Chapter 35

Lying in her bed she moaned as she squinted her eyes open to the unyielding sunlight that shone through her window. God, why hadn't she closed the curtains?

To say that Hitomi felt like she had been pulled through a meat grinder was putting it mildly. For the last two weeks she had been juggling going to classes, football training, working in her dad's dojo AND jobbing at the Oktoberfest with success, but it was starting to take its toll on her.

Back in the day, when she had worked there before, it hadn't been that bad, since her rigorous training had given her stamina which your run of the mill waitress would kill for to have. But with the added responsibilities that she had now it became harder.

Good thing today would be the last day and she could finally kick back and spend some much deserved time with Leifang. Looking at the very familiar ceiling her thoughts went out to her girlfriend. After they had talked about it Leifang became supportive of her decision and occasionally visited her while she was working, but she knew it was hard on her. They both wanted to spend time with each other desperately. So much in fact that Hitomi had talked to her over the phone way longer than she should.

Thankfully it was Sunday today so she wouldn't have to work so long since people will have to work the next day as well. She dragged herself out of bed and stretched herself, moaning a little as an audible crack could be heard.

Hitomi rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and made her way into the bathroom. A shower would do her good. Not in the mood to put her clothes away she dropped them on the floor where she stood and went into the shower. She turned the water on, cold at first to wake her up properly, then warm.

She gathered some of the water in her hands and splashed her face, then rubbed them against it. This felt soooooo good right now. A massage would be good as well.

I'd love to simply lie back down after this. But alas she couldn't. After having showered and dressed in comfortable underwear she walked into the kitchen to make herself some light breakfast in the form of a toast.

Sitting down she propped her chin on her fist and kept her gaze locked on the toaster. It made a little ticking noise. As she watched it intently she felt her eyes starting to close again, being lulled back to sleep by the rhythmic sound it made.

Her chin started to slide down her fist and following the laws of gravity her head dropped onto the table hard, just in time for the toast to be finished.

"Ouch..." she muttered and rubbed her forehead. Hitomi snatched the toast out of the toaster and placed it on her table. "Well Bon appétit."

After having finished her breakfast she felt much more awake now and, looking at the clock to check the time, decided it was time to get dressed. She put on her Dirndl and inspected herself in the mirror. It was pretty old, about three years now, but still it retained its original color tone after having been washed countless times. A testimony to its quality.

And it better remain that way for quite some time. She thought and fixed her hair a little before putting on her hairband. That dress hadn't been cheap after all.

Once she was satisfied with how she looked, and looks where important since it influenced how generous some people were with their tips, she put on a comfortable pair of trainers and headed out.

In the hallway she stopped to look at Viktor's door.

He had been distant in these two weeks, and not just because she didn't have much free time. No, he actively started avoiding her at the university. One time she had seen him from the distance only for him to spot her and turn around at once, all but running in the opposite direction.

At first she thought she had said something to upset him in a way, but then she noticed that all the time it happened she was with Leifang.

He's not avoiding me, he's avoiding her. She had figured out by now and when she breached the subject to her girlfriend the Chinese changed the subject almost immediately.

Something had happened between the two of them, but what?

Shaking her head she made her way down the stairs. She would figure it out eventually, but right now she needed to get to work. Maybe she could talk with Leifang about it later.

Getting her bike and going outside she took another quick look at her watch and headed out at a smart pace.

"Be right there!" Hitomi shouted cheerfully as she carried the empty beer mugs back to the bar. Placing them on the counter she massaged her wrists for a second and grabbed another pair of mugs, walking to the pair of customers that had ordered just a few seconds ago.

She passed one of her workmates who looked as exhausted as she felt right now. Having to carry those mugs all day did that to you, after all they weighed a good 2.2 kilograms if filled. Actually that girl was probably more exhausted since she didn't have the stamina that Hitomi had.

"Here you go." she said and placed the mugs in front of the two men, smiling at them charmingly. The men smiled in return and one of them handed her a five euro note saying "For the charming little lady."

She thanked them and did a playful curtsy, which had become a trademark of her, and walked back to get the next set, since the orders weren't stopping anytime soon.

It was the final day and there was still no end to be seen. In fact it seemed to be even busier than yesterday and she was constantly on her feet, not even having had time to sit down and talk with Leifang.

She had come almost everyday during those two weeks, always sitting at the same place and never ordering anything. Just sitting there and watching her surroundings.

And after another hour of walking back and forth, trying her best to be charming and occasionally cute, her girlfriend appeared in her view and, of course, sat down on her usual place. Somehow she had the impeccable luck that it had always cleared by the time she came by.

Now that Hitomi thought about it, weren't the guys sitting there Chinese as well?

