Black Waltz: Okay, here's another chapter for you.

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They say that when you move to somewhere new, you have to adapt in order to survive, wether it's a new state you're going to where everything is peaceful, or a city that's filled with gangs, drugs, guns, crime, and explosions. Liberty City was such a place for that kind of stuff to always happen, and for both Keitaro and Kentaro, they adapted quickly to it like they did when in San Andreas at the time. Both of them checked out Liberty City, finding places to have some time off. While they were shooting pool, Keitaro's phone rang so he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kei, it's me."

"Hey, Lucy, what do you need?"

"Just wanted to let you know that both you and Kentaro are like toothpicks, you need bulk up some in order to work for me or anyone else in this city. I was going to tell you that, but my ass was too drunk. Anyway, there's a dojo over at Hickcock Street in South Slopes as well as others in the city, head on over there and put some muscle on... Shut up, Nana and go to bed!!!"

"...Lucy, you okay?"

"What? Yeah, fine, just trying to get my baby sister in bed... Nana, get to bed before I throw you into your room!!!"

"Okay, well, thanks for the tip." Keitaro hung up while Kentaro took his eyes off the ball for a second to look at him, "Who was that?"

"It was Lucy; she tells me that you and I need to bulk up because the both of us are like toothpicks."

"I know what you mean, man. Is there anyplace here in Liberty like a gym or something that we can workout at?"

"Lucy said there's a dojo on Hickcock Street in South Slopes. Let's head on over there after this game and see what it's like." Kentaro nodded and went back to aiming his shot, landing a strip into the corner pocket. The two played for a couple of minutes till Kentaro pocketed the eight ball in, winning the game and soon, they played another game but this time, Keitaro had one so the two were even. After the game, they left the café and went to their car and drove to the dojo. When they got there, Keitaro shut off the car and both went inside, seeing some weights and an elderly man in a black hakama... Keitaro must have guessed that he was the instructor. Keitaro went to the weight bench and lied down on it. "Spot me?" he asked Kentaro.

"No problem... how much did you want to do?"

"I was thinking about twenty to start off with. We haven't been lifting weights since you and I were in San Andreas." That was true. When they were in San Andreas, they went to the gym quite often, but then they got so caught up with their work from their employers that they eventually stopped going, which brought down their muscle size back down to the way it was before, but of course this time, they knew they weren't going to be sore.

Kentaro set twenty pounds on each side while Keitaro put his hands on the bar in the right position and lifted it up into the air and slowly bought it down while his friend kept count. Each of them did a minimal of fifteen reps on four sets then they worked their biceps, their legs, and even learned some new moves from the dojo instructor; when their training was done, they were sweaty and exhausted. After they got themselves a drink at the Sprunk vending machine outside, they went to their car, hit the AC on high and drove off to their house.

Inside the house, Keitaro went to the fridge and looked through it. With the money that they had earned from both San Andreas and Lucy, they stocked up food and drink as well as some other things. He grabbed a beer from the top and walked to the table, popping the cap off with his hand and took a long sip before setting it on the table. Kentaro told him he was going to be in the shower, Keitaro just waved as a saying, 'Go right ahead.' After he finished his beer, he just sat there... thinking

"I wonder what Tsuruko's husband was like?" he said, tapping his finger along the bottle.

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Meanwhile, back at Hinata Sou, the girls were all around the table, eating dinner that was prepared by Shinobu. "Well, this is very good," said Motoko, trying to bend the silence. "Urashima has been gone for... two months... and I feel great, and I don't have to worry about him coming in on us when we are in the hot spring."

The girls, minus Shinobu, who was in her room, all nodded at that, but the truth was that they really wished he was back home so that they could start over and treat him with no abuse or disrespect, plus having him would be better for them instead of having Motoko's sister... to her, she was like the japanese version of Hitler, something that made the girls cower in fear at. You do not want to get Tsuruko on her bad side.

