"Last call for flight 1475 now boarding from gate 21."
Hitomi quickly picked up her suitcase and backpack and made her way for gate 21, she had been tired from her flight from Germany and had fallen asleep on a bench in the waiting hall and had only just awaken to hear the announcement. It was the only flight to her destination, so if she missed it, she would never get to Zack Island. "Zack Island!" Hitomi laughed to herself. "What kind of person buys an island and names it after himself?" Zack was that kind of person, a muay thai-fighting dj who had won the third Dead or Alive martial arts tournament and spent the money prize in Las Vegas and won it big and now he had bought an entire island where he was having the fourth Dead or Alive tournament. Hitomi had participated in the third one to test her karate skills and though she had gotten far she hadnĀ“t won the tournament and after having trained harder she was now ready to give it another shot. Hitomi was in her jeans and denim jacket outfit with a white t-shirt with an eagle imprint and red gloves and a hairband, it was what she almost always seemed to wear, but so what, she liked that outfit. Hitomi made it to the gate and as the woman behind the counter checked her ticket she heard a voice call for her.
"Hitomi!"
Hitomi recognised the voice and couldnĀ“t believe it.
"Lei Fang?"
Hitomi spun around and saw the Chinese girl run towards her, she was wearing a blue white-striped shirt and a white skirt and had her usually braided hair in two ponytails and was carrying a suitcase and a backpack. They both laughed with joy and Lei Fang dropped her suitcase and backpack to run up and give Hitomi a big hug between friends.
"YouĀ“re in this tournament too? ThatĀ“s so great!"
"Of course I am, Lei, I didnĀ“t win last time!"
"Neither did I!" said Lei Fang and then turned frustrated.
"IĀ“ve fought in the last three tournaments and every time IĀ“ve been beaten by Jann Lee. Ooohhh, I want to beat him so bad I can taste it! But this time, this time I will! IĀ“ve trained so hard and if I donĀ“t win this time IĀ“llā¦IĀ“lllā¦do something drastic!"
Hitomi laughed.
"IĀ“m sure you will."
"How about you? Anybody you wanna see again in the tournament?"
"Well, IĀ“d like to meet Ein, I mean, Hayate again, I havenĀ“t seen him since he defeated me in the last tournament."
"Got a crush on him?" Lei Fang asked teasingly.
"I do not! HeĀ“s just a good friend, thatĀ“s all, and heĀ“s really great at karate, IĀ“d really like him to teach me."
The check-in woman interrupted them as she asked for Lei Fangs ticket. Lei Fang handed it to her and then turned back to Hitomi.
"Do you even know if heĀ“s in the tournament? I mean, last time I heard he was only there to defeat that Genra-thing, and I havenĀ“t heard of any new threats to arise this time round."
"Well, I donĀ“t know if heĀ“ll be there, but I hope so. And even if he isnĀ“t, IĀ“ve come to test my skills, and thatĀ“s what I intend to do."
Lei Fang got her ticket back and picked up her suitcase and backpack and grabbed Hitomis arm.
"Well, come on, weĀ“re gonna miss the plane!"
She pulled Hitomi with her and the two girls ran down the hall laughing.
A minute later they were finding their seats in the plane. Lei Fang set her sights on a window seat and pulled Hitomi with her. Once they had put their backpacks under their seats they sat down and made themselves comfortable, Lei Fang sitting in the window seat.
"Ahhhh!" Lei Fang sighed contentedly as she dug herself into the soft, comfy seat. She was only still for a moment though before she looked up and spotted the headphones-plug above her.
"Ooh! Music!" she proclaimed and dove for her backpack and produced a headphoneset, plugged it in and put it on her head. And immediately started singing her lungs out.
