Chapter 2: The Ba Ji Dancer

"Oh, you should really put some ice on that."

"Yeah, what happened to going easy on me?" I winced on the ground with Kokoro hovering over me after our 'practice' bout. Clearly, I needed more practice. "Same thing as "there's lots of tourist sights on the way?""

"I pointed out the coliseum where they held the last Tournament!" Yeah, because it was right next to the cafe we were just at! "And the tailor where I sometimes take my kimono to be fixed!"

Kokoro bent down and gently extended her hand to help me get up, but I shook my head politely and - on second thought, maybe I should have accepted. She looked worried she went a little too far during practice, when it really wasn't so bad. OK, it was kind of bad... "At least I can walk away with my pride intact, knowing you were a quarter finalist. Though I would have traded it for a few more unbroken ribs."

"Yeah...I don't think I'll enter the next one, though." Hearing Kokoro say that made me get up a lot faster. Maybe beating me would hardly impress anyone, but I'd been so busy minding my own pain I didn't notice...she was the one with the defeated look in her eyes. "Jann Lee says there's no excitement in winning, but that doesn't stop him." Kokoro's eyes widened the longer I returned her monologue with a blank stare. "Wait, tell me you've at least heard of him!"

"I, thought it was a a guy with a...red jacket and spiky hair who won last time?" I was too embarrassed to admit that Rig was the only reason that I knew even that. Rig and Kokoro both talked about Dead or Alive the way most people talked about Christmas and birthdays.

"His name's Diego, I think?" At least thanks to Rig, Kokoro wouldn't have to know just how clueless I was. "OK, TECHNICALLY Jann Lee still won. The other thing is, I don't think my mother ever wanted me to enter in the first place, though she cheered me on both times."

I suspected Kokoro's second thoughts about entering DOA 7 had more to do with the latter reason. "Maybe your mom supported you because she knew it made you happy? And it's part of your legacy...the first championship was your father's idea, wasn't it? And, if your sister succeeded him as CEO...that means you could be next in line, right?"

Kokoro chuckled, leaning up against the wall beside me. "I hope that doesn't happen. If Helena quits, I might just give you the job."

"Sure, my first job out of college: CEO of a multinational corporation!" I laughed.

"You're already more qualified than I am! You have a business degree!" Kokoro jokingly punched me on the shoulder, muttering a quick 'sorry' after I winced. "Helena suggested I take some business classes. It would be a good idea, if you're right. But I was already having a hard time balancing my formal training with my Ba Ji Quan practice before my mom disappeared. Now I feel like I'm being pulled in a million different directions when all I want is to go home and for things to be like they were. And no amount of practicing will make that happen."

"I...know a little bit about what that feels like." Rig was a lot better at giving pep talks than I was. He was so chill all the time. "I also know you didn't join the tournaments or bring me out here just because you wanted to win."

"That's true," Kokoro nodded. "Ba Ji Quan's about so much more than just fighting. It...helps me find my balance."

Between her soft delicate side and the side that sends me flying halfway across the courtyard. "Yeah, I meant to ask...that's not part of standard Geisha training, is it?"

"No, but have you seen the clogs we wear? You don't want to see the bottom of one flying at you regardless!" Kokoro laughed. Inadequate maybe, but it cheered her up a little, at least.

We both shifted when we heard two pairs of footsteps growing louder before two blondes appeared, neither of whom looked dressed for training. They both wore thigh high boots and outfits reminding me of 19th-century corsets. One was much taller than the other, and tied her hair in a single long ponytail. The other blonde tied hers in two pigtails, following close behind the taller one even as she strained to hold up a picnic basket nearly half her size. The taller blonde looked familiar somehow, and though her eyes were bluer, I could see the resemblance to Kokoro's as she grew closer...

"There you are." The taller one directed her speech to Kokoro with a thick French accent. That must have been her sister - well, half-sister. "Did you forget? We were supposed to meet for tea this afternoon. I thought you would be sick of the café by now."

"Helena!" Kokoro rushed over to the opposite side of the yard and reached for her watch, which she had left on a bench before we started practicing. "You're way early! You said we weren't meeting until - " Having followed her, I glimpsed Kokoro's eyes growing wide when she saw what time it was, though the reddening sky hinted it was a little late for AFTERNOON tea. "I'm the worst. I lost track of time!"

"It's alright. I'm glad you've been keeping busy." Helena noticed me standing in the corner and looked slightly bemused, maybe in part due to the way I angled myself so I was partly hidden behind Kokoro. "If I knew you were bringing a guest, I would have brought more."

