Chapter 59

Leifang sat on the edge of the padded hall together with the other spectators of the tournament. It wasn't a big tournament like the Dead or Alive one, with the guests only being friends or family of the sixteen participants that would fight in the tournament and the only press members here were local ones.

She looked to the side to see Joachim sitting with the other representatives of the dojos, talking amongst themselves.

From what Hitomi had told her today's tournament was a competition between the best female Karatekas from all the German states, so sixteen in total, who in turn had won a similar competition last year in their home state, which had taken place not long after the Dead or Alive tournament.

The German had already complained to her earlier that she would need to rely on a certain set of techniques since she was not allowed to attack her opponents' legs as well as using some of her own self-taught ones.

Regulations also dictated that she would have to wear hand-,feet- as well as a chest guard and a mouth piece, which annoyed Hitomi to no end and had her muttering about how dojos these days only taught people how to fight in competitions.

Leifang had just let her ramble on until she calmed down and gave her a peck on the cheek telling her "Show them what you got."

And that was exactly what she had done. Hitomi pretty much dominated the three matches she fought in, disposing of her opponents in no time and making her way to the finale. The German had been right about the restrictions though. As Leifang watched her she could tell that Hitomi wasn't up to her usual game because she couldn't fight entirely like she wanted.

But she was confident that her girlfriend could do it.

And as if on cue Hitomi stepped towards the left side of the mat, shaking her limbs to loosen her muscles a little and slapping her face to regain her focus after the past few matches. She checked if her blue hand and feet guards were sitting right.

She wore her hair in the same ponytail as the other night, even used the same hair-tie for it, and Leifang really hoped that the German would start to wear it like this more often from now on.

Her opponent came from the right side. She was a brunette too, pretty as well, but her short hair was a shade darker than Hitomi's, and instead of blue she wore red on her hands and feet.

The referee, an older but still fit man, walked onto the mat and beckoned them onto the mat as well, while the announcer spoke.

"Representing Baden-Württemberg is Hitomi Buchfink." the announcer said for the sake of form only since everyone already knew who the contestants were by now. "Representing Lower-Saxony is Sonja Waldowski."

The referee made another gesture and Hitomi and the other girl bowed towards one another, then got into position.

"Begin!" he said in Japanese and stepped back. They both wasted no time and started to circle each other. The girl name Sonja threw a cautious punch that Hitomi easily blocked.

She followed up with another one, and another one and every single one was blocked by Hitomi until she went into the offensive and kicked out with her right leg, hitting her right in the back.

"One point for blue." the referee called and Hitomi and Sonja moved back into their starting positions.

This time Hitomi didn't bother with being defensive and directly attacked the other girl, who was barely able to defend herself, and scored another point by hitting Sonja in the chest.

Leifang clapped and smiled to herself, delighted that the finale was already going so well. But then Sonja finally started to fight back, which came to her and apparently Hitomi's surprise, as she hit her in the shoulder during their next round.

"One point for red."

Now Leifang kind of regretted not watching the battles that did not involve Hitomi since this one had some surprises up her sleeve by the looks of it.

And it seemed Hitomi didn't either by the expression on her face.

Two more exchanges Leifang thought to herself. If Hitomi didn't make a mistake and managed to land a hit she would win this one. Watching them as they moved she found herself nibbling on her right thumbnail.

Come on, come on.

She hissed when Sonja landed another strike, making the man sitting beside her look at her. Glaring at him for a second she turned her head back towards her girlfriend, who once more slapped her own cheeks to focus.

Her expression turned grim and she didn't let the other girl out of her sight for a single moment, dodging and blocking at every given opportunity.

Leifang had to resist the urge to stand up in her seat when her girlfriend just barely managed to move to the side. Why wasn't she fighting back?

But then she saw what she was trying to do. With every attack that she dodged and blocked she managed to guide her opponent near the edge of the ring.

Something flashed in Hitomi's eyes and a smirk formed on her lips as she finally saw her chance, ducked under another punch and turned around. And with a solid kick she sent the other girl out of the ring.

"The match goes to blue!" the referee announced and everyone started clapping, which Leifang joined in heartily. She watched as as satisfied smile formed on Hitomi's lips. The German the walked over to the other girl and helped her on her feet, both of them shaking hands in a friendly manner afterward.

Everyone got up from their seats and Leifang went over to her girlfriend, who was already joined by Joachim.

"You did it!" she said and captured Hitomi in a hug.

"Whoa, careful there. I'm drenched." Hitomi said and returned the hug. "And damn that was a close one."

"There's always someone that's better, never forget that." Joachim said and patted her on the back with a smile. "Good work."

"Thanks."

Hitomi and Leifang let go of one another and looked at each other for a moment. The German moved in to capture her lips, but was interrupted when a voice called out to her.

"Excuse me, we'd like to take a picture of the winner for the papers." a young man with a camera said. Clearing her throat Hitomi turned towards him.

"Sure." she said with a smile and let him take a few photographs of her.

Later then. Hitomi thought.

Letting out a satisfied sigh Hitomi stepped out of the shower and, putting on that nice bathrobe, started drying her hair in front of the mirror.

God this day had been tiring. That last fight sure had caught her off guard. Your own fault for thinking it would be too easy Hitomi berated herself and looked at herself. This Sonja girl was pretty good. She would love to fight her in earnest one day.

She had won though, and that was the important thing now. "Now there only needs to be another Dead or Alive Tournament and for me to win it." she said to herself.

