A/N: A GAZILLION apologies, but this semester has been ridin' my ass big time! I've been takin' a fiction writing class, and its stories take priority since those I get graded on. But hopefully this means I'm getting better.
Disclaimer: DMC owned by Capcom. DOA and NG owned by Team Ninja and Tecmo…and I'm DRUNK RIGHT NOW!
Chapter 25. I love college…except the part about going to classes. What's up with that?
Dead or Alive 4: The Devil Factor
Chapter 25: Inner Demons
Devil May Cry building
United States
Saturday-1:13p.m.
"Excuse me?" Eliot replied after he could wrap his head around what Nikki had just told him.
"You heard me. You. The purple haired chick. Love. I think I covered the basics." Nikki said with hands on hips. "I can sense these kinda things."
"Uh…my apologies, Miss Nikki, but I think that you may have misconstrue what is…"
Eliot clamed up when Nikki shoved her scowling face a little closer. "Kid, why are you here?"
"Excuse me?"
"Why…are…you…here?" She said in a slower tone.
"Well…my master's temple was no longer safe…"
"Because of demons, right?" Nikki finished/interrupted. "Well, guess what? Me too. In fact, it astounds me that I haven't broken down and put in a looney bin. Right now, the love of my life is going on some…whatever the fuck it is, and I have to sit here, with my thumb up my ass, going bat-shit crazy!"
Eliot, wide eyed and afraid, kept quiet as Nikki sucked in a deep breath to calm herself from her own induced hysteria.
"Now I can either let this eat away at me till I start babbling in my sleep and talk to things that aren't there or I can take my mind off it by doing what I like to do," she smiled and touched the tip of Eliot's nose, "and playing match maker is my all time favorite. You see, I'm a master at this. And I can see that you and she definitely have some sparks between you."
"Mrs. Nikki." Eliot said somberly. "I don't think that it would be appropriate. It's very complicated and I don't think I should discuss why. We should leave her alone."
Nikki gave a tsk tsk, shook her head, and tossed Eliot's hair, an act that both embarrassed and angered Eliot…slightly.
"Kid. You just don't know women. To show that you care about her, you have to be there for her. Listen to her, but don't try to solve her problems for her. She looks like a chick that can take care of herself and doesn't need you to hold her hand. Still, I'm willing to bet that she's taking the whole loner thing a bit too far." Nikki tapped her chin. "I've seen girls like her, acting all cold and distant, but underneath it all, she's hurting. Am I right?"
Eliot almost agreed with her but caught himself. "I don't think that…"
"Look, kid." Nikki stated coldly. "I'm not asking you to sweep her off her feet, or be her knight in shining armor, or any other dumb clichés. A relationship is built on the premise that you two will support one another." The coldness vanished. "So, what I'm asking you, kid, is do you want to be there for her? I'm not going to do all the work here."
Eliot hesitated.
"Or do you want to keep that awkward teen tension between you two and just ignore her as she no doubt comes closer to snapping?"
A little harsh and definitely over the top, Nikki thought, but the boy seemed too wishy-washy, he needed a prod.
Eliot's eyes shot away, his face scrunched together.
"Well?"
Eliot sighed in defeat.
----
"Ayane?" Ayame lightly rapped the door with her knuckles. "Child, are you alright?"
Ayane leaned against the door. Her teeth clenched tight, her breathing shallow.
"What's wrong?" Ayame pressed her hand against the door. "Dear?"
"It's…it's nothing, mother." Ayane managed to say without putting any of her dark emotion into it.
"People don't storm off to their room for nothing." Ayame said. "Please tell me what's wrong."
Ayane tightened every muscle in her body, fighting off the tidal wave of emotions that threatened to drown her.
"I want to help, Ayane. I want to…"
"I'm fine!"
Both mother and daughter flinched at the abrasive words. Ayane sucked in a deep breath and tried again.
"I'm fine, mother." She said more calmly. "I just…want to be alone right now."
Ayame moved her fingers in clenching motions on the door. "Ok, my little butterfly. I'll be here when you need me."
