—CHAPTER 11—

Ashi crinkled her nose as Jack admired himself in the mirror.

The couple had decided to spend their Saturday at the mall, having just amassed a decent amount of money after weeks of working. There was a grocery store in the same shopping center which they initially came for, but were enticed by an annual sale at the department store in the mall. Tomorrow was their one-month anniversary, and they agreed to pick out their own gifts and present them to each other over dinner that night. First, they shopped for Jack, planning to get him a winter coat to replace his old ratty one.

But after seeing the coat Jack picked out for himself, Ashi was starting to regret the decision. Out of the entire collection of stylish coats, he ended up grabbing a hooded thermal that was an obnoxiously vibrant shade of green. The inside lining was a thick blue fur that was especially prominent from the back when the hood was down. Granted, the coat hugged Jack's upper body flatteringly, but the colors were just so gaudy that Ashi wanted to gag.

"I like the back fur…" Jack stated as he glanced at the blue fur behind him. He turned to Ashi, eyes aglow; "What do you think?" he asked confidently, holding his arms out in exhibition. She bit her lip as he held her chin in contemplation, trying to spare Jack's feelings.

But Jack deserved honesty, Ashi thought, so she made her feelings clear. "It looks hideous," she said flatly, wearing a strained expression.

His smile fell, as he turned to take another look at himself in the mirror. "You really think so?" he actually thought he looked quite dashing in the coat, perhaps it was the color she didn't like.

Jack shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I love this coat. Such a warm material, too!" he gushed as he held himself in comfort. "And well, it is my gift…" he smiled sheepishly at Ashi as she squinted, once again chewing on her bottom lip.

Finally, she relented, purchasing the hideous coat; Jack and Ashi left the department store with the anniversary gift, complimentarily wrapped by the store associates. After that, they hit the food court, having skipped breakfast on account of their dire need for groceries. Once they had eaten, it was time to buy Ashi's gift at the jewelry store, then amend the grocery situation.

But a large crowd caught their attention, people were huddling over in front of a music store. They seemed to be clamoring for the attention of someone within the store, but all they could see from across the sea was the parting that was making its way through the crowd out of the store. The crowd of people finally opened up, moved aside by two men in distinctive clothing; out walked a young woman with purple hair that was gathered up into two buns on top of her head, like mouse ears. She wore a red dress over a purple baggy shirt, with red-striped stockings and boots.

It was DJ O-Liv, a prominent rave DJ who had gotten her start right here in Burlington. She was actually one of the teens involved in the rave incident a few years back; the one Jack and infiltrated and broke up. The then famous, DJ Stylbator, was arrested when the subliminal messages being fed through his beats were discovered. Those messages were what caused the ravers to run away from home, and erupt in chaos every night, rioting in the streets.

Jack spoke up, "Hey, it's Olivia!" prompting the burgeoning music icon to turn in their direction, surprised to hear her actual name in public.

The DJ met Jack's eyes, and was able to identify him by his distinctive gaze. "Holy shit! Jack, is that you? Dude, you need a haircut!" she laughed, running up to hug him.

"Hello, Olivia! I see you're doing quite well for yourself," Jack mused, gesturing to the crowd nipping at her heels.

Olivia put her hands on her hips proudly, "Oh, you know it! The music industry has been pretty good to me after you cleaned up the rave scene. DJ Stylbator had a monopoly on EDM, his were the only events that got any publicity; but after he got arrested, a bunch of new artists flooded the market, including yours truly. Nowadays, I'm basically a staple of the genre!"

"Wow, that's great to hear!" said Jack, happily.

Olivia then noticed Ashi, and her curiosity was piqued; "Jack, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" she shot him a teasing side glance.

Jack blushed, clearing his throat, "O-Oh, of course! Olivia, this is my girlfriend, Ashi. Ashi, this is Olivia."

"It's nice to meet you!" beamed Ashi, and Olivia took her hand in greeting.

"Please, pleasure's all mine! You must really be something, if the famous Samurai chose you as his bae!" Neither Jack nor Ashi knew what "bae" meant, but assumed it meant something positive.

But before they could inquire, people in the crowd were heard muttering about the legendary Samurai; it seemed that Olivia wasn't the only celebrity there.

"Did she say Samurai?"

"I thought he was an urban legend?"

"Wait, is he that bearded guy? He doesn't look like a Samurai…"

"His girlfriend's pretty hot."

