Climbing the Mountain

Eka's brow furrowed a little bit. She was not entirely sure what she should have been expecting, but the Georgian girl had no way of anticipating what Harumi was thinking or feeling or acting, really. She stood there for what felt like an eternity as she held the water bottle out to her new friend. The look on the woman's face was completely blank, yet the woman was getting redder and redder by the second. Her mouth opened. Eka did not know if she should say something to Harumi, to help her or to calm her or to console her, or if she should let the Judoka figure it all out. Before she was able to make that decision, Harumi decided for her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into the locker room. Eka looked around too as Harumi scanned the locker room, but for what, she could not fathom.

She then returned her eyes to the woman in front of her, whose own eyes would not rise up to meet Eka's blues. The darkhaired girl listened with rapt attention as Harumi spoke, even if it was hard with all the hiccuping. She had no intention of making her friend nervous, nor did she think that she was moving particularly fast. Perhaps she was unaware of her own youthful exuberance, and had gone too hard. A look of doubt overtook her face, and she opened her mouth once more to speak. The object of the apology that was to come started sinking to the floor, however, causing Eka to recoil a little bit in surprise.

The Georgian girl sank down right in front of her, sitting cross legged and leaning back against the door a little bit. She took a deep breath in. "It means a lot to me that you want to be my friend." Her words were slow, as if she had considered them with all of her heart in mind, concealing the fact that she was improvising. "And I am sorry to put you in a situation that you were not really accustomed to. I didn't know that you were not comfortable with that. I will make sure that you are not in a position where you are uncomfortable." Eka placed her hand on her heart. "It is okay to be nervous, yes? It happened to me too when I was waiting for your text." That last little bit just got blurted out, but Eka did not regret it. Harumi was putting herself on the line, and it probably wasn't so bad that she was doing so as well.

"If it is okay with you, we can just sit here for a bit." Eka clasped her hands and held them between her legs. She did not know if Harumi was comfortable with touching her at this point. She really didn't want to be the one to break that seal. Her brows were still furrowed, but their intensity died as a warm smile spread across her face. Harumi really didn't have anything too wrong with her. She was just a little bit different, that was all. Just like Eka, in her own way. She still had the water bottle in her hand, and placed it close to her new friend.

"Everything is going to be okay, yes?"

Harumi was never very good at expressing herself in a healthy way. She was a sheltered girl, born and raised under a strict regimen of rules that bore down on her like the weight of the world. She didn’t understand most of the charms of childhood that many others did, no favorite cartoons, no fun toys. It was training, education, and chores all day for her entire youth. Friends were a rarity that Judoka was not used to, and her tough as nails upbringing made her far too mature for most to enjoy. Who would want to talk to a girl whose eyes seemed to pierce right through you, whether it be intentional or not? A girl who never laughed at any joke, never so much as smiled. Harumi’s stoic mask came from a young age, and she wore it every time she went out in public.

A cold, mature beauty that walked with care and grace…few dared to approach her, no matter how desperately she wanted them to.

Now someone finally did. Someone finally came up to her with the intention of befriending her, and Harumi was screwing it all up. And all because this woman was showing a little bit of skin. A sad, pathetic display…fitting for her now. Harumi was so embarrassed, nervous, and excited she couldn’t stop hiccupping in the middle of her sentences. The ice-cold beauty was stripped away, leaving the shy, emotionally immature woman behind to wallow in her embarrassment.

But instead of recoiling back or leaving after Harumi collapsed…Eka actually sat down next to her. The Georgian explained how she was nervous as well, and did not want to make Harumi uncomfortable. Her tone was gentle and kind, reminding Harumi of her mother when she got sick as a child. Even through all of the strangeness Harumi had just put her through, Eka still gave the Judoka a warm smile and some carefully considered space. Finally, the Georgian told her those magic words that only her mother had ever spoken to her.

Everything will be alright.

Harumi sat in silence for a moment, letting the moment digest a little. Finally, the teal attired woman slowly reached over towards the bottle, taking it gingerly off the floor…then she began to scoot slowly towards Eka. Her red face didn’t go away as she did so, but still Harumi came closer until the two women were sitting shoulder to shoulder, Harumi looking toward the floor as her warm skin rubbed against Eka’s… Getting used to the feeling of her friend.

