Mayumi scrunched her pretty, straight eyebrows a little, giving me the cutest puppy look. “D-Dance?” she repeated, her soft voice melting in my ears.

For a moment I stood quiet, questioning my hasty reaction.

Confused Mayumi looked at her mother, whose expression was not one of approval. I readied myself for a rejection, when her eyes settled on me again, this time accompanied by a smile on her lips. Her head tilted forward in a nod and she put her hand in mine.

Her touch felt as if the sun shone its warmest light on me.

It took me a whole second to get my head around her gesture. I grasped her hand in mine, closing my fingers as gently as I could, and took her with me into the crowd. Glancing back I saw that Kai had joined another group nearby, showing no interest in Mayumi or intent of joining Mrs Minamoto and her friends.

We stopped somewhere in the middle of the dance floor. Many eyes were turning on Mayumi, but hers gazed only at me, giving me full authority over my next move. A couple waltzed by us at a speed and bumped into her from behind. She uttered a loud sigh, filling me with concern, but right after collapsed into a sincere smile.

I put my hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to me to protect her from any further incidents. Her silky black hair brushed my hand. She watched me, lingering in silent anticipation.

I asked her for a dance, I remembered – not a very smart move. Unless dead drunk I never danced and even then one could hardly call it dancing. A memory flashed through my mind – the dance I had with K in that odd disco karaoke club. For some reason, it felt as if it had happened in a very distant past.

My hand slid from Mayumi’s shoulder to her lower back, my fingers settling over the thick sash of her kimono. I put my other hand up and she placed hers in mine. I held her small hand lightly and with care, worried my rough hand would damage her perfect, smooth skin.

I had no idea how to waltz, and it looked like she didn’t know it either. I manned up enough to take the lead. We swayed, shifting weight from one leg to another, keeping a proper distance between us like two timid high schoolers at a supervised school ball. Something more would have been impossible anyway since her ample kimono and her Japanese clogs restricted her movements.

We were both aware, especially as the couple near us danced as if they came from a ballroom in Vienna, how terrible we were at it, yet a lasting smile on her adorable mouth told me that she was enjoying herself.

It happened she stepped on my foot. Her eyes widened in panic and she immediately took some distance. Looking down at my foot, then at her, I put on a cheeky smile and uttered an ouch. It took her a moment to recognize I was joking, then she chuckled too, and progressively, as I broke out into a muffled laugh, she began laughing too, in a most sincere and endearing way. And I was over the moon.

I reassured her by pulling her slightly closer, her eyes looking at me with a little less shyness. The waltz ended, and another one began. We stayed on the dance floor, not really dancing but rather just gazing at each other until the music stopped. She detached from me and I let go of her.

“Minamoto Mayumi,” she said, pressing her right palm against her chest and lowering her head in a small bow.

Like an idiot, I stared at her, admiring her soft, low voice and her graceful mannerism. Her glittering eyes questioning, I bowed and foolishly uttered: ”Hamimemashite…Nik Torsten… desu.”

She chuckled, her small hand covering her mouth. “Hajimemashite, Nik san.” Her poise was exquisite.

Fuck, now what? I wasn’t even sure if she spoke English.

“I’m sorry, my Japanese is very bad. I don’t know it at all actually.”

“It’s not problem. I speak a little English.” Her fingers intertwined again, as we continued to stare at each other.

“Are you a fighter?”

“Yes, I am.”

She nodded, averting her eyes to the side.

“I’m a fighter for Mr. Fujiwara…sama…” I rolled my eyes at my awkwardness.

“Oh, I see.” Another nod, her stare dropping to the floor, a slight turbulence crossing her expression.

“I’m from Holland. You know… Amsterdam?”

She lifted her stare again. “Ooo, how nice! I don’t know it. I never been. Only Japan.”

A smile of embarrassment on her side. I was at a loss for words. She appeared uncomfortable with silence, so I blurted: “Happy birthday.”

Her eyes widened.

“Oh…” A flush of red coloured her white cheeks, she averted her stare again. “Thank you.”

I usually made little or no effort in such situations, it was always the women that showed interest in me. But this time I was beating my brains out on how to keep this conversation going, just so I could prolong our time together. As much as I tried, her glittering eyes upon me, I came up with nothing.

The commotion on the stage saved me. The musicians were getting ready again and as my eyes discerned Ela’s hard-to-miss yellow gown moving towards the stage, I also saw the thick-necked boss re-entering the club through the back door.