Ah, doesn't matter I guess. She thought and walked over to her boss.

"Can I take my break soon?" she asked and leaned over the counter so that he could hear her better. Her boss was a nice man with graying hair and a rather impressive mustache that curled at the ends.

He looked at her, then at the crowd sitting there, then nodded. "It's starting to clear up, so yes you can take your break after you deliver these." he placed two mugs on the counter. "And make it a little longer, as compensation for yesterday." he added, giving her a wink.

"Thanks!" with new vigor and a spring in her step she delivered the beer then headed to where the Chinese was sitting and sat down in front of her.

"Hey." she greeted her a little out of breath.

"Hey." Leifang gave her a kind look and placed her hand on top of Hitomi's. "Everything alright? You look exhausted."

She was, very much in fact, but she didn't want Leifang to be overly worried and had some plans for the day. "It's alright. I'm just a bit beat, nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." Hitomi turned her hand over so that their palms were touching. "So I was thinking, when I'm finished here in a few hours why don't we meet up and do something together?"

"Like what?" Leifang asked and presented her with a smile, even though her eyes still held a little worry in them.

"Hmm how about I come over and make us a nice little dinner? We could watch some movies as well. A romantic evening just with the two of us."

"Sounds wonderful. But I haven't bought groceries yet." Leifang said. It had taken a bit of practice at first but she was starting to get used to going shopping for food. That was usually something her housekeeper had done for her.

"Ah don't worry I'll take care of that." she said, lowering her voice a little in an attempt to be flirtatious.

"Is that so? Well then I'll be eagerly waiting." The worry finally vanished from her eyes as she leaned forward.

"Mhm, alright. First I'm gonna head home though, can't exactly come over sweating buckets and dressed like this."

"Aww." Leifang pouted at that. "You know how cute you look in that. Meanie."

Hitomi stuck out her tongue. Then she put her other hand over Leifang's. They remained that way for the rest of their conversation.

A few hours later Hitomi finally got off from work and headed home on her bike. Man was she glad it was over, but she had made more than those five-thousand euro, so it paid off that she busted her ass working.

Her feet were killing her though and if someone checked her blood pressure the sphygmomanometer would go through the roof.

Back in her apartment she discarded her Dirndl into the laundry, together with the clothes she had thrown to the floor this morning, and took a quick shower, put on some fresh clothes as well as her white and green jacket and headed out again to buy groceries.

That took another hour of her time, since she wanted top notch ingredients for that dinner.

Finally here. Hitomi said to herself as she got off her bike, pushing it the rest of the way until she got to the door, then rang the bell. It didn't take long for her to be buzzed in and she rode the elevator up.

She looked at herself in the reflection of the mirror that was part of the wall of the elevator and, aside from wondering how an apartment building could afford THAT, found that she was looking way better than earlier this day. The shower had also helped reinvigorate her a bit so that she could last for a few more hours now, even though her muscles still ached here and there and she could feel the stress of the day.

The German stepped out of the elevator and was met halfway to the door by Leifang, whom she greeted with a kiss on the cheek. "I'll just take these into the kitchen and get started." she said.

"Don't you want to sit down first?" Leifang asked as she closed the door to her apartment. She wore a simple white t-shirt and blue shorts. But even dressed like that she was the picture of beauty to her.

"No, I'll better get started now, this might take a little bit." she said and when Leifang offered her a pair of comfortable looking slippers she added. "Thanks. My feet are killing me."

She put them on and headed off into the kitchen. While she cooked dinner she wondered how she could break the subject of Viktor to Leifang without giving her the chance to dodge the subject anymore. But the only thing she came up with was stubbornly persisting on it.

Sighing she continued cooking and when she was finished carried the plates into the living room with a feeling that they may face more trouble in paradise.

Hitomi and Leifang shared a quiet dinner with one another. The German had to smile when she saw that Leifang had decorated the table a little and brought candles to make the mood even more romantic. It made her almost forget what she wanted to talk about.

"This was fantastic." Leifang said and placed her cutlery on the plate. She reached out towards her hand and interlaced their fingers, giving her a smile. "You've clearly outdone yourself this time."

"It was nothing really. Just a little extra ingredient." Hitomi said and smiled in return.

"Which one?"

"I'll keep that a little secret for now."

"Unfair, you can't just mention something like that then not tell me about it."

"But I already did." They both shared a laugh at that and Hitomi tightened her grip on Leifang's hand. The Karateka locked gazes with her girlfriend. She was very beautiful today and even though she only wore casual clothes tonight she spotted a hint of make up on her.

Biting the inside of her lower lip she lowered her gaze again. She needed to talk to her. "Hey Leifang..."

"Hmm?"

