Chapter Four: Opening Night
Opening night at the Red Geisha.
From her office, Kasumi watched as the grand opening was kicked into high gear. Reina Kasumi disliked evening dresses, and decided to wear something more pratical: a tight-fitting black vest which left an inch of bare skin exposed, black slacks and black boots stopping below her knees. Her dark hair was as always, cut short, as it has been for the past five years. A black choker was around her throat. At the moment, she was looking through the windows down at the restaurant.
The place was packed. She even ended up opening the private dining rooms to accomondate the mass of people that were coming and enjoying themselves. Several of Tokyo's elite were present, from several members of the city government to the govenor of Tokyo. A group of salarymen and business executives have taken over the bar and several tables surrounding it, while the elected officials were on the second balcony.
Lisa was there beside her. Unlike Kasumi, she was dressed in a slinky evening gown. She looked down at the restaurant. "A good begining," Lisa said. "Look who's here."
Kasumi looked down at the restaurant. Seated in the midst of several salarymen and businessmen, was Kokoro. Now the owner of her own successful okiya with her half-sister backing her up, Kokoro was one of the most celebrated geishas in all of Japan. Speaking of Kokoro's half-sister, Helena Douglas was seated with Zack and Nikki. The former opera star-turned-DOATEC Chief Executive was chatting with her two partners over Chinese food.
Following the Tritower fiasco, Helena had started to rebuild DOATEC in the image that her father wanted it to be. The Mugen Tenshin clan watched DOATEC with close scrutiny for a while. Then they left her and the company alone. During that time, Helena had connected with her Eurasian half-sister. Brad Wong, Jann Lee and Leifang - the trio co-owning a martial arts studio in Hong Kong - each shared a table, Brad savoring a gourd of sweet Okinawan sake while Jann and Leifang argued over some trivial matter.
Even Tina Armstrong was present. Having suffered a career-ending injury which all but ended her professional wrestling career, Tina fell back on her acting, modeling and music. In the five years since Kasumi's self-imposed exile, she had reached superstar status. Her father, Bass has retired and was operating a wrestling school in their hometown of Austin, Texas. Right now, Tina was enjoying the Korean barbecue, and was on her second helping.
Kasumi's expression darkened as she saw Hitomi lead her estranged siblings and a pregnant woman she had never seen before to a table. Lisa caught her expression. "What is it?" Lisa asked.
Kasumi pointed to Hitomi and the two ninjas. "What are they doing here?" she demanded. "And who's the woman with them?"
"Looks like Hitomi invited them," Lisa replied. "The woman with them is Makie Tazikawa. She is the assistant karate instructor at Hitomi's dojo. She is also Hayate's wife."
One thing that Kasumi can rely Lisa on is that she was an expert in getting information. Using her connections, Lisa had kept tabs on the Mugen Tenshin clan's two leaders. Kasumi knew everything about Hayate and Ayane from both Lisa and Ryu, but seeing Hayate with a wife who was obviously pregnant was something she didn't expect.
Lisa placed one hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "Come on. It's time."
Kasumi nodded and the two women left the office.
Following a waitress taking their orders, Hitomi had left Hayate and the two women to chat with Leifang. At the same time, Ryu Hayabusa showed up. As with the others, he was dressed in formal attire: a simple gray suit with a white shirt. As with Hayate, Ryu wore no necktie. His hair was done up in his usual ponytail. Hayate greeted his longtime friend warmly with a brotherly handshake.
"I see that that Makie has let you out of the house," Ryu said mildly as he and Hayate sat down. He turned to Ayane. "How's the Hajinmon's resident schoolteacher doing? Everything okay?"
Ayane nodded. "I like it. Working as a teacher is real interesting."
Aside from leading the Hajinmon sect, Ayane also was a high school teacher at West Chiyoda High School. Before Ayane's arrival, West Chiyoda was a battlefield, with warring teenage biker gangs who had more control over the school than the teachers. The principal, a close friend of Ayane's late mentor Genra, was happy for the aid.
When the gangs targeted Ayane, she fought back with extreme prejudice. When the gangs joined forces and attempted to attack Ayane en masse, Ayane pulled her trump card and summoned the Hajinmon sect, armed to the teeth. Under orders from Ayane not to kill, the Hajinmon had beaten the gangs within an inch of their lives. The gangs then went on to transfer to other schools. The exploit has made Ayane a well-respected member of the faculty from both teacher and student alike.
Before Ryu could say anything else, applause broken out. When the ninjas and Makie turned to why the people were clapping, they saw Reina Kasumi, with Lisa following close behind, emerging from the kitchen. Kasumi walked over to the stairs and stood on the top step. "Thank you. Thank you," Kasumi replied, raising her hands, calling for silence.
When the audience had quieted down, Kasumi began to speak. Having praticed speaking in a Kansai accent for several years, Kasumi managed to fool the majority of the gathered guests. "Thank you all for coming. When I was a young girl, growing up in Osaka, I had dreamed of owning my own restaurant. Now, that dream is a reality, and all of you are here to celebrate with me. I thank all of you for coming. So please, enjoy yourselves and once again, welcome to the Red Geisha."
