Street Fighter Fan Fiction ❯ It's Never Lonely at the Top ❯ Invitation and Hunger, Part 3 ( Chapter 3 )

The sun set outside the Saikyo-ryo dojo, but Sakura and Hinata failed to notice until Sho pointed out the time on his cell phone clock. They had practiced all throughout the afternoon, stopping only briefly after their lesson to return to Setsuka's for dinner. Sakura looked out for Karin again, but did not see her, concluding that she would prefer to eat dinner at her house.

"So," said Sakura, "what do you guys think about this Gold Fist gym challenge coming up?"

"I think it's a total waste of our time," said Sho. "We should be out there fighting real opponents...top-class martial artists. I know we're better than those guys, so why do we have to prove it practically every month?"

"Come on, Sho-kun," said Hinata. "They're not all like that. I have a couple of friends over in that dojo who actually take their work seriously and fight with honor."

Sho scoffed while eating the last of his leg of chicken. "You'll have to point them out to me when they stop by. Everyone I've ever seen from that place acts so smug."

"I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised when you meet them."

One of the waitresses came by to collect the payment for their meal. Sakura paid the bill using money from her own pocket, and Sho and Hinata gave her a portion of their own money to cover the cost from the portions that they had eaten. The waitress gave a friendly smile to the trio of friends, and offered to clean their plates for them as they left the restaurant to return to the dojo.

When they entered the door, they saw Dan putting all of his energy into a private training session, shouting with every punch, kick, and fist pump he could muster. He drew a few confused stares from Hinata and Sho, as none of the moves he showed off in front of them were displayed in any of their training sessions.

"What are you doing, Dan-sensei?" asked Sho.

Dan stopped in mid-punch to observe Sho and the others as they came in. "It's my evening workout. While you guys are off eating and partying, I'm in here keeping my own body in shape. A master is at his most effective when he's in top physical condition."

"Are you sure you should be doing that? What if you pull a muscle or something with all of those wild moves? Then what will you do?"

Dan laughed heartily. "Get it treated, of course! I may be confident, but I'm no dummy. Of course, there'd be no one here to lead in my absence, so you kids would be off the hook for a while."

The trio laughed nervously at the last statement, wondering if he was serious about it or merely becoming exceedingly confident in his ability to withstand injury.

"Don't you think you should rest for a little bit, Dan-sensei?" asked Sakura. "We're the ones who are going to be fighting next week."

"That's right," Hinata added, "and we need your, uh...guidance! Yeah, that's it."

"Really? Well, if you'd like, you could stay here for another private lesson. It won't even cost you anything."

"No, that's okay. We have to get home soon. We're kinda tired, anyway."

"I see. In that case, I'll see you all next week."

Sakura and her friends bowed toward Dan, and then went into the dressing room to change into their casual clothes. Dan left them alone, and continued to work on his fighting stance on his own.

When Sakura emerged from the dressing room, she saw Karin entering the dojo wearing her favorite blue dress and holding an envelope in her hand. Karin looked around and saw that the place was nearly empty again, but smiled when she finally spotted Sakura and Hinata.

"Karin! So good to see you," said Sakura.

"And I am pleased to see you tonight, as well," said Karin. "I take it that your training is still proceeding well?"

"Absolutely," said Hinata. "We're working hard so that we're in shape for our match against the Gold Fist Dojo next week."

"Gold Fist? I think I've heard of them. One of my former dates used to train at that gym. Would have become a superstar fighter, too, if he hadn't gone and injured himself. Those guys are really into their work."

"We've noticed," Hinata said dryly.

"So, do any of you need a ride home?"

"Thanks for the offer," said Sho, stepping out of the background and walking toward the front door, "but my house is just a few blocks down. I wouldn't want to trouble you too much. Same time next Monday?"

"You bet," said Sakura as she waved to Sho.

"I guess that just leaves the three of us, huh?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah." Sakura noticed Karin giving her a half-playful smile. "Go ahead into the limo, Hina-chan. I'll catch up with you."

Hinata went outside and got into the back seat of the limo, pushing the window down slightly to allow herself a bit of ventilation, and to periodically peer at Karin and Sakura during their conversation.