Ayane collapsed. She had snapped at mother. Unforgivable. She disgusted herself. Not for the first time.
"Don't cry." She said to herself. "Don't you dare fucking cry."
Kasumi kept her place by the stairs, knowing that her presence was not needed, and waiting for her mother to come back. She had hoped that life would actually start to become…pleasant. Too much sadness and despair hung on her clan, her family. But fate turned the blackness into light. Mother was back, sister was coming around, her clan would return. She did not know where to categorize her engagement to Dante. It was not something she was jumping for joy for, yet she had to admit, there were far worse things in life.
Ayame made it to the stairs.
"Hello, mother." Kasumi said in her sweetest voice.
"Hello, dear." Her mother replied, a little depressed.
Helena's penthouse
France
Sunday-1:22 p.m.
"I'm having a hard time taking you seriously, ninja. Particularly the bit about working together. I almost laughed."
"I had assumed that someone as clear headed and clever as you would have appreciated a partnership with us."
"Don't flatter yourself, ninja. Besides, word through the grape vine is that your clan is no longer the powerhouse it once was."
"Due to the workings of your late father's company. DOATEC has affected us all. It only makes sense for us to consolidate our forces and combine our…"
"You can stop the kiddy cartoon superhero dialogue. I know you, ninja, read up on you when you were Epsilon. You don't just team up with anyone out of the blue. You need me or at least the information I have. But you know what? I don't need you. You've served your purpose. And I suggest you quit now before you lose more."
"You underestimate us, Helena. I am offering you the power that destroyed the Tri-tower and you insult us?"
"Don't get a swelled head. The only reason you could destroy the Tri-tower was that I had cut the security force in half. Believe me, you don't want to know what they wanted to station there."
"Nevertheless we still have power. As well as new allies. One of which I guarantee will tip the balance in our favor. He helped us retrieve…"
"Excuse my interruption, but I don't particularly care. I also have help at my disposal, along with someone brand new to the game that I'm sure could put your newbie to shame. So let me reiterate. I don't want your help. I don't need your help. I will take care of this problem. You should step aside or your clan will be completely destroyed."
"Is that a threat?"
"I'm not the one that wants you dead, ninja. DOATEC has plenty more up its sleeve and it's going bring it all out when it's backed into a corner. Now, I'd love to continue this conversation, but I have a corporate empire to demolish. Good day."
Helena hung up before Hayate could get a word in edge wise, the nerve of the ninja, thinking that he could do more when he was basically paralyzed. He got lucky with DOATEC last time. They won't treat him with kid's gloves a second.
Her phone rang again. She cursed and snatched the phone.
"What?!"
"Hello to you too. I call while you're on the crapper or sumthin'?"
Helena groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Dante. I take it you've returned?"
"With kid and mom in tow."
"And Christie?"
"She behaved herself, sorta. Things got dicey when the kitty cats stopped by."
"So I heard." Helena remembered Dante's report when he and the others boarded the jet back to France. "I see I was right about my instincts. If you weren't there, Kokoro would have died."
"I wouldn't sell out the kid, she's got spunk. And before you get too wrapped up in patting yourself on the back, I would like to point out that…"
"I know. DOATEC is becoming aggressive. I was hoping for a bit more time, but it appears that things must be pushed forward."
"So, boss, what's our next move?"
Helena shrugged off the sarcastic tone Dante had. "We'll discuss it when you return. See you soon."
Her plans were coming along smoothly. Bayman and Leon were espionage masters. If anyone could locate and terminate Donovan, it would be them. Christie might have made a good addition to the team, but Bayman and Leon were more…stable. Besides, Christie's treachery in the past brought up some concerns. She could trust Bayman, he wanted Donovan more than her. Leon's professionalism was something of legend. The only reason she even considered having Christie around was Dante. He could keep her in check.
Dante and Christie would be her muscle should DOATEC roll out its big guns. And it will.