Eka watched. Eka waited. Eka breathed. There was clearly a lot going on that the Georgian girl did not quite understand, which was fine. She was in a different country, and at a fairly odd place within that country. The ravenhaired girl had long since given up on understanding what drove people to do the things that they did within the ring and outside of it, and she had made her peace with that. As smart as Eka was, she could not know everything. Her ears were perked up, listening for a response that never came. And that was fine too. Eka did not quite know how to articulate everything that she felt in her heart, and she was not going to blame Harumi because she did not know the same.

So she let the silence percolate. It was a wholesome silence, not one borne of awkwardness. It gave her a chance to reflect on her position as an outsider, the same position that she had always had. Her long dark hair marked her out in Birmingham, and the other girls made fun of her quite a bit for her funny accent. And now she was here in Japan, a place where she was once again different. She had picked up the language well enough, but it was clear that she just did not have the same background as everyone else. People were more mature about it now, she thought, but she could still feel the whispers and the looks.

So she sat. Harumi was moving towards her which she took as a good sign. The Judoka then went on to press her shoulder against Eka's. The Georgian girl would have been a little bit more comfortable with a hug, but this was Harumi's time. Eka was guessing that was how the woman showed affection, and she smiled genuinely. Their skin touched one another's, and Eka chose not to move. She thought that Harumi was feeling her out, and wanted to be still. That was what she desperately wanted to be, as opposed to some young woman thrown to and fro due to the vicissitudes of wrestling and her upstart academic career.

Her blue eyes blinked. They were all alone on the locker room floor, and Eka felt nice. She supposed it was a little bit weird that she was enjoying the moment in a place like this, but Eka had always been a little bit weird. It fit, and that is what mattered, she supposed. Harumi's face was still red, and she only noticed that when she turned over to look at her new companion.

She opened her mouth, and closed it again. When she opened her mouth anew, words came forth: "We are going to be okay, yes?"

Eka was…surprisingly warm.

The two had been sparring not too long ago, but Harumi had already come down from her workout heat, and the cool air that gushed through the locker room had chilled her to a degree that was not noticeable until she was pressed against Eka. The Georgian did not shift away from Harumi’s approach even a little, which did slightly surprise the Judoka. Eka was considering Harumi’s feelings and tried to stay as still as possible, letting Harumi open up to her naturally and on her own terms. It was a kindness Harumi was not used to, but very much appreciated.

The emptiness seemed to transpire the locker room…it felt as if they were the only two in the world at that moment, both of them sitting there and thinking. Neither of them spoke for the longest of time, likely too nervous to be the one to break the silence that seemed to be comforting both of them. They both seemed to understand each other, but could not find the proper words to use that would insure their friend what they were feeling. They both wanted to know more about the other, but did not know how to go about it.

Harumi moved to speak, looking over at Eka and beginning to say something when she noticed the Georgian was also opening her mouth to say something. Both of them seemed to hesitate, Harumi letting Eka speak first to see what she had to say. Once again, it was a phrase of hopeful optimism. It was a bit goofy, but Harumi had to admit it was kind of cute in a way.

The emerald eyed girl nodded, and gave a Eka a genuine and warm smile. The once tensed muscles in Harumi seemed to relax with the warmth of Eka’s body, and the kindness in her words. The red blush on Harumi’s pale skin seemed to fade, disappearing behind that happy smile that let out a quiet giggle.

“Yes. I would say we are both going to be just fine~”

Harumi moved to stand up, stretching her back, which had grown stiff from sitting on the hard locker room floor all that time. She quickly turned and offered her new friend a hand, a light happy glow practically radiating off of her.

