Author's note

I Own nothing in this story except for the OCs. Witchblade is property of Top Cow Entertainment and Studio Gonzo

The Doll in the window.

It was a quiet evening at the Natsuki building. The Parlor was surprisingly empty. the only people present in the parlor were Mariko, and Masane. Masane was waiting patiently for Rihoko to return from her trip out to the Market. Tozawa was in his room doing work for his publication. Naomi was in the midst of a Nap, and the two had no Idea where Mr. Cho and Michael went. Masane was slumped over the bar, almost as if she was about to fall asleep, and it would've made sense to her. Today was a slow day. The witchblade had not picked up any X-cons or other activities. Takayama hadn't called her all day, and she spent most of her day walking around town shopping for various trinkets with Rihoko. Masane let out a large sigh and looked up at the ceiling. She placed her hand on the bar and started tapping her finger Rhythmically. Suddenly, her rhythm became more constant, and slowly she started singing softly…

"Ashita futari wa te wo nobashite
Itsumo yorimo tsuyoku nigiriau
Ashita futari wa te wo nobashite
Dakiatte KISSU wo shite Aishiau"

Mariko cocked an eyebrow at Masane, "I never really thought of ya as a singer, Melanie. Ya got any other tunes you could sing for me? The silence in this room can be rather boring time and again."

Masane shrugged. "Sorry, but that's really the only song I know. I'm not really in to music, I never had the chance to sit down and enjoy it." She closed her eyes. "I know that song because when Rihoko and I listened to the radio, that song was on all the time. Someone we met gave us the CD, and eventually we fell in love with it. It's a song about two lovers, and their promise to each other, that tomorrow, they'll hold hands closer, and that their bonds will grow stronger. I used to sing this to Rihoko as a Lullaby to her on nights when neither of us could sleep. Even if I didn't know all the words, we still found the song soothing."

Mariko leaned in and looked at Masane. "What if I told you that I knew the woman who sang that song?"

Masane smiled, "Really?"

"Yeah." Mariko said as she backed away and went back to cleaning glasses. "I met a lot of idols in my day. At least before this place went to hell." She set a glass down before looking at Masane. "It's a rather long story, but it'll pass the time for now. In the meantime, can I get you anything?"

Masane looked at Mariko with the utmost interest. "Just some Kahlua with milk."

Mariko seemed perplexed by Masane's choice. "I know you have varied taste when it comes to beer, but for cocktails, all you want is something simple like Kahlua with Milk?"

"It's really the only thing I know how to make, plus it soothes me on stressful or lazy days like today" Masane replied

"Alright…" Mariko said. She picked up a whiskey glass, poured it to the top with milk then put in a dash of Kahlua. Masane gave her the signal to put in a bit more, and Mariko poured the alcohol in until the mixture reached the rim. She handed the drink over to Masane, who took a quick sip and put the glass down.

Mariko then began with gleams of light in her eyes. "I knew that woman who sang that song you were singing earlier. Never really got her name, all I know is that the bar I used to work at booked her one night, she performed a few lounge songs, got the crowd going, picked up her check, and left. I think her name was Noto, or something along those lines."

Masane took another sip, and listened attentively. "So you worked at a Jazz lounge?"

"Well, it wasn't necessarily Jazz. Some nights we got punk bands, other nights we had artists from America. Heck, one of our most popular shows was this one that had a whole team of maids come in doing their thing. The head maid said that someday she wanted to be an American Idol. I rolled my eyes at such a statement, most Japanese stars hardly ever hit it big in America." Mariko said looking on.

"So, what was life like at this place?" Masane asked.

"It was quiet during the day. I had nowhere else to go, so I lived across the street from the bar. I worked as one of the bartenders. We had quite the cast of characters. It's almost as if we were a family, kinda like what we have here at the Natsuki building." Mariko poured herself a small glass of rum, took a sip, and continued. "One of my Partners in crime behind the bar was a man named Juzo. He was quite the cat behind the bar. He could easily strike up a conversation with anyone about any subject. You wanted to talk movies, he'd talk about movies. You wanted to talk about Sports, he'd talk about sports, he could talk about anything except How to get women."

Masane stared, "Why not?"

Mariko smirked "'cause he never knew how to get one. He kept going on and on about all these great looking women he saw in the magazines and in the bar, he'd hit on the ones that looked depressed, trying to give them advice, and he struck out every time! We'd often Joke about how many he was going to hit on every day behind his back!"

Masane smiled with pleasure. "So, did he ever get that one girl?"

