Ninja Gaiden III The Fury of the Dragon Written by Jeff Nussbaum deuce@scsn.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Two Irene awoke in Ryu's arms. She glanced up at him, and found him smiling at her, keeping a silent vigil. "Good morning, sunshine," he said. She smiled and gently poked him in the stomach. "Silly ninja." He raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a bit of an oxymoron." The two laughed and got up, working out the various kinks in their bodies, due to the awkward conditions under which they had been sleeping. Rock is not known for its pillowy-softness. "Now," said Irene, once they had gone outside the cave, "Do you have any clue where we are?" "Yeah... if the scenery is any clue. This mountain is really close to the Tower of Lahja." "Not too close, I'd hope." He shook his head. "Don't worry, we're closer to home than you think. There should be some train tracks further down the mountain. We'll hop one and ride it back into town." "You talk as if you know the way by heart," she commented. He shrugged and smiled. "I had to follow you via this route." And so they made their way down the mountainside. It was slow and treacherous going. Irene lost her footing in a few of the rougher spots, and they had to take breaks often. But finally, they reached the foot of the mountain and saw the train tracks not far off. "The ninja boy knows his stuff," said Irene with a grin. "Years and years of training, m'dear," he replied. "All that's left now is to hop an eastbound train." "Sounds like loads of fun," she said sarcastically. Ryu patted her shoulder and smiled. "It'll be a life-enriching experience. Where's your sense of adventure?" "I think I left it in that castle." "Fair enough," conceded Ryu. "Guess what we do now is walk along the tracks until a train comes by." *** After about two hours of the aforementioned walking, a train finally did pass. Due to the travellers' exhaustion, it was not an easy task to catch it. Ryu leapt first onto the rear of the last car, and caught Irene by the hand as she did the same. He pulled her up and hoisted her onto the thin walkway where he crouched. They spent the remainder of the journey in relative silence. At this point, the two had little left to talk about. They had been together with nothing to do BUT talk for the entire day, and both of them were more tired than they had ever thought possible. "All I want to do is take a shower and sleep," said Irene. Ryu concurred. It had been a long, grueling journey, but at last, they were in the city... and soon they would be back at the train station from which Ryu had begun his adventure. When they reached it, they realized they had no money on them for cab or bus fare. So, they were forced to go it on foot. Indeed, at this point, it seemed not to matter. Three more city blocks and four flights of stairs seemed like nothing. Three city blocks and four flights of stairs later, Ryu lay, panting for breath, on the floor of his apartment bedroom. Irene was in the shower, and Ryu was just trying to relax. The two had been seeing each other for just about a year now... but they felt like they had known each other for decades. She had been well aware of the debt she owed to Ryu, and never forgot it. He never made a point of it, however. She stepped out of the bathroom in a bathrobe which she had left here, a towel holding her hair up to dry. "You know, I think that was the most enjoyable shower I've ever had in my life." He grinned up at her from the floor. "I just hope you left me some hot water," he said. "I thought you ninjas were supposed to have been trained under freezing cold waterfalls," she remarked teasingly. "Maybe so," said Ryu, getting to his feet, "but that doesn't mean we enjoy it. I'll be out in a minute." Evidently, thought Irene later, a minute actually translates to thirty minutes. It had been some time, and he still wasn't out. When he finally got out, she went to him and hugged him tightly. "Nice to be clean again, isn't it?" He nodded enthusiastically. She led him over to the bed and lay down. "Direct, aren't you?" he asked with a cheerful grin. She poked him in the stomach. "Dirty mind. I was hoping to take a nice, long nap. Care to join me?" she said, stretching out beneath the covers. Ryu had never heard such an inviting offer in his life. Until about six hours later, after they woke up. *** Some weeks later, they had finally managed to get back into some sort of life routine. Ryu had made a rather noteworthy purchase, and was gearing up to tell Irene about it. That evening, when she came over, Irene told him one day that she was leaving the CIA. "Why?" he asked, though the news was like music to his ears. She shrugged. "I think I'd rather live a normal life. I've had enough with espionage, schemes and everything else that goes with it." He smiled. "Well, I can't say I'm sorry to hear it. I always worry about you, you know." He stroked her cheek gently. "So come on," she said, "I told you my news... what's this big surprise you were babbling on to me about on the phone?" "Weeeell..." he said, "I guess I can tell you before dinner." She blinked and waited. "Close your eyes," he said. She did as asked, making a point to grumble about being kept waiting. He held his surprise out to her and said, "Okay... you can open your eyes now." She was greeted with the sight of a beautiful diamond, mounted atop a golden ring. Her jaw dropped open. "Ryu... I...," she stammered. He handed the ring to her, and she looked at it in utter shock and wonder. "I had been thinking about it for some time... but I finally decided today. I was always too nervous before," he said, and turned away a bit, smiling at a memory. As he turned back to her, she looked into his eyes. "Kind of funny, don't you think," he asked, "that the Ninja Dragon, who has slain demons, was afraid to propose to the woman he loves?" Irene was speechless. "I'm not afraid anymore. Irene, will you marry me?" he finished. She smiled at him, a tear rolling down her cheek. As she slid ring onto her finger, she said, "Yes, Ryu... I will marry you." She brought him close and embraced him tightly, and they sat for a long while. "I love you," she said. "I love you, too." As they sat, Ryu was happy. His life now seemed complete... with one minor exception. One issue pressed against the corners of his subconscious. There was the issue of revenge against Foster. With Irene leaving the CIA, he could be more comfortable in taking that revenge. He had to keep her safe. He would wait until she quit, and then.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO BE CONTINUED ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa, Irene Lew and all characters are the sole copyright of Tecmo. This document is meant for public distribution in its ORIGINAL FORM ONLY, and should not be sold at any price. All events portrayed in this story are the inventions of Deuce, and do not reflect the "proper" story as shown by Tecmo (even though Tecmo screwed the pooch on the NG3 story).