"Did I fall asleep?" Kate asked aloud.

"You did." Kristine replied still smoking without stop. "It's the best thing you can do right now. If you sleep you don't feel the withdrawal symptoms so strongly"

"I still can't believe you injected me with heroin to test my willpower. You're fuckin crazy."

"It's all to make you a stronger woman. If you want to do well or even survive the XWF, you're going to need to be the strongest woman you can possibly be, I'm here to take you there." Kristine said as she took three long drags on her cigarette.

"Right." Kate said and reached for one of Kristine's cigarettes. "You mentioned that. So what are we doing in Tokyo?"

"I don't want to say, but you need to prepare yourself to perform the best character acting you've ever done." Kristine exhaled smoke out her nose, "you're going to be playing the stereotypical American slut. Hence the dashing outfit over there." Kristine gestured towards a hooker's uniform with her cigarette.

"Oh right. Look, Kristine, it's not really my style and I'm not all that comfortable wearing that skanky shit in Japan."

"Kate, Let me ask you a question: Are you in the XWF to be comfortable? Do you want me here to make you comfortable?"

"Well, in a way, yes." Kate replied sarcastically. "I am in the XWF to be comfortable. I'll make enough money to live good, I'll do a job that I love to do. I'll eventually be comfortable in my life."

Kristine dragged on her cigarette, her cheeks hollowing in as she sought the nicotine and poisons in the smoke. "You get that from me, you know. That sarcastic sense of opposition to everything anyone says. There's a little bit of me in you, honey."

"That's great Kristine, but I don't see why this is necessary to prove I can act a character good. I mean on the show is one thing, but in public, totally different."

"Do you trust me Kate?"

"Of course."

"Then you'll do as I say before I zap your disobedient ass with the tasers implanted in your shoulders."

"Yes ma'am." Kate replied submissively.

"Okay, we're passing over Hokkaido now, we've got about an hour to get ready. Get your clothes on, I'm going to change as well. No sense in using the bathroom, we're both women, no surprises in being naked in front of each other. Plus I've already seen you naked."

"Eww. Gross, Kristine." Kate said as she walked carefully across the airplane's cabin to an exceptionally scandalous outfit Kristine had picked out for her to wear in one of the most conservative countries in the world.


--------

They stood in new clothes facing each other. Kristine wore a sharp women's suit with a skirt, probably tailor made. Kate might as well have been naked, the microskirt barely covered her panties. the halter top she wore exposed her shoulders and back, at least she got some coverage from the exceptionally high boots.... right up to her thigh.

"I can't believe you're making me wear this!" Kate protested.

Kristine didn't reply, but instead lit another cigarette. "Our car will be picking us up from the tarmac." Kristine said "You look good, Kate. Just perfect for what's in store for you. "

Kate was back in her seat as the attendent entered the cabin and informed them they were landing at Tokyo Narita. Meanwhile Kristine reached into a bag of hers and removed two small plastic baggies. As Kristine sat down in her seat and fastened the safety belt she lit another cigarette and hsnded one ofthe plastic bags to Kate.

"What's this?" Kate asked?

"Micro radios." Kristine replied, exhaling wisps of smoke as she spoke. "They connect with your ear bones and the rest of your skull, they use your bones to transmit sound when you speak. You hear just as you normally do through your ear." Kristine inserted hers into her ear and smiled behind a cigarette and a haze of smoke.

Kate copied Kristine as she put the little flesh toned object into her left ear.

"There's one more thing I want to show you about these things." Kristine said "Listen carefully with both ears."

Kristine dragged from her cigarette and said something in a foreign language, it sounded like, "Knee hone go gah wah kah day mas ka?"

In Kates right ear she heard the foreign words and assumed it was in japanese. then a tiny voice said in her left ear in perfect imitation of Kristine's voice, "Do you speak Japanese?"

"I guess I do now," Kate responded to the little voice and to Kristine.

"Not quite Kate, you understand Japanese but the device doesn't allow you to speak it."

