Be A Man! (Big Mike)

Chinatown

Diana was frequently hungry, and tonight found herself in L.A.'s Chinatown, on the main street. Everything was bright, gaudy cramped, written in Chinese and for sale. Fresh fruits and vegetables in bundles, deep fried street foods, and piping hot milk tea caught much of Diana's attention, but there were so many more things to see in town. Any and every conceivable kind of store you could think of, Chinatown had it.

She evades the mainstream crowd and goes into the very narrow side roads and communities where the locals actually lived and ate, as touristy restaurants on main street tended to be overpriced and none too authentic. She looked around for a simple noodle or porridge house, and spots some very elderly Chinese walking into a tiny restaurant in the wall. Diana decided to skip eating in and sat on the outdoor seats. She looked at all the roasts on display behind glass, and the inside of the kitchen which had a few people working woks and chopping ingredients.

"Evening. What you like?" An old Chinese man had arrived to welcome Diana, wearing an apron and a cook's hat. He was a bit sweaty, but that was no surprise considering the heat coming from the kitchen.

"Duck and Pork combo. With rice noodles. And a milk tea." Diana looked at the easy to navigate bowl menu, written in english which made things easier for non-Chinese customers.

"Okay. you wait. Duck and Pork combo coming right up." He said, moving with lightning speed to set a bowl and chop up some pieces of meat.

Diana checked her phone for what felt like just an instant when the food was ready. She looked at the great steamy pile of rice noodle and meat, with a single piece of vegetable as a side. She grabs some plastic chopsticks and begins to chow down.

Donovan moves atop the buildings, feeling the breeze of the wind move past his face. He briefly looked back. He sees gleaming flash flying at him. Holy shit. He disperses into a swarm of bats in hopes of dodging the incoming kunai. One bat is missled down, poofing into shadowy nothingness. Dawn resperses, clutching his arm. Son of a bitch! Dawn had originally wanted to lure then in a dark alley and have a feast. But they were skilled. Donovan spun around to face then head on. But they were gone, as if time and soace had forgotten them. They were so good at hiding, Dawn could barley smell or hear them. He stood atop the building, over the full moon. He started to fous.

"Fuck. I can't exactly pinpoint where they are. These guys aren't human." Out if know where, a shuriken spins thriugh the air. Dawn was just quick enough to duck. But he howlers in pain, as a kunai is stuck in the side of his knee. He grabs it, and removes it. He looked up, and the figures returned. Dawn stoob up straight, as the ninjas go into an offensive position, their eyes more thristy for blood than Dawn was. He was too weak to disperse and fky away. Dawn easily stepped back, abd fell backward off the ledge. He landed on a dumpster, bouncing off it, acquainting his face with the ground. His wounds quickly heal, and he gets up, moaning. As he got up, he is soon finds that his pursuers have surrounded him. They all reveal katanas. One of them raises it, and weilds it downward. Dawn caught his arm, and kicked him yards away. Nunbers were against him, and he is impaled in the back from behind. Dawn whirled around, and elbowed him in the face, the sword still in him. One ninja jumps, and front dropkicks him into a wall, having the katana move deeper in him. Dawn backs away from the wall. He jumps forward, shoulder tackling one. His fangs emerge, and bites into his neck, swiftly draining his blood. Dawn gets up. He removes the sword from his back. He runs forward, holding the katana sideways away from his body, beheading a ninja. Before his body fell, Dawn grabbed it, and drunk the blood that geysered from the neck. He stared at the three remaining ninjas, whi were unphased. Damn. That wouls usually have their pants pissed.

They all rushed him, acting much more aggressively. They evaded Dawn's strikes, and sliced and dices at him. Dawn disperses into a bat swarm, flying wearily. They gave chase. Dawn was weak, and injured. His wounds slowly regenerated. He was only flying a few yards above ground. While his wounds started to fully heal, he speeds up, losing them. He lands in another alley, and walks around the commercial Chinatown. He notice that the ninjas have kept up, and start running towards him. What a night...

Diana's attention was on her delicious duck and rice noodle, slurping it down with authentic lemon tea. The owner of the store was making some dumplings on the table when he suddenly came over and lowered the metal shutters.

"...Wait you're closing? I haven't paid yet." Diana asked the owner politely.

"Will open in ... 15 minutes." He replied, seeing the silent battle spill out onto the diversion road the restaurant was on. He closed the shutter and barricaded the glass door, when a shuriken lodged itself into the wooden sign beside Diana.

Every light in the street was extinguished by Shurikens flying from the ninjas. Every street lamp, every neon sign, every store light, plunging the street into utter darkness. The noises of busy downtown china just the next street over contrasted the complete silence the ninjas moved. Diana did not have her night visor on her, so she had to resort to ki-enhanced senses.

"Ninjas." She muttered, unable to track the shadow warriors themselves, but able to track the ringing of steel as they swung. With little choice she drew her Black Sword to assist Dawn.

She listened in the dark for the sound of steel and moved towards it, swinging at the empty void where the ninja should be. Alas, she felt no flesh or resistance, missing and getting an elbow strike to the face for her trouble. She parries the sword coming at her, but the ninjas had the upper hand at fighting in the dark, kicking her to the ground with a silent front kick.