“Maybe next time we meet up, we can go shopping together? I would love to show you this cute little store by my home…if your into that stuff~”

Yes. I would say we are both going to be just fine. Eka looked over at Harumi who seemed to have the same reservations that she did. Almost mirroring Eka, Harumi opened her mouth and closed it first. The Georgian girl lacked the sense to let the Judoka talk first, but it ended well for both of them. Eka was speaking to reassure Harumi more than anything, and now her newest friend was calming her down a little bit. The dark-haired woman smiled with genuine joy. It did seem like both of them were going to be okay, even given everything that had just transpired. And Eka was happy with that.

She gladly accepted the hand up and lifted herself off the ground. "Yes, I would very much like that. It has been a long time since I have been shopping with a friend, yes?" Or shopping at all for that matter. Eka's head was filled with the idea of them sipping on tea as they talked about all the cute little things that they had bought just moments prior. It would be a welcome break from all the studying she had to do. Plus, it would give her another wonderful opportunity to spend some more time with Harumi. Eka came back to reality a little bit, and looked around the locker room.

She stretched her back a little bit, trying to shake away some of the stiffness that crawled in thanks to the hard floor of the space. "It is hard for me sometimes here, yes? I lived in America and it is very big, all the houses. Here my apartment is very small. I feel like a giant sometimes. But I am sure that your apartment is very nice, yes?" Eka was not quite sure why she blurted out what she said, but it was out there now.

Well, it sounded as if Harumi had not only acquired herself a new friend, but had just set up a meeting with her somewhere down the road. Perhaps the endless days of doing nothing but going to work, cleaning her apartment, and training would soon have the lovely addition of going shopping with Eka! Perhaps it could even grow into seeing a group of friends, just like she had heard teen age girls often did. While she admitted she was past those days…a part of the protégé wanted to at least see what it was like. It always looked like so much fun!

Eka was explaining how it would be fun to go out shopping with a friend, as Eka often had difficulty finding her size in this foreign land. Apparently, she even had issues with the size of her apartment, which earned a quiet chuckle from the Judoka. After a bit more talk, Eka seemed to imply that Harumi’s place was likely pretty neat. Harumi never really thought that hard about it, and upon delving into her memory, she never had anyone over to get an opinion on it before.

“Did you want to see it?” Harumi asked, glancing over towards Eka, “I don’t mind if you don’t. It’s a quick walk from the gym to my apartment, so we can make it there in about ten minutes if you are willing to walk a bit.”

Truth be told, Harumi was curious what someone outside the family thought of her home. She knew it was clean, and while she wasn’t super privy to how others lived, she figured she was relatively normal. Maybe the strangest thing was she didn’t own a television, but with Eka’s help perhaps that is something she would learn is either totally normal or absolutely alien to most people.

After a slight pause in which Harumi was analyzing her room in her head, she realized she was blankly staring at Eka. In an attempt to lighten the mood, Harumi attempted a joke. In a deadpan manner, Harumi said “If you want, you could even spend the night.” Then winked like the girls in ads she had seen often did. The stoic expression on her face helped punctuate the droll joke Harumi attempted to pull off.

Eka looked at Harumi as she spoke. She had earned herself a chuckle from the Judoka, which considering the woman's usual affect, she thought of as no mean feat. The fact that Harumi was laughing a bit after what she must have just gone through was a good sign, Eka thought. Her belief in good fortune was quickly confirmed as Harumi invited her to her place. The Georgian girl was practically beaming with joy as Harumi suggested that to her. She found herself doing a little bit of a hop, much to her embarrassment. Eka happily nodded to affirm, and her bright eyes were looking into Harumi's face to find that Harumi was looking at her with a vacant look on her face. Eka's brow furrowed a bit.

But it furrowed even more when Harumi winked at her. The Georgian girl genuinely did not know how to take it, especially because Harumi followed it up with a blank look. "Uh, that would be, uh..." Eka laughed a little bit to relieve the tension. It sort of worked. "Yeah, I would like that very much, yes? To see your house. I don't mind walking. I have just run a little bit though so I may be slow because I am tired." Eka's words were coming quickly. The nervous energy was clear in her voice. "But I don't know if I can spend the night, yes? I have a lot of homework..." Eka's face fell a little bit. She shouldn't have said that. She did genuinely want to spend some time with this woman. "But maybe it can wait for another day, yes? There is all week to do it," Eka lied. "But I am all sweaty. Perhaps I could take a shower and..." Eka was now going too far the other way. Too suggestive, Eka, dial it back. She had no idea how to get out of this.

