(Author's Note: I am going a bit against the norm for this chapter when it comes to finding song lyrics that fit this particular chapter. Seeing that I have tried to find songs from the 50s-70s that would fit this one, with not much luck. So, I'm going to add a couple of 80s-current songs to fit with the story. Also, it has been brought to my attention that both of Sofie's arms are cut off in the Japanese cut of "Kill Bill, Vol. 1". However, I am going with the U.S. cut and we see that her remaining arm after the showdown at the House of Blue Leaves is still intact as the Bride closes the lid of the trunk on Sofie and when Sofie rolls down the hill in front of the Tokyo General Hospital (I've looked at bit on my DVD over and over, and the arm is still intact). I repeat, this is going by the U.S. version of the film, not the Japanese cut, for the fact that I've only seen the U.S. cut. Thank you.)

("If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next"
by Manic Street Preachers

The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists

Bullets for your brain today
But we'll forget it all again
Monuments put from pen to paper
Turns me into a gutless wonder

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

Gravity keeps my head down
Or is it maybe shame
At being so young and being so vain

Holes in your head today
But I'm a pacifist
I've walked La Ramblas
But not with real intent

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

And on the street tonight an old man plays
With newspaper cuttings of his glory days

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next)

CHAPTER 5: The Will

It had been nearly three months since O-Ren died. Greg was already packing up some of his things, putting in a transfer back to the U.S. Though he only had one week left, he felt like he was leaving home to go to some foreign country because he had felt so at home at Tokyo. He was going to go to San Francisco, where his brother Lucas would pick him up from the airport. It was going to be somewhat odd to him being back in the States, probably alienistic in feeling. Even with work and packing, O-Ren still lingered on Greg's every thought. Not even conversations with Kiia helped.

Around his neck was a customized pendant. It was made out of Titanium, it being the size of a Kennedy half dollar in circumference. It was as thick as five of them glued together. On the front were the Japanese and Chinese characters for love. However, the pendant was more like a locket, the inside front having an engraved inscription: O-Ren Ishii, 1974-2003, A love that will continue forever. Also inside was the locket of hair that Greg had taken from her in the morgue, bound together with a leather lace that was also the same kind used for the pendant's band. It rested right against his chest, right on top where his head was. It served as a reminder of the times she used to place her head there, listening to his heartbeat, something she often did after they made love. It was the only spot O-Ren had been, to him at least, being both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. And it was something he couldn't forget.

The packing required little time, seeing that the furniture and eating utensils were provided with the apartment. He had long since replaced the glass coffee table that he broke when O-Ren had given him a kick right to his stomach. He couldn't say what the fight had been about, but he knew it was before she used that truth stuff on him. Madam Shinata, the building's super attendant, was forgiving when he paid for it.

"Young people full of love," she said, "Though it's a blessing, sometimes some things get broken in the process."

She had seen O-Ren when she followed Greg there, but she didn't see Gogo with two of the Crazy 88 when they arrived, or so she claimed. When it came to the Yakuza, you either didn't see them or you wouldn't be seen again.

Greg had finished putting up his DVD collection when he heard a knock on the door. He wasn't expecting anyone at that time. He figured that it was Madam Shinata, dropping off a check list of things that had to stay. Greg tried to be careful as he stepped over some boxes as he moved through the contemporary style apartment. He walked down the hallway, reaching the door as the person on the opposite side knocked on it again. He wished there had always been a peephole in the door. That would have saved him from trouble if it was on the other side of the door. He turned the knob for the deadbolt and opened it. To his surprise, it was Sofie Fatale.

Her hair was pulled back from her face, sporting a business suit. Her left arm, which had been reattached, rested in a sling that wrapped around the back of her neck. At her side was a briefcase.

"Ms. Fatale. This is a surprise."

"May I come in?"

Greg opened the door wider, so not to have any accidental bumping against Sofie's recovering arm. She had picked up the case as she entered. Sofie hovered a bit when she reached the living room, looking around at the room as she waited for Greg to catch up after he closed the door.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you," Sofie replied, "I see you're packing."

"Yeah. I'm heading back to the states next week."

"Tokyo General is losing one of its best."

"I doubt I'm the best of Tokyo General, but I can say I tried my best."

"What do you think O-Ren would say about you moving back?"

"Nothing," Greg replied as he took a seat on the couch, "She's dead. Please, Sofie, take a seat."