His clothing and his figure imposing, he stuck out in the crowd. An immediate nervousness appeared on Mayumi’s face. Her eyes followed her father, who was undoubtedly on his way to his spouse and daughter.

“Gomen--Umm…I’m sorry. I have to go.”

What do I do? What do I say to her? She’s leaving…dammit!

“Mayumi! When can I see you again?”

She turned, surprise hanging on her parted mouth. My desperation must have been apparent. She moved her mouth, wanting to say something. I was waiting for her words, like a thirsty man for water. No words came, a shake of her head, a small bow, and with short brisk steps, she rushed towards her mother.

The president reached the group a few seconds after Mayumi, bringing with him Kai Sanada. Still as a stone I watched from the distance, my biased mind interpreting the scene.

Mrs. Minamoto welcomed Kai with an enthusiastic smile, introducing him to the rest of her friends. Kai bowed and said a few words, evoking sudden merry smiles from everybody around him.

I flinched as Mrs. Minamoto took hold of Mayumi and nudged her forth towards Kai. She faced him with a lovely, timid expression.

I couldn’t figure out whether this forced introduction was something Mayumi approved or disapproved of, whether she acted timid because she liked him or she was just being polite and play along for her mother’s sake.

Not seeing her smile, at least not like she did when she was with me, gave me a spark of hope. Perhaps Kai’s super charm didn’t work on her.

Who doesn’t like Kai, K’s voice, playing a devil’s advocate resonated in my mind. Other echoes of words followed:

…twenty is the age of adulthood in Japan…

…he wants to marry her off...

…family dinner for the winner…

….we all know who the winner will be….

.... the president prefers to keep everything within the family…

Kai was the fighter for the Minamoto clan – part of the family so to speak, he was the fighter, who had never lost a fight… the one expected to win.

Fuck!

Mayumi’s mother skilfully diverted her husband’s attention to their friends, giving Mayumi and Kai some space. Kai, ogling Mayumi, took a glass from the counter and offered it to her. She accepted it with reservation, like everything else she did that evening, except when dancing with me.

While Kai chatted away, she cast a furtive glance in my direction. When she saw I caught it, her glances became more frequent. She even smiled, a small, timid smile, which I was certain was meant for me. I smiled too, wholeheartedly.

Ela’s magical voice once again filled the club with a new, sad-sounding song. An emotion impossible to fake came through her voice and showed on her face. That song was meant for somebody -- James, perhaps? Or Kenichi, he was Ernest’s friend…I chuckled – how easy it was to forget that Ernest was somewhere in there too when Ela sang.

Despite the sad tune I could not have been happier, enjoying my secret connection with Mayumi through our glances and smiles.

At the end of the song, the president and his wife, as perceived by their body language, began taking their leave. After a few bows and handshakes with her friends, Mrs Minamoto took Mayumi under her elbow and with a broad smile directed a few words at Kai. The president joined his wife and he too engaged with Kai in such an amicable and courteous manner it made my stomach turn. Before they left he patted his best fighter on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Kai nodded and shared a satisfied grin with the president.

Mayumi’s eyes kept turning to me at every possible moment during this cordial departure. Watching her leave through the back exit near the stage, an urge to follow her rose in me.

Blinded by some romantic notions about our brief encounter, I decided to act on that urge, but before I made any actual movement, K popped up out of nowhere.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Her words, uttered in a low but intense voice, pulled me out of my beautiful dream and hit me in the face with bland reality.

“Nowhere really---“

“You can’t just follow the oyabun.”

“I wasn’t—“

“You were.”

“Fine, I was. So what? Are you going to have me beaten up again?” I exhaled, long and loud, annoyed she ambushed me like that. “Fuck, relax, I’m just going to the terrace and have a beer somewhere quiet.”

We stood silent, her stare piercing through me.

“Is this going to be a problem?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no problem, K.”

“Fighting’s first.”

“Of course, always…”

The next time I saw K that evening was in the company of Takahashi and Kai. With a cocky smile and a full glass in her hand, she rested on the counter, looking all pretty in her blue dress, while the two of them engaged in intense debate.

Not wanting to go there, I searched for Sunny and Shin and found them near the dance floor, standing separately in front of each other and performing a synchronized dance routine. Watching their rather odd and funny movements amused me for a while.

Thoughts and impressions began to gather in my mind, formulating unwanted speculations, which poked at my heart. I decided it was time to leave.