"Wasn't he in jail or something?"

Olivia rolled her eyes at the gossip, "Ugh, ignore the peanut gallery… Anyways, I've been in town for the last couple days now, but I'm leaving tomorrow; it sucks that I just ran into you guys now. But hey! The main reason I'm here is cause I'm DJing a gig tonight at a warehouse in the freight district. Do you know where that is?"

Thinking back to their confrontation with the Flannels, Jack answered confidently, "Yes, we're familiar with that area."

"Great! You guys should come to the rave, it's going to be sooo lit! And the Samurai making a guest appearance would definitely add to it!" Olivia raved, and the crowd cheered at the idea of partying with the Samurai.

Jack rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by the attention, "I, uh… thank you for the invite, but I am not certain raves really my type of gathering…" he trailed off.

Olivia nodded; "Yeah, I figured as much. I know raves aren't your thing, you're a pretty lowkey guy. I just figured I'd extend the invitation anyway, and the two of you are free to come by if you change your minds!" she offered cheerily as she took out her phone.

The late hour caused Olivia to express her surprise, "Wooah, it's 10:30! I gotta bounce, lot to do before the show tonight; it's at ten by the way! Think about it, it'd be really cool if you two came! Alright, see ya!" She waved happily as she, her entourage, and her adoring fans continued the trek through the mall.

Waving goodbye, Jack and Ashi headed over to the jewelry store. As they walked, Ashi turned to Jack; "So, why don't you want to go to this 'rave' tonight?" she inquired, slightly suspicious that it had something to do with Olivia.

"It's like I said earlier, I don't really like them. Maybe I didn't put it in those terms, but that's how I feel; raves just aren't for me," Jack explained with a quick shrug, immediately ridding her of suspicion. "I had only experienced it that once because I was working undercover; children were reported missing after going to these, so I intended to shut the operation down from the inside. What I found was that the DJ was using subliminal messages in his music, and they were causing the adolescents to become rebellious and destructive."

Ashi thought the story Jack was telling her sounded awfully familiar, "Huh, that reminds me of what happened on Thursday. How ironic is that?" she joked, but Jack wasn't laughing.

"No, what is ironic is that the one behind the first auditory experiment was found to have ties to AKu, and I have a feeling the more recent offender was no different", he sneered at the mention of the evil-doers.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me…" sighed Ashi, once again hearing of her Father's misdeeds. "I know, it is frustrating to know that that fiend is still up to his old tricks. But unfortunately, there is not much we can do aside from fixing the problems that he creates," Jack lamented.

Sensing a depression coming on, Ashi quickly shifted back to the previous subject, "Enough about that, tell me what a rave is like!" She grabbed Jack's hand, looking up at him like a child waiting for a bedtime story.

Her endearing expression prompted Jack to smile warmly, "Well, it takes place in a large, open area packed with people in all sorts of strange clothing. There's a DJ up on stage with huge speakers, blasting music meant to be danced to, while colorful strobe lights flash all over the stage and dance floor. They go on late into the night, and everyone dances the entire time. It's nothing special, really…"

Jack looked down to see Ashi wearing only a stupefied expression, her eyes practically gleaming. "Does that sound exciting to you?" he asked, surprised at the reaction he got. They finally got to the jewelry store, and Ashi already knew what she wanted; she picked out a shimmering ladybug charm bracelet, citing her adoration for the creatures.

"Well, yeah! I've been to a decent amount of parties in college, and I really enjoyed dancing at them. What you're describing just sounds like one big party! I mean, it's not like we have anything else going on tonight. Besides, we should go to support your friend's performance, you said the DJ is up on stage, right?" Ashi reminded Jack, making her case the best she could as they walked to the cashier to purchase her gift.

But Jack made a strained expression as he they moved down the line obviously he still wasn't on board. Ashi thought for a moment, then grinned as she realized the advantage she had; "Tell you what: We'll go to the rave tonight as my anniversary gift, you can just put this bracelet back," she suggested as she held the charm bracelet out to him.

Jack looked at her, confused; "B-But, I thought this was what you wanted! I bought a physical item for my gift, don't you think it makes more sense for you to do the same?"