Everything was accounted for, even Hayate and his little band. They might try something, but they lacked the power to truly destroy DOATEC. Their assault on the Tri-tower might have seemed like they could, but the funny thing about it was that all they did was cripple themselves. DOATEC was more on guard now, the countries that had DOATEC corporate buildings would be on alert, anti-terrorist organizations increased their monitoring, and authority groups around the world were answering the cries of DOATEC for increased protection.
DOATEC's armor grew. That's all the ninjas were hitting, armor. Helena was after what was inside.
Everything was going to plan. She just hoped she didn't overlook anything.
Hitomi's Family Dojo and Residence
Germany
Sunday-1:25 p.m.
"She said no, didn't she?"
A crack formed on Hayate's cell-phone. His knuckles turned white.
"To summarize it, yes." The wind ninja jammed the phone into his pocket before it broke in his hand.
"Thinking that Helena would be cooperative was rather…improbable." Ryu pointed out.
"It was worth a try."
"So, what now?"
"We can't move without information. Helena has it and won't give it to us. Therefore, there is only one thing left to do."
Ryu did not like where the conversation was leading.
"Tell the others to prepare to leave in a few days. I'll contact Dante's office, see if he can come himself or have one of his partners come."
"Hayate." Ryu felt like he was on a tightrope, anything he said or did might make him fall off. "Just what is it I should have them prepare for?"
"We're going to met Helena and convince her to tell us what we want to know."
Ryu clenched his jaw.
"I know what you're thinking, friend." Hayate said in an ashamed tone. "But I don't know what else to do now. Hacking away randomly at DOATEC facilities as we are now would be foolish. We need a plan. We need information from the inside and Helena is the only one I can think of."
"What will you do if she doesn't give us what we want?"
Hayate stared off into space for a moment before walking away.
Devil May Cry building
United States
Sunday-10:42 p.m.
Ayane sat on the ledge of the Devil May Cry's roof, watching the last remnants of sunlight be faded out by the dark blue that would soon turn black. She could not remember how long she had sat there, mindlessly watching the city line. So much went through her mind that she just stopped thinking altogether.
"Why are you here?" She said out loud.
She might not have been thinking, but that did not mean she had let her guard down.
Eliot emerged sheepishly.
"Uh…hi." He said nervously.
An empty pause followed.
"You here for a reason or are you gonna ogle me all day?"
Eliot jolted. "Huh...oh…uh…no. No. I'm sorry…uh."
He looked behind him. Nikki, in the shadows, waved at him, urging him on.
"Um, I was just wondering why you were up here alone?"
"Because I want to be alone." She said bluntly.
Eliot looked back again. More urging.
"You've been 'alone' for days. Human contact won't kill you."
"I thought I made myself clear about you." Ayane said. "I don't want to look at you."
Eliot fought down the pang of hurt that the Japanese girl threw at him.
"I think you're being unfair."
Ayane turned her head slightly.
"Asking me to disappear from your sight because of something I have no control over." Eliot stepped forward, feeling some of his confidence come back. "I don't like this feeling, like it's my fault."
Ayane chuckled. Eliot tightened his brow. Her laugh was sarcastic and condescending. He had heard such laughter from older, larger boys at his school. Bullies to be precise. It distressed him that he drew a liking between this troubled girl and the pathetic low brows that picked on the weak.
"Why should you care about what I think of you?" She stood. "You're just a pampered rich kid being bred to wear a suit and tie. So go off with your Chinese stalker. She's with bar bunny behind you."
Eliot snapped his head around. Sure enough, Mei Lin's head was poking out the door with Nikki. Both were red with embarrassment. He sighed, shook his head, and waved them off. The two disappeared, although, the boy had a feeling that they were still listening in.
"Look." Eliot said, shaking off the jitters and getting a little irritated. "I'm not going to say that I understand what you're going through. Because I don't. I truly don't know what hardships you have faced."
Ayane smiled in self pity. The smile abruptly left her when Eliot seized her by the arm and whirled her around, face to face.
"But that doesn't mean that you know what my life is like." He said with absolute conviction.
