Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma, that belongs to the female Bill Gates of Japan. I do own Keona, Takai, and pretty much anything in the story not found in Ranma. Except for like, Juuban and Shinjuku. I don't own those either. Although it'd cool if I could buy them someday.

Also, please post reviews after you read. Even if it's just a one time thing, I'm cool with that. Let me know where I stand. Now, on with the story.

Riiing...riiiing

"What the fuck?" Takai pulled the phone from the receiver and looked sleepily at the clock. 1:43 AM. Putting the phone to his ear, he said, "Who is this?"

"Hey man, it's Kiki. I need your help."

Takai groaned, and rolled over on his back. The girl next to him snuggled up to him, and he put his free arm around her. "You do realize it's quarter to fucking two in the morning, don't you?" Takai heard silence on the other end, a silence that stretched so long he thought Keona might have hung up. "Kiki? You still there?" He said, debating on whether or not to hang up himself.

"You do realize that you left me at some strange person's house in Nerima at fucking midnight last night, don't you?"

Takai pulled the receiver away from his mouth and sighed. He knew that was going to come up. "Look man, I'm sorry, okay? I mean, what can I say? I was fucked up."

The voice on the other end of the line grew cold. "You owe me for that shit, motherfucker. You never know what could have happened. You just fucking shook on me, and if you don't get your ass over here right now you're going to be fucked up, you hear me?"

Rising to a sitting position, Takai said, "Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Fifteen minutes." Click.

Takai stood up and put on a pair of gray sweat pants. Picking up his Colt 9mm automatic, he tucked it into the front waistband of his pants. Next came a long-sleeved white t-shirt, to cover the colorful tattoos that ran all over his torso and arms. He didn't have anything short-sleeved. He hadn't in years. Putting on a gray hooded sweatshirt, he slipped on a pair of socks and some white tennis shoes. As he was lacing them up, the girl in his bed sat up. "Baby, where're you going? It's two in the morning."

Looking over his shoulder at her, he said, "Friend has a flat tire. Go back to sleep." He stood up and exited the room without waiting for a response, and walked through the hallway to the garage. He pulled his keys off the pegboard just inside the garage door, and then got in his car. Starting up the engine, he sat and waited for the car to warm up. Leaning his head against the backrest, he hoped that whatever Keona had called him for was worthwhile. He'd be pissed if it was some bullshit.


Takai is going to think this is bullshit. I know it. Still, I've got business to take care of, and now's as good a time as any. Besides, he really does owe me for taking off like that. Now that was some bullshit. I've been waiting patiently for twenty-four minutes. I said fifteen. I meant fifteen. I'm about to pick up my cell and call him again, when someone finally knocks on the door. I grab my pistol and walk to the door. Putting my eye briefly to the eyepiece, I find that it is indeed Takai. I tuck my gun into the back waistband of my pants and I unlock the door and step into the hallway, locking it behind me. "'Bout fucking time Taki."

"You know, I really hate it when you call me that. Taki is a girl's name."

I don't bother pointing out that Kiki is a girl's name too, but he and just about everyone else has been calling me that since I arrived in Tokyo. It's not a big deal. "Whatever Taki. Show up on time, and I won't call you that." I smirk as he grimaces at me.

"You know, I told you half an hour for a reason."

"You told me half an hour because you're a slow fuck and you like to drag ass. It takes twenty-five minutes to get here in traffic, Taki. It was about two when you left, right?" Seeing Takai nod, I say, "Where's the fucking traffic?" I swat him upside his head, and say, "Next time I say fifteen minutes, be here in fifteen fucking minutes."

He rolls his eyes and throws his hood up as we walk out of the building and into the parking lot. "So what are we doing? Why did you call me?"

"Just got a call on my cell from Toji. Got this cat over in Shinjuku, hangin' at that new club, Pharoah's. He owes me almost two hundred thousand yen." I smirk, knowing that I've already pissed him off just by calling him late. He's going to be even angrier now.

"What the fuck? A goddamn collections run? That's it? You call me and wake me up at quarter to fucking two in the morning, and make me come all the way over here...for a fucking collections run?" Takai shakes his head, glaring at me, and a breath hisses out through clenched teeth. "You know, you need to get your own damn car Kiki."