"That's right, you did buy a physical item; a hopelessly tacky coat that I bought at your behest, even though I didn't like it. Don't you think it makes even more sense for you to do the same?" Ashi argued, and Jack felt he like was backed into a corner. She gestured to the bracelet in Jack's hand, "Besides, this thing will probably still be here another day if we don't buy it, but the rave is tonight only. We'd be silly to pass up a one-time opportunity like this, if you ask me…"

Jack sighed as they got up to the register, "Fine, fine! We'll go to the rave tonight; you're right, it's only one night."

Ashi smiled at his compromise as he greeted the cashier as he handed her the bracelet to scan, but then wondered why he was still buying the gift. "Wait, what are you doing? You don't have to buy that if we're going tonight," she asked.

"I'd feel better getting you an actual gift, the rave doesn't count," Jack explained nonchalantly, to which Ashi reached up to peck him on the cheek; a red hue graced his face, as the cashier expressed appreciation for the couple's affectionate behavior.

After they left the jewelry store, it was time to shop for groceries. They left the mall and crossed the parking lot to the supermarket, taking a cart with them as they passed through the entrance. Even with a sizeable list, the two of them kept a steady pace through the aisles, completing their shopping in record time.

Once they had everything they came for, they headed back to Jack's place, barely managing to fit all of their purchases on his motorcycle.

When they got back to the apartment, they climbed the stairs to the second floor, only to find Mr. Owen standing at the door of Jack's apartment. "Who's that?" Ashi asked.

Jack groaned in response, "My landlord."

The hulking man turned to them as they approached the apartment and spoke in his gruff voice, "You're late."

Mr. Owen stepped aside to let Jack open the door, which he did while explaining his tardiness, "Yes, I know; we went out early to buy groceries. Hang on, I have the rent money." He walked in the apartment and put down the bags of groceries, moving to dig into his kitchen drawer for the rent box. At the same time, Ashi cast a glance at the bulky landlord, who seemed to be sizing her up as well.

Ashi and Mr. Owen were standing on opposite sides of the doorway. The landlord was looking down the hallway as he spoke, "You are a… friend of Jack's, I presume?"

"His girlfriend, yes," Ashi responded matter-of-factly.

Mr. Owen's brow raised slightly, in a glimmer of surprise. "Hmm… and what do you see in this man?" he spoke in an almost playful tone. Ashi sneered at him, feeling like she was being goaded. "As I understand, he's had quite the fall from grace. Almost everyone he knows has abandoned him; he's a shell of the man he was when he first moved in. It is sad to see a noble man like him become such a failure," the landlord spoke as if in mourning, but Ashi interrupted his solemnity.

"Hey, Jack is not a failure!" she spat in a harsh whisper, not wanting Jack to overhear their talk of him. "He's still the noble man you once knew, he's just… lost his way, that's all. But I'm helping him figure things out, and he's already back working his old jobs, just like he used to. Maybe you should have a little faith in him," she crossed her arms in defiance of his statement.

Mr. Owen nodded in understanding, "I see, so you've inspired him, have you? Well, Jack will default sooner or later. I've seen it a million times; as good as your relationship might be now, it will eventually collapse. One of you might be to blame, or both. But either way, it won't last, and Jack will be right back where he started. It is only a matter of time…"

They stared each other down as Jack finally came over, reaching into the tin in his hand. "Sorry for the delay, here you go," he apologized, handing over the stack of bills.

Quickly counting the money, the landlord stuck it in his back pocket, "Well, you've managed to stave off eviction for another month, Jack."

Mr. Owen started down the hall, but not before turning back to Ashi. "Enjoy it while you can. Hope is just a fleeting sentiment, but failure is all too real…" he bluntly stated as he walked away, and she slammed the door in response.

"A ray of sunshine, is he not?" Jack smirked at Ashi, much less surprised by his landlord's bleak attitude.

She clenched her fists in aggravation, "God, what a prick! Where does a lousy landlord get off talking about someone like that? How much does he even charge you?"

Jack crossed back into the kitchen to put the rent box back as he answered, "Around sixteen hundred now," causing Ashi to quietly gasp.

"Seriously!? That's a lot for this area! How can he get away with charging you that? Why do you put up with it?" she followed him into the kitchen on the opposite side, by now Jack had moved to sit at his kitchen table.

He folded his arms and shrugged nonchalantly, "What else can I do? I could find a cheaper place, but the rent would hike up over time, just like it did here. I'd rather stay settled in one place than keep moving around the city." Ashi made a downcast look grabbed a handful of leftover Halloween candy on the counter.

