A/N: I've been waiting like CRAZY to post this chapter! You'll see why. :D

Anyway, I hope you enjoy... If anyone's even still reading this story.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tecmo and Team Ninja. Please don't sue me.

BREAKING CHAINS

Chapter 7

Hitomi took another deep breath as she tried to calm down from Bayman's unnecessary comment. She knew it was bad to let his words get to her, but she couldn't help it. She was also stressed about not being able to figure out who murdered Rolande. There were currently four suspects: Lisa Hamilton, Bass Armstrong, Jann Lee, and her next door neighbour, Rig. This was mainly due to their lack of an alibi to confirm their whereabouts. The only thing she needed now was a clue that would make the whole investigation easier for her to solve. Sadly, she had nothing.

"Tell me what's wrong," Eliot said. "I know there's something else on your mind that isn't related to Bayman."

"It's the case in general, Eliot. I feel like we're never going to solve this..."

Hitomi expected Eliot to roll his eyes at her negativity, but she was met with a warm smile instead. "We'll figure it out eventually. That's why we're partners - so we can help each other."

"Y-you have a point…" Hitomi sniffled. She took a tissue and blew into it.

"What time do you have work tomorrow?" Eliot asked after sipping his tea. "Maybe we can meet up and go over the files again."

"I start at 4pm," the karateka told him.

"Well, I have a break around 3pm, so we can meet then. How about we meet at… the diner again?" he suggested.

Hitomi couldn't help but smile at how determined Eliot was to make her feel better. "Okay, I'll see you then. Thanks for making me feel better, Eliot."

"Anytime."

By the time Hitomi arrived at the diner, it was only 3:15pm. She was glad to be on time. She also wasn't surprised when she already found Eliot inside. He was sitting in the same booth they were at yesterday. Once he saw her, he gave her a friendly wave.

"Hey," he greeted as Hitomi sat across from him. "This place is kind of busy today. It's weird, isn't it?"

Eliot had a point. A few people had just exited the diner. Hitomi had never seen more than five people inside the diner before. She also noticed that Mila and Leifang were slowly becoming stressed. Mila, in particular, seemed to be more tired than usual. The dark circles forming under her eyes confirmed that.

"Hey. What can I get for you both?" she asked.

"You look really tired," Eliot told the waitress. She laughed in response.

"That's because Johnny asked me to take over his shift today. He's really sick," she told them. "But it's cool with me since he offered to take my shift tomorrow morning."

Hitomi grinned at Mila's positivity. "That sounds fair. Anyway, I think I'll just have a salad."

"I'll have a hamburger and a glass of milk," Eliot added.

The waitress smiled as she wrote down their orders. "Okie dokie. Your meals will be with you shortly."

When Mila made her way to the counter, she saw that Leifang was already preparing the food over the grill. The MMA fighter was going to clean the tables until Leifang stopped her.

"They're already clean," she said. "Can you wash the dishes, though? They're piling up at the back."

"You know I can't do the dishes, Leifang. I get really queasy because of the strong scents."

"Not anymore!" the Chinese woman said happily. Hitomi tried her best not to laugh. Leifang looked as though she was currently advertising for a cleaning commercial. "You're not going to believe this, but I actually found a detergent with no scent last night."

"Wait. Those actually exist?" Eliot asked.

"Yep! The best thing about it is that it was only $2! What a bargain!" Leifang said excitedly. She quickly ran over to the back room and soon came out with the detergent. She passed it over to Mila. "Here, smell it."

Mila did what she was told and was surprised. "Oh wow… There's no smell. I also don't feel nauseous."

Leifang grinned as she flipped the food over the grill. "That's right. Now start scrubbing those dishes. You have a lot of work to do."

"I don't think I've been so excited to clean the dishes before," Mila laughed with pure happiness. "Okay, here I go!"

Once when Mila disappeared over to the back room, Hitomi turned to Eliot with a grin.

"We're going to be fat if we keep coming here."

Eliot laughed at her statement. "That's true. Maybe we should only come in once a wh…"

Hitomi was confused as to why Eliot suddenly trailed off. She noticed that he was now mesmerised by something behind her. Hitomi then turned around to see Ayane who had just entered the diner. She walked past their booth without a word and Eliot couldn't help but let his eyes follow her.

"I think you should approach her before you look like an even bigger stalker," Hitomi told him.

Eliot snapped out of his trance and turned to Hitomi. "I want to apologise but I'm nervous now..."

"It's not like she's going to kill you," Hitomi shrugged. "Just go and talk to her. It's now or never."

