Authors Note- Okay everyone, here's a new chapter, and with it, the reason why I have not posted in a while: I know what I want to do with this story, but in order for me to do it, I need to have this chapter. And it's dry action wise. Very rich in story and history, but little action. I am very against posting Kill Bill chapters with little action, partially because they get a lukewarm response (as with my past chapter.). But since some people have been kind enough to stick with this story, I decided to go for it. Parts of the next chapter are written, and if I get everything I want in it, it WILL be the most pivotal chapter thus far (in my opinion). When it will be updated will be determined by this chapter's response.

You may want to refresh on the last chapter as well as chapter 4.

Disclaimer: I do not own the name Nikkia Bell or her quest to avenge her mothers death. I do own the name Baby Cobra/ Nicole Grey, and I've become quite attached to her character. I'll probably be working her into one of my own stories, along with Ricky and the gang. All rights reserved on that.

Kill Kiddo: Chapter 14

Location: USA, New York

Date: 10/02/24

"Wait!" Montoya yells as I walk out of the bank.

"Learn to move faster." I say, going through the bag from my old security deposit box.

I don't bother to look back and see how many wallets he's stuffing into his guitar case. Sure, he's good. Real good. He must have snatched over a dozen wallets and purses since we came to the States. I haven't said anything to him, because I never exactly see him make the grab. Second I catch him though, I'm tearing him a new one.

"What's in the box?" he asks as he finally catches up with me.

"The keys to my apartment." I said.

"You have an apartment? Here?"

Without looking up, I point in it's general direction.

"I…thought you lived in Japan?" Montoya asked.

"I did." I say. "I bought it when I was in Japan."

"Aren't apartments are rented?"

"That's why I bought the building." I say.

"You bought a building?!" he asks. "Why?"

After fishing through the paper bag full of money and jewelry, I finally pull out the keys.

"I used to live there. When I first went to Japan, I went in a hurry. Didn't tell anyone, didn't return my key to the super, didn't even get all my old stuff out…"

I pause next to a homeless man and drop the bag down next to him.

"When I realized my lease was running out, I bought the building on impulse." I continued. "I had some stuff in my apartment that I liked, but never got the chance to bring with me."

"Waste of money." Montoya asks. "What's the building now?"

"Still apartments. I was letting a friend of mine manage the building, just as long as she didn't let anyone move into my old place…"

We're almost there now. We cross the street.

"Does she know you're an,"—

"Her? Yeah, she knew. Her and her brother were the ones that helped me find my trainer. Her brother helped me find Ricky."

We pause at the entrance. Montoya whistles as I unlock the door.

"Looks fancy." He says, going through a bag of money. "Which floor do you live on?"

"Top floor. Number fourteen. " I said. " Is that the bag I gave to the homeless man?"

"Yes." He says. "Which floor does your friend live on?"

"We lost touch. I think she moved back to Japan for good."

We silently walk into the elevator and ride up the fourteen stories. When we get out, I navigate through the hall. I count the numbers on the doors until we come to mine. I stick my key in the door and twist.

I turn the handle. Nothing happens. I put the key back in. Nothing happens.

"Wrong apartment?" Montoya asks.

"No, this is the one." I say.

"So how long will we stay here?" Montoya asks.

"Until Ricky calls." I say. I twist again. Nothing.

"I think it's the wrong one." Montoya says, knocking on the door.

"I lived here, I would know what,"—

The door opens. Montoya shoots me a cocky look.

"See? Wrong apartment."

I can't hear him. I can't move. All I can do is stare at the man behind the door.

"…Nikkia?" he asks.

Pete Marsters.

Shit.

"Pete." I whisper.

Montoya has shut up now. He staring at me, and I don't blame him.

"Um…Pete…what are you doing here?" I stutter.

"I…I live here now." He says, dazed. " I had…cosigned the lease, remember? We weren't living together at the time, but…my name was still on it and when you left I decided to move back in…I've been living here for two years. Asakawa owns the building now…she didn't mention it to you?"

Damn you Asakawa, you fucking bitch. You set me up for this.

We stand, still and silent.

"Um, sorry for bothering you." I say, grabbing Montoya and turning around. "I can…I can go find a hotel somewhere…"

Pete's on the outside of the door, trying to look me in the eyes. I stick out my hand.

