The Actions That Follow

by Skippy Jones

A righteous man who has lost his way reconnects with a headstrong woman who's looking for meaning, and they soon come to find purpose in each other. A slice-of-life AU that reimagines iconic moments and characters into a new context.

16. The Break Up

—CHAPTER 15—

The elevator dinged, and the metal doors slowly parted.

Through them walked a tall, slim figure into AKu's office. A woman with short black hair that framed her porcelain face with little curls, and a distinctive mole to the left of her nose. She wore a long black trench coat, and a pair of reflective sunglasses hid her sultry green eyes. Even on the carpeted floor, her high heels made a faint bump as she sauntered over to the man himself.

AKu sat up straight at his desk with his hands in front of him, fingers interlocked; his face gave a serious and professional demeanor. Instead of sitting down, the woman stepped to the right of the chair in front of his desk, as she intended to make this quick and be on her way. The sooner she left the city, the better.

"I trust everything went smoothly?" AKu inquired.

The woman waved her hand dismissively, "Of course," reaching into her trench coat pocket, she pulled out a shimmering blue gemstone, square in shape, as big as the palm of her hand. "As promised," she said proudly, placing the jewel on the desk without removing her hand, "Now, pay up."

AKu grimaced at the woman, "Right…" reaching into one of his suit jacket and pulling out a small rectangular manila envelope, placing it down and holding it just as she did. Slowly, they both slid their item across the desk, carefully trading with each other. AKu inspected the jewel thoroughly, and the woman noticed as she opened up the envelope.

"Oh, relax! It's the real thing, trust me," she said dismissively as she counted the stack of money that was within the envelope, "And would you look at that, it's all here for once! Don't I feel special!" she gushed teasingly.

AKu rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. I still think I should be getting a discount; we are family, after all."

The woman laughed, "Like that's ever made any difference to you. Besides, the price was perfectly reasonable given the risks. Although," the woman touched her lips sensually, "the fringe benefits were quite satisfying. The poor Samurai has no idea what happened last night~," she cooed, causing AKu to retch at the thought. "Oh hush," she scolded, "Maybe if you employed better thieves, you wouldn't need me to sleep with your enemies."

"First of all, they're 'misappropriation associates'," AKu raised a finger defensively, "Second, that was not a condition of this job. And third, unlike some people, petty theft is not my biggest concern. My ambitions are far too grand for such meager crimes! You just wouldn't understand…" he remarked, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"You're right, I wouldn't," the woman smirked, "After all, I'm not the one with the superiority complex." AKu sneered as she continued her analysis, "You and I both know how to take what we want in this world; the difference is that you want more than your share," she started towards the elevator, "If you're not careful, the world might end up taking it back…"

"Ugh, you have your money, just leave already!" AKu growled.

She replied as the elevator doors opened, "One step ahead of you, as usual." The woman stepped through and turned around to wave goodbye, "Until next time, little bro," as the doors closed.

AKu scoffed, and swiveled his chair towards the window, and held up the blue jewel in his hand. Looking at his reflections, he mused to himself, "Well, I suppose family's good for something…"

/

After their meeting with AKu, things returned to normalcy for Jack and Ashi.

Ashi was elated to know that her Father supported their relationship, having hoped that she could reconcile the two most important men in her life. They certainly weren't on good terms yet, but this was a step in the right direction.

And Jack, despite the bad feeling in the back of his mind, had relaxed somewhat from seeing Ashi so happy. It obviously meant a lot to her that he got along with her Father, and he was prepared to do his best given the circumstances. He desperately hoped that his mortal enemy was genuine in his affection for Ashi; surely, if AKu had any love in his heart, it would be for his daughter.

With seemingly all loose ends tied, the couple could safely resume working different jobs every few days, making a couple hundred bucks at a time. They only had about ten grand left before they reached their goal, and the property they wanted was still up for sale. At this rate, Ashi estimated that they would be able to cover the down payment by late February.

Today, a little over a week since their meeting with AKu, the two of them were scheduled to fill in as security personnel at the local art museum. They arrived promptly at eight-fifty, ten minutes before the exhibit was supposed to start, parked the bike, and went around back to the service entrance. A man in business attire stood by the door, looking intently at the clipboard he was holding.

The man looked up as they approached, "Can I help you?" he asked blankly.

Ashi stepped forward, "Yes, hi, we're here to fill in as security for today's exhibit? We called yesterday, our names are Jack and Ashi," she explained with a smile, gesturing to Jack and herself respectively.

"Wait, are you…" the man trailed off as he scanned the clip board, "Yeaaah, see we tried to call you guys. We had a couple last-minute fill ins, and now we have nowhere to put you guys. I'm sorry, but the positions have been filled," he looked at them apologetically.

Jack raised an eyebrow, "But, why would you fill them if you knew we were working the exhibit? Was there some breach of communication along the line?" he inquired.

The man threw his hands up defensively, "Hey man, don't ask me. I don't decide who gets hired, they just put me in charge of the ones who did," he shrugged.

Ashi spoke up, "Forget it, thanks anyway. Keep our names in case any other work comes up, have a nice day," she took Jack's hand, lightly pulling him away as she waved goodbye to the museum official.

Once they got out of earshot, Jack turned to Ashi as they were walking back, "Doesn't that seem odd to you? Why would they completely disregard their prior obligation to us?"

Ashi shrugged, "It was probably just a failure to communicate, like you said. This kind of thing happens all the time, at least when upper management is involved."

They made it back to the bike, and hopped on as Jack sighed, "Either way, that's unfortunate."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Ashi smiled at Jack, "It's okay. It's still pretty early, we'll find something to do."

"You're right, it's not a big deal," he agreed, and they sped away.

Their next attempt was an ad from a local theatre troupe, that was looking for assistance in constructing the set for their latest production. The stage manager, Reggie, was well-acquainted with Jack and Ashi from their prior work on constructing sets for previous shows.

Passing through the double doors of the theater, the couple Reggie standing downstage, overlooking the construction happening onstage in front of him. He turned and smiled as they walked down the aisles to him, "Jack! Ashi! What can I do for you?" the man greeted, recognizing them from previous labor.

"Hi, Reg! We saw your ad, we're here to lend a hand in building the set," Ashi explained politely, standing up straight next to Jack confidently.

But Reggie rubbed the back of his head, blowing through his teeth as he looked at the construction. He called out to someone on set, "Uhh, Ian! Do we need any more hands on deck right now?"

Ian pondered for a moment, "No, we're…" looking around himself before shaking his head, "We're covered pretty good actually."

"Right… I'm sorry, you guys, looks like we're full right now. Definitely call tomorrow, though; we'll probably still be working on this," Reggie apologized.

Ashi remarked, "Well, it's nice to see that you have a lot of people helping out around here."

Reggie nodded, turning to look back at the construction, "Sure is. Truth be told, I don't even know where they all came from. We've never even had ten people helping out, now there's like twenty-something. It's crazy," he then turned back to Jack and Ashi with a sympathetic expression, "I really am sorry though, you guys. You know we appreciate the work you do here—in fact, come with me."

Reggie brought them out to the lobby, then went into the box office across from the theater entrance. He came out a few minutes later with what looked like two tickets, but were revealed to vouchers for tickets, which Reggie wanted Jack and Ashi to have.

"The show opens the week of Valentine's Day, which is a performance date, by the way. I'd love to see you guys at one of the performances!" he smiled at them, and they thanked him for his generosity before departing once more, bummed about being turned down again.

Still, the couple gave it a third try, visiting a quaint little flower shop they had passed by numerous times. A help wanted sign was constantly hanging in the window, and Ashi had high hopes for this place; third times the charm, she cheered.

But, just like the previous employers, a handful of people had already filled the positions, and they had arrived just in time to see the sign being taken out of the window.

Standing in front of the shop, Jack and Ashi looked at each other in disappointment. "This is so strange, all these people coming out of nowhere. We've never had this much trouble finding work," Ashi wondered out loud.

Jack responded in a peculiar tone, "Yes, it sure is a funny coincidence that all these people have started doing temp work like us, isn't it?"

Ashi turned to squint at Jack, "Yeah…" she trailed off as she eyed him suspiciously.

Jack noticed her incriminating stare, "Why are you giving me that look?" he asked.

"Well, it sounded like you were implying something when you said it was a coincidence, though I'm not sure what that could be," she calmly explained, trying her best not to sound like she was accusing him.

Jack turned to start towards his bike, "Oh no, I was merely agreeing that it was odd. I mean, how could every ad we've tried today already be taken already? It's almost like someone was keeping track of what we're doing, and specifically trying to keep us from finding work, don't you think?" he asked innocently.

Ashi scowled, seeing where this was headed; "As a matter of fact, I don't. There just happens to be a large influx of people looking for work lately—I don't know, immigrants maybe! Whatever the reason, it's completely unrelated to the actions of any particular individual, even if someone thinks that that particular individual is out to get them, which they aren't!" she asserted.

Jack laughed, "Immigrants, huh? Well, I happen to know that this particular individual has ties to immigration policy, so it's not out of the question that they might have had something to do with all these immigrants."