"But yes. It is very near, yes? Let's go see it." Eka decided that maybe the best way to not say something awkward would be to not say anything at all. So she tried to look resolute. Her mouth was pursed and her eyes were wide open. She was not sure what she looked like, but she was sure that it was completely ridiculous. Eka played with her hair a little bit. It was all sweaty and it didn't feel very good in her hands. She was just not really sure what to do with all of the energy coursing through her veins.

With a quick nod, Harumi acknowledged the Georgian’s desire to see her home. Harumi would understand if Eka had other plans or chores she needed to complete considering she had just sprung the offer on her on a whim, but it was nice to hear that Eka was willing to head over to take a look. Harumi even got a short chuckle from her joke, leading the Judoka to believe she was already making progress with coming out of her shell.

But then Eka continued to stammer on, saying she was unsure if she could spend the night due to homework, but offered to put it off. The taller woman spoke quickly and excitedly, mentioning that she was all sweaty, and she would like to take a shower before cutting herself off shyly. Finally, Eka simply accepted the invitation, making a funny face while playing with her slightly matted hair. Harumi watched the whole thing quietly, her stoic mask keeping her face blank as she tilted her head questioningly as if she didn’t understand Eka’s excitement.

“If you need to shower, I don’t mind waiting. If you have a spare set of clothes you can use mine back home, if it makes things a little easier.”

Harumi didn’t think it was too strange for a guest to use the restroom in her home. Despite her strict upbringing, Harumi’s family were renowned around her old neighbor hood for being extremely kind hosts. Harumi had never entertained a guest by herself before, but she would not break her family streak of fine catering to invited guests.

“As for your homework, you do not have to spend the night if you are too busy. It is important to get your studies done before going off somewhere else, but I will lend you whatever help you need with your academics should you need it…though I don’t own a computer, which may make things difficult.”

Harumi had gone into full host mode, beginning to speak a bit more respectfully and trying to discern ways to help Eka as best she could. In the end, Eka wanted to see the apartment, so that is what Harumi would do.

“Please follow me.”

--

Harumi’s apartment was never something the Judoka considered small, but she never had a need for a large space. Each of the two rooms looked like they had been cleaned professionally each day, with every item having its place without so much as a speck of dust to be seen. The apartment had a single bedroom, one large kitchen/living area hybrid, and a bathroom that possessed toiletries and a shower. The only things that looked to have been touched recently was a practice dummy punching back, that looked a bit worn due to years of battering. The floor was made from polished wood flooring, with a soft carpet to the side that was accompanied by a couch. The walls were painted a soft shade of green, as if they were made from mint.

Harumi opened the door wide, letting her guest step in to the cool room, the air conditioning pumping out the heat of the outside world and chilling it to a comfortable level. The judoka would step aside at let Eka take in the apartment at her leisure, standing next to a small book case that were lined with novels of various genres. Harumi’s emerald eyes watched her new companion, curious as to what she may be thinking as she stepped into her living space. It was the first time the teal woman ever had a guest over, and she was more nervous about her ability to properly entertain her rather then Eka looking through her things.

Eka was listening intently as Harumi spoke. She was not quite sure of what the Judoka would make of her verbal vomit, but was happy to see that the emerald-eyed woman accepted her manic energy and seemed to handle it well. Eka had managed to not have the invite revoked immediately, which she took as a minor win, but a win nonetheless. She quickly gathered her things in her bag. It seemed a little bit odd to her that Harumi did not have a computer, but she was not one to judge. She had her laptop in her bag, at any rate. Eka walked alongside Harumi as they made their way to the Judoka's apartment. Even though she had lived here for more than just a little bit, she had never quite gotten used to Tokyo with its tall buildings and hustle and bustle. The walk made her wildness fade with each step.