Eliot knew Hitomi was right. He took a few deep breaths before taking the plunge and heading over to Ayane's booth. Hitomi couldn't help but peek at them.

"Is there something you want?" she asked. She was clearly bothered by Eliot's presence.

"Yes, actually," Eliot said, now sitting across from her. The sudden glare on Ayane's face made him stand up again. "I, uh… wanted to… a-a-apo...lo…."

"Huh? Just spit it out already."

"I wanted to apologise for what I said to you a few weeks ago!" he accidentally shouted. The whole diner was now silent. Ayane looked at him with a blank expression.

"Oh, that? I don't really care about that anymore," the purple haired teen shrugged. "I was upset about something else that day, but I'll accept your apology."

"Oh, thank you so much, Ayane!" Eliot said with relief. "And about that other time, I really did mean it when I said I liked your hair… a-and your eyes..."

Hitomi could swear she saw the faintest blush appear on Ayane's face. Eliot didn't seem to notice. "Thanks," she replied.

Hitomi thought now would be the perfect chance for Eliot to end everything on a high note and leave Ayane alone. Instead, he just stood there with a goofy smile on his face. It was clear that Ayane was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Can you leave now? This is starting to get awkward…" she said, now grabbing her menu to focus on that instead.

"O-oh, right… Well, I'll see you around, then."

"Yeah. Whatever."

Eliot made his way over to Hitomi and sat down with a worried expression on his face. He didn't look very confident.

"That didn't go as well as I'd hoped."

"I actually think it went pretty well," Hitomi admitted. "I don't think I've ever seen Ayane act like that before… I think she likes you."

A smile appeared on Eliot's youthful face. "Really?! You think so?!"

The female detective confirmed Eliot's question with a nod. Her face then gleamed with happiness when she saw Leifang approaching their table with the food. As soon as Leifang delivered their food, she headed over to Ayane's table with a sigh. The two had never gotten along, but unfortunately for Leifang, she had to be civil at the diner.

"What can I get for you?"

Ayane looked up from her menu. "Nothing yet. I'm waiting for Kasumi to arrive."

Hitomi couldn't help but overhear and decided to respond to Ayane. "I think it's great that you and Kasumi are getting along so well now!"

All Ayane did in return was shrug at Hitomi. She then buried her head between the cardboard menu once more. Hitomi sighed. It didn't look like Ayane was going to warm up to her anytime soon.

While they ate, Hitomi thought this was the perfect chance for her and Eliot to gather their thoughts about the case. Even though they weren't close to solving the crime, it was always a good idea to brainstorm ideas and theories anyway. As they did so, Mila soon appeared from the back room. She smiled, which told Hitomi that she had washed the dishes successfully.

"I did it!" she gleamed. "Kokoro should be here soon, which is good because I need to go to my photography class."

"You attend photography classes?" Hitomi asked. She, too, had an interest in photography.

"That's correct! For some reason, we're focusing on videotaping things this week. I personally think it's weird because I prefer to take photos… But whatever. I'm not complaining."

"Back to Kokoro..." Leifang said, changing the subject. "When is she supposed to start her shift?"

"Five minutes from now," Mila told her, checking her wristwatch. "Apparently she's served Bass Armstrong before… She is so lucky! I wish I had the nighttime shifts… What do you think he orders?"

"I have no idea," Leifang shrugged. "But you can go if you want. I don't want you to be late for your class."

Mila headed to the back room and soon came out with her backpack. "Thanks, Leifang. I'm going to catch the train to my class since walking will take forever… I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, guys!"

As soon as Mila left the diner, Leifang headed over to the booth area to sit down with Hitomi and Eliot. Apart from Ayane, there were no other customers in the store. There was nothing else for Leifang to do, so she thought this would be the perfect time to chill out. However, there was something on her mind which stopped her from doing so.

"What's wrong?" Hitomi asked. She always knew when something was wrong with her best friend.

"It's Kokoro. She's late… again."

Eliot shrugged at the waitress. "Well, it's not like the diner is busy right now."

"I know that," Leifang sighed. "But she's always late. I think there's something up with her personal life. Why else would she be late for every single shift?"

Hitomi didn't know what to say to that. If Kokoro was having personal troubles, then it was definitely none of her business. Her attention was then caught by Ayane who was muttering a bunch of curses in the background. Hitomi looked past Eliot's shoulder to see that the high school student was texting on her mobile with a frustrated expression on her face. She was most likely trying to get a hold of Kasumi.

It wasn't until another ten minutes had passed when Kokoro finally showed up for her shift. Hitomi noticed that her nose was blotchy and her eyes were slightly red. It was obvious that the young girl had been crying.

