Unexpected Changes

a Battle Athletes fanfiction by pianocello

"It's been a while."

"Sure has been."

The two women stood in front of a new-looking
tombstone in a cemetery. Humidity was in the air and
the ground was still moist from a recent drizzle.
Feeling awkward, both women seemed hesitant of each
other's presence.

The tall one kneeled down and offered a bouquet of
flowers to the tombstone. Tall and slim, it had been a
long time since she left the moon. She had not lost
touch with her traditional beliefs as her mannerisms
still reflected her back-to-nature roots.

The shorter and darker-haired girl, after a little
hesitation, laid her offerings on the tombstone.
Plucky at times, the years had obviously mellowed her
down. While it wasn't pronounced as it used to, she
still had a very distinct accent from the Osaka which
twanged whenever she spoke.

There was an uneasy silence as both women seemed
unsure as to what they should say to each other.
Finally, the shorter one spoke first.

"I'm..sorry, Kris."

"I...I'm sorry too, Ichino."

The tension had been eased. Both women turned to each
other to speak.

"This wouldn't have happened if..."

"..we had both not forced Akari to chose between the
two of us."

"She really didn't have to..end it...at least not like
this."

"Akari loved both of us..it really wasn't fair that we
forced her to choose."

Kris Christopher was crying. Tears started to drip
down her cheeks. Quietly, Ichino offered her a tissue
to wipe her cheeks. Quietly, Ichino offered her a
tissue to wipe her tears. Taking it in her hands, Kris
noticed that Ichino Yanagida was also crying. Kris
took the tissue and wiped Ichino's tears instead.

"You're really a nice girl, Kris. I can see why Akari
would love you."

"You too.Ichino. If we weren't so intent on competing
with one another, I'm sure we both could have
been..(pauses)...good friends."

Both women looked down on the damp ground for a moment
and slowly looked back at each other's face.

"Say," Ichino spoke first as if trying to talk about
something else. ".what have you been doing in this
city?"

"Looking for a steady job. Actually, I just arrived.
And you?"

"Doing all kinds of odd jobs. (stops for a while to
clear her throat) Umm.you wouldn't be going anywhere
after this, would you?"

"Well..I."

"I'm renting a small apartment nearby. Perhaps you
could stop by for a few drinks and.."

"Okay..okay, I guess. I don't really have anywhere
particular to go to right now."

--------------------------------------------------

The apartment was small. It wasn't really much to look
at but it was enough to live comfortably. The two
women sat and talked. And talked.

Kris and Ichino were surprised to learn many new
things about each other. Ichino told Kris how Akari
was when they were both in Antartica. Kris laughed
when Ichino described in great detail about how
insecure Akari was and how Akari would in her
self-proclaimed 'Akari House'. Kris then proceeded to
describe how much fun she had when she, Akari and Anna
roomed together. And Ichino listened intently when
Kris talked about how Akari won the title of Cosmo
Beauty. Ichino then told Kris about her family; she
especially spent a lenghtly amount of time talking
about her hyperactive younger brother - about how much
he LOVED Akari and how active he recently had been in
TV game shows. Kris then described her simple life on
the moon; how her culture tried to be as close to
nature as possible and how she almost became a
priestess.

--------------------------------------------------

The clock was ticking. And it was getting very late.

"I've got to go. It's getting late. Thanks for
everything."

Kris got up and started to head for the front door of
Ichino's apartment. Hesitating momentarily, Kris
turned back to face Ichino.

"This is my way of showing my thanks." Leaning
forward, Kris put her hands on Ichino's cheeks.

And she kissed her on the lips.

A pair of hands pulled on Kris' left arm as Kris
turned towards the front door to leave. Ichino looked
shyly at Kris' surprised face.

"Please. Don't leave."

This time it was Ichino's turn to pull Kris' face
towards her. She kissed her deeply on the lips and
succumbing to uncertain emotion, Kris kissed her back.
Their moist lips were attached together for what
seemed like eternity.

Kris' tongue found its way into Ichino's mouth and
both women's tongues explored one another as they
exchanged saliva with each other.

Kris began to fondle Ichino's earlobes as Ichino
kissed the nape of Kris' neck. Aroused, Kris began to
slowly remove Ichino's shirt and shorts while Ichino
gradually pulled Kris out of her blue dress. Their
hands inched towards each other's bra straps.

"We.musn't. We.."

"Shhh..it's okay. Akari would have been happy for both
of us."

"Mmmm.."

The two women slowly unhooked each other's bra straps
and stood silently for a moment to gaze lovingly at
each other's beautiful bodies. Clad in only their
panties, Ichino held Kris' hand gently and led her
into her bedroom. There, the two women proceeded to
slowly remove each other's panties.

