There had been many times in the past month when he had doubted his hasty decision to return to the civilized world. After living in an isolated mountain cave for three years without any real human contact he still felt a little twinge of guilt and uneasiness whenever one of the gloomy forms passed by him in the cold damp mist. What was my real reason for coming back? He asked himself. It would have been so much easier for him to just hide away. He wanted to make some kind of restitution for his past, but was this new life of his really accomplishing that?
'Jin Long the cashier,' he thought sarcastically. Yes, a great contribution to society. However he agreed that it was certainly better than 'Jin Long the hermit', a man afraid of his own power to destroy. I will never be that man again, he told himself. And then he wondered, Do I mean an assassin or a hermit? He thought about it for a moment. It does not matter, I will never be either of those people again. And what of 'Jin Long the Kenpo Master'? Had he seen the end of his use of the martial arts, and, more importantly, of his powerful and terrible beast form?
Probably not. He warned himself. Problems such as the tension between Humans and Zoanthropes, not to mention Zoanthropes like Busuzima and Shenlong who are hungry for power, will never be solved. And until they are none of us will be able to rest... He turned a hazy corner, heading towards home, only to run right into someone that he hadn't even seen. Oh great! he thought as the impact pushed him backwards so that he fell into a sitting postion on the concrete. This is just what I need!
"Ow!" the other person cried as her butt also hit the cold, hard concrete.
"I'm terribly sorry about that." Long apologized, pulling himself off the ground. "I should have been..."
"Watching where you were going?" the other finished. "I know, I should have too." It would have helped if I had been able to wear my glasses. Long thought as he walked over to the mist cloaked figure, who was still sitting on the concrete, shivering slightly. He offered a hand to help her up.
"Hey, aren't you...?" the other asked. He squinted through the haze, trying to make out her features.
"Shina?"
"Long! What are you doing here?"
"I was on my way home."
"So was I." she grasped his extended hand and pulled her self up, shivering as a soft breeze blew over her soaked clothes. "Oooo, this weather sends a chill up my spine! Bad enough when it's cold and damp, but now misty and rainy too? I hate this place! Can't even see a yard ahead of yourself... sorry Long." she offered a bashful smile.
"Is your home far from here?" he looked into her face, concerned that she would catch some kind of cold.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a pay phone so I can call a cab. You know of any around here?"
"Not in the immediate area." he replied, after searching his memory. "But my home is not far from here, there is a working phone and you could come in out of the weather."
"Really? That would be great, I'm completely soaked!" He nodded his approval and turned down the way she had just come, motioning for her to follow. They walked quickly down the slippery wet path, seeking warmth and shelter.
"So Long, what made you decide to come back here?"
"A lot of things."
"I hope one of them wasn't my father."
"He told you about that?"
"Yes." she admitted, giving him a sorrowful glance. "I was so mad about what he did to you, after all you did for me. You very well could have saved my life and all he can do is threaten and attack you?" She stopped for a minute, reflecting on the matter. "He also feels pretty bad about it... If only you had told him..."
"It's nothing." he replied, waving the matter aside with a flick of a hand. "I can stand up to a lecture or two, besides it actually did me some good." He briefly reflected on the matter. "I am sorry I had to knock you out."
"Are you kidding?" she looked into his face and discovered that he wasn't. "I was just about to thank you for that!" her face softened into a smile. "Anyways I'm pretty stubborn and you and I both know that there was no other way to keep me there."
Several minutes of silence passed between the two as they walked hurriedly down the damp concrete. In their minds they both went back and relived that day only about a month ago. All the feelings of anger, uncertainty and fear were still as fresh in their minds as they had been then. It had been a dreadfull night for all involved, but some how they had all seemed to come out of it alive and well. Still there was a lingering feeling of uncertainty as both of them knew that the problem had not been fixed, but merely delayed...
"Thank you Long." Shina said softly, interrupting their thoughts. I wanted to really thank you, not just tell you that I wanted to. "You may have saved my life, and sometimes I still don't understand exactly why... Why you would so openly risk your life for someone you didn't even know? Someone you had just met..."
"I felt I owed it to your father." he explained. "And partly to you. You were a big help in confronting the green-haired guy and the insect... Anyhow it was the least I could do for Gado."
"He would want to thank you also." she added. "My life means a lot more to him than his own. Anyways he says you are even now and he'll try not to lecture you anymore."
"That would certainly be nice if I ever happened to run into him again." he replied, a smirk tugging at the edges of his mouth. They walked on for a bit longer, a soft but damp breeze caressing their chilled and soaked bodies as they passed the phantom shop windows and came to a residential area with grass growing up from the haze on the left of the sidewalk. They passed by concrete driveways and mail boxes loomed ahead of them out of the mist.
"So what kind of job do you have?" she asked, once again breaking the silence. He chuckled to himself, thinking of her reaction to his answer. "What's so funny?"
"Would you believe it? First an assassin, then a hermit and now..." a dramatic pause for effect... "a cashier for the local grocery store!" She giggled in spite of herself.
"You don't work for Long's do you?" they both laughed. "Oh wait, that's a drug store..." they both chuckled a bit more before she added, "I just figured that you had to have some kind of job, considering that you've got your own place." she winked at him.
"Actually I'm just renting a room." he replied sheepishly. "Maybe not much when compared with the luxurious houses that a well paid mercenary lives in, but certainly far better than a cave in the mountain." They both giggled a bit and he added. "A bed full of leaves and a nice cold stream to bathe in during the winter, I never realized how thankfull I was for showers and mattresses!" they shared another little giggle or two.
"On a more serious note." he explained. "I am just saving up untill I get enough money to make a down payment on an apartment or something, so this residence is not permanent either."
"Yeah, I sure could use one of those hot showers right now." she complained, shivering. He squinted into the gloom.
"Well, we are almost there, just a few more houses down. Much closer than a pay phone."
