Heya ppl and faithful watchers! sorry for the long wait, had lots of school and stuff going on, anyway i got this baby up and here is the chap you all waited for! Enjoy!


Chapter 7: Announcements and Surprises

Takashi sighed as he laid down on the bed at home, the trip in Taka Valle was stressful after Ayane showed up, not to mention Takashi remembering his old past with Kasumi. When he got back to their home he had expected Tarou to be there, but for some reason he was gone, probably out on an errand, who knew?

"And here I wanted to ask about our heritage…" Takashi muttered to himself as he absent-mindedly stared at the ceiling. He had so many questions about their father, their mother, and everything about the clan, then he began to wonder something.

'Could this have been why we were attacked? Was this why dad was put in that coma?' he wondered. He pondered these things in his head until he found himself on the roof of his house, unaware that he had gotten there in the first place.

"thinking hard I see?" a familiar voice asked. Takashi nearly freaked as he prepared to roast whoever it was who spoke, but then saw it was Zell and stopped, but still kept his guard up.

"Zell, right? What are you doing here?" Takashi asked him.

"Wanted to see how you were doing" Zell said nonchalantly.

"What about that card and that stuff you said?" Takashi asked him.

"Oh that? Well…its hard to explain…ever play or seen the Persona series?" Zell asked him.

"Lots of times, why?" Takashi asked him.

"Well, it's like the Personas, see there are supposedly 13 animals of the zodiac, right? So there must be 13 people who can be able to have the power of the zodiac beast in them, right?" Zell inquired.

"I guess…" Takashi said, starting to get why he was given the card.

"I have the zodiac beast of the Wolf, which replaces the Dog, you have the Hawk, which replaces the Rooster. However…I sense you have a deeper power that isn't unlocked yet…" Zell stated sternly.

"Really?" Takashi asked him.

"Yeah, there were 13 of us, but due to Donovan and DOATEC, the zodiac kids are lessening, and he's making his own brand of them, genetically altering the DNA of some kids with a zodiac animal in them into…monsters" Zell shuddered from that explanation.

"So…Donovan ruined more than just my life huh? Guess there are lots of others who wanna kill him?" Takashi asked Zell.

"Many of the zodiac spirits do, two work for him, Orochi, the snake, and of course the Dragon, Seiryu…" Zell muttered. Takashi shuddered, the mentioning of the snake-god of Shinto mythology scared him a bit.

Then again…

'Why…why do I feel…angry all of a sudden?' he wondered.

"Anyway, just wanted to check on you and Kasumi are doing," Zell said to him as he turned to leave.

"Hang on, do you live nearby?" Takashi asked the boy before he left.

"House next door" Zell replied.

"What about school?"

Zell stopped and scratched his head, as if thinking, "Um…not really…" he said.

"What about mine?" Takashi inquired. Zell stopped, then turned to him and smiled a bit.

"I'll think about it," he said and disappeared.


Takashi sighed and shook his head, "Weird man…" he muttered before heading inside.

"So Superior, think I should attend the school he's in?" Zell said to the communicator hidden in his ear as he stood on top of a building.

"It would endanger the mission a bit, but considering who he is, I suggest you should, to keep an eye out for him," a female's voice said through the communicator.

"Right, so should I go to the Mugen Tenshi Village and tell them about what's going to happen?" Zell asked.

"It would be wise, not only that but you should try to convince them to let Kasumi back in as well, don't forget the mission, alright?" the female said.

"Right boss," Zell said and hung up, then disappeared from the building.


Ayane bowed before Hayate when she returned to the village, "Forgive me Lord Hayate, I failed my mission," Ayane said.

"It's alright, you did well surviving against Kasumi and Takashi, who we now confirmed him to being the son of Phoenix" Hayate said to reassure her.

"R-really? But…Lord Hayate, when I fought him he could use fire, not only that but when I dislocated his arm it snapped back into place on its own…if he's truly Phoenix's son…then that means I attacked one of our own," Ayane said with realization.

"I know this Ayane, but for you it was an honest mistake, at least we know now he's watching over Kasumi, you managed to fight them off, I'm glad you managed to hold your own against them," Hayate said.

