Thanks for the reviews. I love seeing these as they inspire me to write evenmore. Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

The bright sizzling sun rose into the clear blue sky, shining vibrantly through Nina's bedroom window. The penetratingly bright rays began to slowly awaken the young Irish assassin from her messy bedside full of junk, as they flashed intensely upon her closed eyes.

Yawing softly, Nina takes one foot from underneath the thick blankets and places it firmly on the floor as the other foot follows suit. Placing her palms gently on her pale skinned face, she begins wiping the sleep from her eyes with the tips of her fingers.

Wearing nothing but a long white t-shirt and black shorts that went down to her kneecaps, she undresses herself and heads into the bathroom for a quick shower to freshen up. Turning the small knobs on the wall, a mixture of hot and cold water slowly runs down her still aching back.

Nothing but the calmingly soothing sounds of water could be heard splashing onto her soft skin, as she lathered the scented soap across her body. She stood in the shower for minutes until her body was entirely clean and deprived of all dirt.

Once she was done cleaning herself, she grabbed a long white towel from the closet and dried all the wetness off her damp figure. Looking at her long golden hair, in the somewhat foggy mirror, she decides to straighten in out with a comb, so that it lies down on her back nice and straight.

After combing it to perfection, she gracefully ties her hair into a ponytail and lets it hang down to her upper back. She then slips into her one-piece outfit from the closet.

She checked herself in the mirror a number of times to see if she could spot any noticeable flaws. Not one error was found. Now, she was finally ready to go.

Before she could step out, someone began pounding on the door.

"Who could that be?" Nina grumbles, while pacing over to the doorway.

Turning the knob slowly and opening it, she sees her happy go lucky neighbor, Ling Xiaoyu, rowing back and forth on her feet. The young assassin ponders as to why she had chosen this particular time to disturb her, as she was trying to get ready for a date.

Xiaoyu's eyes widen with anticipation as she looks up and down at the classy dressed Nina Williams. She had never seen Nina dressed up before and was curious as to what made her do such a thing. The outfit was just too much for her not to say anything about it.

"Ohhh…Nina, you look so pretty today. I mean, that outfit is just plain gorgeous!" she says examining the outfit methodically. What are you dressed up for anyway?"

Nina blushed a little from Xiaoyu's kind complimenting comments. It was nice to know someone actually appreciated what she had on since not many people, except perverted males, seemed to notice. In reply to the young Chinese girl's comments, she utters two unexpected words that she thought would never ever come out of her mouth.

"Thank you."

Ling had taken a step back to readjust her ears to make sure what she heard Nina say was right. Never had she heard her say those two words before, if ever. It was indeed a first timer. Normally, Nina was very secretive about her business, but she really didn't see much of a reason to hide it from her young neighbor.

"I'm going out with somebody, today." She said informingly

Ling thought that was the cutest thing she had ever heard. Often, she wondered why Nina didn't socialize with any men. But that seemed to be changing now.

It didn't make much sense, since Nina had everything a guy could go for….. except maybe a bad attitude and a dangerous lifestyle. Xiaoyu could be nothing more but proud, proud that Nina was actually being more of a human being instead of an empty shell of a person.

"Wow, lucky you. I have yet to find a boyfriend and I'm nineteen," she giggled bashfully.

After their little chat, Xiaoyu wished Nina the best of luck on her date and skipped merrily back to her room. The elegantly dressed assassin then proceeded downstairs into the lobby, patiently waiting for the arrival of her son.

Steve showed up, minutes later, in his car at the exact time he had said he would come. Nina stepped into the vehicle and was taken to a fancy restaurant she had never been to before.

Inside, there were dozens of tables filled with customers. It looked as if Steve and Nina wouldn't have anywhere to sit. Luckily, Nina managed to point out a table to the far left of the room, perfect for two people.

The waitress kindly guided them to their seats and gave them each a menu of the wide selection of foods to choose from. Steve ordered a large steak dinner as Nina ordered the fish dinner right after.

As the waitress went into the kitchen to place the orders, Steve was happy that him and Nina were finally alone. He again placed his arm on Nina's hand across the table to quickly grab her attention.

The Irish assassin did nothing but smile a bit and droop her head down to his large bulky forearm. She was amazed at how big his muscles expanded since the last King of Iron Fist Tournament.

She took a moment to rub the roughness of his strong, well-developed arms he had stretched out across the table. His meaty skin felt much harder than she imagined.

