After
Chapter 1
A young woman, with the dark, diagonally cut hair that was close to shoulder length in the front, stood in front of a table. She swirled the cream into her black coffee with the stir stick until it was of a solid, light brown consistency. Kaori had already clocked out for the day, but sometimes she made herself a cup of coffee to drink on her walk home from the office. She hadn’t done this for almost two months, however, but today she thought she could get away with it again.
Suddenly, a man stepped in front of her. He was tall, handsome, and had brownish, red hair. He pierced into her with his dark eyes.
“Ichiro,” Kaori stated sounding terrified. “I thought you left.”
“I came back because I forgot something. You know I can’t leave anything not done around here.”
“Well, I was just leaving,” she spat off quickly. As she turned to leave, however, his strong, masculine hand clamped down on the short woman’s shoulder like a vice grip holding her in place. Kaori gulped as she started to shake a bit.
“You’re not leaving yet. Not until I give you some feedback anyways. I was really impressed with how hard you worked on the last project. I just want you to know I really appreciate the extra effort you put in around her,” he said from behind her as he moved his right hand under the back of her skirt and started moving his fingers up the back of her thigh.
“Ppp…pp please stop,” she begged pathetically.
“Ah come on, I know you just like playing hard to get. You must know how much I like that. Even though you’ve been working hard, I don’t know how much harder you’ve been working than everyone else. Let’s just go back to my place and have a little fun. Consider it over-time. You know evaluations are coming up next month. Maybe your performance ratings will go up a bit if you give the right effort.” Finally, he loosened his grip, “So what do you say?”
“I have to go,” Kaori said in a trembling voice as she quickly started walking off in the other direction.
“Fine, but when you want to move up the totem pole around here, you’ll give me what I want,” he stated coldly as if it was an undeniable outcome.
Finally after walking at a very speedy pace down several crowded city blocks, she stopped and looked back in the direction she came. After examining the faces of many of the other people on the crowded side-walk, she should’ve been confident that Ichiro was not following her. However, she still couldn’t help feeling paranoid. She looked down at the coffee she hadn’t let go since she was confronted by Ichiro. The brown liquid splashed a bit in the paper cup as she held it in her still trembling hands. She then lifted one of her hands, and cleared the liquid forming around her tear ducts with her finger.
Finally Kaori found the will to start walking again. Eventually she made it to the park she always passed through that was between her apartment and the office. The trees and lush, green scenery used to help relax her after a hard day’s work. Today, however, they were having no such effect, as had been the case for quite some time. In fact, she really hadn’t enjoyed much of anything recently.
On her way, she spotted a particular park bench down her path. There was someone sleeping on it facing the other direction. The sleeper wore a red sweatshirt with a hood pulled over her head. Most likely it was a transient. She didn’t pay this person much mind and kept trudging towards her destination.
The moment before she passed, the figure on the bench yawned and rolled over just in time to catch a glimpse of Kaori as she walked by. The girl on the bench’s big eyes got even bigger. She immediately shot up from the bench and began trailing closely behind the woman in business attire, careful to be stealthy enough not to be noticed.
They left the park and started walking down a side-walk that was covered with numerous large cracks. The hooded stalker continued to stay only a few feet behind Kaori. She could tell even from this position that Kaori was in a miserably depressed mood.
Coming closer to her apartment building, Kaori started fishing through her purse for her keys as she walked. Finally digging them out, they however slipped through her fingers and fell to the concrete below.
“I’m so clumsy,” Kaori scolded herself. She bent over to pick up her keys that had fallen into a crack while trying to be careful not to spill her coffee at the same time.
With her shapely butt suspended in the air, this was a signal the stalker to take action. “Hehehe, this should brighten her day up,” the hooded individual thought to herself.
She reached forward and squeezed.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Kaori shrieked. She spun around and the coffee from the cup in her hand inadvertently splashed in the molester’s face.