"Nice seeing you, though,"—

He doesn't let me finish. He grabs me and pulls me into his arms.

"You came back." He whispers.

"Pete, I didn't…" I trail off as I give in and look into his eyes.

Jesus Christ, what the hell am I doing? Don't bring him into this. Don't put him in the middle of this…

"Yes." Pete says. "You did."

My arms have a mind of their own. They find their way around him, and I fight every urge I have in my body to stop from kissing him.

"Pete...." I whisper.

Pete lets go instantly.

"I'm sorry!" he says. " I haven't…seen you in so long, what are you doing here? Who's your friend?"

I turn to Montoya, who's grinning like a fucking pervert.

"I've…got a lot of time off of work, I guess I came back on a whim." I say. "Look, I really didn't know you'd be here."

"Oh, Nikki, please. Stay. How long are you gonna be in town? You and your friend can come in." He says, picking up my bag.

I gesture for Montoya to stand his ground, but he's already inside, the little fuck. I follow.

"Look, we really shouldn't stay here." I say. "We'd be much better in a hotel…"

"Can I use your bathroom?" Montoya asks Pete.

Pete smiles and points to the bathroom. The second Montoya is out of the room—Pete is next to me.

"Is he your new boyfriend?" Pete asks.

"No." I moan. "God, no."

"So who is he?"

"I'm her student!" Montoya calls.

"Student?" Pete asks.

"Um…yeah, I'm training him in Goju-Ryu. Apprentice pairing up program thing…" I sigh. "He doesn't know anyone in Tokyo, so he kinda…tagged along when I came to the US."

Why am I nervous? I've lived my lie for years, and I've never had any problem with it. Pull it together, Bell.

"That's great." Pete said. "Really…I'm …"

"Look, him and me should probably get out of here." I say.

Pete's not listening. He's just staring at me. He snaps his fingers.

"Come with me."

He grabs my hand and takes me through the giant living room. Swords and artwork cover the walls, but I'm not paying attention to them.

Pete. He looks pretty much the same. Dark tan, sloppy sun bleached hair, beautiful blue-green eyes, cheekbones that could cut glass. He's got more lines on his forehead. He leads me into what was once the guest bedroom, and pulls me up to a glass case.

"What is it?" I ask.

He looks at me sheepishly before stepping out of the way.

My broadswords. My old ones. The ones Ozu gave me.

The glass case is already open, and the swords are in my hands. Lord alive, I forgot how these felt. Simply holding them is bliss. I look up at Pete, and he's got a grin on his face that would make any atheist besides me believe in God.

I sold these. No, I didn't. I…I gave them to Asakawa and told her to get rid of them for me. Before I started working, Ricky had gone out and gotten me some modern ones that were more lightweight, and even those I eventually abandoned the day The Samurai gave me my Sai Swords.

"Pete, how did you get these?" I asked.

"I got them after you went back to Japan." He said, walking gingerly up beside me. "I was checking out the things Asakawa had on Ebay and I recognized them. I…you know."

"How much?"

"I'd rather not say…" Pete mumbled, which probably meant too much. "I didn't want her to know it was me who bought them, but I knew how special they were to you...I hope you don't think I'm some sort of creepy, stalky person. "

"I don't." I whisper.

I turn and look at him and I've got a million thoughts racing through my mind and I don't know if I should stay or leave and all I can think about is how Ricky said it could take him twenty days to find a lead that may not even be there. And Pete reaches his hand out to brush back my hair and my mind lingers to how I've cut all my ties with the Yakuza and how Ricky took me off the official pay role and how A Jay is dead and I can stay in North America again and how easy it would be just to reach my hand over and touch Pete's familiar face and how every thought going through me right now is betraying everything I've worked for and how little I care.

"At loss for words?" Pete guesses.

Oh, how I wish.

---KK---

I step out of the shower, slip on a towel, and head out into the living room. Montoya is sitting on the couch watching TV. Pete left out a pair of sweats and one of his Nike shirts. As I change, Montoya looks over at me.

"So, are we going to stay here?" he asks.

"Eyes on the TV." I snap. " I don't know. Maybe. Where is Pete?"

"He went out for some air. If we stay, I could just sleep out here on the couch."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." I say.

"Does he know?" Montoya suddenly asked.