"This is kind of strange. I've known you all this time and yet I still don't know your name," said Steve running his fingers down his soft chin.

"Nina," replied the blonde woman.

" Nice to meet you Nina. My name is Ste…………"

"I already know your name," she interrupted.

"Oh," said a shamefaced Steve

The two spent a good few minutes talking to each other. Nina listened as Steve told her about the hilarious and not so hilarious moments in his childhood.

He shared personal information he hardly ever shared with anybody in his life. He spoke to Nina as if he had known her for several long years, and she was quite surprised by it. When it was Nina's turn to speak, she didn't really have much to say.

"Well I've rambled on enough. What's your life like?" Steve said giving her the chance to talk.

Nina stuttered nervously as she saw Steve lowering his drink to listen to her. With both of his eyes focused directly on her, it made her feel very uncomfortable.

"I…. really… don't like to talk about my life," she stated avoiding the question.

"Well, what about your family? Can you talk about your family?" Steve asked.

Nina shook her head rapidly, implying no.

"I really… don't have a family to talk about," she replied in a depressed tone.

The golden haired boxer was in shock. He could tell by the sad expression displayed upon her face that she was easily troubled by something. It seemed she had a problem sharing secrets about her life.

"What's wrong? Were you adopted, like me? You shouldn't feel bad about that if that's what you mean. I don't let it get to me that much, but I do kind of wish I knew who my real family was… especially my mother."

Nina's head slowly rises up from the table as she decides to ask a question that had been running through her mind for a short while.

"Do you ever wonder what your real mother is like?"

Steve pondered for a slight moment, while scratching his greasy forehead with the tip of his chipped finger nail.

"I really can't say much, but some times I like to imagine what she's like. I see her as a hard workingwoman with a caring heart and a strong sense of respect for others. There are times when she may come off as a bit rude, but that is only because of the huge amount of stress she undergoes in her rough lifestyle… at least that's the kind of person I envision her being. In a way, it's like I can tell what she could be like even though I don't really know her. Call it a hunch, if you will."

The young assassin pretended to clear her throat trying not to show any reaction to what Steve had just said. Emotionally, it touched her heart in a way she thought wasn't possible.

Seeing Steve saddened by not knowing the identity of his real biological mother made Nina feel like a complete jerk. She figured it was now time to reveal to Steve what he hadn't known all along, something that he'd really be interested to finally know once and for all.

How it would effect him was not known, but now she felt was the time to tell him and reveal the truth. It would take an awful lot of explaining and of course she didn't seem to mind. Just as long as she didn't have to see Steve suffer the pain of not knowing his real mother any longer was all she wanted.

"Steve…I have something to tell you," she said stiffly.

Steve scooted closer to the table to listen.

"Yes, Nina?"

"I'm…………I'm…I'm your…your…your…ma…ma…

Suddenly, a whizzing bullet comes flying into the room, passing Nina's head, and going straight into asmall child's arm that sends the entire restaurant into a huge frantic panic. From out of nowhere, a couple of men armed with guns knock over everything and began firing at the alarmed assassin.

She quickly kicked over the table and sat behind it for cover. Immediately, she pulls a small pistol she had tied around her left ankle and began shooting backat the two armed gunmen. Steve sat beside, wondering what was going on.

"What the hell is it with you with guys with guns!" he shouted.

Nina ignored him and continued firing off her rounds individually. Large crowds of people ran out of the place screaming for their lives.

All that was left were a few people too terrified to leave the area in fear of getting shot in the cross fire. Police sirens began shouting from outside with officers swarming the building with guns in hand.

The two armed hit man quickly shot one last round before jumping through the window to escape from being caught by the cops. One of the bullets came whistling towards Steve as he stood up from the ground thinking it was safe to come out, but unfortunately it was not.

The bullet hit him straight in the abdomen, bringing him down to the floor on his knees. He fell face first to the floor with Nina rushing over worridly to his aid. Shaking the young boxer constantly, attempting to revive him, the Irish assassin began to shed saddened tears from her eyes for the very first time.

At that moment, the police mercilessly tackled Nina to the ground, knocking her off balance, from behind and slapped handcuffs right around her wrists. She was then hauled intoa police car as she saw Steve being placed into a nearby ambulance.

Jumping and kicking violently, she attempts to break free, but more officers come and aggressively smack her over the head with knife sticks to knock her out cold.