"Okay..." Kate responded and finished the bottle of scotch "But I guess I can just pretend I don't understand a thing, even though I do with this little earpiece."

"Right" Kristine said and lit another cigarette. "Just play the lost American tourist."

"These things are incredible, Kristine. How many languages do they translate? Why haven't I heard of them before?"

"Well, they're not exactly native to this universe."

"Oh my God. are these things from aliens!?" Kate exclaimed.

"No, not exactly. What you experience in your life is actually only one variant universe of the multiverse. I traveled to a different universe from yours and I met with the leaders of a company called ITC in New Mexico. I blackmailed them into giving me the two devices with a set of languages pre-programmed in for our use on this trip."

"Wow. Kristine." Kate said. "That's pretty incredible bullshit."

"Heh." Kristine snorted "Believe what you want, but its the truth. Either way the devices work for our purposes. But its true, there is a multiverse. I exist elsewhere in it in my real body, but at the same time I'm right here with you In another universe. In my home universe there is a woman who looks just like you but she sings for an industrial rock band and you don't exist."

"Kristine, are you high? Are there little crack rocks in your cigarettes?"

"Certainly not."

The plane jerked as it touched down and slowed to a speed that it could taxi to the terminal.

"OK, we'll be exiting directly from the plane to the tarmac. Our driver is waiting for us."

-----

The two women exited the jet down a carpeted staircase on wheels to the ground. A tall Japanese man with a skin disorder on his face and neck greeted them with a deep bow.

"Browne-san to Asuturofee-san ga Kone bahn wah."

In Kate's left ear she heard, "Good evening Miss Browne and Miss Astrofey."

Kristine replied, "Endo-san gah kone bah wa. Genki dess ka?"

The man replied first in Japanese and then English "Hai! Genki Dess. Your Japanese is very good, Kristine."

"You're too kind Endo, I am not very skilled yet. One day I hope my Japanese will be as good as your English."

"Oh, Kristine, my English is terrible and very bad. I hope your Japanese will be better than my English."

Kristine smiled and lit a cigarette. "This is my student, Kate. You may call her just Kate. She will be undergoing intense training today in Ginka."

The man's eyes widened, "Oh wow! Kate Astrofey! XWF, very good! I am a big fan! Many people in Japan love XWF. Right now Ann Thraxx is very popular here. Japan hopes she recovers very quickly."

"I'm sure... uh." Kate stumbled she was unsure if the man was speaking English or if she had become used to the translator translating everything to English for her. She spoke anyway, "I'm sure Ann will be back in the ring very soon. She's one of the toughest ladies I know."

"Ah yes, she is very tough." The man replied and smiled. He opened the rear door to the black car and bowed. "Matsuo-san is waiting for your arrival."

"Yes. We, shouldn't keep him waiting." Kristine said and stepped on her unfinished cigarette. She got in the car and Kate followed.

The man got in the right hand side driver's seat and started the car. "There are drinks in the compartment in the middle." He said and pulled away

Karte moved with astonishing speed as she poured rice wine into a small cup and drank it fast.

"Kate, by the time you get over this heroin withdrawal you'll be an alcoholic." Kristine said as she poured herself some sake.

"Kristine, you're a bitch. I can hold my liquor. Give me a cigarette."

"No smoking in the car... Unfortunately" Kristine said and sipped her sake.

"That's never stopped you before." Kate responded.

"Endo doesn't like it. He's allergic."

"Again, never stopped you before."

"He's an old friend, I ought to be polite."

"Kristine, if you want to smoke, I don't mind." The man said from the driver's seat.

"It's ok, Endo, I can wait." Kristine responded. "And so can Kate."

"Wow, Kristine, I've never seen this side of you, before." Kate said.

"Japan brings back a lot of memories for me." Kristine said somberly. "I once lived here until I had a stroke... in my universe."

"If you smoke as much in your world as you do here, I'm not entirely surprised." Kate said.

