Beginning: Part Four

Day Three I

The next morning L woke up just in time to look at the clock and realize she needed to be gone. Luckily she worked an early short shift today therefore she wouldn't have to go through the drama of walking home at night. It did however mean that she had to haul ass to make sure she was there on time. She was already pretty sure she'd be catching some crap after Alisa quitting yesterday, not that she really cared. She kept her headphones handy for just such occasions, and would soon be immersed in her music.

After sneaking in Alisa's room to grab her uniform she quickly changed and headed out the door.

Alisa woke up a little while after L left, and crawled out of bed. She shuffled off to the bathroom to shower, administer first aid to her scrapped cheek, and then dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts. Walking barefoot through the apartment, she headed to the kitchen to fix some breakfast.

A few minutes later, she carried her plate of buttered toast to the couch, and sat down to watch TV. She was just going to take easy today after the trauma she endured yesterday. She thought about the mystery men she and L encountered. She decided to hit Casey for information again when L came home from work. Alisa didn't know his phone number.

This time, he was going to talk.

---

Luckily L's day went relatively without incident... at first.

"L what the hell is going on!"

She turned to see Mr. Fatass, who's real name was Mr. Shapiro. "I don't know what you're talking about sir."

"Like hell you don't! First that roommate of yours is giving Tammy problems and then she walks out without doing any of her closing duties! And now I have no one to cover her shifts today!" He was screaming at this point, and inching ever closer to her, close enough that she could feel the spittle launching itself off his big blubbery lips.

"I'm sorry sir but I really don't have any say in what Alisa does. I'm her friend not her mother."

"Is that sarcasm? Are you being sarcastic with me?"

"No, I-"

"Now you listen to me you crazy broad, you tell that roommate of yours that she aint getting her paycheck until she comes in here and apologizes to Tammy personally, and to me as well!"

L laughed involuntarily, another of the smaller side effects of her mental disorder. It didn't happen often but it was generally triggered by a strong emotion, such as the sudden desire to strangle ugly fat managers.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. It's just that Alisa would more than likely rather set herself on fire while being raped up the ass by a thousand killer bees than apologize to that dumb bitch or you, your fatness."

He stood there blubbering, his tiny brain taking in what he thought he just heard.

"Let me guess, I'm fired? Well surprise surprise, I quit. Oh, and I have a pictures of Tammy giving you a blowjob and I'll be sending them to your wife. Good day fat sir."

With a smile L tossed her apron at the fat man's face and skipped out, flipping Tammy off as she went. Of course she'd been lying about the pictures, but she knew it would give the man something to worry about since it wasn't a secret that Tammy wasn't exactly keeping her job with her waitressing skills.

Once she hit the street L's pace slowed to a walk and she began snapping the rubber bands on her wrist as she went. As good as that had felt she knew that they were in serious trouble now with neither of them having a job. Still, they did have a small savings and as long as they found jobs soon they should be okay. She just hoped Alisa wasn't going to be mad at her for following in her footsteps.

---

Alisa finished her toast, and had put the plate in the sink to be washed later. She was now lounging on the beaten sofa watching a late morning game show. She suddenly heard a click in the lock of the door, and she quickly sat up. She watched tentatively as the door opened to reveal L. Her expression turned into one of surprise.

"L, why are you home so early?"

"Well... y'see... I sorta... quit too." She looked down at her shoes for a second before speaking again. "That fat bastard started yelling at me about you and saying that you weren't going to get your last paycheck until you came down there and apologized to him and Tammy... I sorta lost it at that point. I guess it was inevitable... but I'd sorta hoped it would happen after you found another job... please don't be upset with me!"

Alisa sighed deeply, and shook her head. "I'm not angry, but I am worried." She leaned back into the couch. "I know we do have a little savings set aside, but it's not going last long, and we need to find another job soon."

"I know... but don't worry I'm sure we'll find something! You will at least... and I can always find a dish washing job somewhere else or like... a janitor or something that doesn't require much in the way of social skills. I know we have enough money for another month of rent... we'll be able to find something in that time."

She flopped down next to Alisa on the couch, not bothering to change out of her uniform.

Alisa decided to forget their problems for the moment, and changed the subject. "Hey, could you contact Casey, and get him over here? We have to talk to him about those shadow men. One way or another, he's going to tell us all he knows."

L couldn't help but giggle. "Well if Casey is going to tell us everything he knows he won't be over very long. Buuuuut yeah I can call him up."

She hopped up, suddenly in a better mood for no apparent reason, and then grabbed the phone to dial his number. She was just about to hang up when he finally picked up the phone.

"Were you asleep?"

"Lee? Oh, sorry, L." He was mocking her... the ass.

"Yeah it's me, how many other girls call you up in the morning? No really, I wanna know. How many?"

