EDIT: After looking through it, I decided to touch it up a bit. Added some content to the later fight scenes, fixed up the layout (broken into actual chapters now for easier reading), etc. Here's the edited version.

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Author's note: This is set shortly after the ending of DOA3.

Disclaimer: The DOA series itself, and all characters therein unfortunately do not belong to me. They belong to Tecmo, Team Ninja, and one Tomonobu Itagaki, exclusively.

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All I Have Left to Give

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A Choice Made

The golden warmth-giving rays of the sun were beginning to wane, soft breezes of wind cascading through the leaves of the forest trees. The towering mountains far off on the horizon had started to slightly fade from view, the weakening sunlight almost creating a deep orange fog to obscure them.

If you stood motionless and listened intently, you could hear the sounds of forest animals, the sounds of streams flowing into a nearby lake, birds chirping out in song. Kasumi liked moments like these. So peaceful... so tranquil. She frequently found herself wishing that she could spend all her days like this, in solitude, at peace with herself and the world.

She sighed, allowing her legs which were drawn up close to her chest to relax and stretch out, as her back leaned on the thick trunk of an old tree. She sat on one of the higher tree branches, one which gave her a majestic view of the beautiful Japanese landscape. As the winds picked up in speed for a moment, her long auburn hair was thrust forward, some of it finally being allowed to rest on her back again, some of it now lying forward over her shoulders.

A young brown bird resting on a thin branch above hers suddenly took to flight, loosing a few leaves, green and brown. These leaves floated downward lazily toward the ground, one landing neatly on her chest. She glanced down at it, then gently lifted it, turning it in air with her fingers, gazing upon its intricate patterns. Finally, she blew softly on the leaf, allowing it to continue on its fateful journey down to the forest floor.

After watching it ride the winds for a while, Kasumi ran a hand through some of her hair, almost tossing it to her back as she turned her head, her gaze on the serene beauty that unfolded all around her. How she wished her entire life could be like this...in spite of the fact that she was being tracked, hunted down like a wild animal by her own family, even at that very moment.

The very same family who had raised her from birth, had taught her the ways of life, the ways of the Shinobi, the family who formed her into who she was. Relentlessly they pursued her daily, despite her having entered and competed in the most recent Dead or Alive Tournament.

"Just to see him…one last time…"

She had hoped that entering would provide some sort of sanctuary, a feeling of protection, however temporary, since she could find safety nowhere else. Not even in friends... she had depended on Hayabusa in the past, the promise he made to protect her life. The promise made to the very same person who wanted her dead; her own brother Hayate.

Why did Hayate continue to subject her to this constant torment? Of course, she already knew the answer to this question. She was guilty of deliberately breaking one of the fundamental rules of the Mugen Tenshin Ryu's Iron Code. All she wanted was to save her dear brother's life...and now she paid daily for it. She was a runaway...a rogue kunoichi. Such things cannot be tolerated, as far as Hayate was concerned. The penalty was death. Simple, absolute. Therefore, he sent some of his best men out during the nights, to find her, and to kill her. While perched high on her tree branch, her thoughts traveled back to a few days earlier, to the most recent confrontation.

She had been lightly sleeping, as she had to whenever sleep demanded some of her time. It was a little after midnight when she heard them coming. Four or five, maybe more. Immediately, she was up, leaping to a high branch, hiding there to see when they would come, though she knew they would be able to locate her eventually.

And they did, not showing themselves immediately, but instead flinging a few bright silver, highly reflective bladed shurikens from the darkness. The shurikens whistled through the air as they homed in on their target, Kasumi standing ready, her hand steady on the handle of her wakizashi.

She swiftly unsheathed it, deflecting all shurikens with smooth, downward-swinging motions. After all had been taken care of, she hopped in a flip down to the forest floor, landing softly on one knee, without a sound. She sheathed the wakizashi, and turned sharply on her heel, breaking off into a run without a second thought.

She dashed through the dark forest, her finely tuned ninja senses helping her navigate. The other ninjas were not far behind, slowly gaining ground. She ran with full strides, short huffs of breath as she went. But they were still closing in. They would be upon her in a few more moments.

As Hayate's ninjas ran, some of them leaping along low tree branches, they threw more shurikens, intent on bringing the target to a halt. Kasumi saw an opportunity and ran straight up the trunk of a nearby tree. After a few steps, she backflipped off the tree, the incoming shurikens slamming into the tree's bark with solid "thunk" sounds.