"I want to thank you again for the truffles you gave me at lunch today," said Karin. "They were delicious. How did you know I liked them?"

"Lucky guess," said Sakura, scratching her head nervously.

"Oh. If I had known any better, I'd think you did that on purpose just to get on my good side."

Karin belted out her usual loud laugh, which eventually faded into a standard giggle, which Sakura imitated nervously, hoping that Dan wouldn't overhear and complain about them breaking his concentration.

"In any case," Karin continued, "I've prepared something special for you. Take a look at this."

She handed the small envelope to Sakura, who proceeded to read the enclosed letter to herself.

To show my appreciation for the gift you have given me for White Day, I, Karin Kanzuki, am offering you this invitation to dinner at the Kanzuki House on Saturday, March 15, at 6:00 PM Tokyo Time. Be sure to wear something elegant. I'll be looking forward to seeing you.

When she finished reading the invitation, Sakura tucked it away into her pants pocket. Karin stared silently at her friend, waiting for her to say something, but was caught completely off-guard when Sakura grabbed on to her and squeezed with all of her might.

"You're really inviting me to your house for dinner?" Sakura squealed. "I can't believe it! Thank you so much, Karin! You're the greatest!"

"Sakura! Cut that out!" Karin's hands were pinned down, and she struggled to loosen them so that she could return Sakura's hug as best she could. "That one hurt a little bit."

"I'm sorry," said Sakura. "I don't know what came over me. Should I have done this instead?"

Sakura released her grip from Karin and bent down to kiss her right hand. Karin smiled back at Sakura again, while trying to shake the feeling back into both of her arms.

"That...is acceptable," said Karin. "I'll let it go this time. We should hurry, though. You don't want to leave your friend sitting in the limousine too long, do you?"

"No, of course not. Let's get out of here."

The two girls squeezed into the back of the limousine next to Hinata, who sat and giggled at Sakura as she fastened her seatbelt when the vehicle started moving. "All right...what's really going on between you two?" she asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Karin.

"I saw what happened. Sakura-chan gave you another one of those power-hugs, just like the one at Setsuka's earlier today."

"You were watching the whole time?" Sakura and Karin asked in unison.

"Not the whole time. All I saw was the hug."

"Good," said Karin, "because that's all that happened. It was simply a gesture of affection between two friends. Nothing more."

Her voice wavered a bit on the last sentence. Hinata simply nodded and kept quiet for the rest of the ride, checking her pockets for the key to her and Sakura's apartment. Sakura sat back and folded her arms behind her head while listening to one of her favorite pop songs. Soon, the limousine reached the apartment, and Sakura and Hinata stepped out to return to their room.

"Thanks again for your help, Karin!" said Sakura.

"Yeah," said Hinata. "It was a pleasure meeting you again."

Karin waved to the two girls and waited for them to safely reach the steps of their apartment. "Have a good weekend, ladies! Don't forget about tomorrow, Sakura. If you have any questions, call me, okay?"

"Of course! I won't forget."

"All right, then. So long!"

Karin rolled up her window and ordered her driver to return to the mansion, hoping that she would be able to get back in time to eat a snack before sleep overcame her. With the partition preventing her from saying anything to the driver without causing her a distraction, she reached into a compartment next to her and continued working on an unfinished sudoku puzzle she had worked on during the drive to Sakura's dojo. She sighed quietly, knowing that the book would be her only companion until the next evening's dinner.

Back at the apartment, Hinata's curiosity was still aroused by Sakura's interactions with Karin, but neither of them had the energy to hold a full-length conversation. Sakura, almost completely physically drained from her sparring matches, opened the door to their room with her eyes half-open.

"I'll fill you in on the details tomorrow," she said when Hinata asked her about it again.

"Okay...to tell you the truth, I'm kinda tired, too. I'm just glad we get to rest for a while and enjoy the weekend."

The girls took turns using the bathroom and changing into their pajamas. They tucked themselves tightly into their beds, hoping to stay warm in the midst of the falling temperature outside.

"Good night, Sakura-chan," whispered Hinata.

"Good night, Hina-chan," said Sakura, smiling in anticipation for what the next day would bring.