She complied, placing her briefcase on the coffee table in front of her. Greg was a bit curious as to what she was doing there. But he was as equally curious about why she brought the brief case, black leather with gold colored latches. He began to assume that she may have been on her way to taking care of some sort of legal issues of some sort. He never had to deal with such issues before.

"I didn't see you at the funeral," she began, "Why weren't you there?"

He dreaded that question, knowing sooner or later that he'd have to answer it.

"I was on duty at the E.R. We had to deal with a car vs. semi truck accident."

That had been a lie. The true reason he didn't go was because he wasn't sure if O-Ren would have really wanted him to be there. He had already said his goodbye to her in the morgue. Would she really have wanted him to be there, along with her criminal associates and friends whom he had never seen before? What would he have said if he were asked how he knew O-Ren? He had stayed home that day, making the decision on if she should leave Japan. He felt so much at home there.

"How was it?"

"It was beautiful. Even up to the last second."

"So, Sofie, what do I owe for your company here today?"

"I'm here because of some important legal issues dealing with O-Ren's death."

She reached forward, grabbing a hold and laying flat the briefcase. She used her only workable hand to unlatch and open it.

"I'm not sure if you're aware, not only was I O-Ren's friend and second lieutenant, but I was also her lawyer. Now that I am slowly regaining my position as a member of the legal community, I am now trying to catch up with matters that could have been dealt with a few months back if it had not been for my arm being reattached."

She began to lay out two envelopes and what appeared to be some sort of contract. The first envelope was a bit thick, while the second one was flat. Greg was curious about what were in the envelopes.

"O-Ren left a will. She had it filled out a month before her demise. In the will, there are some details of O-Ren's estate that had been handed over to you. There are some details I am to discuss with you."

"Look, Sofie, I don't want anything."

"I'm afraid you have no choice, Greg. O-Ren stated that these details be handled regardless of if you want them or not."

Sofie pushed the thick envelope forward towards him.

"The first detail of the estate happens to deal with money. O-Ren, at the time of her death was worth thirty million dollars from not only her previous line of work, but from stocks she purchased. The amount is to be divided into three for each of the groups: The first is for me, seeing that I was there for her the past few years. The second is to the Yubari sisters, whom O-Ren had an acquaintance with. The final is you. You are free to do whatever you wish with the money, however, you have been awarded additional stock for one sole purpose. With the stock and money, you are asked to open a center or organization for children who have lost their families to crime-related deaths. It was O-Ren's wish to save children from the kind of life she ended up being in. Inside this envelope is a cash advance of a thousand and four hundred dollars, U.S. currency, of course. The rest of the money is being transferred to an account that you have access to, right as we speak."

He couldn't believe that O-Ren wanted him to do that, funding him to help people. Though he had treated her cruelly the last portion of her life, she still cared enough to leave some kind of legacy. Not a legacy of pain, but a legacy of hope.

"The second detail is that O-Ren wanted you to handle was that she wanted you to scatter her ashes."

"I thought she was buried."

"No. She requested that she would be cremated and her ashes scatted at the lot of her family's old home. She told me that the reason for it was because she felt that she really died there the night Matsumoto had her parents killed. So, she wanted her body to be cremated and ashes scattered there, so she would be at rest with her parents. She chose you to scatter them."

Greg was a bit surprised by this.

"Okay," he said, almost in a low whisper, "Where are they?"

"Come by O-Ren's apartment. The urn will be there. The third item you are asked to handle, is this."

Sofie touched the flat envelope, pushing it forward a bit. There was an ink stamp print on the top right corner of the front. In the middle, O-Ren's handwriting: To B.

"What's in it?" Greg asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that O-Ren wanted you to deliver it to Black Mamba. Black Mamba is the code name for..."

"I know who she is, Sofie. I just don't know where she may be."

"I know. You may have to try your best to track her down."

He couldn't believe that she left him in charge for just one partial delivery. He couldn't think of any way to find out where she may have gone. But that was the last of his worries for the time being.

"I just need you to sign this document for legal purposes, saying that you understand what you are to do and that you have received the proper information on your tasks."

She pulled out a pen from the case, handing it over to him. He knew he was about to shoulder some responsibilities, but he understood why these particular tasks were given to him. They were all tasks for someone who cared. They were tasks for someone who cared about those who were still innocent in the world. She knew when she made it out that it was what he was doing as a doctor, saving lives to keep himself innocent. Though he did lose one child in the E.R., O-Ren's requests were not only redemption for what she did, but it was Greg's chance at redeeming himself by saving others, even though it didn't make up for saving her. He signed the contract, ready to take on the tasks ahead. Because if he didn't care, who else would? Sofie placed the document back into the briefcase, along with the pen.