"Why did you call me?"

"Fine, be no fun! We want to talk to you, could you come over for a little bit?"

"Yeah I guess, why?"

"Humor us okay? Shit's gone even farther downhill and we want to talk."

"Alright alright. I'll be right over."

She thanked him and hung up the phone before going back to relay the message to Alisa. "I didn't tell him why we wanted to talk to him but if he's got half a brain he'll figure it out."

"Perhaps so, but he will talk nonetheless." Alisa glanced at L, and looked her over. "Do you really want to stay in the uniform?"

"Oh God no... I may burn it. But y'know, you sound kinda creepy... like some interrogator or something." She switched to a deep voice with a lousy accent. "Ve have vays of making you talk."

She giggled as she headed into Alisa's room to change clothes.

Alisa laughed. L was a really good soul, and the best friend anyone could ask for. She was just saddled with an unfortunate disorder that made many people, like their former boss and co-worker, make fun of her, or treat her like a stain on the carpet because she was different. Everyone was different in some way. Alisa appreciated the differences. It's what made people special and unique.

It was ten minutes later when a knock came on the door, and Alisa stood up to answer it.

"I'm naked!"

It was the first thing Casey heard when Alisa let him in the door.

"No wait... no I'm not!" L walked out of Alisa's bedroom dressed in a tank top and jeans yet again. "Hi Casey!"

"Uh... hi. Why'd you guys want to talk to me?"

"I believe you know, Casey," Alisa answered. She folded her arms, standing tall for her 5'5" height. Again, the vigilante was strongly reminded of one of his friends. "I was attacked again last night by the same group of Purple Dragons on my way home from work, which I have quit. I was saved by a ninja who stayed hidden in the shadows, just like L's did." She gave a small smile as she continued speaking. "Except I was able to get his name. He told me he was called Leonardo."

Casey looked nervous, and her smile became a little smug. "Does that ring a bell?" She shifted her gaze to L. "Tell him your story."

"Well we think the guy I was talking to was someone different, but he's the same one that saved me earlier. He was on the roof and saw that Alisa was in trouble before I got there. This Leonardo guy sounded like a total gentleman but the guy I was talking to was a lot rougher, cussing up a storm and being sarcastic. So we know there's two of them, and we're pretty sure you know who they are."

"Why would you think that? I don't know any of that ninja stuff."

Alisa's patience was wearing thin, and she was a very patient person. This guy was quickly getting on her last nerve. "Casey," her tone had taken an irate edge, "I don't play games. In fact, I'm the last person you want to play games with. I know you're lying. I can tell when someone is lying to me, and you are lying. Now stop this beating around the bush shit, and tell us what's going on!"

Casey sighed. "Okay so maybe I know something but I can't tell you. I can't tell you why I can't tell you I just can't. They're good guys though, you don't have to worry."

"Why can't you tell us? If they're such good guys they really don't have any reason to hide."

"Yeah I know but people don't always see things that way."

"What, are they freaks or something?"

"You could say that, yeah."

Alisa was thoughtful, intrigued by this information. "How do you mean? And when you say "they", how many are we talking? Just the two?"

Casey ran a hand through his hair, clearly not comfortable with the topic of conversation. "They just look different, I can't explain it. There's four of them. Look, I can't really talk about it okay? You gotta understand."

L nodded. "I understand. But you have to talk to them. The one guy saved my ass and the other saved Alisa's... we'd like to meet them even if they do look different. Hell we're in New York for God's sake, it's not like we've never seen someone who looked weird."

Alisa nodded. "We're very understanding people, Casey. We're not prejudice. We'd like to meet them regardless. We at least owe them gratitude for our lives. Please, just talk to them."

"I'll see what I can do, but don't get your hopes up. They're pretty careful guys."

"Thanks Casey," L said. "I'm glad we were able to get back in touch.'

Casey smiled. "Yeah me too even if you are crazy. Hey, what were you talking about on the phone? What happened?"

"Oh... that. Well Alisa already told you about getting jumped by the Purple Dragons again, and she told you she quit... today I ended up quitting too." She gave him the whole story.

"They can't do that! Don't worry, I'll go down and talk to the guy, you'll get your check Alisa."

Alisa felt somewhat sheepish at the attention, but then she became worried about what he might do. "Casey, I appreciate your kindness, but it's okay. You don't have to do that."

"No way, this guy's a jerk and deserves a good talking to. If it makes you feel better I won't rough him up... too much."

"Wow you really know how to make a girl's heart flutter," L said sarcastically. "Hey, we're probably gonna have lunch soon, do you want to stay and hang out?"

Casey chose to ignore her sarcasm. "Nah, I think I'll just go home and go back to sleep. I was up kinda late last night."

"Fighting crime with your ninja friends?"