When her hair was dry enough for her liking she walked out of the bathroom. "Hey Leifang wh-" she stopped when she noticed that the Chinese was nowhere to be found.

Looking around she found a pretty, sky blue colored dress lying on the bed with a note on it saying: Meet me in the Restaurant

The corner of her lips curved upward when she saw the little heart at the end of the sentence.

She pulled off the robe, put on some underwear and then slipped into the dress. It was obvious that it belonged to Leifang, since it didn't fit in some places, but a quick look in the mirror assured her that she looked good in it.

Finding a matching pair of heels beside the bed she put them on and left the room, heading straight for the elevator and riding it down. As she headed into the Restaurant she noticed that some of the men were staring at her.

Too bad for them that she wasn't here for any of them. She found Leifang sitting alone at a table for two, reading the menu, and wearing a very nice looking red dress. A lit candle was placed in the middle of the table. As she closed in Hitomi got an idea that made her chuckle.

"So alone tonight? You look like you're waiting for someone. I'm Hitomi by the way." Hitomi asked and when Leifang gave her a strange look she told her with her eyes to play along.

"Hmm. Yes I do." Leifang said and bit her lower lip to fight a smile. "And I'm Leifang."

"Mind if I sit down?"

"No no, go ahead."

Hitomi sat down. "First time being here?"

"Yes. And you?"

"Mhm, me too." Hitomi said and took the menu, looking it over. "So who are you waiting for?"

"My date. But it seems I'm being stood up."

"Damn shame. I would never stand up someone like you." Hitomi shook her head. "Tell me about your date."

"My date?" Leifang tipped her chin in thought. "She's pretty, has a cute personality, can be a little silly at times but is probably the nicest person I know."

Then Leifang added in a whisper, giggling. "And her breasts haunt my dreams day and night." she cocked her head and winked. "Yours are pretty nice too."

Hitomi became a little red at that description but managed to stay in character. "She? So a woman. Now that's interesting."

A waiter approached the table, asking if they wanted to order, and the two girls told him what they wanted.

"Oh, and a bottle of red wine for me and my friend here."

"As you wish." The waiter said and left them to their little roleplay.

"Yes a woman." Leifang said. "You don't think that's strange, do you?"

"Nothing wrong with dating a woman." Hitomi eyed her. "Especially if she's as pretty as you are."

"My, are you trying to seduce me away from my date?" Leifang asked teasingly and ran a nail across her lower lip.

"Maybe," Hitomi said and smiled. "Why? Is it working?"

Leifang moved her foot a little and pulled it slowly out her high-heel, then proceeded to gently run her toes up and down across Hitomi's leg.

"Yes." Leifang said simply.

Hitomi's eyes rolled back inside her head and she closed her eyes.

"Sweetie, you're driving me crazy and we're not even finished eating." The German said, finally breaking character.

"Hehe." Leifang pulled her foot away. "I gotta admit that was fun."

"I just couldn't resist." Hitomi said.

They didn't say anything until Leifang let out a sigh. "And tomorrow it's back to everyday life... Well not entirely."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Leifang asked and the remembered that she didn't get to finish what she wanted to say on the train ride. "Oh yeah, I didn't. Well to make it short I decided that after the semester is over I'm switching my major to music."

Hitomi looked at her taken aback. "I thought you wanted to study so you could inherit your father's position one day."

Leifang shook her head. "At the time I thought that's what it would be like too, but back then I would've done anything just to see you again, so I followed my father's wishes. But now..."

"But now you found your own path."

Leifang nodded. "Yes. I want to be a composer."

Hitomi placed her hand on top of Leifang's and gave her a smile. "That's great."

"Thanks. You saying that means a lot to me."

"What, you thought I'd try to convince you otherwise?" Hitomi asked and captured Leifang's eyes. "Whatever you decide, I'll support you no matter what."

Leifang presented her with that beautiful smile she only reserved for her. "I love you so much, you know?"

"I love you too, Sweetie."

The woman known as Lin Wei stepped out of her room, a hand running across the collar of her suit. She had just finished writing the detailed business report of the deal that she had completed yesterday in her boss' stead, since he was too busy at central office.

She had jumped at the chance to finally prove her worth as his assistant and had, in her mind, done everything to his satisfaction. If all went well she might finally get that promotion she had aspired to for years now.

In her other hand she held a smart-phone, having just send a heads up report to her boss, which she put back into her pocket before heading for the elevator.

Wei had to admit that she liked this hotel a lot, and was glad that her boss arranged for her to stay here. She decided that she would indulge in some fine cuisine before going to bed early. Her flight was taking off in the morning.

She walked into the restaurant and sat at one of the unoccupied tables. Looking over the menu she was glad that the food was also written in English and quickly decided what she wanted and called over a waiter.

Wei told him her choice and placed the menu back unto the table, but as she did so she caught glimpse of a familiar face. A little bit further back she spotted the only daughter of her boss. It didn't surprise her that much, since she knew that the girl was studying in this country.

What did surprise her though was that the young woman was currently busy locking lips.

With another woman.

Staring at them for a few second she started to fumble for her smart-phone and, when she finally managed to pull it back out of her pocket, started to write another message.

I have to tell Mr. Gāo about this. She thought as she typed away.

Dun dun dun.
Of course things just can't stay nice, can't they?
And I told you, official Karate Tournament are pretty boring all in all.
Well, until next week then.