"He knows that my mom was murdered in front of me, and he knows that I think Black Mamba did it. Don't know if he believes it. He knows that all the martial arts I did was part of my childhood fantasy of tracking down Black Mamba. He doesn't know that I became an assassin." I say.

I finish getting dressed and dry my hair on the towel.

"And I will kill you if you tell him." I say to Montoya.

"…Wouldn't that prove it if I tell him and you did that?" Montoya asks.

I grab him by the shoulder.

"Don't hurt me!" he pleads.

"Get out." I say.

"What? Where do I go?" he cries.

"I don't care." I say as I push him out the door and shut it behind us. "Go see a movie with all the money you stole."

As he runs down the hall, I turn down the opposite end and walk up the staircase to the roof. Pete's sitting on a bench by the ledge. As I walk to him, he stands up.

"Where did your friend go?" he asks.

"He wanted to see Shadow Town." I say.

Pete's around the bench and is walking towards me.

"Look, Pete, this is happening kinda fast." I said.

"I thought you liked fast."

"It's been years, Pete. I don't know if…"

"Look," he said, holding up his hand. "I remember what I said before you left, and every day you were gone I've regretted it. I'd always been there beside you, and I didn't know what to do with myself when you didn't need me anymore. I am by no means asking for things to go back to the way they were. Hell, I'm not even asking for us to try again."

I step forward.

"So what do you want?" I ask.

Pete shuffles uncomfortably. He looks out across the city.

"I'm asking…for old times sakes…"

He pauses and looks back at me. I realize now the stance he's taken.

"Fight me," he says.

My fist flies forward and he dodges it. He moves to sweep kick me, and I jump.

"You've still got it." He laughs.

I'm behind him. I reach forward for the headlock, but he ducks out of it easily. He's facing me now, and he takes a swing. I'm under him, through his legs, behind him now.

"Jesus, Nikki."

I punch, kick, and swing, making sure I'm going slow enough for him to dodge. He's still amazed.

"This is the Nikki I know," he says. "You've gotten quicker."

"Didn't think I could get any better, do you?" I ask.

He reaches forward and grabs my fist. I could have easily shaken him off, grabbed his arm, and brought him to the ground. But I don't want to. I let him twist me around and bring me to my knees.

"Always room for improvement." Pete laughs.

He preaches to annoy me, and it works. I spin around on the floor and kick out his legs. He falls on his back, and I pin him down.

"Doesn't get better then me." I say.

He reaches out a hand and touches my face, but I dig my knee into his hip. He moans.

"Alright." he gasps. "You win."

"Whose King of the Rooftops?" I demand.

"You are." he gushes.

I knee him harder.

"Who's it? I can't hear you!" I yell.

"You are!" Pete cries. "You're king of the roof! Oh, Jesus, Nikkia, please! Mercy!!"

I ease up and start to get off of him, but he moves his hands against my back.

"I didn't say you had to get off." Pete says gently.

"Don't try to be cute." I say.

He pulls me forward.

"Are you going to make me?" he whispers playfully.

His hands are still there. He's still here. After so long, he's still here.

What the fuck am I doing?

I roll off of Pete, but he doesn't get the message. He sits up and lowers his head to mine.

"We shouldn't be doing this." I said.

"We should." Pete says.

"I'm serious." I say.

"So am I."

He's wrapping his arms around me. I'm trying to make myself go numb, but I can't. I've never once seen a world where revenge wasn't my purpose to live, but Pete was always the one thing that made me remember a world before my mother died.

A world where I was almost genuinely happy.

Don't drag him into the middle of this. You have a life now, and it's on a dark road. Don't drag him down it with you.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, Pete." I say.

Pete puts his mouth against my neck, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

" I don't care," he says simply.

Well, I can't say I didn't warn him.

I take his head in my hands and kiss him.

---KK---

"She's back in the United States again?"

Akira shifted his weight against the bar stool. He had been careful to pick an area of the bar that was empty, but he still glanced up warily towards the door.

"Affirmative." He said into the cell phone. "Her and her accomplice from Acuna are staying with a civilian in Manhattan. She's awaiting information from Richard Flanagan..."

Akira would have continued, but at that moment, the door opened. Sadako walked in from outside, her sword slung over her shoulder. A man stood up and began to walk to her, but she pushed past him and sat down a few seats away from Akira.

She was angry.

"Akira?" The woman on the phone asked.