"Yeah, I can study in peace from now on... and... I don't have to worry about him popping up when I change in my room. It feels good to have him gone," Naru said, giving a fake smile. Soon, their break was over and Motoko's sister ordered them to get back to work. Ever since she took Keitaro's place, Tsuruko made sure that things changed at Hinata Sou... Motoko was told she couldn't use her sword anymore, even when she went out; Kitsune's sake stash was confiscated and sold; she could not go out or try to bring men back or try to swindle them for money.

Tsuruko made sure to change everything in Hinata Sou so the girls would finally realize the wrong that they had done to their manager; she even whipped Sarah into shape, giving her some tough love to straighten her up. For Tsuruko, she still pondered about the letters that Keitaro had sent her. Sure, it was wrong to work as a hired gun for certain people, but there are risks in life you have to take, right? Tsuruko knew that, and even told Keitaro about that on a phone call a few weeks ago, saying that if she was in his shoes, and her family was starving, she would do the same thing just to make sure her family was fed.

She walked over and looked at herself in the mirror... she looked like the kind to take on certain gangs and thugs in Liberty, but when she talked to Keitaro he told her that they didn't use swords in Liberty City... they used guns. She never knew how to use a gun, she was only good at handling a sword, but if she was going to go to Liberty City then she might as well learn how to use one.

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Back in Liberty, the guys decided that some new threads would be a good idea so they went to a clothing store on Mohawk in Hove beach... a store that sold Russian clothes, but what they hell... as good as another other store. Going inside, they ignored the clerk and went to browse for clothes; when they had found some, they bought them and went back home to try them on. After they had worn their new clothes, they looked great.

Keitaro wore a black flight jacket, a pair of jeans, black boots and black leather gloves as a finishing touch while his cohort wore a navy track jacket, brown fatigues and gray sneakers; just as they were heading out the door, Keitaro's phone rang, seeing it was Lucy, he answered it.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I have some more work for you guys. You know where I'm at."

"Sure."

Climbing back in their car, Keitaro started it up and floored it back to Lucy's. At her doorstep, Keitaro rang the doorbell; the door opened, showing a small girl with short, pink hair and horns visible on the top of her head. "Um, hello, can I help you?" she asked them.

"Hi, is Lucy home?" asked Kentaro.

"Yes, she's um..."

Soon, Lucy's voice was heard as she went to the door, grabbing Nana by the arm. "I told you not to answer the door! Over and over and but you don't listen!"

"I was just going to get a glass of water then I heard the door so I wanted to know who it was!" Nana raised her voice back at her older sister.

"Fine, but hurry up and get your damn water and take your ass back to your room and stay there! I can't believe I told that Dad of yours that I would take care of you when he was gone!"

Seeing this scene unfold, both men crossed their arms and looked away. "You're nothing like papa and you never will be!" Having none of that, Lucy struck her, making her fall to the floor while blood filled in her mouth; then she grabbed her arm and dragged her upstairs to her room. Lucy threw Nana on the bed. "And stay in here!" Lucy slammed the door and went down the stairs, going to her liquor. She filled her glass with whiskey and chugged it down and then turned to the guys. "Sorry, she can be a pain in the ass sometimes," she said to them.

"She seems sweet," said Keitaro.

"Yeah, right," Lucy said, "she's been a pain ever since I told her Papa that I would take care of her when he died. In a way, I guess you can say we are sisters now, but I get most of my headaches from her."

"Now we know... what did you need?"

Lucy stayed silent for a moment then spoke, "Let me ask you two... when you have somebody ahead of you in a contest, what do you do?"

They looked at each other, and then back at her. "You try to get on top," said Kentaro.

"Right but sometimes... getting to the top just isn't enough. You have to cheat or take out your other competition in order to win."

"But judges will eventually know that the person cheated."

Lucy nodded, "And in this case, let's say they feds are the judges and that we are the racers. In order for us to win, we have to keep the other competitor from winning before the judges know about it."

"In short, you want us to silence him," said Keitaro.

"Exactly. The man's name is Sam White; lives over on Brandon Avenue in Steinway... do what you need to do."

"Fine, but just so you know it's not for free."

"Nine-fifty, is that good enough?"

"Good enough for me."

"Same here," said Kentaro.