She was too surprised to really register the fact that Eliot had manhandled her. Confusion replaced her surprise when Eliot's eyes drifted down to her arms and he gasped.
"What…what the bloody hell are you doing to yourself?!" He fully grasped her left arm, inspecting it.
Ayane looked down and almost feinted. A series of cuts went up her arm, width wise. They were superficial when she looked at them closely. Most of the blood had already congealed.
"I…how did…" She was at a lost. She finally noticed the kunai in her right hand. Was she actually cutting herself without realizing it?
"This doesn't make any…" Her eyes widened briefly before she returned her sneer. "Raidou."
"Who?"
She yanked her arm away. "It's nothing. Just forget it."
"I am not going to just go away, Ayane." Eliot squared his shoulders.
Ayane looked at him, up and down. She turned her head with a huff and walked around him.
She stopped at the door.
"You coming?"
Eliot blinked in surprise. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere out of the earshot of idiots." She said.
-----
"I don't like her!" Mei Lin huffed as she watched Eliot and Ayane walked out the front door. "She's a bully! She's acting like she's in charge! She…" Mei Lin paused when she realized that Nikki looked like she was not paying attention. "You're not even listening! I bet you can't even understand Chinese! This is just great! That…that…Japanese hussy's trying to steal my Eliot away and you can't even understand me!"
As Mei Lin continued on her tangent, Nikki leaned against the front door with folded arms. Apart of her wanted to shadow them and see what would happen, but she knew better than to intrude at this point. Sometimes it was best just to stay back and wait. Keep interfering and manipulating and soon the love is more fake than real.
She just hoped that she taught Eliot enough to know how to react when Ayane opened up.
"…and another thing, I saw you eating my cookies! Mama Ayame got me those. They had marshmallows in them! You'd better stop or you'll get fat, old lady!"
Nikki smiled sweetly, kneeled down in front of Mei Lin, and put her face inches from the Chinese girl.
"It's not nice to insult people, little girl." Nikki said in perfect Chinese. "And you'll be the one to get fat if you keep wolfing down those things like you did at dinner."
Mei Lin stared, wide eyed.
"My favorite restaurant is Mr. Wong's Emporium." She still spoke in Chinese. "He's a sweet old man, taught me the language in no time flat." She winked and stood up to her full height. "As for your little crush on Blondie, you'd better snap out of that dream before you get your heart broken. He isn't going to wait on you to grow up. Now get to your room, it's past your bedtime."
Mei Lin face scrunched together, tears flowed freely, and she wailed and ran into the store with her fists in her eyes.
Nikki sighed. A little cruel but the kid needed to learn eventually. Besides, she was young and still has a lot of life ahead of her.
As for Eliot, she had a feeling that he would be in for a ride. Ayane seemed like a girl with a lot of baggage, delicacy was essential.
-----
Eliot felt out of place. All around him were signs of decrepitude and poverty, buildings barely hanging together, perpetually pissed off people, cars in dire need of repair, and more bars and strip joints in a single block than he ever saw in his life. He refused to show his discomfort when he realized that Ayane moved without fear or apprehension in her steps and walked with the same swagger.
He noticed a group of scruffy looking young men that were loitering around the entrance to a building. Ayane changed course so that they would pass right in front of the group. Naturally the group suddenly became aware of Eliot and Ayane. Like an oozing mass, they sluggishly rose and intercepted the two.
"Ah…look at this, the lovers go for a walk downtown." A wiry male engulfed in a goose-feathered jacket drawled with a chuckle. "Hey kid, why not share your good fortune?"
Eliot's eyes darted around, taking in the goons' positions and types. Most looked like weaklings but a few were burlier and could be a threat if ignored.
"Hey, check this out, we got ourselves some Chinese takeout!" A portly guy crudely bellowed.
"I'm Japanese." Ayane coldly stated.
"Whatever, baby." Another snickered and reached for her shoulder. "Why don't we go somewhere where we can have some real…"
First step, Eliot snapped the man's wrist in three places, the man screamed and leapt back. Second step, Eliot whirled around to the portly man behind him. With a fist to the side of his face, the portly man fell like a sack of concrete. Third step, a knife came at his face. The knife came in a stabbing motion and held improperly. He easily disarmed the man and felled him with a palm to the bridge of the nose.
