This chapter turned from one of the shortest I was going to post to the longest yet. Crazy when inspiration strikes right? I hope you enjoy it (especially my two new followers!) And I would love any feedback, about grammar, plot, characters, etc. If you're having trouble coming up with something I'll give you a prompt: should the next chapter be in present day or the past? I have two ways I can take this and I would love your input! Enjoy!

Present Day: The Apartment

I wrestled open the door with my keys, walked through and quickly slammed it shut behind me, slumping against the wood in the darkness. My cat eyes did a quick scan to see if there were any warm bodies in the room, any people who would question the frantic, yet exhausted, look in my eyes. After my glance registered no other Mai in the apartment, I took a moment longer to gather my thoughts.

No Chloe.

In fact, no Chloe anywhere in the city as far as I could locate.

After Jas stopped me from rushing down the stairs this morning, we fought about how to precede. I argued that every moment we sat there yelling at each other, Chloe was one step closer from never being seen again. Jas threatened bringing in the council. It took way too much time to talk her off the ledge; if the council was told that Chloe was in the city, we'd have lost her for sure. Not that that mattered now.

We'd been searching the city all day. At least I had been. Jasmin agreed to one quick scan before she had to return to head-Mai activities. We had to maintain some sort of normalcy. If word got out that the Uniter was in San Francisco, or at least was, the whole Mai world would be abuzz.

Chloe's been ability to go underground had become impressive over the past five years. She only surfaced about once every couple of years, but never long enough to be located. Any word on her position spread like wild fire and we could not have that. Again, not that it mattered.

I crossed into the kitchen for whatever food I could find. After Jasmin left, I had run practically all the blocks and rooftops in the city. Mostly to look for Chloe, but partly to release all the tension that had been building since I stepped foot back in this bloody state. First it was the package she had sent, and now I was dealing with the real package herself. Or at least was.

I could see why Chloe had wanted to go running last night to help ease her to sleep. The jog had a threefold effect of easing my mind, helping me see the whole situation more clearly, and in the end, just plain tiring me out as not to care.

False. I cared. But at least now I didn't have the energy to do anything about it except return to the apartment, refuel, and pray to Basset Chloe would hopefully do the same.

It was now dusk, the view from the high-rise apartment filled with the colors of the sunset. I fixed myself a protein shake to return my blood sugar levels to a working condition and made my way to the balcony to think. The fresh air always seemed to help. But on the way, I passed the breakfast table where not eight hours ago Chloe had been sitting. Now all that remained was our dishes, no one had bothered to clear the table, probably because Jas was keeping all other Mai members out of the apartment. So, the stupid bacon, the bribery bacon, was sitting there.

Sitting, abandoned, just like the guy staring at it. And it was starting to fill me with raw rage energy. Forget the protein shake and all day run, I needed to punch something.

Ideally, I would have a sparring partner. I found that trying to punch something that was going to punch back helped improve my game. However, that would require going down to the waterfront where the new gym is.

One of Jasmine's first major projects when she was made pride leader was to elevate the training of the Uniter protectors. It was both clear and sad that I was the most competent Uniter protector and I was still in high school. So, Jas started to recruit and train young Mai from around the country, world even. I was always around to protect Chloe, but there were times when I didn't want to be seen as on Uniter duty, so the other protectors came in handy. Part of the expansion of the project was building a state of the art training facility on the waterfront.

Jasmine even managed to keep the place up and running after Chloe jumped ship. It was still regarded as one of the finest and most prestigious training programs for Mai in the world. So, if I wanted to find a fighter that might be able to keep up with me, it would be there.

Only, I didn't want to deal with all newbies and trainees flocking around me. As one of the original Uniter protectors, now nicknamed "UPs", I was often bombarded at the center for advice and pro-tips. The people at the camp I worked at in Colorado had gotten used to my somewhat celebrity status, but making an appearance at the facility, even just to work out, would cause a mini ruckus. And Jas told me to lay low, especially with the UPs, until the actual Uniter business was resolved.