"I...Be honest with me, has something happened between you and Viktor?" she asked.

Taken aback Leifang pulled her hand back. "I...so what was that secret ingredient now?" she tried to change the subject immediately. Leifang really didn't want to talk about this. How would you tell your girlfriend that she had a fight with one of her friends?

"No Leifang. I'm not going down that road again. I know something has happened between you two and I was willing to wait until you decided to tell me, but not anymore."

Leifang looked around frantically. "Really there's nothing. He's probably upset about som-"

"Leifang!" Hitomi slammed her hand on the table. " . ?" she emphasized on every word.

The Chinese took a deep breath and released it as a sigh, placing her elbows onto the table, and buried her face in her palms. She had hoped to delay this talk a little longer. Time to come clean.

"Yes." she said slowly. "Viktor and I. We've gotten into a fight two weeks ago. But that wasn't the start of it. When I returned we had a small argument as well. And on that Saturday we both stepped over the line. I'm not going to pretend that I was innocent, but he was also at fault."

Hitomi sat there and listened to what she said as a frown formed on her face as what the Chinese said sunk in.

"I don't want to repeat what we said on that day. But this is the reason why he's avoiding us. Well he's more likely avoiding me since we're always together during lunch." Leifang let out another sigh and her shoulders dropped, a crestfallen expression on her face. "I'm sorry."

"This is incredibly unfair, do you know that?" Hitomi said, neither kindly nor angrily. She just said it. "You tell me all the time that I should share everything with you and here you are keeping this a secret from me."

"I know, I know." Leifang admitted with her eyes downcast. "But I had no idea how I should break this to you. I mean how would you act in my place?"

The Karateka couldn't answer that. Leifang was right it wasn't as simple as saying "Hey your friend and I? Yeah we kinda hate each other but we're still going on a date, right?" but that didn't stop her from getting angry at Leifang.

Hitomi leaned back in her seat. Didn't Leifang realize that they were both important to her?

Viktor was a good friend to her and Leifang was her best friend and the person she wanted to be with. The idea of them fighting was killing her. Hitomi stared at Leifang, who sat there and looked at everything but her.

It really hurt.

What am I supposed to do now? There wasn't really anything she could do. Not right now.

Leifang felt completely miserable. This was supposed to be a romantic evening for the two of them and how did it turn out?

She glanced at Hitomi from the corner of her eyes. The German sat there looking deep in thought, her arms crossed in front of her chest and a grim expression had formed on her face. Leifang could already picture her trying to make them apologize to each other but she wouldn't even dream of doing that.

This had become a matter of pride these past weeks. It was her stubbornness, she knew that, it was a trait she had inherited from her mother and she would probably never lose. Besides it was him that avoided her like a plague, not vice versa so her taking the first step was pretty much impossible.

Hitomi sighed and uncrossed her arms, sitting upright again and shook her head. She knew she could convince them to make peace, but she was just so damn tired and stressed right now.

"I should go." Hitomi said quietly, making Leifang's head shoot up.

"What? No no, wait. What about our plans?" she asked and got up from her seat, walking around the table and blocking Hitomi's way to get out. The brunette shook her head and got up from her seat as well, placing her hands on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Sorry, but I think I need some space tonight." she said and pushed her to the side, heading for the door. Leifang didn't waste a second and ran after her.

"Please wait!" she grabbed Hitomi's wrist. This caused the Karateka to turn around, pulling Leifang with her. They lost their balance a little and Hitomi felt her back hitting the wall as Leifang fell against her.

They stared at one another, their lips only a few centimeters away from touching. Hitomi could almost hear her heartbeat going a mile a minute and she could see the various emotions reflect in those brown orbs. She wanted to close the gap so much.

Unconsciously she wrapped her arms around Leifang as the Chinese dug her fingers into her shirt and she knew that if their lips met she wouldn't go anywhere tonight, her anger would dissipate as if it was never there to begin with.

God, how much she wanted that right now.

Kiss me Hitomi demanded inside her mind. Just kiss me dammit!

But she didn't.

"I...I really should go." Hitomi muttered and pushed Leifang gently off her.

Leifang bit her lower lip and could see the sadness in the brunette's eyes, but didn't stop her. After they straightened up Hitomi put on her jacket and shoes and turned to look at her a last time.

"Bye." Hitomi said and all but ran from her apartment. All Leifang could do was lean with her back against the wall.

"Idiot." the Chinese muttered to herself. "You're so stupid Leifang."

Hitomi didn't bother using the elevator and just hurried down the staircase. Nearly stumbling she grabbed the handrail to steady herself and continued downward and out of the door. Outside she grabbed her bike and rode off.