"Thank you for that Long, you didn't have to invite me in..."
"Well it really depends on my landlord." he replied, starting up a driveway and beconing her to follow. "But I am certain he won't mind." They climbed up the gentlly sloping concrete and walked up to a large taupe and white barn-style garage door. They turned to the left, finding a little concrete walkway that lead up to a wooden door with a few small panes of glass embedded in it towards the top. Long rang the door bell and the door was opened by a young man with curly brown hair who looked to be in his mid-20's.
"So there's my mysterious tenant! I had wondered what could possibly keep you at work, but now that I see your company..."
"This is Shina." Long interrupted. "An aquaintance of mine. Shina, this is Mike, my landlord."
"An aquaintance, eh?" Mike asked suspiciously. "Is that all? Well come inside, it's wet out there."
"Thank you." Shina said as they entered the front room. She took off the denimn jacket she had been wearing and dropped it on the floor. Mike sat down on the couch, engrossed in the television. Long sat on a chair at the end of the couch.
"Shina wishes to return home and was wondering if she could use your phone, Mike?"
"Wishes to return home?" Mike repeated, eyeing the other. "Who talks like that? Although I guess it is better than not talking at all... I don't care as long as it's not long distance." Shina snickered and walked over to rest her arms on the top of Long's chair.
"What? Didn't Long tell you that he was a hermit? I'm sure he's not used to conversation..."
"He failed to mention it." Mike interrupted, giving Long a strange look.
"Anyways," Shina finished. "I need to get home and take a nice hot shower."
"I was just about to order some pizza if you want to stick around a bit." Mike offered. "Maybe you can help me get to know my mysterious tenant a bit more." Shina looked back and forth between the two.
"I don't really know him all that well myself, we've only met twice..."
"My offer still stands." he said, smiling. "And if you're that anxious to shower you can use mine."
"Showering doesn't sound like a bad idea to me either." Long agreed, looking down at his dripping T-shirt and jeans.
"Well..." she considered the idea for a moment. "I would have to call home and tell my father where I am."
"Have to?" Mike repeated. "How old are you?"
"Oh, I'm old enough, but I wouldn't want him to worry about me."
"How far away do you live?"
"Not very far, certainly not long distance." she replied. Long got up and started to walk towards his room.
"Hey! Get back here you!" Mike yelled, grabbing his shirt. "Don't you know it's rude to leave a guest?"
"I wasn't aware..." Long began.
"Nevermind." Mike answered. "Don't know what's with you Asians anyways..."
"If I did use your shower what would I wear?" Shina mused, backing up from the chair and looking down at herself. "My clothes are soaked."
"I see..." Mike said, looking greedilly at the thin shirt that clung to every curve of her chest. Long stomped on his foot. "Ouch!" Shina folded her arms over her chest defensively and glared at Mike.
"I am sorry," Long briefly apologized. "but this is Gado's daughter! You know, Alan Gado? You must never look at her in that manner again!" Shina's cheeks blushed slightly.
"Alan Gado?" Mike said, rubbing the foot underneath his sock. "The U.N. high-commissioner!?! Crap, Long! Why didn't you tell me that in the first place? I know about him..."
"Most people do." she sighed.
"Shina, if you really want to take a shower here you could borrow some of my clothes." Long offered. "They might be a little big, but..."
"They would fit you better then mine." Mike interrupted. "You two are just about the same height, aren't you? Or maybe Long is a little taller than you are?"
"Yeah," she replied, "I just look taller than I really am because my hair sticks up, gives me a couple extra inches. Anyway, you don't want me borrowing your clothes. I'm so rough that I'd put all kinds of holes in them."
"Stay there for a moment Shina." Long said, walking back towards his room. "I will get some clothes out of my drawers for you, and an extra towel. If you need my help for anything just call my name."
"I'm not going to rape her Long!" Mike yelled as Long went into the room and closed the door. "Weird guy huh?" he asked Shina. "My apologies for that by the way, if I had known who you were..."
"It really doesn't make a difference." she interrupted, still protectively covering her soaked shirt with her arms. Except that I could probably beat you into a coma if you tried anything... But since you are Long's landlord and I don't wanna get him kicked out I'll just save it for later.
"So, you know anything else about him? I mean, the guy just moved in here about a month ago. Doesn't talk much at all. At first I thought it could have been because he was a little unfamiliar with the language but... well, he's certainly proved that's not the case."
"I met him once years ago, a brief encounter with few words exchanged." she informed him, walking over to take a seat on a chair opposite the couch he sat in. "And then once more a month ago. I can't tell you much else, except that, I really admire him."
"Oh? Why?"
"He... well you see, my father spared his life once, and so he saved mine in order to return the favor."
"Really? Your personal savior then?"
"I guess."
"So what's it like to be the daughter of Gado?" he asked, looking into her face. "You're a mercenary too, aren't you?"
"Almost as well known as he is." she grinned. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize me by name."
"Shina... Alan... Gado in either case..." he shrugged. "I guess you could say that I'm not a big respecter of persons, but I definately wouldn't want to piss either of you two off."
"Most people don't." she replied, another sly grin creeping over her face. A door opened and Long emerged from his room with clothing and towels folded and stacked neatly in his arms and ready to inspect. He walked up to Shina and handed them to her. She turned them over a few times.
"These will do nicely, thank you Long."
"You know Long," Mike began, "I just remembered that I forgot to clean my room today, it's a real mess. Would you mind if she used your bathroom? I can see that you always keep your room really neat so..."
"Not at all." he replied.
"Alright." she said, "now all I've got to do is call Dad." Mike picked a cordless phone up off of it's base on the coffe table in front of him and handed it to her. She took it and sat back on her chair and dialed the number, waiting a few seconds for a response.