Three steps, three seconds, three enemies down.
The man in the goose jacket stared blank faced for a moment before snapping. "You little fuck! I'll…"
"Dude." The man with the busted arm said in a shocked tone, grabbing the goose jacket man's arm. "Aren't those two living at…his place?"
Instantly, goose jacket man lost all color in his face and started to back away. "Shit." He said breathlessly and looked around in paranoia. "Don't…don't tell him, okay?" He tried to hiss and took off with the other man leaving behind the others.
Eliot furrowed his brow and stood properly.
"So, you can fight." Ayane said more to herself than to Eliot.
"Did you plan for this to happen?" Eliot asked.
Ayane said nothing and continued on.
-----
"Was it really necessary to reduce the child to tears?"
Nikki shrugged. "What'd you want me to do? Tell her that she'll marry her British boy and live happily ever after? She needed a cold dose of reality."
"It took me an hour to calm her down so she could fall sleep." Ayame sighed. "She's so young. Let her have a dream before you crush it."
"Alright, look, I'll concede that point, but this is larger than Mei Lin. At least how I see it."
"You must mean Ayane and Eliot."
"So you know too." Nikki smiled.
"Of course. I am Ayane's mother. But do you think it is wise to leave them be in this city at night?"
"Their tough kids, besides, Trish has told me that the street trash here won't dare mess with any of us. She said that everyone here is scared shitless of Dante. Whoever he is."
"Still a mother has to worry."
Nikki chuckled. "I wonder how much I made my mother worry. I wasn't exactly a little angel when I was little."
"Don't feel too bad." Ayame drank from a teacup. "I'm sure your mother will have her revenge when you have children of your own."
"That a mom joke?"
"You'll get it when you become one."
Trish waltzed into the kitchen to see the two women enjoying a late night drink at the table.
"Mind if I join ya?"
"Of course!" Nikki proudly proclaimed. "Just us girls right now."
Trish opened the refrigerator, fished out a bottle of wine, and plopped down besides Nikki.
"So, Nikki, enjoying your stay here at Motel Devil May Cry?" Trish joked. "Couldn't help but notice that you've taken a special interest in the teens."
"News travels fast." Nikki commented.
"It's a small building." Trish drank the wine straight from the bottle. "And since you seem to like the two, I was wondering if the both of ya could keep tabs on them and the office for a while."
"Are you going somewhere?" Ayame asked.
"Got a call from some guy that hired Dante to spring you from DOATEC. Said he needed some muscle. And since Dante's not around and Lucia is out doing her own thing, looks like I gotta step up. Besides, I was getting kinda bored lately."
Ayame looked uncomfortable for a moment. "The man. You mean my son, Hayate."
Trish's smugness left. "I believe so."
"I wished I could have spoken with him." Ayame spoke softly.
"Sorry." Trish said. "But the guy wasn't a small talker. Kinda cold."
"Yes." Ayame smiled painfully. "I've noticed."
Nikki kept quiet, afraid that she might accidentally say something offensive or inappropriate.
"Well." Trish said in a voice meant to switch topics. "I'll be leaving sometime tomorrow. I'd have Enzo check up on ya, but…he's…screw it, there's no way I can sugar coat this, the man's an idiot."
"I think we can manage by ourselves." Nikki said when she noticed that Ayame did not seem to be paying attention.
-----
After a half hour of silent wandering, Ayane lead Eliot to a night club called Evening Sun. Inside, his eyes were confused by the strobe lights, a thick veil gushing from a smoke machine, and numerous neon glo-sticks. He squinted and tried to examine the room, but it hurt his eyes too much. People moved to the thunderous bass-heavy techno beat. The few dancers that he could make out were young people of various ethnic backgrounds. All entranced by the music and swayed with energy that Eliot suspected came from hallucinogenic drugs. The club was packed.
