Disclaimer; Characters of this work are property of Tecmo.
Author's note; Here is just some random writing I've done. It's pretty mundane and my first shot at fan fiction, so please bare with me. I wrote this fic due to the annoyance with Tecmo and their whole handing of Aileen. For you who don't know, she is Ryu's lover listed in the DOA Ultimate character chart. All that is said about her is that she runs a curio shop with Ryu and that she investigated a mysterious organization in the past. This "organization" would later hire Bayman to assassinate Fame Douglas. That is all the info that is given about her. What kind of woman would the modern day super ninja take as a business partner & lover? And that is how this thing got started. Plus I always liked Irene Lew from the old NES days and found it funny as heck that Ryu fell for a woman who shot him in the back with a tranquiler gun. Anyway I'm rambling. It's nothing exciting but I hope you enjoy it. I have no idea when and if I'll finish it. Also I apologize in advance to any spelling and grammar mistakes. I tried catching as many as I can.
The Partner
It was 8PM, time to close, not that the shop was busy during these later hours. Given it's a small curio shop, being busy from open to close was not very likely at all. After fetching the sidewalk sign, Aileen sighed quietly as she locked the store's door and flipped the small sign in the window to "Closed".
The shop occupied a modest space. A few antique wooden cases containing several odds and ends. Hair combs, brushes and various barrettes and pins from lifetimes past. Dishes from many parts of the world of all types, shapes and color adorned the walls; figurines ranging from animals to mythical objects both old and exotic lay here and there.
Walking back to the main counter she headed over to the cash register and began to count out the till and record the day's earnings in the ledger. After finishing, she deposited money into the store pouch, picked up the ledger, turned out the lights and headed out to the back office. The back office was small, too small for her taste and very plain. The small desk kept a computer monitor sitting on its far corner, an adding machine with a cup full of pens and pencils completed the inhabitants of the desktop. A file cabinet and two large book shelves covered the back wall. Sitting behind the desk, she pulled out the sliding keyboard tray and gave the mouse a small nudge to wake the computer from its timed slumber. She noticed, with a frown, how the sounds of her typing filled the room.
Finishing the math, Aileen powered down the machine and turned to the small safe on the floor to her left. She leaned over in the chair and spun in the combination in and pulled the leaver. A loud click emanated from the safe and she opened the door. She put the pouch in the far back. She would have to run an errand to the bank in the morning. After closing the safe door she gave the dial a spin. She let out a quiet yawn as she leaned back into the chair and looked up at the ceiling.
"Another day gone" she said to herself, "Another day by myself." Aileen scowled as she ran her fingers through her dark shoulder length hair. How mundane her life had become. Former investigator turned antique dealer and store co-owner.
"What are you up to Ryu?" She whispered, "Where are you now?" she asked to no one in particular. She knew she didn't have all the answers. About a month ago, Ryu had returned from yet another mission and a visit to his clan's home in the mountains. During the visit he received a message from his close friend Hayate.
Apparently Hayate, leader of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan had declared a war on the weapons and genetic research conglomerate DOATEC and now was asking Ryu to aid him in his fight. Aileen was less than thrilled. This was the fourth time in under a year that Ryu was to leave to deal with DOATEC. After a heated discussion, Aileen folded and told him she would call in a few favors and get all the most recent info she could on DOATEC. As much as she didn't like it, she knew if Donovan was involved it meant big trouble. She had investigated his dealings in the past and knew that calling Donovan a completely immoral bastard was an understatement. He had a hand in everything, assassinations, extortion, kidnappings, human experimentation. But somehow, there was never enough evidence to link him to his crimes.
A few days later Ryu with his fighting garb, weapons and the information Aileen was able to provide for him packed and ready to go. They stood in the back office, two lovers embracing, kissing each other passionately until he finally broke the kiss.
"I'm sorry to put you through this again Aileen." he whispered in her ear. "I'll be back as soon I can."
"I know." she said," Just come back to me in one piece okay?"
"I promise. And thank you for the DOATEC tri tower blue prints and security layouts. I don't know how you do it." He said, smiling before he pecked her softly on the lips and released her from his embrace.
Aileen chuckled and said "We all have our talents Hayabusa. Go, I'll be waiting for you."
" Thank you." He said and was out the shop's back door and gone.
Little over a three weeks had past since she saw him last. Aileen stood up from the chair and stretched when the sound of her stomach erupted with a dissatisfied growl. It was already 8:45 and she was yet to have dinner.
After locking the door form the the shop to the back office and turning off the lights she walked over to another door on the right side wall that lead to the building's rear storage, back entrance and a staircase that lead up to living quarters. She made her way up.
The living space like the rest of the building was modest. Ryu being a bit old fashion in his tastes left it very simple and traditional. Aileen turned on the lights, slid the door shut behind her and headed straight to the kitchen. It was time to find something to eat.
After a dinner of caesar salad with hot green tea, Aileen decided to clean her glock 22. Sitting on the floor, she smiled as she cleaned her gun. She still had not told Ryu how much she really missed carrying it. Not that a curio shop owner needed to pack some heat when on the job. She still took frequent trips to gun ranges and the such to keep her skills sharp. Where Ryu is an expert with bladed weapons she was adapted with most firearms. She look at her watch. It read 9:30 P.M. Looked like it was going to be another night alone.