She leaned against the table to Jack's right, and he moved his chair to face her. "Well, we made enough for you to keep up payments for a while, but what if I helped you pay? I have what we earned, and the excess allowance my Father gives me each month," Ashi suggested, unwrapping a fruit chew and popping it in her mouth.

Jack shook his head, "I appreciate the offer, Ashi, but no. I don't want you sacrificing part of your paycheck when you have your own bills to deal with."

"That's just it, I don't have my own bills to deal with," she responded, mid-chew. "My Dad covers all those expenses, but I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself; it actually really bothers me that he does that…" Ashi paused to swallow the candy she was eating, looking wistful. "But I've basically been living here the past few weeks anyway, I might as well be paying rent. Also, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have your old jobs back! I've already helped you!" she stated triumphantly.

Jack scratched his chin, looking to the ceiling for a rebuttal. "True. But if it weren't for you, I would never have lost my last job in the first place," he retorted, sitting there smugly. But Ashi lobbed one of the fruit chews at him, causing him to open up his eyes again.

"Shut up! You know you hated that place. Also, they would've probably gotten busted eventually," she remarked.

"I suppose," sighed Jack, picking up the piece of candy in his lap. He unwrapped and ate the pink square, sharing a quiet moment with Ashi as they both enjoyed the leftover treats.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Jack spoke up again. "Alright, you can help pay my rent…" Ashi smiled, "…on one condition," and then frowned, "You have to officially move in with me," and then turned red.

Move in with Jack? Ashi hadn't even considered the notion before now. It dredged up those concerns about Jack and her Father's conflict, which she had considered before now; far too often, in her opinion. But if she wanted to progress this relationship, Ashi was going to have to deal with this problem.

As she stood there, practically frozen in contemplation, Jack chimed in again, "I uh, don't know if you'd prefer if I move into your place, but I felt it rude to impose like that…" his words snapped her out of it.

"Yeah, no, my Dad would be… weird about that," she said sheepishly, looking away from Jack. She turned back to him and finally answered the initial question, "Can I get back to you on this?"

"Oh, of course! This is not a pressing issue; please, take your time to think it over," he smiled warmly at her, his arms no longer crossed and his hands resting on his legs. That made her feel a lot better about her indecision, and after remembering the pieces of candy still in her palm, holding one up to offer it to him.

Jack reached out a hand to take it, but instead of giving it to him, Ashi unwrapped it herself and held it up again, this time in preparation for another lob. Catching on to the challenge, Jack steadied himself in the chair, and waited for the toss. She lobbed it in a big arc over to him, and he caught it by leaning back on the chair just a bit.

The couple cheered and high-fived, and Ashi got ready to throw another; Jack held up a finger while chewing, "Hold on a moment, its chewy."

She ate another herself in the few moments it took Jack to finally swallow it, "Ready?" she said through the candy.

"Go," Jack was barely seated anymore, ready to move if necessary for the catch.

/

It was ten minutes to ten, and the couple had just arrived at the warehouse district by the shipyard.

Ashi was initially concerned that they would be unable to locate the building where the rave was being held, but Jack told her it wouldn't be hard to pinpoint. Sure enough, they could hear the booming music from outside as they got close enough, and eventually saw the line of people waiting to be let in. It ended at the front door of the building, where a large, dark-skinned man stood guard; he was bald and wore an all-black getup with small, round, and red-lensed spectacles.

They followed the velvet rope all the way to the back of the line, eliciting stares and murmurs from people waiting as the Samurai and his girlfriend passed. Jack was once again shrinking somewhat at the attention, so Ashi grabbed his hand in reassurance as they walked.

Once they got to the end of the line, she spoke up; "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said everyone dressed weird at these things," she said, looking ahead at the people in line. All of them were wearing something either extremely vibrant, revealing, or both. Some of them wore random animal masks, while others seemed to be going for themes like "cowboy" or "astronaut". Ashi elbowed Jack, "You should've worn that jacket we bought today, you would fit right in!" she joked. Jack rolled his eyes, giving a sarcastic laugh.

Meanwhile, the two of them were modestly dressed by comparison. Jack wore an orange vest over a white V-neck tee, with a tiny midriff between the shirt and his baggy jeans and sneakers. Ashi's midriff was much more noticeable between her red tee and black leggings with boots, and she also wore a black vest that remained unzipped.

