Chapter Eleven

"Hey, 'Cousin Fucker!'" Revy said with a loud laugh. Rock scowled, but didn't say anything.

"Yes, Revy?" He asked, trying to keep his dignity. He wasn't ashamed that he had taken Anita's money after she had been shot. But he was a little ashamed that he wasn't ashamed of his actions, passive though they were. He could see his conscience being dragged down into the darkness from which nothing could return. He knew that he had crossed a threshold. He wasn't coming back. He couldn't come back.

His soul was tainted, and he didn't even want to go back anymore. His old life was gone. Okajima Rokuro was dead. The company he worked for had said it themselves. Rokuro was dead, and all that was left was Rock. But, he was now two million dollars richer. The bag was hard to drag around. Two million dollars wasn't light fare. But to Revy, it seemed like she was ecstatic right now. She was smiling and laughing to herself, had been all evening.

"You goin' on another date with Leatherface tonight?" She asked, referencing the fact that he had changed clothes. He was still wearing a shirt and tie, but it was a different shirt and tie than he usually wore. Revy wondered how many shirts and ties Rock owned. Probably one for every day of the week.

"Yes. And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't call her Leatherface. As it happens, she's more of a fan of Michael Meyers than Leatherface."

"Ahaha! Is that so? Didn't Michael Meyers want to fuck his sister?" Revy asked.

"No. Michael Meyers wanted to kill his sister. Though I suppose, if you want to look at it like that, killing is the ultimate form of fucking someone." Rock said with a grim smile at his morbid joke. Revy smiled, seeming to realize that Rock had actually told a pretty funny joke.

"It was necessary for the completion of the Curse of Thorn. Honestly, they shouldn't have bothered to explain the reason behind Meyers' homicidal nature. It cheapened the franchise. It makes it less frightening. Meyers was more terrifying when nobody knew why he was doing what he did. But I have to get going. We're celebrating my birthday, so I have a little bit of leeway, but I don't think she'd appreciate me being late. It is my party, after all."

"It's your birthday?" Revy asked, eyes widening. She never knew when Rock's birthday was. He had never told any of them. They sort of exchanged presents on Christmas… Well, Rock got Revy something, and Revy threw up in Rock's face because she was so drunk. Rock nodded.

"Why didn't you fucking say so? We need to go out drinking! Fuck your girlfriend!" Revy shouted. Rock said nothing to this, thinking privately "That's the plan." Rock checked his watch, cursed, and started running. He was going to be late. He may have been a much faster runner now, having been training for three months, but he still was nowhere near Revy's level.

Ten hurried minutes later, he arrived at Shenhua, Lotton, and Frederica's apartment, composing himself and catching his breath before knocking on the door.

"Oh, you very much late, yes you are! Sawyer been ready for fifteen minute!"

"Sorry… I… Well, excuses are like assholes, anyway."

"Huh? What you mean? I no hear that one."

"Excuses are like assholes. Everybody has one, and they all stink." Rock said, laughing weakly. Shenhua didn't say anything for a moment, but then started laughing.

"You funnier than I give you credit! Sawyer! Your date is here, yes he is!" Shenhua shouted. Sawyer walked out in a black dress, blushing slightly.

She wasn't used to wearing dress clothes, but she wanted to look nice for Rock's birthday.

"Wow… Frederica… You look great…" Rock gasped. Frederica turned a deeper shade of pink, muttering a thank you. She never liked the way she looked in a dress.

She was too muscular for a sleeveless dress, or even a short sleeved dress.

"You come in, yes you do! We get you birthday gifts!" Shenhua.

"What? You didn't have to do that!" Rock said, startled that they had all thought of something for him.

"Miss Sawyer likes you, and she's our family. So you're our family as well." Lotton said politely as Rock sat down at Frederica's insistence, and they brought a cake out and some presents as well.

"You open Sawyer's first, yes you do!" Shenhua insisted, pushing Frederica's present at Rock, who took it and opened the poorly wrapped present carefully, folding up the paper as well.

