Street Fighter Fan Fiction ❯ It's Never Lonely at the Top ❯ Damsel in This Dress, Part 1 ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: WillyFourEyes 
Sakura's next step...buying some proper clothing for the occasion.
Non Anime: Street Fighter Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Martial Arts / Drama / Action | Type: Yuri | Uploaded On: 08.21.2008 | Updated On: 08.21.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 618 | Status: Work In Progress
Sakura's next step...buying some proper clothing for the occasion.
Non Anime: Street Fighter Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Martial Arts / Drama / Action | Type: Yuri | Uploaded On: 08.21.2008 | Updated On: 08.21.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 618 | Status: Work In Progress
While she slept, Sakura imagined herself in a dimly-lit room dotted with candles on both sides. She swore she could hear Karin's voice call out from directly next to her.
"Hello, Sakura-chan," said the voice.
Sakura-chan? Karin's never called me by that name before. I wonder what she's up to?
She felt a hand press lightly against her shoulder.
"That's a nice dress you have there," said Karin. "It makes you look very...elegant."
Sakura looked down, and saw herself wearing a white dress with blue trim. She had never recalled wearing anything as elegant since her mother's wedding, and wasn't sure exactly how she ended up in a dress. She wanted to thank Karin for the compliment, but wasn't able to say anything, so she just nodded silently.
"Turn around."
Sakura complied, and turned around to see Karin wearing a similar dress, except hers was decked out with red trim.
"Do you like it?" she asked, placing her other hand on Sakura's left shoulder. "I picked these out just for you."
For me? You shouldn't have, Karin. Thank you.
Again, Sakura desperately wanted to say the words out loud, but found herself merely puffing out air. In addition, her heart was pumping at a much faster rate than normal, almost as if she was taking on a full day's training session at the dojo. She couldn't understand why she felt this way, but she didn't know what to do to make it stop.
Karin giggled playfully. "Speechless, are you? I see... Don't worry. I used to get that a lot. In fact, I think you look quite beautiful yourself."
I can't believe it...she's coming on to me now. But why...? No...I shouldn't ask...she might get offended and leave.
Karin slowly brushed her hands down Sakura's arms, wrapping them around Sakura's waist and holding the two of them closer than they'd ever been.
"Don't you think it's nice that the two of us can share a moment alone like this?"
Sakura nodded again, finally managing to say a quiet "yes".
"Then let's take advantage of it now. Hold me close, Sakura-chan. Be mine tonight."
Karin brushed the golden curls away from her face and kissed Sakura on the lips. A smile crossed her face as soon as she pulled away.
"Karin...I..."
Sakura was anxious to feel Karin's kiss again, so she closed her eyes and leaned forward, but instead of pressing against Karin's soft flesh, Sakura felt something hard hit her in the face. The loud thump awakened her, and she found herself staring at the headboard of her bed.
"Ow...what happened?" she said, rubbing her forehead.
"Having fun there, Sakura-chan?"
Hinata was already up and about, preparing a pair of slices of toast for herself and her roommate. She sat down at the table and took a bite out of hers, savoring the taste of grape jam.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Sakura. She kept quiet about what she saw in her dream, believing there would be no way Hinata would understand it. Her headache distracted her from thinking up a good-enough lie about what she saw. She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a plastic bag and block of ice to place on her head to reduce the swelling, and then sat next to Hinata to enjoy their breakfast together.
"That was some White Day yesterday, wasn't it?" asked Hinata.
"It sure was. I'm still miffed that I didn't get anything from any of the guys. Oh, well...maybe next year, huh?"
Hinata looked at the sports section of the newspaper, when a large ad on page 5 caught her eye. "Since we have the day off today," she asked, "do you want to go see a baseball game or something? We might still be able to get tickets for the Giants-Lions game this afternoon."
"That sounds like a great idea!" said Sakura. "Unfortunately, I can't make it. I was planning on going shopping later."
"We could do that, too. What do you feel like going out for?"
"I was thinking, maybe...a nice dress?"
Hinata sensed a hint of weakness in Sakura's voice, and tried to hold back a giggle. "Oh, come on, Sakura. You? In a dress? I don't think you've ever worn one as long as I've known you."
"I never thought I'd need to wear one, that's all."
"Oh, really? What might this special occasion be that you'd need to purchase a brand new dress all of a sudden?"
"I was invited to a very prestigious dinner tonight, and I want to look my best for it."
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She thought she had beaten Hinata with an answer that technically gave her friend what she wanted to hear without giving too much away, but she found that Hinata was just as tenacious when it came to searching for details as she was in the dojo.
"Really? Where?"
Sakura's answer came suspiciously quickly. "At the Kanzuki mansion. Karin invited me."