"This will do." Ayane seized Eliot's arm so they could not get separated. "This way."
Eliot blushed uncontrollably at the touch. He felt rather foolish about it when he noticed that she was not moved like he was.
She guided him through the crowd. Half way through the dance floor, a lithe woman with curly black hair covered in sweat bumped into Eliot, causing him to break his hand hold with Ayane.
"Well, hey there, cutie." The girl's voice was fuzzy. She seemed a little dazed, tensed and relaxed all at once. No doubt from the rave's drug of choice. "Haven't seen you here before." She slinked her arms around Eliot's shoulders. "Whaddya say you hang with me for a bit? Maybe a younger guy might be what the doctor ordered."
"Uh…I'm afraid I must decline. I'm with someone…"
"Ohhh, love the accent. British, right?" The slightly taller woman pressed her forehead against his. "You'll be a gentleman with me, right?"
Someone shoved the woman off Eliot. Ayane put herself between the two.
"Beat it." Ayane glared.
Eliot feared a reprisal, but instead the woman smiled and shrugged.
"Ah, I see, you prefer the Asian persuasion." She joked. "Well if you get tired of her, be sure to look me up. Be careful, she looks like she prefers to be the boss in bed."
Ayane sneered. Eliot blushed harder and cast his eyes down.
"Slut." Ayane spat and grabbed Eliot's hand again, this time tighter.
Ayane made her way to the far side of the club. There were a line of booths, most filled with couples that were almost fused with each other. Ayane found one that was empty.
Eliot sat at one end, expecting Ayane to take the other. Instead she made him slide down some and sat next to him.
"It's hard enough to hear each other as it is," she said.
"Then why are we here and not someplace more quiet?" Eliot almost had to shout.
She took his head and rotated it to her. "Like this, so we don't have to yell at each other," she said when she pressed her cheek to his.
Eliot's first reaction was to jerk away when he felt her breath on his ear, but her hold had a strength that belied her slender frame.
"Telling you not to interfere hasn't worked since that new woman started putting foolish thoughts in your head so maybe I should explain further." She spoke into his ear. "But if I do, you'll promise to actually keep your word and stay away."
Eliot ignored the butterflies in his stomach and replied in confidence. "Not if I don't like what I hear."
Ayane did not say anything for a bit, she chuckled. "Still wanna be my savior? Still wanna protect me?" She said in her flirty and cruel voice. "Will you take care of me? Make me fall for you?" More chuckles. "Maybe get me in your bed?"
Eliot groaned. "That's not what I…"
"I was born because my mother was raped by her brother-in-law."
Eliot's words died in his mouth.
"I'm a living embodiment of sin. I am the pain and humiliation my mother had endured." She continued. "I am something that never should have existed. I am a curse upon others. Upon myself. I've had little that I could call my own. And it's all being taken from me, bit by bit."
A moment ticked by as Ayane allowed Eliot to absorb what she said.
"You'll be taken away too if you get too close."
Eliot did not really want to say what he said next, but he had to. "Does that mean you call me your own?"
"I can't help it." Ayane said in self pity. "Your eyes. Your goddamn eyes." She chocked. "They're his. The same color. The same stupid innocent stare. The same stupid…" She trembled.
It dawned on him why she chose a rave bar. She did not want him to hear her cry.
She clung to him. Eliot held her.
"I can't lose him again." Ayane whispered. "I don't know if I can hold it together if it happens again. If you died, it'll be like he…"
He repeated what he said to her in his room, "I won't die."
She half laughed half sobbed. "Do you know what happens to the people in movies that say that line?" She wiped her eyes with her hand. "I know you can defend yourself, but this…this isn't like the tournaments. People…things are going to try and kill you."
"I know."
"You are so…"
"Do you want to know why I studied Xing Yi Quan?"
Ayane said nothing.
"You shared your life with me. I'll share my life with you."
"Always the gentleman, eh?"
"Not quiet." Eliot smiled. "When I was young, I was bullied constantly, because I was smaller than most boys."