"Nah, the only real woman he had in that bar was me. I'd always tell him to give up on the hunt, but he never did. I think though that deep down, he had the hots for me, he just never wanted to admit it." Mariko said as she reached under the counter for something. "Then there was Korida, the pianist. On days when we were short on staff, he'd bus the tables, but he made most of his money playin' the piano for the customers. Ya shoulda seen the tips he got, he made 300 dollars in one night!" she said with her eyes full of enthusiasm. "He could play all sorts of styles. Classical, contemporary, Jazz, Rock, and even a few tunes he made up himself! He wasn't much of a talker though, matter of fact; he didn't like talking in general. He was a very shy guy, and you could tell from his skinny build and long brown hair that covered his eyes. I did speak to him, but he kept telling me, that he had nothing to say. Although from what I heard he was a very troubled individual."

"How so?" asked Masane.

"Ah, the usual stuff. Pressure to succeed in high school, failed to make college, became depressed, had a drug problem, never really tried to make friends, yada yada." She said as she took another sip of rum, "Then there was Adam, the lone American worker of the bunch. He didn't speak a lick of Japanese, but at least he tried. He was very respectful of us all, he was a gaijin who made us all laugh by his poor grasp on the Japanese language. We often had him paired up with Maya as a manzai duo."

"Maya?" Masane asked as she took yet another sip of her milk.

"Compared to Adam who always dressed in a conservatively with his tidy parted blonde hair, Maya was a wild one. Maya always came in with at least a dozen wristbands on, had hair the color of a Rainbow, with each spike on her head colored red, blue, yellow, green or purple. She wore really wild clothing that you'd only see in those industrial nightclubs, and she had three piercings on her lips. The boss said she'd scare away the customers, but it turns out her wild tastes only attracted more customers. Adam was afraid of her, but she loved Adam for his kind nature. Maya was a bit of airhead sometimes, she was clumsy and wasn't all that bright, but we loved her for her rebellious nature. She'd insult Adam for not being 'bold' enough. Adam wanted no part in her life, but deep down, I knew he loved her, her charms were slowly sinking into him."

"So how did the manzai work?" Masane asked

"Ah, it's the old 'Stranger in a Strange land' Routine where Maya explained to the gaijin all the tropes and gimmicks of Japan, slapping him when he was being an airhead, it was stupid at times, but we didn't care as long as the audience loved it." Mariko said Smiling

"Sounds like you had quite a few friends at this place. Wish I had the sort of connections you had." Masane said as she took another sip of Kahlua, "so did you do anything else at this bar outside of socializing or bartending?"

"Well…" Mariko said smarmily, and reached under the bar, into the cabinet. She produced a tattered picture that Made Masane's eyes widen. This Picture of Mariko was radically different than what she looked like. Here Mariko was wearing a Blue Cocktail dress with green emerald Earrings. She was Slender in shape, unlike the stout pudgy woman who stood before Masane. She had her brown hair but it was very tidy and well kept. She war a Jewel Necklace that went down to her cleavage. She also wore blue high-heels while holding a Microphone in her hand.

"That's you?" Masane asked in utter awe.

"Yep, that's me. I used to be a Jazz singer at this lounge, every Saturday night they paid me handsomely to perform on stage, I sang about five songs a night, with a live band to back me, I tell ya, those were the glory days." Mariko said taking another sip of Rum. "The guys behind me were great folks, they always wanted to make sure that each performance went smoothly, and even if it didn't we didn't care, we did all that we could. Sometimes ya just have one of those nights."

"Well what did you sing about? you must've been pretty good to garner such praise!" Masane said enthusiastically.

"Ah, as a Jazz Singer, you often sing about love, lost love, falling in love, love gone sour, Drinking, and Nostalgia." She said as she listed them on her fingers. "The one that got the best reception was a swing-oriented song call 'Two to Tango" which was about a woman asking her man to dance when she knows that he has two left feet. Nonetheless they go out on the dance floor, he has a good time, and they love each other more." She said "My favorite song to perform though was a ballad called "Starlight Memory". A little girl, far from home looks up at the sky, and she Reminisces about home, and how much she misses Mommy and Daddy, about how she wants to return to her lover, but she can't."

"And why is that?" Asked Masane.

"Because she's run away, to pursue her own dreams of being a model, a face on the cover of one of those beauty magazines. But she's not happy that she has no one to support her, she's just a lonely soul who wants to return to see her mother and Father. I almost always teared up when I had to sing, often times I wouldn't sing it when I was in a bad mood, because it would just make it worse, and I would probably break down mid-performance."