"I don't. In my world maybe half a pack a day at most, here it's like 2-3 packs a day. In my world I have a blood disorder that caused a clot. It's really very frustrating." Kristine looked as if she might cry.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Kristine." Kate said showing some sympathy. "you can tell me about it sometime."

"I might. but we should focus. I'm going to brief you as soon as we start to enter the city. But for now I like to look at the rice paddies." Kristine leaned against her window and stared at the swampy rice fields She fumbled with her glass and drank the last sip of Sake.

Kate watched her mentor with awe. She tried to wrap her head around the notion that this tremendous bitch slave-driver was ever a real person with struggles and trials of her own. Kate uncorked the Sake, poured some into Kristine's glass and then filled her own cup.

"They're like big mirrors, from the sky when you fly over Japan it's like the ground is looking right back into your soul." Kristine said "That's Japan. It stares into you and judges you and decides if you're worthy. Vietnam, China, Korea they all have rice paddies, but they don't measure your soul like Japan does. Here the ground will swallow you whole and chew you up. The sea will reach out and grab you. There is no land like Japan."

"Yeah, I like Japan. I like the old stories of Samurai and the code they followed, Bushido." Kate said, missing Kristine's point.

"they are beautiful stories, but they didn't come out of nowhere. The Samurai, Ronin, Bushido is all directly from the land. Japanese culture is completely the product of the islands and their nature. Japan leaves a mark on everyone who touches it's earth. Are you prepared to be changed, Kate?"

"I am, Kristine. What ever you have prepared for me. I will beat it. While beating this god damned Heroin withdrawal." Kate responded with confidence."

"It's not just here. Japan will challenge you and change you, North Korea will destroy you and in Yakutsk you will rebuild yourself. Kandahar will destroy the perfection you attain in the Siberian cold. You will be a fragment picked apart on the Arabian sea. In the Congo you will find the animal inside and rebuild a woman around it. In Utah you will face difficulty and fight for your life to achieve victory because everything will depend on it."

"Oh God Kristine, it's just starting to become clear to me how difficult this is going to be."

"To become a new better person, you must destroy the old and the weak and build exactly what you want to be."

"Exactly."

"Kristine, we're arriving in Ohanajaya. Matsuo-san wishes you and Kate feed yourself before you see him."

"Fantastic!" Kristine said as she fumbled for her cigarettes. "Kate, dear, I highly recommend you fill yourself here. It's going to be your last full and real meal for a long time."

"Great! what are we eating?" Kate said and clappef her hands then reaching out for a cigarette.

Kristine let her long white cigarette dangle from her mouth as she handed Kate one and spoke. "Broiled Aji and takoraisu and lots of sake and whiskey. We can smoke in there, I believe Endo will be waiting for us here."

"Yes, I must make an errand for Matsuo-san and I will be here when you finish your meal. Kone bahn wah, Kristine."

Kristine replied, "Kone bahn wah, Endo, See you later."

Endo returned to his car and drove away. Kristine lit her cigarette and Kate followed. The entered the restaurant to find a long table set for them and a woman in a cooking uniform there to greet them. The lady bowed deeply.

In Kate's translator she heard the ensuing conversation between Kristine and the cook woman.

"Kristine! It has been much time. How are you?"

"Excellent, Hana-san. I trust you are well ?"

"I am."

"This is my student Kah-tay" The earpiece translated Kate to the Japanese pronunciation. Kristine gestured to Kate and whispered. "Make a long slow bow Kate."

Kate did as told and said "Ha gee may mah sh tey." Her Japanese was rusty, but she at least remember what to say when meeting someone.

The woman bowed nearly as low as Kate and said "Ha gee may mah sh tey. The ear piece translated "Nice to meet you."

"Please sit and be comfortable Kate-san and Krstine-san. May I get you something to drink?"

Kristine replied, "I would like Sake, warm if it pleases you. Kate will have Shouchuu."