I smirk at him, but don't respond. He knows he fucked up the other night. He also knows that if he wasn't such a close friend, I'd have beat his ass for it. He's getting off really easy. I get in the passenger side of his little white '91 Toyota Celica. He turns the car on, and an American punk band called Bad Religion comes on the tape player. The song is called "Suffer". As I listen to the lyrics, I'm forced to agree with everything the singer says. The masses of humanity have always had to suffer...will always have to suffer. I just wish they were all suffering with me right now.

My mind turns back to that awful day, two months ago. I've seen death before. You can't be involved with the people I'm involved with and not see death. Murders happen, "accidents" happen. It's just a part of the life. I accept that. But that day was different. The car was new, and black. The windows were tinted, and I remember thinking it odd that the headlights were off, despite the fact that it was just after sunset. Not quite dark, but dark enough that it was illegal to drive lights-out. That's when it hit me. They're not even going the speed limit. I was standing by the front door, and Yasuo was down on the sidewalk, walking towards the front yard.

I saw the passenger side windows of the car roll down, and I knew what was happening, even before I saw the MP5's. I tried to call out to Yasuo, but he just looked at me. I didn't see him get hit. I got hit first. I guess it was because I already had my gun in my hand. I didn't get a chance to fire it though. I only remember the first bullet hitting. It shattered through my lower right ribcage, and richoted downward, taking off a chunk of my right lung about the size of a golf ball and perforating it in several other places with slivers of bone. The other ones...I didn't even realize I'd been hit again. I just felt that first one, and the next thing I knew, I was face down on the ground.

There had been others around when the shooting happened. There were kids playing outside, and their parents watching. People walking along the sidewalk. People sitting on their porches, sipping tea and talking with neighbors and each other. I heard screams first, then yelling. Hurried footsteps as people rushed over once the car was gone. No but me and Yasuo were hit, Aiko told me that. But they still got the wrong guy. I know who that drive-by was meant for, and it wasn't Yasuo. I should have died that day, in the ambulance. But I was lucky. Only one lung hit, all my other vitals untouched. A lung shot and three wicked flesh wounds.

I clench my fist and grit my teeth, anger burning through me like a cleansing conflagration, taking the last of my weakness with it. As we pull up outside the club, I look over at Takai, and say, "You coming with or staying here? And if you stay in the car, you'd best be here when I come out."

"I'm comin' in, I'm comin' in. Just a second." He turns the car off and gets out, he pulls a comb out of his pocket and begins running it through his sleep-mussed hair. "Maybe I should start cutting my shit short like yours. This is a pain in the ass." He mutters to me as we walk up to the line at the door. We could just bypass the bouncer. Takeda-san's boys can do that here. But I decide to just wait in line. If we stand out here, and the guy doesn't come out, then we can get him when we get inside. If he does come out, we can do this in a less public venue than the club. Which would be preferable. Unfortunately, when this guy parties, he parties hard. He'll probably be in there till the place shuts down at four thirty.

Glancing up at the faux-Egyptian exterior, I shudder at the place I'm about to enter. I hate dance clubs. I really hate dance clubs.


Nabiki sat in the large booth with three of her friends and two of their boyfriends. Glancing over at Naomi, she smiled, and received a smile in return. At least there was someone else here to be single with. The ladies had just finished a long session on the dance floor, and Nabiki was feeling quite warm. She took a sip of her Long Island Iced Tea and felt the rush of alcohol to her head, as well as the rush of cold liquid down her throat. She looked over at Naomi, and shouted, "So who was that guy you were dancing with? He was cute!"

Naomi grinned, her head bobbing to the near-deafening American rap music as she leaned towards Nabiki and shouted back, "I don't know, but he's sitting over at the bar right now! I was thinking of going and talking to him...after another drink!" They both laughed at that, and Nabiki sighed internally, seeing her last single friend slipping steadily away. She needed a boyfriend. That was the problem. Unfortunately, no one had really "tripped her trigger" yet.

