Azusa Aoi loved shopping in Akihabara and on Otome Road over in Ikebukuro, buying dojinshi and the occasional anime or drama CD as well as seeing the sights. Living where she did and going to school the dark haired girl felt isolated from the world of fandom, and it was invigorating to immerse herself into this fan dominated world. Here she could express her love for yuri through dojin and manga, search for more works by her favorite author Orino Masaka, and generally enjoy herself.
Azusa puffed out a tired breath as she hefted her bags, deciding on a whim to rest at a nearby maid cafe. The sweet young woman smiled warmly as Azusa entered, greeting her traditionally with, “Welcome home, master.”
With a comforted smile Azusa followed the black haired maid inside, the two walking to a table off to the side, sadly not near a window and by a table crowded with young ladies. “Busy day,” Azusa noted mildly.
“Very,” the maid agreed. “My name is Ritsuko. Would you care to start with some tea?” she offered.
“That'd be lovely,” Azusa said with a smile, pushing up her glasses.
As she settled herself down, Azusa found herself looking at the young women over at the nearby table. They were a interesting cross section of Akihabara girls, with several university students, a few that looked like otaku, some teens her own age and several kogal types with too much makeup. It seemed odd to see such a odd group together, and she found herself leaning in to hear them talk.
“... so all of us have experienced the same thing?” the slim, red haired university type noted. She frowned cutely, “I find that hard to believe.”
“It does make me feel a bit less special,” the blond haired kogal noted. “But when I saw the notice, I knew I had to come.”
“I'm glad you saw it,” the girl at the head of the table nodded, her black hair shimmering down her back as the high schooler noted, “I wouldn't have met some of you if we hadn't emailed.”
“So what are we going to call this little club?” the brown haired girl with glasses asked dryly, “The saved by karate girl club?”
'Saved by karate girl?' Azusa blinked as the maid arrived with her tea. “Thank you,” she smiled up at her from her seat. She blushed faintly as the maid bent over, the low cut dress showing the swell of her perfectly formed breasts....
“You're welcome,” Ritsuko winked. She looked over at the group of chattering girls and dropped her voice, “I hope they're not bothering you.”
“It's fine,” Azusa smiled reassuringly, “in fact I find it kind of interesting.”
Ritsuko gave her a sheepish glance as she sat across from her. “If I wasn't on shift I'd be joining their meeting,” she admitted as she took out her phone, “but at least I got a picture of her.”
The image on the camera phone's screen was a bit blurred by movement, but it was still a face that Azusa knew well. “Murasame-san?!” she yelped, seeing the familiar figure in a karate gi and without her squarish glasses.
“You know who she is!?” Ritsuko blurted out loudly as the girls from the other table crowded over to see what was going on.
In between giving the girls a summary of what she knew about her classmate and friend Sumika Murasame, Azusa got a idea why the girls were so into her. Apparently Murasame had been jogging through various parts of the city in her gi and rescuing damsels in distress. Literally. Listening to their stories it sounded like Murasame had stopped muggings, rapes, and other assaults with her usual casual capability. It was no wonder the girls were fans!
“So she's tall, dark, smart, a black belt and class president?” a kogal girl checked off some of Murasame's positive traits with her heavily tanned fingers. “I think I'm in love.”
“Not all of us go that way,” Hotaru, the older of the university students giving her a look, her red hair and glasses giving her a studious look.
“More of her for me,” the other university girl offered, grinning. Minako looked at Azusa, “Any chance you could introduce me, Miss Aoi?”
“Ah...,” Azusa blanked as she tried to explain the whole Ushio/Sumika situation to them. “She's kind of seeing someone.”
“Too bad,” Ritsuko sighed. She noticed her boss looking harried and excused herself, “Gotta get back to work.”
“And you're all the women Murasame saved?” Azusa asked.
“Nah,” the leader, Shouko, answered with a chuckle, “there were a few others who couldn't make it today.” Shouko drank her tea as the group lingered and chatted, then gave Azusa a penetrating look as she quietly asked, “You like her, too?”
“I...,” Azusa felt herself blush as she looked away shyly, once again feeling the pain she had experienced when she realized Sumika was in love with another.
Shouko put her hand over Azusa's as she gently said, “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried.”
“It's okay,” Azusa managed a weak smile. “I was so overwhelmed by what we had in common....”
Noticing she had trailed off, Shouko looked up to see everyone listening in intently. “AHEM,” she cleared her throat loudly and they all looked away.
“Thanks,” Azusa smiled wryly. She looked down shyly as she confessed, “I sort of built things up in my head too fast.”
“I know how that feels,” Shouko agreed. She looked up at the group, “All right, folks. I think we can end todays meeting, but I'd like for us to get together next weekend. Okay?”
Several of the girls looked at each other warily, but there also was a lot of nodding of heads too. “Why not?” one of the kogals admitted, “This is kind of interesting.”
“Well, the meeting might be over,” Minako addressed a few of the others, “but there's no reason we can't stay for tea and lunch.”
The kogal blushed slightly, “Mind if I join you?”
Minako smiled, “Why not, indeed.”
As the girls scattered Shouko turned back to Azusa, “Miss Aoi, you mentioned Murasame-san is a fan of yuri, too?”
“She knows Orino Masaka, at least,” Azusa agreed eagerly, “she even recognized a quote from one of her rare works.”
“I like yuri too,” Shouko agreed, “but even I can't do that. Do you want to tell me about it?”
“Sure!” Azusa agreed as they fell into discussion, soon ordering more tea and cookies. The conversation ranged from stories to manga and dojin, both of them trading favorites and talking enthusiastically about the best series.
“I like Hidamari Sketch, too,” Shouko agreed at one point, “though I wish Miyabi Fujieda would do a art school series, too.”
“Does it bother you he's male?” Azusa had to ask.
“No,” Shouko shook her head, “as long as the stories are good.”
“True enough,” Azusa agreed. Her eyes strayed to her watch and she visibly paled as she yelped, “It's how late!?”
Shouko looked at the time herself and winced, “I'm late too.” She got up then hesitated as she pulled out her phone, “Miss Aoi?”
“Yes?” Azusa asked as she started collecting her bags.
“Could I have your number?” Shouko asked, blushing a bit.
Azusa looked at her in surprise, then she blushed too. “Yes, and I want your's too,” she said, deciding not to think too hard what it might mean. At the very least, she might be back here next week for the next meeting.
“See you next week?” Shouko asked as she walked her to the cafe door.
“Yes,” Azusa agreed firmly, giving her a shy smile as she left.