The woman returned with two ashtrays and then went back for the drinks. On a tray she turned with each woman's drink and a plate of steaming meat.

Upon setting it down on the table, both woman took a long drink from their glass and with chopsticks they picked up pieces of marinated beef and placed them on small appetizer plates

"This beef is delicious, Kristine." Kate said drank her Shouchuu until the glass was empty.

"Indeed it is. I have missed Japanese food very much. If you have the money, it is the best food in the world. Fortunately, here I have the money, as does our Host Matsuo-san."

"Who is Matsuo-san?"

"Rich and power man in Tokyo. Not really a friend of mine, but we have mutual respect for each other. I'm making a big promise for your lesson there. When you meet him bow until you nearly fold over."

"Gotcha."

"And don't meet his eyes, look at the floor."

"I've been to Japan before, Kristine."

"Just making sure."

----

After the banquet of Japanese cuisine the women left, both feeling the fringe of the effects of alcohol.

"So these electrodes." Kate started as they entered the black car that would take them to Ginza. "How do they work?"

Kristine stepped on her cigarette and exhales a thick cloud of smoke. "They're linked to a GPS that tracks you with in 3 feet. If you exit the parameters I've designated. In Tokyo your parameters are Matsuo-san's building after the hour of 10pm Tokyo Standard. So about as soon as we walk in the building. It's a club on the ground floor and Matsuo-san's place of business on floor two, his living quarters on floor three. I will be visiting with Matsuo-san on floor three, you will be on floor two dealing with Matsuo-san's best soldiers. They have permission to whatever they please with you, so prepare yourself."

"If they try to kill me can I kill them."

"Of course." Kristine said darkly. "This should be your speciality. You're no stranger to self-defense and murder."

"I'm not proud of it, Kristine, I've only done what I've felt was necessary to protect myself."

"I know Kate. Today just do what is necessary. If you do not want to kill, then don't. This is both a test of your physical ability and mental capacity and potential."

"I don't want to kill anyone, Kristine."

"I know Kate, but this week and in the XWF you're going to be put in situations where you might not have a choice. I'm preparing you for that eventuality.

"So what if I can't take the heroin withdrawal? If I buy some on the street do I get zapped."

"No, my insurance policy on that you don't turn into an addict is you, Kate. Being a junkie is not your prerogative, I know your will power I know your potential, you will not allow yourself to continue the addiction, you will not allow yourself to be a junkie."

"You have a lot of confidence in me Kristine." Kate replied.

"I know you intimately, Kate. I created you from nothing. I know your capabilities and you will overcome. Your will is indomitable, because I made you that way."

"Wow." Kate responded as she debated silently if she thought Kristine was crazy or really believed all this god nonsense.

"Yes." Kristine said out of the blue.

"Yes what?" Kate asked. "Oh."

"On the plane to Pyongyang, I will."

"How did you know what I was going to ask before I even thought about it."

"I told you, I know you better than you do."

"I guess you do." Kate said as the car slowed in front of a building that was small by Tokyo standards.

"We're here, remember what I told you."

As they exited Kristine lit a cigarette and walked in the ground level of the building, bypassing the throngs of people waiting to get into the club. The doorman escorted them to an elevator and they soon rode it to the second floor.

As she entered the spacious room, Kate noticed the rhythmic thump thump of the club music downstairs Before her was a long table with dozens of Japanese men sitting down drinking beer at the head of the table was a tall fit japanese man with straight styled hair.

"Kristine!" The long haired man yelled and stood up.

"Let's go, Kate. He can't be expected to come to us, we go to him." Kristine said and stubbed her cigarette out in an ashtray on the table. Kate followed behind Kristine to show deference to her teacher. She kept her eyes on the floor but like any American woman she studied the scene around her without directly looking at it.

"I'm going to fuck that pink American cunt of yours gaijin." a Japanese man said to her from the table in Japanese, she acted as if she didn't understand him and continued to follow Kristine.