"That song you just described reminds me of my ventures with Rihoko. We're always looking for a place to go, yet we're never able to truly find a place or the money to fulfill our dream." Masane said while sipping her Kahlua. She sighed as the orange sunset peeped through the windows. "So tell me…why did you quit? Why did you drop out of the whole Jazz scene? You could've been a real star! Why did you quit? Did you just get tired of doing it or-"

Before Masane could finish her Sentence, She looked at Mariko. Her head was slumped over. She sighed greatly as she finished off the Rum in her glass. "I hate to talk about this, but…." She said, as she seemed to wince in agony of her thoughts. "Since you asked…. I'll tell ya the whole story." She poured another Round of Rum into her glass, and Gave Masane a refill of Kahlua. "There was one more person in the cast at the bar whose name I Can't say without wincing: Daizoburo."

"Who was he?" Masane said as she stared blankly into Mariko's somber eyes.

"Daizoburo was an angel at the bar. He always treated everyone be they waiter, Chef, Bartender, or performer with dignity. He was a man of honor, and very well-liked by the staff. He always showed up to the bar dressed to the nines. He had a top hat, a cane, a red bow tie. He wore a white Blazer with Red rose in one of the pockets. He had a clean shaven face that looked as smooth as that dress I wore on stage. He had a neat crew cut as well to further extend the idea that he was some sort of Gentlemen."

"Well, he sure sounded like a nice guy. I'd love to meet him" Masane said Joyfully.

"Yeah, that's what we all thought…" Mariko took a large sip from her glass. "He was the Bass player for me when I performed on stage, and he was pretty good. Oftentimes during busy hours, he'd go up there and play the upright bass just to generate a soothing atmosphere. Sometimes he played the scales, other times he did it in freeform, he was quite the performer."

"So why did you hate him? He seemed like a nice guy." Masane said.

"That's the thing. He seemed like a nice guy, and boy did he love me." Mariko sighed. "And I loved him. I would've blown him off, but I couldn't, His generosity felt genuine. He constantly helped me write my lyrics, comforted me on bad nights, I thought he was desperate for love but I genuinely loved him. He was an angel through and through." Mariko raised her arm up "In fact, he gave me this" as she showed her wedding band to Masane who stared at it in awe. "He was really serious about tying the knot with me."

"So what went wrong?" Asked Masane.

Mariko sighed greatly. "it's a grim story…" she said, looking out the window, instead of at Masane.

"After A show where I performed longer than what I usually did, we had a nice celebration afterward. There was Booze of Course, Maya passed out leaving poor Adam to drag her upstairs to the makeshift bedroom. Juzo shotgunned the taps, and Korida played his heart out on the piano. Boy did I get slammed that night I Felt like you did on nights of heavy drinking, extremely Euphoric with a clouded mind."

Masane Chuckled

"Juzo kept saying 'Hey, Mari-Chan, I think you've had one too many, you should stop!' But I didn't care, I had sang my heart out and I was gonna party! Daizoburo was sitting at the other end of the bar sipping a martini. He wasn't getting all boozed up like I was, he lived further away than I did, which meant he couldn't get drunk for the long drive home. He walked over to me after I had fallen on the floor, looked down at me, him being the only sober one….well, Adam wasn't totally smashed, but he was a little tipsy. So Daizoburo walked up and said something like 'Hey Mariko, you don't look all that great. Mind if I take ya home?' I of course, said yes, completely forgetting where I lived, I put my trust in him. So he brought me out back to his car, an old Nissan."

"Not Exactly a Gentleman's car…" Masane said, knowing full well that Takayama and other members of the Douji group had Mercedes Benzes, Lexuses, BMWs, and Audis.

"Well, he had to make a living somehow…" Mariko said. "So he took me out back, and this is where My live forever changed." Her voice started shaking. "He shoved me right into the Passenger seat and slammed the door behind me. He then ran around, got in, and suddenly, his personality turned around completely. He was no longer the Gentleman I thought I knew."

Masane's eyes widened. Given her current line of work, she was bound to run in to many a people in both NSWF and Douji Group.

"I Yelled at him 'Daizuburo, what are you doing?' but he looked at me with his eyes full of adrenaline, and said 'I'm taking you on the ride of your life!' And then he Popped a few pills."

Masane Gasped. "You mean…"

Mariko continued sounding very discomforted "It turns out Daizoburo took this attitude when he was driving late at night. His doctors as well as the police told him he wasn't supposed to be driving because he had been in several accidents, hit-and-run cases, and had gotten several speeding tickets and moving violations that weren't paid for. It's no wonder he worked at the lounge, he was working to pay off the police." Mariko took another sip of Rum, at this point she seemed Boozier than normal. "So he bolted out the parking lot onto the main road, I was terrified. He was doing over 150 K in a 100 K Zone, the police were hot on his tail minutes later. We then came to a tunnel on the Wangan, and here is where my life changed forever."

