A/N: The title song of this chapter was performed by England Dan and John Ford Coley. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: I'd Really Love to See You Tonight

/ I'm not talking about moving in, and I don't wanna change your life, but there's a warm wind blowing the stars around...and I'd really love to see you tonight. /

The blonde woman had her hands in her pockets as she walked home. Inexplicably, she had a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. And it wasn't guilt -- Nina Williams hardly ever felt guilty about anything. "Oh, whatever," she mumbled to herself, "that guy was a schmuck."

Well, a really hot schmuck who's fantastic at...stop it, Nina.

She never used to treat men this way, but countless experiences with self-proclaimed players who had that same "love 'em and leave 'em" cycle had left her a bit cold and jaded. It had been only two years since she awakened from cryosleep, but that was enough time for her to learn about the shallow and callous nature of men. I just beat him to the punch, that's all.

Nina inserted her key in the doorknob, hoping not to wake up her roommate. Everything she said to Man from Bar (Leonard, was it?) about having an overprotective roommate was a flat-out lie. She had a roommate, all right, but he hardly concerned himself with Nina's whereabouts. They shared similar lifestyles, both of which involved a lot of danger and an erratic schedule.

Being an assassin was certainly no walk in the park.

She twisted the doorknob, and to her surprise, he was on the couch, staring blankly at the TV.

"Well, I see someone's had quite a night," he remarked, eyeing her disheveled hair suspiciously.

"Nice to see you too, Raven. What's been keeping you up 'till 4 in the morning? I thought we were training at the gym in three hours."

He blinked slowly, his gaze shifting from Nina's hair to the television screen. Nina Williams was actually the only person to see what was behind the dark shades he always wore, but that was a trust that developed over time. "Sure. Jet lag? I don't know. My body clock's all screwed up."

"Join the club, buddy." She flopped down on the couch next to him. "What the fuck, Ren and Stimpy?"

"Hell, Nina, I don't get anything you civilians consider entertainment. I have yet to find a television show that interests me. Howard Stern's a tool, Ren and Stimpy are morons. It's all the same to me. I find Katie Couric very intriguing, though."

"Really?"

"She always has that same expression on her face, show after show. Do you think she could possibly be one of us?"

Nina rested her forehead on her hand and tried unsuccessfully to bite back her laughter. In technical terms, Raven was a human being, with the strength of twenty men, but he had about as much understanding of human emotion as a robot. For someone like him, it was normal and acceptable. Assassins were never supposed to show their emotions. She presumed that years spent in his organization did to him what decades spent frozen in an oversized test tube did to her, only her amnesia didn't erase the concepts of human emotion from her mind. She was familiar with the concepts of happiness ("The ultimate goal"), anger ("Caused by that stupid bitch sister of mine"), love ("Doesn't exist"), pretty much everything on the spectrum of emotion. The only two concepts Raven was familiar with were those of success and failure. The two roommates shared an interesting dynamic: she, the knowledgeable veteran, and he, the skilled and promising professional. They taught each other useful battle moves, and little by little, she tried to teach him about life outside The Organization.

Yet oddly enough, Nina knew that Raven had more of a heart than she did. Recently, he'd taken a peculiar being called Yoshimitsu under his wing and he'd given him lessons on the ways of the ninja. He was definitely open to helping other people. Nina, on the other hand, was admittedly more ruthless and self-centered than she wanted to be.

Post-cryosleep life was hard for Nina, and it was especially difficult to make friends. That was never part of the job description. Nina met Raven near the start of the tournament. He was competing in the match before hers, and she was impressed with his combat style -- a style not uncommon to men in her profession. A few conversations later, she found out that they were both assassins (at least, she used to be one), but competing in the tournament for different reasons. They agreed to split the rent on a cushy condominium unit near the best gym in the city, and they've been friends ever since.

"Well, I'm going to get some shut-eye. Lots of training to do tomorrow. I suggest you do the same...Raven, if there's anything you need to know, it's that Ren and Stimpy isn't going to do much good for you."

"Understood. But what were you doing until the wee hours of the morning?"

"I was, uh, having fun. With a man friend." 'Friend' may have been stretching it a little, but Nina was far too tired to explain the whole concept of sex, let alone one-night stands, to Raven.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling I don't want to know what you're talking about?"

She grinned and patted him on the back. "Raven, my dear, you are a fast learner."

The gods seemed to be smiling upon Marshall Law, who, thanks to a loan from Lee, now owned a small but successful restaurant in the States.

Law loved days like this, where he could just chill and talk with his buddies, Lee and Paul, over lunch.