"Sorry for being late. I had some troubles," she bowed at Leifang.

"Are you okay, Kokoro?" Leifang asked her.

"I've just been fighting with my mother again," Kokoro answered as she attached her apron to her maid dress. "I'll be fine."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eliot asked.

"Yeah, talk to us," Leifang patted the available seat next to her. "The diner isn't busy right now."

Kokoro seem reluctant at first, but she gave in and sat down next to Leifang.

"My mother and I have been arguing about my college classes," Kokoro admitted. "She wants me to be a music teacher, but… that's not what I want to do. It's too bad that I'm living under her roof. She won't let me have a say."

"Well, that's not right," Hitomi frowned. "You should tell your mother how you feel."

Kokoro began to tear up again. "I… I can't. I'm scared… The only person I've spoken to about this is Lisa. She has been really helpful with her advice. But like my situation with Helena, my mother doesn't seem to like Lisa as well. She won't tell me why…"

"Don't listen to your mother, then," Eliot advised her. "What do you want to do with your future?"

Kokoro didn't even bother thinking about her answer since she already knew it from the top of her head. That just told Hitomi that she was passionate about her career goals. "I want to help people. I've always been interested in self-defense, but it's not like I can start my own business…"

Hitomi had a quick thought about Kokoro's situation until she remembered what her father had told her ages ago.

"I think I can get you a job, if you're interested," Hitomi told her. "My father runs a dojo and he's been looking for a new instructor for ages. I can try and get you the job, if you'd like?"

"R-Really? You'd do that?!... Thank you so much!" Kokoro bowed. She then grabbed another tissue to wipe away her now happy tears. Her expression then darkened. "Oh, who am I kidding? This is stupid. I could never be brave enough to face my mother…"

Hitomi frowned at Kokoro's sudden negativity. "You need to understand that it's your life. Don't be afraid to do something just to please someone else. If your mother really loved you, then she would easily understand."

"Y-You're right…" the waitress sniffled. "I think I'll tell her tonight - after when I close the diner, of course. Besides, if I get this new job from your dad, then I can have two jobs. I'll even be able to pay more bills at home now since Johnny gave me a raise."

Leifang looked as though her eyeballs had popped out of their sockets. "What did you just say?"

"I said Johnny gave me a raise. It happened yesterday when he saw me cleaning the tables."

"What the hell?!" Leifang practically shouted. Hitomi knew she was angry due to a random vein appearing on her forehead. "I have been working double shifts and I have been working twice as hard lately. You clean one table and Johnny just decides to give you a raise? Are you kidding me?!"

"I-I'm sorry… Maybe you can ask Johnny for a raise, too? I'm sure he would give it to you," Kokoro replied.

Leifang noticed how she was overreacting. She sighed and relaxed her shoulders. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry for yelling… I've just been really stressed lately."

Kokoro smiled at her co-worker. "It's fine, I get it. Anyway, I better put these dishes away," she said, referring to Hitomi and Eliot's empty plates.

"I'll help you," Leifang offered. "Besides, I want to show you the scentless detergent I bought for Mila!"

Kokoro was dumbfounded. "Wait... Those actually exist?"

"Yep!"

Once Kokoro and Leifang headed to the back room, Hitomi could see Ayane in the background once again. She was still texting, presumably, Kasumi. The teenager looked as though she was going to snap soon…

The doorbell of the diner rang once more and Hitomi was surprised to see Marie Rose this time. She was in her usual lolita outfit, but this time carried a woven basket with her. She proceeded to make her way to the front counter but stopped in her tracks once she saw Eliot. At that moment, he was drinking from his glass. With a mischievous grin, the servant headed over to where he was seated.

"Do you like milk, too?" She asked.

In what seemed to be a moment of surprise for Eliot, he spat out the milk and began to choke. He tried his best to gasp for air, but seemed to fail miserably. Luckily for him, Marie Rose, who was standing next to him, gently patted his back so he could breathe again. When Eliot's breathing finally turned back to normal, Marie Rose smiled at him.

"You're so cute, Eliot."

Eliot couldn't form any words at that moment. He was too speechless at what had just happened. Hitomi couldn't help but note how he resembled a tomato now. However, the redness on his face instantly disappeared when Ayane stormed past.

"Stupid Kasumi and her rudeness!" she spat bitterly. "No one stands me up and makes a fool out of me!"

Hitomi cringed as Ayane slammed the front door on her way out. She felt sorry for Kasumi right now and really hoped that she had a good excuse for standing Ayane up like that. However, something told Hitomi that something else may have contributed to Ayane's anger.