It was finally nine o'clock, and the line began slowly feeding into the building. Jack and Ashi only waited around twenty minutes until they got to the door, and the bouncer now towered in front of them.

"Tickets?" he held out his hand, prompting Jack and Ashi looked at each other in confusion.

Jack stepped forward, "Uh, I'm afraid we don't have tickets…" and the large man crossed his arms.

"Well then, you ain't gettin' in; step outta line, please. Next!" he shouted to the rest of the line. Another person stepped forward and handed over their ticket, and the bouncer let him through.

Jack cut off the next person in line to resolve the issue, "It appears there has been a mistake…"

The bouncer retorted, "Yeah, and it's you, still standing here. You don't got a ticket, you ain't gettin' in!"

Now it was Ashi's turn to step in, "Hold on, we were invited by DJ O-Liv herself; she never told us we would need tickets!"

The bouncer chuckled, "Yeah, right! You expect me to believe that you two nobodies even got a glimpse at DJ O-Liv? Get outta here… literally, leave. You're not gettin' in." He sent them off again, taking the next person's tickets, but they weren't giving up that easily.

"It's true! I'm an old friend of Olivia's, we met her earlier today at the mall, and she told us to come tonight," Jack interjected, recapturing the bouncer's attention.

"That right? She was there earlier…" he pulled out a little notebook and adjusted his glasses, "What's your name?"

"Jack, Jack Senshi," he stood at attention as if it were a roll call.

The bouncer scanned the pages, "Jack… Jack… Nope!" he closed the book, "You're not on the list; nice try, Jack," and went back to letting people in. Jack was prepared to turn around and go home, not super committed to going to the rave in the first place.

But Ashi wasn't about to give up that easily, "Maybe you have him under a different name… the Samurai…" she accentuated the title, prompting both the bouncer and the person about to step inside to stop dead in their tracks. The murmurs from the line started up again, as the bouncer peeked at Jack over his shades.

He looked him up and down, rubbing his chin as he pondered. Finally, he spoke up; "Gotta say, Samurai, Olivia painted a much more impressive picture when she described the man who saved her when she was just startin' out. And here you are, lookin' like you just rolled outta bed. Might want to consider shaving, too. Ah, but what do I know?" He shook his head as he opened the velvet rope, finally gesturing for the two of them to step inside.

Ashi's eyes lit up, and she grabbed Jack's hand before she ran inside, pulling him along excitedly. He quickly called out a "Thank you!" to the bouncer before the two of them disappeared into the crowd.

The sea of people impeded their movement, but Ashi continued to push her way through with Jack in tow. She was enthralled by the flashing lights and booming music, and the colorful silhouettes gyrating in every direction. It was exactly like Jack had described. Jack, however, was trying his best to ward off the oblivious dancers closing in on him from all sides, while also cringing at the visual and auditory assault on his perception.

Ashi finally stopped at a relatively clear spot in the middle of the dance floor, letting go of Jack's hand and her inhibition all at once. Seeing her surrender herself to the rhythm of the music captured Jack's attention. He stood there, mesmerized, as she swayed and shook so effortlessly with the beat.

She opened her eyes for a moment to see Jack standing there, gawking. Unacceptable, she thought, and grabbed both of Jack's hands this time. "Come on, Jack! Just relax and go with the beat!" She let go again as she got back into it, giving Jack another example. Awkwardly, he started bobbing up and down slowly while alternatingly pumping his arms; but as he "danced", his body started to gravitate towards other rhythmic actions it knew quite well. All of a sudden, he remembered the dance he invented at his only other rave years ago.

Jack stepped back, assessing if the space around him was adequate, as Ashi glanced at him again. She was about to get his attention again when he began to move; he punched the air a couple times, across once with each fist, the jumped in the air with a sex kick. Once he landed, he struck multiple different martial arts stances in quick succession with the beat. He alternated those three movements, and it all flowed together quite gracefully. Now, Ashi was the one gawking.

Other people were now noticing the familiar dance as well, and though they were drowned by the music, the murmurs had returned. Jack stopped after a few moments, more embarrassed than fatigued, and Ashi went up to him. "Nice moves, Samurai!" she shouted over the music, which came to an abrupt halt; then a bright stoplight shown at them from above the stage.