"Hi there Dad... yeah I'm done.... Hey, I got an invitation to dinner at a friends house... you won't believe me but it's Long. Yeah, the guy who... I literally ran into him on my way... no, think I'll stay for dinner... okay Dad." she lowered the phone from her ear momentarilly and looked at Long. "He wants to talk to you."
What could he possibly have to say to me? Long wondered as she handed him the phone. He picked it up and cautiously put it to his ear before sitting down on the couch next to Mike.
"Yes?" he asked a bit timidly.
"So, what are you doing in the city?" his deep solemn voice boomed over the phone lines.
"Just following your advice." Long replied.
"Well, sounds good then. Listen Long, I wanted to apologize for what happened the last time we met, if I had known what you had just done for my daughter..."
"It was the least I could do, Alan Gado."
"Well, I am very pleased. And I would also like to thank you for bringing her out of the rain. Foolish, hard-headed girl, told her not to go out today. I would say that she takes after me but... anyways just have her call me back when she is ready to leave, I trust she is in good hands with you."
Long was a little startled with this sudden amount of trust but regained his composure before replying, "Certainly Gado."
"See you when I come to pick her up then, bye!"
"Good bye Gado." the phone clicked as they hung up. Long handed the phone to Mike who put the phone back on it's base.
"What did he say?" Shina asked.
"He apologized for his actions the last time we met and thanked me for bringing you in out of the rain." Long answered. "Would you like to take that shower now?"
"Absolutely!" she replied, affirming her desire to shed herself of her cold, clingy, uncomfortable clothing. "Lead the way Long." They both walked over to into his room and just as Long was about to close the door...
"Have fun you two!" Mike yelled after them. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do in there!"
"How ridiculous." Long muttered slamming the door. "Can you believe that he had the audacity to insinuate..." She giggled.
"He's just being a guy, most guys are like that."
"I sincerely hope not." he replied, shaking his head.
"He was just joking around, Long."
"Indeed? I suppose that so many years out of human contact have done little for my understanding of comtemporary humor."
"Is that the bathroom?" she asked, pointing to a door on the wall to her left.
"Yes, go ahead and make yourself at home." She walked into the bathroom and immediately noticed the pristine clarity of the white tiles along the sink in front of her. She looked around the room and saw the same cleanness all over, the tile of the walls and ceramics of the sink and tub. "Wow, he wasn't kidding about you keeping the place neat..." It's a good thing you can't see my room and bathroom right now, heh, they're a mess compared to this.
Long walked over to stand beside her. "Going without plumbing, electricity, and a temperature controlled environment has given me a whole new appreciation of modern convieniences." he looked over the bathroom proudly. "However, if you had seen my room when I was your age you would have been shocked."
She giggled. "You know Long, you do sound like you just got out of a big university or something..."
"I never went to college, but..." he stoped, pointing into a corner of his room. She turned and looked to see large bookcase that went from the floor of the room almost to the ceiling. It was almost as wide as his bed and filled with books. "I have read every one of those." he admitted. "There was not much else for me to do as a hermit, except hunt for food."
"Wow! No wonder you sound so smart, I bet you're got a huge IQ!"
"Perhaps." he replied, faint patches of pink appearing on his cheek. "Anyway I will leave you to your shower. Should you need me for anything I will be in the front room with Mike."
"Alright." she agreed. He stepped out of the bathroom and she closed the door, barely able to contain herself she began stripping off her wet clothing and throwing it to the floor. Long walked back out of his room and closed the door behind him. Then he made his way to the couch where Mike was sitting around watching an action movie.
"You know that's one cool thing about you Asians." he said, engorssed in the image of a man doing a jump kick and flying through the air. He put up his fists and punched the air. "Boom! Bang! Bop! Martial Arts! The most awesome part of Asia!" Long laughed. "What's so funny?"
"What would you say if I told you I was a Master of the art of Kenpo?"
"Kenpo? Is that a type of Martial Art?"
"Correct," Long nodded. "but perhaps my former skills in Xin Yi Ba* Kung Fu are better known."
"Ah, awesome! Why didn't you ever tell me that before!?!"
"I am not extremely proud of my prowess with the art..."
"Why not? You ever beat someone up before?"
"Beat someone up?"
"You know, pelt 'em a couple times!" Mike he takes a few more swings at the air. "Just for fun!"
"Just for fun? Certainly not!"
"Hey, do you think you could teach me a couple moves?"
"I am not certain that would be..."
"Yeah, I know... you're only supposed to use it for defense right?"
Long nodded, "A lesson best learned by example and not practise. Besides, it would take years to learn the art properly..."
"Well I don't want to learn the whole thing, just show me a punch or two!"
"Alright." Long reluctantly agreed, getting up from the couch. Mike also got up and they turned to face each other. "One important concept in Kenpo is correct use of the hand to inflict pain and damage." Long began the explanation. He lifted one hand into the air, his thumb and fingers folded into his palm, while fully extending the end of his wrist. "For example using your hand in this position perfectly aligns your wrist with your arm, turning your arm into a sort of miniature battering ram capable of creating maximum impact. It can easilly make an unwary opponent fly across the room, while sustaining crippling damage."
"I see." Mike muttered, watching and listening carefully.
"I will show you what I mean, do you know how to put up a decent guard? I shall give you a light hit."
"Alright." the other replied, using his arms to shield his chest. Long broke his stance and straightened the other's arms, improving his defence. Then he stepped back and went into a crouch before suddenly stomping the ground and thrusting both arms away from his body. His fingers flew outward as his front hand hit Mike's arms with quite a bit of force.
"Ow! That hurt!" Mike yelled, using his hands to rub the back of his arms at the site of impact. "Good thing I had my guard up or I'd sure be flying across the room! You really weren't kidding when you said you were a master of this stuff!"
Long smiled. That was only a fraction of my power. "Ideally it should be a powerful force for good, thought it is deadly in the wrong hands." My hands...