Nabiki stood up, and shouted, "Hey, I'm going to go down and dance some more! You wanna come?" Receiving a negative shake of the head from all of her friends, she smoothed down her short plaid miniskirt and her white button down shirt, which was tied in a knot under her breasts. She liked the European schoolgirl look when she went out, and apparently so did the guys. Thanks to her fake ID, and this skirt, she had drawn more than her share of good-looking young men. None of them had lasted past the first night though, and she wasn't particularly hopeful that she'd actually find anything meaningful here. She'd slowly begun figuring out that a nightclub wasn't the best place to meet your prospective future love.

She was about to step on the dance floor for the third time that night, when she spotted a familiar face walking past her. She looked at the young man as he went by, studying his features, when she realized who it was. "Keona!" How he heard her over the thumping bass of Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride", she had no idea, but hear her he did. His head snapped around, and he gazed directly at her, no recognition on his face. He stared at her for a moment, and then gave her a quick once over. When his gaze returned to hers, he flashed her a bright smile, and then turned his attention forward again. Following him was a skinny, kind of ugly little man wearing a gray sweatsuit. Keona looked much better than he had last night, like he'd slept some. She tracked his progress with her eyes, and found herself intrigued when he stopped at her table.

She decided that this was more interesting than dancing, and began walking back to the table, trying to pick out any words. Keona was having an animated conversation with Sachiko's boyfriend, a nineteen year old frat boy and one of the rising stars on Tokyo University's baseball team. Why Keona would be talking to him, she didn't know. When she got to the table, she heard Keona shouting over the music, "Then get up and come with me! We need to have a little talk, and I don't think you wanna have it in front of these nice folks!"

The boyfriend, Ryoichi, or Ryo for short, shook his head, a smug grin on his face, and said, "You can come back later man! See those guys over there?" He pointed to a table near the dance floor, and said, "Those are a bunch of my teammates! Counting me and Kaneda here, there's eleven of us! I think you're at a slight disadvantage here Keona!"

Nabiki watched with interest as Keona slowly licked his lips, then cocked his head to the left. She was in the process of sitting down when his hand went behind his back, underneath that nice leather jacket. She nearly fell down when it came back with a pistol in it. Ryo's eyes went wide, and he tried to scramble backwards, but was hemmed in by his girlfriend and Kaneda. Keona grabbed Ryo's hair and slammed his face into the table top. He kept it there, putting his body weight on Ryo's left cheek.

Pressing the gun to Ryo's temple, he bent low and began shouting in his ear, "I want my fucking money, you hear me? You're into me for two hundred thousand yen worth of fucking blow you stupid jock! Interest is beginning to build up, and pretty soon there's gonna be no way to pay me! We don't want that, now do we?"

Nabiki was about to ask what the hell he was talking about. This was a shock. This guy was a cocaine dealer. He'd slept at her house last night, and now he had a gun against a guys head, demanding two hundred thousand yen! This was insane!

"I can't pay you right now, okay!" Ryo shouted, his voice panicked. "I just don't have the money!"

"You better fucking get it, and get it fast! You don't get me that money in a fucking week, I'll make sure you never pitch again, you understand me?" Ryo nodded his head frantically, whimpering fearfully now. "Good! T, cover these motherfuckers!" Keona tucked his gun back into the waistband of his pants, and searched quickly through Ryo's pockets. Finding his wallet, he removed what looked like a large wad of cash and several credit cards. Holding the cards up, he said, "Ryo, my man...these cards still good?"

"Yeah, of course! No limit, I pay out monthly from my trust fund!" Ryo looked up at Keona hopefully, and Keona smirked.

"Trust fund huh?" Turning to his ugly friend, Keona chuckled and said, "You hear that T? This cat's got a trust fund!" Looking back at Ryo, his expression turned mean. "So you must have some fucking money somewhere! Maybe I should just shoot you in the shoulder right now!" He stuffed the money and cards in his pockets and pulled out his gun again. "Maybe you should just...dip into that little trust fund and pay me! You gotta have enough in there!"

"What about the cards? You took my credit cards! That's worth way more than just two hundred thou!"

"It's the principal of the thing! Think of the cards and cash as...interest! For lying to me!"

Ryo's eyes were wide and unblinking, and he realized he'd been caught. Nabiki stared at him, unable to believe he'd been stupid enough to try and hold out on a dealer. She began to back slowly away from the booth, hoping she wasn't going to see what she thought she was. She understood what these guys were then. Coke dealers got their coke from one place: the Yakuza.