Eliot, on the other hand, was bothered by the fact that he now had milk all over his face, neck, and shirt. Being known as a neat freak, he found himself to be very uncomfortable right now. He quickly ran to the bathroom in order to wipe himself clean.

After watching Ayane leave with a confused expression on her face, Marie Rose made her way over to the front counter and rang the small bell. When Kokoro appeared from the back room, she smiled once she saw the servant.

"Hi, Marie! I have the marble cake you ordered for Helena."

"Thank you very much," Marie replied, placing the cake inside the basket. "By the way, Lady Helena is expecting you to visit her tomorrow. She told me to tell you that she has some news to share… News that may change your life for the better."

Kokoro couldn't help but feel curious to know what Helena wanted to tell her. However, she knew she would have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Hopefully it would be good news and not the bad kind.

"Okay, I will visit her tomorrow. What time should I be there?"

"Noon would be ideal," Marie answered. "Very well, I need to continue my duties. Thank you, again."

When the young servant had disappeared, another person suddenly made their entrance. This time it was Kasumi. She looked really worried. Her face slightly brightened, though, when she saw Hitomi.

"Hitomi... Have you seen Ayane, by any chance?" she asked the detective.

Hitomi frowned at the younger woman. "Yeah. You only missed her by a couple of minutes. She seemed to be pretty mad when you stood her up."

"It's not what you think. This is just a terrible misunderstanding... I better go and find her," she said, making her way out of the diner. "Thank you for your time."

"No problem!"

Hitomi couldn't help but smile at Kokoro who was now happy. She hummed a familiar tune as she gathered some of the menus and placed them on each table. Once when she made her way over to Hitomi's booth, she smiled at the detective.

"This is the second time you've helped me. Thank you so much… I'm so determined to talk to my mother tonight and finally stand up to her," she said. "Starting tonight, I'm going to be in charge of my life. No one else. I honestly can't believe I didn't do this sooner."

All Hitomi could do at that moment was smile at the girl. She was happy that she finally had the motivation to change her life for the better. And with the possibility of a new job for Kokoro, things just seemed to be getting better for the young waitress.

After her shift at the police station, Hitomi arrived at her apartment around 9pm. She noted that Rig wasn't inside his room since there was no loud music blaring from his stereo for once. When she finally settled down and ate her dinner, the detective decided now was the perfect time to give her father a phone call and tell him about Kokoro.

"Hey, Hitomi," his voice answered. He sounded tired. "How is everything going?"

"It's going really well," she replied. "The apartment is amazing and my job is everything I could have hoped for."

"That's great news."

"By the way…" Hitomi started. "Do you remember when you mentioned wanting to find a new karate instructor ages ago?"

"Yeah. You won't believe this, but I'm still looking for one. It's ridiculous."

"That's great because... well... a friend of mine is really interested in the job. She's very passionate about self defense and I feel like she would be a great influence for the younger children."

"Say no more," his voice chuckled from the other side. "Tell her tomorrow to meet me at the dojo whenever she can. I'll give her the job, if that's what you want."

"Really?!" Hitomi beamed. "That would be great, Dad. Thank you so much!"

"No problem, kiddo. Anyway, I better get going and lock the dojo for the night. The students decided to stick around for a little longer today."

"Okay, I'll let you go. Good night."

Hitomi ended up having a good night's sleep after talking to her father. She was happy to be of help to Kokoro and she decided to visit the diner later in order to inform her about already having the job. As the karateka sat down to have her breakfast, she received a phone call from Gen Fu. Knowing that it was probably work related, she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hitomi," Gen Fu's voice spoke calmly on the other side. "I need you to go to the diner and meet Eliot. I've already told him to go there."

Before Hitomi could respond, Gen Fu had already hung up on her. Feeling more curious than ever, Hitomi headed to the diner after finishing her breakfast.

Concern was written all over Hitomi's face when she saw a number of people scattered outside the diner. Once when she made her way through the crowd, the detective was shocked to see yellow police tape covering the area. Hitomi instantly hurried over to the security man and showed him her detective badge. He allowed her to access the scene and she made her way inside the diner. What Hitomi saw next was truly too horrifying for her own eyes.

There, dangling in front of her from the ceiling, was a lifeless body. Apart from the thick rope hanging around their neck, there was an old potato sack covering their face. However, when Hitomi laid her eyes on the red maid dress, she instantly recognised who the person was...

It was Kokoro. She had committed suicide.

A/N: hehehe