While she was still upside-down in midair, the last shuriken raced by, slitting the yellow ribbon that held her hair in its ponytail. The ribbon easily snapped apart, her hair falling free as she landed.

She was given no time to rest, however, as even more shurikens were on the way. Kasumi deftly rolled to the side to dodge them, at the same time pulling a small glowing object from the sash of her blue kunoichi uniform. It was a very potent grenade, and she hurled it in their general direction.

A moment later, it exploded, a vast fireball swirling outward from the point of impact. After that, she stepped out from hiding behind a tree to make sure all was clear. But she was fairly sure that the ninjas who were after her were smart enough and swift enough to avoid the sudden blast. And she was right, as several more shurikens emerged from the flames, all aimed straight for her.

She unsheathed her wakizashi once more, and deflected them all. By this time, the explosion from her grenade had formed a thick cloud of dark black smoke. She used it to her advantage, tricking the ninjas into thinking she had ran on ahead, while she secretly remained hidden in the cloud. She took off in the other direction, finally able to escape her pursuers.

Back in the present, Kasumi drew her knees in again, leaning forward to rest her head on them. The sun had already went down over the tallest mountain peaks on the horizon, only a soft crimson hue left to light the sky.

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Some hours later, as the full moon was still high in the sky, the leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ryu Clan turned to face his men, arms folded, standing in the great hall of a shrine. He wore a dark blue Shinobi uniform. A dark mask which was used to cover the lower half of his face had been pulled down, revealing his entire head.

His ninjas were all kneeling, heads down, awaiting orders. He nodded to them, glancing outward at his half-sister Ayane who sat in a high tree branch just outside the shrine. She toyed with her new weapon, the one she received after defeating Genra. She was wearing a purple outfit similar to the one she'd worn during the Tournament. Turning back to face his men again, Hayate spoke.

"The assassination will take place tonight. I have had a message sent to Hayabusa, although I doubt he will reply. I believe he has a previous engagement, pertaining to exacting revenge for the destruction of his clan. As you know, in the past I have always sent men after the runaway, but every time, they return empty-handed. I have grown tired of this. So, I will accompany the group that goes out tonight."

Ayane hopped down from her tree branch, a look of mischievous amusement on her face. "I will go, too." Hayate turned sharply on her, eyes stern. "Do not get in my way, Ayane. You have already disobeyed me once. Don't let it happen again." Ayane looked down at the ground, mumbling under her breath and kicking at a small pebble. However, she was glad that he didn't just say no outright. She then smirked, keeping whatever thoughts she had to herself while Hayate picked out about 15 strong from the clan to join them.

Upon departing, they ran through the forest, reaching and climbing a tall mountain for a good vantage point. At the top, Hayate leapt to the top of a bare tree, and issued orders to his men from there. They all dashed off, fanning out. Ayane took off as well, Hayate hanging back for a moment to collect his thoughts. He closed his eyes, allowing the winds to surround him, to embrace him. A few moments later, his eyes opened, as he vaulted from the treetop in a flip, heading for the dense forest below.

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Kasumi awoke, a sudden chill going down her spine. She saw the problem; her campfire had gone out. Sitting up, she added a couple more twigs to the small fire, relighting it. Tonight had been rather cold...colder than usual. The winds were brisk. She wished she had her old blanket from home...home... the place she'd never be able to go back to. She sighed, pulling her knees in close to her chest to hold in as much heat as possible.

She had been dreaming about Ayane... and about her mother. Even though Ayane now despised her, Kasumi couldn't deny that she still felt love deep down within the inner reaches of her heart. She knew Ayane felt the same way... to be able to just go back to the way things were, before everything was ruined.

She also missed her mother. Ayame had always loved her dearly. Ayane had even gotten jealous, because she was always the outsider, while Kasumi had received all the attention.

"My, how the roles have reversed..."

Maybe there was still hope...maybe. The sudden snapping of a twig not far off jolted Kasumi from her thoughts. She reactively put the fire out, despite not wanting to give up its warmth. A moment later, she could hear the footsteps, light on the ground. They were after her again.

She rose, securing her wakizashi in its sheath. Without a word, only a moment to gather herself, she sprinted away from the sounds, full speed down the forest path. But it was far too late, the others were too close already, and were still gaining. Listening to the footsteps, she concluded that there were two, maybe three. She shook her head. She'd had enough.

"I'm tired of running...I can't do this forever."

Coming to a complete halt, she turned and stood still, waiting for the pursuers to catch up. "This is...all that I have left...to give..." she said softly. Her hand slowly went to the handle of the wakizashi, her grip closing tightly on it...

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