"Wow! A pair of kerambits!" Rock said cheerfully, taking them in his hands, flicking his wrists to test them.

"They're surgical steel so they're incredibly sharp. Do not cut yourself with them." Frederica said.

"Thank you. I'll be careful with them." Rock said, putting them carefully aside and taking the next box. This one was wrapped meticulously, and was labelled "From Shenhua".

Rock smiled, opening the box, finding a set of shuriken and a gut knife with a weight at the end of a long chain for mid-range attacks. Rock smiled. There was also a belt inside that could hold the knife and a few shuriken on its length. It was an impressive gift.

"They good for range and melee combat. Cut or gut, no matter with gutblade. Throw shuriken, you need better aim, probably." Shenhua said with a smile.

"This is really nice of you, Shenhua… Thank you so much." Rock said, taking the third package and opening it. Lotton was as clumsy with wrapping as he was with weapons. Rock opened the package, and found a pair of .45 handguns inside with loaded clips and holsterd that could attach to the belt.

Now this was something he could use right away. Even if he didn't hit dead on, he could scare enemies away. And that would be useful, since he wasn't confident in his aim in high stress situations.

"It's not much. Not quite as specialized as Miss Shenhua's or Miss Sawyer's gifts, but I can't afford more with Miss Revy's tutoring fees."

"Ahaha! I'll see if I can encourage her to accept less now. She won't accept if she can't see something in the future. How about 5% of your profits until you've paid her off?" Rock asked.

"That would be great. Thank you, Mr. Okajima."

"Oh, please… Rock. Rokuro Okajima died about two years ago when he first came to Roanapur. I'm all that's left of him." Rock said, putting the gun in its holster on the belt, and attached the knife and the shuriken to the belt as well, admiring the way it looked in the mirror.

"Frederica and I have to get going. We have a dinner appointment at about the only fancy restaurant in town. You ready, Frederica?" Rock asked. Frederica nodded, blushing slightly and going out the door with Rock.

"You come back later, we eat cake together! No matter how late it is! We not care!" Shenhua shouted out the window as Rock and Frederica made it onto the street.

As they were walking to the restaurant, a young man in a tee shirt with a knife came out from an alley, hitting Rock over the head with a metal bar.

"Hey, Gook! Gimme all your money! Now!" He shouted. Rock actually laughed at this. He had been hit in the head many times by people much stronger than this hoodlum.

"Even while he was on the ground, he surreptitiously reached for a shuriken and threw it as hard as he could, hitting the man dead in the eye. Rock took a second to be impressed with himself at how much his aim had improved. Before he even got up, he got his gun and pointed it at the man, slowly standing up.

"If you'll be so kind as to listen for a moment, I am not Korean, I am Japanese, and you're lucky that it was me who attacked you and not her.

"If she had been the one to attack you, you would be missing an arm right now, and she would likely be using it to beat you to death. I'm sure even a reprobate such as yourself could appreciate the irony of that." Rock said coolly, pointing the gun at the man's knee and shooting. The fact that they were practically at point-blank range made it easy to hit such a small target.

"Now, get out of my sight… And give me back my shuriken. They were a birthday present." Rock said with a cruel smile, ripping the small projectile out of the man's eye, paying no mind to the yelp of pain that the man let out, and wiping the blood on the man's shirt, putting his arm around Frederica's waist and walking away.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Frederica. I don't like to show that side of myself. I'm afraid I'm still not quite used to having that side of myself exist." Rock muttered, his head hung in distress. Frederica said that the reason she chose him was because he seemed like the most normal person in Roanapur. That was becoming less and less true. He was becoming just as dark and deranged as the rest of this shit-stained city's inhabitants.

The only difference between him and them was that unlike most of them, he could manipulate all of them at the same time while most of them could only ever be pawns. Yes, it was not much of an exaggeration to say that he was one of the most capable manipulators in the city. Yolanda had said it herself when she first met him. With some practice, he could become very adept.