"What about your face? Kinda girly."
"That too." Eliot muttered. "Anyway, after a while, I was so scared that I refused to leave my home. My parents persuaded me to take a martial arts class. I did alright, built up some self-confidence, but the bullying continued, because I was afraid to actually use what I learned."
"Then I went with my parents on a vacation to China. When I was there, I saw a man give demonstrations on Xynyi Liuhe Quan. He asked me to try, saying he saw the spirit of a martial artist in me." He smiled. "I tried it out and…I don't know what happened to me but I just…flowed with it. The man said it was like I knew how to do it all along. He brought me to a temple where I met Master Gen Fu."
When a full minute ticked by without Eliot continuing, Ayane asked why he stopped.
"I just want to make sure I wasn't boring you. You seem to be listening."
Ayane could have melted steel with the gaze she gave Eliot. The boy merely smiled something that both elated and hurt her.
"He was impressed with me, something that really surprised the guy who took me. Later I found out that Master Gen Fu never liked anyone who tried to learn martial arts from him. What he said next surprised me. He thought that I was not suited for Xynyi Liuhe Quan. He found small mistakes I made, ones neither I nor the man noticed. Instead he showed me Xing Yi Quan. I couldn't do it as well as I did Xynyi Liuhe Quan, but…well practice makes perfect. I became a new me when I came back."
"I'm going to guess that you solved your bully problem."
"Nope. Still get picked on." Eliot gave a toothy grin.
Ayane blinked. "What? You're still afraid to use what you learned on them?"
Eliot shook his head. "Nope. In fact, I've fought off a couple."
"Then why do they still bully you?"
"Because, like true cowards, they know when to not openly challenge someone. They can play pranks on me, tease me, but they won't do anything physical. Only when they start that do I fight back."
"Why?" Ayane almost laughed. What Eliot said was too ridiculous for her. "You like getting pushed around? Explains why your stalker and bar bunny get their way with you."
"Someone who fights someone else because of what they said only shows their own weakness." Eliot calmly spoke. "My master told me that when he started training me. If I started fighting people just because I didn't like what they said, what difference would there be between the bullies and me?"
Ayane snorted in amusement. "Thank you for the after-school special message. What's tomorrow's? Proper hygiene?"
Eliot ignored Ayane's statement. "I was weak and scared before. But I've changed. Everyone changes sometime in their life. Even you. The point is, I'm not afraid, because I know how to handle myself. In a way, martial arts aren't so much about obtaining power, but to be able to use it without being handicapped by fear or using it unwisely."
Guys with upbeat positive attitudes like his usually got under her skin, but for some reason, his did not. At least, not as much.
"Maybe we should head back." Eliot said. "Before we worry everyone."
Ayane groaned. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you're a momma's boy."
Eliot was about to protest when she grabbed his hand.
"Come one. There's something else I want to see."
Christie's Paris safehouse
France
Monday-9:16 a.m.
A spear of light pierced his eyes. He grimaced, lifted a hand to block out the intruding beam, groaned, and then turned over in the bed, covering his head with the comforter. Was it morning already? He cracked open an eye to take in his surroundings. He was in a pearlescent king side bed with silk sheets. There was a plasma screen television on the wall, thick factory made wooden clothing drawers, and walls of dull white. There were no pictures, no knick-knacks, and no personal items of any kind, aside from the pile of clothes strewn about the drab gray carpet. The place was more sterile than homely, like how apartments looked in catalogs.
She came in, dripping wet. A towel wrapped around her torso.
"Wakey Wakey." She cooed.
A deathly groan came from Dante. "Jesus. What time is it?"
"A little after nine." Christie grabbed a remote and switched on the television. It was set on a weather station with a weather man outlying the weeks weather in French that just rolled off his tongue. "Going to be nice and warm. Maybe you should wear something else besides that coat."
"My coat's my image." Dante sat up and ran a hand through his bed head hair. "Every serious mercenary has an image. A tattoo, a scar, a rare gun, or something."
"Men, such show offs." She shed the towel and used it to dry her hair.
