High Kick Rendezvous! (For Acuya)

Kunoichi shook her head as Dmitri translated Elise's words and then added another protest about her course of action.
Incredulously, she focused her gaze on him, her eyes narrowed in fury.
"You won't let me...?" she echoed in a low dangerous tone. "I saved your life here tonight. Or at the very least a trip to the intensive care ward. And yet, you want me to spare the ones that would've shown either you or me no such mercy? Why should I?!"

"I...no, we have money!" Elise called in English. "We were paid to bring you to the Russian! It's in American dollars, which should make it a lot in yen! Take it, just spare us, please! Spare him!"

Kunoichi's gaze went from Dmitri to Elise and back again.
"Paid to bring me?" she asked, her tone growing even colder.
"Y-yes. This Russian, Lash, she wants you, dead or alive, and she's willing to pay a bonus to those that bring back a body." Elise took a breath to continue. "Marco...it was his idea to attack people, to draw you out while you were still hurt. He was always smart like that."
That caused Kunoichi to narrow her eyes and grip Marco's hair tighter, that statement alone making her ready to drown the man.
"Wait!" Elise cried. "He also has this thing about killing! Nobody died! We were going to take you to Lash alive. If she killed you, that was on her. It's his...code I guess. But see...he wasn't going to kill you, as much I wanted us to so we could get the extra money! So...he deserves something for that, right?"

"Yeah....I can think of exactly what he deserves..." Kunoichi replied.
She looked at Dmitri.
"How about you?" she asked. "You're the last one to suffer for this great plan. What does he deserve? If I were to ask the other victims, what do you think they'd say this loving couple deserves?"

Dmitri stared right in her eyes, meeting her with as much strength as she was putting out. She was resolute and serious, but that didn't make her right.

"I see what you're doing." He shook his head. "And it doesn't matter. I know what they'd say. You know what they'd say. Everyone know, but that's not how it works. That's revenge, not justice. You can't just let yourself get caught in an endless cycle like that. You can't fight a problem like this by becoming part of the problem. I mean, where does it end? Protecting people is one thing, that's fine, but you're going beyond that. You're making judgments about life and death. How do you know when you've gone too far? Do you even think you can?"

Dmitri was starting to wish that he'd just taken the bus and avoided this entirely. But he was here now, so it was his problem. Like it or not. He imagined that the most intense decision he'd have to make that day would involve which movie to download on his phone.

He shook his head, staring her way once again. "I'm banged up, so you know you'll get through me pretty easy, even when you do try it. So why aren't you, then?"

Asami sighed to herself. Despite what he had heard, Dmitri was still determined to keep her from doing in the French pair. And the truth be told, now that her blood had cooled, she discovered she didn't want to, despite what she said. Mainly because she felt what he said might be true. Once she started, would she ever stop? She had to admit she felt a dark violent rush at the thought of ending the lives of Marco and Elise, and that frightened her to her core. So, that left out execution.

But if she wasn't going to kill them, what would she do? With the police seeming to have a revolving door policy these days, she couldn't very well trust them with a pair this dangerous.
Drumming her fingers thoughtfully, Asami came to a decision. Perhaps sheer intimidation would have to suffice.

"Fine. Have it your way." she said to Dmitri, before turning to Elise. "Understand this. You came out here looking to drag me away to be killed. For that alone, your life and your man's are forfeit. The fact that you hurt people to draw me out convinces me that I should be doing the job at a slow and painful pace. Citizen X here says I shouldn't. It wouldn't be 'right'. However, my mercy is not free for trash like you. The money, and information that leads to me to the Russian, Lash. Once you give me both, I'll call the cops and have them give you the little vacation I'm convinced all of Lash's people get instead of jail."
Kunoichi held up a finger.
"One more thing: this buys a stay of execution. You will leave Tokyo. Never come back. Because if I do see you again....I will end you."
She paused to make sure Elise got the message.
"Now does this deal work for everyone?"
Although the question was worded for Elise to have a say, it was Dmitri that Kunoichi looked to.

Dmitri let out a long, long sigh of relief.

That was an amicable solution, more than fair, and considering that Dmitri wasn't in a position to do anything about it, he couldn't have asked for more. Honestly, he just wanted this night to be over. "I'm good with that."