"Oh, give me a break! You'll just find any reason to blame him, won't you?" Ashi protested, "He's a political candidate, I'm sure he's got better things to do than try to sabotage one of his seven daughters' relationships. Plus, it's only been a week; do you really believe that my Father could've organized some convoluted scheme to keep us from finding work in that amount of time?"

Jack's raised his voice a notch, "Yes, I really do! Like you said, he's a politician; lying is his job!"

Ashi rolled her eyes, "You're just saying that because you want to believe he's sabotaging us."

Jack glared back, "Well, you just want to believe he isn't…"

They had a brief stare down before Ashi finally broke away, "Just forget it, okay!?" she threw up her hands angrily, "Let's just go find a stupid job, and you'll see that you're being ridiculous!" she shouted, stomping off towards Jack's bike.

Sighing deeply, Jack trudged off after her.

/

It was finally Valentine's Day, and Jack thought it couldn't come soon enough.

The job crisis he and Ashi were experiencing recently had not improved, and every ad they had tried recently was already taken. With no other options, the two of them applied to a nearby fast food establishment, aptly named "Burg-eoise". Jack felt like he was right back at Sheriff Mart, and Ashi frequently expressed her disdain for their new employment. Even worse, they were often assigned to different shifts, so they rarely worked side-by-side like they were used to; and the fact that they were now living off minimum wage didn't help either. Being able to move into the new place by the end of the month was looking less and less viable.

This unfortunate situation only amplified the tension that had developed between the two of them, as Jack continued to blame AKu for their financial troubles. Ashi refused to accept that, still clinging to the notion that her Father was looking out for her. After all, he offered to find them better paying jobs after hearing about their struggle, even pay for their new place outright.

Jack vehemently refused to accept his charity, even though Ashi wasn't planning on taking the offer herself, and that resulted in another fight between them. They had been getting into a lot lately, and something was going to give.

But today was Valentine's Day, and Jack had planned the perfect date to put an end to the squabbling once and for all, hoping to reignite he and Ashi's passion for each other. Ashi was the only one working today, her shift ending at six. It was only noon, which gave Jack plenty of time to prepare.

First, he would buy the traditional flowers and chocolate, as well as a stuffed ladybug plush he saw recently at the store. Next, he would take her to dinner at her favorite restaurant, and then only a few blocks down to the theater, where they would see the play that their acquaintance had given them vouchers to. Finally, they would go back to their place for a night of satisfaction the likes of which Ashi had never experienced—at least in the last month or so.

And to top it all off, Jack would finally say those three little words that he kept missing his chance to say. Every opportunity since Christmas, Jack couldn't muster the nerve to do so; not to mention every AKu-related distraction taking his mind off it.

So, Jack was standing in the greeting card aisle of a gift shop, trying to find the perfect card for Ashi. Of course, it would be his own words that would endow it with the appropriate sentimentality; but the look of the card mattered, too. Everything had to be just right.

At last, the perfect card appeared before him: It had no words, inside or out, but a pastel of a lone cherry blossom tree on a hill, overlooking a lush valley of pink, and rays of sun beaming down. With that settled, he grabbed the box of chocolates, a bouquet, and the ladybug plush from the other aisles, then went to purchase the items.

From the gift shop, Jack headed over to the theater that was showing the play he was taking them to. It was finally time to exchange those vouchers for tickets to tonight's performance, and Reggie assured him that there would be tickets even if he exchanged them for a same day show. It was a rather eclectic theater.

However, upon arrival at the theatre, Jack noticed a large orange poster plastered against the bulletin board in front of the theater that read, "TONIGHT'S PERFORMANCE IS CANCELLED DUE TO CONFERENCE. APOLOGIES, CAST AND CREW."

Jack's heart sank when he saw the post, and quickly pulled out his phone again to dial Reggie. The stage manager picked up almost immediately, "Hello?"

"Reggie, hi!" Jack practically cut him off, "I just saw the notice outside the theater, what's going on? What 'conference'?" he asked urgently.

"Oh, that. Well, AKu is holding a press conference at the court house down the street, and we expect there to be major traffic issues on the block during it. On top of that, most of the cast and crew are very politically active, and they are very critical of his policies. They want to join in the protests that are going to be held outside the courthouse—artists, am I right?" Reggie joked, but Jack didn't laugh. "Anyway, we decided to just cancel tonight's performance, sorry about that. Hope we're not screwing up your plans for the evening."

Jack responded lightly through gritted teeth, "No, not at all. I have to go; bye, Reggie," and hung up before Reggie could say goodbye, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

Well, that was one part of his plan ruined so far, no big deal. They still had the reservations for seven at Ashi's favorite restaurant, "World Bazaar". Said restaurant was famous for having quite possibly the most culturally diverse menu of any dining establishment, featuring popular dishes from all corners of the globe. The place was divided into with respective booths for each country's food. Jack and Ashi had gone there on a date back in November, and she had been obsessed ever since.

Now feeling a little less confident about his Valentine's idea, Jack decided to call to confirm the reservations, just to be safe. He looked up the contact and dialed the number; it rang several times before someone finally picked up, "World Bazaar," he answered, lazily.

Jack responded quickly, "I'd like to confirm my…"

"This is Damian speaking," slurred the voice on the other end of the line, interrupting the request.

Jack blinked in confusion, then tried to go for it again, "My name is Jack, and I have a…"

Only to be cut off again by the sluggish voice again, "How may I help you?"

Jack paused with a scowl, then spoke up once he was sure the employee didn't have any more lines to remember. He cleared his throat, "Uh, yes, hello. I would like to confirm that my reservations are set for seven'o clock, tonight. I believe it is under the name, 'Jack'."

Silence. "Hello?" Jack called out in confusion a couple times, but no response; though he could faintly hear occasional noises and clicks, cueing Jack him in that the employee on the other end was, very slowly, checking some sort of computer system for Jack's reservation. At least he was doing his job. "Seven, o'clock," Jack reminded awkwardly, "Under the name, 'Jack'".

After about two minutes of various ticks and ticks coming from the other end, Damian spoke up again, "Okay… I found it." Jack stared blankly for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "And?" A brief intermission, and Damian elaborated, "So, the restaurant got bought out for the night by…" what a terrible place to cut up your sentence, thought Jack. "People from AKu's campaign."

Jack fell into a blank stare once again, only this time his left eye starts to twitch ever so slightly, and it was only after Damian asked, "You still there, man?"

"So, no seven o'clock then, is what you're saying?" Jack asked, suppressing the anger that was steadily brewing in him. He mulled it over while waiting for Damian to perfect his next statement in his head for an excessive amount of time, which was must have been why he was taking so goddamn long to speak.

"Yeah. Sorry about that, we have to turn away a lot of reservations for this actually; I supposed I should have mentioned that from the beginning," Jack was completely thrown off by the sudden burst of articulation coming from Damian, who continued to apologize—maybe he actually was just taking longer to choose his words? "The deal was made on a corporate level so we have no choice but to host the party. Again, I'm sorry, cause I get it! This thing they're doing is definitely…" wait for it, "Bad timing."

Jack sighed, "Yeah, that's what it is alright… bad timing," and hung up the phone.

Unbelievable, he thought. Once again, his nemesis had sabotaged yet another aspect of his date plan, and now all he had left was the card, the chocolate, and the plush. Jack was going to need more than that to save his relationship.

So, no play, and no reservation; what else could he do to salvage this night? Well, since they had nowhere to go, Jack decided to make their dinner himself. The next best thing to being taken out to dinner was coming home to it, he figured. And best of all, AKu couldn't stop him this time.

But what was he going to make? After a quick brainstorm, Jack remembered a classic dish that his Mother used to make, and taught him how to make many years ago, chicken stir-fry. His first attempt didn't turn out so well, but it was a simple recipe that he had since perfected, and Ashi might appreciate the sentimentality of it.

Jack already knew what he needed for the dish, but also that he had none of those ingredients back at home. Since he was already out and about, it wouldn't be too much trouble to run down to the supermarket and buy everything he needed. He had plenty of time until Ashi got off work to go out and buy the ingredients, bring them back and start cooking. Jack wanted to line things up so he would finish cooking just before she returned. Filled with new determination, he set off for the supermarket.

But throughout the excursion, it seemed that not just AKu, but the world itself was out to get him. Most of the major roads downtown were backed up as far as the eye could see; cars were bumper to bumper, and the sound of aggressive honking echoed from ahead of the line. It took every ounce of Jack's willpower to not weave through the obstructing vehicles on his bike.

An eternity or so later, and he finally arrived at the supermarket. But of course, things didn't get any less complicated from there. The store was just as crowded as the streets, and Jack worried that some of the ingredients he needed would be sold out. Fortunately, he was eventually able to find all but one, which upon asking an employee, they brought him from the back of the store.

The only thing left to do was purchase the items, which meant braving the impossibly long lines up front that stretched into some of the aisles. Even the express line was crowded, possibly from some customers not adhering to the "ten items or less" rule.

