Interlude: Storm in "One Wild Night" Ororo Monroe sat by the window seat, gazing outside and not coincidentally at the road out there where their guest would be coming from. She was feeling nervous, an emotion that she rarely let her fellow members of the X-men see. She got up for a moment, then sat right back down again, afraid of missing her. 'Them,' she quickly corrected herself, 'not her.' She shook her head mournfully, knowing that she was deluding herself. She was sitting here anxiously waiting for one person and one person only: Raven Darkholme, aka Mystique. They had crossed swords several times over the years, but a more private meeting stubbornly remained in the front of Ororo's mind. Raven had arranged for them to meet in a gay bar, and Storm had been surprised by the crowd's reaction when she walked in. Storm had been in her leather phase, and the admiring glances she received from the women in the crowd had generated a new, uncomfortable warmth inside her body. A warmth Raven seemed to find a great deal of enjoyment in fanning. Raven had flirted with her, but more importantly, she had flirted back! Ororo still didn't fully understand what had possessed her as they had sat there, trading verbal barbs. Raven had shifted and changed her appearance, finally mirroring Ororo's own form, but in poses and postures she never would have tried. 'I ran right out of there like a bat out of hell,' Ororo thought with a weary sigh, 'and then right into the supposed safety of poor Forge's arms. What on Earth was I thinking?' She gave another long sigh, and a faint but visible blush colored her cheeks as she thought, 'It's not like I hadn't been with a woman before.' Storm and the X-Men had been visiting Japan, to attend the wedding of Logan to his lady love, Mariko of the clan Yashada. The flight over was wonderful, and the reception that night was lovely. But then things started to go seriously wrong. The food they ate was poisoned by a rival of Mariko's for her clan's leadership, leaving only a weakened Storm, Wolverine and Rogue available to find out what was going on and who was responsible. Yuriko, an ally of Logan's joined Storm as she pursued leads on what had happened. They had been in an alley together, confronted by a group of thugs looking for trouble. The battle was short and sweet, and at Yuriko's urgings she had cut loose, finally released the firm hold she had always retained on her emotions. And it felt wonderful! Later, Yuriko looked over at the rain drenched X-Man with a wry smile on her handsome face. "If you are going to run with me tonight," she said to her thoughtfully, "you're going to have to look the part." "What do you mean?" Ororo asked her suspiciously. "Ororo, there's some places we're going to have to go to get the information we need, that you're going to stand out in like a sore thumb," Yuriko explained to her patiently, a little smile on her face. "So a bit of disguise is in order," she finished. Yuriko suddenly grinned at her dangerously, grabbed Ororo's arm, and with a laugh quickly pulled the protesting woman into a nearby leather shop. A few minutes later they came out, and Ororo was transformed. Tight leather pants hugged her from waist to ankle, sliding into black leather boots, and her breasts were barely contained by a strapless leather top. A jacket over that completed the outfit. Ororo turned and twisted, an odd smile on her beautiful face as her long mane of snow white hair flowed all around her. "You know," she softly admitted, "this is really quite comfortable. I could get used to this." "It does look pretty good on you," the much slimmer Asian woman said with a thoughtful nod. Frowning, she reached over and tugged on Ororo's long white hair, "But I think some of the hair's got to go, to complete the look. "Is that really necessary?" Ororo asked Yuriko softly, a frown on her face as well. She had grown out her hair since she was a child, and was reluctant to loose it. Yuriko gazed at Ororo, and she felt as if the intense young woman was seeing beyond her body, maybe into her very soul itself. "Haven't you ever wanted to just change yourself completely?" she asked her softly. Yuriko added with a small smile, "Hair grows back, but when will this kind of opportunity knock again?" Ororo gazed at her, wondering at the odd tone the woman was using. 'I don't even know her,' she thought, 'but something makes me want to listen to her.' A deep breath, a brave smile, and "Let's go get it done, then." Her heart sank low in her chest as the locks of white hair fell on the floor around her, and it was with a great deal of nervousness that she finally looked into the mirror to see what Yuriko had ordered the pretty young hairstylist to do. A bold white crest rose above her head, curving a bit, and a long tail snaked down her back. She looked both exotic and exiting, something Ororo wouldn't have normally though herself to be. Yuriko looked at her, a faint flush on her pale cheeks. "It looks great, Ororo," she said softly, reaching out to gently stroke along the bare side of her head, then up to feel the crest. The soft, delicate touch felt like sweet fire on the newly bare skin, and Ororo shuddered involuntarily, fighting to regain some of her control. "Where to next?" Ororo asked her softly. Yuriko seemed about to say something, then she visibly stopped herself. "There's some bars on the docks we'll check first," she said softly, as they walked together down the street, soaking in the gazes of the admiring passerby. The next few hours passed by in a blur, Yuriko and Ororo visiting club after club together, using either force or charm as needed to piece together their enemy's plans. After a few false leads they had gathered enough of the information to see the shape of the Silver Samurai and Viper's plans, and how to best go about stopping them. "Where are we going now?" Ororo asked her companion a bit wearily. They went up a small flight of stairs to a door, which Yuriko unlocked to led her in. The apartment was tiny and bare, only the essentials there for the resident: a flat mattress on the floor, a pillow and a radio. The only decoration was a print hanging on one wall. "Grab a seat," Yuriko said calmly, taking a bottle of sake from the fridge. "We've got a bit of time before the Samurai and Viper move," she said as she retrieved two small cups, "let's make the most of them." "What do you mean?" Ororo asked, and Yuriko turned to give her a considering look. She took a short step and was beside her, pushing Ororo back on the mat. Yuriko kissed Ororo intensely, only breaking the kiss to say, "I've wanted to do that since before the haircut." "But I've never, and I barely know you" Ororo started to stammer out, when Yuriko gently shushed her, a finger on her lips. She lay on top of her, gazing down into Ororo's bright blue eyes, seeking something in them, and finding it. "We may both die tomorrow," Yuriko said it calmly, without fear. "The odds are against us, and we've few allies we can rely on. So tonight," she said with a certain intensity, "I want to be alive, to live life fully. Will you help me do that?" Ororo looked up into those dark eyes, and felt that same wildness she had discovered back in the alley. She wanted this, to release all of her control, so instead of answering with inadequate words, Ororo stretched up to kiss her back. Storm smiled to herself, continuing to look outside. She had never told the X-Men what had happened to her that night. She rather suspected that Wolverine knew, but he was the sort of man not to intrude on another's privacy. Kitty was shocked at Storm's new look, a reaction she really should have expected. It took them a while to return to their previous relationship, and things still weren't quite the same. Privately, Ororo suspected that Kitty had actually seen her mother figure as a sexual person for the first time, and that it had disturbed her greatly. She and Yuriko had never repeated the experience. They had known it was a one time thing that neither of them could give up their own way of life for the other. She had to admit, she'd been greatly tempted, though. It really was one wild night! Much later, the X-Men had faced a deadly trap, which ensnared a person in their own heart's desire. Storm was rather surprised that her's was Tokyo, and spending another wild night with Yuriko. She had resisted, but had barely escaped unscathed. "The closest of calls," she had said to Logan later, "the narrowest of escapes. I doubt I could do so again." A jeep came around the corner, to pull into a gentle stop out front. Rogue got out, then Raven, and finally Rogue, quite gentlemanly, helped Kitty out. 'I guess it's time,' Storm thought to herself with a little smile as she smoothly got up off the couch. Storm walked outside and down the steps to the jeep, smiling a bit at Raven. "It's been a long time," Storm said to her with a friendly smile on her face.
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