspected the note. Oh hey, it's right in between here and Leifang's hotel. Lucky!.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." she told her friend and gave him a smile.

"Don't mention it. Well I'm just gonna return to my food. Hmm I think I forgot something..." he added absentmindedly. "Oh well, it's gonna come back to me eventually. See you around, and have fun."

"Ciao. Will do." she said. Or will try.

He closed the door and she went back into her own apartment and right on cue her cellphone started ringing, showing the name of her friend on the display.

"Yeah." she said as she picked up.

"Hey, I'm pretty much done here so you can come over whenever." Leifang told her and Hitomi had to raise her left eyebrow when she heard something that sounded like struggling on her friend's part.

"Everything all right?"

"Yes, just this damn zipper being stuck!" she said, making Hitomi chuckle.

"Ok, so I'm gonna come over right now. See you soon."

Hitomi grabbed her purse and checked if she had everything with her, then headed out of the door, locking it, and made her way to the bus stop.

At the hotel Hitomi announced herself at the reception desk then went up to her friend's room, stopping in front of her door. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, then knocked on the door saying: "It's me Hitomi."

"Coming!" her friend shouted and not a moment later the door opened. For a moment the Karateka was petrified. Leifang was wearing a short, black dress that hugged her body in all the right places and gave a generous view on her cleavage, which she adorned with a golden phoenix pendant.

Hitomi couldn't help but let her eyes roam over her. On her legs Leifang wore black stockings, which made the German's fingertips tingle, wanting to run them along each leg. But what made her breath get caught in her throat was her face. Her lips were painted a deep scarlet and she noticed the red eyeshadow that she had put on.

She looked...

Striking was all she could manage to think.

"Well, how do I look?" Leifang asked and leaned against the doorframe, striking a light pose. This made the brunette wake up from her daze.

"G-great, you look great. Wow."

"Why thank you." Leifang giggled and gave her a once over as well. "You look good too. You should wear something like that more often."

"Hmm I don't know about that." Hitomi said and before Leifang could answer added: "So are we ready to get going?"

"Mhm." Leifang replied and went back into the room to get her purse and put on her heels, then stepped out and snapped the door shut.

"Where are we going to anyway?" she asked as they walked side by side out of the hotel.

"A club Viktor recommended. Told me they spoke english there so that's a plus." she shrugged. "No karaoke clubs though, sorry. We aren't that big on the whole thing over here."

"Ah that's ok." Leifang said and hailed a taxi

They didn't talk much on the ride to the club.

Inside the club, called ROOTS, they were met with music that was much too loud for Hitomi's tastes and the loads of people that were either on the dance floor or standing at the bar ordering their drinks.

Before the Karateka could do anything her friend was grabbing her by the hand, dragging her to the dance floor. While wading through the sea of people, Hitomi found herself being rather glad that it was so warm in here, else she'd have to explain the blush that was spreading on her face.

To her embarrassment Hitomi wasn't that great of a dancer. Sure she did know some small dance moves, but nothing she would win a cigar with and she admitted as much to her friend.

"Don't worry," Leifang said and pointed around her. "There are a lot of people here that can't really dance, but it doesn't bother them, because," she grabbed her other hand, now holding them. "The important thing is to have fun."

The brunette looked at the other girl for a moment then smiled at her and nodded. She let herself be guided by her friend's eagerness, dancing with her and laughing, finding herself dancing closer and closer to the Chinese, who didn't notice or if she did didn't seem to mind.

After a few dances Hitomi excused herself, suddenly feeling rather thirsty, and went to the bar to get a drink, Leifang saying that she would do another round then join her.

"What's wrong?" the man behind the bar counter asked when he heard her sigh.

"Hmm? Ah, just got a lot on my mind." She shook her head.

"Love troubles?"

Hitomi nodded smiling wryly, "You could say that.

"Well everyone has those in life. But," he pulled out a glass and placed it in front of her, then poured her a drink. "Luckily there's a remedy that makes it a little more endurable."

"Here's to that." Hitomi said and downed the drink, wondering when she started being ok with drinking so casually.

Hitomi and Leifang giggled as they made their way up the stair to the German's apartment. After a few hours of dancing and the occasional drink the two of them decided to call it a night and Hitomi offered her friend the good old sofa since it would be impractical to have a taxi drive them both home separately.

"You should've seen the face of the guy when you simply blew him off." Hitomi said, pulling out her key and unlocking the door, letting her friend walk in first.

"Oh how gentlemanly of you." Leifang commented and took of her shoes.

"I could have carried you over the doorstep as well, your highness." Hitomi shot back smirking, then took off her own shoes.

"Hmm, maybe next time." They were both a bit tipsy from their drinks and it was showing, especially on Hitomi's part since she was becoming a bit daring.

The two of them walked into the living room, Hitomi plopping down on the sofa placing her feet on the table. Leifang though didn't seem to be in the mood to sit but rather lie down, putting her feet onto the Karateka's lap.