At last after what seemed an eternity Kate stopped behind Kristine at Matsuo-san's spot at the table. They bowed slow, long and deeply to the man who apparently had much power in Tokyo. Kate knew the longer and deeper the bow, the more powerful the person you were bowing to was.

"Esteemed Matsuo-san." Kristine said to the man who puffed on a robusto cigar
"I am here for your service."

Service? Kate wondered to herself silently. When has Krisine ever been at anyone's service?

"And I present my servant, Kah-tey for whatever purpose you wish to grant to her."

"Kristine." The man said in flawless English holding his cigar, wafts of smoke encircling above his head. "This flattery hardly suits you. I invited you not for your skill in practicing Japanese custom but rather for your bold spirit."

Kristine nodded and sat down next to Matsuo-san.

"You're expected to sit Japanese style on the floor." Kristine said to Kate.

Kate looked at the hard wood floor and imagine the discomfort. Fuck it She thought and sat at Kristine's feet, her knees and shins touching the uncomfortable wood while she rested her upper body sitting upright on her lower legs.

Though her eyes faced the floor she could still see Kristine next to her accept a cigar from Matsuo. She wanted to smoke, anything to take her mind off the cravings in her body and the aches in her legs and back from her body adjusting to the absence of heroin in her system. She also felt anxious but was unable to decide if it was just the room or just wishing the withdrawal was over. Then she felt a hiccup and tasted bile. Heroin withdrawal, she recalled included nausea and vomiting. Then she felt it coming. The delicious dinner she had an hour ago was churning inside her and threatening to come out her mouth.

"Kristine, I think I'm-"

Kristine silenced her with a stiff open hand across her face. Kate's head began to pound from the impact combined with the aches and pains of withdrawal.

"Aba zu-ray Bah kah Boo so Be silent!" Kristine commanded and apologized to her host as the other men in the room began to cheer.

In Kate's ear she heard the translator say "stupid bitch whore be silent."

Kate frowned and struggled to keep the vomit and bile down until she could find and appropriate time and place to release it.

Through her translator she heard Matsuo say, "Kristine, marvelous woman, let us retire upstairs."

Kristine accepted and took Matsuo's rough hand in hers and followed him to the nearby elevator.

As the entered the elevator to Matsuo's loft, Kate heard Kristine shout to the remaining men, "Ray Mot Sue ga tah no shi mahss!"

The men stood up in unison and cheered.

in her ear Kate heard, "Enjoy the gift!" What gift? Kate hadn't seen Kristine give any gift or even bring one on the plane. Then she noticed the men were encircling her in the rear of the group she noticed several men had removed their penises from their pants and were stroking themselves. Then it dawned on her shewas the gift!

"God damn it Kristine." Kate said as the men drew closer. She stood up and felt a surge of nausea and imbalance. She knew what to do. She watched as the men in black suits and ties circled closer like wolves. Before she knew it, they were reaching out like zombies for her.

Kate smiled. "You boys want some pussy?" She yelled and raised her hands. As expected an overzealous man stepped close enough. She smiled coyly to him and delicately grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer to feel her breasts. She smiled and made a mocking whore moan. The man got the idea and grabbed both her breasts with both hands.

Kate looked down as the man was fumbling to get under her skimpy shirt. She noticed his pinky had been cut off, this was a common ritual among Yakuza, the best men employed by a mob boss cut their pinkies off in segments at the knuckle and offered them to the boss as a sign of loyalty and respect. The man had his hands up her shirt now and was fumbling with her bra. It was now or never. She glared romantically into his eyes and leaned to kiss his mouth. The man took the bait and leaned in as well.

Kate unleashed her burgeoning stomach and released a torrent of vomit into his face and open mouth. Simultaneously she grabbed his arm and twisted it into a tight knot that attached the man to her. The man's hand with the missing pinky was taught between her shirt and the struggling man. She watched his one free hand that was reaching for something at his side, likely a gun or knife. with her right hand she struck the outside of his elbow with a palm strike as hard as she could. The man howled in pain as his now hyperextended elbow formed an arrow towards the ceiling.