“Owww!” She put her hands over her face. “Damn, Kaorin, that’s hot!” After wiping away the scolding liquid, she pulled down her hood, and several big, curly and pointy locks of black hair fell behind her head. She looked a bit older than she remembered, but Kaori recognized her face instantly.
“Tt.. tt.. Tomo? Wildcat Tomo?”
Tomo’s smirk widened several times larger upon hearing that old nickname again. “Yup it’s me, The Great Wildcat Tomo Takino!”
“I can’t believe it’s you. I haven’t seen you since high school. I’m sooo sorry about the coffee.”
“Hey, its ok, I can take a little pain.” A new opportunity however suddenly dawned on her though. “But I promise not to hate you forever, if you take me out for drinks.”
“Sh.. sure.”
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The two were now seated at a dimly lit, small table located in the heart of a local pub. It was one that Tomo had suggested as being a great place with excellent food.
“How come you weren’t at the class reunion a couple months back?” Tomo asked her.
“Oh, I was just really busy at work that week,” Kaori answered sheepishly.
“That’s too bad. You should’ve been there. It was so much fun to see everyone again. Guess who got fat?” She asked excitedly.
“Who?”
“Chihiro. It was hilarious!”
“Wow. Last time I saw her was right after her pregnancy. Maybe she wasn’t able to put off the weight.”
“Yeah, probably. Sucks for her. I, however, was the person in best shape there. Everyone was so impressed. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, you look fantastic, Tomo.”
Tomo smiled widely at that answer. “Why thank you, Kaorin. Of course I do.”
“I’m wondering though are you still best friends with Yomi?”
“Yup. She lives in the US now though. She met an exchange student at her college and she moved back to the US with him and got married. She has two beautiful kids now. I still talk to her all the time. She’s still the same stupid Yomi.”
“Well, it’s good you still keep in touch. I didn’t keep in touch with that many people.”
“Hmmmm… Speaking of keeping in touch with someone.” The tone of Tomo’s voice had suddenly changed. “Sooooo, did you ever hook up with Sakaki?”
Upon hearing that Kaori started gagging on her sashimi, with her hands wrapped around her throat. When she finally managed to dislodge the fish from her trachea and stop choking, she replied nervously, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, don’t be coy with me, Kaorin. We’re not at school anymore. You can be honest with me now. Admit it. You were crushing on her big time.”
“But how did you know?”
“I think everyone at school knew. You couldn’t have been more obvious. ‘Oh Miss Sakaki is soooo cool! Oh my god, Miss Sakaki in a swim suit! I need to use the girl’s room,” Tomo performed her best impersonation of Kaori from their school days.
Kaori looked mortified with shock and embarrassment. “Everyone knew?”
“Yup. I don’t think anyone cared though, at least as far as I could tell. I thought it was adorable myself.”
“I had no idea it was that obvious. I can’t believe everyone knew.”
“You still haven’t answered my question though.”
“No, I never did,” she answered. “I finally got the courage up to tell her how I felt when I met her again a few years after school. After I asked her out she just said, ‘No thank you,’ and went back on her way like nothing had happened at all. I felt like such an idiot. That’s the real reason I didn’t go to the reunion, I didn’t want to face her again.”
“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not your fault you didn’t know. I couldn’t tell which way she went myself. Sakaki is kinda hard to figure out. I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm by how she answered you. That’s just the way she is. She’s just kind of weird that way.”
“I guess you would know better than I do. I never did get to know her as well as you and the others did.”
Tomo quirked an eyebrow. “But I bet you’ve had plenty of hot girlfriends since then, right?”
“No, not that many. I guess I’m just plain looking.”
Tomo frowned at that answer. “That’s bullshit Kaorin. Hell, I always thought you were one of the cutest girls at school. I should know. Being the cutest girl at school, I was the authority” she stated still proud over that fact which had never been questioned in her own mind.
“Well, if you say so.”
“Fine, I’ll prove it then.” Tomo stood up from her chair. “Attention everyone!” She shouted. Everyone in the room suddenly ceased their various conversations. There was complete silence as everyone’s attention in the pub was now fixed on the table with the two women. “I’d like to conduct a little survey,” she told everyone. “Who here thinks this girl sitting next to me is cute?”