"…And she's like, the hottest one there, light years ahead of the others. Blonde hair, long legs, and a body that could set you on fire from thirty feet away. She was a tough cookie but I managed to crack her," Lee stated proudly. "Man, she is amazing. There's this thing she does with my -- "

"Finish that sentence," Paul growled, his mouth half-full of dimsum, "and I will deck you."

"Paul, you would even if I didn't."

"You see her again?" Law prodded.

"I don't think so. She bolted before I could even get her number -- or her name."

"Chicks, man. Always get in the way. You'll never win the tournament with the way you waste your time on them," Paul cautioned, picking up a piece of roast duck with his chopsticks. "Me, I like to wait until after the tournament to find me a nice girl to spend time with in between training sessions."

"So that's two seconds at a time, then?" Lee chuckled, and then sighed sadly once his thoughts returned to the mysterious blonde. "Boy, that woman sure was something."

Law patted his silver-haired friend on the back. "Many fish in sea, my friend."

"I know, I know. But what I wouldn't give to experience last night all over again."

Nina had no intentions of winning The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. Her sole purpose in joining was to defeat her sister, Anna, in their ongoing grudge war.

She and Raven wished each other luck and headed to their respective matches. Waiting in the harsh street arena where dozens of bloodthirsty men looked on, waiting for the next brawl, she wondered to herself who would face her today. Not that it mattered to her, of course. She'd viciously crushed a creepy-looking cyborg, a moving piece of wood ("Oh, wow, you can light up too? Gee, I'm sooo impressed."), and a skinny teenage Asian girl. The sudden silence informed Nina that her opponent had arrived. She looked up, and to her dismay...

...it was the man from two nights ago. So much for dodging him. "Wow, I never thought I'd see you again."

Lee Chaolan had such a practiced smirk that he easily hid the fact that he was grateful to see her again. For a while he thought he never would. He couldn't believe his luck -- right after defeating Kazuya, which was his main reason for competing, he contemplated pulling out of the tournament since he'd accomplished what he sought out to do, but his gut told him to stick around a little longer.

Lee silently thanked his lucky stars that he did.

Unfortunately, Nina wasn't feeling the same. "Uh, good to see you too, Larry."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "It's Lee. Lee Chaolan."

"Mm-hmm."

Someone from the audience was getting impatient. "Quit the flirting and fight, prettyboy!"

She laughed and looked from the guy back to Mr. One-Night-Stand. The sooner she got rid of this moron, the better. "He's right, you know."

"Hey, listen, before we start, what say we have ourselves a little deal?"

I don't like the sound of this. "What kind of deal?"

"If I win, you'll give me your number -- and name -- and have dinner with me."

"And if you lose?"

"I'm as good as gone." He extended his hand. She shook it.

They both moved to a proper distance and assumed their fighting stances. "Sure you don't want to quit now?" he taunted. "I don't want to see you get hurt, babe."

Oh, you have nothing to worry about.

As soon as the match started, Nina knocked the wind right out of Lee hard punch in the gut. In a matter of minutes, she completely floored him and scored the knockout victory. She bent over an aching Lee who was lying belly-up on the concrete. "Rule Number 1: Never underestimate your opponent."

"Yeah, yeah," he grunted. "You just caught me off-guard. You better get a Sharpie ready, honey, because I'll be getting your number in no time."

She rolled her eyes at his persistence. As far as men were concerned, "no" meant "try again later." The second match was hardly any different from the first one. Nina tried out the new moves Raven had taught her and found success in them; she made a mental note to thank him later. She had her hand gripping his throat as he was backed up against the wall. "Rule Number 2," she hissed. "Don't call me 'honey.'" And with that, she hurled him across the arena, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.

"Damn girl, you a tough bitch!"

"Y'all kicked that boy's pansy ass real good!"

She took a moment to bask in the glory. "Thank you, thank you!"

On the other end of the arena, Lee was slowly attempting to stand up, obviously more than a little embarrassed at his loss. Feeling a tiny hint of sympathy, Nina walked over to help him up. She was relieved to find out that the only damage done was a small bruise on his shoulder and a cut lip.

"I guess this is goodbye," he mumbled before turning to walk away. "Nice knowing you."

"Wait..."

He stopped in his tracks. "Yes?"

She couldn't believe she was about to say it. (Sympathy wasn't really in her system.) "Uh, would you like to walk me back to my place? It's not that far from here."

"Well, sure."

They smiled at each other, and he slid his arm around her waist as they walked away from the arena, with only the moon to light their way. "By the way, my name is Nina. Nina Williams."