The audience applauded as Kasumi stepped down the stairs to mingle with the guests.
For most of the night, Kasumi was introduced to Tokyo's elite. Even the Govenor of Tokyo and his wife had made an appearance and had praised Kasumi for the excellent food and service. Of course, Ryu Hayabusa and Reina Kasumi had traded glances for most of the night without Hayate and Ayane noticing.
Then Kasumi was heading over in his direction, with Lisa following close behind. Almost immediately, with the exception of Makie, the three ninjas rose to their feet as Lisa conducted the introductions.
"Reina, this is Dr. Hayabusa Ryu. He runs a curio shop in the city, and he is a visiting professor of archelogy at Tokyo University," Lisa said as the trio bowed slightly. "You remember Ein Hayate and Ein Ayane. The pregnant woman is Hayate's wife, Ein Makie. Dr. Hayabusa, Mr. and Mrs. Ein and Miss Ein, may I introduce to you Kasumi Reina."
Kasumi nodded. "I remember. From Kyoto. So...what do you think of my restaurant?"
"The place is amazing," Hayate replied. He gestured to his wife, who was enjoying a bowl of extra hot Kimchi stew. "As you can see, my wife has a taste for Korean food."
"That I can see," Kasumi replied.
As Hayate and Kasumi made small conversation, Ayane looked at Kasumi closely. 'She reminds me of Kasumi, but she's not her,' Ayane thought. 'There are too many differences.' Ayane saw that Reina was taller than Kasumi. Second, Kasumi spoke with a polite, meek Tokyo-ben accent. Reina Kasumi spoke with a smooth, mature Kansai-ben accent, backing up her claim that she was from that region. And from what she saw in the arena, Reina Kasumi was indeed fast, but she was a practicioner of Kempo and Akido, not Ninjitsu. Kasumi would shy away from combat, but Reina welcomed it, her styles being both patient, yet aggressive.
In the meantime, Kasumi was chatting with Ryu. Ayane noticed that the pair was flirting with each other with a subtle flair. She was slghtly jealous of the scene, but she loved Ryu as a brother, not as a romantic interest. Besides, she had her hands full in refusing the advances of several of the high school teachers at her job.
Several hours into the night, the grand opening was still going on strong. It was almost midnight and eventhough the people were coming in less, it still didn't stop everyone from having a good time. Kokoro even entertained the gathered patrons with a little dance on the stairs, which ended in a rousing applause.
The festive mood, however was crashed when several men entered the restaurant and one of them started to harass one of the waitresses. Kasumi turned her head to the commotion, and saw one of the recently hired girls being hindered by the man, who for all intents and purposes, was the leader. Her eyes narrowed as the man grabbed the girl by the arm, causing her to wince from the pain.
"You little bitch!" the man was screaming. "Your ass is mine! You don't dump me! I own your ass!"
If he was paying attention, he was a dead man. Threatening your ex-girlfriend in a restaurant in which several of the customers were highly-trained martial artists was a real good way of getting sent to the morgue. Before anyone coumd move in, Kasumi was there, intervening. She had caught the man's hand as it attempted to slap the girl.
"I can't let you do that," Kasumi said.
"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded. "Do you know who the fuck I am?!"
"Kasumi Reina is my name," Kasumi stated, "and this is my restaurant. And I don't give a damn who you are. Leave now, or else."
The man yanked his hand free and released his hold on the girl. He took a full-powered swing at Kasumi, who simply ducked under the blow and punched the guy in the stomach, causing him to double over. Kasumi reached into her pockets and pulled out a pair of black fingerless gloves. As she slipped them on, she glanced at Lisa and addressed her in English. "This is going to get ugly. Get the police over here."
Lisa nodded and rushed off to the office.
Meanwhile, the man was still in shock over the fact that the girl who had dropped him was very powerful. He turned to his henchmen. "What are you idiots waiting for?!" he demanded. "Get her!"
Kasumi's hands balled into fists. "Your funeral if you do," she threatened as she sent the man's ex away.
That didn't stop them as the biker gang attacked enmasse. As everyone watched, the saw that despite their numbers, they were completely outclassed as they fought Reina Kasumi. Eventhough she no longer used her famly's style of Ninjitsu, Kasumi still retained the speed and quickness of the style. She had also gained serious power and endurance, something she never had as a ninja. Kasumi was thankful that the resturant was completely insured as she took on the biker gang.
One guy attempted to punch her face. Kasumi countered by grabbing the guy's arm and taking him down in a vicious Akido throw, flipping him to the ground. A spinning roundhouse took out two more, sending them crashing through an empty table. Kasumi hopped onto a second empty table when three guys tried to rush her, the somersaulted off the table and behind the trio. The former kunoichi laid out the thug in the middle with a power punch and the second guy with a series of punches to the face and stomach.