"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Dante countered.
Christie smiled and shrugged innocently.
Dante sighed. Even though Christie was still a threat, even when she was an 'ally', Dante found his attention drawn elsewhere, particularly over the demoness Marller, more of dad's skeletons coming out of the closet. And whoever the fuck the ice guy was, he looked equally like bad news. Marller was far past angry at his old man unlike all the other bozos with their own sob story. There was no telling how far she would go. To add to the drama, she was just a small player in the grand scheme of things. At least that was how he felt.
"Thinking about something?"
Dante realized that Christie had crawled up to him like a cat and was now inches from his face with her sinister, seductive look that she should patent.
"Never pegged you for a daydreamer."
"Just thinking." Dante said. "I'm allowed to think, aren't I?"
"Oh, I don't know." She moved closer. "Should you think when you got me right here?"
"I was unaware that I had a choice."
"Were you thinking about that cat woman?" She ran her tongue on his cheek. "Were you envisioning her instead of me last night?"
"If that were true I would have sliced you into quarters then hit the bars." Dante turned away. Christie followed after him.
"You're not the type of guy that gets preoccupied with a girl like her." Her teeth and breath brushed his ear. "Is it something else?"
"I've been in a lot of situations that I can only describe as apocalyptic." Dante tried to move away again, but to no avail. "Usually I wouldn't give a rat's ass, but this reeks of something."
"Of what?" Christie probed Dante's ear with her tongue.
Dante gave up trying to bat her away. "These hit and run tactics. Usually these types of demons come and take something. But to fight for no reason, and then split. It doesn't make sense."
"What's so bizarre about demons acting aggressive?" She softly chewed on his earlobe.
"If it were a bunch of flunkies, maybe I'd buy it. But high-level demons? They're the living embodiment of James-Bond-Villain stereotypes. Scheming, hiding, monolog-ing. This is way too chaotic. Either my brother can't keep his shit together or…"
"Or what?" She pushed her body against his.
Dante smirked. She was good, using foreplay as a smokescreen while she pumped him for information with innocent sounding questions. Fortunately, he had plenty of experience with women like her.
"Nothing." He answered smugly. "By the way, I always wondered. What's with this tournament thing?"
She made an 'hmm' sound that sounded like she had heard someone try to make a joke. "What's wrong? Feeling left out?"
"Just making bedroom chatter." It was Dante's turn to sound innocent. "What? Don't like it when I talk in bed?"
She chuckled lightly, rubbing her cheek against his. "A spectacle, is what it is. Nothing more than an act to distract the world from its problems."
"Than why do you fight in it?"
"Sometimes it gets me closer to my target." She traced her fingertip on his bare chest. "Plus, I suppose it gives me a rush."
"An adrenaline junkie?" Dante snickered. "Thought I was the only one."
"But what do you do after the rush is gone?" Christie pressed her body against his with the comforter acting as a barrier. "The problem with our addiction is that we can't just pick a fight whenever we want when we're craving for our next fix. The only fights that get our blood pumping are against others like us."
"Yeah, and the come down's a real bitch." Dante replied sarcastically.
"So what do you do, Dante? What do you do to take the edge off?"
"Drink a beer? Play some Halo?" Dante answered like he was just asked a stupid question. "I don't know."
"Oh, yes you do." She began to smooth his hair. "I'm talking about the blonde you hang around. Yanks love blondes, right?"
Dante grunted in discomfort. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?"
"Ah, then what about the one with red hair and dark skin? She looks limber, maybe showed you a few moves?"
"Aside from skewering someone with a thousand knives at once, no, not really."
"Your little charade never waivers, does it?" Her thumbs massaged his cheeks. "I know you, Dante. Usually guys like you leave when the shagging's over. But you, hmmm." She grinned lewdly. "You just keep going. And all the talking and questions. You'd think we're married."
"There a point to this? Or are you one of those chicks that like to hear themselves talk?"
She took his mouth in hers. Bit by bit, she was uncovering him. Soon she would turn him.
She ripped the covers away.