"You also sprinkled my shirt," Mike informed him while gazing at all the little water droplets clinging to it. "you'd better go take a shower..."
"Shina's not done yet." Long replied, glancing at his door.
"Go ahead and use my shower, you can stand the mess right?"
"I will have nothing to change into..."
"Go grab some clothers, didn't she close the bathroom door?"
"Yes, very well, I will go see." He walked over to his bedroom door and knocked, but heard nothing above the scream of hot water running throught the plumbing. He opened the door a crack and peeked in, searching the room just to be certain. Seeing nothing other than a light under the closed bathroom door he confidently walked in and found himself some clean clothing.
Shina's tired muscles relaxed as the hot soothing water cascaded down her cold, tired back. What a strange twist of fate it is that brought me here, she thought as she picked up a bar of soap. Being a mercenary wasn't an easy job. Being a popular mercenary was also very time consuming. Even in social situations such as school she had been distant and hard to approach to any one other than a client. In fact the only person the knew and trusted was her father... but she had to wonder, was that about to change?
She had to admit that she admired the man's courage when he had risked his life for her, and now that she'd gotten to know him a little bit she realized that she liked him. Perhaps they would become friends? No matter what was in the future she had to admit that she had an unshakable urge to spend a little more time with the man and find out what he was like. Otherwise... she realized with a shock that she would have gone home.
She lathered up some soap in her hands and wiped it all over her body, sighing contentedly as she washed the day's dirt and sweat away. Then she searched the edges of the tub she was standing in for some shampoo, finding some hanging from a plastic-coated metal rack that hung from the shower head. I don't suppose he would have any hair gel. She thought, reminded of how her hair would look when she got out, unable to put in up into her favorite spiky style. Oh well, can't ask for everything.
She opened the bottle and poured a mid-sized amount of shampoo into her hand before wiping it over her hair and lathering. I wonder what Long thinks about me. She reflected on the battles they had gotten into and the time he'd knocked her out, saving her form a frenzied goose chase throught the bruning laboratories of the ZLF's hideout. He probably thinks I'm some kind of battle crazed, hard headed little punk. Lots of people think that. Few people ever got to know that kind hearted woman buried deep inside her tough-as-nails exterior.
Maybe he saw a little of that too. She thought, remembering the concern she felt when she had found his bloody unconscious form lying lifelessly near the brick wall. Did I actually want him to see that? She was never sure how much of private self she wanted to reveal to anyone. Lately she was even unsure about talking to her father. All the time that he had been quiet about his work had driven a wedge between the two. When he left the situation began to worsen. Things were getting much better now, but there was still something a little different. They weren't quite as close as they once were.
She washed the shampoo out of her hair, rinsing and ringing it several times to make sure it was clean. After that was done she took an unusual amount of conditioner to her hair, thinking to make her hair at least a little bit managable. After rinsing it out she looked around for a razor before realizing that Long probably had nothing to shave while in the shower. She turned off the water and opened the door, grabbing the towel that she had hung right outside of it. She hastilly dried the remaining dampness from her body before going to take a look in the mirror over the sink.
What a mess, she thought of her hair, running her hands through it. She opened one of the drawers under the sink hoping to find a comb and was confronted with neat, organized little rows of shaving razors, shaving cream, deoderant, cologne, and after-shave. She giggled to herself. Even the things hidden in his drawers are neat and tidy! Good thing I don't have to examine his closet! She closed the drawer back up carefully, unwilling to disturb the order of his things, and opened the one on the other side of the sink. In this she found a modest assortment of brushes and combs, combined with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
What a clean freak! She thought, selecting a small and inexpensive looking comb to use. Hm, if I'm going to try and spike my hair I'd better put my clothes on first. She turned to look at the clothing sitting on the counter. Or, Long's clothes. She corrected herself, glancing at her own wet heap of fabric on the floor. She picked it up and set it on the toilet seat for the moment, and then took her bra and underwear and rung the excess water from them out into the sink. They'll still be damp, but after they way that guy looked at me I won't got out there without something under my clothes. She reluctantly put them back on and then dressed herself in a pair of Long's jeans and a black T-shirt.
She gazed into the mirror once more. Now time for the hair! She picked the black comb off of the counter where she'd set it and used it to draw all her hair except for her bangs up into spikes. She glanced down at the clean and well cared for brushes that sat in the open drawer and remembered how many stray hairs she had left in her own brushes at home. About time to clean them. She reminded herself, not that she would actually remember to do so the very next time she got the chance to. When she was finally satisfied with her hair she smiled, cleaned the comb until no one could tell that she'd used it, and set it back in it's little niche before carefully closing the drawer.
She picked up her damp clothing, opened the door, and walked out of the room. She stopped to look at Long's room for a moment, noticing the simplicity of it as well as the lack of technological electronics. A simple battery powered clock graced the wall next to the bathroom door but besides that... No alarm clock, no stereo or radio or CD player, no TV, not even a telephone? Diddly squat, she thought. How boring. Then again she supposed that after living without it all for so long this kind of simplicity would make him feel more comfortable.
If we do ever become friends, Jin Long, just don't ask me to become a hermit. She walked over to his door, pulled it open, walked through it and then closed it behind her again.
"So you're done huh?" Mike asked. "Don't look half bad in Long's clothes."
"Thanks." she replied, looking around the room. "Speaking of the devil, where did he go?"
"I let him go and take a shower in my bathroom, he was pretty soaked. I asked him to show me a couple moves and... say, did you know he's a Martial Arts master?"
"I figured it out." she admitted, giving him a wink. "He and my father got into a fight last time we met..."
"Really? Guess your father went easy on him, eh? Of course, he's pretty strong too, gave me a good bruise on my arm here." he showed her the back of the arm in question. She studied it, a surprised look on her face. "We were just messin' around." he explained. "Anyways what happened between him and your father? Were you on opposite sides of a battle?"
