Domino was at the bar again by dawn. She rarely slept the whole night through anymore, and she was excited to begin her training. She slipped into the bar by the front door, the bouncers having all gotten off of work around three am.
The place was empty, the door left open for her. Apparently Wolverine either was expecting her, or just figured he was bad ass enough to beat up anyone who broke in. Which she had to agree with, really.
She poked around the place, looking for food. She was really hungry. It had been a while since the jerky had run out, and she wasn't feeling very good at the moment. Slowly, she sat at the bar, putting her head down, groaning softly.
She heard him coming down the stairs, but didn't bother looking up. The smell of cigar smoke preceded him. "Your lungs are going to fall out." Her voice sounded weary even to her own ears. He laughed darkly, and poked around behind the bar a little. The sound of eggs cracking made Domino perk up, and she lifted her head.
"Mornin', sunshine. Hungry?" He eyed her, and cracked ten eggs, starting a pan on the small burner and lopping a hunk of butter into the pan. The smell of fried eggs filled Domino's nostrils, and though she was hungry, her stomach turned. He eyed her, then poured a glass of milk. "This'll help. Sick?"
"Not really. Thanks." She took a long drink of the milk, staring at the man. He'd seemed much more fierce the previous night. "Just a little queasy." Stupid mistake. How had she let this happen? Wasn't she supposed to be stronger than her hormones? Arg. Someday she would meet that man again, and then she was going to kick his fucking ass for his part in the mistake. She would kick her own ass in the meantime.
"Hmmm. We're taking off today, kid. Going to Japan. People there who'll know what to do with you, 'cause I sure as hell don't. What do you want to learn, anyway?" He kept cooking, his cigar clenched between his teeth, making his voice sound more harsh than it actually was.
"How to fight. I know how to shoot, how to blow shit up, but I'm not much good in a prolonged fight. It's not a great weakness to have. Especially not now." She took another drink of her milk, her stomach settling a little now that it had food. At least with him she didn't have to hear any bullshit about looking so lost and alone. The way the people on the train had acted, you'd think they never saw a fifteen year old more than ten feet away from their parents. It was only going to get worse as she got more pregnant, too.
He nodded, and set his cigar in an ashtray. "Alright. Then We're definitely leaving. You know Japanese?" He didn't expect her to. In fact, he'd be very surprised if she did. It was a hard language, and had taken him a long time to learn, even through immersion.
"Yeah. I do, actually. I know all the languages." She shrugged. It was just a part of who she was. She'd been like that as long as she could remember. Maybe the priest had taught her in her sleep. There wasn't much she'd put past him.
He shrugged, but didn't make any further comment. The kid was interesting, but he had never been the kind of person who prodded around in people's business. "That'll be good then, since we're going to Tokyo. Got a passport?" Beside, he didn't want to get too attached.
Domino looked sheepish, her eyes fixed on the bottom of her milk glass. "No. I, uh, don't have anything like that." She didn't have any official papers. As far as anyone knew, she had no parents. That was part of what had scared the bishop so much. For all he knew, she had ascended directly from Hell. The plateful of eggs landed gently in front of her, and she nodded her thanks as she stabbed into the eggs, angry now.
Her shift in mood was weird, but he chalked it up to things he didn't give a damn about. IN hsi experience, that turned out to be the best way to deal with strange women, and especially strange teenagers. "Don't worry about it. Papers are easy enough to get. Eat up, it's going to be a long day." He realized after he said it that he shouldn't have wasted his breath. She'd nearly demolished the eggs by the time he finished talking.
After breakfast they set off in a truck that seemed designed to appear and sound on the brink of utter collapse. He wasn't kidding about the day being long, either. First she had gone with Wolverine, who called himself Logan in public, and been told to pick a real sounding name for her passport. She'd decided on Neena Thurmond randomly, and within an hour had all the information a natural born Canadian citizen would have, including a driver's license. Which was good, since she was the one who drove Logan's decrepit truck for the rest of the day. They were apparently leaving on an airplane, and Domino needed to get something to keep her from being sick on the plane, as well as something to eat. Logan hated airplanes normally, traveling with someone who constantly smelled like vomit wasn't going to help.