Once Jack got up to pay for his items, he expected the process to go quickly and smoothly. But much to his dismay, the cashier was just starting out, and needed a supervisor's assistance with one of the items. Jack knew it wasn't their fault, they weren't doing this on purpose; but this entire day has been one big mounting disappointment, and he couldn't help being frustrated about it.

Fortunately, Jack made it out of the store with everything he needed, and now he just had to make it home and start cooking. He only had a little over an hour left to do so, but traffic had lightened up immensely, and the ride back was much quicker than his departure.

Once he was in the apartment, he threw the ingredients on the counter, quickly gathered the pots, pans, and cooking utensils he would need, and got to work.

/

At last, Ashi's shift was done.

Burg-eoise, the aptly named fast food joint, was the prison in which she had spent the last eight hours doing time, the entirety of which she worked the register, taking people's orders. What Ashi thought was a typical lunch rush turned into an endless stream of customers; it seemed that for every happy couple out enjoying the holiday, there was a lonely single individual that just wanted to indulge on cheap food, or a rambunctious family of varying numbers with no reason to celebrate this particular holiday.

As she walked out of the establishment towards the street, all Ashi could think of was going home, freshening up, and spending the rest of Valentine's Day with Jack. Sure, they'd been… tense these past few weeks, but she didn't want to see him less one bit. Just as she held out for her Father, Ashi believed in the man she…

Dare she say… loved?

That word wasn't thrown around much in her family. Her parents never used it, and even among her many sisters, affectionate words were rarely shared; how could Ashi even begin to say it to someone who wasn't related to her?

But then again, maybe she did love Jack. They'd been together for a while now, and this rough patch they've hit hasn't changed how she felt about him. Using that word would be a big step for both of them, but if there were ever a time to take it, Valentine's Day was it.

With a sudden resolve, Ashi was ready to go back home and see Jack, look him in the eyes, and finally say…

"Ashi!"

Her train of thought was completely derailed by her Father's voice coming from somewhere. A quick scan of her surroundings found him beckoning to her from a limousine parked across the street from Burg-eoise.

"Dad?" she said surprised, walking over to the open window, "What are you doing here?"

AKu opened the door and exited the limo, stepping up close to and looking down at his daughter, "Ah yes, funny story! You see, I was just on my way to a very important press conference, when I saw an advertisement for Burg-eoise, and remembered that you told me you were working at the one that was on the way to the courthouse. I figured, 'Why not drop by and see my hardworking daughter on the job, out there making her way in this harsh world?' But it looks like you've already had your shift, haven't you?" he asked, eyeing the hat and apron bunched together in her right hand.

"Yeah, I just got off, and now I was going to head back to…" Ashi didn't get to finish her explanation before her Father interjected enthusiastically.

"Perfect! I can give you a ride—or better yet! You can come with me to the press conference! Having one of my lovely daughters by my side will look great for me…" Ashi raised an eyebrow at her Father, who cleared his throat, "…but more importantly, it would mean a lot to me, personally, to have you there," AKu pressed his hands together pleadingly, bending down slightly so that he was eye to eye with his daughter.

Ashi turned away slightly, rubbing her arm, "I-I'd love to, Dad… but it's Valentine's Day. Jack's probably got something planned, I want to spend time with him; I barely saw him all day," she explained apologetically.

Stepping back into her line of sight, her Father chuckled with a look of sympathy. "Not to worry, Dear! It will only take an hour, hour and a half, tops. I guarantee you'll still have plenty of time to spend with the Samuraaaaiii mean, your boyfriend!" he assured her.

"Besides, if you explain the situation to him, I'm certain that Jack will understand why this is so important. After all, he knows the importance of familial responsibility," AKu stood up straight in conviction to his words, and with one last pleading look at Ashi, she herself was swayed by them.

"Y-Yeah, you're right," she smiled, "Jack will understand. Let me just give him a call, let him know, like you said."

Ashi reached into her purse as her Father started leading her into the limousine, "Of course, of course! But we must be on our way, the conference starts in fifteen!"

AKu got into the limo right after Ashi, closing the door behind him, and the vehicle rolled away.

/

The kitchen air was thick with steam erupting from the pan, as the chicken and vegetables sizzled and simmered, drizzled in sauce.

Jack stood over the hot stove, taking a big whiff of the food's aroma. He had outdone himself this time; the chicken was browned to perfection, the sauce had the perfect blend of flavor, and the vegetables were the freshest he could find in stores. He also had a pot of fluffy white rice cooking, that would perfectly top off the concoction (or rather, the other way around). Everything was almost done, and it was only five after seven. Ashi was in for a delicious surprise when she got home, and even though she was home earlier today, Jack was anxious to see her again.

Suddenly, his cell phone went off. Jack reached under his apron to pull it out of his left pocket, and saw that it was Ashi—maybe she couldn't find a ride? Stepping away from the noisy stove, he accepted the call and put the phone to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, Jack?" Ashi spoke softly from the other line, riding in her Father's limousine, "How, uh… how's it going?"

The apparent uncertainty in her voice made Jack slightly concerned. "Um… good?" he wasn't really sure how to answer, instead offering a question of his own, "So, are you on your way home?"

There was a quick pause before Ashi responded, "That's… actually why I called. My Dad picked me up from work, but now he's taking me to his press conference or whatever. I refused, but he said it would only be an hour, at most. I'll be home just a little later, okay?" An even longer pause occurred as Jack tried to process what he just heard. Ashi apologized sincerely, "I-I'm sorry, Jack. You had something planned, didn't you…?" she asked, ashamed.

Jack was about to go off about why he didn't have any, but instead chose to keep himself reserved, "N-No, I was just going to make dinner for us here at home, nothing special," he lied; it was special to him.

"Oh, okay. Well, like I said, it should only be about an hour or so. You can start dinner without me if you're hungry. I'll be back as soon as possible, okay?" Ashi responded with a little more enthusiasm this time.

Jack tried his best to emulate that enthusiasm as he stared at the nearly finished stir fry, "Okay…! Then I… guess I'll see you soon…?"

Ashi nodded to herself on the other line, "Yeah! See you soon, Jack. I lo—" she was cut off by her Father, suddenly turning on the radio in the back of the limousine, "Ashi, have you seen all the fancy buttons back here?" he asked excitedly, dashing her courage to say the forbidden phrase.

"Uh, never mind. I have to go, bye!" she blurted quickly before hanging up, leaving Jack staring blankly at the simmering dish on the stove.

"Bye…"

/

"An hour, hour and a half, tops."

Those were the exact words used by Ashi's Father to coax her into attending his press conference. A promise she so foolishly accepted as truth, without any regard for the extenuating circumstances she has so far encountered.

But the excursion turned out to be twice as long as she expected, with new questions being thrown at her Father left and right, a ceaseless barrage of trivial facts and information that Ashi couldn't connect to any form of politics. Were these really the kind of questions they asked at a press conference?

Ashi didn't even get why AKu wanted her there so bad, rarely did any of the questions pertain to her in the slightest. But that didn't stop him from bringing up some irrelevant anecdote about her and her sisters once and a while, really driving home the concept of him being a family man. If anything, she was a prop at this point.

It's not like Ashi didn't try to leave; she made an attempt to walk out before the conference was finished, catch a cab back to her and Jack's apartment. But there were several police officers blocking the exits, none of them being the one she knew personally. Apparently, the outside of the courthouse was surrounded by angry protesters, and she was prohibited from leaving for her own safety. Ashi tried to argue her capability of defending herself from such a mob, but the cops weren't having it.

But finally, after three and a half hours of twiddling her thumbs in the audience, AKu's attendants came into the audience to collect Ashi, leading her out with the rest of his entourage. As they walked to the limousine, the mob of angry protesters lining the way alarmed Ashi; Jack clearly wasn't the only one with gripes about her Father.

Speaking of Jack, Ashi wasn't nearly as excited to see him as she was earlier. Given that she had been at the press conference for twice as long as she told him she would, and basically missed Valentine's Day, Jack had good reason to be upset.

But Ashi's Father was right, Jack was an understanding guy! He wouldn't be too mad… right?

Quarter after ten, and the limo finally got dropped Ashi off at her apartment. Quietly, she stepped up the stairs and walked up to her door, taking a deep breath before turning the knob. The first thing Ashi saw as she slowly opened the door was Jack, watching TV on the couch with a displeased expression on his face. He didn't look up as she stepped into the apartment.

"Hey…" she greeted him hesitantly while moving towards him, but kept a generous space between them, "Uh… I know I'm late but, happy Valentine's Day!" Ashi smiled sweetly.

Jack's eyes shut for a moment, "Oh, is it still?" before darting accusingly at Ashi, "I wasn't sure if you would be back before midnight," causing her expression and shoulders to fall simultaneously.

"Jack, I am so sorry. I know you must be upset with me," Ashi lamented as Jack got up and moved past her towards the kitchen, "Look, whatever you had planned for us today, we can do it all this weekend instead. On me."

Grabbing a class from the cupboard, Jack shook his head as he opened the fridge; "Oh sure, and then right before we're about to leave, we'll find out that AKu is throwing a parade for himself right in front of our apartment, and we won't be able to go anywhere!" he huffed, pulling out the water pitcher and filling his glass.

