---------LEGEND---------
PLAYER/USERNAME
Amber/Davina
Grace/Lasair
-------------------------------

Grace realized an instant later that her opponent's shinai was about to hit her on the head, she jumped, raised her shinai quickly and took half a step back in an attempt to defend herself, a useless thing because she had missed the favorable moment and felt the light wood of the training sword falling on the protection of her head.

“Stop, stop!” Hisashi waved a hand and strode towards Grace and her practice partner, “what's happening to you, Grace? This is the third time you show up here and have your head in the clouds for the entire duration of the lesson!”

“I… I apologize…” Grace stammered, unable to say anything else.

“You should say sorry to yourself,” Hisashi replied, “when you don't pay attention to what you do, you damage your own progress more than that of others.”

“I-I'm sorry.”

The kendo master shook his head and sighed, “you're almost ready to reach the next dan and I know you can do it, don't let go.” He took a step back, “give up every hesitation, focus on the moment. Now, let's continue.”

- - -

Once the lesson was over Grace went to the locker room and once she waited until most of the students had left she got in the shower and turned on the boiling water. The sensation of the water running on her skin was pleasant, Grace closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to think about how she felt when Genevieve stroked her head. Almost two weeks had passed and she had made the decision to pretend that nothing particular had happened, also helped by the fact that Genevieve had tacitly distanced herself, both as Genevieve and Xia.

Grace thought she heard the sound of another shower being opened next to hers, but beyond that she didn't pay attention to anything else.

Grace didn't know where she had made wrong but that distance was hurting her, she hadn't done it on purpose to be happy with those cuddles!

“Can't believe in all this time I'm hurting for you, but you feel like holding down!”

The person who was in the showers with Grace was singing, she had a familiar voice but the water and the vocal setting needed to sing made her more difficult to identify. Grace remained with her eyes closed, she relaxed her shoulders, the unknown singer was singing really well and the song was somehow resonating with Grace and what she was feeling at that time.

“The love you give it lifts so high I'm dying for it, I'm dying for it and I can't let you go.”

Suddenly Grace felt arms with delicate, wet skin wrap around her breasts from behind and try to swing her left and right in some sort of dance, the chest of who she assumed was the singer was pressing against her back. Grace's eyes shot open, “kyaaaaaa!!!”

“Hide away, hide away fro…”

Grace whirled around, grabbing her arm with one hand and raising the other over her shoulders, bringing the hand down in a full force karate chop on her molester's head; the molester had no time to react quickly and received the full power right in the center of her skull. With a groan of pain Amber's blonde figure released her grip and moved with her hands on her head to whimper and moan.

“WHY DOES IT ALWAYS ENDS UP LIKE THIS WITH YOU??” Grace thundered, surprising herself at how suddenly all the anxiety inside her exploded out of control, “DO YOU ENJOY PLAYING WITH MY EMOTIONS??”

“Ouch… ouch…” Amber rubbed her head again before brushing a few small tears from her eyes, “how do you feel now? Better?"

“I… yes…” Grace whispered softly, so much so that she almost doubted Amber had heard her over the sound of running water, “th-thank you.”

Amber turned off the water in her shower and reopened it next to Grace's. She took her skin and hair cleansing products and stood under the water, “so now can we talk about what is happening between you and Xia? It's clear from the change in your playstyle that you're trying to keep your distance.”

“It's… it's nothing,” Grace muttered under her breath.

“People don't keep their distance for nothing.”

Fair point.

“Did you ask Xia?” Grace asked tentatively.

“U-uh!” Amber nodded twice.

“What did she answer you?”

“That it happened that is not my business, obviously.”

The way Amber said 'of course' made Grace laugh, responding in an annoyed or irreverent manner was typical of Xia. “so, why are you insisting?”

“Because I care about you both?” There was obviousness in Amber's voice again, "so, let's hear what's going on with you."

Grace resumed washing calmly and in the meantime she told to Amber about their exchange of words after being defeated by Dravaros, how Grace quickly logged out so as not to address any issues and from there how the relationship both in and out of the game with Xia had changed, even though Xia refused to stop helping her study even when she told her she could make do.

“Do you love her?” Amber asked as she put shampoo into her hair.

“I-I'm not a lesbian!”

“How do you know that?” Amber gave her an inquiring look.

“I had a boyfriend,” Grace said, nodding to herself repeatedly, as if she was trying to convince herself that her own logic was compelling, “this means I'm hetero.”

“Problem solved then”, Amber smiled and closed her eyes while with her fingers she was massaging the scalp, “you don't like Xia.”

Grace bit her lower lip, she could have simply nodded, agree that it was so and put her soul at rest, the problem was that she wasn't sure that was the truth. “I don't know,” Grace admitted after almost half a minute of silence. She turned off the shower and shrugged, bowing her head, defeated by her own emotional turmoil, “Amber, I-I don't know!”

Amber rinsed her hair and turned off the water in her shower, “unfortunately I'm not in your head and I can't tell you how you feel,” she turned to Grace placing her hands on her hips, “the only thing I can tell you is think about whether it is worth keeping your distance from Xia for this reason.”

“And if I actually like women?”

“If you like women, what would that change to you? Would you stop being yourself?”

Grace didn't answer, probably the thing she feared most about being attracted to Xia was that her relationship with her would have changed, that they would have stopped being friends, Xia had already taken on a burden - Grace felt like this - like Grace and she doubted Xia would have accepted even just one extra weight.

“Talk to her,” Amber said as if she was reading her mind, “if you talk, things could change between you two, if you don't talk, they definitely will."

“You… you're right, I will do it”, yes, but when? Grace's idea was to do it after the championship, so if they won Xia would have bought the new NexNetVR and Grace would have been able to see her expressions instead of having to rely on her voice and body language alone to understand what Xia was thinking. Grace could have talked to her in the real world, but just the thought of having to face her in the real world for something different that studying made her stomach twist.

“In person,” Amber specified, lowering her torso and staring at Grace from under her nose.

“Can you read my mind??”

“So that's what you were thinking!” Amber exclaimed, straightening her back and pointing a finger at Grace.

Amber fooled her again!

Grace felt her cheeks redden, “a-after the championship, after the championship I will d-d-definitely do it!”

“Do you want me to molest you more?” Amber asked her, narrowing her eyes and giving her a mischievous smile.

“N-no! Okay! Okay! I'll do it next time I see her!” Grace quickly said, covering her breasts with her hands and taking a few steps back away from Amber.

“Good girl,” Amber gave her a thumbs up and a wink, “and now let's dry off, get dressed and get out… it's time for you and me to go around the malls and buy cute things!”

"Ok..." Grace sighed, there was no escape from fate.

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