Masane's smile vanished and a tone of concern entered her voice. "So tell me, what did you do?" she said.

Tears started flowing down Mariko's face. "I Took off my seatbelt, opened the passenger door, and threw myself out onto the highway."

Masane winced in pain.

"Don't worry, outside of some bruises and a few cracked ribs, I was okay, but Daizoburo…" She said as her voice shook "He Turned his head away from the road, and Collided head-on with the Guardrail, spun out, and was hit by a van…All I remember seeing was a demolished Nissan with a Van on top of it, and blood coming through the Driver-side door.. The Cops escorted me to an ambulance, where I was rushed to a Hospital. During the ride, my emotional pain far outweighed my physical pain. I could hardly feel the cuts and bruises that I had…All the pain had rushed to my head, my life flashing before my eyes. I kept yelling 'you told me you loved me Daizoburo!' as they sutured my wounds."

Mariko's shaky voice now turned into sobbing, she reached for a handkerchief to dry her tears. Masane now had a look of sorrow on her face as a tear fell into her glass.

"I Woke up in the hospital the next day, my head still buzzing from everything that happened. They told me that I was going to be okay outside of a small fracture in my ribcage. I didn't say anything to the doctors. Any of them worth their salt could tell you that I was recovering from a traumatic experience. I Cried for days as my coworkers came to visit me. Maya and Adam brought me flowers. Korida played me a few tunes on a toy piano, which was cute, and Juzo brought me some Booze."

Masane took another sip of Kahlua, she didn't want hear anymore, but she let Mariko continue.

"I stayed in the hospital for days, not knowing what to do. There were some days where I was completely comatose, not drinking, not sleeping, not eating, just staring blankly up at the ceiling. Eventually, they let me go, but I couldn't go back to the lounge. For months, I locked myself in my room, doing nothing but lying on my bed, Unable to return to the world out there."

"So what happened next?"

"Well, I fell into the same spiral of Depression that so many had entered. I never went back to the lounge, I just kept drifting around, living in shelters. I Was getting smashed nightly, downing a quart of Whiskey every few days, smoking 2 packs per day, trying to ease myself after near-death. But I wasn't satisfied; instead, I was only destroying myself. My Voice became warped, I could no longer hold the same notes I once could. I was eating heavily, quickly gaining weight, destroying my Image."

Masane's Jaw Dropped as she heard Mariko say this. Usually, Mariko was rather cranky, at times dry, but she had never seen Mariko this depressed before.

"Then one day, I looked at myself. Wearing clothes I got from a thrift store, Well over 300 pounds, drunk out of my mind. Next thing I know I'd be in the gutter" Mariko finished her Rum. "So then…I Found help."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I had money in my bank account, so I wasn't totally broke. I bought myself a Condo down in Tokyo, a year before the Great quake. I settled in, and got a job working as a waitress at the local restaurant. It was okay, though I did reminisce about the Bar. I didn't really talk much to the Co-workers, but then again none of 'em really stood out, they just felt so...normal compared to the cast of the Lounge ."

Masane Smiled.

"Then the Great quake came…"

And then the Smile vanished.

"I Felt the ground shake beneath my feet, and ran for cover underneath on of the Tables, as did Many others, but I hit my head, and blacked out."

Masane winced as she rubbed the Witchblade. She, like Mariko was affected by the quake, but Mariko at least had her memory.

"I Woke up several days later in hospital. The doctors told me I was lucky to have survived. I escaped with some minor trauma, but unlike my last experience, I didn't stay down. I picked myself up, and Started looking for work.."

Masane smiled again "And?"

Mariko sighed. "I had no luck…after the quake, work in the Tokyo area was scarce, I wandered all around with my bank account shrinking from having to buy supplies, and given the post-disaster environment the economy was a mess with inflation and shortages abound. I drifted from place to place. There were days where I literally slept in children's sandpits. Years went by, and I couldn't hold a job until a few years back. My condition worsened mentally, sometimes I was feeling suicidal at points. All those bad memories came back into me. One day on a fishing boat I ran off the portside in an attempt to drown myself…of course, they fished me out."

Masane , finishing her Kahlua, sounding slightly surly yelped "Can ya just get to the end and cut the drama!"

Mariko, sounding just as surly sighed "Alright…One day I was walkin' down the street, and a local contracting company was rebuilding a set of condos on this street, and they were looking or landlords. I was one of the first to apply, got the job, and here I am now, Mariko Natsuki of the Natsuki building."

"And that's your story?" Masane said.