"We weren't sure whose side he was on." Shina replied. "Or at least, my father wasn't anyway."
"I guess that explains it then, well I got the pizza while you were in the shower, it's got pepperoni, sausage, three kinds of cheese, olives, mushrooms..."
Shina's stomach growled. "He he, sounds so good my stomach can't wait."
"I got two larges." Mike continued as he got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen. The two pizza boxes sat on top of each other on a round wooden table with four wooden chairs strewn carelessly around it. "You can tell that I'm the last person who ate here huh? If it was Long everything would be nice and neat, the guy makes me sick sometimes!" He reached down and pulled a chair out from the table. "Have a seat and I'll get you something to drink."
She set her wet clothing down on the tile floor of the kitchen and adhered to his wishes as he walked over to a white fridge and opened it. "We've got filtered water, 1% milk and 2% milk, root beer, lemon-lime, and cola flavored soda, beer... wait a minute, you're under 21 right? No beer." He grinned sheepishly. "The last time I got a young lady drunk at my place the cops were called over...hehe... Anyways we've also got some ice tea, and some coffe," he pointed to a little coffe maker that sat on the counter, "and some hot chocolate mix in the pantry if you'd like."
"I'll take a shot of hard whiskey!" she said in her best imitation of a deep male voice.
"Ha, ha, ha, pretty good! But if Long caught me giving..." his attention was drawn from her to something further into the room behind her. "Well speak of the devil! Pizza's ready Long, come take a seat next to your girlfriend!"
Long groaned and hung his head before taking a seat next to Shina. "We're simply aquaintances!" He was dressed in a navy blue T-shit, blank of any design or logo, and some light blue jeans. His moist hair was down, falling from the part in the center of his head down to the front of his chest and middle of his back and he wore his glasses.
"Are you kidding?" Mike asked, giving the two accusing looks. "Please! I can tell the you two have at least enough affection for each other to be friends!" Long and Shina looked into each other's faces.
"Affection?" Long mumbled the word as thought it were completely foreign to his mouth. He turned to look back at Mike. "Is it really that obvious?" Mike laughed in reply.
"So you admit that you like me then?" Shina asked, giving Long a playfull punch to the nearest arm. "It's okay, I like you to. Are we friends then?"
"I don't supposed having a friend is a terrible thing..." he admitted uncertainly.
"I'll take that as a yes." Shina cut him off, smiling. "Anyhow Mike, just throw me a cola."
"Coming up." he replied, fishing through the refridgerator. Long got up from his seat and searched the cupbords for three plates which he set down next to the pizza boxes. Mike pulled out a Pepsi and yelled, "Here, catch!" right before flinging it in Shina's direction. Shina shot up an arm just in time to stop the can from hitting her squarely in the head.
"Alright, nice one!" Mike congradulated her. "But don't blame me if it foams over, you told me to thow it to you." he gave her a wink. Meanwhile Long set two clear glasses on the table and used the water and ice services to fill the third. Shina opened her can and a light mist of the sweet fluid squirted out from it, but then subsided. Long finished getting his ice water and went back to his seat next to her.
Mike sat down on Long's other side and peeked into the pizza boxes with a smile before opening the lid and grabbing a plate. He took two big slices and then turned the pizza box over to in Shina's direction. She also selected two large pieces before turning the box to Long.
"I don't know how you can eat so much of this stuff." Long said to Mike while picking out one small slice for himself. "It's so greasy..."
"And what do you call orange chicken?" Mike complained before stuffing the edge of the nearest piece into his face.
"It's not greasy, it's simply saturatred with the sauces that are used in..."
"Gre-seeeey!" Mike tried to yell through his mouthfull of pizza. Shina broke into laughter, and then Mike started up, even Long began to snicker. Their laughter went on for a few minutes before dying into silence as the three concentrated on their meal. Mike greedilly munched down his two pieces in no time and took two more from the box before throwing it into a nearby trash can.
"Goddamn." Shina commented, leaning back in her chair.
"I luv disss sduff." Mike replied, his mouth full again. Suddenly the legs slipped out from under Shina's chair and she fell backwards to the floor. Long bent over in his seat and offered har a hand.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine." she replied, pulling herself up and set up her chair. As she sat back down to eat she reminded herself not to lean back in the chair again.
"Good." Mike commented. "Then I don't have to get up from my pizza."
"Indeed," Long agreed. "it is hardly ever possible to go without eating it for more than two days around here."
"So?" Mike replied, quickly swallowing the bite. "I'm not so thrilled with your craving for Chinese take out either, you know?"
"Maybe next time we should all just get some fried chicken." Shina suggested.
"Doesn't sound bad..." Mike agreed.
"Greasy, greasy, greasy!" Long complained, thinking about the chicken and dropping what was left of the his half-eaten piece of pizza on the plate. "I'm going to make myself a salad!" Shina couldn't help but laugh at that. "Did I say something funny?"
"You sound so much like Jenny, 'this is too greasy!', 'that has too much fat!', 'this has sooo much cholesterol!' I swear I really don't think she'll even put dressing over her salads!" She and Mike giggled.
"I'm not that picky." Long stated. "What good would a salad be without at least a little dressing, and some croutons?" He took his plate into the kitcken and dumped the piece of pizza into the trash can before filling his plate with some leafy green lettuce. Shina finished her two pieces of pizza and helped herself to a third while Mike scarfed down his fourth piece and reached for a fifth.
"I could eat one of these things all by myself." he stated proudly.
"Hope you have plenty of heartburn medication if you are thinking about demonstrating the ability." Long raised his voice from the kitcken as he sprinkled his salad with a light orange dressing and a handfull of croutons.
"Wow," Mike replied, glancing over at him. "I think he's actually trying to be funny, not bad." he turned back to Shina. "We should have you over more often."