Both women were in ecstasy as their hands explored
every curve and corner of each other's bodies. Their
fingers and tongues ran over each other as both women
softly moaned together. Their hearts began beating
together in unison as they rubbed their bodies and
sensitive regions against each other..

--------------------------------------------------

Kris Christopher slowly opened her eyes. A tasty smell
of eggs and toast filled the air. She groggily rubbed
her eyes as last night's events gradually began to
return to her subconsciousness. She then realized that
she was still naked and saw her clothers lying on the
ground.

"I.ummm.made breakfast for you. I hope you like it."
Ichino had walked into the bedroom with a plate of
nicely-prepared eggs and toast and she was shyly
offereing them to Kris.

"Uhhh.I..maybe I need to go."

"You don't have to go." Ichino was facing Kris who was
picking up her clothes and getting dressed. ".you
don't have a place to stay yet, right?"

"I was planning to look.." Kris began.

"You can stay here with me. You can move in here with
me."

"I..."

"Hey. Don't forget your breakfast."

(silence except for the sound of eating)

"This. Is. Good." Kris led out an exclaimation of
contentment after sampling Ichino's breakfast.

"I'm glad you like it."

Looking somewhat embarrassed, Kris turned to Ichino,
"I think..I'm slowly falling in love with you."

Ichino blushed. "Me too. I think I'm in love with
you."

Kris smile widened and she threw her arms around
Ichino who reciprocated. Whispering into Kris' ear,
Ichino asked, "I take it that you agree to move in
with me?"  Kris replied by giving Ichino a kiss.

--------------------------------------------------

(Six months later)

The tombstone was now covered with moss. The two women
stood looking seriously at the grave. Both of them
looked more matured and age had been kind to both of
them. The shorter one had blossomed into a real beauty
and looked less tomboyish than she used to. The taller
one was still a stunner to look at with her
newly-styled hair. Both women were holding hands as
they observed the offerings on the tombstone.

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Hard to believe that a year ago, we were constantly
at each other's throats."

"How things have changed. If only Akari.."

Kris was the first to notice. Ichino reacted a split
second later when she heard a giggle.

"Who's there?" Both women exclaimed at the same time
at the source of the sound which seemed to be coming
from behind a tree near the tombstone.

Having been discovered, someone slightly shorter than
Kris started to spring out from behind the tree. She
(he?) was wearing a hat that covered her face and
Ichino couldn't see clearly who that was. Something
about the way the stranger ran seemed vaguely
familiar. Kris then proceeded to give chase but it was
Ichino that reacted faster and caught up with the
girl. In the haste, the stranger's hat fell off to
reveal..

"AKARI?!!!"

"But we thought you were.."

"I'm sorry. It was I that put out the fake news report
that I had committed suicide."

"But why? Don't you love us.."

Kris stopped speaking when she noticed tears streaming
down Akari's face. Gently Kris wiped Akari's tears
with a hanky that she had brought.

"Yes, the truth is I loved you..BOTH of you. It was
just that..."

Putting one arm gently around Akari, Ichino spoke,
"I'm sorry. For forcing you to choose between the two
of us. I didn't mean to cause you so much pain."

"Itchan.."

"I'm sorry too, Akari. We shouldn't have done that."
Kris gently put one hand on Akari's shoulder.

"Kris..."

"Akari, you've lost your touch. I managed to catch up
with you." Ichino spoke with the faint trace of an
Osaka accent still barely present.

Kris took something out of her pocket. She took hold
of Akari's left hand. "I meant to leave this at your
tombstone but I'd like you to.wear it." Akari looked
both surprised and pleased as Kris slipped a ring onto
the finger of her left hand.

"I.." Before she could say more, Ichino took out her
own ring and slipped it into Akari's finger on her
right hand.

"I guess it's my turn." Akari brought out two rings.
She then noticed that both Kris and Ichino already had
a ring on their left hand. She understood the
significance.

Noticing Akari's slightly downfallen face, Kris spoke,
"There's always room for one more."

Beaming again, Akari offered the two rings to Ichino
and Kris who both promptly put them on. The three
women embraced deeply as if engaged in a sacred
ceremony of love and the unification of souls.

Shyly, Kris turned to Akari. "Would you like to move
in with both of us?." Akari smiled in reply. ".the
bed's big enough for all three of us." Kris continued
causing Akari to blush.

"The bathtub's also big enough for all three of us,"
Ichino cheekily added. This time it was Kris' turn to
blush.

Holding each other's hand, the three women walked away
happily from the place. They would spend the rest of
their lives filled with joy and love in the comfort of
each other.

And the trio would never be apart again.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------