Her question was met by a barrage of whistles, hollers, cheering, and different comments such as “She’s hot!” and “I’d do her!” all directed at Kaori who was now sweating bullets and had two small, thickly out-lined white dots for eyes. Tomo on the other hand was smiling quite broadly as she listened to the reaction.
“Ok, that’s enough,” Tomo shouted for them to stop. That command was met with loud applause from everyone in the room, until it shortly subsided back into the regular sounds of the bar.
“So, you still think you’re not cute?”
“All right, all right, I believe you,” the beet faced Kaori replied.
“Good,” Tomo said extremely satisfied.
At that moment, several men started converging on their table.
“Get the hell out of here,” Tomo growled at them. “That was a question, not an invitation!” She kept sneering until all the men backed away.
The two kept talking for about a couple of hours or so. Kaori really enjoyed her company, and Tomo appeared to be having a great time as well. She noted though that Tomo must’ve been pretty hungry because she kept ordering more and more food and beer.
Eventually, they decided it was time to go and the incredibly large bill came. Tomo pulled her wallet from her back pants pocket and opened it over the table. A 5-yen coin and two 1-yen coins fell out. “Guess that’s all I have left.”
“Don’t worry, I can get it.” Kaori extracted her credit card out of her purse a paid for it without a second thought.
After Kaori got her card back, she laid a generous cash tip down for the waitress and stood up from her chair. Tomo also stood up, but stumbled clumsily over her feet when she tried to step forward. She outstretched her arms and grabbed a hold of Kaori’s shoulders to brace her fall.
“Guess I thought more than I drank,” Tomo said with suddenly slurred speech. With her arms still draped over the shorter Kaori’s shoulders and her chest pressing against her back, Tomo moved her head above Kaori’s left shoulder and placed her lips very close to Kaori’s ear. “Kaorin, sweetie, can you take me home?” Tomo asked blowing her warm breath into her ear.
“Sure, Tomo.”
Kaori walked towards the exit. A big sweat drop formed on her face as many of the bar’s patrons stared at the site of Tomo with her arms wrapped around the shorter girl’s frame, as Tomo shuffled along under her support.
They made it out onto the street, and Kaori hailed a cab with her free arm. She opened the door, and carried Tomo towards it. Tomo drunkenly crawled to the far side of the back seat. When Kaori got in and sat down, Tomo suddenly collapsed into her lap. She nuzzled her cheek in between her thighs. “Mmmmm, comfy,” Tomo said dreamily.
“So where to, miss?” The cab-driver asked, getting an eye-full form the rear-view mirror.
“Tomo where do you live?”
Tomo responded from Kaori’s lap with, “Mananagawawa.” She asked her again, getting a similar response of incomprehensible, drunken gibberish.
Kaori gave her a little shake and repeated the question. “But I don’t want to go to school, mommy,” Tomo said as she wrapped her arms around one of Kaori’s legs and squeezed it like it was her stuffed animal.
Finally giving up, Kaori gave the address of her own apartment to the cab-driver.
A few minutes later the cab stopped in front her apartment building, and they both got out. Tomo was still was apparently unable to walk under her own power, so Kaori put her head under one of her shoulders to hoist her up. “Come on Tomo, you can spend the night at my place.” Tomo smirked, but as Kaori turned to look at her she suddenly regained her glazed over look
Finally, after much effort to carry the comparatively heavy Tomo, they made it to the door to her apartment. Kaori dug her keys out of her purse again, and unlocked it.
The second the door swung open, Tomo walked right out of Kaori’s support in a straight line, almost marching into the room with no trouble at all. “Ah, we’re finally here. Thanks for carrying me. You’re such a sweet-heart,” she said now sounding completely sober.
“I thought you were drunk.” Kaori said extremely confused.
“Are you kidding me? That was nothing. I’d have to drink at least three times that for it to even phase me.”