"O-Ren asked me to give you some things, not as a lawyer, but as her friend. There are several items she wanted you to have. You can pick them up when you pick up the urn."

She closed the latches to the case one at a time, before getting up.

"Sofie, I do want to ask you something. What did she leave for you, other than the money?"

Sofie stood quietly for a moment, almost as if she were observing some moment of silence. She finally looked at Greg, her eyes half watery.

"She's left me in charge of the Crazy 88, or what's left of it anyways. And should I find someone to love and have a child, they would receive the legacy. I'm a bad person, Greg, and I am forever damned."

"I'm sorry, Sofie."

"Don't be. It was a path I chose for myself, much like how O-Ren chose hers. At any time, she could have left, not that it mattered much. Because after you left, she had no reason to leave. I would have left, but I stayed because I cared about her. Now, I stay, for her, knowing I have to become a killer to survive. It's a jungle, you know. You have to become a carnivore in order to make it through. I was a herbivore under the protection of a carnivore. Angels don't tread here in this territory."

She had begun to wipe away the oncoming tears. Her eyes foretold the future of her. He wondered if his eyes had the same kind of sadness.

"Do you have a religion you believe in, Sofie?"

"I did once. I was a Catholic."

"I take it O-Ren didn't have any beliefs."

"She believed there is a God. But then again, most assassins do. O-Ren believed that when she killed Matsumoto, she was delivering his wrath. And every hit she performed was to the wicked, those who deserved to die. That was before, of course."

"Before what?"

"Before you left. After that, she never mentioned him. She also believed in Heaven and in purgatory. I'm not sure if she believed if there was a Hell. But she did believe in trying to do the right thing. It was only after you left she became lost. Though she used to smile, it never hid the fact to me that she still carried the void you left."

She took a hold of the handle for the briefcase.

"Do you think I overracted?" Greg asked.

"I think you reacted like anyone else would. If there were ever anything that anyone overdone, I think she overestimated her chances of getting back with you. At least her expectations were laid to rest that night she used "The Undisputed Truth" on you. She understood what you reacted to and why."

"I feel sorry that she's gone. I feel like I failed her."

"You couldn't do anything to fail her, Greg. If there was ever one thing you did, letting her down wasn't it."

Greg got up, escorting Sofie to the door. He opened it for her, like the gentleman he normally was. As she stepped out into the hallway, she turned back.

"If you'd like to, I can leave you my cell phone number when you come to pick up the items from O-Ren's apartment. Just in case you need to talk or need any help with anything."

Greg had the feeling of having Sofie's number being a good idea, him not sure of why. He nodded in reply.

"Sure," he said, almost low.

Sofie herself nodded, almost as if she understood why he agreed to.

"I'll see you around, Greg."

She began to head down the hall, disappearing from view when she stepped into the elevator.

-------------------------

Two days later.

-------------------------

The guards had let him up without any problems. It was familiar territory for him, seeing that he recalled being brought there before and against his will. That time, he had to find enough strength inside himself in order to be there. He came unrestrained by anyone and by his own choice, knowing that he had to be there. As he stepped off the elevator onto O-Ren's old floor, he noticed some crates and furniture lining both sides of the hallway. There were a few movers carrying out certain items into the hallway, preparing them to be taken down to their moving van. Greg moved his way through the maze that the crates and furniture made until he reached the open door of the apartment.

The place looked a lot different to him, missing not just the furniture and there being a few crates standing like Monoliths from "2001: A Space Odyssey", but appearing to have lost life like its previous owner. He could hear talking come from one of the other rooms, him finally narrowing in on the study. He looked in through the open doors as he stepped around the corner, not wanting to pass through the threshold. All of the videos that ran around the room on the shelves were gone, as were the flat screen TV and DVD player. He saw the sofa out in the hall on his way in, but the twin solo chairs were gone. He saw Sofie sitting at the bar, dressed in a light blue kimono, talking into her cell phone with a straight face. She had it pinned between her ear and her right shoulder, so she could write down something on a tablet. Greg knocked on the door lightly, which caught Sofie's attention. She held up her hand for a moment, as if she were asking for a moment. She put the pen down, saying something into the phone a moment before she hung up.

"You've come," she said, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No. I just came for O-Ren and the things she asked you to give me."