"Yeah…I do ponder what my life woulda been like had I not have been so self-destructive. I could've been somebody, somebody with class. I could've been Japan's top Jazz Singer, instead of a wreck, which is what I am…"

Masane rubbed Mariko's head "Don't feel bad, you still have us to keep you company!" she said happily.

"Eh, ever since that day, I haven't really trusted anyone who's lent their friendship to me, I guess you could say I closed myself off to the world in those days. Now I'm a bit more open, but I still don't trust most members of the building, whether it's that moocher Tozawa, or Naomi with her fortune telling." Mariko leaned into Masane, her lips pouting out "Though I'll tell you something: You're the only person in this whole building that I feel I can trust. Sure you're a bit of a Klutz, but you're joyful, optimistic, and you don't take crap from any of the guys in this place, and I like that about you."

Masane felt honored "Thank you…"

Just then the Door Swung open.

"Hello ladies, how's your afternoon been?" it was Mr. Cho, and he was holding a pink and white striped bag. Mariko and Masane looked at him with angered faces

"It was going smoothly until you showed up!" Mariko said bluntly

Mr. Cho just shrugged it off, "Well, I've had a marvelous day out at Mr. Hara's place, I played my tiles right today in an intense Mahjong game and won big!" he handed the bag over to Masane. "I Bought you a present with my winnings today Melanie!" he said with his voice rife with Joy.

Masane removed the white Paper within the bag and grasped its contents, she then pulled it out hoping that she would be surprised. Instead, she was angered. Mr. Cho had bought her a frilly pink bra with matching panties, and a garter with set of Pink Stockings.

Mr. Cho looked anxious "You are a size E Right?"

Masane Threw the Set Right in his face, the Panties landing square on his Nose. "You're disgusting Mr. Cho! Why would you even dare buy me such an indecent outfit?" she yelled angrily.

Mariko let out a very Jolly laugh "That's just the way his ticker works!"

Mr. Cho Scrambled to get up, holding the bra and panties in front of Masane's face, his voice filled with desperation "Come on, please Melanie? Can't you at least try it on to see if it fits?"

Masane grew Crosser still. "Hell no, I'm not some lingerie model you sick freak!"

Just then, Rihoko walked through the door, Mr. Cho forced his "Gift" onto Masane's lap.

"Hey Mommy, I'm back, I got the ingredients for the pepper steak!" Rihoko looked at the "Gift" Mr. Cho Bought for Masane, then she looked at Mr. Cho, then back at Masane. Masane was expecting Rihoko to scold Mr. Cho for being such a pervert.

"Ah, Mr. Cho, I see you bought a nice bra for Mommy!" she said gladly.

Masane was Flabbergasted "B-B-But, he-"

Rihoko cut Masane off "Mommy, I keep telling you you're going to need a bra, or else your boobies will sag; Mr. Cho has done you a big favor." She then looked at the belt and Stockings "Though you didn't need to buy her these, she doesn't wear stockings!"

Mr. Cho felt gratified "My pleasure Rihoko, your mother loved it!"

Rihoko knew her Mother was embarrassed by this gift, but she didn't care, she then took Masane by the arm. "Come on mommy, let's go have dinner." And the two left the room, leaving Mr. Cho and Mariko.

"So what'd ya talk about?" he asked feeling nosey.

"Nothing, mind your own business." Mariko said.

"You talked about your 'glory days' didn't you?" Mr. Cho Started. "You know, you used to look so pretty, so slender and curvaceous, now you look like a Manatee who's eaten way too much lettuce! What made you change anyway, huh? You looked so pretty in that one photograph, why won't you tell me just what made you into a walking Hippo-"

Mariko butted in sounding Joyful "Oh come on Mr. Cho, I still have some beauty." She pressed her hands against her breasts and started Fondling them "Come on Baby? Don't you just want to touch 'em?"

Mr. Cho Almost Jumped out of his skin. "What, you! No, Never!"

Mariko then traced her finger along her Posterior before tauntingly slapping it "C'mon, you know you want to…"

Mr. Cho ran out of the parlor screaming. Mariko smiled "That'll teach him for always being a letch…" She then opened the Drawer and looked at the Photo again, tears rolled down her eye as reminisced about the days that were long since behind her.

And that's it for my first Witchblade Fanfic.

You're probably wondering why I wrote Mariko as being an idol of sorts. Well, in the little Booklets that came with the DVDs, there was an interview with Makoto Uno (The Character designer), and he said that when he was drawing Mariko, he imagined her as being "A Small-framed woman who used to be an idol", so I took that Idea and Ran with it. Please tell me what you think. I'm always waiting for feedback.