Her heart began hammering in her chest as Keona's pistol was brought to bear on Ryo's face. She tried to close her eyes, but she couldn't. As many crazy things as she'd seen since Ranma came to town, it had never involved guns. And she'd never seen anyone killed. Supposedly, Akane had died at Jusendo, yet she was still alive. No one had ever died before. She was frozen with fear.


Now, I know that I'm not gonna shoot this asshole. Not here. As of yet, no one has really noticed what's going on, and I want to keep it that way. I look over at the chick I saw on the dance floor. She seems to be with these people. Somehow, she knows my name. She's also vaguely familiar, but I don't know where I've seen her. Must have met her at a party or something. Although, she looks a little too young and upper-middle class to be partying with my crowd.

Deciding to get it over with, I look back at Ryo. "One week, bitch! One week, or say goodbye to baseball!" I draw back with my pistol, and whip it hard across his cheekbone. He grunts, and slumps back against his girlfriend, who looks like she's about to scream. I tuck my gun into the waistband of my pants and sniff disdainfully at them. I love that word. Disdainfully. It's one of my personal favorites.

Feeling fairly good for the first time in a while, I look over at the girl who knows my name and step close to her. "How do you know my name?" I ask her. It's a reasonable first question.

She looks a little nervous, and she keeps looking between me and Ryo. She backs up a little, and shouts back, "You brought my dad home drunk last night! I let you sleep on my couch!"

"Oh! I remember waking up, but I'm afraid everything before that is kind of a...well it's not there! I didn't do anything," I fumble for a word for a moment, and then say, "inappropriate, did I?"

She laughs, and it's a pleasant sound. Well, what I can hear of it over the music. She shouts, "I'm Nabiki!"

I step close to her again, so I don't have to yell as loud. "I'm Keona. But friends call me Kiki."

She laughs again, and says, "Kiki? Isn't that a girls name?"

I shrug, and say, "So?" It honestly just never bothered me.

She seems surprised by my reaction, and says, "Most guys would get really pissed off if someone called them that."

I smirk, and say, "Most guys are stupid." Saying shit like that always seems to score points with the ladies. Besides that, it's probably true. "So how old are you?" I ask, fairly certain she's not old enough to be in here.

"Twenty." she replies. I'd call bullshit, but I don't think that would endear me to her much. "Why, how old are you?" She asks me.

"Twenty." I answer, honestly. I tilt my head just slightly to the left, and run the tip of my tongue lightly over my lips. Women have told me I have a beautiful mouth. I guess that's a good thing. She gives me a good once over, and then smiles. Just like I'd done on the dance floor. My face splits in an ear to ear grin, which I hope is a dazzling one. I look her in the eyes, unblinking, and say, "How 'bout I call you sometime?"


Nabiki felt a tingling warmth in her lower abdomen, and that sparkling white smile finished the job. This guy was officially hot...dangerous, and hot. The danger only made him even more enticing. He was dangerous in a way that Ranma, Ryoga and the rest of the NWC boy's could never be. When he asked for her number, she just nodded dumbly and reached into the booth for her purse. He held up a hand, and pulled a cell phone from his jacket pocket. "813-2936." she said, her voice soft. She half-hoped that he'd give her his number too, but he put his cell phone away after programming hers in.

"I'll call you." he said, and then he smiled, and turned away, walking back towards the dance floor. His friend tucked his pistol away, and pulled a large billfold out of his pocket. Tossing a couple bills on the table in front of Ryo, he said, "Here you go tough guy. Drown your sorrows on me." Then he too turned away, following Keona away from the table.

She watched them walk away, until Sachiko yelled at her, "Biki, what the hell was that? You gave him your fucking phone number! Did you see what he just did!" Sachiko's pretty face was turning red with anger, and she was holding Ryo's head against her shoulder. He looked pretty dazed, and maybe Sachiko had a right to be angry, but Nabiki brushed it off and stood up.

"Honestly Sachi, if Ryo-chan here is stupid enough to not pay his coke dealer...his coke dealer Sachi, then he deserves what happened to him. Besides, if your boyfriend weren't here, you'd have gone home with that guy if he'd asked." She stood up and looked at Naomi. "I'm leaving. You coming?"

