This chapter features more Raven therapy. He's such a wise man :)

"Hey, are you okay?"

Raven felt a rush of coolness and he immediately opened his eyes and shot upward.

"Hey! I asked you a question!"

He looked around for the source of the female voice. Finally his eyesight returned and he saw her: there, in front of him, was a red haired person dressed in purple and holding an empty bucket. He assumed she was female since he couldn't see her face behind her white fox mask.

"Who... are you...?" Raven groaned. The woman dropped the bucket and put her hands to her hips.

"I should ask you that. I looked through your wallet, and you have no ID!" When Raven heard that, he jumped to his feet.

"You took my wallet?!"

"Hey, back up!" she yelled, drawing a large kunai. "You passed out in my forest, so as payment for saving your life I decided to relieve you of whatever you had on you. Which wasn't much anyway. So why don't you come with me and I'll get that arm fixed? If you're a good boy I might even treat your stab wound."

Raven hunched over for a second and put a hand to his stab wound.

I'm in pretty bad shape. I can't refuse her...

Finally he picked himself up and looked at his rescuer.

"Why would you help me?" he asked.

"Look pal, I took your money so at the very least I won't let you die here. So shut up and follow me."

She grabbed his hand and walked onward, nearly dragging him.

"I'm Kunimitsu, by the way."

"Kuni...mitsu? Are you related to Yoshimitsu?" Raven asked.

"No, but I was his number two. Then... hey, I'm not talking about my personal life!" The two of them were silent for the rest of the walk.

After a good five minute walk, Kunimitsu finally dragged Raven to a small wooden hut in the middle of the forest.

"This is my humble abode." she told him. "Nobody bothers me here, so we'll be alone."

She opened her door and carried Raven to her bedroom. Raven was mesmerized by all of the treasures within her home: gold, jewels, expensive weaponry... the woman was either a thief or just loaded!

They finally made it to the bedroom and Kunimitsu threw Raven onto her bed and forcefully removed his shirt.

"H-hey, wait!" Raven yelled.

"Quiet!" she commanded. "I don't want you here any longer than necessary, so I'm getting this done fast!" She then walked off, leaving Raven to ponder his fate. As he laid there, he remembered the humiliating defeat he had just suffered at the hands of Sergei Dragunov.

Bastard... you won't get me next time.

As he contemplated slapping himself for his weakness, he didn't notice Kunimitsu had walked back in with alcohol and bandages.

"I suggest you grit your teeth." she said before pouring the alcohol onto Raven's wound. Raven hissed at the sharp stinging sensation that shot through him. The pain got even worse when Kunimitsu started scrubbing the wound furiously with a rag.

"There, that should be nice and clean. Now sit up."

Raven obeyed as Kuni started to forcefully wrap the bandage around his torso. She then tied it so tight that Raven felt his breath leaving his body.

"Now for the arm!" Kuni said in an unnaturally cheery voice. Without warning she grabbed Raven's arm and straightened it out, earning a cry of pain from the poor ninja. She wrapped the arm in bandages until it was completely mummified. By the time she was done, Raven's arm felt like an Anaconda had wrapped around it.

"Aaaand the final touch!" she exclaimed. She pulled out a tiny bandage and slapped it on Raven's eyebrow. Raven stood up and looked at himself in the mirror.

Well Raven, you've definitely seen better days.

"Okay, all done." Kunimitsu said with a sigh. "Now get out, and don't tell anybody about this place if you value your life."

"Wait. You really expect me to make it like this? I have an important assignment!"

"What the hell do you want me to do?"

"Just let me stay for one night...please."

Kuni turned around and looked at the ceiling in annoyance. Finally she turned around and let out a sigh.

"Fine, whatever. But this is the only bed, so you get the couch. And just a word of warning; if you touch even one shiny thing in this house, I'll cut off your fingers one by one."

"I'm grateful." Raven said with a bow.

The two of them sat on the couch in complete silence. Raven was completely bored; she didn't have a TV or even a radio! Kunimitsu seemed to be entertained; she just drank sake and played with her kunai.

"So... what do you do for entertainment?" Raven finally asked.

"I get drunk and contemplate killing Yoshimitsu." she said with a smile. "Either that, or I go and steal some stuff."

"So that's how you got these expensive items..."

"Well duh! I'm living in the middle of the forest, do I really look like I'm wealthy?" Raven could hear her slurring her words a little.