Ashi squinted, "Wait, so… is this not about me missing Valentine's Day…?" she asked.

"No, it's…" Jack cut himself off at her incredulous expression, "I mean, it is; but it's about the reason you missed it, and that's because of AKu! He ruined everything I had planned for today!" He crossed her again, this time moving to the sink as she rolled her eyes.

"Here we go! Jack, I'm sure that's not what my Dad was trying to do when he asked me to go to his conference. It was important to him that I be there, and he told me it wouldn't be that long," Ashi explained.

Jack turned on the faucet, and began washing both the cup he just drank from and his dish from earlier that night. He scoffed, "Okay, so he lied to you... again! And it wasn't just you; I had much more planned for us tonight, but AKu sabotaged all of it, one way or another. He ruined my reservations at World Bazaar, his conference cancelled the show we had tickets to…"

"Are you insane? Your plans don't work out, so you automatically blame my Father? Do you know how ridiculous that is?" Ashi pleaded in disbelief.

Jack didn't turn from the sink as he replied angrily, "No, what's ridiculous is how you refuse to see that your Father has it out for me—for us! And I'm not just going off my own bias, Reggie and Damien both name-dropped AKu when I tried to set everything up. I know he was behind it!"

"Do you?" Ashi stepped closer, challenging his assertion, "And how exactly would my Dad know about the play we were going to see, or the restaurant you wanted to make reservations at? I know he isn't spying on us anymore, so how did he know, huh?"

Jack shut off the faucet and turned around to face her aggressively, challenging her right back. "Because of you."

"What…" Ashi was appalled by the accusation at first.

"You've been speaking to him a lot lately, haven't you?" Jack grilled her intensely.

"Well, yes. What, I'm not supposed to keep in touch with my own Father?" she shot back.

"He might not be spying on us anymore—he probably still is, by the way—but AKu still gets whatever information he wants, however he wants; even if its disguised as casual conversation! I bet he asked you all about your favorite restaurants around the city, maybe one I'd decide to take you to for Valentine's Day?" Jack cast a finger at her, flinging drops of water.

Ashi wanted to refute his accusation, but remembered that she did in fact disclose that information to her Father, which she reluctantly admitted; "I… may have discussed those things with him. But only because he asked!" she said defensively.

Jack crossed his arms, "You see? He doesn't even need to spy on us anymore because you'll just willingly tell him anything he needs to know. But it's fine! If he's asking, that just means he cares, doesn't it? Such a loving and thoughtful Father!" he mocked firmly.

Ashi turned away, rubbing her temples, "Jack, I get that you're upset—you have every right to be—but I am not going to have this argument with you again…"

Jack reached backwards and aggressively snatched the hand towel hanging on the left side of the sink, "No, you're right. We clearly won't get anywhere from discussing this further," he dried his hands as he glared at her, "I can see your mind is already made up on this." Jack tossed the towel back on the hook, but it didn't catch, and Ashi watched as it crumpled onto the counter.

Ashi sighed, "Look, Jack, I…"

Jack cut her off, and spoke without looking back, "I'm going to bed. Dinner's in the fridge, the plastic container on the bottom shelf. There's… plenty left." He started towards the hallway, but stopped as he placed his hand on the kitchen doorway.

Without moving the rest of his body, he turned his head slightly, "By the way, happy Valentine's Day," he said quietly, and then he was gone before she could reciprocate. The room was now silent, save for the background noise of the TV left on in the other room.

Ashi noticed the ladybug plush sitting on the kitchen counter, in between a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates, staring at her in scrutiny. She looked down at the floor for a moment, assigning to herself the blame for ruining the holiday. As much as she wanted to believe Jack, doing so would forsake her Father's credibility, and she just couldn't do that. Her past fears were now starting to become reality: that she would have to make a choice between the two of them. If she didn't soon, their relationship was bound to give.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in a while, so she took Jack's advice and grabbed the container of leftovers from the fridge. She took her own plate from the cabinet and served herself some, microwaving it for a couple minutes, then sat down and started eating. It was delicious, she could only imagine how good it tasted fresh. Mostly though, Ashi just wished she wasn't eating alone.

/

The second Tuesday of March was cloudy and gray. A dreary atmosphere loomed in the air as AKu stared out over the city from his office window. Stroking his goatee, he hummed in contemplation as his assistant lounged on the couch on the left side of the office, scatting under his breath.

"What to do…" AKu grumbled, just loud enough for Scaramouche to overhear.

"What's left to do, Boss? You've put them in a tough spot financially, they're always arguing about you, and now you're pulling Ashi away for some political event every other day," he counted off on his fingers, "Their relationship is hanging by a thread, babe."

AKu didn't turn around as he answered, "Indeed, but that thread isn't going to cut itself. I need one last scheme to break them up for good, something that will destroy both their relationship, and the Samurai in one fell swoop. But what…?" he mused, continuing his thoughtful hum.

Scaramouche touched his chin, "Well, what else matters to the Samurai besides loving your daughter and hating you? There's that karate thing they're trying to get started…"

AKu exhaled through his teeth with uncertainty, "Nnnnooo, if I make a move against their shared business venture, Ashi might actually catch on—I mean, if she hasn't already, I don't think she ever will."

"Okay… how about his parents? You could, uh… do something with their mortgage…?"

"Why bother? They're already living in one of my apartment complexes. Not to mention, the Samurai wouldn't hear about it for a while."

"Sheesh, what else is there? Maybe… you could hire a handsome stranger to seduce Ashi, and make Jackie jealous…? Would she even go for that?" Scaramouche wondered aloud.

Suddenly, AKu was struck with a burst of inspiration. He turned to his assistant slowly, speaking at a similar speed, "'Handsome stranger', you say?"

Scaramouche perked up, "Oooh, I know that look! You got something brewin' in the ole' noggin, babe?" The assistant began to rise from the couch as his boss moved towards his desk.

"I certainly do… but first, let me tell you a story," he took a seat in the swivel chair as Scaramouche sat eagerly across from it, "A few years ago, I was trying to get my hands on a rare jewel that was on exhibition—this one, to be exact!" AKu held out his left hand to show off the extravagant ring with a square blue gemstone he was wearing. "Anyway, the Samurai was hired to personally guard the exhibit. I knew none of my usual thieves…"

"Don't you mean, 'misappropriation associates'?" Scaramouche jokingly interrupted.

AKu chuckled, "Oh ho, right, right! Anyway, I know none of them could handle a job like that. But being the strategic expert that I am, I devised a guaranteed plan to steal the jewel from right under the Samurai's nose! I hired one of my usual associates to steal it as a decoy, expecting him to eventually fail. Meanwhile, I reached out to my, er…" his eyes drifted to the right as his face contorted slightly in discomfort, "…estranged sibling, to distract the Samurai with her, 'feminine charm'. Once he let his guard down, she drugged him unconscious, and snuck back into the exhibit to replace the jewel with a fake. To this day, nobody—not even the Samurai knows that I have the real jewel; he was left especially dumbfounded the next day, waking up to find that the women he had spent the entire evening with had vanished without a trace. He has no idea that she duped him like the foolish Samurai he is!" AKu broke out into maniacal laughter, delighted at the thought of his adversary's capacity to be deceived.

Any other person would have been startled by his outburst, but Scaramouche was so used to it that he hadn't even broken his train of thought, which he vocalized once his boss stopped cackling. "So, you've got this hot sister who you used to seduce the Samurai once before, and now you're going to have her come back in the picture to raise tensions between him and Ashi; that what you're getting at, babe?" he asked as his index finger snapped from his chin to point at AKu.

"You're close, but not quite. I don't expect the Samurai to waver in his loyalty to Ashi, an admirable quality indeed; but just like his hatred of me, that loyalty will prove to be his undoing!" AKu raised his clenched fist in a villainous declaration, then the aforementioned jewel on his finger caught his eye.

Lowering his hand to get a closer look, he grinned at his reflections in the ring, "You see, the jewel was not the only priceless thing she stole that night…"

/

The sake bottle and two ceramic chokos were placed down in front of Jack, but he hardly needed the second one.

Tonight, it was just him. Scotsman, who was usually available on Saturday nights, was asked to cover one of his coworker's patrol shifts; if Jack was still out when he was done, Scotsman said he would meet up with him.

As for Ashi, she was at a fundraiser banquet at a local hotel for her AKu's campaign, the seventh political event she had attended since Valentine's Day. Despite their consistent fights about it, she had offered to take him along as her plus one; but Jack knew she didn't think it was a good idea, and he agreed, so he elected to spend the evening at Da Samoorai's Pad.

There Jack sat, alone at the bar with a full bottle of sake, trying not to think about the increasingly fragile relationship he found himself in, when a long-forgotten voice spoke up behind him, "You going to drink that all by yourself, big guy?"

Jack turned around, and was shocked to see a tall slim woman with black hair, a mole on her left cheek, and piercing green eyes. "I-Ikra?" he stammered, dumbfounded.