"Standing by." Akira answered.

"I know you still want to go after Richard, but as of now, that is not in our best interests." The woman said. "I also know you didn't call me just to tell me she's with a civilian. What's on your mind?"

Akira glanced over at Sadako. He had told her to wait in the car so she couldn't listen in on the call, but she clearly wasn't going to have that. The man who had approached her earlier was coming back. Akira had his hand on his sword, ready to intervene if necessary.

"Sadako has convinced me that someone is following Baby Cobra." Akira said.

Sadako glanced up as she heard Akira say her name. As she did, the man sat down next to her and smiled.

"Can I get you a drink, sweetheart?" he asked.

Sadako ignored him, And Akira decided to do the same.

"Do you know who it is?" the woman asked.

"I have not seen him. Sadako believes it is several people, non-related to the police force or FBI." Akira continued. "She wants your permission to intervene."

"How about a long island ice tea?" The man asked Sadako.

"You say she." The woman observed. "Are you saying you feel differently?"

"While I believe that there are several people following her, I am convinced they are all working for the same person. If we kill them, they will be replaced. The only difference will be is that whoever is following Baby Cobra will know someone else is following her as well." Akira said slowly.

Sadako narrowed her eyes while the man next to her carried on obliviously.

"A point well made. Intervention will only be needed if it is absolutely necessary. At this point, tell Sadako her request is denied."

Akira glanced over at Sadako and shook his head solemnly. He could practically feel the venom in her eyes. Every muscle in her body tensed at once, and her anger boiled. The man next to her put his arm around the small of her back.

"Wanna get outa here?" He asked.

Akira had his head turned, so he didn't see Sadako's hand wrap around her sword. Then again, she did it very quickly, so it may not have made a difference. He did hear the man scream and see a torrent of blood bubble up out of the corner of his eye.

"Is that the sound of Sadako becoming bitter of ill-received news?" the woman asked.

Akira glanced back over to see Sadako slice a new fissure into the man's back. The people in the bar were screaming and most had already fled. Blood rained down across Sadako's pale face, and she continued to hack away.

"I believe she is upset that I did not take her side." Akira said.

"Buy her some flowers or something." The woman suggested. " In the mean time, make sure to keep your eye on this civilian. Anything unusual about him?"

"He has no involvement in anything illegal, and seems unaware that Baby Cobra is an assassin."

"Harmless." The woman muttered. "Make sure he doesn't find out too much. Now, about Richard Flanagan…what is he looking for now?"

"He is investigating the death of California Mountain Snake." Akira said. "Sadako and I believe her investigation is coming to a dead end."

"Nonetheless," the woman said. "She's unearthing a substantial amount by herself. Let her keep going. Do not intervene with her mission. Do not let her see you. That will be all."

Akira hung up the phone and stood up. The bar was empty, and Sadako was standing before a pile of blood and twitching limbs. She closed her eyes, breathed in the dank air, and wiped the blood from her sword.

"That was uncalled for." Akira said, addressing Sadako in a voice he rarely used.

Sadako looked back at him coldly, and to Akira's surprise, he couldn't return her stare. She triumphantly sheathed her sword, and walked out of the bar. Akira followed her, knowing all the while that there was something inside his partner that couldn't be tamed or satisfied. That while they were both bound to follow their boss's orders, she was starting to get restless. She had begun to take matters into her own hands instead of following Akira's lead.

"Sadako." He called.

She stopped, and Akira reached into the pocket on the inside of his jacket. He pulled out the white lily he had been saving and handed it to her. Sadako's eyes softened and she reached out and took it.

Akira knew that it would only be a matter of time before the violent wrath inside Sadako finally found its way out. He knew that when that happened, nothing would subside her.

Until then, all he could do was gently calm her rage, and keep her focused on what needed to be done.


This chapter was easier to get done then I expected. There may be a few mistakes, but if I don't upload it now, I'll never get it out. I am still VERY busy with school, work, family stuff, the works, and the reason I stopped writing was simply because I didn't want to waste time and write a story for an audience of no one. This is still my fanfiction baby, and one I will see all the way through. May take me a long time though.

In the meantime, I am in need of critiquing, questions, responses, anything so I can improve my writing style. If you've noticed, I respond to reviews by submitting my answer in form of a review. Thanks everyone for reading!

Write on!