"T-Thank you Lord Hayate…but…what will this mean for the clan now?" Ayane asked.

"It means…we may have a chance to get Kasumi back, as well as one of our own," Hayate told her.

"Then I believe I can help," a voice said. The ninja assembled looked around for the voice's origin just as Zell appeared before them.

"Who are you?" Hayate asked him.

"Whoa, easy there, my name is Zell," Zell explained.

"You? What are you doing here?" Ayane exclaimed to Zell.

"You two know each other?" Hayate asked the two with a curious expression on his face.

"We met the other day, anyway, my Superior put me on a mission to help out your clan, she wanted to have me get Kasumi, the princess of your clan, back home, as well as assassinating Helena Douglas to prevent DOATEC from rising and kill the ALPHA series that escaped." Zell explained.

"I see…you think you can get Kasumi back?" Hayate asked.

"Well we're trying to help, besides, she's been away from home long enough, her and Takashi," Zell said.

"That is true…it has been a long time…" Hayate muttered to himself.

"I'm also sent to assassinate Helena Douglas and possibly Donovan, if he's alive" Zell said.

"He's alive?" The two ninja shouted in shock.

"We don't know but it's possible…besides this will give me the chance to get back at him for turning me into a freak like the others," Zell sighed.

"Wait, 'others'?" Ayane asked him. Zell nodded and explained what he told to Takashi a while ago to them.

"Wait…so there are others like you?" Ayane asked him.

"Yep…" Zell said.

"From our story…you are like Ayane…" Hayate said as he stroked his chin a bit.

"Yeah…" The two teens said.

"Still Zell, your objectives seem sound, if anything I wish to have my sister back…yet I do not wish to jeopardize her further. And with Takashi's family ties I'm unsure as how to act on this, perhaps we can work together?" Hayate asked.

"If you mean me getting the two of them back into the clan and taking out DOATEC, then yeah I think it could work," Zell said.

"Good, still, having you on the clan would be very helpful for us," Hayate said.

"Wait, wouldn't he have to…oh, I see…Hayate you meant for this huh?" Ryu said as he had suddenly appeared leaning against a pillar of the room, having heard everything.

"Wait, in order for Zell to join the clan he's have to marry into the clan won't he?" Ayane asked, now realizing what her leader had suggested.

"Yes, if Zell is ok in marrying you that is," Hayate said.

"Well if Ayane is ok with this" Zell stated. Ayane was confused and surprised by the request, marrying him, she barely even knew him! Still, he was polite in apologizing, and they both knew the pain of being rejected by their own clan, she hated to admit it, but they were the same.

"Well…what do you think Zell?" Ayane asked him.

"I'll be ok if you'll have me," Zell said.

"How about we discuss this later? To give you both more time to think this over," Hayate suggested.

"Wait, where is Zell going to sleep?" Ayane asked, even though she had a good guess where.

"Well…if you wanted he could move in with you," Ryu suggested.

"Sounds ok with me," Zell shrugged.

'why don't I ever get a saying to these things?' Ayane wondered.


Takashi waited until Tarou got home to grill him about the questions he's had for a while. When he heard the door open he sighed and got up from his bed, heading towards the living room where Tarou was located.

"Bro…we need to talk…" Takashi began.

"Later Takashi, but look at this," Tarou said and flicked on the T.V. to a news channel.

"In a shocking return from a long absence, Victor Donovan appeared on worldwide television announcing his return and that of the return of the Dead or Alive Tournament," the news anchorwoman said as the screen showed Victor Donovan in from of a large press conference with two hooded people next to him and two men in black suits beside them.

"I am pleased to announce that after much time of planning, that the fifth Dead or Alive tournament shall begin in exactly one month from today, the fighters you all know and favor will be competing this year, but this time I've taken the liberty of adding some fresh blood into this tournament. These brave younglings shall fight in the tournament while trying to compete to win the grand prize of one million dollars," Donovan explained.

"The winner of this tournament shall be crowned Dead or Alive Champion, and they also will have the honor of fighting me in the final match," Donovan explained as the crowd gasped in shock.

"No way…" Takashi mumbled with surprise.