"Oh, uh - this is my friend John, Helena." Noticing I'd raced over to hide behind her, she angled herself so I was fully visible. "He's...maybe a little shy because he just started working for you!"

"Apologies for not introducing myself formally," Helena curtsied and motioned for the girl carrying the basket to come towards us. "This is my assistant, Marie Rose!"

"And Dead or Alive tournament contestant!" Marie Rose declared loud and proud, though Helena raised an eyebrow while Kokoro tilted her head and stared doe-eyed at the girl. "Well, technically I was only in the preliminaries, but I did more behind-the-scenes! Really long story though, you two wouldn't be interested!"

Following a protracted sigh, Helena turned her gaze back to me. "I must apologize further, but I haven't been kept up-to-date with all the new hires. I wasn't told to expect anyone."

"Well, I wasn't hired by DOATEC directly. It's one of your subsidiaries," I explained. "MIST."

"Pardon?" As if on cue with her boss' question, Marie Rose also dropped the picnic basket she'd been carrying. Helena paid it no mind, though. "You said you're working for MIST?"

"That's a pretty name for a company," Kokoro chimed in. "Can't say I've ever heard of them, though."

"They prefer discretion. When it suits them." Everything about Helena's scowl told me she'd rather have not brought up Miyako's company in front of Kokoro. There was clearly more bad blood between Kokoro's mother and sister than the former let on. "If you don't mind my saying, John...you don't strike me as their usual type."

"I...haven't really been with them long enough to know what their type is." I honestly couldn't tell if Helena had insulted me or if she meant what she said as a back-handed compliment. "I did apply to DOATEC first, for work on a couple of your new oil platforms. I didn't hear about MIST until my friend Rig referred me."

Marie Rose mirrored the exact same look of confusion that Kokoro had shown her when she said she was a former contestant. "I thought after that big accident - "

"It's okay that you did not update me on the new platforms, Marie. I can hardly keep track of everything, myself." Helena cut her assistant off abruptly. "I actually just remembered, I have another appointment to keep. You'll have to make due tonight, Kokoro. Forgive the rudeness with which I must abruptly leave you two."

"But Helena, I'm starving!" Kokoro whined and stomped her foot.

"Yes. You forgot about dinner because you were so famished." Helena motioned for Marie Rose to toss us a pair of sandwiches. "Perhaps, breakfast tomorrow? Your...friend, is welcome to join us. Au revoir."

Helena might have left us on a polite note, but she and Marie Rose paused their scurrying only so Helena could whisper something in Marie Rose's ear, before they both vanished out of sight. And I thought Miyako and NiCO's introduction was weird enough. Kokoro's family success made them all a little strange, apparently...

"That's my sister," Kokoro sighed in agreement. "Hey, I'm sure Helena already knows my mom is your supervisor, but still...should we have told her about the rest? What could my mom possibly be working on that has her so uptight?"

"Your mom did say they disagreed on a couple things. I...wouldn't have wanted that to have gone worse than it just did." Everything about the way Helena acted earlier said she didn't want to even mention anything vaguely related to Kokoro's mom around her, but that wasn't fair. "Look, all I know about MIST is they focus on science and research, the kind of stuff that would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. That's all your mom told me."

"At least now, I know why she's so secretive. Thank you." Kokoro looked across from me, to the setting sun and reddening Parisian sky. "I know Helena's not hiding things because she wants to hurt me. She said our father was a good man...but the more I learn about him, the less sure I am. Mom's...afraid to let go of the past, maybe. Maybe it's time I worked up the courage and asked them myself."

It was true; I read DOATEC used to be involved in heavy weapons manufacture, though it was hard to imagine Miyako or NiCO involved in anything like that now. It wasn't the sort of topic I wanted to bring up to Kokoro...and I could see she preferred to watch the sunset and let what happens tomorrow happen tomorrow.

"Hey, so, your mom didn't say anything about a hotel, so maybe I'd better look for one before it's too late." And hope Miyako's paying me enough to afford a room. France still wasn't the cheapest country she could have dropped me in. "So, I guess I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow?"

"Actually!" Kokoro called out just as I started leaving and did a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn. "There's plenty of room in our place, and it sounds like Helena's gonna be out all night. So, if you wanted..."

Spend the night at Helena's? Yeah, I'm sure she'd just LOVE that... "Um, that's really nice of you, Kokoro, but, um, even if Helena was OK with it, is there some cultural taboo against that?"

"You're scared because she's still technically your boss!" Kokoro laughed. "It's for one night. She has way more important things to worry about than who her younger sister hangs out!"