Thug number three had his hands on a chair. He was shocked as Kasumi absorbed the blow, the chair breaking apart as it impacted her back. Kasumi winced from the pain but took the other guy out with a throw that sent him out the front door. 'Damn that hurt,' Kasumi thought. 'That's going to be black and blue tomorrow.'
Kasumi grabbed a empty drink tray and used it to block an incoming punch from another hoodlum, then swung the impromptu weapon at the guy's head. The unmistakable sound of steel meeting a human skull was heard as the guy crumpled to the ground in a heap.
Hayate watched with a martial artist's eye as Reina Kasumi dismantled the gang. 'No wasted movement. Just skill with a hint of aggression.'
Ayane was thinking along the same lines. 'I would love to get her in a match. Too bad I sprained my ankle back in Kyoto.' She then winced as she saw Kasumi snap a guy's arm at the elbow.
Within minutes, Kasumi was surrounded with the mangled bodies of the biker gang. As she turned around, she heard the sound of a sword being drawn. When she turned around, she saw the leader, now recovered, holding a steel katana in his hand.
"Yeah..." the man sneered. "You want a piece of this?" he taunted.
"Miss Kasumi, watch out!" the man's ex warned her boss. "He is a black belt in Kendo!"
At that moment, Lisa stuck her head through an open window in Kasumi's office. "Hey, Reina! Catch!"
Kasumi somersaulted out of the man's range when he tried to attack her and caught the object that Lisa had tossed at her. It was a sword. From their posistions, the three ninjas saw that it was a Muramasa. As Kasumi drew the sword out of its scabbard and tossed it to one of her waitresses, Ryu, Hayate and Ayane felt the power radiating from it, as if recognized Kasumi as its master.
As the man circled Kasumi, the former nukenin went into a relaxed stance. She deflected the first strike from the man. He then came at her again. Kasumi's blade easily sliced through two inches of the man's blade, sending it flying into one of the support pillars.
Kasumi then shifted into a fighting stance. Ryu and Hayate both saw that she knew the Yagyu New Shadow style. Then she attacked. Hayate was impressed with her speed and skill with the blade. 'She would have made an excellent ninja,' he thought.
Little did he know that Reina Kasumi was indeed his missing sister. However, Kasumi's deception was well-played out. By this time, Kasumi had skilfully hacked off the man's blade, piece by piece, until he was left with only the handle and guard in his hand, and he was currently staring down the business end of her sword, the blade one inch from his nose.
Kasumi grinned evilly. "Looks like I win. Give up?"
"You BITCH!" the man screamed as he lunged towards her.
Kasumi sidestepped the blow and tripped one of the man's feet, causing him to bend backwards slightly. The last thing he saw before being sent off to night-night land was Kasumi's elbow on a collision course to his face.
Everyone winced at the sound of elbow meeting face. It was finally over. The threat had been stopped. In a show of skill, she casually tossed the sword into the air, snatched the scabbard out of the girl's hands, and held it out, just as the sword came back down, sliding neatly into the scabbard.
Ayane's eyes narrowed slightly. She had seen that trick before. Joe Hayabusa occasiionally did that move. She shook that thought out of her head as a mere coincidence.
But in the back of her mind, there was no such thing as mere conincidence.
After dealing with the police and closing down for the night and sending everyone home, Kasumi departed for her living quarters. Following a shower, she stepped out of the bathroom, only to find that she wasn't alone in her apartment. Her keen ninjitsu training kicked in, trying to figure out who was inside until she recognized the person.
"Intresting sword you have," Ryu said.
He was inside her office, inspecting the sword with a skilled eye as Kasumi, in a bathrobe, watched.
"Where'd you get it?" he asked.
"It was a gift from an old man," Kasumi replied.
"Old man?" Ryu looked up. "You mean Old Man Murumasa himself?"
"You know him?"
Ryu nodded. "I met him back in Tairon." He then notice Kasumi wince slightly. "Are you okay?"
Kasumi nodded. "Bastard broke a chair against my back."
"Got any salve?"
When Kasumi nodded, Ryu sheathed the sword and placed it back onto the rack and allowed Kasumi to lead him into her living quarters. Kasumi picked up the salve and took off her robe. Wearing nothing but underwear, she layed facedown on the bed. Ryu saw the nasty-looking bruises on her back and started to apply the salve.
Within minutes he was finished, but he saw that Kasumi was already asleep. Smiling to himself, he drew the covers over her in a form of modesty and walked over to the window. Since Reina Kasumi didn't have no air conditioning, she had the window open until she could get some installed. Normally, he would teleport out of her home, but then Kasumi would have to deal with the maple leaves afterward.
So he opted to jump out the window, then kick jump unto the roof, where he then used his teleport to return home.
In Ayane's apartment, Ayane was preparing for bed as she thought of Reina Kasumi. 'She has a good head on her shoulders,' the lilac-hared woman thought. 'And her restaurant is not bad either...but that move she did...Joe did the same thing when we visisted the Hayabusa village that summer. She could have some ninjitsu training.'
In the coming weeks, Ayane would look into it further.