"So tell me, baby, do you really want to hurt me, do you really want to make me cry?" she sang, closing her eyes and moving her head in rhytm to the music. Hitomi giggled at Lei Fangs contagious cheerfulness and then turned silent and watched her with a loving expression. Hitomi had first seen Lei Fang at the third tournament and immediately she had felt something she had never felt before. Spotting her in the crowd was like in movies when the hero spotted the heroine and everything turned to slow motion and romantic music started playing, she had thought Lei Fang was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, she had such an innocent-looking face and eradiated a joy of life that Hitomi found absolutely irresistible and still did, and her smile also hinted at a devilish side that teased and excited Hitomi. This new feeling was a complete surprise to Hitomi, she had never had a boyfriend, but she had always assumed that she was into boys, but simply hadnĀ“t fallen in love with any yet, but when she had seen Lei Fang that day she had realised she was into girls. Or just into Lei Fang. Over the next few days Hitomi had been watching Lei Fang from a distance, admiring her beauty and wishing to be near her, to touch her and be around her all the time. So she was mighty surprised and most pleased when Lei Fang suddenly chatted her up and started hanging around with her. Probably because they were both almost the same age, Hitomi had said to herself, but she didnĀ“t complain. When the tournament ended, to them anyway, with Hitomi having been beaten by Hayate and Lei Fang having lost to Jann Lee, they had said their goodbyes and went home, Hitomi hoping she would forget Lei Fang once she wasnĀ“t around anymore. But that hadnĀ“t been the case, back in her fathers dojo she had continued to think about Lei Fang, often considering writing to her, but with her not knowing what to write without giving away her real feelings she never got that far. So when she had met Lei Fang again at the airport her heart had stopped beating for a moment before screaming with joy, but Hitomi had hidden that reaction, afraid she would scare Lei Fang away if she knew how she really felt about her. So now she just sat next to her on the plane, watching and laughing as Lei Fang headbanged to her music, her ponytails swinging wildly about. She loved Lei Fangs energetic cheerfulness, Hitomi wasn`t shy herself, but next to Lei Fang she was like the spectacled girl in school that always tried to become one with the wallpaper.
"Whazzup???"
And next to Tina Lei Fang was like the dried-up old teacher that never allowed any fun. Hitomi looked back at the recently arrived passenger. Tina Armstrong was walking down the aisle carrying a backpack and loudly greeting everyone on the plane.
"Kasumi! Long time no see! HowĀ“s your brother? Ayane! Why arenĀ“t you sitting with your sister? Helena! Love your music!" Tinas friendly gesture hardly connected with the people it was aimed at, Kasumi looked like she had been hit at the mention of her brother, Ayane gave Tina an "Are you insane?" look at her question and Helena made an offensive snort like her music wasnĀ“t for lower class people like Tina. Tina didnĀ“t seem to notice these reactions, or if she did, let herself get affected by them, she just continued down the aisle looking for her seat. She was wearing a pair of long white pants with zebra stripes and a blue top that only just covered her breasts. "I hope sheĀ“s wearing a bra under that!" Hitomi thought to herself, but as Tina reached up to put her backpack in the luggage compartment she could clearly see that wasnĀ“t the case. Tina sat down in her seat with a sigh of anticipation.
"I could just kiss the guy whose idea it was to have the tournament on a tropical island! IĀ“m gonna have sooo much fun! IĀ“m gonna kick everybodys asses and then dominate the beach in my new bikini!" Tina let out an impatient sigh while tapping her fingers on the handrests and then leaned out of her seat and shouted in direction of the cockpit.
"Come on, letĀ“s go, weĀ“re wasting time, get the plane off the ground, come on!" Tina sat down again, raising her fist in the air and letting out a cry of joy. Hitomi smiled to herself and shook her head. "Americans!" She looked around to see who else was on the plane. By another window sat Kasumi, she looked saddened as always and was looking out the window, lost in her thoughts. Hitomi barely knew Kasumi, but it hurt her to always see her looking like she was in pain, she was such a sweet and kind person, why did she have to go through whatever it was that hurt her so much? Sitting a good distance away from her was Ayane, Kasumis half-sister as far as Hitomi knew. Ayane had never hidden the fact that she hated her sister and she certainly wasnĀ“t hiding it now, she was casting hateful sideglances at Kasumi and you could almost hear the hateful thoughts that were going through her head as she looked at her sister. Also sitting by herself was Helena, she was reading a book, the title Hitomi couldnĀ“t see, and paid no attention to what was going on around her. Helena had always been a little toffee-nosed, she came from a wealthy family and it wasnĀ“t in her nature to mingle with the so-called "lower class". Hitomi had only met her in the last tournament and had gotten the impression that she didnĀ“t care about the tournament, like she was only there for a reason Hitomi didnĀ“t know about. Just then another passenger arrived, "Christie the ice queen" as Hitomi called her, a British woman whose cold attitude Hitomi found repulsive, but also scared her, it was like Christie was a monster in human form only waiting to be unleashed and God have mercy on us all when that time came. Christie turned her head and looked at Helena as she entered, Helena looked up and their eyes met. For a moment there was surprise and terror in Helenas eyes, then her expression turned hateful and she returned to her book, clearly enraged. Christie seemed as emotionless as always, she continued down the aisle and found herself a seat. Hitomi wondered at what she had just seen, in the last tournament Christie had been Helenas servant, so why did they now seem to hate each other? Hitomi paid no further attention to that but continued to look around and saw a woman that was new to her, a darkskinned woman with short hair also sitting by herself and reading a book. "Must be a new contestant." Hitomi thought to herself. Then she realised something. She turned to Lei Fang who was in the middle of an air guitar solo that would make Jimi Hendrix proud.
