A/N: Okay, second chapter, here we go. I'm happy to see I haven't been slipping into E.S.C. syndorme—otherwise known as Extremely Short Chapter syndrome. They aren't incredibly long either so far, but would you think they are satisfying? Oh, and also, whoever is reading this should GO back and read the first chapter, because I changed some years around. My friend Pacifist Yaoi Shipper (Te-chan!!!) told me that three years is not adequate time enough to earn two black belts, so I had to change some numbers around with Corinne. But besides from that, nothing's real important. Just hope you like the chap! Oh, and someone I forgot to thank in the first chappy—my sis Corinne, whom I love so dearly, for lending me her name. But enough with my rambling!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Corinne, and my socks. (...I'm not wearing socks, though... THINK HARD!!!!!!!!)

Chapter Two: Ramen

"Birthday?" Dashi inquired, twirling a noodle into his mouth with a pair of wooden chopsticks deftly and skillfully. Corinne envied that-- her fingers were clumsy and noodles hung over the side of her ceramic bowl.

He had wanted to pay, but she had insisted it should be her treat since he had probably saved her life. She had bought two small bowls for them, after realizing her wallet wasn't quite as big as her gratitude. She apologized, but he denied any necessary for that at all.

"April eighteenth."

They had been interrogating each other non-stop in the last fifteen minutes, on everything from favorite colors (both of theirs being light green), to their opinions on the existence of humanity (Corinne believed it was to live out life to the fullest, but Dashi's answer only left her slightly dizzy with all of the symptoms of eating too many Coney Island chili dogs).

He nodded, catching Corinne's eye contact. "So nineteen last month?"

"Mm-hmm. You?"

Dashi opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated for a long moment. "June twelfth. I'll be... twenty-three." Corinne raised her eyebrows. "Really? Twenty-three? You barely look twenty!"

He grinned easily. "Ha, so I've been told. That can be a good or bad thing-- good when it comes to skirting off on responsibilities reserved for 'adults,'" (He pronounced it with the stress on 'A,' not 'dults,' something her father had done also, and rolled his eyes along with the word, taking on a mock-serious tone), "but bad for trying to get into twenty-one-and-over bars!" She laughed along with him. He was really very easy to get along with, despite his apparent properness.

When their chuckles faded away, Dashi commented, "Are you originally from Japan? You look the part, but your mannerisms seem foreign—not lacking in any way, mind you, just foreign. Do you travel, perhaps?"

Corinne hesitated the same way he had. She looked down and stirred the brothy remains in her bowl with a single chopstick. "I was born here, in Aoyama," she finally said, grateful to Dashi for waiting so patiently for her answer, "and stayed here till I was twelve. My mother was Japanese, my father American, but my mother made it it so my days were spent learning only of Japan's history, culture, and more. It was forced upon me, and I left the day I could to the United States. It was hard—things are expensive there, even in the suburbs where I made a home for myself—but I found a way to go day by day."

Dashi had listened with rapt attention. "When did you decide to come back to Japan? Back to Aoyama?" he asked, after she didn't go on. "If I may ask, of course," he tacked on, so as not to seem rude.

Corinne sighed and answered, "I only plan on being here till next week. I was visiting my mother's house, for my father's funeral. He passed away recently... cancer, unfortunately."

Dashi seemed taken aback. He faltered for a moment, then:

"I'm sorry to hear that. I can tell, from the way you speak—you two were close." Corinne just nodded, then said, "And you, you're from Japan?" in an effort to change the subject.

The bald man opposite her shook his head. "China... I'm everywhere, nowadays. I travel frequently."

Corinne leaned forward, on hand propping her head up, the other fiddling with the sleeve of her satin blue blouse. "And whatever happened to turn your eyes on little Aoyama?" she joked. Aoyama was a giant, bustling tourist-flytrap of a town. 'Little Aoyama' was the farthest possible description.

Dashi played along, eyes twinkling. "Oh, it's a quaint little settlement, with a friendly, elderly populace, and wonderful environment in which to raise children." He rolled his eyes, then went on, "Well, to tell you the truth... I'm here looking for an apprentice."

Apprentice? For what? When Corinne voiced her thoughts, Dashi grinned cheekily.

"Fight me and I'll tell you."

Corinne studied her surroundings carefully—they would be important to the fight. The street was wide, but suspiciously lacking the usual large crowd that accumulated around this time of day. Not even a single vending cart was in sight. The floor was a modern sort of cobblestone, easy to trip over, all of the side walls were smooth and useless, but at least the space was ideal for circling and moving about.

When she looked over to Dashi, she saw him remove his outer coat, and his...

Shoes? What is he...?

He noticed her stare, and laughed softly. "Don't ask—it helps... me, at least."

