A Quick Bite to Eat

Claire had been busy lately—busy enough that she had not seen her friend and rival Akiko too much, which saddened her. They did see some of each other at the dojo—which Claire had joined at her friendâ€s behest following their first match against each other—and had sparred with each other once or twice, but the American kawaii girl had found herself being swept up into an increasingly hectic schedule which, at one point, even included a shot at the kawaii title.

Well, finally, she had found some down time, and she was very, very excited to be able to hang out with Akiko again. Claire hadnâ€t been very discreet about the crush she had on the ninja girl, but, so far, Akiko hadnâ€t really shown much interest in return. Claire was not about to press her, but the schoolgirl would be looking to try to win Akiko over—or at least convince her to consider the possibility of getting together in that way.

Today, the two of them were having a nice, relaxing lunch at one of the local cafÃs. Claire was dressed appropriately for the warm weather, wearing a pair of denim shorts, sandals, and a purple T-shirt. She happily made her way into the cafÃ, looking around for her friend.

Claire managed to spot Akiko when the ninja girl called out to her, and the American girl happily trotted over to where her friend was, wrapping her arms around the other kawaii girl and squeezing her tightly. “Hey, Aki!” she said merrily, trying to pick the ninja girl up off of the ground as she held her in the close hug. After setting her down, Claire would giggle, blushing a little as she realized how crazy she must seem—not just to Akiko, but to the other patrons of the cafÃ, as well. “Itâ€s great to see you again. I missed you…a lot.” Taking her gaze off of her friend for the first time, Claire scanned the cafÃ. “Have you already sat down somewhere? Or should we try to find a table?”

Claire almost surprised herself with her little display, lifting Akiko up like that, but she had been doing a lot of training recently, and her enthusiasm about seeing the object of her affection was enough to overcome any physical obstacles to the act. She held the ninja girl up for a few seconds before setting her down, blushing a little and smiling at Akiâ€s pretty face.

“Sorry. Iâ€m just excited, I guess. It feels as if itâ€s been quite a while since weâ€ve spent any time together…outside of the dojo, I mean,” she explained. As she did, she glanced downwards, checking out the cute outfit that her friend was wearing. Claire thought her own clothes were pretty cute and everything, but Akiko definitely took the cake when it came to how they dressed. In all white, she looked like an adorable little tennis player!

When Aki mentioned that she hadnâ€t sat down yet, Claire nodded, surveying the not-too-busy cafà for a good spot. “Hmm…how about over here?” She gestured to an open booth in the corner of the room. It was a nice, cozy little spot, which struck Claire as being just perfect for the two small kawaii girls. Taking Akikoâ€s hand in her own, she would gently pull on her friend as she headed over towards her chosen table.

Claire was reluctant to let go of Akiâ€s hand, but she knew that she would have to as she felt it begin to move in her tight grasp. She would open her hand, letting the ninja girl go as they sat down on opposite sides of the table. Claire stared across the table at Aki, smiling, infinitely fascinated with her friend and rival. Snap out of it, she told herself, realizing that, if she kept wearing her emotions on her sleeve in this manner, she was liable to scare Akiko off for good. And then Claire would never have a chance to win her over to the idea of the two of them being together.

“My career?” she repeated, thinking back on all that she had done since she and Aki had last spent time together outside of the dojo. A lot had happened. Important stuff. She was a little surprised that Aki hadnâ€t heard, but she knew that the ninja girl led a busy life, even if she didnâ€t know exactly what she did outside of the dojo and the ring. “I, uh…actually, I was in a championship match,” Claire informed her rival, blushing a little. “I beat the champion to earn a title shot, and then we had this really close match…and, well, long story short, she sort of cheated, kinda, and I lost.” She shrugged.

“Thereâ€s no changing what happened now, I guess. Besides that, Iâ€ve just been in a bunch of random matches. Some of them weird, some of them normal. Iâ€ve done quite a few sumo panties matches, which, while painful, are sort of thrilling, too…maybe we should do one sometime, Aki.” She smiled again, thinking about the two of them in a wedgie match against each other. “So, what have you been up to? Done anything fun recently?”