The Lotus Peak

Eka was fading fast now. She understood something about dreams and heads touching, but she wasn't sure the meaning could pierce through the haze of her dozy state. Her chest began to rise and fall more slowly now, as her body began to take over from her brain.

A few curious onlookers started taking really long and hard looks at the duo, as Eka continued to sleep on Feruza's shoulders. The Georgian girl wanted to dream about winning the belt and getting her master's in something that would help her change the world, but for the most part she passed her sleep dreamlessly.

When the train hit a bump, Eka opened her eyes for a second, before she shut them again. "Have we reached Tokyo?" She muttered.

Feruza had her usual dreams. Having beautiful men and women, becoming AFW Friction champion, having throngs of fans call her name... and also of bringing her family to Japan, of starting her own family. These were all normal for her, but she noticed that her new friend was present in many of them, whether she was a crowd member, winning the belt with her, or... or her wife, Eka was there. She enjoyed her sleep.

The same bump that startled Eka awake did similar to Feruza. "Huh? What?" she was still getting her bearings on the mortal world. And it was such a good dream she had been having, too... damn. "Um... I think we are close." Feruza said, looking out the window to see the scenery. It was noticeably more civilized out there, so she figured they were getting close.

The quiet suburbs of Tokyo rushed by the window, and Eka's eyes fluttered in the midday light. In the cabin, dead quiet persisted, meaning only the gentle chugging of the train could be heard. The Georgian girl stretched her arms and yawned, her long limbs extending far into the aisle and into the personal bubble of a nice Japanese couple. Eka hardly noticed, and pulled herself together before casting another look out the window. The great neon city was nearly upon them now, and soon they would have to depart the train.

Eka patted Feruza's leg. "Come, wake. The station is getting close, yes? Are you ready?"

"Eh..." Feruza grunted tiredly, aroused from her sleep. Tokyo was all but upon them, and by the time the sleepy Uzbek had come fully to, their train was pulling into the station. The colorful cityscape of Tokyo was spread out before them before being covered up by the architecture of the train station. The bullet train finally came to a halt, and Feruza, along with the rest of the train, grabbed their luggage and started to march off. But of course, Feruza wasn't leaving without Eka. "Come on, then." she said. "We can walk together for as long as possible, yes?"

Eka waited. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for, and it felt like most of her life, she had been waiting. For what, she did not know. As she looked out the window, the sparkling city shimmered just out of reach. There, she could find her university, sprawling wide, the AFW arena, impressive and daunting, and her apartment, cramped and cozy. And maybe, just maybe, she could find her fortune.

The train finally slowed to a stop, and Eka then waited for Feruza to move. She smiled as she stood up, and collected her things from the overhead bin. The raven haired girl stood behind the Uzbek girl in the line as the milieu on the train patiently filed out. She reflected on their journey- spotting the jacket, sleeping in the same time, finally cresting the top of the mountain, getting carried back down.

"I need to hail a cab. I can hail you one, if you like. It would not be that hard, yes? But I am afraid I have wasted a lot of time," she said wistfully, "there is a long paper I need to write. And plus I need to train. But you know all about that." Her look this time was sad, almost longing. "There is very little rest for me. And I don't always have someone to carry me down the mountain."

"My apartment is not too far from here— I can just walk." Feruza said, smiling bittersweetly. It was sad to think that she was leaving her friend, but she knew that she would see her again. Soon, if possible. "Good luck on your paper, friend! I am sure you will do very good job." she assured the Georgian with a playful punch to the arm.

To think that they had climbed a mountain, come back down, and now they were here. Quite the journey, if she did say so herself! And on that journey, she had made a friend. An adorable, extremely kind friend, full of beautiful intricacies and mysteries that she couldn't wait to unravel. And there was the issue of her virginity... even though she had just met her, Feruza would be damned if she wasn't the first to take it. But she scorned herself for thinking such dirty thoughts. She really must stop doing that, or she was going to get in trouble.

Feruza followed Eka to the cab hailing area (she didn't know the proper name) to see her off. "We will have to keep in touch." said Feruza. "Maybe we can have spar together sometime?" she suggested, grinning. Now there was an idea!

Eka blinked for a second. A spar. That sounded fantastic. The Georgian girl had burned her bridge with Alicia with her little stunt, and she needed someone to train with. Feruza was an unconventional sort of gal, and Eka was always willing to learn new things. "Yes. A thousand times yes. I am busy with school sometimes, but I will call you the split second I have an opportunity to. Weekends are very good for me." She rubbed her arm where Feruza had punched her. "And when are you available?"

She was standing near a taxi cab, and they all began yelling at her, nearly in unison. Eka looked at the closest one, then back to Feruza. Her long dark hair fell in front of her face and she brushed it from her field of vision. "It looks like I must go. But I will definitely keep in touch with you, do not worry." Eka patted her friend's arm.

"But I must be off." With one last longing glance, she turned to hop into the nearest cab. After depositing her bag in the trunk of the car, she hopped into the back seat. The taxi driver was happy to speed off, which was a shame, as Eka had her eyes fixed on Feruza the whole time.