"Oh, okay," said Hinata. "I guess we could do that, too. It's unusually nice of her to invite you over to her house on a weekend."
Sakura felt guilty for a moment when she realized that Karin had only given her an invitation to the mansion. She usually liked to hang out with Hinata on the weekends, and didn't want to leave her behind to spend a night with Karin on such short notice. The only option she could think of taking was meeting them halfway, so she tried calling Karin's house to see if Hinata could tag along with her for the evening.
"Hello?"
The voice that answered the call on the other end was not Karin, but Karin's father, Katsuo.
"G-good morning, Kanzuki-san," said Sakura. "How are you this fine morning?"
"Oh, good morning, Kasugano-san," he replied. "I wasn't expecting you to call this early. Are you looking to speak to my daughter?"
"Yes. Is she available?"
"Not at the moment. Karin is out for her morning walk in the garden. Shall I pass on a message to her?"
"No, thank you. Could you ask her to call me back when she has a chance? It's about tonight. She has my cell phone number, so ask her to call me there, if you could."
"Very well. I'll pass the message along to her right away."
"Thank you so much. Bye!"
When Sakura hung up the phone, Hinata looked at her and wondered what was going on.
"It's nothing," said Sakura.
The two of them still had a few hours to spend until the stores in the shopping district opened, so they cleaned up the bed area after finishing their short breakfast. After they were done, Sakura removed a chess box from underneath her bed and sat it down on the table. "Want to play a game or two with me while we wait, Hina-chan?" asked Sakura.
Hinata pulled up a chair opposite Sakura and nodded. "Sure, I'll play," she said. "This time, I'm going to beat you good!"
Karin had walked several laps around the outdoor garden on the first floor of her mansion with her head held down, partially disgusted that she couldn't "beautify herself" to start the day. The casual outfit she was wearing at the moment made her feel like a stranger in her own home. She was used to wearing dresses every day of the week, even on weekends with nothing to do. Ishizaki had to remind her that tonight was the night of her dinner with Sakura, and it was important that she kept her best clothes clean for the occasion. She then thought back to the night of White Day, and Sakura's reaction to receiving her invitation.
She did it again. Two days ago, it was the neck, and now on the hand. I don't know what's going on in that head of hers, but there's definitely something different about the way Sakura's been acting lately. She'd probably act more rationally if she didn't have that bandanna wrapped around her head so tightly like that. Come on, Sakura. What are you trying to tell me? Could it be that you're...?
Karin shook her head vigorously, hoping to avoid thinking too much about it throughout the day. All she was interested in at the moment was relaxing, but her hopes of doing so were temporarily dashed when her father walked in with a hand-written note addressed to her.
"Karin!" he said. "I have a message for you from Kasugano-san. She wants you to call her on her cell as soon as possible."
"What did she want to talk about?"
"She wasn't terribly specific about her inquiry. She only mentioned that it had something to do with tonight's dinner."
Oh, no, thought Karin. And here I was, hoping that everything would be perfect for tonight. I hope she's not going to cancel on me now.
"All right. I'll call her as soon as I'm done here," she said.
Karin made one last trip around the garden as her father walked out, admiring the variety of flowers the family had grown there over the years. When she finally got tired, she stopped underneath a large maple tree near the center to rest and follow up on Sakura's call. She waited for a few rings, but the answering service picked up, with Sakura answering the call about a second after she started talking.
"Sakura?"
In typical Sakura fashion, she answered Karin with renewed energy and enthusiasm. "Hiya, Karin!"
"Good morning. You were a bit slow on the draw there when I tried to call. Where were you?"
"Sorry about that. I had to take a shower and then get a change of clothes. My phone was right there in my pants pocket."
"I see. So, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier?"
"I...well, um...I wanted to ask you if Hinata could come along with me to dinner tonight."
Leave it to Sakura Kasugano to always make a simple situation needlessly complicated.
"Sakura..."
Karin hesitated, thinking for a moment on how best to break the news to Sakura without upsetting her. "I'm sorry, but I have to say no. My father only made plans for one dinner guest tonight, and I don't think I'd be able to talk him into letting someone else come over. When he comes up with a plan, he's very specific about what he wants, and makes every effort to stick to it."
"Oh...I see," said Sakura. "I feel bad about leaving Hinata behind on a weekend. That's why I asked."
"Don't worry about it. I promise that I'll find a way for the three of us to hand out one day."
"Okay. I'll make a note of it. I should probably get going now, though. See you later!"
"Right. See you."