Well, he got the practice, and when push came to shove, he manipulated not only Lagoon Company, or the Lovelace Family, but all of Roanapur, including Roberta, Lagoon Company, the three ruling mafias and to a lesser extent, the United States. He had such power during that debacle, and he wished he could say that he was, but he wasn't ashamed of the monster he became in order to preserve the lifestyle he had become accustomed to.

Nothing had been out of bounds for him. He manipulated all of them like a puppet master putting on a play… God, how cliché was that analogy? Well, still. He had just shown his darker nature, and in front of Frederica, whom he honestly liked. He wasn't sure if he could say he loved her yet. That hadn't come up. He hadn't said it and she hadn't asked. But he was more than just passingly fond of her. What would she say now that she had seen this part of him?

"I understand. You were defending yourself and me. I appreciate a man who can stand up for those he cares about. Your ability to fight seems to be improving dramatically. Your shuriken hit him right in the eye. If nothing else, your aim is improved. I will tell Revy if you like that your ability to perform under pressure is also admirable." Sawyer said, clapping a hand over her mouth, realizing that she was fawning slightly as they reached the restaurant.

"You have blood on your shirt, Rock." She said, pointing to a spot on his breast pocket. Rock shrugged and kept walking in with her. Bloodstains were probably akin to a badge of honor in Roanapur.

"Hello, Mr. Okajima… Come with me, your table is ready for you, sir…" The Maître D' said politely. It was odd to hear anyone talk like that in Roanapur of all places, but it was refreshing in its own way, for Rock, who had grown used to more low-brow manners of speech.

"Your lady friend is lovely. I don't think I've ever seen her before. Is she new to the city?"

"No, she's…" He looked over and saw Frederica shaking her head.

"She's been here a while. She just doesn't usually wear clothes like this."

"Of course not. Enjoy your meals." The Maître D' said, walking away. A few minutes later, the waiter came and they ordered their drinks.

Frederica continued her silence. Rock thought it was strange that she wasn't saying anything. She brought her Ultravoice. She had taken it off, though, probably stored it in her purse. Rock never knew she even had a purse. He figured he would go to hell for thinking this, though he was going to hell anyway, so who cared, but she didn't strike him as the type to own a purse. He assumed she kept her money in her pocket and everyone was just too scared to try to rob her.

She was infamous for tearing people apart with a chainsaw, after all.

"Are you alright, Frederica?" Rock asked. Frederica blushed slightly, turning away and nodding.

"Are you sure? You haven't said a word since we got into the restaurant, and you've even taken off your Ult…mmf!" Frederica blushed, putting her hand over Rock's mouth.

"Maybe you'll tell me later?" Rock asked. Frederica nodded quickly, and the two went back to their menus. Frederica perused the menu, and finally put it down. Rock did the same, and after a few minutes, the waiter came to the table, and took their orders. Frederica asked him in sign language if he spoke ASL. The waiter nodded, and she ordered a steak, medium-rare, with mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli and asparagus. Rock laughed to himself about her appetite.

He ordered the Shepherd's Pie. The waiter nodded, and headed off, thinking how beautiful the woman was, and how lucky Rock was to have her. For a while, they talked in ASL, Rock showing once again how skilled he was. Despite the fact that he was hardly considered talented back in Japan, every day he showed how talented he was in the City of Night.

After a while, their dinners came, and they continued to talk, or sign, while they ate. Rock asked where Frederica learned Sign Language. She said that after her throat was cut, she had to learn to communicate. At first, she simply used a crude pantomime that allowed her to tell people what she wanted, assuming they could interpret what she was signing. Then, when she went to England, she learned Sign Language. It was shortly after that when she moved to Roanapur that she got an actual Ultravoice.

She still used ASL on occasion when she forgot her Ultravoice, but needed to communicate. She had a translator called for her if her client couldn't understand ASL. She could also write out her message if she couldn't reach an interpreter. Rock watched Frederica eat. It was impressive, he thought, that she could eat so much and never gain a pound. Rock finished off his Shepherd's pie, having enjoyed the strong taste of the lamb in his meal.

