All characters copyright Tecmo, Ltd. They can even have all the extras I've thrown in. Why did I write this? Not for money, but for the love, man, the love. Or maybe I just felt like it.

I'd also like to give a special thank you to Goode's World Atlas, since I'm such a detail freak and had to even figure out how Zacky-boy would get back to civilization. And for providing names of extras. :)

Running Afoul of the Female Tengu

Chapter 3 - A Family Moment, Interrupted

Though he went in with doubts as to whether he would enjoy it, it turned out to be quite satisfying. Unable to communicate directly, he thought of how he could show her his pleasure and appreciation. He would have felt bad leaving without at least thank you for her sating his hunger, even if, in the past, he had not always been so courteous in the aftermath. He also owed her for giving him an experience of something new and different than what he had been accustomed to. She peered over at him, expectantly, nervously. Zack made up his mind on how to show his appreciation.

"Mmmm-mmm!" he smiled and rubbed his stomach for effect, indicating that he had liked the food. Fuhai nodded and smiled before turning back to her own food and chatting with her husband, Gen-Fu.

"I told you, you would like it," said Kasumi, "this is-"

"Please!" Zack interrupted her, drawing stares, "I really don't need to know what I just ate, and… not sure I want to." He was afraid that if she told him exactly what it was he had just scarfed down, it might make a reverse trip and end up all over the table. "Let's just say I liked it, and leave it at that." He gave Kasumi a nervous smile.

She shrugged. "Okay." Zack looked across at the little girl, Gen-Fu's granddaughter. Kasumi had told him that her name was Leshan. He still felt guilt in the back of his mind about her condition, and having defeated Gen-Fu, but there was nothing really he could do. She was looking at him curiously, then she giggled and pointed at him when she saw he was looking back.

"What?" he said, incredulously. She said something in return that he couldn't understand, so he looked to Kasumi for a translation.

"Well, she is wondering if you were born with hair like that," Kasumi said, stifling her own laughter at the observation.

"Tell her its style, not genetic," he said with a grin. She turned and spoke something in Chinese to the girl, then they both laughed. Zack rolled his eyes behind his dark glasses. Probably makin' fun of me, takin' advantage of my not knowing what they're sayin'. No fair, he thought, and sighed. Oh well, not my fault if they don't know hip.

"So, listen, Kasumi, I was wonderin', since I'm like, kinda lost and the guy who was gonna take me back to Hong Kong will have left by now… you think you could ask around and see if anybody's offerin' rides goin' that way," he said, attempting to explain his situation to her.

Kasumi blinked before replying, "well, there is a railroad that runs near here, I believe, and it crosses the Hongshui River, which will take you very close to Hong Kong."

"Oh," he said, feeling foolish, "thanks, you must be like a walkin' Atlas or something."

"Oh, I don't know all places perfectly," she replied. Kasumi then began speaking to Gen-Fu and Fuhai, leaving Zack to think to himself. He had finished his food quickly, everyone else still had some left, so he just stared off into space. Hope the money I got with me'll be enough, he thought before noticing Leshan staring at him curiously again.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What's up?" he said, without much enthusiasm. He got another question from her, and noticed that the others around the table looked up when she asked it.

"What?" he turned again to Kasumi for a translation.

"She would like to know why you wear dark eyeglasses, even at dusk," said Kasumi. The little girl added more. "And, if you…" she paused tried to hold back laughter. He noticed the others grinning widely at him, and felt a little embarrassed. Kasumi continued, "if you have no eyes." She let out a burst of giggles.

Zack shook his head and sighed, but chuckled a bit himself. At least the kid's got a sense of humor, he thought. "Tell her of course I got eyes," he replied.

"But," Kasumi, "what about your reason for wearing those sunglasses all the time? It does look a little silly." She snorted a quick laugh, thought it was not derisive.

"I got my reasons," was all he said, before crossing his arms defensively. He accidentally knocked something off of the table in the process. Kasumi nodded and started to tell the girl, and the grandparents, his answer.

He bent down to retrieve the object, and just as he did so, he heard Kasumi yell something in Chinese. He could also hear sudden movement, a cry of pain, and the sounds of metal embedding itself in wood. Sitting up quickly, he saw a many-pointed, sharp object stuck in the table right in front of where he was sitting. It took him a moment to realize it was a shuriken, and that if he had not bent down a second ago, it would have embedded itself into the back of his neck or head instead of the table.

"What the f-" he said, looking around. First, he noticed Gen-Fu with a pained expression on his face, holding his arm up near the shoulder. Kasumi, Fuhai, and Leshan were not immediately visible. Zack stood up and whirled around, looking for that attacker whose identity he had already begun to guess. As he did so, he was grabbed by the ankle and pulled down under the table by someone's hand. He saw that it was Kasumi, and looked at her questioningly.

"It's my sister, Ayane," she whispered fiercely. Fuhai and Leshan were also huddled under the table. "I managed to pull them to safety, but I could not reach Gen-Fu."

"I think he's hit," Zack said, a little nervousness showing in his voice.

"Get him, under here, quickly, I will try to deal with Ayane."

"Okay- hey wait a minute…," he said, but she was already moving. Damn, he thought. He reached over and managed to get Gen-Fu under the cover of the table. He could hear Kasumi calling out in the background, and heard her use her sister's name. There were also the sounds of people running into their houses.

Gen-Fu groaned with pain as Zack looked at his injury. A shuriken was deeply embedded high on his right arm, and the sleeve of his shirt was turning a dark crimson. Fuhai cried out as she saw the injury, and Leshan appeared to be in shock. "Stay here," Zack said before moving to get out from under the table and see if he could help Kasumi. Gen-Fu grabbed him by the arm, stopping him, and pointed to the shuriken, saying something fiercely in Chinese.