Luckily, there was an in-house gym at the apartment at Jasmine used when she too wanted to get away from the crowds. I set my shake down next to the abandoned bacon and made my way to the staircase that led to the second story. Jas had updated the apartment once the training facility took off and the Mai council had funded her program, one of the perks of the job.

I pulled my shirt off as I reached the second floor, ripping it to wrap my hands. Was it the most mature move? No. But I had moved past the mature reasoning around Union Street, and now I was just plain furious. At bacon, no less. So, there was a punching bag with my name on it. It wasn't a sparring partner, but it would still do.

However, as I finally entered the gym, I realized I should be more careful about what I ask for the gods for. There, upper-cutting the living daylights out of one of the bags was the one and only Chloe King.

I watched her hook a left into the hanging form, rocking it back. Her muscles where defined under her form fitting t-shirt. It was one with a faded Beatles logo on it, I recalled giving it to her for her twentieth birthday. It's presence now met that she had some location in the city that she was staying, or at least keeping clothes. She was also wearing black leggings and once again, her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Many strands had fallen out, framing her face and plastering to her forehead with sweat from a hard workout.

I thought the thought I always did when I see her in such a state, "Bloody Hell".

Either she was ignoring my presence or couldn't hear it over the roar of the music blasting in the gym. I knew it was the first reason, she was way too good now to not hear my approach under the baseline. I was proved right when after a couple more throws, she stopped, steadied the bag and looked me straight in the eye in the doorway without any look of surprise.

"Hi."

I stared at her a moment longer before scoffing, "Hi? That's what you got?"

Chloe gave a slight apologetic frown, "Sorry… for earlier."

I took a couple of steps into the room, even though the music was still blasting we could carry our conversation normally. "How early are you referring to…"

"For running off this morning," she interrupted before I could include any sass in my remark.

"Oh."

"But I came back," she defended, also taking a step forward.

I sneered again, "yeah, this time."

"Hey, that was an extraneous circumstance and you know it."

I gave her a pointed look, "Really? That's how you want to explain disappearing for five years with practically no word. 'Extraneous circumstances'? That's how?" The anger I had building up after seeing the bacon and honestly the last five years was bubbling to the surface.

But Chloe was never one to back down from my temper, "And you really want to get into this right now?" she challenged, "Ok, let's go."

"Go?"

"A fight for answers. You obviously came in here looking to let off some steam and I could use a real sparring partner. Let's rematch."

I was off put by her proposition and the way she was offering it. Here I was almost yelling at her and she wanted to treat it like a little practice match. I voiced as much, "Excuse me?"

"Let's have a rematch from last night. Make the other yield or land a good blow and the other has to answer a question." Chloe smirked, clearly pleased as I floundered for mental footing, "a reasonable question of course," she amended, "I know you get what I mean."

I did. And she was right, I wasn't quite ready ask the big questions yet, like where we stood and why she was here. I did have one question to start, "You want to get information out of me?" I asked.

Chloe crossed to the bench to get a drink of water and towel off, "Of course, there are a couple of holes I need to fill in. Would only be fair that I get to ask you a question when I pin you."

"When?" I laughed a little at her attitude and the way we could so easily slip into banter. Seconds ago, I probably had visible steam coming out of my ears.

"Yes, when. You were there last night when I was kicking your butt."

I also moved to the bench with the shelves to get the tape. If it was a real sparring match my ripped T-shirt wouldn't work. And I noticed the once over Chloe gave my bare chest as I walked over, internally smiling. "As I recall, I won with your mask on the ground and a look of surprise on your face."

"Fine, I concede to that, but that bruise above your hip is due to my kick and you know it," she replied, taking a stance in the middle of the mats.

I glanced down to the nice purple and blue splotch I hadn't noticed before but was most definitely a Chloe sized shoe print. "I'll concede to that." I finished wrapping my hands and toed off my shoes to join her on the mats. Maybe I would finally get some of the answers I was looking for. At least some out of the thousands I had. I raised my hands to take the beginning fighting pose.

"Ready?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow. This felt like all the hundreds of time we had fought before while I was training her and while we fought together, but also entirely new unto itself.

Chloe smirked in return, her eyes turning to cat's eyes. "Always," she virtually purred.

Then she launched herself at me.