She motioned for him to come closer. It took him three steps before she motioned for him to stop. She pointed to the counter, his eyes following the direction until they met what she was pointing at.

There, sitting on the counter was O-Ren's urn, its metal body slightly shining and slightly muted in the light. Next to it was a rectangle shaped laundry basket, the open slits in it revealing what appeared to be books of some sort. On top of that was what Greg knew as O-Ren's sword. Greg noticed the sheath of the sword was different, there being what appeared to be a white stripe as thin as a Number 2 pencil near the end of it.

"There are the things O-Ren wanted you to have. Her sword, her diaries and a photo album. The sheath of the sword was damaged during O-Ren's last fight. I got it repaired so that it would properly be given to you, intact."

Greg picked up the sword, rolling it around in his hands. He noticed the small holographic snowflake decals on the handle's left side. He felt strange holding the sword, it being the last thing that O-Ren held in the final moments of her life. It was at that moment he recalled something from his graduation from medical school. Dr. Emmett McCall said at the graduation of the class, "In this field of work, you'll be there when some enter the world and when some leave it." He wished he had been there at O-Ren's side in those final seconds, at least try to say goodbye for the final time and help her go in peace if she did have any pain.

"The sword was made by Kithara Tzu," Sofie continued, bringing Greg back to the present time, "Its quality equally matches a..."

She went silent for a brief moment, shifting in her seat. She also cleared her throat before she began again.

"Its quality equally matches a Hattori Hanzo sword. This sword was given to O-Ren by Bill on her 26th birthday, before she began her task on taking over the Japanese underworld."

"Why give me the sword? I mean, I have no use for it."

"That was actually the thing I told her. She said something that seemed odd. I'm not sure what it meant. She said, 'This sword has taken its share of lives. It will eventually give life to one.' It was two days before she died when she said that, though I still do not know what it means."

Greg knew for a fact that he wasn't going to be using the sword in the same manner as O-Ren had, to kill anyone with it. He thought about giving it to Sofie, but she would have most likely refused like when he told her that he didn't want anything from O-Ren's will. Greg lowered the sword to his side, holding it by the sheath in his left hand. He looked at the laundry basket and the urn, coming to realize something.

"I can't carry all of this."

"Hold on a moment," Sofie said as she turned toward the doorway, "Sonny!"

Greg turned around to see a member of the Crazy 88 come into the room. He recognized him right away. He had an eye patch over his right eye under the Kato mask, a scar running from his right ear to his cheek bone on the same side. Sofie scribbled down something on a piece of paper, tearing it off and handing it to Greg.

"Help Dr. Lowndes with the box, please," she said to Sonny before turning back to Greg, "That's the address where O-Ren's home used to be. I left my cell phone number inside the photo album. Don't be afraid to call if you need anything."

Greg folded the paper and shoved it into his pocket. He picked up the urn before Sonny reached the bar for the box. Greg stood for a moment, looking at Sofie. He was wondering if he should have felt sorry or happy for her, for the fact that she was now the leader of the Crazy 88, a position she may have never thought about getting in her life and having to do things that she may not really want to do. Sofie held out her free hand, the look of friendliness in her eyes. Greg took a hold of her hand, slowly shaking it.

"Good-bye, Greg," Sofie said, "Thank you for all you've done."

Greg nodded lightly.

"What I do is never enough anymore."

Sofie let out a small chuckle, following that by a light smile. That would probably most likely be the last one for the time being, with an occasional rare one she'll be able to have. Greg headed for the door, the one-eyed Crazy 88 member following not too far behind him. Greg led the way to the elevator, traversing through the maze of crates and furniture. He pressed the call button for the elevator, both of them waiting for it to arrive. Greg looked at Sonny for a moment.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What about, Doctor?" Sonny asked.

"About O-Ren. And the loss of your eye."

"You and the people of Tokyo General did their best you could. There are few that are still in recovery, like Madam Fatale. But we will remember Madam Ishii, with honor and respect. Are you to scatter the ashes of her?"

Greg nodded just as the doors finally opened. As they got in, Greg used the hilt of the sword to press the button, still keeping his grip on the sheath in his left hand and holding the urn to his stomach with his right.

"Did you know Madam Ishii well?"

"Yes, I did."

"Who were you to her," Sonny asked, "That is if you don't mind me for asking?"

Greg was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. It was what he had feared to answer, the thing that kept him away from the funeral. He eventually found the right words looking Sonny in the eye with respect.

"I was the one who loved her and broke her heart," he said just as the doors to the elevator closed.