"To the competitors who will join this tournament, you have one month to get ready, the even shall be hosted on the Freedom Survivor, a luxury cruise liner that will house them and also dock at ports around the world where fights shall be scheduled, also they may be a few fights on the ship as well. To this, I say that this year's DOA tournament shall be a memorable one to say the least," Donovan said.

Takashi shut the TV off, stunned by this news, if this is true, then that means he'd have to drop out of school if he was chosen, considering he was with Kasumi, she'd definitely join, and probably Takashi too.

"Finally…he shows his face huh?" Takashi said as he got up.

"Yep…come on…I want to show you something…" Tarou said as he headed to the hallway.

"It's about our father and the Kaido clan, isn't it?" Takashi asked sternly. Tarou stopped, then turned to glare at Kasumi.

"You told him?" he asked with his tone rising in anger.

"Only a bit…" Kasumi said softly, like a child who was guilty of taking cookies from the jar.

"I figured it out when Ayane nearly killed us…brother, why did you lie to me?" Takashi asked his brother with a sad look in his eyes.

"You…you wouldn't have lasted when you entered the world of the ninja…you wouldn't survive…" Tarou said darkly.

"I finally found the man who took dad from us and you think I can't handle it? What kind of a fucked up reason is that?" Takashi yelled. Tarou was going to answer, but he held back his words and sighed angrily.

"Follow me…" he said. He dug into his pocket and got out a small key, then went to the door leading to the attic, used the key to unlock it and then opened the door, going up as he did. Takashi and Kasumi followed him up into the attic, getting hit by a blast of cold air.

"Holy shit it's freezing…" Takashi said as he shivered. Takashi soon stopped as his body vibrated when he saw what was before him. Before him was probably the largest assortment of ninja goods ever, it had old suits of armor that gathered dust and looked to belong to a museum than an attic, there were weapons on racks and scrolls. Above a hung katana was the symbol of the Mugen Tenshi Clan but with a bird made of fire flying around it, similar to the Uroboros symbol.

"Takashi…here before you stands the legacy of the entire Kaido family, if you truly want to walk down this path know that you can never go back to your old life…" Tarou explained, his face sharpened by the lit candles in the room to give a more serious air.

Takashi couldn't speak for a minute before he started laughing, first as a chuckle, then a full-blown laugh. "Are you freaking kidding brother? After seeing all of this" Takashi had his hands spread wide, "I don't manna go back to that old routine life! This…all of this!" he twirled in a circle, "This is very interesting!" he grinned.

Kasumi was surprised by this proclamation, was he truly insane? Or did he really want to enter this world of theirs? She looked at Tarou, who now burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha! I knew I couldn't smolder that fire inside you, so I take it that's a 'yes'?" he asked his brother. Takashi nodded, an expression of confidence in his face.

"Ok brother…use this room and its secrets to your heart's content, let's go Kasumi, he'll need some alone time," Tarou said as he walked down the steps of the attic. The kunoichi looked at her benefactor as he was reading a scroll by the candle light, apparently drowning out everything and focusing on the task at hand.

She smiled and left Takashi to his devices, knowing full well he'll need it in the coming days ahead. 'He's gonna enter the tournament…and Ayane and Zell too…Ryu and Hayate as well…but those other two with Donovan…looks like this year's competition is going to be even more fierce…' Kasumi sighed but then nods, 'We need to start training…for all that will come…' she thought.

'But…why would Donovan show up now?' Kasumi wondered.


"The invitations have been sent right?" Donovan asked as he stared down on the city below.

"Yes sir, we have sent them…but some of the chosen seem strange, why would you-" the secretary began to say when a kunai knife near her neck stopped her.

"S-Sorry, I will leave now!" she squeaked and ran out of the room.

"Hibei, knock that off this instant," Donovan said to the hooded figure with the outstretched arm. The figure snorted and lowered his hand.

"Don't worry, your target will be invited with the others, then you can have you fun with them" Donovan said, still not looking from the window.

'And with them, my ultimate fighter will finally be born…' he thought with a smirk on his face.


And now the plot thickens! Zodiac beasts, Donovan's return, Takashi learning of his heritage! oooh the suspense never ends! Stay tuned for the next chapter! and R&R plz!