Here's the next chapter, enjoy!
Jann Lee was down, primarily exhausted, breathing heavily in the wispy grass. Somehow he became exceedingly tired and unaware as to why. This was a strange occurrence and an act of bad timing. He really enjoyed bullying his teenage adversary around and trying to show his superiority to her, but it had to come to a halt for now. Jann Lee darted out of the yard with the remaining energy he had left, feeling shameful for getting exhausted right in the middle of a battle that was starting to get interesting.
When he ran off, he left Lei Fang confused and scratching her head as to what was going on with him. Picking trees out of the ground like they were weeds was very out of the ordinary. She was curious on how he got so powerful. At the previous Tournament, he did not contain such powers, why he did now was a mystery. Lei Fang, despite her willingness to want to fight Jann, at the same time did not want this ongoing conflict between them to get any bigger than it already was.
So far, Jann had been doing his best to intimidate the young college student before the Tournament came. Playing mind games and bullying her around was his strategy. Lei Fang didn't want to admit it, but Jann's plan was actually succeeding. She was afraid of him and what he could possibly do to her. A year before, the Chinese female knew no fear when it came to Jann Lee. At the time, he was just an overgrown, arrogant jerk that liked to shove his dominance in fighting competitions in other people's faces. But now he was actually something to fear.
At last, Kasumi came to the doorstep an hour later, carrying some baggage full of clothes. Instead of just staying for a little while, she thought why not spend the night and sleep over. Lei Fang brought her upstairs into the bedroom and explained what happened earlier with Jann. Kasumi's eyes slanted distrustfully, as if what she was being told was some kind of playful joke, but it wasn't a joke. It was very serious.
"I'm telling you, Kasumi. He actually uprooted a tree from the ground with ease and used it against me like a baseball bat."
"This sounds like something out of a horror picture," Kasumi stated, "Are you sure you didn't dream this up?"
"No, I'm positive it was real!" Lei Fang thundered.
Kasumi had never known Lei Fang to lie before or try to mislead her. She was always honest and truthful. There was really nothing to gain from lying. Noting this, Kasumi decided to believe the story and take it for being the truth.
"I believe you, Lei Fang," she replied, believing what was said was the truth.
"Well, I'm glad you at least do. I doubt anybody else will."
"Of course I believe you. But can I ask you something?"
"With what's been shown, do you really think you can beat Jann this time?"
Lei Fang grew silent, not wanting to give out what she actually thought. She wasn't really sure if she could be Jann. He was now a lot deadlier and stronger than before. So, beating him was going to be a tough challenge.
"Lei?" Kasumi said, moving closer to her Chinese friend.
"I'm not really sure I can beat him," she sighed. "Even with my training going smoothly, I still don't feel that it's going to be enough to take him."
"Well, I could help you practice more. Would you like that?"
"I guess. More help is always welcome," Lei Fang timidly smiled.
Dawn arrived many hours later with Kasumi having to drag a sleepy Lei Fang out from underneath the thick blankets of her bed. The two put on their training gear and moved out to a nice quiet spot in the far woods where they felt they would not be bothered. Kasumi wore a blue and black jumpsuit with white tennis shoes. Lei Fang wore a hugging red tank top that stuck close to her thin skin and a pair of black shorts. The atmosphere was well suited for them. Peaceful and calm the woods were with plenty of area to practice in. Kasumi slowly unzipped her sleeved top and threw it right off into one of the bushes.
"Ok Lei, you ready?"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Lei Fang said.
The two separated themselves from each other and broke into their traditional fight stances. Lei Fang rotated her arms in a circular motion, while Kasumi kept her arms at her side. They were briefly warming up before the practicing got started. Once prepared, they charged at each other and began sparring. Kasumi threw a few stinging chops to start things off. Lei Fang dodged all of them and quickly grabbed Kasumi by the arm and slammed her down, back first in the moist dirt. Small pieces of stones and soil came flying out from the impact.
The deer that populated the woods were easily scared off and ran off to a quieter area. Kasumi sprung back up from the ground and caught Lei Fang off guard with a swift kick to the back of the head. Lei Fang stumbled forward a bit and crashed into a nearby tree. Seeing an opportunity to attack from behind, Kasumi dashed forward to deliver a powerful jab. But to her surprise, Lei Fang countered and slammed her down. They backed away from each other to rest a little while before going at it again. Suddenly, they heard the noise of loud clapping. Both Kasumi and Lei Fang turned their attention away from each other and saw that the sound was coming from a hiding Hitomi.
"Wow, you guys fight well," she said, impressed.
"Hitomi? What are you doing here," asked a concerned Lei Fang.
"Your mother told me you were training here. I'd like to join the party, if that's ok with you?"
"Sure, we could use another sparring partner."
Hitomi tightened up the slim belt around the waist of her red karate uniform and punched and kicked at the air.
"Alright, who wants to try me first?"
All three teenagers sparred from morning till dusk, preparing themselves for the Tournament. At the end of the day, Lei Fang left the woods feeling much more confident in herself.
"I can't wait for the Tournament, guys. It's going to be very exciting to see how well you two fight," she said. Who are you looking forward to fighting, Kasumi?"
"No one in particular. Maybe some new fighters, if there are any. After awhile, you start to get bored with the roster that never seems to change. It's probably just going to be all the same fighters from last time. What about you, Hitomi?"
"I would love to get my hands on Tina. She's been talking me down since the last Tournament. I also wouldn't mind having a shot at Zack."
"You mean your boyfriend?" Kasumi teased.
"Eww, yuck! I don't like him. He's so perverted and disgusting," Hitomi said, pretending to gag.
"That may be true but he is a good fighter," Lei Fang added in.
After the chatting had ended, Kasumi and Hitomi headed for their homes, as did Lei Fang.