“Do you want me to call another cab to take you back to your place?”
“Nah. I can’t go back there anyways. They changed the locks on me because of some jerk.”
“What jerk?”
“Some guy. He was always asking me for money and stuff. Boy, was he annoying.” Tomo looked around the room. “Wow, this place looks great. I’m sure going to like living here.”
“Whaaaat?” She asked, now even more confused than before.
Tomo just ignored the question and started walking all around the apartment inspecting everything. She walked into the kitchen. “Nice looking fridge.” She opened the door and inspected the contents. “But what’s all this? Where’s the junk food? You know all this healthy stuff is no good for you, Kaorin.”
Next, Tomo entered the bedroom. Kaori followed behind her still very much in awe of what was occurring. “Wow, the bed’s nice and big.” Tomo quirked her eye-brow at Kaori again. “Like your leg room, huh?”
“Ummm… Yes.”
“Oh, I see,” she said in a knowingly, saucy tone. Tomo walked up and pushed down on the mattress. “Cushy yet firm. I like it. We’ll have to see about durability though. You can never tell that for sure unless you really put it to the test.”
She spotted the door to her bathroom and walked into it. She looked the shower over. “Ooooh, clear, glass door. Excellent choice. Now to test the water,” Tomo said as she pulled the red sweat shirt and the t-shirt underneath over her head exposing the smooth, creamy skin of her back. She then un-did her belt, and her baggy jeans fell to her feet, revealing trim legs and pink under-wear. Kaori was still standing in the door way, completely distracted by the display.
“Naughty, naughty, Kaorin,” Tomo said in a mischievous voice as she unhooked her bra.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kaori said embarrassed as she turned around and left.
She went back to the kitchen, and shortly heard the sound of the water spraying from the shower head. She then decided to prepare some herbal tea.
Several minutes later, Tomo re-entered the living room. Her hair was dripping wet and her still moist body was wrapped up in a white, terry bath robe. She was also moving Kaori’s tooth brush back and forth in her mouth.
“Would you like some tea?” She asked. The kettle and two teacups were set out on a tray on the coffee table.
Tomo removed the tooth-brush from her mouth. “Yes, I thought you’d never ask.” Tomo then saw something on a near by shelf, “What’s this?”
She removed the picture frame from the shelf to get a closer look. It was a photograph of Kaori and Sakaki in their old, pink sailor uniforms. She had her arm around Sakaki’s and was laying her head close to her shoulder. Kaori’s face was completely flushed. Sakaki, being put into this impromptu situation on the last day of school for the sake of Kaori’s crush, had a slightly surprised look on her face. Her look wasn’t that much different than the usual, expressionless mask she always wore, but a trace of un-comfortableness was there.
“Oh, I remember taking this one. I forgot how cute it was. I remember you kept begging me for copies all break, until I finally caved in and gave you one the day before you went to college.”
“It’s pretty pathetic that I still keep that picture around, huh?”
“No, that’s not pathetic. I know how it feels to love some one for a really long time and then find out later they didn’t feel the same way about you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. You should be happy you got the chance to feel that way, and cherish those memories. But, you have to sort of forget about it too. It’s really hard, but you can do it if you have spirit, determination, and guts!”
“Where did you learn that?” Kaori asked impressed.
“I think I heard that from an anime.”
A sweat drop formed on Kaori’s fore-head and then evaporated.
Tomo then stared directly at Kaori. “Hey, you got something on your face.”
Kaori brushed her left cheek. “Is it gone?”
“No, not that side.”
She brushed her right cheek. “Did I get it?”
“No, not yet. It’s more in the center,” Tomo said pointing at her face and getting closer.
Kaori brushed her chin and lips, “Did I get it this time?”
“No, here I’ll show you.” Tomo walked up until she was inches from her. “Its riiight here.” Tomo suddenly pressed her lips against Kaori’s.
