Am I Wrong?
Three months. That's how long it had been. She was amazed that life could get even close to anything that looked normal anymore. But it had. And a part of her was disappointed at that fact. Mika got up from her bed and looked around, somewhat hoping that Raizo would be sitting somewhere in her bedroom. She may have moved to a new apartment in a completely different neighborhood from her old one after, what she and Ryan Maslow affectionately refer as, the Ozunu Incident, but she still thought that the mysterious ninja would appear before her again. After all, he found her the first time easy enough. She wanted him to find her. She was still hoping that he would.
Every now and then, she dreamt about him. She dreamed that he'd show back up and say how much he cared for her and that he would be there for her, always. She never cared for a relationship or getting to know anyone long enough to begin one. But a ninja was the exception. The very thought of that made her laugh sometimes: the thought of falling in love with a ninja.
But there was something there. 'Wasn't it?' she asked herself, as she often did. Did he care about her beyond the Ozunu case? He forgave her for being the reasons the Hanta Kirra found him after their assault on the bunker he was held captive in. He raged against his former master after Lord Ozunu stabbed her through the chest. And then there were the times he smiled at her.
Those were the moments she couldn't erase. She could never and would never forget those smiles; the smartass smirks he threw her way when he was getting on her nerves or confusing her and he knew it or the genuine smile after the battle at the Ozunu compound and he helped her breathe again. At least, that's how she remembered that last part.
She worked and was as proficient as ever, determined to keep her mind and focus on her work and not that man she couldn't forget about. She walked into Maslow's office and dropped off some files. "Here are the reports on the Giovanni case."
Maslow looked up. "Thanks."
She started to leave.
"Mika."
She stopped and looked at him. "Yeah?"
"Close the door." He motioned to one of the chairs. "Have a seat."
She did as instructed. "What's going on?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm just a little… a little… out of it lately."
"You sure you didn't come back to work too soon?" He looked her over. "Your wound still hasn't healed up all of the way."
"I'm completely fine." She thought about that. "Well, not completely. I can't move around too much so…"
"I know that." He sighed. "And Raizo?"
"What about him?"
He smirked. "Do you miss him?"
An indignant look came over her face. "Excuse me?"
"You're not hard of hearing. Do. You. Miss him?"
She exhaled. "That's none of your business."
"Confirmed."
"He was just a contact."
"Bull."
She rolled her eyes.
"He wasn't just a contact. That's not how he looked at you."
She focused back on Maslow. "He… he didn't?"
"No. He looked at you like you were gorgeous."
"You said that every man looks at me like that."
"Yes. But how many of them know how to fight like that and are as stoic as they come."
She sighed. "Well… even if he did… which I'm not agreeing to… what does it matter now? He's gone."
"I'm just asking. You're the one who's been out of sorts, lately."
"I'm just recovering from my injury."
"If you say so."
"And, even if it was the other thing you said, it doesn't matter. He's not here."
Maslow shrugged, "Guy's a ninja. Maybe… he's just waiting for the right time to come back."
Mika rolled her eyes.
"I'm just saying."
"Well, thanks, Ryan. I appreciate it. But, I'm fine, really."
"Good. Just…" He looked at the files, "start making two trips. I don't want you to reopen any injuries."
"If I take it any easier, I'll have to stay home."
"And wouldn't that be just a crazy idea," he said in his best sarcastic voice.
She had to resist rolling her eyes again although the action was severely tempting.
When a knock came to the door, Maslow drew his attention to it, "Come in."
Collin, one of the assistants in the office, entered the room. "Excuse me, sir, I was looking Agent Coretti."
"Yes, Collin?" Mika asked.
"Someone called and left you a message." He handed to her a note.
"Thanks."
Collin nodded and exited the office.
Mika opened the note and looked it over.
"What is it?" Maslow asked.
"Someone asking to meet me at the Café Kranzler for lunch," she answered. "There's a reservation under my name."
"From who?"
"It doesn't say."
Maslow gave an inquisitive shrug, "Maybe it's from a contact. Are you working on a case?"
"No. Just been doing paperwork because of the injury."
"Huh. Curious. Maybe you have a secret admirer. It wouldn't be that surprising."
Mika rolled her eyes at the notion but this did leave her curious. Who would want to meet her? And why would they not leave their name?
With that last question, she actually had an answer.
Her eyes widened. "Raizo…" she whispered.
Maslow sat back and looked at her intently. "Do you really think…"
She stared at the note, trying to catch her breath. She looked up. "I have to go, Ryan. We'll talk later." She hurried out of the office.
Within minutes, she was at the cafe. She walked in as calm as she could but she was more anxious than anything. She kept her head on a swivel, trying to find the ninja who had been a welcome addition to her dreams.
The maître d' walked up to her and nodded, "Welcome, Ms. Coretti."
She looked at him, surprised. "How do you know my name?"
"Your party is already waiting. He said he was a bit early and that you would be looking for him rather intently."