The woman took the stool to his right, "You remembered my name, huh? I must say, that's awfully flattering!" she gushed, reaching for the bottle of sake. Jack made no attempt to stop her as she filled both chokos, and handed him one.

"Wha… What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to share a drink with an old friend, who I thought would be ecstatic to see me again! Show's what I know, right?" she joked before taking a big sip of sake, then gestured to the choko Jack was holding with her eyes as if to say, "What are you waiting for?"

He shook himself out of his stupor, putting the sake down, "Wait, this doesn't… I don't understand, how can you be so casual? It's been almost three years since the night we met. You… you vanished! I woke up, and there was no sign of you anywhere. Even the number you gave me, it was gone. I-I thought perhaps I was going insane…" Jack held his forehead, struggling to make sense of it all.

"Yeah, about that," Ikra picked up the sake she gave to Jack, handing it to him again, and this time he took a big gulp, "I'm sorry I left so quietly, I had no choice. You remember the story I told you? About my Father?"

Jack thought for a moment, and was able to remember what she had told him, "That he was forced to work in one of AKu's factories to make a living wage, yes?" As he recounted the story, it resonated with him once more.

Ikra nodded, "Well, the next morning, I got a call saying he had gotten into an accident at work. They said he was in stable condition, but that I should come see him right away." Her face became distant and wistful as she looked away, taking another sip of sake, "I wanted to say goodbye, but you were still out cold, so I left. I assumed you had my number and would call me, but I guess you lost it somewhere along the line…?" she looked at Jack with uncertainty, expecting him to fill in that blank.

"I, uh… I don't remember much of anything after a certain point, but I must have lost it somewhere between when I blacked out until when I came to," Jack rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "To be honest, I didn't think I had that much that night. Perhaps I should be more mindful of how much I drink," he joked, pouring himself some more sake.

Ikra held out her own choko to be filled, which Jack obliged to, "Or at least have someone else around to mind it for you," she said with a wink, and she and Jack clanked cups before sipping simultaneously.

Jack suddenly remembered what Ikra had mentioned, "Wait so, what happened with your Father? Is he okay?"

She gave him an inquisitive look for a moment, then quickly remembered her own story, "Oh, right! He's fine now, he just had to spend about a year or so in a wheelchair," she dismissed with a wave. "But enough about me, how have you been? A lot can happen in three years, I want to hear all about it," Ikra put her cup down and turned to face Jack on the stool, propping her chin on her hands and her elbows on her knees. "Are you seeing anybody?" she asked with a sly grin.

"Yes, I…" Jack started his sentence with a smile, but it fell into his own wistful stare as he remembered the predicament he and Ashi found themselves in. He finished his sake and placed down the choko, then began: "Her name is Ashi. We've been dating for about five months now, and for the most part, it's been wonderful. But, about two months in, I found out that her Father is… AKu," Ikra gasped at the name, "That fact alone should be a deal breaker, but…" he started to trail off.

Ikra picked it up, "But, you really care about this girl, and who her Father is to you doesn't change who she is. Is that it?"

"Yes, exactly! I got to know her before I knew about her Father, and she is nothing like him; she's smart, and kind, and beautiful, and, and…" Jack grabbed the sides of his face in frustration, "…and I don't know what to do. As much as I… love her, I don't think we'll be able to reconcile our opinions about AKu. She refuses to see him for the monster he is, even though he's actively trying to ruin our relationship! And the worst part is, for all his big talk, I don't think he actually cares about her! Even now, he took her to one of his extravagant galas to flaunt her around like he's this proud Father figure, when he's actually just using her to improve his image for his ridiculous campaign! How can she not see that!?" A refilled choko was held out in front of him, and he promptly snatched it from Ikra's hand and guzzled it down.

"I can see this has been weighing on you for a while now," Ikra remarked, pouring the remainder of the sake into her own cup, "Maybe we should do something about it then?"

"There's nothing we can do, AKu is simply too powerful. I tried to fight his influence on my own terms, but it backfired. I was in a bad place before I met Ashi, and now he's trying to take her away and send me right back," Jack turned to rest his elbows on the bar, looking down somberly at the thought of his hopeless goal.

Ikra looked at Jack contemplatively, then placed her hand on his shoulder, "Jack, believe me, it isn't hopeless. Maybe you failed on your own, but who says you have to go it alone? Do you remember what a great team we made that night? How we foiled the jewel thief who snuck into the exhibit you were guarding?"

Jack smiled to himself at the thought of that night as Ikra continued, "Well, we're both here now, together again. What better way to spend the rest of evening than to make a move against the man that has made so many against us? Besides, we're out of alcohol," she quipped, upturning the sake bottle to have a couple drops fall out.

"That sounds great, but… where would we even begin?" Jack questioned, now intrigued by the proposition.

"That's actually what brings me here in the first place; that 'extravagant gala' you mentioned? My employer gave me intel that AKu is staying at that very hotel, and he most likely has with him top-secret plans, which would be in his room left completely unguarded while the gala is going on. All we would have to do is sneak into the hotel, find the room he's staying in, and those plans are ours!" she said with determination, clenching her fist.

Scotsman's words popped into Jack's head, "You know, my friend did say AKu had something huge planned… If we got our hands on them, we could release them to the public, and expose AKu as the nefarious schemer that he is!" Jack said excitedly, getting caught up in the idea of finally striking back at his nemesis.

"Precisely!" Ikra responded, then smirked at Jack, "Now, what if I told you I could get us to that hotel in thirty minutes, or your political sabotage is free?"

Jack laughed at the joked, but then thought about the offer. While he was serious in his desire to stop AKu's climb to power, how would Ashi feel if she knew he was himself working to sabotage her Father? Surely, she would be disappointed if she found out what he was doing…

However, she refuses to acknowledge that AKu is doing the same; constantly manipulating her, trying to destroy their relationship. In that case, if she chooses to be willfully ignorant of her Father's misdeeds, then why should her boyfriend feel bad for fighting back? Especially if she doesn't know. AKu said it himself, they both want to do what's best for Ashi. The difference, Jack realizes, is that he actually meant it.

With a determined gaze, his eyes drifted up to meet Ikra's, "I'd say, 'What are we waiting for?'"

/

Ashi swished the wine glass around with her wrist, watching the blood red liquid lap around the inside of the glass.

This was either the sixth or seventh campaign event her Father had dragged her to, and she detested it as much as the previous ones. With no way to entertain herself, she was resigned to standing around by the drink table, watching her Father's wealthy constituents move around the luxurious ballroom.

Once in a while, Ashi would wander into a conversation with one of them, only to find whatever they had to say unbearably shallow and pedantic. The worst part was that every question they had for her was something about AKu, and where she stood on his platform. None of them treated her as her own person, but merely another aspect of her Father's campaign.

Clearly, her Father didn't mind the company. She could see him off in a more crowded part of the room, smiling and laughing; the center of attention. He fit right in with these people. So, why didn't she? As hard as she tried, Ashi never felt comfortable in the mold people had made for her. The only time she ever felt like she truly belonged was when she was with Jack.

The more Ashi thought about it, the more she wanted to leave this terrible place and run home to Jack. She wanted to stop pretending that she was this perfect accessory of a daughter that her Father could flaunt around. After all, he had six more that seem perfectly willing to fit that role, why did it have to be her? Perhaps this was something to be addressed to him…

"Sweetheart, you are far too lovely to be a wallflower." Speak of the devil.

A pair of spindly hands grasped Ashi's shoulders from behind, and she looked up to see her Father's upside-down face grinning down at her. Reflexively, she spun around and away to remove his hands and face him, and then respond, "Um, thanks."

AKu gave a sorrowful expression, "Darling, is something bothering you? You know how I hate to see my little girl sulking by herself, when she should be out and about, mingling with the kind of people that are suitable for the high-class woman she is!"

Ashi felt even more discomfort when her Father spoke of her that way, as if he knew her better than she did. "Dad, I… do you really think any of this is me? Why do you keep bringing me along to these things? This place, these people; it's all just frivolous nonsense! Maybe it's important for you career, but why do I have to be involved? Can't you just leave me out of it?" she looked up at him pleadingly.

"Ashi," AKu moved closer to her, "It may not look like it, but this campaign has been a constant struggle, full of trials and tribulations. This past year on the road has taken a tremendous toll on me, both physically and mentally. But do you know what keeps me going through it all?" he looked at her expectantly, pausing to wait for a response.

Ashi sighed, "No, what?"

"The thought of one day, being able to retire in the lap of luxury, with the knowledge that my political career left behind a better world for my wonderful daughters. All I ask is that they do me the simple favor of being present to support me in this arduous task that I have selflessly chosen to undertake, is that too much?" AKu was the one pleading now, and it made Ashi feel that she was being selfish.

"N-No, it isn't," she admitted, "You're right, being here for you is the least I can do, for all you've done already."

AKu nodded happily, "Exactly! I knew you'd understand, you're such a smart young woman!" he gushed, tousling Ashi's hair playfully, and she let out a small giggle.

But her smile soon fell again, and AKu took notice. "But…" he began, "Something else is troubling you, yes?" Ashi nodded in response, and he sighed, "Let me guess… is it, Jack?" The name was especially emphasized coming off his lips, with a particularly hard end.