"Yeah, there's just something about me that makes people want to laugh..." she looks up thoughtfully. "maybe I should stop wearing men's clothes?" She got a good chuckle out of both Mike and Long with that.
"You know," Mike added, "actually I think it's the hair." they all chuckled a bit and Long sat back down at the table.
"Yeah?" Shina retorted. "Well I'm not changing the hair, so people can think whatever the hell they want."
"It's not like you can't beat the insolence out of them if they say anything you don't like." Long added, giving her a wink. She bit into her piece of pizza, which turned out to be much hotter than she had expected.
"Ah!" she exclaimed, taking a quick drink of her soda.
"The gods are angry with you for your use of foul language." Mike teased. Long shook his head. "So... a Martial Arts master and a mercenary. What is it about me that attracts all these fighters?" Mike asked looking from Long over to Shina. "Do I look like a punching bag?" They all giggled a bit.
"Only when you put your arms up in a defensive posture." Long answered.
"You know, that would've been funny if you'd just drop the long words." Mike informed him. "I mean, I know you're name's Long but..." they broke into laughter again.
"Hey, so what kind of a name is Long anyways?" Mike asked, once the noise had died down. "I can tell that you're Asian but that's..."
"Chinese." Long interrupted. "My full name is Jin Long."
"Shouldn't I be calling you Jin then?"
"No." Shina answered. Long gave her an interested look. "Being a mercenary I have done quite a bit of traveiling you know." she explained. "Anyways, in Chinese and many other Asian languages the writing and pronunciation is backwords from English."
"Uh, okay..." Mike replied, still confused.
"Jin is actually my family name, the name that I shared with my father..." he broke off for a minute remembering the man he spoke of, but then shook the memories from his head and continued. "Long is my individual name."
"Okay, so if I were Asian my name would be Alexander Mike even thought my first name is really Mike?"
"If you were Asian there's no way you'd have that name." Shina explained. "But otherwise I think you've got it."
Mike shrugged. "Still seems weird to me. Did it take you long to get used to English Long?" Shina snickered. "I wasn't trying to joke... or were you born here?"
"It did take awhile." he admitted. "No, I spent most of my earlier life in China where I was born..." his mind raced back to his days as an assassin for Tylon, sent to places all over the world in order to kill...
"And then what?" Mike prompted.
"I... decided to change my career." he replied as casually as he could.
"Did you just happen to be here when you made that decision?" Shina asked. Long looked in her face. He wanted to tell her how it had happened, and how her father's decision to spare his life had forever altered his own decisions, but was unable to explain it if front of his landlord.
"Uh, Mike, would you mind if Shina and I went off to talk alone for a minute?"
"Oh, sensitive subject huh?" he winked. "Why should I mind?"
"Is it something important Long?" Shina wondered.
"It touches on your father." he replied, nodding. "And perhaps it is time I fully explained my reasons for interfering that night."
"Well I don't care, take her off into your room then. But don't expect to find any leftover pizza when you get back."
"Alright." Shina nodded to Long, scooping up two pieces of pizza from the last box and setting them on her plate. They both got up from the table and Long lead Shina into his room before closing the door. Mike watched them leave and then continued his decimation of the last few pieces of pizza. Long walked around the other side of his bed and sat down, motioning for Shina to do the same. She did and they both sat down right next to his pillow, their backs resting on a round wooden headboard.
"So, what's so important?" she asked. Looking curiously into his face. His cheeks were slightly flushed and brushed at his bangs nervously. She shifted her attention to her plate in order to let him become more comfortable. She picked up a piece and munched greedilly at it as he looked back over at her.
"I wanted to tell you a little more about what happened when your father spared my life, and why it is so important to me. Perhaps when I am done you will understand why I would risk my own life..." which means so little to me. She pulled the pizza away from her mouth and turned towards him to listen. "Tylon was known for it's inhumane experiments, and partially for brainwashing." he began, focusing on a small patch of the green conforter he was sitting on. "However I had never been brainwashed in order to follow their orders. From the first moment I killed someone, staring into the horrible face of death, to the last... it was all my decision."
"Are you trying to prove something?" she asked, looking over at his face.
"I am only making the point that what I did, I did of my own free will."
"Why did you do it?"
"It is complicated." he replied, reflecting on his terrible past. "Perhaps some other time... anyway I wanted to make that point because I wanted you to understand that out of every single person of the hundreds I was sent to kill, only one ever escaped death. I was sent to kill all kinds of people, male and female, old and young, rich and poor, guilty and innocent..."
"The one that escaped, was that my father?"
"Yes. One day they sent me a file on him, as they did for all the people I was sent out to destroy. It contained a picture and some facts such as his name, phone numbers, residences, and of course where he could currently be found; along with other personal information. I had a bank account into which they would deposit any necessary funds for traveling, food, and lodging, all that they asked was that they get the job done."
"I see... sneaky bastards..."
"When I came for your father he was in this city." Long revealed. A look of surprise came to Shina's face. "It was not at the residence you currently staying in." Long explained. "He was staying in a small apartment at the time. I waited until night fell and snuck in through a window. I knew that he was a mercenary of course... so I had planned on slitting his throat with one of my knives before he even had a chance to wake up... It didn't work out that way. He may have just gotten into bed when I opened the window or maybe he has very sharp ears, but am I certain that the little sound I made alerted him. He lied there waiting for me."
"Yeah, that's like him." Shina agreed.
"I snuck up to his bed and drew my knife, but right before I could plunge it into his neck he grabbed my hand. I do not remember the entire battle, except that he was the most difficult foe I had ever faced. It was long, hard, and bloody, but by the end of it he had me pinned to the ground, I was struggling just to breathe..."
"You must have been petrified."