Karin snapped her cell phone shut and hastily stuffed it in her back pocket. Her jeans were beginning to tighten on her, and she wanted to get out of them as soon as possible. She couldn't help feeling a little bit sorry for leaving Hinata out, but she knew she had to abide by the rules her father set up for her. For a brief moment, she envisioned Sakura standing in front of her wearing a dress dotted with jewels, but quickly realized that something that sparkly would be too much for a girl of Sakura's tastes. Whatever it is she decides on, she thought, I'm sure she'll look good in it.
"Hello, Sakura-chan," said the voice.
Sakura-chan? Karin's never called me by that name before. I wonder what she's up to?
She felt a hand press lightly against her shoulder.
"That's a nice dress you have there," said Karin. "It makes you look very...elegant."
Sakura looked down, and saw herself wearing a white dress with blue trim. She had never recalled wearing anything as elegant since her mother's wedding, and wasn't sure exactly how she ended up in a dress. She wanted to thank Karin for the compliment, but wasn't able to say anything, so she just nodded silently.
"Turn around."
Sakura complied, and turned around to see Karin wearing a similar dress, except hers was decked out with red trim.
"Do you like it?" she asked, placing her other hand on Sakura's left shoulder. "I picked these out just for you."
For me? You shouldn't have, Karin. Thank you.
Again, Sakura desperately wanted to say the words out loud, but found herself merely puffing out air. In addition, her heart was pumping at a much faster rate than normal, almost as if she was taking on a full day's training session at the dojo. She couldn't understand why she felt this way, but she didn't know what to do to make it stop.
Karin giggled playfully. "Speechless, are you? I see... Don't worry. I used to get that a lot. In fact, I think you look quite beautiful yourself."
I can't believe it...she's coming on to me now. But why...? No...I shouldn't ask...she might get offended and leave.
Karin slowly brushed her hands down Sakura's arms, wrapping them around Sakura's waist and holding the two of them closer than they'd ever been.
"Don't you think it's nice that the two of us can share a moment alone like this?"
Sakura nodded again, finally managing to say a quiet "yes".
"Then let's take advantage of it now. Hold me close, Sakura-chan. Be mine tonight."
Karin brushed the golden curls away from her face and kissed Sakura on the lips. A smile crossed her face as soon as she pulled away.
"Karin...I..."
Sakura was anxious to feel Karin's kiss again, so she closed her eyes and leaned forward, but instead of pressing against Karin's soft flesh, Sakura felt something hard hit her in the face. The loud thump awakened her, and she found herself staring at the headboard of her bed.
"Ow...what happened?" she said, rubbing her forehead.
"Having fun there, Sakura-chan?"
Hinata was already up and about, preparing a pair of slices of toast for herself and her roommate. She sat down at the table and took a bite out of hers, savoring the taste of grape jam.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Sakura. She kept quiet about what she saw in her dream, believing there would be no way Hinata would understand it. Her headache distracted her from thinking up a good-enough lie about what she saw. She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a plastic bag and block of ice to place on her head to reduce the swelling, and then sat next to Hinata to enjoy their breakfast together.
"That was some White Day yesterday, wasn't it?" asked Hinata.
"It sure was. I'm still miffed that I didn't get anything from any of the guys. Oh, well...maybe next year, huh?"
Hinata looked at the sports section of the newspaper, when a large ad on page 5 caught her eye. "Since we have the day off today," she asked, "do you want to go see a baseball game or something? We might still be able to get tickets for the Giants-Lions game this afternoon."
"That sounds like a great idea!" said Sakura. "Unfortunately, I can't make it. I was planning on going shopping later."
"We could do that, too. What do you feel like going out for?"
"I was thinking, maybe...a nice dress?"
Hinata sensed a hint of weakness in Sakura's voice, and tried to hold back a giggle. "Oh, come on, Sakura. You? In a dress? I don't think you've ever worn one as long as I've known you."
"I never thought I'd need to wear one, that's all."
"Oh, really? What might this special occasion be that you'd need to purchase a brand new dress all of a sudden?"
"I was invited to a very prestigious dinner tonight, and I want to look my best for it."
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She thought she had beaten Hinata with an answer that technically gave her friend what she wanted to hear without giving too much away, but she found that Hinata was just as tenacious when it came to searching for details as she was in the dojo.
"Really? Where?"
Sakura's answer came suspiciously quickly. "At the Kanzuki mansion. Karin invited me."
"Oh, okay," said Hinata. "I guess we could do that, too. It's unusually nice of her to invite you over to her house on a weekend."
Sakura felt guilty for a moment when she realized that Karin had only given her an invitation to the mansion. She usually liked to hang out with Hinata on the weekends, and didn't want to leave her behind to spend a night with Karin on such short notice. The only option she could think of taking was meeting them halfway, so she tried calling Karin's house to see if Hinata could tag along with her for the evening.
