Continuing Studies
Emi Makaze paced across her small dorm room restlessly, her stretch
pants clinging to her long legs. She had just finished a practice, and
should have been resting up, but the dancer was filled with nervous
energy. She sat down at the side of the bed, and closed her eyes only
to see that face again, the concerned gaze of Kaori Makimura.
"Why can't I get her out of my mind?" Emi whimpered.
Laying down on her back with a little sigh of defeat Emi deliberately
let herself call up that very first meeting in her mind's eye,
remembering standing there and watching with a certain amount of
amusement as Kaori looked adoringly up at one of Emi's own photos. It
was the one of Emi in a white suit, a image that she knew made
feminine hearts beat faster.
Kaori was a boyish looking woman herself with brown hair falling into
her eyes, and she had seen through Emi's feeble attempt at a disguise
almost instantly. Not that a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses was
all that good of a disguise anyway.
Emi frowned slightly as she remembered Ryo Saeba's boorish behavior
towards her, then she had to smile thinking of how effectively Kaori
had dealt with it. Then with a simple dignity Kaori had promised her
their help.
Again and again over the next few days Ryo had tried to take liberties
with her, and each time Kaori had put him his place, quite forcefully
when she felt it was necessary. Emi just couldn't seem to understand
how someone like Kaori could tolerate him as a partner, but she had to
say that he was good at what he did.
"Maybe she loves him," Emi murmured, then shuddered at the very
thought.
Almost as soon as Emi saw her, she knew that she wanted to be Kaori's
friend. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she admitted to
herself that maybe she was interested in being more than a friend to
the other woman.
"I still can't believe I did that," Emi said to herself.
Emi had been using the shower to rinse before taking her evening bath,
with Kaori loyally sitting outside the shower stall to watch over her
when she had been struck by the dangerous impulse. Sounding as casual
as she could manage to, Emi called out to her, "This bath isn't too
large, but do you want to join me?"
'She didn't run away screaming,' Emi thought to herself sadly, 'but
she certainly left in a hurry.' A smile appeared, 'But she sure turned
up fast once Ryo snuck inside!' It had been a very satisfying
experience to see Kaori hammer Ryo right out the upper story window
and down into the hopefully mucky river!
Again and again Kaori would rush to Emi's side and protect her,
especially once they were on the train together. The train...
Another blush colored Emi's cheeks as she though about how Kaori had
looked them. Black suit jacket and pants, a dark T-shirt, she had
looked striking. 'Handsome,' Emi had to admit to herself, 'she really
was handsome.'
Emi thought of the panic and terror she had felt when they learned
about the bomb that was hidden beneath the train and how Kaori had so
easily calmed her down. Those strong hands holding her by the
shoulders had felt so good, Kaori's dark eyes meeting hers, and the
utter sincerity in her voice when she said that Ryo would save them.
After Kaori had traded places with her in the bomb wired driver's
seat, both she and Ryo had wanted Emi to get off the train, to get to
safety. But she just couldn't do it, couldn't leave Kaori there,
alone, facing danger that was meant for her.
"I told Ryo that I wanted to see it through to the end," Emi sighed,
"but I really just wanted to stay there with Kaori."
Ryo had defeated her brother Takaeki Muto, the Professor, and even
figure out how to disarm the bomb. 'By looking at my panties,' Emi
thought with a fierce scowl, feeling glad that Kaori had punished him
for that, too.
She and Kaori had shared a blanket at the Shinjuku victory party, but
Emi's duties as a celeberty had pulled her away from her place at
Kaori's side. She lost her in the crowded block party, and she hadn't
seen Kaori since.
Emi sat up, looking over at the bedside phone. She reached for it,
hesitated, then lowered her hand, thumping it down on to the
bedspread. 'I probably scared her away,' she thought, 'I bet that
Kaori doesn't even want to see me.'
It had all happened in the middle of a crisis, and even Emi knew that
strong bonds could form there, bonds that didn't always last once the
crisis had ended. 'Yes, she took care of me, but that was her job as
my bodyguard. It doesn't have to mean anything more,' she thought
sadly. She sighed softly, 'But it does to me.'
The phone rang, the shrill beep piercing the silence.
Emi leapt for the phone, bringing it to her ear as she said, "Yes?"
"Emi?" the warm voice that she so wanted to hear say, "This is Kaori
Makimura."
"Kaori," Emi smiled, relaxing for the first time that day, "I was just
thinking about you..."
Author's Note: This mini-fic is a continuation of City Hunter: the
motion picture. When I saw the movie I was mildly surprised at the
interactions between Emi and Kaori, and wondered if there might be a
romance there. I've done a bit of reading since then, including a bit
about the adoration some female drag stars can acquire in Japan, but I
still think that Emi and Kaori might make a good couple. Let me know
what you think!
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