"Yeah, Jack," Ashi looked away, rubbing her arm. If there were ever a time to confront her Father on this, now was the time. She turned back to him, and struck a serious tone, "Listen, Dad, I need you to be one hundred percent honest with me: Are you trying to sabotage Jack?"

AKu looked away innocently, "Sabotage, eh? I don't get it, what do you mean by… 'sabotage', exactly?" he inquired.

"Well, you know that we've had a lot of misfortune with employment these past couple months, and Jack is convinced that you're to blame, which I think is ridiculous. On Valentine's Day, though, he told me you ruined his reservations at World Bazaar, and that your conference caused them to cancel the play he had tickets to—well, vouchers. He also accused you of bringing me to it so I wouldn't be able to spend it with him. That one I know isn't true, obviously, but the others sound… I want to say, convincing?" Ashi was struggling to find the words, both because she felt ridiculous repeating Jack's paranoid accusations, and because she was somewhat reluctant to bring this up to her Father.

AKu squinted, stroking his goatee with two fingers, then suddenly threw his hands up and confessed, "Okay, you got me. I knew if I held a conference on Valentine's Day, it would interfere with Jack's plans. But it was an afterthought, that's all! I had no idea about the play or the reservations; if anything, they were lucky guesses!" he chuckled, but Ashi wasn't laughing though, glaring at him with her arms crossed. Clearing his throat, AKu continued in a gentle tone, "You must understand, Ashi. As your Father, it is my responsibility to make sure that your, 'potential suitors' are, 'potentially suitable' for you. My obstructions weren't anything personal against Jack—although, I don't blame him for suspecting as much—I was merely testing his commitment to you, making sure that a few bumps along the road weren't enough to scare him off. Just as I anticipated, Jack proved to be a formidable companion, and you were indeed wise to choose him, my dear! From now on, no more interfering; you and Jack have my full support," he said with a wide grin.

Ashi was a bit peeved to know that her Father actually was working against them in some way, yet she was happy to hear his flattering words towards his nemesis. She moved in and hugged her Father affectionately, "Thank you for clearing that up, I feel a lot better now."

"Of course, my dear…" AKu smiled down at her, patting the top of her head.

Suddenly, a weaselly voice was heard nearby, "Hey, there he is, fellas!"

"Oh, no…" AKu said quietly as his eyes widened, causing Ashi to let go of and look up at him. She was about to ask what was wrong, when a group of noticeably diminutive gentlemen approached them. They all wore similar striped suits of different colors and hats, and the one in front had over it a brown overcoat with a furry collar. Just like Jack's coat, Ashi thought it looked painfully tacky.

The "leader" of the group spoke up, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the big boss man himself! Bet you're glad to see us again, eh?"

AKu rolled his eyes, "Oh, yessss…"

"I thought so," the small man nodded, "We would've contacted you sooner, except we didn't know you were back in town, see?"

"Yes well, that was the idea," AKu admitted nonchalantly, and the group of men chortled at the "joke".

"Still quite the card, eh? That's why you're the boss, see?" the man caught sight of Ashi standing next to AKu, "Say, who's the girl? New mistress, perhaps? I always knew you liked 'em young." Ashi and AKu both sneered at the gross implication.

"Actually, this is Ashi, my daughter…" AKu corrected, and the group went tight-lipped for a moment. AKu turned to his daughter, "Ashi, these are some of my, er… associates. This i…"

"Don," the man interjected, outstretching his hand for Ashi to take, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ashi." With a forced smile, Ashi reluctantly shook his hand and greeted him back. Don gestured to the men with him, "These are the boys, see? Stitches, Mr. Shine, Knuckles, and Mr. Pibbles."

The lanky man addressed as Mr. Pibbles spoke up in the weaselly voice from earlier, "Well, actually my name's Joe…" to which Knuckles smacked him firmly upside the head.

"Anyway…" Don continued, "So, boss. We wanted to chat with you about your, 'future operations', see? We know you got a lot on your plate with this campaign, but you gotta look out for the small businesses, too, see?"

AKu rubbed the back of his neck, "Why, I'd love to talk business with you gentlemen, but unfortunately, I need…" he hastily looked around the room for an excuse to exit, "…I mean, the band needs my attention! Yes! You see, a few of the guests made specific song requests, and as the host of this event, it is my duty to accommodate. Ashi, why don't you entertain these gentlemen in the meantime?"

Ashi was about to protest her Father's request, but he had already scurried away, leaving her alone with the five, goofy gangster-types. Don looked her up and down, "So, ever thought about being a performer? But I mean a very specific type of performance, see? You look like you'd be a natural." The other men nodded enthusiastically.

Ashi cringed; clearly, this was still going to be a long night.

/

Sneaking into the hotel where AKu's gala was being hosted wasn't difficult, as it was still open to guests and the general public. The only obstacle was finding the room AKu was staying in, which they accomplished thanks to Ikra. A handful of suited men that obviously worked for AKu's campaign were hanging around the lobby, so she pilfered one of their ID badges, and used that to get the room number from the front desk.

To the surprise of neither of them, AKu occupied the lavish penthouse on the top floor of the hotel, which was completely unguarded, just as Ikra described. There was a separate room in the back of the penthouse that functioned as both an office space and a small board room, equipped with a large screen for presentations; a long black wire connected the screen to a laptop computer sitting at the head of the round table.

"Okay," Ikra walked over and sat down in front of the computer, opening and turning it on, "Any plans AKu might have would be on here, so let's take a look."

But after booting up, the computer automatically showed a lock screen, requiring a password to continue. Jack sighed, "Great, how are we supposed to know what his password is? It could be anything."

"Go look around in the main room, maybe there's a clue in his belongings," Ikra suggested, and Jack followed the instructions, exiting the office. Once he was occupied by his search, she quietly entered the password her brother had given her: MALAISE. Ikra rolled her eyes as she sifted through the documents on AKu's computer, looking for a particular file. After a few minutes, she called to Jack in the other room, "I'm in, come check this out!" He quickly came running, and looked at the screen intrigued.

"That was fast, how'd you figure out the password?" he asked.

Ikra gave a naughty grin, "Oh, I have my ways." Before Jack could ask any further, she continued, "Anyway, I think I found exactly what we were looking for…" moving the cursor over a file listed, "TOP SECRET".

"Well, that's certainly convenient," Jack remarked, stroking his beard, "Why would AKu label something like that if he's the only one using this computer?"

"Maybe it's his porn collection? Either way, it's leverage against him," Ikra joked, and Jack chuckled at the consideration. She clicked the file, "Let's see what we're dealing with."

A smaller window popped up on the screen with a loading bar that progressed incrementally, only moving up a few percent each passing moment. "And now we wait," Ikra stated, leaning back into the office chair as Jack sat up against the table, looking off to the side.

The screen attached to the computer caught his eye. "Hey, maybe we should turn this thing on? Whatever these plans are, we'll have a better view of them on the big screen," he suggested.

"Oh, good idea," Ikra replied, picking up the remote to her right and turning around to aim it at the screen. With the push of a button, the screen booted up as well, and the smaller computer screen flickered before being replicated on the bigger one. The loading bar was only a third complete by now.

The sat in silence for a moment before Ikra spoke up again, swiveling excitedly to grin at Jack, "So! Tell me more about you and… what's her name, Ashley?"

Jack laughed, "No, Ashi. And what would you like to know?"

"Well…" Ikra's grin widened, "Have you two had sex?"

Jack suddenly thought back to a time when such a question would've made him hopelessly flustered and embarrassed. But that ended the night he and Ashi finally consummated their relationship.

Still, Jack's cheeks gained a slight red tint. "Yes, quite a few times, actually," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Even though we moved in with each other within the second month of dating, we waited until about our third to finally do it. It happened on Christmas Eve, and it was perfect. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, yet it still felt so natural, being with each other," Jack had visibly relaxed talking about it, his shoulders drooping and his face softening, "I had always heard that losing your virginity was nothing special; but for us, it was… magical."

Ikra had been looking at Jack thoughtfully throughout his monologue, then checked the status of the loading bar; still another forty percent to go. "Jack," she spoke up again, changing the subject, "Do you remember the night we met?"

Jack broke out of his euphoric trance, to look at her questioningly. "Of course. Only up to a certain point, I suppose. But yes, I remember," he answered, "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, is all," Ikra cooed as she leaned forward, making the cleavage in her dress readily apparent, "What's the last thing you actually remember?"

Perturbed by Ikra's behavior, Jack began to reexamine the night in question. "Well…" staring intently at the floor in concentration, he spoke hesitantly, "I remember going down to the hotel bar, with you, after we turned over the jewel thief to the authorities. The only drink I remember vividly is my first, but I know I had at least two more after that, even though it's hazy. Beyond that…" After a moment, Jack pushed himself off the table and started wandering towards the big screen, "The next thing I remember is waking up in a hotel room, in a bed, and not wearing any…" he stopped, turned slowly to Ikra, who was still grinning, "…clothes."