Biting her lip Hitomi grabbed one of her friend's feet and started massaging it softly, eliciting a sigh from her friend.

"I didn't want to ask, but this is exactly what I need right now." Leifang said, her voice sounding a bit throaty because she was tired, and Hitomi felt herself becoming quite warm, letting go with one hand to fan herself a little, then went back to work again.

Then she remembered something her friend had said and, feeling even more daring right now and not noticing the flirty glint that she had in her eyes, ran a finger across the side of the foot, earning herself a giggle.

"Stop that I told you I'm ticklish there."

"Oh, is that so?" she asked teasingly and did it again, causing her friend to wriggle her foot in her grip, trying to get it free. A grin split her face and she attacked the spot mercilessly, her friend bursting into laughter.

"Hitomi! S-stop it!" Leifang said between laughter, still trying to wrestle her foot free but the Karateka was stronger.

Then all of a sudden a pillow hit Hitomi in the face causing her to let go and not a second later Leifang was on her feet, the weapon in hand. "Oh no you didn't."

"I did." Leifang giggled and held the pillow in both hands, like it was a protective shield.

"That's it, you want a war, you got yourself one." Hitomi said and grabbed a pillow of her own, attacking her immediately after.

They both laughed, Hitomi hitting her friend with the pillow, who was using hers to block every attack, running around the living room. Eventually Hitomi threw her pillow away and grabbed Leifang's, using all her strength to wrestle it from her grip and flinging it away, then grabbed her wrists.

They struggled around for a few moments, then Hitomi gained the upper hand and forced her friend onto the floor, pinning her down with her arms to the side.

She inhaled sharply as she noticed the close proximity and which they suddenly found each other, Hitomi laying completely on top of Leifang, her legs pushed between her and their chests touching with every breath they took.

The German found herself looking at those beautiful brown eyes that seemed to look right into her soul, then at the red painted lips, opened slightly as if to invite her and she felt herself closing in on them.

Stop it! Something inside her screamed but ignored it, her eyes closing slowly, mimicking the movement of the pair before her.

Their lips found one another.

For a second no one did anything, then it hit Hitomi what she was doing and let go, pushing herself off her friend.

"I'm sor-" she couldn't finish what she wanted to say since as soon as she let go of her friend's hands they snaked around her neck, pulling her back down into another kiss.

Her eyes widened then closed again as she lost herself in the kiss, the realization that Leifang wasn't pushing her away only fueling the fire inside her even more.

Hitomi pushed her arms underneath her friend's shoulders and lifted her up, stumbling a little bit forward and pushed her against the wall.

Their lips parted for a moment as they gasped for air, then clashed again.

" . ." Hitomi said in between kisses, not even knowing why she did it, blaming the little part inside her that wanted to force her to stop.

"No." Leifang managed to say before their lips met again and the brunette, taking that as an invitation, slipped her tongue inside brushing it against the Chinese's, enjoying the remaining taste of alcohol on it as Leifang moaned into her mouth.

Trailing one of her hands down Hitomi brushed it along her friend's beautifully shaped leg, guiding it to the back of her knee and lifting it up. Leifang immediately circled it around her hips, her fingers burying into Hitomi's hair.

In a swift motion Leifang grabbed her hairband and threw it across the room, Hitomi hearing it clatter to the floor somewhere, then brushed her finger deeper into her hair, her fingernails raking across her scalp.

The Karateka broke off the kiss and brushed her lips across Leifang's jawline before attacking her neck with kisses.

A low moan escaped the Chinese's lips when she started nibbling on the sensitive flesh, making Hitomi shudder and press her pelvis against the Chinese's.

Hitomi's other hand grabbed the hem of her dress and started pulling it up, another shudder going through her body as Leifang moaned out a "Yes."

They needed to get to the bedroom.

Or at least that would have been the plan if a voice didn't stop them in their tracks.

"Hit-girl I finally remembered, I totally forgot to give back your... spare key?" Viktor halted, his eyes bulging at what he saw. Seconds that seemed like hour passed before he put the spare key onto the small table next to him.

"Uh don't mind me!" he said hurriedly making for the door. "Have fun you two!"

Neither Hitomi nor Leifang did or said anything, only their breathing could be heard inside the apartment. Slowly they untangled themselves, looking at each other.

Without thinking Hitomi made for another kiss, but Leifang dodged to the side, passing her. "I-I think I should go!" Leifang stammered and hurried to the door. Hitomi followed her, but when she caught up the door slammed shut and she could hear the clicking sound of the heels, as they ran down the stairs.

"Damn it!" Hitomi ran both of her hands through her hair, exhaling the breath she didn't know she was holding.

She should have followed her, but something inside her stopped her from doing so.

Leifang didn't get in touch with her the next day, and when she asked at the hotel the day after they told her she had already checked out.

MUAHAHAHAHA! I'm downright evil I know. But did you really think I'd make it so easy for them?

This is gonna be fun to write.

Well stay tuned for next week then.