"Wow, you're definitely new to the whole sibling thing - " Wait. I could have sworn I just saw a blond forehead peeking at us from behind the corner of that wall a second ago. About the same height of that girl Helena was with...

"No more stalling! I promised you a tour, anyway!" If I had caught someone in the act of eavesdropping us, Kokoro hadn't seen them - she was tugging my sleeve and laughing. Maybe I was just being a little paranoid...

I had to one thing to say about Helena: she went to a spectacular level of effort to make Kokoro feel at home as much as she could. The apartment they shared - on the rare occasions Helena wasn't out at sea or too busy with DOATEC matters to visit - included a Japanese-style wing perfect for a geisha-in-training. I knew that for Kokoro, luxury was no substitute for her mother's presence, but it did show why Miyako trusted Helena with her own daughter in spite of the animosity between the two.

It was with great reluctance that I stepped foot out of their bath. Even without booking a Parisian hotel, I knew I wouldn't have found anything even close on my budget. From behind the sliding door, I could hear Kokoro still practicing on the shamisen, an elegant three-stringed instrument that looked functionally similar to a guitar from what little I saw of it before. From the doorway, I watched Kokoro sitting on the floor and continue playing, then clapped when it sounded like she reached the end. It was only after that I thought maybe I wasn't supposed to, but she giggled as she set aside her instrument.

"You're too kind." Her face was a little red as she bowed politely. "I was never a gifted musician, though I always loved to play. My teacher kept complaining to my mother that she didn't think my heart was really in it."

"You're definitely putting in the time, though." Kokoro held out her shamisen as if she was asking if I wanted to play, but I tried to shake my head politely and not look too eager to avoid embarrassing myself at something else. That and I was too terrified to risk breaking anything in her apartment that I couldn't afford to replace. Which, at the moment, was pretty much everything in here. "Just, don't forget the other important stuff. Like eating. And sleeping."

"I know, I know. I need a bath!" Kokoro laughed and jumped on her mat. "I'll be right back!"

Set aside in the corner was a cot that Helena used the rare few times she stayed here. Once I heard the water running in the bathroom, I lay down to close my eyes for a bit, though I didn't want to fall asleep before Kokoro returned. The sound of a metal object plunging into the dresser beside me assured that wouldn't happen though. After my heart skipped a beat, I swung my head to find the seven-inch blade of a commando knife plunged into the dresser, just inches from my face. And wrapped around the handle was the gloved fist of its owner...

"And I thought Victor Donovan's favorite lapdog was an amateur." Facing me down was a muscular hulk, tanned in complexion in spite of his Russian accent and wearing sunglasses indoors despite the sun having set hours ago. He left his dog-tags dangling just above my forehead in a show of arrogance, and leaned in close enough for me to notice the scar running from his left eyebrow to his right cheek along with his buzzed-back sideburns peeking out from under his orange beret. How does someone his size - let alone dressed in bright, dazzling colors and wearing sunglasses at night - break in without making a noise?! " I expected more from someone bold enough to mention him to my sponsor's face!"

Helena?! So all those typewritten speeches about reforming DOATEC were just PR bullcrap! Why else would she hire thugs like this man mountain?"

"Donovan must be soiling himself if he's desperate enough to send anyone he can drag off the street after little girls." Helena's personal bully - or assassin - drooled smugness answering my unasked question. "Good. I want him terrified - "

The burglar stopped mid-taunt when we both heard the ever-slight creek of a sliding door in the hallway opening. He must have noticed the water in the bathroom had stopped running a few seconds ago too. He retrieved his knife only to draw a silver-plated revolver and level the end of the barrel at my forehead. "If you make ONE sound, I'll drop you right here."

I couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not. I'd seen men in the Army who took pride in their work with the same look this man's eyes held, thinly veiled behind his shades. He wouldn't lose any sleep that night if he crushed my skull right there, I could tell that much. But not soon after he stepped far enough away from me peek through the sliding door, I yelled at the top of my lungs "run, Kokoro!" and charged the would-be assassin. Remembering my training - though having never actually used it in a real-life scenario like this - I elbowed him square in the jaw and used my left arm to twist his wrist in. I reached for the revolver's hammer with my free hand...although he dropped the weapon before I could grab it, I managed to kick the firearm to the opposite side of the room. My victory was short-lived though, as he quickly sent me crumpling to the ground with a haymaker punch directly to the side of my head, blurring my vision. Hopefully I at least bought Kokoro some time...

