Flower and Dragon Ch:1
It's good to be back… The thought lingered in Ryu Hayabusa's mind as his antique shop came into view. He hadn't seen it in quite some time and he honestly looked forward to the peace and quiet. It had been 3 months since the fight against the M.I.S.T organization along side the others and ever since he had been doing mission after mission on his own. Momiji and the others can look after the village for a while. I'll send word to her later to tell her I'm finally taking that vacation she's been bugging me to take. He was dressed in casual clothes with all of his ninja gear in a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. But as he rounded the corner to where the front door of his shop was, he stopped in his tracks. Right there, leaning against the door was a very unexpected but welcome sight.
"Kasumi?" Ryu found himself saying her name almost unconsciously.
She turned her head to look at him and closed the small book in her hands placing into a backpack sitting on the ground beside her. "Good morning Hayabusa."
He simply stared at her for a few moments. She was dressed in her black ninja suit with the blue cloak around her shoulders. Her copper colored hair was up in its usual ponytail and she was looking back at him with those beautiful hazel eyes of hers.
"Umm…earth to the Super Ninja?" She waved her hand in front of his face.
"Huh? Sorry. Anyway what are you doing here?"
"I was in the area and I thought I'd drop in and surprise you. I wasn't sure you'd be home and when you weren't I hung around."
"How long have you been here?"
"About an hour I guess? Did you just get back from a mission?" Her gaze drifted to the bag he was carrying.
He nodded. "Yeah a long one at that. Did you really wait here for an hour? What if I never showed up?"
Kasumi frowned at him. "I just wanted to see you. We're friends right? Unless you don't want me around."
"No it's not that it at all. It is really good to see you again. You look good."
She blushed slightly. "So do you."
"Do you want to come inside?"
"Sure."
He opened the door with his key and entered the shop. It was hard to remember the last time he was here. The inside was relatively clean thanks to Momiji checking up on it for him from time to time. He sat his bag down behind the front counter and glanced back to Kasumi. She was standing in front of a shelf and looking at something. Once again, Ryu found himself staring at her. Kasumi had really grown up; not just physically but in other ways as well. Not to mention her sleek, black ninja suit looked great on her.
"Find something you like?" He asked approaching her after snapping out of his trance.
"I was just browsing. There's a lot of old stuff here. I bet most of it is older than me."
"Probably older than me too."
"So how long before you leave again?" She turned towards him and looked him right in the eye.
"I'm actually taking some time off."
She looked at him almost shocked. "Time off? When is the last time you had ANY time off?"
"This will be the first time in a long time. But I figured I was due for it."
"Well that's good. You deserve it. I mean you really do."
"Thank you," he said crossing his arms.
"So any special plans?"
Ryu thought for a moment. "Not really. I'll probably do some fishing and hang out around here. I like it it's quiet."
"Sounds exciting," Kasumi said sarcastically. "Will you be all alone or are you expecting company for this little getaway?"
"Nope. The only person here is you."
"I see. Well…then would you LIKE some company?"
Ryu looked at her curiously. "Are you asking me if you can stay Kasumi?"
"That depends. Are you going to say yes?"
"You sure you won't be bored around here?"
She smiled at him. "I'll be fine."
"Alright if that's what you want. There's an extra room upstairs. It's the last door on the right," he said pointing behind him to the staircase.
Kasumi tossed her backpack over her shoulder and headed upstairs.
"It may be a little small!" Ryu called up to her.
"No it's ok! This'll do just fine!" Kasumi called back.
Figuring she would take a few minutes to put her stuff away, Ryu started looking around the shop. It didn't look too different from how he remembered it save for the fact that most of the stuff was rearranged. As he looked around getting his bearings and trying to relearn where everything was, Kasumi came back down stairs.
"You weren't kidding about the room being small," she said.
"Well it was originally a storage room but I had it made into a guest room-,"
"For when you occasionally have a guest?" said Kasumi smiling.
"Yeah."
An awkward silence lingered between them for a few seconds until Ryu decided to break it. "Would you like some tea or something? I believe I have some upstairs."
"Umm…sure. Tea sounds nice."
He motioned for her to follow him and the two headed upstairs. Though it was small and nothing compared to his home back in his village, the living space above his shop was nice enough for those times he stayed there in between missions. Kasumi followed him to the kitchen area which just consisted of a small sink, about 3 or 4 cabinets, a refrigerator, and a square table with two chairs; one on each side. Kasumi took a seat as Ryu went through the cabinets.
"So how have you been Kasumi? The last time I saw you was on the Freedom Surivivor."
"I've been…ok I guess. Been staying here in Japan mostly."
"Mostly?"
She laughed slightly. "Well I did go to America for a while."
He glanced back at her. "Really? Which part?"
"New York. It was actually a lot of fun. Haven't you been there before Hayabusa?"
His mind flashed back to his last visit to New York. "I have though it wasn't all that fun when I was there."
"You had a mission?"
"Yeah." He finally found the small box of tea bags and grabbed two cups to prepare it.
Kasumi clasped her hands together on the table. "Say Hayabusa…do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"
He looked back at her curiously. "You always have personal question for me."
"I suppose I do. But I want to ask it anyway."
"What is it Kasumi?"
She was quiet for several moments before he turned to look right at her. She was avoiding his gaze and seemed to be staring at something on the wall. Walking over to the table, Ryu pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. "Kasumi?"
"Do you ever think about me?"
Ryu was stunned by her question. She still didn't look at him when she said it but his silence seemed to bother her.
"I asked if you ever think about me Hayabusa."
I heard you that's just…not an easy question to answer."
Kasumi looked at him sternly. "Of course it is. Either you do or you don't."
"Where is this coming from?"
"Where is it coming from? I want to know if you think about me because I think about you! I think about you a lot! To be honest I have to force myself NOT to think about you!"
"Kasumi…please. We have had this discussion before. It just wouldn't work between us."
"And why not?" she said solemnly.
Ryu doesn't answer but instead stands up to check on the tea.
"It's because of my brother right?!"
"He's my best friend Kasumi. I promised him I would look after you and I can't go back on that."
"And how do YOU feel about that?"
"What?"
"How do feel about that? How do feel about that promise you made now?"
"I feel the same as I did when I made it," he said with a sigh.
Kasumi walked up next to him and leaned in close. "Listen I love my brother too but I want my own life. I want to be able to make my own choices and not have life decisions made for me. Truth be told…Hayate may not like this but that will be his problem to deal with. I mean are you honestly that afraid of what he thinks?"
"It's not fear Kasumi. I'm not afraid of him. I respect him."
"So your respect for him is greater than your feelings for me?"
He looked at her as if to respond but she quickly cut him off.
"Don't try to feed me some crap line. I KNOW you feel something for me."
He looked away from her. "It's not that simple."
"Well it should be!" Kasumi quickly left the room. Ryu listened to the sound of her footsteps on the wooded stairs before the opening and slamming of the shop's door echoed through the building. The super ninja stood there in front of his kitchen counter for a few more moments before angrily throwing one of the tea cups against the wall causing it to shatter. I'm sorry Kasumi. But I promised to protect you from anything that might harm you. Even me.
Ok so this is my first attempt a DOA fanfic. I've been wanting to do something with Kasumi for a LONG time now and after several failed attempts, I think I have a good idea. Not sure how long I'm going to make this though. Guess I'm just going to play it by ear lol. Anyway please enjoy and leave a review! All feedback is welcome!