Elise was more than willing to go along with it, too, nodding frantically as she made her way back. "We'll tell you everything you want to know, I promise." She stumbled a bit on the way up, but managed to get on two solid feet, moving over to check her partner and make sure Marco was all right. He was still out like a light, but it seemed that work was over.

Dmitri sighed, stepping away and giving the two fighters some room. "I'm...thank you." He bowed as best as he could. "I'm sorry if I sounded a bit ungrateful back there. I appreciate your help, really - you saved my life. I owe you."

"Ok! Ok!" Elise nodded vigorously, still ziptied, along with her partner. "The money is in the trunk of a car, a blue Honda CR-Z, about two blocks down after you make a left out of that alleyway's exit! The key's are in Marco's pocket."
Asami fished out the key's from the still unconscious man's pocket as she continued to talk.
"As for Lash, we don't know if the address she gave is where she's at, but she wanted you delivered to this place on Odaiba island. It's a nightclub, I think, but it's not open to the public. It's under construction, almost finished. Check his wallet, he's got the address written down on the back of a receipt."
Kunoichi checked this as well, taking out the slip of paper and pocketing it and the keys after confirming the address.

The Japanese woman threw the wallet contemptuously into Elise's face making her cry out and flinch.
"Remember what I said. You've got a temporary stay of execution. Once you finish whatever time the weak willed police give you, get the hell out of Japan. If you don't, I'll find you. After that, the next person that finds you will be some old man fishing out on Tokyo Bay when he hauls your very dead carcasses out of the water." Kunoichi informed her.

With that, she walked away, heading towards Dmitri. Seeing his cellphone where it had fallen, she picked it up, and handed to him once she got to him.

After he spoke, Asami sighed. She felt horrified at what almost happened, what she almost did. But at the same time, there was still a small part of her that reveled in the thought of killing someone like Marco or Elise. She shook herself mentally. Soul searching would have to wait.
"You saved mine, so really, you don't owe me anything." she replied. "And...you kept me from doing something I wasn't ready to do, something I shouldn't do, so there's that."
Unzipping her jacket, Kunoichi checked the bandage covering her stomach, reaching under the shirt she wore beneath the jacket. Hissing as she felt the wet, sticky blood soaking through the cloth, she shook her head.
"I guess I'm lucky that he just popped out a few stitches." she said ruefully. "Here, I'll walk with you a bit, make sure you get to a clinic. I'd use their car....but I don't know how to drive." she confessed.
She walked with him a bit in silence, navigating the back alleys.
"Look, I may seem like a criminal myself. Technically, I guess I am. Vigilantism isn't exactly legal, I think." she said. "And, I am about to rob these guys. But really, when I'm not doing this, I'm normal. Well normal-ish." she said, although the words probably sounded hollow when they came spoken from somebody wearing a mask. "I have a job, that I love mind you, that I've had to miss because of injury. The bills have piled up, and well, I don't have a rich alter-ego identity to fall back on."
She shook her head again.
"I don't even know why I'm explaining myself to you. You probably just want to get home and call an end to this stupid night." Asami went on. "But, you seem like the ordinary sort of person. Tae-Kwon-Do skills aside. You probably have a girl waiting on you, dinner all planned out so you can go to bed and head to your nine to five job the next morning. So, I feel like it's important that you know, the ordinary sort of people, people who are just trying to go their way in peace, I'd never do something that hurts people like that. In short, I'm not a homicidal crazy person. You're right, killing for revenge...it's wrong. If I were into killing every punk and would-be kidnapper or rapist, the streets would've been full of bodies months ago. It's just...I was almost killed by someone like them awhile back. That started to make me feel like I'm at war, and in a war, well, you kill your enemies. Especially when they seem to be willing to kill you."
Coming to the end of the alleyway, Kunoichi checked to make sure no other threats were around before finishing.
"It's a crappy way of thinking, and I see that's it's wrong now. But there it is." she finished. "I'm not crazy....or at least not totally insane. I'm just a person who's been pushed to her limits. I snapped. I'll get over it. And I thank you for saving me from myself."

Dmitri sat back and texted Ritsuko as they went on talking - he didn't get the context, so he couldn't make much out of it, but it seemed like everything was leaving off on a good foot, and that was the important thing. And the other important thing was finding his cell phone. Where'd he drop it?