I hoped the last thing I saw wouldn't be Kokoro disregarding my last request, but she came barreling into the room and her elbow plowed into the assassin's torso. He was sent tumbling backwards despite his much larger size from the sheer amount of force she struck him with. Kokoro saw me lying on the ground and started rushing over, but that gave the assassin time to roll back upwards and lunge for her. Kokoro swung around and managed to throw him off-balance with a low kick to his shin, but when she aimed a punch for his stomach, he lurched upward and managed to catch her arm. He wrapped his other arm around the back of Kokoro's head and lifted her feet off the ground, spinning her around like a ragdoll as she grabbed the arm around her neck desperately trying to free herself. Instead, he sent Kokoro flying into the wall behind me with little in the way of clothing, other than her hastily thrown-on bathrobe, to soften the collision.

"Stay down, girl. I would prefer to do this without hurting you," he growled angrily. I had just stumbled back on to my own two feet before I was grabbed by the throat and lifted upwards. "So, you are not completely useless, svoloch..."

That one curse and half-compliment was all he had time for, as Kokoro ambushed him with a knee to his thigh and forced him to drop me. He recovered quickly enough to deflect a fist aimed for his rib, but he was too slow to redirect a low kick directed towards his groin and was caught off guard when Kokoro grabbed his right arm to pull him forward. He stumbled, giving Kokoro an opening and she shoved him with both hands into a pricey-looking flat screen TV mounted onto the wall. The look on Kokoro's face as the TV fell on top of him and shattered told me that last part might have been an accident...

"Kokoro!" I was still gasping for breath after that last chokehold. "You OK?"

"Yeah..." Kokoro's voice trailed off, though she abruptly looked to me as if she suddenly remembered something. "Bayman! John, I recognize this man from - "

Whatever 'Bayman' was supposed to mean, Helena's hired goon suddenly became the least of our problems. The door - or what was left of it - sprang open, followed by the sound of a metallic canister clinking on the floor after it had been tossed through the narrow space. A flashbang! I shoved Kokoro to the ground with barely enough time to cover my own ears and eyes. They were still ringing when at least three armed men wearing tactical gear and carrying submachine guns piled into the room. Except these men clearly weren't cops...my least favorite acronym, 'DOATEC', was emblazoned in white on the front of their tactical vests. They must have been here to finish the job 'Bayman' had failed to do. Maybe expecting these men would try to sideline her as Bayman did, Kokoro jumped in between us, but one of them dropped his SMG to unsheathe a stun gun and fired it at her. All I could do was watch as the barbs pierced Kokoro's delicate skin and she crumpled onto the ground with a loud yelp, convulsing on the ground as electricity surged through her.

"Stop, durak! That's your boss' sister, you idiot!" Livid, Bayman ripped the stun gun out of the hand of the guard who fired it at her. The last thing I saw, before I felt something sharp pierce my own neck, was Kokoro reel on the ground groaning. I reached for the object, feeling the plume of what I quickly realized was a tranquilizer dart, before my vision blurred once again and my head landed back to the ground. And off to sleep I went...

To Be Continued

A/N: Hi everyone, thanks for reading my second chapter! I'd like to thank the guest who reviewed my first chapter too - it can definitely feel intimidating putting up a new story and wondering if anyone's going to like it or if anyone even cares. Reviews, favorites and follows go a VERY long way with keeping us authors motivated!

I'm definitely hoping to introduce more characters with each chapter as I also try to stay focused on the characters most important to the plot, especially Helena and Kokoro at this point. I haven't been to Japan yet (fingers crossed I'll get to visit next year though!) so I'm not an expert on geisha, maiko or most aspects of Kokoro's home culture - I really wanted to include more of that side of her though, so I did my best to be accurate with it and present it as believably as I could. Fight scenes were always hard for me to write though it's also fun to try my hand at it. Since I have a little bit of real-life martial arts training, I did want to make Kokoro vs Bayman as believable as I could. Having a long, drawn out fight scene where Bayman pins Kokoro to the ground, twists her neck and snaps her bones, only for her to recover just wouldn't be very realistic so I set out to make it shorter while also trying to involve John where it made sense. Bayman's a trained assassin so Kokoro defeating him quickly just wouldn't make sense, but that also led Bayman to underestimate her and John plus they both double-teamed him when they had the chance.

Thanks again for reading, guys! I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say, good bad or otherwise! I have a good portion of the next chapter planned out in my head, so fingers crossed you won't have to wait long to find out what happens to John and Kokoro! And just what MIST has planned for both of them...