Then an object that glinted in the light caught her attention. Jesus! These people had swords! Or rather Katana. Kate was completely unarmed. At least she would be until she could pick up one of those katana.

"Filthy whore! Rush her!" One of the men yelled in Japanese as a group of men began to rush towards her "Hold her down I want a piece of that pink pussy!" The leader said.

Kate turned and forced the entangled man with a sword to face the on coming men. The sword man yelled, "Stop!" But the men continued to rush eager to get their hands on Kate's body.

Kate faced a group of men now simply talking and watching the ensuing chaos.

"American pussy is the softest in the world." One ugly man said to another. "It's all the McDonald's food, it makes it soft."

You're next Kate thought to herself.
With her free hand she grabbed the wrist of the man with the katana and twisted his wrist so it impaled the gut of a man leaping towards her with a katana.

As the man gurgled in death throes she bent the wrist so the man hand no choice but to let go of the katana. She had to get rid of this guy tied to her, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to cut his arm off as it would spare him the pain of a hyper extended elbow. She then hacked down at his wrist, releasing the man with a spurt of blood. His formerly attached hand fell out from under her shirt and she turned to face the men continuing to try and rape her.

"I don't want to kill anyone, Kristine. She had said on the plane. Inside she felt this to still be true, even if these were sick rapists.

Legs

She slashed at a man's legs, tearing the muscles so the man wouldn't walk for at least 6 months. Then another she cut through the femur and the man toppled like a cheap child's toy.

Then she heard a gun shot and short man was approaching her waving a gun in the air.
"She'll still be warm for hours." The man said and leveled the gun at her and fired.

It seemed an eternity before the impact took her off her feet But she still couldn't move fast enough, though she tried. Finally she fell backward, blood splattered on her face. She was quick but not dodge a bullet quick.

Kate rolled over to try and get up and run. The bullet had struck her left shoulder, it was weak almost paralyzed. She clambered to her feet and ran to the head of the table where Matsuo was sitting. She eyed a Lighter and a bottle of Japanese extra hard liquor. Perfect. But with one hand she was going to be limited in using it.

Her left arm was definitely fully paralyzed. The bullet must have hit a nerve. Or Kristine was playing another trick on her and something else was going on. She tucked the blade of the katana under her arm and picked up the bottle of liquor and attacked the nearest potential rapist. The bottle shattered over his head and the man collapsed.

"Lucky you." Kate said as she realized setting him on fire wasn't necessary. As she kicked the head of the next attacker she had a convenient thought. Everything she had been taught in wrestling was entirely relevant. Those moves, when performed on the mat were dangerous, but in a real life setting they could be fatal. especially if they were performed to injure.

She then snap kicked a suited man in the gut and he instinctively bent over. She straddled his head with her thighs and reached around his waist until she lifted the man upside-down in front of her.

"Pay attention fucker, this is the closest you'll ever get to my pussy." Then she dropped on her ass driving the man's head and neck into the hard wood floor. If he wasn't paralyzed,he was at least was going to have some neck trouble later on. The next man approached with a gun pointed right at her chest. Not wanting to risk another gun shot she kicked the gun with a roundhouse and then with her momentum stepped towards the man and delivered a superkick to the side of his neck. He was out for the day, she drove a hard fist into the nose of the next.Then she eyed the man who was talking about her vagina.

"Oh you're dead." She said and hit him with a spear, with the katana still in her hand.

The man fell backwards with Kate on top of him. She stood up and with a flick of her wrist she slashed upward from his crotch to waist. The man screamed like a nine year old girl. If Kate had cut as precisely as she intended she had butterfly cut his penis like a split hotdog.

She stuck the katana in the ground next to the table where Matsuo sat then she sat down and eyed a bottle of expensive Sake. Pouring herself a glass she picked up one of Matsuo's cigars and lit it. She puffed it and eventually inhaled the thick bold smoke into her body to try and numb the craving feeling of heroin withdrawal. As she drank the Sake she spoke outloud.