That question was answered, thankfully, as Kunoichi came up and handed it over to him. The screen was cracked - despite the casing that the guy at the store ensured him would make that nearly impossible to do - but otherwise it looked fine. Working order, at least, enough to call Ritsuko and let her know he was okay.

He listened keenly to Kunoichi as she went on at length, and he got the feeling that it wasn't because he was an interesting guy or anything. It seemed like she had a lot to get off her chest, really. Oodles. And he was more than happy to soak it all up, if that was what she needed. It was good to have someone to talk to even for a loner like she seemed to be. Especially for a loner, maybe.

"No...nobody waiting for me at home. Not like that, anyway, just my sister. And not much of a normal job, unless being a wrestler is normal. Which I don't think it is. Not that there's anything wrong with that." He sighed as they walked on, and he joined her in looking around. If there was any one else to fight, they'd both have to run, he was pretty sure. "And you're welcome. You're a good person, I can tell. Sometimes good people just need to be reminded how good they are."

Taking out her cell phone, Asami quickly dialed 110, Japan's emergency number for the police.
Quickly she cut into the operator's greeting speech, speaking rapidly in Japanese.
"[Quick, I need help! I'm seeing this guy getting mugged in the streets! There's two of them, and they've hauled him into an alley!" she said, doing an admirable job of faking concern and hysteria. She hurriedly gave the operator their location. "Please, hurry! Oh god, I think one saw me! I'm getting out of here]!"
With that, she hung up.
"There, that way the police find our French friends." she said.
After that she continued to walk along with him, silent as she thought about the night's events. Wait...did he just say, he's a wrestler?
"You're a wrestler?" she said. "I honestly had you pegged for a salaryman who just happened to do martial arts on his off time. Wait, do you mean the Grecco-Roman stuff or the...you know steel chairs and spandex sort?"

He snickered a bit at her 'Frenzied Citizen' act, then immediately regretted it. Hurt ribs and all.

"Yeah, well, you're not exactly off. I was an accountant. I guess, I still am." Come to think of it, she was really dead-on, for just a guess. Was he that milquetoast, that people just assumed he was white-collar from a quick look? Was it the hair? Probably the hair.

"But that didn't pan out like I wanted it, for a lot of reasons." He got down, nice and slow, and sat on the street curb, sighing with relief. His rear needed the reprieve. "So now I work at the AFW, doing matches there. I even won one!"

He neglected to mention that his only win so far was against a girl half his size. This was wise, he felt.

Asami looked over as Dmitri sat down.
"Are you alright? I could phone for an ambulance if you need one." she asked, standing watch next to him as she listened.
*The AFW?!* she thought. *Wait, what?!*
First Dixie, now Dmitri. How many times would the AFW roster come to her aid? Was it coincidence or was Lash and company zeroing in on her identity? Did she mess up somehow?!
*If Dixie was hurt because of what I'm doing....I don't know what I'd do. This has to be a fluke. I've been careful, there aren't any ties between my midnighting as Kunoichi and my wrestling career. Still, I should check around...if I ever get a free moment one of these days.*
"The AFW, really?" she said, feigning having only the knowledge a casual watcher would know. "They have a TV show I catch every so often. I haven't watched it in forever though. My nights seem to be busy these days. So I guess you're in...what is it called, the inter-gender league of theirs?"

"I'll live." He winced, rubbing what he hoped was just a cracked rib and not a broken one. Didn't have much context, it was hard to tell. "I think. I hope. Ah..."

He laid back on his elbows, looking up at her - from the sound of things, she was just a casual fan, like most people, only catching the occasional match when they were flipping through the stations. Tension always got the lower ratings and the less fights, so it wasn't too surprising that some newbie with only three matches wouldn't get too much recognition.

"Tension, they call it Tension. It used to be Sex Wars, might have heard of that." He blushed a little at that name, glad they dropped it. Made things sound a lot dirtier than he liked it. In fact, if they'd stuck with that name, he probably wouldn't have worked up the courage to join. "Maybe you should give it a shot, when you heal up, I mean. It's a good way to have some fun and make money. In your free-time, I mean. If you have free-time. I mean, 'Vigilante' isn't really a high-pay job, right?"