Naomi shrugged her shoulders and said, "Why not?" Grabbing her coat and Nabiki's, she stood up. Nabiki took her coat and put it on, and picked up her purse. Naomi did the same, and said, "See you later guys."

Nabiki didn't bother saying goodbye, instead just turning and walking away. When they stepped outside, she said, "Let's get something to eat. I'm hungry."

Naomi grinned, and said, "Sounds like a plan to me. My car is just around the corner." As they walked to her car, Naomi said, "You know, that might not have been such a good idea."

"What do you mean?" Nabiki replied.

"Giving that guy your phone number. That was...not something the Nabiki I know does."

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders and put her chin up. "Well, that's fine. I decided to do something different." They got to the car, and Nabiki sat down in the passenger seat. "Besides, you have to admit, he was a hottie."

"Yeah, he was. So what was that I overheard about him sleeping at your place last night?" Naomi winked at Nabiki as she started her car.

Nabiki rolled her eyes at her friend. Buckling her seat belt, she said, "Somehow, he and daddy ended up in the same titty bar last night, and daddy got way smashed." Pulling a stick of gum from her purse, she put it in her mouth and began chewing. "So, Keona and a friend of his brought daddy home. Keona's ride ditched him while he was in the house, so I let him crash on the couch."

"You let a cocaine dealer crash on your couch? What were you thinking?"

"I didn't know he was a dealer last night!" Nabiki snapped back. "I wouldn't have let him stay over if I did!"

"Then why'd you give him your number tonight?"

"Because he turned me on, okay?" Nabiki said a little too loudly, her cheeks flushing red. She looked out the window, feeling embarrassed at the admission. Then she heard a giggle come from the drivers seat. Her ears began to burn, as Naomi began giggling softly, obviously trying to contain them.

Nabiki felt a small laugh threatening to burst forth as well, and tried to stifle it. She was successful, until Naomi lost her own battle. The two girls broke into peals of hysterical laughter; the kind of laughter only two slightly drunk teenage girls can produce. When the laughter subsided, Naomi pulled away from the curb and began driving towards their favorite all night burger joint. American food went well with late nights and alcohol.

The ride was in silence, with an old song from the seventies playing. Nabiki recognized the song. "Laura Nyro. Eli's Coming." she said.

"Hm? What was that, Biki?"

"The song. It's called Eli's Coming. It's a Laura Nyro song. My mother used to listen to it." She smiled, humming softly to the melancholy and almost desperate melody of the last minute of the song.

Eli's comin' better hide your heart girl,

Eli's comin' better hide your heart girl,

Naomi listened, her eyes on the road, and said, "It sounds like she's talking to you. This song was destined to come on at this time. You should be paying close attention to the words."

Nabiki turned a smug smile on her friend and said, "His name's not Eli. It's Keona."

"Nabiki, he pulled a gun on Sachiko's boyfriend."

"Ryo's an idiot, and he treats Sachi like shit."

"It was a gun, Nabiki. No one has guns in Japan. Not even the police. Who has guns here? Think about that." Naomi's voice was insistent, her expression stern. "I'm serious Nabiki, that guy is nothing but trouble. He is bad news for you and for your family if you get involved with him."

Nabiki heaved a put upon sigh and turned her gaze out the window. "Well we better hope he's the love em' and leave em' type then." She said sarcastically.

Naomi took a deep breath and looked at her friend. Nabiki was turned away from her, looking out the window. She turned her gaze back on the road and decided to drop the subject for now. It wasn't going to get resolved tonight, and for some reason, Nabiki had herself dead set against listening to reason tonight. That in itself was odd, because she was usually the most reasonable person around. But she was being completely illogical. The guy had to be Yakuza. Only the military and the Yakuza had guns. Well, a few well-connected street gangs too, but those were few and far between. The Yakuza and the rival Triads held the most sway in the criminal underworld. Everyone knew that, and everyone who had an ounce of brains stayed away from both of them.

They pulled into the parking lot of Dick's, a franchise that had made it's way to Tokyo via Spokane, Washington of all places. Great burgers though. She reached out and put her hand on her friends knee. "C'mon Biki. Let's go eat. We'll forget about the whole guy thing."