The second that Eka had the opportunity to step inside the apartment, she did so with great vigor. When she first appraised the apartment, she could hardly believe it. She looked back at Harumi to ensure that what she was seeing was in fact real, and then looked around once more. There was a punching bag, which was interesting. And a book shelf, and all the typical things that one might see in an apartment in Tokyo. Only, the whole place was...spotless. Eka half-wondered if Harumi was playing a prank on Eka, and showing her a model apartment or something. She glanced back at Harumi one more time, just to make sure. No, this was very much real. Eka took a step forward to really scope out the place and ensure that everything was real, when she looked down and felt like a total idiot.

Shoes. Indoors. Bad combo. She turned on the spot. "I am very sorry, yes? I forget my manners sometimes, and it would be a catastrophe to dirty this place, after you have clearly spent so much time making it look..." Eka struggled with her shoes for a second as she tried to summon a word. Perfect. Immaculate. Impeccable. All those words did not seem quite right to Eka. It felt too corporate, too high-energy. "Very welcoming." There. That was the word Eka wanted. She took off her left shoe and wandered into the house, marveling at how perfectly clean everything was.

It occurred to Eka that she should have cleaned her apartment on Saturday. Or, ever, really. There were piles of clothes everywhere and dishes in the sink that may have been there for months. She meandered over to the punching bag hanging in the corner and touched it. It had been used heavily, and Eka could feel the worn leather on her hands. "This place is quite incredible, yes?" Eka's mouth was just a little open as her blue eyes darted from one surface to the next, each one showing the diligence that Harumi had in her. "If you saw my apartment, I am sure that you would die of shock..."

Harumi watched Eka with a curious eye trying to gage what kind of reaction her apartment had earned from her friend. At first it was a little concerning, the way Eka kept looking at the apartment and then at Harumi in an odd fashion. Eka looked as if what she was looking at was completely alien to her, which made Harumi’s heart beat just a little bit faster. Harumi tried to hide any reaction she might have behind he stoic face, trying to get Eka’s honest opinion with no bias towards her feelings. She needed an outsider’s perspective to make sure she wasn’t making others uncomfortable when they came to visit. Thankfully, Eka grew a smile on her face, as she seemed to marvel at all of the clean surfaces and perfect organization Harumi’s home excelled in.

Harumi didn’t say anything as Eka walked onto the floor with her shoes, a bit too preoccupied with the Georgians observations to mention something that Harumi didn’t mind too much at the moment. Eka was a guest, and Harumi would never be so blunt as to ask a friend who just entered her home to take off her shoes when they were enraptured with her home.

Eka would soon notice her shoes, apologizing for not noticing and quickly fumbling to take them off. Harumi broke her mask to smile at Eka warmly, not really bothered by the honest mistake.

“It’s no problem, really. So, what do you think?”

Eka’s kind words made Harumi’s smile just a bit brighter, and the tense posture she didn’t know she had relaxed a little. Eka didn’t seem bothered by Harumi’s lack of electronics as she feared she would be. Harumi had kicked the idea around about getting a television set for cheap, but decided to hold off on getting any new electronics until she could figure out her phone. She knew how to check emails as well as make calls, but as proven that very day, she only knew how to look at texts, rather than send them. A television set seemed a bit intimidating at the moment.

“I am happy you like it. I don’t get many visitors, but I try to keep my home ready for anyone that may stop by, so please don’t hesitate to drop in whenever you like.”

Eka brought up that Harumi might just go insane if she ever went into the Georgian’s apartment, which earned a chuckle from the emerald eyed warrior.

“I’m certain your home is a lovely place. I like to think everyone home is a special place where people are the most open about themselves.”

The judoka trotted past Eka, letting the girl wader around her home a few more minutes before making a suggestion.

“Eka, you must be tired from the workout and our walk. Why don’t you shower while I fix us something to eat and drink?”

Harumi was looking forward to entertaining her guest, even if it was only for a while. It had been years since she had been a host to someone, all the way back when she still lived with her parents. It was exciting to practice entertaining someone all by herself, but also a bit nerve wracking. Harumi was thankful that her first guest was a new friend, and was going to do her absolute best in making her feel welcomed.