"Something like that. I'll see you girls later."

"Bye Casey."

"Goodbye, Casey, and thank you." Alisa closed the door behind him, and then walked over to the couch to sit down. She was in pain with her face again, but she tried to ignore it. "I'll give this for him; he's a good guy and loyal as well. He looks out to protect his friends."

L nodded. "I guess it goes with that 'you can't always judge a book by it's cover' saying. He may be a little thick headed but he's sweet. My sister was an idiot for letting him go, and she was the sane one supposedly. But y'know whatever. Some people have no tolerance for anyone who isn't... them."

She once again joined Alisa on the couch silently wishing there was something on TV for once.

"I know." Alisa watched the television for a minute, and then grew bored with it. She stood up, and walked to the kitchen. "I'm going to make some grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," L answered.

Alisa put the bread and cheese together, then used the frying pan to grill the sandwiches on the stove. A few minutes later, she came out of the kitchen with the plate of sandwiches, and a bag of chips. She set them on the coffee table, and returned to the kitchen for a couple of sodas. Once she brought those, she sat down on the couch again, and the two girls dug in.

"So now what?" L finally asked. "Do we start job hunting now or wait till tomorrow? Either way we gotta do something with our newfound free time."

"We'll start first thing tomorrow morning," Alisa answered, "Today, we just relax and take it easy. We both deserve it." She took a bite of a sandwich, careful not to let the hot cheese burn her tongue.

"Relax? Yeah I can do that... as long as it doesn't involve sitting around here all day. Does relaxing involve that?" L hated to be in the apartment for more than a few hours at a time unless she was sleeping, though she knew their latest trips out hadn't been exactly pleasant.

Alisa hesitated a moment, contemplating, but then nodded. "I think it'd be safe to venture for a little while." She hoped it was because she didn't want to repeat near disaster a third time.

"Well if you don't want to go out we can stay in here. I'm sure I can find something to do..." Her voice trailed off and she finished her sandwich without another word.

Alisa shook her head vigorously. "No. I'm not going to let fear rule me. I won't be a prisoner in my own home.

"Well that's good to know! Though I can't help but wonder if you're just not hoping to run into your mysterious Leonardo." She giggled. "So what if tall dark and handsome is short stocky and freakish? He sounds right up your alley."

"L!" Alisa laughed, although she was blushing a little, and playfully punched her friend in the arm. "I'm just curious about him. You're probably just as interested yourself."

"Oh interested yeah, but not in the 'this is the future father of my little ninja babies' way."

Alisa blinked, staring at her. "WHAT!" She shook her head. "Okay, now you're being ridiculous."

"I'm just planning ahead that's all. Anyway, I know you. If this guy is as gentlemanly and honorable as you make him sound then I know whatever he looks like won't matter to you and you'll end up with a huge crush in no time. There's nothing wrong with that, it's commendable. There aren't many people in this world like you. Hell, most people would freak out if they found out their best friend was crazy. You on the other hand never seemed to care." She smiled at Alisa before standing to put her plate away and returning to the living room.

"Manners are a good start," Alisa answered, as she put away her own plate, "But don't go jumping to conclusions just yet. I don't even know the guy aside from his name." She headed towards her bedroom. "I'm going to change into something more decent. Then we can go out."

L decided it was best not to say anything else and simply let Alisa splash in her pool of denial. The girl was never one to go for the bad boys or to drool over the super hot celebrities every other girl in the world wanted but a well mannered honorable guy with ninja skills was definitely something she'd go for, providing he didn't have the personality of a dishrag. L just made a mental note of this day for future "I told you so" purposes.

While she waited she hunted around for her boots which she had already managed to misplace.

Alisa emerged from her room again a few minutes later dressed in a blue baby-doll top and jeans with her usual worn sneakers on her feet. "I'm ready when you are."

"Got 'em!" L proudly held the boots above her head and was only slightly surprised when dirt sprinkled down onto her. "Oh that sucked."

With her boots finally found and soon on her feet, she was ready to go as well. "So where we going?"

Alisa closed the door behind them as they went out. "I don't know. Anywhere you'd like to go." She followed L down the stairs.

"Anywhere but that diner! Hell I'd be up for just a walk, no real goal in mind. I have to admit I kinda wish we could afford cell phones though... I know I'm not normally too nervous about leaving the house anymore but suddenly it seems a little more dangerous."

They got outside and were greeted with a pleasant breeze. Once again there was a moderate chance of rain and the sky was slightly overcast. Though these days it wasn't clear whether the sky was merely overcast or just so damn nasty that it seemed like it was. Either way it blocked the sun so L wasn't normally complaining.

"I know," Alisa agreed, "But New York City's always been dangerous. We just seem to be running into it lately though." She lowered her eyes to the ground as they walked. She should have taken another aspirin before they left. Her face was killing her.