"Kristine, if that's the best you can do. I'm barely being tested. Except... I guess I've never had to remove a bullet from myself before, But even then I don't think getting shot was worth going to Tokyo to do."

----

In Matsuo's loft Kristine was crounched on her arms and legs on top of Matsuo's bed. The gangster was behind her thrusting as hard as he could.

She dragged on her cigarette and exhaled with indifference. With men all it was ever about was sex. Kristine had learned to stop caring a long time ago. It was typically a joyless experience for her where the only disappointment was if she couldn't smoke in the bedroom while the man satisfied himself.

Then a voice in her ear broke her train of thought. She dragged on the cigarette filling herself with smoke before holding it in and eventually exhaling as she recognized the voice of Kate. Then another voice broke in, Matsuo grunted and she felt his seed inside her. Thankfully it was over. Matsuo exited her and wiped sweat from his brow and began to get dressed.

"I suppose all is well. Kate is finished and alive. Hand me a Kimono, Matsuo-san."

Matsuo handed her a sakura patterned silk kimono. Kristine held her cigarette in her mouth as she put it on.

"Are my men dead?" Matsuo asked.

"No." Kristine replied as the cigarette wobbled in her mouth.

"That's a shame."

"Why?"

"They were actually my enemy's men. We were having a sort of negotiation discussion. My enemy Kurasaka was down there, he's exceptionally brash. I'd be surprised if Kate didn't kill him first as he's usually the first to begin sexual assault."

"Well, then, I'm sorry to tell you, but I think he is alive."

"Then we must hurry woman! I want to kill him before he can escape!" Matsuo entered the elevator and Kristine followed, cigarette smoke trailing behind her.

They arrived to a scene of apparent chaos. Kate was relaxed in the big seat Matsuo reserved for himself. She exhaled a cloud of cigar smoke and raised a glass of sake.

"Matsuo-san," Kate said childishly. "I'm afraid your men were not good enough."

"Insolent bitch, how are you taker my seat and enjoy my things!?"

"You were gone, doing whatever with Kristine. I figured why not."

Matsuo surveyed the carnage and came to a stop when he found the man Kate had sexually impaired with the katana. The man was frantically clutching at his genitals that had obviously been cut vertically down the middle.

Matsuo let out a belly laugh and clapped his hands. "Enjoy all you like, Kate. Kuresaka finally got what he deserved! Perhaps I'll let him live like this a bit longer."

"I cut his dick open like a hot dog bun." Kate said to Kristine who merely smirked and exhaled more cigarette smoke.

"I like your style Kate!" Matsuo said and crushed Kurasaka's hand underneath his foot.
"If you ever tire of the XWF, come see me in Tokyo, you can work for me!"

"Arigato Gozaimasu, Matsuo-san. I'll keep that in mind." Kate nodded and sipped her Sake. Working as a Yakuza Hit-Lady, not a terrible career option. It was far better than all her other options at present. Though the XWF continued to interest her. But if she bottomed out in the Fed, there was always Tokyo. It was nice to have a back up plan.

Kate looked at Kristine who seemed to have a panic striken look on her face.

"What is it, Kristine"

Then the building seemed to shake beneath their feet. The rumbling continued to increase in a crescendo until Kate felt terror creep through her body. Just then she noticed a crack in the ceiling that was rapidly expandin into a spiderweb of cracks.

The world turned over end on end. Kate saw Kristine huddle next to her as the ceiling fell on top of them. Kristine moaned and Kate saw her face was in a twist of pure terror.

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop Kristine!"

"I fucking can't!" Kristine yelled back at her.

"What's fucking happening?" Kate asked when the nose of the crumbling building had ceased, though the rumbling underfoot still continued to jar both the women.

"Earthquake!" Kristine said as Kate noticed she was pulling her foot out of pile of small rubble.