"'Him'? Did you say 'him'?"
"Yes, ma'am." He guided her to a table in the back.
Sure enough, the former Ozunu ninja was sitting at a table by the window, looking at a menu. Raizo looked at her and gave her a smile, setting his menu on the table and locking his hands together.
Her heart skipped a beat. She felt embarrassed because, knowing him, he probably heard it. 'Damn him.'
"Hello, Mika," the ninja said.
She steeled herself and sat down. "Hi."
"It's been a while."
"Three months."
"I know. I was counting."
Something about that made her short of breath.
He smirked and picked the menu back up. "What would you recommend here?"
They ordered and ate their meal in the comfortable company of each other, even making chitchat. This alone surprised Mika; she didn't expect Raizo to have an impressive knowledge of current events, though him knowing a lot about the number of Interpol cases was pretty much a given. At various points, Mika looked at Raizo with an admittedly suspicious eye, though it was hard to keep that look whenever he looked into her eyes. She hated how that affected her. And was intrigued by it at the same time.
After they had finished eating and the waitress took their plates away, Raizo decided to do what he did best and hit the heart of this meeting. "While you are good at small talk and I do enjoy it with you, that isn't why you ran here."
"You invited me."
"And you ran here."
"Didn't want to miss you, in case you changed your mind."
"That's fair. Yet and still… ask me what you really want to ask me."
His statement was a good one. If anyone else had asked her what she would say to him if did show back up, she could've replied in a reasonable amount of time. But, for some reason, it was hard to get the words out. She stared at him longer than she wanted to but before she was finally able to speak. "Why did you come back?"
He sighed and looked out of the window. "The world is different to me, now."
"How?"
"It's like the purpose I had in this life is now gone. All that mattered to me was killing Ozunu and stopping the Clan. Now… it's like I don't know what to do."
"I guess it's hard to leave that kind of life behind."
"It's not easy. I still carry one shuriken on me for emergencies."
Anyone else would be facetious saying that. She had feeling this wasn't the case. "You're not joking, are you?"
He opened the right side of his leather jacket to reveal one hidden in the lining.
She shook her head. She actually giggled. "You never change."
"Never is a long time coming."
"Maybe. But you can't completely ignore that part of your life, though. It was ingrained on you from an early age. You didn't have a choice. It's not like you can deprogram yourself now."
"It would be impossible to think… to even imagine I could." He fell silent for a while then he looked up at her. "But that doesn't mean life can't change in some way."
She heard him. She tried to remain indifferent, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing how happy that made her. Not yet, anyway. "What do you mean?"
He looked out of the window, again, focusing on the people who walked by. They looked so happy; he always envied that. "I was one of the Clan, Mika. That was all I had and all I knew. Either fighting for them… or fighting against them, that was my entire life. But… now that it's over… I know that there's more that I want."
"What more do you want?" Silently praying for an answer she wanted to hear.
"Life."
Not, exactly, what she hoping to hear.
He looked up at her. "With someone who's worth having a life with."
That was. She had to catch her breath. Being around him, that happened a lot. For a variety of reasons. This time, in particular, it was out exhilaration as to what his words meant. "What do you mean?"
He looked down and she could swear that she could see a tint of red come on his cheeks. "I told you that your heart is special," he answered. "I think underestimated how much."
"Raizo… if you're messing with me… you better stay hiding in shadows for the rest of your life."
"I don't just say words like that, Mika. Time is too valuable to waste on things you don't mean."
She stared at him. "You're serious."
"I can't promise that I can… be the kind of man you deserve." He sighed. "But I want to try." He stared at her. "And… I think that's what you want as well. Am I wrong?"
She sighed and shook her head. "No… you're not wrong."
He smiled.
"If I can be honest… I was hoping you would come back."
"I wanted to come back. But, I hope you know… the danger, it may always be there. I'm sure that no one is after me but I can't promise that will always be the case."
"I can handle it."
He smiled. "I believe you can." He let out a sigh of relief, glad things went well. He wasn't sure that Mika wanted anymore to do with him but he had to try. The reward was more than worth the risk. "Thank you, Mika."
"Thanks for coming back."
"Am I not keeping you from something important?"
She gave a sly smile, "As a matter of fact, no. I was just speaking with Maslow about taking some more time off."
"I think you should take advantage of that."
"I think you're right."
He smiled. "So… what do people usually do in this situation?"
She smiled and gave a shrug, "They go out on a date."
"Where do they do that?"
"Where the woman wants to go. It makes sure she stays happy, which, in turn, makes sure the man stays happy."
"I think I hear another lie in there somewhere."
"You wish."
He just smiled. He couldn't help it. Whatever was going to happen next, the possibilities were endless and left him very excited. His smile caused Mika to smile, as well. Never, in her life, had the future been more uncertain and never had that been more exciting for her.
A/N: I am currently working on a Ninja Assassin chapter story and that should be up soon. Be on the lookout for it! REVIEWS, PLEASE!