"No! Master Hayate! Master Ryu!" The Hajin Mon Master screamed, as she watched the huge platform separate her and Kasumi from the two men. "Shoot." She cursed silently under her breath.
"Niisan! Hayabusa-san!" Due to the battle they had against Alpha, both of them were at their half-strength. Kasumi tried to utilize her ninja speed to join Hayate and Ryu from the other side but fails.
"Kasumi! Ayane!" Hayate was clearly trying to do the same. However, his condition was worse. The side effects of the earlier operation, the reawakening of the Project Epsilon, were taking place thus preventing his body to move as he wished.
"We must leave this place Hayate, before it's too late." The Dragon Ninja calmly said despite the situation. "Do you want all of us to die here?" Ryu continued his reprimand towards the Mugen Tenshin leader while giving out a hand to assist his bestfriend. Hayate, giving his sisters a last glance through the fallen platform, let out an exasperated sigh before grabbing Ryu's hand and head towards the exit of the lab.
"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." These were Hayate's last unspoken for his beloved sisters.
Soon after, the ceiling collapsed, crushing the floor where both the shinobi sisters were standing at. Ayane landed painfully on her back, while Kasumi did on her stomach, surprisingly not as hurt as the purple-haired kunoichi .
"Ugh." Ayane tried to stand up. "Ayane! Look out!" Kasumi warned her sister as a huge chunk of cement was about to crush Ayane. "Dammit!" Due to her injury, the Female Tengu couldn't move as swiftly as she would have done normally. Ayane just shut her eyes, waiting for her humiliating demise. Realizing that nothing has happened, she reopened her eyes. Confusion was clearly evident in those crystal pools of scarlet. That look was changed into shock when she saw Kasumi's face a mere inches before hers.
"K-kasumi…" The killer kunoichi's expression was now a mix of her previous emotions. Why would Kasumi do this? All she did was hate Kasumi, up to the point where she wanted to take the nukenin's life in her own hands.
"Ayane…" The older sister's lips formed into a smile of relief.
Ayane was speechless. "W-we can make it. Trust me." Kasumi said, a trickle of blood from her head dropped on Ayane's left cheek. That's when Ayane saw that Kasumi used her body to shield her from the huge debris. "Kasumi, you're… bleeding." There was a hint of concern in the purplette's voice. "I'm alright Ayane. How about you? Are you hurt?" Kasumi was almost lying atop Ayane, the distance between them was getting smaller and smaller as the remains of the heavy platform pressed onto Kasumi's back.
Ayane tried to move, or else, both of them would be crushed to death. Unfortunately, Kasumi's weight and the rock above her made it impossible. "(Darn. I don't wanna die here, not this way.)" Ayane's mind was too busy to realize that Kasumi was placing both of her arms onto her sister's sides, somehow creating a human barrier. "Don't worry, Ayane. I will protect you. I cannot let you die like this." The look in the brunette's eyes reminded Ayane of the time when Hayate was crippled by Raidou. It was bold and determined.
"Kasumi… Why? I…" Ayane couldn't translate her feelings into words. Hey eyes did instead, forming tears on her claret crystals. "Ayane… I love you, and I'll always will." Kasumi's honey brown eyes mimicked those of Ayane's.
Normally, Ayane would get mad at Kasumi. Surpisingly, she smiled at Kasumi before tilting her head upwards to meet the nukenin's plush tiers.