A mouse-like silhouette rose from the audio console, "Ladies and Gentlemen! The Samurai is in the hooouse!" she hollered, and the crowd cheered wildly. "But we cannot rave with our hero, until we give him a show of gratitude!" Another roar from the crowd.

Colored lights illuminated the form to revealing Olivia, who held out both her arms wide, "Samuraaai DROP!" her voice echoed.

Everyone around was standing still with their heads tilted down, as the music came up in a crescendo; colored strobe lights scanned the crowd repeatedly. Jack and Ashi stood there in pure confusion.

"We will never forget you til the day we die!" Olivia began to sing as the music leveled off, "The Samuraaai, the Samuraaai!" The beat came back in, and everyone around began to do Jack's signature dance. Awed by the mob of people imitating Jack in reverence, the couple decided to join them in their movement.

The song finally ended, and the crowd cheered as Jack and Ashi collapsed into each other, both exhausted and laughing. DJ O-Liv spoke up again, "Thank you, Samurai! Now, let's keep this party going!" the crowd hollered as the rave music came back, and the dancing started up again like before.

Jack was parched, and he noticed a small booth off to the side that was selling refreshments; dehydration was likely a common issue in this setting, he thought. "Let's go get something to drink, we've been dancing for a while," he suggested to Ashi, and she agreed. They started walking without breaking eye contact, meaning Jack wasn't watching where he was going, and he crashed into another dancer.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," he apologized.

But the man waved a hand, "S'all good, babe! By the way, I am groovin' on the mane!" he snapped and pointed at Jack's hair.

Jack touched his locks with a smile, "Why, thank you! I like your hat!" The man grinned back at Jack, but it fell as he looked to the woman standing to Jack's left.

He hurried off, shouting, "Thanks, babe! I gotta fly though, toodles!"

Jack turned to Ashi, "Huh, the people here are such characters…" he trailed off as he saw the look of horror on her face, "What's wrong?"

Ashi snapped in his direction, quickly thinking up an excuse to go off on her own, "I… uh… need to use the restroom! Can you grab a water bottle for me while I go?"

"Yes, of course! I'll see you in a bit," he waved as he went off towards the drink vendor, and she smiled back until he was out of sight, then furrowed her brow and followed in the direction her Father's assistant went off in.

He was just about to step out of the building when Ashi pulled him back in by his arm, turning him to face her. His shocked expression changed to one of pure joy, "Oh heeey! Fancy meeting you here, babe! How ya been since I last saw you?" he cheekily asked.

Ashi scowled, "Like you don't know! My Dad asked you to spy on me, didn't he?"

"Frankly, I don't know what you're talking about, babe! As a connoisseur of all things music, I'm only here to familiarize myself with what the kids are into nowadays! Quite the shindig, ain't it?" he coyly responded, dancing along with the beat as she glared at him.

"Don't act so innocent, I know what you and my Dad are up to; he thinks he can keep tabs on me even when he's not around, but I can worry about my own life! I certainly don't need his beatboxing man servant to do it for me!" she asserted angrily.

Scaramouche held up his hands in defense, "First of all, babe, it's called 'scatting'. Second, your Dad only asked me to look out for you is all; he's worried about his precious daughter!"

Ashi scoffed, "I bet…"

"No, really! Now that the daughters of AKu are getting some publicity, he wants to make sure y'all can handle a life in the spotlight! He was on the "The Midnight Hour with Clark Davis" a few weeks back, and he mentioned you and your sisters, did you see that?" Scaramouche touted excitedly.

"Yeah, I saw it…" Ashi replied, rolling her eyes.

Scaramouche waved his hand dismissively, "Anyway, don't you worry! Your Father isn't coming back to town until the end of the year at the earliest, he told me not to tell him anything I know until then."

Ashi's eyes squinted as she asked with hesitation, "…How much do you know?"

His grin went wide, "Well, for starters, I know about your new boy toy…" he said teasingly as he put his hands on his hips.

"I… don't know what you're talking about," she argued, turning away from him.

"Now who's playing dumb! Oh, come on, babe, you've spent every day for the last month with him, and now you're going to try to deny it? You're. Dating. The Samurai! Honestly, I find it hysterical," he laughed, as Ashi continued to avoid eye contact. "Tell me, did he whip out the ole' samurai sword yet? I bet he's good some kinda Bushido kama sutra to pull moves from! I cannot wait to see the look on your Dad's face when I tell him that the Samurai deflowered his little flower! Talk about priceless, babe!"