"Getting warmer…" Ikra teased, finally standing up from the board room table, asserting the few inches she had over Jack, who started to step back towards the screen as Ikra slowly approached. She spoke in a slow, sultry voice, "But I think you can tell me more than that~," her mouth hung open ever so slightly, allowing her tongue to snake its way out and slide across her top lip. Her piercing eyes locked his in place, as memories began to flicker in his head.

Without warning, Jack was bombarded by acute and vivid sensations, causing his balance to falter slightly. He had seen those eyes; he had felt those lips; he had felt his back arch, and his leg muscles tighten as the pressure on his lower body clutched him so tightly, he felt he was going to burst. Jack might not have remembered that night, but his body certainly did. A sense of nausea overcame him, making his balance even worse, and he steadied himself against the screen; only ten percent to go.

"You…" Jack looked up from his slight hunch, casting his wild eyes at Ikra, "It was you all along… you're the reason I don't remember what happened, you did something to me. You…" Jack looked down at his shaking hands, just barely able to mutter the words, "…you had your way with me."

Hands on her hips, Ikra laughed, "'Had my way with you'? Oh please, the fact that I had something to work with means you willingly participated as much as I needed you to. You had your sword unsheathed as soon as we got back to the room, it takes two to tango, Jack…" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't understand, why would you do something like that!?" Jack shouted, "If you wanted to have sex, you could've just asked. You didn't have to drug me unconscious!" he was both confounded and furious at this point.

Ikra gave a patronizing smile, "Oh, Jack… I had fun playing hero with you, and believe me, we had a great time with each other. But getting attached has never been in my job description. That's all you were, a job. And I'm good at my job."

Jack stared at her, almost at a loss for words, but managed to come up with, "What… What kind of job is that? Who would even hire you for such a…" but he didn't need to finish his sentence.

"You already know the answer to that question," Ikra said with a smirk; the load was complete.

"SURPRISE!" a familiar malevolent voice blared from behind Jack, causing him to swiftly turn around. There on the big screen was the grinning face of the man who had orchestrated everything; the entire reason Jack was standing here at this moment; the bane of his existence, AKu.

"Poor Samurai, always falling for the old 'fake plans' trap! You obviously have learned nothing from those poor goats you slaughtered. Not only that, you have once more been deceived by the clever tactics of the wily Ikra; I have employed her services to yet again exploit you like the foool you are!" AKu mocked as Ikra started to slip out of the room, "But it gets better… 'Ikra' is not her real name. Her name is actually 'Isabelle Kurasawa'!" Jack's face went pale. His shoulders drooped again, and his mouth hung agape. He didn't even realize Ikra was already gone. AKu cackled villainously, "That's right, Samurai! You lost your virginity, not to my daughter, but to my sister! You and Ashi's first time wasn't special after all!" the cackling continued, as Jack's whole started to shiver. "Oh, and by the way: Everything else that happened—the jobs, the play, the reservation; all me! You were right all along, but no matter how hard you argue with her, Ashi will never believe you; I have her wrapped around my finger, and there's nothing you can do about it!" Jack's hands tightened into fists, hanging tensely at his sides. "In fact, you won't be able to do much of anything, because security is on its way as we speak to arrest you for breaking into my room. I thought I wouldn't have to worry about you anymore after the last time, but you continue to be a thorn in my side, and I'm removing you once and for all! My only regret is that this is just a recording, and I won't get the satisfaction of seeing your reaction live as you learn that you've lost. Oh well, at least I'll get to see the look on Ashi's when I tell her aaall about how you got yourself arrested again! Good bye, Samurai…" AKu smiled as he reached to the right of the camera, maintaining the grin as he searched for the off switch. After fumbling around, he broke his gaze into the camera as he tried to figure it out, "Son of a… how do you turn this thing of…" and the video ended.

Just then, four security guards walked into the board room, looking at Jack as he kept his back to them, still staring at the blank screen. One of them stepped forward, "Alright, show's over, pal," he reached out to grab Jack's shoulder and pull him away, "Now, let's just do this nice and easy—GAH!"

Without warning, Jack snatched the man's wrist, turning to him with an intense glare. The security guard cried out in pain as his arm was twisted beyond its capabilities, causing the others to pull out their stun guns. Jack noticed this, and pulled the guard he was holding in front of him before they could shoot, striking their comrade all three times. Jack then tossed the man aside, disarming the other guards as the stun guns flew from their hands, still connected to the now incapacitated guard. Before they could react further, Jack advanced on them, striking the guard to his right with a high roundhouse kick across the face, then a powerful blow to the gut of the guard in the middle, and finally a succession of swift palm strikes to the guard on the left. All three fell hard on the ground, as Jack stood above them seething with rage.

"I heard struggling, you guys need a hand in…" another guard came running in from the other room, only to see his allies strewn about on the floor, "Here…?" Jack's head snapped in his direction, and the look on his face gave the guard a feeling of immediate regret.

/

"Aki!" Ashi called out to her sister from across the room, who turned around and smiled when she finally noticed. The two met in a friendly embrace, having moved past their Thanksgiving transgression. Ashi pulled away and looked at Aki fondly, "I didn't know you were going to be here, what brings you to Burlington?"

Aki moved a stray hair out of her face, "I'm recording at one of the studios here for my new album, but we don't have a release date set for it yet, so I'll mostly just be enjoying the downtime. I'll be here for at least a month, which means I'll probably end up taking few gigs while I'm here; just to keep myself busy, you know?"

Ashi smiled, "I'd love to come see you perform while you're here! In fact, if you're not busy, it'd be great to just spend the day with you, catch up on everything. I could show you all my favorite places around the city."

"Totally! I'd love to see you at one of my shows, I could hook you up with a backstage pass; I think you'd have an awesome time!" she exclaimed. "You could bring Jack along, too, if you wanted. Speaking of Jack, where is he?"

Ashi's smile fell slightly, "He didn't want to come, and to be honest, I thought it best if he didn't. Things have been kind of… rocky, between us lately, and him being around Dad would probably only make it worse."

"He and Father aren't getting along, I take it?" Aki said with a sympathetic expression.

Ashi sighed, "Something like that. We met with him the day after New Year's, and the way it went, I thought we weren't going to have any issues. But, after that, Jack and I started having a hard time finding work, and he was convinced that it was because of Dad. Then on Valentine's Day, Jack had this whole plan that was ruined by Dad's conference, and we had a fight about that," she wasn't making eye contact, looking at the floor while rubbing her arm.

"So, Jack thinks that every bad thing happening to him is AKu's doing, and you don't," Aki remarked, contemplating the predicament her sister was in. "Have you spoken to Dad at all about this?" she asked.

Ashi nodded slightly, "I brought it up to him, and he said that he—"

"Alright, I'm gonna stop you right there," Aki interrupted, shaking her head, "Ashi, do you remember what I said to you on Thanksgiving about Mom and Dad? Well, I should add that you need to take everything Dad tells you with a grain of salt. That man is, first and foremost, a politician; he's going to say whatever he needs to say to get his what he wants."

"You know, you sound just like Jack," Ashi remarked, somewhat critical of her sister's words.

Aki raised an eyebrow, "Yeah? Why do you think that is? Because Jack has firsthand experience with Dad's dishonesty. In fact, I'm sure a lot of the people you've worked for these past months have had some pretty strong opinions about him, and I doubt they were good." Ashi thought of at least four. "People all over have a bone to pick with AKu, and he gets plenty of bad press to go along with it. But you seem pretty convinced of Dad's good nature, do you really think all those people are wrong?" her sister asked.

"Not 'wrong', per say," Ashi remarked sheepishly, but still standing her ground, "It's just that they're only seeing one side of him, his public image; which in my opinion, isn't a good judge of character. To be fair, you're right; he's a politician, and that is a big part of who he is. But underneath it all, he's still human, he's still our Father, and he is not a liar… to us" she asserted, both to her sister and to herself.

There was a pause as Aki pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. "Fine, believe what you want; but just know that if Dad is messing with him, there's a good chance Jack will eventually try to get back at him, and there's no way it's gonna end well. That might actually be exactly what Dad wants."

Ashi shook her head, "You don't know what you're talking about, Jack isn't like that! He wouldn't act purely out of vengeance. He might have been bothered by Dad's 'schemes', but Jack is still a perfectly rational, understanding…" but a loud noise had interrupted her.

Everyone in the ballroom had turned to see the double doors swing wide open, and two guards come flying through and land on the floor with a hard thud. There in the doorway, looking ready to pounce, was Jack. "AKUUU!" he shouted violently.

"You're absolutely right, I don't know what I was thinking…" Aki said sarcastically to Ashi on her left, who was staring at Jack in horror and disbelief.

AKu stepped forward from the crowd, and greeted Jack with a friendly smile, "Well, if it isn't my future son-in-law! Have you decided to finally accompany Ashi to one of my events? I must say, you look awfully underdressed for the occasion."

Jack suddenly burst into a full-on sprint at AKu, ready to unleash his fury, but stopped dead in his tracks when Ashi stepped in front of her Father, holding out her arms. "Ashi! Stand aside, this is between me and him!"