A headache was approaching, she could feel it, and the weight of the day was finally starting to drag her down. She looked up at the sky, starless due to the town's light. Why can't things be simple for once?

Yes, simple would be good. Like back in the day...

A small smile formed on her lips and she decided to make another detour before heading home. Her detour led her to the outskirts of town, almost to where the Black Forest was starting. It was a large meadow, with a few trees scattered across it.

She laid her bike on the edge of it and headed towards one of the trees. It was very easy to spot since it was the only weeping willow around. Coming to a halt in front of it she placed the palm of her right hand against its bark, tracing over it.

This was where she and Hayate had their picnic. Back then things had been simple. No Ninjas, no Dead or Alive tournament and no relationship problems.

She smiled. Well maybe a few relationship problems of a different kind, but it was still simpler back then. Only her father, Hayate and herself. Suddenly she found herself traveling down memory lane.

"Osu!" Hitomi shouted with the rest of her class as they bowed respectfully before their sensei. She had a cheerful smile on her face and wiped a few droplets of sweat from her brow as she walked towards the changing room together with her other female classmates. While walking she threw a shy glance towards Ein who was deeply engrossed in conversation with her father at the moment.

All of a sudden he looked into her direction, fixing her with his gaze, giving her one of his slight smiles and causing her to blush.

Damn it, she had been caught!

As if she wasn't nervous enough already. A few days ago Hitomi had finally worked up the courage to ask him out to a picnic since she couldn't get out the word 'date' at the time.

And he agreed to it. Hitomi couldn't be happier. With a stupid grin on her face she headed into the shower together with the others.

"Hey, Hitomi?" one of them asked her while they showering. "Do you want to go shopping together?"

"Don't bother." another one said. "She's gonna go on a date later."

"What? Who's the lucky guy?"

"Um, really it's not like that." Hitomi said, already becoming red again.

"It's Ein of course." the second one said.

"What!? Damn, can't blame her. He's a cutie."

Oh god, Hitomi just wanted to die right then and there, but since that wasn't an option she did the second best thing and showered as quickly as she could and headed home.

They lived about fifteen minutes away from the dojo by bike, so Hitomi would have a little head start on Ein and her father. The amnesiac young man has been living with them ever since Hitomi had found him during a little walk on the outskirts of the Black Forest.

She supposed she was rather lucky. Not many girls had the chance to live under the same roof as their crushes. Hitomi had to giggle when she thought about the whole thing.

At home she did what little homework she had left and started preparing the food that they would need, as well as drinks.

And don't forget the blanket she told herself and put it into the picnic basket she had purchased solely for this occasion.

By the time she was finished her father and Ein had gotten back. In a burst of confidence she had hooked her arm through Ein's and headed off with him.

"Hey not so fast." he said in his calm voice, though she could also hear him chuckle.

"Later Papa." she shouted back into the house and dragged Ein off. In the back of her mind she wondered if her father was suspecting something.

She led him to a nice place that one of her schoolmates had suggested to her, a wide open meadow. When Hitomi had checked it herself she had instantly taken a liking to the weeping willow and decided that this would be the place.

And here they were. Hitomi unpacked the things and rolled out the blanket so that they could sit down on it. They shared a nice little meal, talking about this and that, even though it was Hitomi doing most of the talking since Ein was a rather silent guy and Hitomi found him looking like he was far away with his thoughts.

So she tried her best to take his mind off whatever he was thinking about. And for a little while she managed to take his thoughts off things.

Hitomi chuckled at the memory. She had been rather smitten with him back then, more so than with her other boyfriends before that. But in the end all her effort had been in vain, since his missing past had bothered him until the day he left to seek it out.

And he did, and became Hayate again in the process.

When she met him again in the Dead or Alive Tournament she had hoped that things would go back they way they used to be. But he had simply told her not to get involved because it was too dangerous and that she should go back home.

They were never meant to be. It had hurt at the time, and it did take a while before she had gotten over it. But with the help of Leifang she had managed it.

Leifang. She thought and looked up at the starry sky. She really wanted their relationship to work and unlike Hayate, whom she didn't even introduce to her friends at the time, they had crossed that line which made it all the more worth fighting for.

And all of a sudden she could feel the anger that she felt dissipate and it was replaced with a feeling of purpose. Tomorrow she would get Viktor and Leifang to apologize to each other. She cared for them and if they cared for her they would make the effort to bridge the gap that they had created.

She was about to head towards her bike when a sound made her stop.

It came from the other side of the tree.

The sound came again and, deciding to take a look, Hitomi circled around the tree and found...

"Ayane!?"

OMG! The sudden yet inevitable fight happened.
Also cliffhangers are a bitch, ain't they?

See you next week.