All the different colored strobe lights illuminating Ashi's face masked how red it was, "For your information, we haven't…. gone there yet. Jack is a gentleman that respects me, and we only move forward once we both feel we're ready."

Scaramouche shook his head while clicking his tongue, "Careful, Ashi! Guys have a one-track mind; if you play it classy for too long, he might run off with some other chick who's more willing to put out…" he glanced over the crowd behind Ashi, and she could see his attention drawn to something in particular, "Like that one!"

Ashi turned and stood on her toes to peek over the crowd; she could see Jack over by the drinks, standing awfully close to a female dancer. Her eyes went wide, she turned to Scaramouche and hissed, "We're not done with this conversation!" before hurrying off towards the drink stand.

"Sorry, babe, but I am," Scaramouche chuckled to himself as he waltzed out of the building, passing a man in a zipped sweatshirt with his hood up. In fact, a noticeable amount of people already present were wearing the same outfit.

/

Jack was pleasantly surprised at how much he was enjoying himself.

Dancing was never his first choice of activity, but dancing with Ashi was something he could see himself doing more often. On top of that, all the recognition he was receiving for his good deeds was certainly uplifting. All in all, Jack was having a pretty good night.

After weaving through the crowd to get to the drink stand, he handed the vendor a couple bucks and was given two cold water bottles in exchange. Now all he had to do was sit tight until Ashi was done in the bathroom. Jack sipped one of the water bottles as he stood there waiting, and suddenly he felt a female form press up against his back. He smiled and turned, expecting to see his girlfriend; "Wow, that was pretty quick…" but it wasn't Ashi.

"Hey there, Mr. Samurai~," Jack was startled to see a dark-skinned girl grinding on him, wearing purple ribbons wrapped around her body in place of clothes, that left very little to the imagination. She had black hair in two long, braided pigtails. The toothy smile she wore only accentuated the gap in her front teeth. She pointed at one of the water bottles in Jack's hands, "I see you have two of those, you looking for someone to share with~?" she asked playfully, as she moved closer to him.

Clearing his throat, Jack stood his ground against the female dancer. "I'm afraid not; you see, this is for my girlfriend, I'm simply waiting for her to return," he smiled politely, feeling he had gotten his point across. But she hadn't gotten the hint, as she continued to press herself against Jack, who recoiled from the contact.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman~? But who says you have to just stand around and be bored until she gets back? You should dance with me!" He was about to turn her down once more until she turned around while pressed against him, emphasizing her rear end. He couldn't help but notice the sunflower just below the small of her back. "Pleeeaase, Samurai? You're such a big hero, and I would really like to show you my personal appreciation~" she cooed, writhing her body rhythmically against him.

Jack's face now matched the strobe light flashing on him, "M-Miss, please! Thi-This is hi-highly ina-pro…propriate," he squeaked out, struggling to speak.

The dancer wouldn't budge, sensually moving to the music. "Don't worry, your girlfriend can join us when she gets here…" she barely had time to finish her sentence when she was roughly yanked away from Jack.

"No thanks," said Ashi, bluntly denying the promiscuous offer, as she threw the girl aside and moved in front of Jack. The girl glared at Ashi while gathering herself, then blew a kiss and winked at the Samurai before sauntering away, swaying her hips.

Jack let out a deep exhale, "Thank you, I wasn't… prepared to handle that," he said sheepishly. But Ashi didn't respond, nor did she even turn to acknowledge him. She was too preoccupied with Scaramouche's words ringing in her head, and they were proving to be more necessary than she would've preferred.

"Ashi?" Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of it.

"S-Sorry, are you okay?" Ashi asked worriedly.

Jack smiled, "I'm fine, but what about you? It seemed like you zoned out for a second there."

She was about to reassure him that nothing was wrong, but a commotion taking place across the room caught their attention. With suspicious coordination, everyone in the room wearing identical hoodies pulled out and put on a green latex tiger mask, and unzipped their coats to reveal a random red letter. One of them had kicked in one of the large speakers, and the rest were proceeding to cause all sorts of havoc.

Many of the dancers began to scramble for the doors; the masked men were aggressive towards the normal ravers, who were now afraid of becoming a statistic on tomorrow's news. The bouncer noticed the situation brewing, but chose to tend to the fleeing crowd. Olivia's bodyguards escorted her offstage, but she didn't stop the music on the way out, leaving a blaring rave beat as the backdrop for the chaos.