"Hello?"
The voice that answered the call on the other end was not Karin, but Karin's father, Katsuo.
"G-good morning, Kanzuki-san," said Sakura. "How are you this fine morning?"
"Oh, good morning, Kasugano-san," he replied. "I wasn't expecting you to call this early. Are you looking to speak to my daughter?"
"Yes. Is she available?"
"Not at the moment. Karin is out for her morning walk in the garden. Shall I pass on a message to her?"
"No, thank you. Could you ask her to call me back when she has a chance? It's about tonight. She has my cell phone number, so ask her to call me there, if you could."
"Very well. I'll pass the message along to her right away."
"Thank you so much. Bye!"
When Sakura hung up the phone, Hinata looked at her and wondered what was going on.
"It's nothing," said Sakura.
The two of them still had a few hours to spend until the stores in the shopping district opened, so they cleaned up the bed area after finishing their short breakfast. After they were done, Sakura removed a chess box from underneath her bed and sat it down on the table. "Want to play a game or two with me while we wait, Hina-chan?" asked Sakura.
Hinata pulled up a chair opposite Sakura and nodded. "Sure, I'll play," she said. "This time, I'm going to beat you good!"
Karin had walked several laps around the outdoor garden on the first floor of her mansion with her head held down, partially disgusted that she couldn't "beautify herself" to start the day. The casual outfit she was wearing at the moment made her feel like a stranger in her own home. She was used to wearing dresses every day of the week, even on weekends with nothing to do. Ishizaki had to remind her that tonight was the night of her dinner with Sakura, and it was important that she kept her best clothes clean for the occasion. She then thought back to the night of White Day, and Sakura's reaction to receiving her invitation.
She did it again. Two days ago, it was the neck, and now on the hand. I don't know what's going on in that head of hers, but there's definitely something different about the way Sakura's been acting lately. She'd probably act more rationally if she didn't have that bandanna wrapped around her head so tightly like that. Come on, Sakura. What are you trying to tell me? Could it be that you're...?
Karin shook her head vigorously, hoping to avoid thinking too much about it throughout the day. All she was interested in at the moment was relaxing, but her hopes of doing so were temporarily dashed when her father walked in with a hand-written note addressed to her.
"Karin!" he said. "I have a message for you from Kasugano-san. She wants you to call her on her cell as soon as possible."
"What did she want to talk about?"
"She wasn't terribly specific about her inquiry. She only mentioned that it had something to do with tonight's dinner."
Oh, no, thought Karin. And here I was, hoping that everything would be perfect for tonight. I hope she's not going to cancel on me now.
"All right. I'll call her as soon as I'm done here," she said.
Karin made one last trip around the garden as her father walked out, admiring the variety of flowers the family had grown there over the years. When she finally got tired, she stopped underneath a large maple tree near the center to rest and follow up on Sakura's call. She waited for a few rings, but the answering service picked up, with Sakura answering the call about a second after she started talking.
"Sakura?"
In typical Sakura fashion, she answered Karin with renewed energy and enthusiasm. "Hiya, Karin!"
"Good morning. You were a bit slow on the draw there when I tried to call. Where were you?"
"Sorry about that. I had to take a shower and then get a change of clothes. My phone was right there in my pants pocket."
"I see. So, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier?"
"I...well, um...I wanted to ask you if Hinata could come along with me to dinner tonight."
Leave it to Sakura Kasugano to always make a simple situation needlessly complicated.
"Sakura..."
Karin hesitated, thinking for a moment on how best to break the news to Sakura without upsetting her. "I'm sorry, but I have to say no. My father only made plans for one dinner guest tonight, and I don't think I'd be able to talk him into letting someone else come over. When he comes up with a plan, he's very specific about what he wants, and makes every effort to stick to it."
"Oh...I see," said Sakura. "I feel bad about leaving Hinata behind on a weekend. That's why I asked."
"Don't worry about it. I promise that I'll find a way for the three of us to hand out one day."
"Okay. I'll make a note of it. I should probably get going now, though. See you later!"
"Right. See you."
Karin snapped her cell phone shut and hastily stuffed it in her back pocket. Her jeans were beginning to tighten on her, and she wanted to get out of them as soon as possible. She couldn't help feeling a little bit sorry for leaving Hinata out, but she knew she had to abide by the rules her father set up for her. For a brief moment, she envisioned Sakura standing in front of her wearing a dress dotted with jewels, but quickly realized that something that sparkly would be too much for a girl of Sakura's tastes. Whatever it is she decides on, she thought, I'm sure she'll look good in it.