The black tunic Corinne saw now was nearly identical to the one he had worn over it, but with no sleeves. His arms were weathered and muscled—they had obviously seen many years of intense training.

Once they had both stretched and gotten a feel for the place, they took position. Or rather Corinne did. Dashi just sort of stood there, arms crossed behind his back with a bemused smile lifting his features.

Corinne's stance was basic, but held strength: her two feet planted firmly apart, both of her hands curled into almost fists in front of her and knees bent slightly.

After a few long moments, Corinne faltered, unsure of why Dashi simply stood there.

That was when he attacked.

He almost seemed to fly at her, and slammed one hand toward her, the palm completely straight. Corinne yelped and managed to block his hand with her own arm. There was a short standstill, then Corinne slid her arm down in order to shake off Dashi's hand. A millisecond later, his other hand flew at her, faster than the one before, and the process repeated itself several times.

Dashi quickly grew tired of their game and bent his knee, sending a roundhouse kick Corinne's way and knocking her legs out from under her. She landed in a bridge, and flipped her legs up over herself, hopping once to regain her balance.

She shot out a fist aimed at Dashi's chest as a test, and it was caught easily by his own hand. His grip tightened, and he attempted to swing her around into a wall. Corinne straightened her arm, placing her other hand on his shoulder and flipping herself high over him. She landed behind her opponent and sent a powerful leg out to land between his shoulderblades.

He spun around and crouched quickly, dodging her blow. He balanced on one leg and tried the roundhouse kick route again, but this time Corinne was ready.

She jumped into the air and landed after the kick had passed her. While Dashi's foot was still in the air and he was vulnerable, she managed to land a heavy blow on his chest.

He seemed to not even feel it, and in a blur that Corinne hardly registered, wound up behind her. He held her two wrists in his large hand.

"Oh my," he said, and his breath was uneven, "You're quite good, aren't you? You landed a blow."

He sounded remarkably surprised, and as soon as he had held them, he let her wrists go.

Corinne turned slowly, feeling the toll of the quick but violent fight. She panted out, "Wow. You're good. Really good. Much better than I am" At that he smiled. Taking one deep breath, he said, "Nonsense, I've just been training for all of my life, a lot longer than you have. That's certainly reason to be better than you. But come, Corinne-san. Let's you and I wait for the rainstorm—I can see one heading toward here—and cool off. Then I'll buy us drinks. My treat, this time." Corinne smiled gratefully, then remembered the cause for the fight in the first place. "And you have to tell me what you meant by 'apprentice.' Right?" Dashi nodded, tight-lipped. "Right."

Corinne let out a sigh of relief as the cool rain fell upon the earth, herself, and Dashi. It soaked through her gossamer-thin blouse straight to her skin, and it washed off the sweat that had practically pooled on her during the fight.

People ran for cover, under some of the larger vendor's carts, over-hanging building signs, and the brave ones made towards home, furiously pedaling on bicycles.

Dashi and Corinne simply stood and grinned toward the sky as they cooled off.

When they were both wet as could be, they laughed and ran to the nearest tea-house they saw. As they brushed against the rest of the crowd, dirty looks were directed at them for sharing their wetness with others.

They found themselves quickly seated by a hostess, who probably wanted to get them out of the throng before more possible customers left in a huff.

When they sat down at a small table placed conveniently placed in a small, quiet corner, Dashi and Corinne considered before both ordering Tchai tea. Or, rather, Dashi ordered for her—the waitress only spoke Japanese. The petite Japanese girl practically ran away to serve more customers, and came back only fleetingly to set down two large mugs of steaming liquid.

As they sipped the drinks they found themselves warming up considerably, and Corinne only then noticed she had been shivering. Shaking it off, she addressed Dashi:

"...So, about that apprenticeship thing..." She swirled her spoon around in the tea for lack of anything better to do.

Dashi nodded to let her know he had heard, and seemed to consider his answer for a long time. "I'm telling you this because I trust you, alright?" At Corinne's hurried nod, he simply said,

"Xiaolin and Heylin..."

Corinne almost spoke, but he continued after a brief pause.

"Xiaolin and Heylin are two opposing sides. Xiaolin, the good, and the ones who will, in the end, prevail. They must. The Heylin call themselves 'righteous,' but they live only to torment others, make everyone's lives personal hell. I am, or rather was, a grandmaster of the Xiaolin Temple—located in China. I fought on the side of Xiaolin, before I... left to be with myself." He seemed to talk to only himself now, lost in his own thoughts.

Xiaolin... Heylin? What... What is this!? Corinne's thoughts were interrupted, as finally he mentioned what she had been listening for in particular.

"I came here looking for an apprentice, because Xiaolin has to have help, they need it, or they will perish to the Heylin side. And you, Corinne-san," Corinne was startled when he said her name; she had thought he was no longer aware of talking to her, "You would be the perfect apprentice."