"I was not afraid." he contradicted her, shaking his head. "Every time I went out to do my dirty work I knew that it could be the last time... Anyways he had me pinned there, and I fully expected him to deliver a powerful blow that would finish my accursed life... perhaps, even wished it."
"So, you weren't happy with your job?"
"I said I did it willfully, not that I enjoyed it. If the two had been the same, well... They are not. Anyways he just got back up, and walked into a corner, his eyes never leaving me. Eventually I was able to summon enough physical strength and courage to stand and look him in the eye. We hadn't spoken a word to each other up untill that moment. 'Why?' I asked. That is all, a single, simple word... all that I could find to express the strange feelings that welled up inside me. To this day I still don't know how to describe it... I felt happy and sad at the same time, alive and dead, relieved from his threatening presence and yet... He had saved my body from death, but in doing so, reminded me of so many reasons that I... I wished... I realized that I wished he had killed me.
"He took a good look into my eyes. 'Stop this.' he said, 'I know you have the power to put this behind you.' At first I wasn't sure what he meant, but I knew that I had to leave. I ran to the window and jumped to the ground... it was on the first floor. I ran off into the night, unable to think clearly. I soon found the hotel room I had been staying in, but when I tried to go to sleep I couldn't... I tossed and turned for so long, my mind unable to rest or forget... the look in his eyes right before he got off me... He had spared my life, shown me compassion. Something that in all my life I had never done, not for anyone. No matter how young or innocent, how undeserving of their fate... I had killed them all.
"Eventually I got up, I went into the bathroom and looked my self in the eye. It wasn't easy, I had been avoiding it. I did not want to take an honest look to see what was there... so many emotions, and memories full of hate and fear. All things that I had been hiding from myself for so long. The truth about me... it hurt more than anything else... And for the first time in my life, and all the years that I had been killing people... I looked myself in the eye and asked myself why. 'Why? Why am I doing this?' And then I realized... I hated myself... everything that the truth had revealed me to be. I hated who I was and who I had become... I hated my life."
They both paused, caught up int the intensity of his emotion at that moment. His thoughts wandered back on all the things he had ever done to harm others. The hundreds of lives that he'd ended reappeared to him in all their blood and gore among the many pain-twisted faces. He involuntarilly winced as his past came back to haunt him, as it so often had before, ever since that very night. Shina sat by his side and wondered how something like that could happen. And why had her father really spared the man's life? It was so unlike him...
"To this day I'm not sure what it was." Long picked up. "Perhaps your father awoke my sleeping conscience that night. My body was unable to sleep at all and by the time daylight crept over the horizon I decided that I couldn't perform my job anymore, or ever again. But how to get out of it? Obviously this is not an easy task, or I would have left Tylon behind me long ago. If it was discovered that I was missing other assassins would be sent after me, I knew from experience. In fact, prior to that day I had actually killed another assassin for escaping.
"I debated about it until the evening, wasting precious time. Finally I just packed my things... While looking out the window I noticed that the building across the alley from it was within my jumping distance if I used my beast form. By that time I was desperate for any kind of escape, so I tried it. I opened the window, morphed, and jumped, flying through the air... I made the jump, and then I ran across the roof untill I got to it's end and jumped to the next building. I jumped over many buildngs in this manner, desperately fleeing from my hotel, knowing that it was only a matter of time before I would be followed. The sun set slowly in the distance and finally I lost my beast form and came to a building without anything else close enough to jump to...
"I looked frantically up and down the alleys, searching for something to break my fall. What I found, was your father... Perhaps he had regrets about sparing my life? Or maybe it was just some sick and twisted coincedence... I ducked out of his sight and muffled my heavy breathing, anxiously waiting until he was gone. When I got back up I saw some trash cans and figured that they would help to break my fall..."
"And then I saw you!" Shina exclaimed. "So that's why you crashed into the trash cans, you didn't really crash at all, you jumped!"
"And you accused me of following your father." Long reminded her, softening his voice and calming the wild emotions that surged through his mind because of the memory.
"How silly of me... but I guess there's no way I could've known that you were running... I guess I was right to be scared of you then."
"I just wanted to get away, when you tried to detain me I became angry, but I had promised myself that I would never kill again..."
"And have you?"
"No, not for all those years. Not that it has helped me."
"I guess I understand now." They came out of their private worlds of thought and turned to look at each other. "You know, if you had told me earlier that you had tried to kill my father... like maybe the second time we met... I might have tried to kill you."
"You might have succeeded. I am weak now. I have lost much of my power, not to mention my confidence in the art."
"I'm glad you didn't tell me then." she replied, giving him a warm smile. He smiled back assuringly.
"You know something else?"
"What?"
"When your father talked to me on the phone, about you staying here for dinner, he said that he trusted me, and that you were in good hands."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I guess I'm not surprised... he certainly wouldn't have let me stay here if he didn't feel I was safe. Sometimes he forgets that I can take care of myself."
"So... are we still friends then Shina?" he asked, looking nervously into her eyes.
"Of course," she replied, delivering a playful punch to his left arm. "Don't be silly Long." A knock came at the bedroom door.
"Yes?" Long asked.
Mike opened the door a crack and peeked inside the room. "Just wanted to let you two know that I'll be in my room if you need me, decided to give it a good cleaning."
Shina got up from the bed and stretched, taking a glance at the clock. "I think I'm about ready to go home anyway, if you don't mind Long."
"Of course not." he replied, nodding and also getting up from the bed. "Let's go out and use the phone then."
"Alright, see you guys later." Mike said before dissapearing into the hall beyond. Shina went to the door and heard the sound of one down the hall closing as she opened the one she was at and walked in out into the main room. Long followed, closing the door after himself. Shina went right up to the phone and called her home number before sitting back down on the couch, Long sat next to her and Gado picked up after two rings.
"...yeah, I'm ready Dad..." she paused for a few minutes, sitting around idlly as if waiting for something. "okay, see you here...bye!" she hung up the phone.