"It's all stupid Yoshimitsu's fault!" she suddenly yelled. "All he did was steal steal steal, but he just gave it away to everybody! Just because I wanted to keep a little for myself, he had to mark me for death and..."

She suddenly fell onto Raven's lap and started wailing loudly. Raven didn't know what to do, so he just raised his arms and didn't touch her out of fear of retaliation.

"You don't know what it's like... living with a sword at your throat!" she sobbed. " I could sell all this shit. I could come out of hiding, go live in the big city and live a comfortable life! But then he'd just find me and..."

She continued to wail loudly. Raven thought for a second; she did save his life, so the least he could do was try to be a voice of reassurance.

"Well actually, I do know what it's like. You don't know what I do for a living, and I'm not gonna tell you. But I make a lot of enemies in my line of work, and it's made me paranoid as well. It's just something that you have to... desensitize yourself to. You have to believe in your own skills; believe that you can overcome any obstacle. Then... the fear just kind of wears off."

She looked up at Raven, tears running down her mask.

"But Yoshimitsu is so tough. I could never beat him. How can I not be afraid?"

"You just have to believe it'll all work out. Sometimes faith is the only reassurance you can have."

Just in case his words didn't work, Raven decided to try something new. He knelt down and put his mouth to her ear.

"Look, I've met with Yoshimitsu recently, and he's not in good shape. He's gone insane after Bryan Fury killed some of his people, and now killing Bryan is all he ever talks about. There's a good chance he's forgotten all about you."

Kuni sat back up and lifted her mask slightly to wipe her eyes.

"R-really?"

"Yes. I suggest you forget all about Yoshimitsu and start thinking of yourself for once. Do you really want to keep living like this? Eventually you'll get caught and there will be a warrant for your arrest. I suggest you sell this stuff to a black market and use the funds to move somewhere different. Get rid of the mask and change your name. Maybe even find a job that you like."

Kunimitsu sat in silence for a few minutes, pondering everything that had been said. Finally she turned to Raven.

"Well... I've always wanted to be a... repair-woman."

"That's a good, honest living." Raven said with a smile. "Now you just have to make it happen. Stop living your life worrying about others, and start shaping your own future."

A smile formed across Kunimitsu's lips. "You know what? You're right! I can't just spend my life hiding here! I'm going to make something of myself! But..."

Her smile suddenly faded and she removed her mask, turning to face Raven. Raven's eyes widened when he saw just what she had been hiding: two huge scars than ran down her face.

"Just look at me. How could I go out in public looking like this?" She asked. Tears started to form in her eyes once again.

Oh shit! Don't cry again...

"Don't be silly." Raven said, putting a hand on her chin. "I think you look beautiful."

Kuni wiped her eyes and looked at Raven with a smile. "I'm going to steal one last thing. What do you want to eat?"

"Whatever you bring back." Raven said, grinning back.

"No complaining then!" she said in a singsong voice as she sprinted out of the house.

"Whew... well at least I got on her good side." Raven said with a sigh as he plopped down onto the couch. He decided he finally needed to report on his failure, so he put his hand to his earpiece and, taking a deep breath, made his report.

"This is Raven. HQ, please respond."

"Thank God you're still alive! We may have a problem!"

"I'm sorry sir, but I failed to eliminate the target."

"Oh we know, trust me. He just joined up with a naval fleet in the Sea of Japan about five hours ago."

"Naval... fleet?"

"Maybe you'd better listen to this prerecorded message from the Prime Minister of Russia."

Raven waited in anticipation as his superior prepared to relay the message. Finally, after a couple of static noises, the message began to play.

"WE HAVE BEEN HUMILIATED, SHAMED, AND DISGRACED BY JAPAN'S TREACHEROUS ACTS. DUE TO THE INDISCRIMINATE ATTACKS BY THE TEKKEN FORCE, CHAOS AND DISARRAY HAVE PLAGUED OUR PROUD COUNTRY. UNTIL THE MISHIMA ZAIBATSU ANSWERS FOR IT'S BARBARIC ACTIONS, WE REFUSE TO LAY DOWN OUR ARMS. JAPAN WILL FEEL THE FULL FORCE OF OUR VENGEANCE!"

"Sergei Dragunov has been hailed as a hero for his efforts in Japan, and as such he's been appointed General and is now in charge of all military operations. We have reason to believe he was the one behind the bombing of Kamakura as well."

