Chapter 3
Homecoming

Ryu tiredly unlocked the door to his New York apartment, and let Irene and himself in. The plane was comfortable, and they both slept for a little while, but they still were tired. Then, Ryu noticed his injuries from his battles. There was nothing too serious, but he disinfected and bandaged his wounds, including a large cut on his leg, from where Foster attacked him. Ryu lied down on his bed. He began to drift into a dream world. It was not pleasant. He saw visions of Ashtar and Jaquio attacking him, and strangely each other. Ashtar took The Sword of Chaos and slashed Jaquio in two. Then Ashtar ran Irene through. Ryu screamed as Irene’s blood went everywhere like an open blender.

"Ryu! Wake up!"
"Huh?"

 Ryu returned to the land of the living.

"Nightmares, I bet."
"Yes."
"Ryu, have they always plagued you?"
He smiled. "I think it comes with heredity."
"Well, a small price to pay for being the Ninja Dragon. I going to take a shower now." She paused. "You can take one after me, if you wish." With that she undressed in front of him.
***
The hot spray of the water felt good to Irene. She wet her hair and stroked it a few times. She enjoyed the humid feel of the bathroom; it distracted her from thinking about the past two and a half years. But still, the memories flooded her thoughts. She thought about Jaquio, and how he almost killed her. Forcing her to watch him torturing prisoners. Allowing his minions to rape her. She felt dirty; violated. Stop it, she thought. Jaquio’s dead, and Ryu is here. Enjoy the shower.
Irene’s enjoyment increased substantially when Ryu joined her. He ambled into the shower and came behind her. He kissed her gently on her hair then worked his way down to her neck and shoulders. Irene let out a moan of joy. Ryu sensually grabbed her firm breasts, and began to massage them. Irene brought her head back and kissed him on his lips. She ran through his short hair with her hand. Their kiss became more passionate and Irene thought her would faint from ecstasy. She fully turned around to Ryu and grabbed his firm, tight buttocks. She released one of her hands and turned off the water. After the embrace, they walked to the bed.
***
At about five am, Ryu woke up to the sound of  the doorbell ringing. He and Irene made love four times that night, each time was better than the last. He got out of bed, put on a robe, and opened the door. No one was there; just a small briefcase. Ryu took it inside and opened it. Inside was several million dollars in cash; enough for Ryu and Irene to live very comfortably for the rest of their lives. There was an unsigned, typed note inside, and Ryu read it. It said:

For past and future services.

Ryu knew who sent this. That’s when he realized he would never escape.