Nabiki looked at her and smiled. "Okay. Bacon Cheeseburger?"

"God, how can you eat that junk? I'd get so fat."

"You spend a lot of time running for cover when Ranma's around. It's good exercise."

Naomi, a fellow Furinkan girl, laughed. "Bacon Cheeseburger it is then."


"What the fuck was that Kiki?" Takai actually sounds kind of pissed off again. I'm not sure why.

"What the fuck was what Taki?" He always gets pissed when I call him that. This is no exception.

He slams on the brakes, and shouts, "That shit with that bitch in the club! What the fuck was that? You just put your gun away and start hitting on some friend of their's? What the fuck were you thinking?"

"You want me to slap you in the fucking face?" I snap at him, staring into his eyes. He slowly shakes his head back and forth, but doesn't respond. He knows he's walking a fine line. "Then shut up. She gave me her number didn't she?"

He opens his mouth to start yelling again, but stops, realizing that she did, in fact, give me her number. He leans back in his seat, and then blows one of those hissing breaths through his teeth. "She did, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did. So shut up."

Takai shakes his head, and starts laughing. "Man, I don't know what you think is gonna happen there. That girl is so far out of your league man."

That actually kind of stings. It's probably true, but that doesn't make it any less shitty a thing to say. "Man, fuck you. Like you would get anywhere with her. Look at your girl. What is she, a fucking stripper? From downtown?"

"That's what I'm saying though. That's the kind of women we're supposed to be with Kiki. That girl...she's too good for you man."

"Fuck you." That stings too.

"Fuck you, dick. You know I'm right. What can you offer her? You're a fucking drug dealer Kiki, look at yourself."

"Man, I'm just trying to get some pussy. Quit fucking cockblocking. Shit." I'm starting to get sick of him now. "Man, just drop me off here."

"What? We're still in Shinjuku."

"I don't give a fuck. I'm sick of riding with your negative ass. Drop me off right here." I snap, my voice rising.

He glares at me, but pulls the car to the curb. "Fine, here you go. Have fun getting home asshole."

As I'm getting out of the car, I flip him off. I slam his door shut, and he peels out, speeding off towards the freeway. Fuck 'im. Fucking Takai...Taki. Little girly-man always has to have something to complain about. He's right though. I really don't have anything to offer that girl. Nabiki. That's her name. Somehow, I don't think she really has any idea what she did when she gave me her number. As I'm standing there, contemplating Takai's brutally honest assessment of the situation, I catch a faint whiff of french fries. Damn, I haven't eaten in...hours. My stomach rumbles, letting me know that it's long overdue. I follow the enticing scent of deep-fried potatoes until the Shinjuku Dick's Burger comes into view.

It's not far now, so I break into run until I reach the doors. I step inside, and am overwhelmed by the combined scents of flame-broiled beef, grilled onions, frying bacon, and french fries. The faintest hint of mustard hangs in the air as well, just underneath the others, and by this point, I can almost taste my meal. I step up to the register and wait for the bored looking pimple-faced kid behind it to acknowledge me. It takes a moment.

When he does, he looks up and says, "What can I get for you?" His voice is completely monotone, and his face is expressionless.

"Cheeseburger with bacon, grilled onions, hold the lettuce. And uh, extra mayo. And a coke."

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry sir. We ran out of syrup for our coke dispenser."

I sigh, and shake my head. It's like fucking Groundhog's Day...but backwards. "Okay, I'll have some black coffee then." He rings up my meal, and I pay the kid. I take my coffee cup and head over to the beverage machines. As I'm filling my cup with coffee, I hear a girl calling my name.

"Hey, Keona!"

I finish filling my coffee cup, muttering, "You've gotta be kidding me." I turn and look, and sure enough, four booths down is Nabiki and one of her friends, just finishing up their burgers. I smile and wave and begin walking towards them. "Nabiki. Long time no see." She scoots over to make room for me to sit down, which I do. "Thanks."

"So what are you up to?" She asks. It's a silly question considering where we are, but it wouldn't be productive to make her feel like an idiot, so I don't point it out.

"Oh, you know. Just getting some food. Heading home after that." I take a sip of my coffee, and curse under my breath as it burns my tongue.