"Doesn't he need directions?" Long wondered.
"We've got a phone tracking system at home." she explained sheepishly. "Never know when you're gonna want to track someone down."
"Guess people will think twice about prank calling him..." Long trailed off. Shina giggled.
"Good Long, that was funny. See? You're getting the hang of this already."
"Not bad for a hermit eh? Well..." he shrugged.
"What made you decide to be a hermit?" Shina asked as politely as she could, not wanting to sound nosy.
"I really didn't have much to think about." Long replied, thinking back on the event once more. "Their assassins would find me wherever I went, and I didn't really want to be around people anyways, it made me feel guilty."
"Has that changed now?"
"Somewhat..." he honestly replied. "Whenever I come in close contact with someone I still feel a bit of guilt. I guess it sounds silly when you consider that I haven't even lived around people for years, and that it's been even longer since I actually killed anyone..."
"No, I understand the feeling." Shina replied sympathetically. "I'm usually not great around people myself. Most of the time I think people see me as being angry and bossy, but I only act that way because... well... I guess sometimes I'm not sure how close I want to get to people," she looked up at him to discover that he had been watching her "you know?" she looked back down into her lap. "Sometimes I meet a person only to find them dead on the battlefield the next day..."
"Yes." he replied, managing a stiff nod without moving his eyes from her face.
"Anyways..." her cheek turned slightly pink in reaction to his gaze. "uh... what was I saying?"
"Something about feeling uncomfortable around other people...do you feel uncomfortable around me, Shina?" the suddeness of his question startled her and she looked back up into his eyes.
"I... don't think so..." was her shaky reply. "When I'm around you I feel... welcome I guess. Sometimes I'm not sure what other people think of me. But when I'm around you I feel... comfortable..." she paused for a moment trying to think of better words to express her feelings but then decided to forget about it. "I guess I sound pretty silly..."
"Not at all." Long replied, smiling at her as she looked over into his eyes. "For some strange reason I also feel... comfortable... around you, Shina." he blinked, momentarilly breaking the gaze. "It is a strange feeling to me, I can't remember the last time I felt 'comfortable' around another person." She smiled up at the strange man who she had only known to be kind and gentle, but now that she knew a little of his part he seemed much less foreign and mysterious than when she had first met him.
"Long?" she asked, leaning towards him until their faces were only a few inches apart.
"Yes?" he replied. She wanted to ask him so many things. Why he had become an assassin in the first place? How many people had he killed? What was it like to feel the kind of pain he had felt while looking into his own soul and realizing the truth about himself? But she knew that these were too many questions too soon...
"I..." she began. Her face inching closer. What is this strange feeling coming over me? she wondered. I want to know more about you, Long. She finished her own sentence in her mind. I want to get closer to you... Her face hovered closer to his untill there was only an inch between their lips. I want to touch you... She suddenly backed away, it was too much. "Silly me? What did I think I was doing?" she mumbled nervously. What was I going to do? Kiss him? Why the hell would I do that?
"Shina..." he began, unable to finish the sentence. She looked over at him and noticed a faint flush of pink before it faded from his cheeks. He ran one hand through his bangs nervously.
"Maybe we should..." He was interrupted by a loud honking noise that came from outside, they turned towards the driveway and saw the glow of headlights shining from behind the drapes.
"That would be him." she said, getting up from her seat. "Damn, where did I put my clothes?" When she got up from the couch a rug under her feet slipped and sent her sprawling on the floor. "Man, I'm such a clutz today." she complained.
"Are you alright?" Long asked, helping her up.
"I'm fine." she replied, "But we need to find my clothes!" They quickly surveyed the room and found her jacket, but her other clothes were not in sight. They began looking underneath all kinds of chairs and couch cusions before Shina remembered that she has set them on the floor in a corner of the kitchen. She picked them up and also confiscated an empty grocery bag that had been lying on the counter right before the doorbell rang.
"Go and tell him I'll be right there Long." she requested while stuffing her still moist clothing into the bag. So Long walked over to the door and opened it to find Gado.
"Hello Long." Gado greeted him warmly. "What is keeping my daughter? Is she in the bathroom or something?"
"I had to find my clothes Dad!" she yelled from the kitchen.
"What!?!" he yelled, glaring at the innocent Kenpo Master.
"No, no, you've misunderstood." Long replied, nervously waving his hands between the two.
"I was soaked Dad!" Shina explained. "I had to take them off."
"Shina," Long called anxiously. "that sounds like a pathetic excuse and it's not helping!"
"How dare you!?!" Gado's voice thundered as he got into a fighting stance and raised clenched fists.
"Please, Gado, it's not what you think..." Long stalled, taking a few steps backward into the room.
"And to think I trusted you!" Gado yelled, taking one large stomp into the room. Thankfully Shina appeared at Long's side.
"Cool down Dad!" she demanded, tossing her bag of wet clothing into his hands.
"Huh?" he looked down at the bag full of soggy clothing in surprise and then up at the lose fitting clothing she wore.
"Do you see how wet that stuff is?" she glared into his eyes.
"Yes..." he replied, trailing off as he prodded the soggy mass with one finger.
"Long lent me some of his clothing and I locked myself in his bathroom alone and took a shower!"
"And nothing happened?"
"No."
"I'm sorry." he said, glancing at Long and then back to Shina. "But you take forever to come to the car, forcing me to come to the door, and then you yell that you're looking for your clothes? What was I supposed to think!?!" All of a sudden the tension between them broke and they all started laughing their heads off.
"Shina..." Long managed to squeeze between breaths. "this is the last time I'm having you over for a shower!"
*In the game it is referred to as Xin-Yi, but through my internet resources I have found out that it is Xin Yi Ba (a type of Shaolin Kung Fu) that they are reffering to.