Ashi shook her head, "Not a chance! Have you lost your mind!? What made you think it would be a good idea to barge in like some wild animal!? Whatever's got you upset, this is not the way to handle it!" she asserted. Her words struck a chord with Jack, and he stopped to take a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself…

But then AKu spoke up, "Ashi's right, Samurai! Too much stress will give you a heart attack," and they both turned aggressively at him, "I hear it runs in the family…"

"Dad, you're not hel—" Ashi's scolding was interrupted by Jack pushing past her, almost knocking her over.

Jack threw a right hook at AKu, only for him to weave under it to his left, to which Jack spun around and tried unsuccessfully to backhand him. "Ho ho, almost had me!" AKu teased, dodging a flurry of strikes, and continued to heckle and anger Jack. The crowd parted fearfully as the duo danced around the ballroom, AKu being the leader while Jack violently followed. After about a minute, Jack finally caught AKu with a punch straight in the face, causing him to stagger backwards and clutch his nose. He hissed in pain, "Grrahh… I hope that felt good, because it's the last time you're ever going to touch me!"

"We'll see about that!" Jack shot back, about to lunge in for another strike, but failing to notice more security guards arriving at the scene, drawing and readying their stun guns. "GAAHHH!" one of them stuck Jack right in the back, sending a painful electric charge through his body.

AKu smirked, "No, I don't think we will," he remarked, standing up straight and dusting off his suit.

But Jack had yet to succumb to the pain, shooting a determined scowl at his nemesis. Gritting his teeth, he started trudging over to AKu, holding out his arm to grab the fiend. AKu raised an eyebrow at the sorry sight, and gestured to the security guards, one of whom shot at Jack as well. He grunted in pain again, but kept at it, slowly staggering towards AKu's mocking grin. Another shot to his back, causing Ashi to cry out in horror, "That's enough!" And it was. Just as he had loosely grabbed AKu's tie, Jack could no longer keep himself up, and crumpled to the floor on his stomach.

The last thing he saw was Ashi's heels running up to him, and right before he passed out he could hear, in a mocking tone, "Goodnight, Samurai…"

/

Jack groggily came to sometime later, his entire body aching.

It took him a moment to register that he was in the back of a limousine, but had no idea where it was taking him. Ashi was there, too. Still in her gala dress, she was sitting to his left with her back to him as she stared out the window; recalling what had transpired before he passed out, Jack figured it best to save his questions.

Ten awkwardly silent minutes later, and the limousine had arrived at their apartment building. Ashi opened the door and stepped out without a word, and Jack carefully did the same; he felt a little better, but his head still hurt when he stood up. He followed her up to their apartment, and though he was able to keep up with her brisk pace, she clearly wasn't acknowledging his struggle.

Ashi unlocked the door, and stepped inside, getting as far as the kitchen doorway before stopping, her back still to Jack. The tension in the air was more palpable than ever as Jack stared at her, searching for the right thing to say.

"A-Ashi," he finally stuttered, "I owe you an explanation for what happened back there…"

Ashi turned swiftly to face him, "'Explanation'? No, you've been giving me the same explanation for months now, and I'm sick of hearing it. What you owe me is an apology for acting like a psychotic asshole!" her nostrils flared in anger.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but Ashi, just let me explain!" Jack pleaded, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"What you did… I can't even begin to tell you how mad I am about this, and how completely unacceptable that kind of behavior is! It's one thing for you to be upset with my Dad—I get it, really! But him holding a press conference that inconvenienced you is not an excuse to start a fistfight! Honestly, I don't know which is pettier!" Ashi shouted.

Jack shook his head, "It's not just about the conference, he…"

But she cut him off, "Yes, you were right, Jack! My Dad did have it on Valentine's Day to mess with you, he told me earlier tonight! But you know what? His heart was in the right place, because he was looking out for my well-being, because that's what a Father does!"

Now a little annoyed, Jack retorted, "Oh really? Well, from what I heard—"

Ashi ignored him again and kept going, "I don't know why you can't just accept that he cares, in a different way than you do! Maybe even a better way, since he's not throwing punches over some silly…"

"I was raped!" Jack blurted angrily.

Ashi went silent, processing what she had just heard, and Jack took the opportunity to elaborate; "Three years ago, I met a woman while I was working security at an exhibit. Together, we stopped a thief who was trying to steal the jewel that was on display. Afterwards, we went to the bar for a drink, and she drugged me unconscious, and then…" he trailed off, becoming nauseous just thinking about it. "But that woman… not only was she hired by AKu, she was his sister; your Aunt! She violated me!" Jack looked her straight in the eyes as he aggressively explained.

Ashi didn't react beyond blinking occasionally, but then finally bowed her head and closed her eyes. She didn't look up when she spoke, "Jack, I don't have an Aunt."

Jack was astonished by her response, "Are you sure about that? You don't think your Father might have some estranged relatives he never told you about?"

"No, I don't!" Ashi asserted, "I've asked him before about my relatives, and he told me that he was an only child! If he had a sister, he would've mentioned her to me!"

Jack was gripping his hair in frustration, resisting the urge to pull it out of his head. "No, he wouldn't! Why can't you get it through your head that AKu is not the honest man you think he is!? You're not stupid, you've seen the things he's done; he's pure evil! Why are you so committed to denying it!?"

"Because if he's evil, then what does that make me!?" Ashi screamed, no longer trying to restrain herself, "You know how I feel, I've only ever been compared to my Father, lumped in with everything he does! If he's such a bad guy, then I must be no good either, because I can't get away from that!"

"Ashi…" Jack's expression softened, Ashi's confession had calmed him a bit. Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders desperately, "Let's skip town! Right now, we can just pack our things and leave, start over somewhere else!"

Ashi looked away, "Jack, we can't…"

"Why not?" he continued pleading, "We can be together, just you and me, and finally escape AKu's grasp…"

Ashi pushed away from Jack's hold, "That's just it! We can't escape; not just me, we! You almost getting arrested again is proof of that! No matter where we go, AKu would be there waiting for us."

"But, what if we…"

"You said it yourself, there is no hope; he's the master of masters!"

"I was wrong, we can't just accept that! We have to fight back!"

"Are you even listening!? There IS no fighting back! This isn't a game; if it is, AKu has already won!"

"No, that's not true…"

"You know it is!"

"No!"

"Yes! There is nothing we can do! Not even the Samurai has a chance against him!

"Don't say that…"

"It's the truth, and if you think it isn't, you're a fool!"

Jack flinched at the insult, and all of his anger welled up at once, causing him to shout "You know, you sound just like your Mother!"

Everything stopped.

Ashi's expression changed from rage, to shock, to sadness, to nothing. Without another word, she turned and walked quickly down the hall, ignoring Jack's calls after her. She made a left into the bedroom, shut and locked the door. Jack groaned angrily, clutching his face as he went over to plop down on the couch.

After about five minutes, he heard the bedroom door open, and looked over to see Ashi walk by carrying luggage in both hands, wearing a jacket over her dress. Jack shot up from the couch and ran over as she gripped the door knob, "Wait, you're… leaving?"

She froze at the door, still turned around as she replied quietly, "It's for the best. This was a mistake from the beginning."

"Ashi…" Jack reached out and touched her shoulder, only for her to whip around and face him angrily.

"NO! You were right, I'm am just like my Mother. When I was younger, she tried to keep me from knowing about my Dad; the same way I kept him from you. But it was no use, he's always going to be a part of my life, and nothing is going to change that," Ashi relented, her lip quivering as she turned to finally open the door.

"I'm a daughter of AKu. That's… all I'll ever be," she said softly, walking out.

Jack stood there speechless for a moment, before yelling out into the hallway from where he stood, "Fine, just go!" He slammed the front door she had left open, then his fists against it, finally resting his head against it, and sliding down to his knees.

"Just… go."

/

"Hey, it's me," Ashi talked into her phone, walking down the street.

"Hello, dear," her Father answered softly, "Is everything alright?"

"I, uh…" Ashi bit her lip, unsure what to say about what happened, instead choosing to change the subject, "Listen, can you pick me up from… Jack's place?" she asked somberly.

"Yes, of course. I'll send a limo to you right away," AKu responded quickly in a sympathetic tone.

"Okay, thank you," her voice cracked. She stopped walking when she got to the corner of the street.

There was a pause, then AKu spoke up again, "Do not feel sad, Ashi. You made the right choice."

Ashi turned around and looked wistfully back down the street she had walked, watching to see if anyone was coming out of the apartment. "I know…" she sighed, speaking to herself mostly. "So, yeah, I'll be waiting on the corner. Thanks again," she squeaked out.

"You're welcome, darling. See you soon," AKu dismissed from the other end.

"Bye," Ashi hung up, putting her phone in her jacket pocket. She stepped off the sidewalk onto the street, then sat on the curb with her bags at her sides. Taking one last look down the street, she was now sure that Jack wasn't coming after her.

The coast was clear, she could finally let it go. Tears immediately started flowing as Ashi hugged her knees and sobbed into her arms.

—END CHAPTER 15—

/