"Oh." she says. "Where's your friend?"

I shrug my shoulders, and say, "Fuck him. He probably went home."

She started to laugh, saying, "He ditched you? Is this," she suppressed a giggle, and continued on. "Is this the guy who ditched you last night too?" I have to lower my face, and embarrassed smile on my face as I nod my head. Now she does laugh. It's a beautiful sound, throaty and strong. She has a beautiful voice. A bedroom voice.

I look up at her, and say, "So what are you doing tomorrow night?"

She says, "Well, not much, but I've got to work Monday morning."

"Oh really, what do you do?" I ask her, already guessing the answer.

"High school!" Her friend jumps in. Nabiki looks at her and glares.

"Shut up Naomi!"

"What, I'm just telling him, since it didn't seem like you were going to." Turning to me, she said, "She's a senior in high school, and she graduates at the end of next week."

I nod my head, quickly digesting the new information. "So what are you doing next Saturday night?"

"Um, I don't know." She raises an eyebrow at me. "Are you asking me on a date then?"

I look into her eyes, my gaze intense, and I say, "I guess I am. Why don't I call you this week, and we'll figure it out." I stand up and back away from the booth.

"Aren't you going to eat here?" She asks.

"No, I'm taking it to go."

She tilts her head the left, and gives me a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "How are you getting home?"

Her friend, Naomi looks at Nabiki and shakes her no. "Nabiki, he can't ride in my car. I don't have room."

"Sure you do Naomi. You have two more seats in the back." Nabiki smiles frostily at her friend, and then mouths something that I don't pick up.

Naomi groans and then looks at me, and snaps, "No peeing on the upholstery." She gets up and leaves the restaurant, presumably to start her car. I get the impression that she doesn't like me much.

Nabiki says, "We'll be out front. Meet us out there."

I nod my head and watch her walk out. Damn, she is fine. I turn and walk to the register. Looking at the kid, I say, "Hey man, can you get me my food to go please." The kid nods and goes off to do my bidding. A couple minutes later, he comes back with a white foam food container.

He hands it to me, and says, "Have a good night sir."

"Thanks, you too." As I step outside into the cool night air, I take a deep breath, savoring the last remains of my good day. Tomorrow, I go to work finding the man who ordered the drive-by. Tomorrow, I start tracking down Yamada Kenshin's brother. And that begins with Yamada Kenshin. I'd just ask Kenshin where his brother was if I could, and he might have told me with the right amount of persuasion. It's too late for that though. I can't ask Kenshin anything anymore; I already killed him.


"I'm telling you, I don't want this guy in my car Biki. He scares me."

"Well he doesn't scare me."

"He should. You should be scared of him. He's scary! He carries a gun! He deals drugs! He's a thug!"

Nabiki shrugged her shoulders, going silent. She was done talking about it. Her mind was made up. If the boys at school wouldn't give her a chance, she wouldn't give them one. At furinkan, she was a big fish in a small pond. She had no idea what this guy's world was really like, and frankly, she was fascinated by him already. She noticed him approaching, and said, "You should stop talking shit now. He's coming."

Naomi shut up, but continued fuming. Keona got in behind Nabiki. Naomi looked back at him and forced a smile on her face. "So, where to?"

"North Juuban. Katsuhara Projects, building C." He said. Naomi looked at Nabiki, her frown deepening. Katsuhara was the worst housing project in Tokyo, sitting on the far northeast corner of the greater North Juuban area. North Juuban in general was known for it's seediness, and for it's violent atmosphere, but Katsuhara was place that even the thugs from North Juuban avoided. "Problem?" Keona said, his tone amiable.

"Not at all." Nabiki replied for her friend. "Katsuhara Projects, building C."

"Thanks for the ride." Keona smiled at Nabiki, and she felt her heart flutter at the sight.

She smiled back, and said, "No problem. Just don't forget to call me this week."

"How could I?" The rest of the drive passed without conversation, the only sound being the radio playing softly in the background. When they arrived at his apartment building, he got out of the car and leaned down towards Nabiki's window. She rolled it down, and said, "See you later."