"My God... I should have known they wouldn't take Jin's attacks sitting down. If Russia invades, they'll tear the country apart!"

"Roger that. Ever since Jin's disappearance they've been rebuilding their military might. All we could do was pray that they wouldn't seek retribution for what that madman did to the world. Unfortunately, hoping and praying just wasn't enough."

"Right. What are my orders?"

"One of our operatives has already contacted the Prime Minister and warned him of the consequences of his invasion. If he refuses to call off this vendetta, you are to find and eliminate Sergei Dragunov immediately. Hopefully this will deal a crushing blow to Russia's morale and the Prime Minister will reconsider going to war."

"How much time do I have?"

"Right now the invasion fleet is sitting idle. You have until the shells start flying to prepare yourself. If they so much as squeeze off a shot, all bets are off! Find Dragunov and kill him, and more importantly, don't waste any time!"

"Roger that, but I'll need a full loadout and a new jump jet."

"Jesus, Raven. You're going to bankrupt us one day. Alright, what are your coordinates?"

"Where is the bulk of the invasion fleet?"

"The city of Otaru in the Hokkaido region. If Russia attacks, that'll be the first place they land."

"Then send my supplies there. I'll be waiting."

"You can't afford to mess up this time, Raven. You have to finish the job."

"I know."

Raven clicked off his earpiece and took a deep breath.

Whew... back in the fray again, eh Raven? Maybe this'll be the one I don't walk away from...

"Hey, I'm back!" Kunimitsu said, cheerily. She was carrying two bowls of ramen wrapped in plastic.

"It's really cold now, but that's okay! I'll just make a fire!"

The two of them sat outside and chatted while heating up their ramen over an open fire. Only it wasn't much of a chat; Kunimitsu pestered Raven the whole time to tell her something about himself, but he refused for the most part.

"Can't you at least tell me your name?" Kunimitsu whined. Raven finally let out a sigh.

"My codename is Raven. That's all you're allowed to know."

"Raven? That's so cool! Are you a secret agent?"

"I'm a ninja, just like you. That's all."

"How'd you get hurt?"

"That's classified."

"Did you try to assassinate somebody and get caught?"

"No."

"How do you know Yoshimitsu?"

"He saved me."

"Sheesh, how much do you get hurt?"

"I get hurt all of the time. Most of the time, I don't have the luxury of being saved by somebody."

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?"

"Of course I do."

"You know, you can totally sleep with me in my bed tonight."

"I would love to, but I need to recover in solitude. It's nothing against you, honestly."

After ten more minutes of half-answering questions and refusing Kunimitsu's passes, Raven finished his food and with a nod of thanks, went inside and collapsed on the couch. He was asleep almost instantly.

The next morning came quicker than Raven had wished. He groaned loudly and rose to his feet. His knife wound didn't hurt as bad, but his left arm was still throbbing with pain. He began to wonder just how he could take on Dragunov without it.

"Oh, hey..." Kunimitsu said with a yawn as she stepped out of her room. "You leaving already?"

"I have a bit of a trip to take. I need to get a head start." Raven stretched a bit before turning to Kunimitsu and extending his hand.

"I can never repay you for saving my life."

"Heh... well you already did. Remember?" Kunimitsu said with a mischievous smirk. Raven rolled his eyes and she grabbed his hand, shaking it. As he turned to leave, Kunimitsu grabbed his hand again.

"Wait! Before you go I have a little present for you. I noticed you lost whatever weapons you had in your two scabbards. Wait here!"

She ran to her room and Raven heard her digging around a bit. Finally she emerged, carrying a pair of Kodachi in leather sheaths.

"How about these? Are they too long for you? Too short?"

Raven removed his sheaths and put on the two that Kunimitsu presented him with. Getting into stance, he quickly drew one of them.

"Hmm... the blade is almost as long as my old ones, but slightly longer." he said, observing the sword up close. Smiling, he sheathed the weapon and turned to Kunimitsu.

"They're perfect."

"Great!" Kunimitsu said with a smile. "You can have them! All this junk is getting sold anyway."

Raven thanked her once more and left the house, Kunimitsu waving with a smile.

Here's hoping things work out, Kuni. For both of us.

The action picks back up next chapter as Raven goes to Otaru to stop a war before it begins! But can he stop his hated enemy Dragunov in his condition? I doubt it. I mean come on, he's got ONE arm!

Reviews are appreciated. To those of you who leave a review, just imagine my arms coming through your computer screen and hugging you.