Jack and Ashi, who weren't making any attempts to escape, were near enough to the drink vendor's cart to notice a couple tiger men push it over. They then approached the couple, intending to antagonize them, but quickly learned why their targets had yet to flee.

Once they dropped the thugs, Jack and Ashi moved on to the rest of the tiger men. More of them noticed the two sticking around, and joined the fray. Jack got one of them with a cross counter, following up with a knee to the gut; he tossed the thug into another, knocking both down. He dodged a swipe and got low, sweeping the attacker's legs. Ashi swiftly kicked a thug in front of her, then brought her leg behind to kick another. Her head tilted right to dodge a punch, grabbing the fist and tossing the attacker over her shoulder, then delivering a nasty elbow to one of the latex tiger masks. As the fight went on, Jack and Ashi's moves became more and more coordinated; they moved in compliment to each other, covering each other's openings and alternating targets when necessary.

All of the other dancers were long gone, and the bouncer was posted up against the wall, enjoying the fight. Finally realizing they were outmatched, the gang of tiger men were now fleeing themselves, and the bouncer didn't even try to intercept them. Jack and Ashi stood there, triumphant, and they now realized how empty the room had become. Olivia came back, finally turning off the music; she started to pack up any equipment that wasn't broken.

The bouncer finally got off the wall, and approached the victorious couple. "If I had any doubts you were actually the Samurai, I'd feel pretty silly right now. That was tight," he praised, fist-bumping Jack.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I can't take all the credit; after all, Ashi took out most of them."

Ashi shook her head, "What? No, I was just watching your back! You were the one doing all the work," she objected, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Y'all are too damn modest, both of you whooped some serious ass! You got my respect," he bumped his chest twice as a show of it, and walked away without another word. Now they were really by themselves, standing there in contemplative silence.

Jack finally spoke up, "This kind of thing happens to us a lot, doesn't it?" and she bluntly replied, "Mm hmm." They looked at each other, quietly.

Suddenly, a soft melody came up from the remaining speakers. Looking around in surprise, they turned around to look at the stage, where Olivia had her elbows on the console and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers. "Felt like you guys could use a little ambience, ya know? Anyway, don't mind me, I'm not even here," she assured with a wink.

They met eyes again, this time also sharing a soft smile; without a word they came together, holding each other's hand and placing the other on Ashi's waist and Jack's shoulder respectively. Slowly, they swayed along with the rhythm, gazes firmly fixed on each other.

Despite the lovely scene, Ashi still felt uneasy. Scaramouche's warning was still fresh in her mind, and her original fear of her Father founding out about Jack had returned. Now, she was on a deadline; by the end of the year, her Dad would find out about him, it was only a matter of time. Oh, and Jack still didn't know about her Dad either, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be as big of an issue as the former.

Regardless, she had to take precautions. Jack would surely be in danger if AKu found out about their relationship, what could she do to protect it? Protect him?

Suddenly, she remembered Jack's offer from earlier that day. He wanted her to move in with him, which was a big step given they were only together for a month. But if she, AKu's daughter, lived with the Samurai, then maybe AKu would think twice about messing with him. But… Jack's apartment wasn't the most spacious; moving in would certainly be a hassle, and Jack coming to live with her was out of the question.

As they danced, Ashi finally came up with a solution. "Jack…" she spoke in almost a whisper, "I've been thinking… about moving in with you."

Jack's eyes widened a bit, "Oh?"

She continued, "I think… I will. The answer is yes…"

Jack's wide eyes lit up, "Really? Ashi, that's…"

"But…" she cut him off, and his face fell slightly. "I have my own stipulation," Ashi smirked at him.

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Okay… well, let's hear it."

She took a breath, "I'll move in with you for the time being, but only if we look for a new place. A bigger place that can accommodate both of us. We keep working together, watching each other's backs, and we earn it. Deal?"

Jack looked surprised again, but slipped back into a soft smile, "Deal."

Ashi smiled back, then rested her head on his chest as they continued to quietly sway with the music. A few moments later, she felt a vibration as Jack spoke up again, "Hey, Ashi?"

She looked up without moving her head, "Yes?"

"Happy Anniversary."

—END CHAPTER 11—

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