Chapter One

It was the same typical day as always for Eliot.

The 18-year old had lost his companion Brad Wong for what felt like the millionth time since they started traveling together. He wasn't drunk – at least not when they were together almost an hour ago – and yet, he lost him.

Again.

Eliot ran his hands through his blonde hair in frustration and adjusted the strap on his shoulder that held his messenger bag, dressed in his grey British flag t-shirt and dark jeans; he was not sure how to react to this situation or whether to continue searching for Brad. Frankly, he didn't know if giving a shit was worth it anymore with the guy.

He looked around Pioneer Square, one of the oldest downtown areas in Seattle, and wondered where Brad was and what on earth he was doing. He knew he might be in a bar somewhere doing what he usually did, which was drink every form of alcohol known to man and then stumble out and either fall flat on his face out cold on the concrete.

Which meant Eliot would find him and drag his unconscious body to a cheap hotel. Or the old guy would somehow find Eliot and they'd make their way to said rundown hotel.

This time, Eliot made a choice and decided it was not worth his time to search for him. Shaking his head in disgust, he took his messenger bag off his shoulder and set it down on a nearby bench and dug through it to find the variety of maps that he acquired upon arriving in Seattle. Pulling one that had a detailed map of downtown Seattle, flipped it open and started to look through the contents for nearby places to eat.

As he searched through the map, he thought about how his life had changed so much since he met Gen Fu many years ago and was ultimately chosen to be his lone apprentice and learn the art of Xing Yi Quan. Several years of intense training and hard work made him a stronger individual on a physical level and his mental discipline was light years ahead of anyone else his age. His confidence level was much higher and he believed he could win any fight.

However, despite all that, he had zero confidence when it came to women. No matter the situation, he just didn't know how to address a beautiful woman regardless of the circumstances. Didn't matter if it was a ninja, karate master, wrestler or MMA fighter, he had no clue as to what to do or how conduct himself. It was also an issue for him when it came to a fellow British woman named Christie.

Christie, the She Quan fighter, she was exotic, incredibly gorgeous and so flirtatious with him. He often wondered what drew him to her and what it was that made him attracted to her. Brad joked that it might have been that she was older than him, which he had no clue what that meant. Another possibility Brad assumed, was that because he came across as so innocent and naïve, that she found that cute and Christie enjoyed playing around with him. Or, and Brad thought this was highly doubtful, that the older woman did find him attractive and held some feelings for him.

Eliot didn't know, nor did he try to figure out what it ultimately meant, as far as he was concerned it was something that probably wasn't going to blossom into a full-fledged relationship. Besides, she was a woman with experience not just in life, but in relationships as well. While he had virtually none in either category, which certainly explained his awkwardness and zero confidence.

And the one thing that he tried to not think about, though he knew it was something that clearly existed, was her experience when it came to sex, where he was a virgin and had only seen naked women in pictures, movies, television and on the internet. He tried to wipe the thoughts of her sleeping with other men, but it never went away and he often wondered if she was with someone already.

He thought about how he hadn't seen her since the end of the 5th Dead or Alive tournament and hoped she had been able to escape the destruction of the oil rig and close down of the stadium. Though given that she had escaped from destruction of the DOATEC TriTower, it was quite clear she was a survivor and someone that knew how to get out of trouble.

Sighing out loud, Eliot closed up the map and placed it on the bench, zippering his messenger bag and slinging it over his shoulder and then picking up his map and heading towards his destination.

He started to walk towards the crosswalk when he immediately recognized a fragrance that he had smelled once before; it was a pleasant and jasmine-like perfume. As he closed his eyes, he immediately thought of who it was or who he hoped it was. Before he could open his eyes and look to see who it was, the person with the fragrance spoke.

"Well, well, look who I found." Said a female with a British accent.

Eliot opened his eyes and turned around quickly to see Christie staring back at him with a hand on her hip and her other resting on her side. Dressed in a pair of jeans and designer shoes her top was a black t-shirt that also had the British flag on the center and was stretched out because her ample bust. Her big handbag was slung over a shoulder and her white hair was, as always, was loose and free.

Eliot swallowed slowly at the sight of the most gorgeous woman he had ever met and wondered how she found him, why she was here was something her didn't even think to give much thought to, nor what her reason was for being here.

"My favorite grown boy." Christie said as she approached the blonde, still with a hand on her hip.

Eliot felt a small bead of sweat drip off his brow. He had no idea what to say or how to even say it, so all he could do was smile back at her.

"How are you?" She smiled as stood right in front of him. "I haven't seen you in so long."

"Um, well, I'm doing quite well…." He managed to say.

"Good." She gave him a sly smile noted his attire, they literally matched, showing pride for their home country, something that was totally unexpected, yet for reason was pleasing to her.

"And how are you doing?" Eliot interrupted her observation of him, something he picked up on right away.

"Oh, I'm wonderful." Christie replied, crossing her arms over her breasts, making sure they were squeezed ever so slightly. "I was walking through here looking to grab something to eat."

Eliot nodded in reply and looked down at his watch and quickly realized that it was a quarter to three, he hadn't eaten since this morning and was pretty hungry.

He let out a small laugh before speaking. "Yeah, I'm looking for something to eat too."

Christie smiled and then immediately wrapped an arm around Eliot which caught him not just off guard, but also by surprise.

"Well, then," the white-haired woman said, "I guess we can have lunch together, if that's alright with you."

Eliot turned slightly read at how close they were and he could feel the side of her breast pressed against his arm. "Y-y-yeah, that'd be great."

Christie laughed as they headed towards the same direction that he was going, having small talk along the way.

Several minutes later, Brad Wong walked down the sidewalk and much to his own surprise was not stumbling around.

Not yet.

He swore he saw Eliot walk through here just a short while ago and clearly was searching for him. The kid probably assumed, correctly, that he was drunk as hell and would be found lying in an alley or on a park bench passed out.

Brad chuckled at that and knew it was accurate in more ways than one, but he hadn't found a bar that was satisfying enough for him.

Well, not yet anyway.

The older man decided it was time to move on and find someplace to eat and drink. Hopefully he'd find the kid at some point and they'd find a cheap hotel to crash until they decided - or Eliot decided where to go next.

Until then, he had to find someplace to drink and with any luck, maybe a woman to be with tonight.

Next: A night at the town.