"You gotta be tough to live in a tough town I guess. The only thing is, the tougher you get the tougher they get and frankly it's hard to keep up. What are one ninjitsu Goddess and one knife wielding crazy person against an entire gang of thugs?" She sighed. "One day we should leave this place y'know, one day when we have enough money. Other than the money issue I don't know what's keeping us here."

"I guess I'm sort of attached to it," Alisa admitted, "Even among the evil and filth, there is good and beauty in this city. You only have to search for it." She tried to smile, but couldn't, and she winced from the pain.

L noticed the look on her friend's face and stopped walking. "Are you okay? Do you want to go back? We haven't gone very far, it's alright if you want to go home."

Alisa shook her head. "No. I'll be okay. My face hurts a little, but I can tolerate it. I just have to remember not to smile or anything."

"Oh but how can you not smile around me? I mean I am just so witty and charming," L joked. Deciding there was no talking Alisa into going back she went back to their previous topic. "I guess I kinda like it here... but there's my family and all... and I know they're around which doesn't make it easier. I almost want to just leave so I don't have to worry about ever accidentally running into them or anything."

"I understand." Alisa pulled the light sweater she had taken as an afterthought before they left the apartment a little tighter around her. "This breeze has gotten a little cooler."

"Probably means it'll rain soon... but a little rain never hurt anyone right? So... if we're not moving to some other city at least we can aspire to someday live in a nice part of it. Maybe one of those apartment buildings with the little buzzer so you have to let people in, they can't just come up to your door and stuff. There's no harm in dreaming y'know."

"Not at all," Alisa agreed, "It's good to have a goal to work towards, but we shouldn't raise our expectations too high." They passed the entrance to Central Park, but decided not to go in. The girls continued to walk in silence for a while. "So, when do you think Casey will talk to them?" Alisa finally spoke again, "I'm hoping they'll agree to come see us, but I doubt it if Casey says they're as careful as they are. Wonder where they live."

"I'm assuming he'll bring it up the next time he sees them. If they are as against meeting people as he says then the fact that they talked to both of us is probably a big deal. I wouldn't doubt if they'd been talking about it themselves lately. Who knows, maybe they'll want to meet us if they know we want to meet them. And Casey can vouch for the fact that we won't freak out or anything. Yeah he doesn't really know you but he knows that you're my friend so that's got to mean something." She ran her hand through her short hair as she walked, for no real reason other than to give her hand something to do. "I hope this all hasn't caused any trouble for them."

"I hope not either." They ended up near a small shopping complex. "Want to go there in for a while, and look around?" Alisa suddenly felt a few raindrops on her head as she made the suggestion.

"Sure, who doesn't love a good shopping trip! Granted we can't buy much... but I'm sure there's somewhere in here where I can buy a couple pieces of candy or something. I want sugar." For the sake of her white tank top she was very glad they weren't going to be stuck in the rain. That was poor planning on her part.

They hurried into the shopping center, and made it into the front door just as the heavens opened up and poured forth a blinding sheet rain. "We were lucky," Alisa remarked, "We made it just in time."

"Wow... sorta makes one wish they had a car," L said as she stared outside where people were suddenly rushing for cover. "But oh well, as long as the rain doesn't last all day! And there's far less of a chance of getting jumped in here than out there, added bonus!"

"Yeah." The two girls strolled through the complex, stopping to look in a few stores. They also went into one of those nickel and dime stores where L could get her some sugary treats. Alisa considered getting a piece or two herself.

"Ooooh! I want one of those and one of those and one of those... though I must keep my girlish figure so I'll just have some of these instead." It was refreshing to be able to simply bounce around trying to decide which candy to get after they'd had so much drama recently.

L picked out a few candies and went to check out. As she paid for her snacks she noticed something out of the corner of her eye that made her skin crawl.

"Alisa... there's a guy over there that appears to be watching us. Now maybe he just thinks we're darn cute or something but frankly I think it's creepy."

Alisa carefully shifted her eyes to where L had noticed the suspicious man. He wore cutoff jeans, a slightly ripped muscle shirt, and street beaters. She searched him over quickly, and her breath hitched in her throat as she found what she was looking for. This was worse than a Purple Dragon. Near the man's left shoulder, he sported a red three flame emblem; he was Foot. Why did they continue to terrorize her?

Alisa swallowed, and brought her gaze back to L. "Just don't let him think we see him," she cautioned, quietly.

She led L out of the store, clutching her small bag of candy. The man also followed. They headed towards the entrance of the mall, weaving in and among a crowd of people that had begun to fill the little shopping center. When they reached the doors, Alisa took a quick glance over her shoulder, and was relieved to see they had lost the man.

It was raining only lightly now as they stepped out.