Zack could hear a sound like steel clashing somewhere nearby, and assumed it was Kasumi dueling with her sister since Kasumi had been carrying a blade. He also somehow understood that the older man was asking him to remove the shuriken, something he was not keen on doing. Knowing there was not much time, though, he quickly seized the edge and pulled it out, causing some blood to fly. Fuhai turned her head and covered her granddaughter's eyes from the sight. For a moment, Zack thought that he would lose his meal himself.

"I'm gonna see if the coast is clear," he said. He got up from under the table and looked around cautiously. Neither Kasumi nor Ayane were immediately in view, but he could hear them nearby. He motioned for the family to get up from under the table. "Looks clear, but I'd get inside quick, and get that taken care of," he said, indicating Gen-Fu's wound.

The three of them hurried off to a nearby house, Gen-Fu holding his wound yet still hovering protectively over his wife and granddaughter. Zack tried following the last sounds of the battle he had heard, dashing around a building, but stopping at the corner and peering around it. Man, I sure hope Kasumi can handle herself, 'cause I ain't wantin' another go-round with-

His thoughts froze when he looked around the corner and saw the two combatants. Neither of them had their swords in hand, both their blades were on the ground a good distance away. They were each moving to retrieve their respective weapons; but while Ayane was moving rapidly towards hers, Kasumi was limping after her own, holding her leg from her previous injury in the mountains. Ayane was moving in Zack's direction, while Kasumi was hobbling away from his position.

It was obvious that Ayane would reach hers first, so Zack decided to dash out in front of her. She seemed surprised to see him, but recovered quickly enough, launching a fist at his face that he narrowly avoided. He figured he had to keep her away from the sword, but knew it would be difficult, given her speed.

She sent a series of kicks at him, forcing him onto the defensive, then quickly lunging for the blade in his distraction. He managed to snag one of the ends of her headband that flapped out, and pulled her back and away from the weapon, stepping between her and the blade. She scowled at him, and he answered by flipping her off. Apparently, she understood the gesture well enough and growled in return. He glanced behind her and saw that Kasumi had gotten her sword back, and was heading back their way, steadying herself as best as she could.

Ayane noticed this as well, and backed up so that she could face both of them as Kasumi came up beside Zack. Kasumi began saying something to her sister, and the assassin appeared to be listening. Well, maybe she's givin' up, thought Zack, noticing too late that Ayane's hand was pulling something out of her boot.

She threw a small object onto the ground between them that exploded into a cloud of gas upon impact. Zack and Kasumi had no time to get away, and both inhaled the gas, before beginning to violently cough from its effects. Ayane leapt up and spun, swinging both legs out and kicking both of them in the side of the head. They each fell to their knees from the combined effect of the gas and the assault as Ayane went to retrieve her sword.

Before she could pick it up, she heard a loud shout and turned in time to see the little girl, Leshan, running at her. Instinctively, she lashed out with a sharp kick that caught the child in the chest and knocked her back through the air before she sprawled on the ground several feet away.

"Hey!" Zack yelled, coughing between words, "leave the kid alone!" Ayane turned on him angrily. He only stared back defiantly, his anger taking away his earlier fear. She looked towards the little girl, who was not moving, and seemed to realize what she had just done. A strange combination of anger, confusion, and regret passed over Ayane's features, and she yelled something out, the same expletive she had used in the mountains, only this time her voice seemed to quiver a bit.

Zack tried to get up, but stumbled and went back down on one knee. To his surprise, however, she quickly turned and fled into the deepening shadows of the hills surrounding the village.

He heard another cry and saw Fuhai and Gen-Fu arriving on the scene, the latter with a cloth tied around the wound on his arm. They went quickly to their grandchild, and Zack turned to Kasumi. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yes," she replied, gritting her teeth, "I will be fine, see if Leshan is okay." Kasumi was sitting down and clutching her wounded leg, but her face seemed to contain sorrow as well as pain.

Zack managed to stand and walked over towards the others, hoping the little girl would be alright. The concerned grandparents were fussing over the little girl, but she was sitting up and seemed to be relatively uninjured. Her grandmother was checking her ribs, though, just to be sure.

He turned his head to the darkening sky. Thank you, Lord. This makes up for that time You couldn't make Tina Armstrong drop out of the sky and into my bed.

End Chapter 3

Hmm, wasn't that first paragraph a bit… ambiguous? Mwahahaha! Sorry if I frightened anyone.

Well, I thought Chapter 3 would be the last chapter of this brouhaha, but there's still one more to go. Thanks to all the people that have reviewed and commented. Sorry I am so slow in making progress with this story. I must be like the king of procrastination.

Is Ayane done harassing poor Zack and Kasumi? Of course not. Sorry if you think I'm making Ayane look like a b*tch, AngelWingStarX. I never really liked her, but I think that by the end she will not seem the same way, really. I'm going to give her a solo scene in the next chapter. Also, I know she doesn't have any gas-bombs in the game, but she's supposed to be an assassin so I took some liberties. Actually, this whole story is me taking liberties. Chapter 4 will also feature an appearance by another character from the game, and in the interest of creating suspense (oooh), I'm… not… telling who it is.

Zack and Ayane will also sing "I'm Real" by Ja Rule with Jennifer Lopez, with of course Ayane as Jennifer and Zack as Ja. Heh, now THAT would be funny! Zack:"What's my motherf*ckin' name?" Ayane: "Z-A-C-K" Sorry, had to throw that in, even if no one else knows the song.

My story is on someone's favorites list?! YES!!

satsui - R. Kelly wishes he was down like Zack! :)

Review me! Please?