"Good. Now I left you a car with some heat inside it, it's over in an alley on Yorktown Avenue; it also has an early Christmas present, a GPS navigator and a handheld police scanner. Call me when it's done."

"Sure," said Keitaro and they both left to take care of the thing for her. They went to their car as Keitaro drove to the hidden car. "Never knew she had a sister," said Kentaro.

"Neither did I, and the way she treats her is unreal! Something must have happened to Nana's father a long time ago."

"Who knows... ever since we got to this city, we've run into some weird things."

"I know." Keitaro turned a corner and spotted the car that Lucy left; he slowed down. Both got out and went to it, seeing the navigator and scanner on the dashboard then they went to the trunk, finding it unlocked with plenty of ammo inside. Both strapped themselves up with a Glock, a Micro Uzi, and a Pump Shotgun as well as a knife to use instead of their fists then they climbed into the said car and drove off to the location while the navigator gave them directions on where to go.

At the place, the guys found two guys guarding the place. In times like these, you can either stealth kill or head-on take down your target but in this case they chose head-on, knowing it was better than stealth killing. Keitaro parked the sideways as both got out and took cover behind as the guys sprayed at the car with bullets then got up, firing a few rounds into the guards and went inside, finding cover behind the couch, taking out a few more. Inside, they found the place clean, but no guy inside. "Let's check upstairs," said Kentaro.

"Right, but if he's up there, watch your back," said Keitaro, loading another clip into his Uzi. Both guys head up the stairs; they say the bathroom door open and empty, a bedroom open and empty and a closed door. Kentaro jiggled the handle... locked. He pulled out his Glock and shot the lock and kicked the door open to be greeted by a bullet in heart. "Fuck!" Keitaro cursed as he grabbed his partner and took him out of the doorway and against the wall. "Hey, man, you okay... Kentaro!"

"Ow, shit! Guess he got me good, better than I had expected. I don't think I can hold out."

"No, don't say that, man! You're gonna be okay, you hear me? You and I are in this together!"

After he told him that, Keitaro went head-on against Sam, filling him with his Uzi clip and the guy hit the floor in a heap; then the scanner clipped to Keitaros' pants came up. We have shots fired at the corner of Brandon Avenue in Steinway. Dispatch three units.

"Fuck!" he got out of the room, seeing his partner loosing a lot of blood. "Come on, come on! We have to go!" he said, grabbing him and putting his arm over his shoulder as they left as fast as they could then got him into the car. "You... step out with your hands up!" bellowed an officer, pointing his gun. Not wanting to have anything to do with them, Keitaro took him down as well as the other two that rushed to him then got in the car and speed away, trying to shake the fuzz.

He saw an alley and went inside and looked in his mirror, seeing the cops' whiz past them. Keitaro pumped his fist and looked at Kentaro... he wasn't breathing. "Ken... Ken!" he yelled at him, checking his pulse... nothing. He dropped his head, smashing his fist into the window in anger, shattering the glass. So this is what the city does to you if you're not careful, huh? It fucks you up if you don't have the balls to watch yourself.

The only thing that Keitaro had to do was first get rid of the car he was in and switch for another one. Lucky for him there was a vacant one in the alley he was in; Keitaro went to the passengers' side and took out Kentaro's corpse and stuffed it into the trunk so there wouldn't be any suspicion then went to the other car but found the door locked. He smashed the window, unlocked the door and climbed in, hotwiring it and drove off onto the street. Keitaro pulled out his phone, calling Lucy.

"Did you take care of it?"

"I did, but Kentaro wasn't so lucky, Sam took him down in one shot to the heart."

"Damn, Kei, I'm sorry to hear that. They'll be some more work for you soon, just don't ever forget him; he was a good friend to you."

"That I won't, Lucy... that I won't."

Both parties hung up and Keitaro drove back to the house, still remembering the good times the two had in both San Andreas and Liberty. But now he's gone but Keitaro will never forget him, that's for sure. Reaching the driveway, he parked, shut off the car and got out, going inside to relax, or try to.

"I just hope the same thing doesn't happen to Tsuruko," he said, going to the couch and watching some TV.

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Black Waltz: Another chapter for you, expect more soon.