"See you later." Leaning down a little, Keona tossed a little wave to Naomi. "Thanks for the ride. Just keep on driving straight down this road, don't turn until you leave the projects. When you get to a stop sign, coast through slow, but don't stop completely. You ladies have a nice evening." Looking back at Nabiki, he said, "Goodnight. I'll call you soon, okay?" He reached up and brushed his fingers across her cheek, and then backed away from the car. Nabiki looked over her shoulder at him as Naomi pulled away from the curb. He was still watching. He stood there until they reached the end of the street, and the she saw him turn towards his building.

Looking at Naomi, Nabiki said, "He watched us drive away."

"So?"

"So that means he likes me. Guys don't do that unless they like you."

Naomi rolled her eyes, and said, "You're crazy Biki. I still say the guy is dangerous."

Nabiki giggled and said, "That's part of the attraction. Now hurry up and get me home." She couldn't wait to tell Akane about the evening. An edited version, of course. A heavily edited version.


I've finished my food, and now it's time for my nourishment. I'm exhausted, but I can't go to sleep yet. I'm alone now, and that's when the darkness comes. That's when the sadness comes. That's when I start thinking about Yasuo. The first pangs of grief hit me, and I feel that emptiness again, that cold, hollow feeling of loss. But I know I can't kill myself now. I have to kill someone else first. That starts tomorrow though. I need my medicine first.

walk into my postage stamp kitchen and open the single cupboard. There's a few packets of instant ramen, and three unopened bottles of Jim Beam bourbon. I grab a bottle and quickly open it up. Raising it to my lips, I take a swig, feeling it trace a line of fire down my throat and pool into my stomach. I keep drinking, feeling it fill my senses, first enhancing them, and then numbing them.

By the time I put the bottle down, half of it is gone, and my breath is coming in heaving gasps. I wipe the excess liquor from my mouth, and look down at my long sleeved white shirt. I've spilled whiskey on it. I put the bottle down on the counter, and pull my shirt off. I look down at my arms, surveying the ink that covers them both. A dark blue dragon with Sakura blossoms in it's mane winds it's way down my arm, flying sinuously through a sunset reddened sky.

On my left arm is a half sleeve that starts at my shoulder and goes to my elbow, with a samurai in full armor. The detail is exquisite, if I do say so myself, but then, all of my work is topnotch. My left forearm has two different inscriptions running from elbow to wrist, both in English.

The first, on the outside of the forearm, is done in a stylized cursive and reads: "The blood you spill is blood you owe, because what you reap is what you sew". Ironically enough, I got that before Yasuo was shot. It was almost prophetic. Sometimes I hate that tattoo. On the inside of the forearm is a bible scripture in old English, and says simply: "Exodus 20:13". Most people in Japan don't know what it means. If they ask, I don't tell them. I just tell them it's from the Christian bible. I got that before the Yasuo thing too. It was one of the first tattoos I got, to remind me that even though I'm not a Christian, some rules are good ones anyway. Didn't take long for me to break it.

My arms were the only parts of me that were done yet. Yasuo had his arms done and his back was started. Takai is covered. But then, he's Aiko's age; almost thirty now. I shake my head, and pound some more whiskey. I'm getting pretty drunk now, the booze is starting to really hit me. I lean back against the wall, and finish off the bottle in several big swallows.

I feel a lump rising in my throat, and can feel my dinner coming up already. The burn in my stomach is intense, but I swallow hard a few times and force everything back down. Stepping away from the wall, I pull a second bottle from the open cupboard and open it up. Swinging the cupboard door closed, I bring the bottle to my lips and take a few swallows, feeling the burn start all over again.

It's almost soothing in a way, drowning yourself in the poison, falling into the mind-numbing embrace of absolute drunkenness. Even if you have a high tolerance, like I do, it doesn't take long if you're determined. And I'm determined. I take several more swallows, flooding my brain with a river of fermented grain and water. The intense head-high finally hits me, and my eyes begin growing heavy.

I walk to my lazy-boy and pull the pistol from my waistband. Setting it carefully on the metal table, I settle heavily into my chair. I take another swig of whiskey, and then set the bottle down as well. It's been a long day, and a long night. Closing my eyes, I feel my world begin to spin. Consciousness fades like the end of a sad song, bringing with it the black emptiness of a drunk man's slumber.