The trip itself was tedious, and Domino spent as much of it asleep as humanly possible. Logan read the newspaper, then tried to get some sleep himself, with less success. Mostly he wondered how he'd wound up taking care of some random pregnant teenager. It was kind of ridiculous, really. But he couldn't leave someone who was so obviously lost alone. Tossing her into the clan that he'd helped out last time he'd been there seemed like the best option. He wasn't about to deal with a kid and a baby for any measurable length of time.
The welcome at Japan was enthusiastic, and Logan kept Domino close to him, in case anybody decided they wanted to mess with her. Domino didn't appreciate the closeness, or the way people talked about them as they passed. "Do you have to hold onto me? I'm not about to run away from you after all the shit I went through to find you."
He didn't answer her. He just steered and moved quickly, bumping into people now and then. He wanted attention from the right people. When he saw a woman in a yellow silk shirt with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, he knew he was getting closer. She looked like one of the women he'd known in the group, and yellow was their color. He bumped her hard, and spotted two more people, one was a man with a yellow hat, and another a woman with a large yellow flower on her t-shirt.
Domino noticed how they moved. Fluid, graceful. When a third person, another man, came close, she stiffened in Logan's grip. Logan couldn't help but approve. She was good. They would be able to teach her a lot.
Logan ducked down into an alley, and waited for the group to surround him. They wouldn't fight him, because they weren't dumb. But they would want to talk, and that was what he was counting on. The highest ranking member walked forward, her cool expression giving nothing away. "I thought you were never going to return, Logan. Were you not run off by your lover's family?"
Domino listened, curious to learn more. Logan shrugged. "That's between me and them. I'm just delivering something. Your leader still owes me one. I'm cashing in." He nudged Domino out in front, and she realized what was going on just a moment too late.
"Hey, what the fuck?" She turned, glaring at Logan. How dare he foist her off in some strange country with people she didn't know?
The woman eyed Domino, one eyebrow raising. "She does not want to be given to us. And we do not want to take her." Domino huffed. This whole thing was a big stinking piece of crap, and she wished she'd never met Logan, now.
"Kid's good. Been on her own for a while. Independent as a cat, but she needs someone to show her the ropes. I knew that you would do the best job." He shrugged, lighting another cigar. "Of course, you can't make this decision anyway, so let's cut out all the threatening and bullshit, and talk to the person in charge."
The woman nodded, and motioned with her hands. Domino found herself being grabbed by several of the people in the alley, and she couldn't fight them off for anything. A blindfold went around her eyes, and she was hauled up on someone's shoulder. Though she twisted a writhed, she couldn't get free, so eventually she held still, grumbling under her breath.
It wasn't long before Domino found herself being dumped on a floor covered by a mat. The blindfold was taken off, revealing a thin, tall man in a yellow polo shirt and black workout pants. She realized after a moment that she had been dumped into a personal gym. The man bowed to her, and she bowed back. Though he wasn't terribly large, he had an air of strength and command. If this was the leader, she could see why.
"Welcome, Logan-san and guest. You wished to have an audience with me, about the girl's fate, correct?" His English was very good, with almost no accent. Domino was becoming more and more impressed with him.
"Yeah. Kid's name is Domino. She wants to learn how to be a mercenary, and I thought you would be the best to teach her. She's going to have a kid, and needs a stable place to stay, and people of honor around her." Even Logan seemed to respect the man.
He nodded. "I see. Is the child yours, Logan-san? Are we hiding an indiscretion?" Domino made a face, and the man laughed. "Ah, perhaps not. Then come little one. Show me what you can do."
He stood with his hands at his sides, looking at Domino expectantly. She blinked. He actually intended for her to fight him! Even with her arrogance, she knew he was out of her league. He stood there for a minute, before Domino decided on a course of action. She bowed to him, as she'd seen them do on tv, and then then rushed toward the man, figuring she might as well get her asskicking out of the way.
Somehow, though, she managed to dodge his punch, and ducked down, slamming into his stomach. He cried out in surprise, and Domino backed off, mystified. "Oh, wow."
The man laughed and stood. "Are you sure you didn't bring me an Oni, Logan-san? I'll train her. She is of interest." He turned his gaze to Domino. "You need a name. Perhaps in a month or so you will earn one. For now, we will feed you, and show you where you will sleep."
Domino looked back at Logan as she was led off, confused, but not terribly upset. After all, how often did someone get secret ninja training in this day and age?