He finished his meal first, sitting back and waiting for Frederica to finish, who seemed to be in no hurry, taking her time to finish her steak and then bit into her mashed potatoes. She looked very methodical, finishing one food first and then moving onto the next, then the next. It was understandable. For someone in her line of work, she needed to not only be clean, especially for a meat packing industry, but also for her job as a Cleaner for the Chinese Mafia.

Finally, she finished, and didn't order desert, since they were going to go back to Shenhua's and Lotton's home and have cake there. When the waiter came and gave them their bill, Rock started to take out a card, but Sawyer stopped him saying that she was paying since it was his birthday. They argued for a minute in sign language, but eventually, Sawyer won, and she paid in cash and they headed out.

As they were heading home, they encountered nobody who would mean them harm, and made it to the apartment unmolested. As they walked in, Shenhua and Lotton came out with the cake.

"How you date go?" Shenhua asked.

"It went well. Rock had a chance to use your gift, Shenhua. Some moron attacked us, and hit Rock on the head with a metal bar. Rock threw one of your shuriken and hit him right in the eye. He then took out your gun and threatened him with it."

"You still have bloody shuriken?" Shenhua asked. Rock shook his head.

"No. I wiped the blood off on the man's shirt. I couldn't risk the shuriken rusting, so I figured he owed me at least that for inconveniencing me." Rock said with a grim smile. Shenhua's face went stiff for a moment, then she started laughing hysterically.

"You funny man, Rock! I never knew you have such sense of humor!" She cried happily. Rock nodded.

"Well… I have my moments. Could you tell me how to properly clean off the shuriken?" Rock asked. Shenhua nodded.

"There many ways. You do soap and warm water first, I suggest, then dry completely then oil, yes." She said. Rock nodded, heading into the kitchen and immediately cleaning the shuriken off, drying it and taking the oil out of his pocket and applying it before putting the shuriken away again.

"You very thorough, yes." Shenhua said cheerfully, taking out a lighter and lighting the candles. The three sang Happy Birthday to Rock, and had Rock blow out the candles. Rock then cut the cake, and served everyone. The four ate cake happily for a while. Finally, Rock and Frederica stood up and headed out. It didn't seem like he was going to sleep with her tonight. That was fine. He was a little anxious himself.

When they got back to his apartment, Rock kissed Frederica.

"Happy birthday, Rock." Frederica said. Rock smiled.

"Thank you. I'm glad I got to spend it with you." Rock said, smiling at her and saying that he'd call her as soon as he could. Was this what they called the Honeymoon part of their relationship? They hadn't had any serious disagreements yet, and he was always so happy to spend time with her.

He had neglected his work a bit, but Dutch seemed to understand, even if Revy seemed annoyed most of the time. He knew that Revy was just being jealous. He figured she would get over it eventually. He headed back into the hotel, and announced that he was home. Revy was sitting on the couch, looking like she was halfway through her third bottle of Tequila. She burped loudly, looking belligerently at Rock.

It was rare to see Revy getting truly wasted. But this looked like one of those occasions.

"Hey, cocksucker… Enjoy your birfday shex…?" Revy sneered. Rock scowled, but didn't say anything.

"Bet I'd makeya feel better'n than chainsaw bitch! At least I can scream when I get off…" She snarled, her speech horribly slurred. Rock sighed, rolling his eyes. She probably wasn't going to remember any of this in the morning. It was best not to encourage her.

"Hey! I'm talkin'tya, shithead!" Revy shouted, staggering over to Rock, kissing him forcefully, shoving him up against the wall and beginning to tear his shirt off. Rock sighed, and felt around his waist. He was sure he had something that would work. Some poppers that he bought a while back, some of his egg bombs, those wouldn't do. They'd hurt Revy. He took the gun out and made sure the safety was on, smacking her across the head with the butt of the pistol, knocking Revy over.

"Get out of my face, Revy. Go to sleep. You'll feel worse tomorrow, but you won't be drunk at least." Rock said irritably, taking off his shirt and putting on a tee shirt to go to bed in. It was getting late.