Kate hit Kristine on the shoulder as hard as she could with a tightly closed fist
"You fucking knew this would happen!" Kate said

Kristine's face still reflected the terror she felt inside. Even if Kristine knew the Earthquake was going to happen, she was obviously terrified of the natural phenomenon.

"Ok, we need to be calm." Kristine said as she adjusted her body to a crosslegged sitting position. "Evaluate the area. is it reasonably stable?"

Kate studied two fallen beams that supported a broken concrete slab above them. "Looks like it" Kate said. "Or at least as stable as possible considering the circumstances."

"Right. Ok then," Kristine said as she toyed with an ipod and began to play heavy metal on the tiny speaker.

"What's with the music?" Kate asked.

"We need a constant noise so that the rescue people will be able to locate us by sound. We can't sit here and scream for help the whole time. The music will do it for us."

"Are we going to rub out of air?" Kate asked

"I don't think so, the rubble is pretty porous." Kristine replied. "It won't take long for them to find us, so no worries about food and water."

"Do you know for a fact that they'll find us?"

"No, unfortunately, I went into this one blind." Kristine confessed. "But we are on a club, after all. If they're not looking for us specifically, they'll be trying to get to survivors in the club, they'll hone in on the music and pull us out."

"Good point." Kate said. "Why does out area have to seem stable? So the slab doesn't give out under the other rubble?

"Yes.. and we need to worry about aftershocks" Kristine replied. "But I recommend you get comfortable it's likely going to be a while."

"Kristine?"

"Yes"

"Please don't smoke down here, it's tight as it is."

"Of course Kate." Kristine replied and rubbed her hand on Kate's arm. "Besides my pack is nowhere to be found at this point. Oh, honey, did you get shot?"

"Yeah, in the shoulder."

"While we're down here I should take a look at it."

"Go for it.

----

Over the next painful hour, Kristine had removed the bullet and dressed the wound. Kristine was exceptionally concerned about the wound appearing to have been inflicted during the earthquake. Her and Kate's connection to the Yakuza could be particularly problematic when they were trying to exit the country. After all the destruction Kate had wrecked upon Matsuo's enemies, it would be best if it appeared they were injured or killed in the nasty quake. Tokyo police would love to have information on Matsuo an the Yakuza that Kate and Kristine could provide if they were detained.

"At this point. The sooner we leave Tokyo Narita, the better. We can't afford to be caught associated with whatever it is that we are." Kristine said as she coddled the wounded Kate and waited patiently for the fresh air and space that wait above them.

It started with a light trickle of pebbles until the ceiling of concrete slab above them lifted away in the jaws of a mechanical monster. With the rush of new air, Kate snapped her eyes open and allowed the sunlight to shine on her grateful face.

----

In the same black car that brought them to Matsuo's complex, Kate asked, "What the hell was the point of that?"

"I wanted you to experience the power of the earth tremble beneath your feet."

"Kristine we nearly died in there."

"Did you feel powerless?"

"Yeah, in a way." Kate replied "Actually, that's all I felt."

"That's the experience you needed." Krisrtine continued. "To feel absolutely powerless in the face of something beyond your control. When Wilkins has you above his head and you face the mat crashing up at you. You'll know that powerlessness. And you will not fear."

"So, just as we survived the quake, I'll survive the worst my opponents can do to me?"

"Exactly." Kristine said, "But there is one other lesson that you need to know."

"Respect."

"Exactly! Again." Kristine seemed to be getting enthused "Go on."

"Well, once you know the total power of something like the earth you realize how powerless you really are. So you respect the power and beware it."

"Right. Notice the Japanese people, they are entirely deferential to power because they know powerlessness in their lives. Typically through earthquakes. Quakes have molded their culture over the centuries. The both respect power and still aspire to it. You must model that. Respect your opponents and yet still seek to overpower them. The lesson of Tokyo is about how to balance your aspirations in your chosen profession."

"I see that now."