Dead or Alive: Final Destination
Rating: M
Author Notes: Yes Hayate, Christie, Jann-Lee, Brad Wong, Ayane and Lisa died in the first chapter. Sorry to the fans of these fallen characters. Anyways here is chapter two.
Chapter 2
It has been two days…
It was a rainy Sunday afternoon. People, dressed in sorrow, stood silently while the priest conducted the ceremony. Friends, relatives and family members gathered at this mournful day. Sixty of the hundreds night victims were going to be laid to rest under heaven. Among those who are going to be buried were Hayate, Ayane, Christie, Jann-Lee, Brad Wong and Lisa. Kokoro's vision of death that night claimed the lives of four former Dead or Alive competitors.
"…Ni-san…Ni-chan…" Kasumi whimpered softy while staring down at their coffins.
"Lisa you were my best friend…and the best tag team partner." Tina commented in her mind. Her eyes were looking at Lisa's picture.
"Did you die happy?" Leon Vicci asked while looking at Brad Wong's coffin. He wondered if the drunken fighter ever accomplished his life goal. Genra.
"…Christie…" Helena Douglas said in back of her mind. The French opera singer was close to her former servant. It was hard for her to let go of sweet memories.
" Jann-Lee…why…did you leave me?" Lei-Fang said while tears rolled down her cheek. She was still in disbelief that Kokoro's vision of death came true. She stared at the young geisha a brief second. But her stare was filled with anger and sorrow.
"Ein…I will miss you." Hitomi mumbled. Like Lei-Fang she was in disbelief that Ein or known as Hayate was killed in the fire. Unlike the Chinese fighter her eyes held no anger just sorrow.
"…Why….why did happen?" Kokoro asked herself. In secret, she blamed herself for the death of her competitors and friends. She wished that she could have saved them. Little did she knew that Death has marked down the names of the survivors.
Death comes in all shapes and forms…
The rain, which kept on descending gently, soaked the ground with tears of angels and of mortals. The funeral lasted almost two hours before burying the victims. The Dead or Alive crew watched as the coffin of Ayane, Lisa, Brad Wong, Jann-Lee, Christie and Hayate were being covered by mud and memories. Soon the group of hundreds dwindled into fifty or more people.
Before long everyone, except the surviving Dead or Alive crew, returned to their homes. Leon, Bayman, Zack, Elliot, and Ryu stood side by side with the women. The deaths of their fallen comrades shook them. True, each one of them fought one another but the bond they formed was unique. It was like they were rivals yet family at the same time.
"…Would anyone like to have an early dinner? It is on me." Zack offered to the crew. Even the self taught kick boxer was in a state of grief.
"…Thank you Zack…" Kasumi replied. No one objected to the offer.
"….Goodbye my friends…." Kokoro said as she walked up to the graves. She bent down and placed flowers on their tombstone. A soft sigh escaped from her lips. After a minute she stood up and walked back to her half sister's side.
The Dead or Alive crew started to head to their cars. Along the way Zack told them to meet him at World Café within an hour. The self taught kick boxer went off ahead of the crew to reserve seats and a table. The crew looked at Kokoro, who out of all of them was the most sorrowful.
"It was nice of Zack to offer us dinner…" Hitomi said wanting to break the silent.
"Yes…it was very nice of him." Tina said while looking at Hitomi.
Kokoro looked up at the grey sky. The clouds masked the sun from the earth. Only darkness reigned. Suddenly she noticed a distinct shape among the clouds. One of the clouds had a discipline form. A face to be exact. The face lacked flesh. This made the young girl halt in her footsteps.
"Kokoro? Is there something wrong?" Helena asked while putting her arm over her half sister.
"Is it another of your vision?" Lei-fang asked in a harsh tone. No one detected the harsh tone except for Elliot. He also caught the fire of anger within the Chinese fighter's eyes.
"No…I thought I saw something…its nothing you guys." Kokoro replied when the face dissolved. Maybe she was seeing things. Or was this another warning? She did not know what it was but it was not from heaven.
The Dead or Alive crew went off their separate directions. They will meet each other at the World Café. Maybe a good old get together dinner might dissolve some of the sorrow. But they knew that this kind offer of Zack won't do much to release the sadness.
Time flew by as the Dead or Alive crew met up with Zack. Zack stood in front of the entrance of the café. The first to give Zack a warm hello was Kasumi. She gave the black man a friendly hug. Soon afterward everyone was inside the café. A waitress escorted them to their table. They all sat around a round table.
"Hello my name is Miranda. And I will be your waitress today. Tonight special can be found at the back of the menu. Is there orders I can take? Drink perhaps?" Miranda asked as she took out a pen and small writing pad.
Tina followed by the rest gave their drink orders. Miranda felt the group to get their drinks. As the waitress left, everyone remained silent. But the silent was broken was Zack told them a joke. Only Leon and Elliot laughed at his joke while the rest did not. Silently each one of them drifted into their own world. They wondered why fate was so cruel.
"Here you guys go" Miranda said as she came back holding a tray. The tray was occupied by their drinks. She distributed the drinks to their rightful consumer. She took down their orders and soon left.
"Kokoro…you are either blessed or cursed." Bayman commented to the geisha. His comment made everyone stare at him.
"What do you mean?" Kokoro asked while trying to understand the Russian's English.
"There is a saying in the army that death is only kind once…just once…" Bayman replied while consuming a good portion of his drink.
"What does that suppose to mean?" Tina and Helena asked in unison.
"Leon why don't you explain to these girls what I am talking about." Bayman said. The women plus Elliot, Zack and Ryu looked at the Italian mercenary. They waited for Leon to give them an answer.
"It is said that death make plans for those whom he think should die. For example the night club fire. Kokoro vision of the fire came true." Leon answered for Bayman.
"I still don't understand…but what does your friend mean death is kind once?" Helena asked while looking at the Italian fighter.
"Let's pretend that we died at the night club. We followed death's plan. But since Kokoro foreseen our death she intervened by warning us and ran off. As you recall we met up with Kokoro while Christie, Jann-Lee, Hayate, Brad Wong, Lisa and Ayane stayed behind…." Leon was saying until he was rudely interrupted by Lei-fang.
"You are not making any sense Leon! Get to the point already." Lei-fang ordered.
"As I was saying we escaped death. We cheated death. There is a possibility that we were meant to die but did not. In other words…we might be on death's list." Leon said thus shutting cup the Chinese girl.
Everyone remained silent. His words inflicted some fear into their hearts. Kokoro wondered if she made the situation worst. But Helena decided to speak up. She told the crew that Leon's words are utter none-sense. Leon took no offense to Helena's reaction. Before anyone could say a word their meals were placed in front of them. The crew ate in silence.
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