She kissed her softly at first. Tomo then removed her lips and made contact with Kaori’s brown eyes. Looking into them, she definitely saw approval, so she took that as a cue to mash her lips harder against Kaori’s. Tomo was surprised when Kaori opened her mouth to give her better access, and soon both their tongues met.
After what seemed to last forever, both women pulled their mouths apart and sucked in air greedily.
“Tastes like tooth-paste,” Kaori suddenly commented. That irrelevant comment caused both Tomo and Kaori to uproar into laughter.
After she finally stopped laughing, Tomo told her, “I can’t believe that’s the only thing you had to say.”
“Hey, it’s true. But it was the best tooth-paste I ever tasted.”
“Oh, yeah, I bet.”
“But, hey, what’s that?” Kaori pointed off into the distance.
“Huh?” Tomo foolishly turned to look.
“I don’t see any…,” Tomo’s speech was cut off when she turned around and Kaori’s lips suddenly pressed hard against hers. Kaori wrapped her arms around Tomo and almost tackled her, causing Tomo to fall back onto the couch. Kaori ended up on top of her still refusing to remove her lips.
After another very lingering kiss, they again pulled their lips apart. “Hey no fair, Kaorin,” Tomo said looking down, referring to the fact that her robe had come undone in the front revealing the details of her curvaceous body and silky skin. Kaori started to unbutton her top. “No, that’s my job,” Tomo said taking over for her.
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Some time later, they were both snuggled up together under the covers of Kaori’s bed.
“So, what would you rate me from 1 to 10?”
“Oh, that was wonderful,” Kaori said dreamily. “I give you a 10.”
Tomo shot her hand up from under the sheets displaying two fingers stretched into a victory sign. “Wildcat Tomo is the best!”
“She certainly is,” Kaori leaned over towards Tomo and gave her another short kiss.
“Better than any man, woman, or child!”
“Child?” Kaori asked shocked.
“Uhhhhh.. No, that’s not what I meant. I guess that one doesn’t work for sex,” Tomo said surprised she found a situation where that line didn’t apply.
“Tomo, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Go ahead, Kaorin.”
“Would you stop calling me Kaorin?”
“Why?” Tomo asked confused.
“I never liked that name. Everyone at school just started calling me that one day. I never chose to be called that.”
“Wait, you have another name?” Tomo asked sounding even more confused.
Kaori rolled her eyes and turned over to face the other direction.
“No, wait. I was just kidding. I know your name is Kaori, but I like Kaorin a lot better.”
Kaori turned back over. “Well, I don’t like it.”
“Ok, I’ll call you Kaori, but can I call you Kaorin sometimes,” Tomo said as her voice got softer. She placed her hand on Kaori’s cheek and ran it over her smooth skin, down her neck, over her shoulder, and down her arm to where she gripped her hand. “It can be something special I get to call you and no one else.”
“Sure,” Kaori pleasantly agreed as she blushed deep red.
“And since I have to call you Kaori now, you have to call me Miss Tomo.”
“Whaaaaaat?”
“Yeah, like you used to do with Sakaki,” Tomo explained. “Whenever you see me I want you to be like, ‘Woooow Miss Tomo is sooooo cool! If I ever got to touch that awesomely hot body and those huge melons of Miss Tomo’s, I’d just shrivel to the ground and die,” Tomo said her hands clasped with a mock starry, far away look in her eyes.
“No,” Kaori stated in a combination of annoyance and embarrassment.
“Come on, I just know you want to call me Miss Tomo.”
“I don’t,” she stated firmly.
“Pleaaaaaase, I wanna be Miss Tomo.”
“No.”
“I wanna be Miss Tomo. I wanna be Miss Tomo. I wanna be Miss Tomo. I wanna be Miss Tomo. I wanna be Miss Tomo.” she begged repeatedly like a little kid.
“No way. Not now. Not in a hundred years. Not in a million years. Not in ten billion years. Not when the sun collapses into a black hole and sucks the earth into oblivion.”
“Ok, but can you at least call me that when we do it?”
“I’ll think about it.”
To Be Continued