- Chapter 8 -


Japan, Mugen Tenshin Clan

Kasumi carefully removed her bandages; indeed, her wounds had completely healed. That just left one question.

"What happened to Nayuki?" she asked, looking at Ayane and Momiji. Ayane scowled.

"The bitch got away," she spat. "Master Ryu and Master Hayate are out trying to find a lead on her right now."

"We need to find her and stop her," Kasumi said, getting out of the futon and making as if for the door.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Ayane exclaimed, making a "time-out" signal with her hands. "You're not seriously thinking about going after her right now, are you, Kasumi? Are you forgetting that Nayuki almost killed you?!"

"I don't care," Kasumi said flatly. "I'm the one she wants, and I'll die before I let her hurt anyone else." She took one step towards the door before Akihiko put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kasumi, think for a second," he said. "From what I've heard, this Nayuki girl has all of your abilities, plus that arm-blade she used against you. And those are just the powers we know about. If you just go charging in without a plan, you won't stand a chance."

For two long minutes, Kasumi thought it over, and finally nodded. "You're right, Aki. I'm not going to let Nayuki get away with this, but I need to plan out my steps better."

"So what are we gonna do?" Ayane asked.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think there's much we can do until Nayuki makes her next move," Momiji said. "We don't know where she's hiding or when she'll strike next."

The room was silent for a few moments before Akihiko spoke up.

"Do you think you could give us a minute alone, please?" he asked, gesturing to himself and Kasumi. Ayame smiled happily; it was no secret to anyone in the village that Akihiko had had a crush on Kasumi since they were young children.

"Of course, Katsu," she said, taking Sora and Keiko by the hands and leading them out the door, with Ayane and Momiji following her. As soon as the door closed behind them, Kasumi and Akihiko both took a seat on Kasumi's futon.

"So, welcome home, Kasumi," Akihiko said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry I missed your homecoming, but I was away on a mission at the time."

"You were on a mission?" Kasumi asked. "I'm kind of surprised. Normally, you're organizing the village archives or practicing your family arts."

In addition to their expertise in Ki manipulation, the Rin family had also served as the chroniclers of the Mugen Tenshin since the clan was first founded. It was their job to record the entire history of the Mugen Tenshin Clan, from births to deaths and everything in-between, and organize the village archives.

"Things have changed, Kasumi," Akihiko said simply. "Donovan is still out there and at large. I'm still the chronicler, but right now, we need all the able-bodied ninja we can get."

Kasumi nodded, knowing full well that Akihiko could more than handle himself in a fight. "By the way, thank you, Aki."

"For what?" Akihiko said, curious.

Kasumi smiled. "Ryu once told me that you always publicly opposed the decision to label me a runaway and the death mark on my head. You have no idea how much that meant to me."

Akihiko smiled back. "I was just stating a fact. The whole thing was ridiculous. Raidou forced himself on Lady Ayame, stole the Torn Sky Blast, and crippled Master Hayate, and everyone in the village just decides to let him go free and ignore him. You decided to go after him because no one else could be bothered to, and you're automatically labeled a traitor that needs to die? That never sat right with me. If I was in your shoes, I would have done the same thing, and damn the consequences."

Kasumi just nodded, not really needing to say anything about that. They just sat in silence for the next few minutes, enjoying each other's company for the first time in a long time.

"Kasumi..." Akihiko said finally. Kasumi turned to him, and before his nerve could go bad on him, Akihiko leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Kasumi stiffened briefly, but quickly relaxed and returned the kiss. After a few seconds, they parted, both blushing, before turning to the door.

"Okay, you can come back in now," Kasumi said simply. Right on cue, the door slid open, and in came Ayame, Ayane, Momiji, Sora, and Keiko, all five of them having been listening just outside the room. Ayane put her arms around Akihiko and Kasumi's respective shoulders.

"Sorry, we couldn't resist," she said, smirking. "Way to go, guys. I always knew you had something going on."


Unknown, MIST HQ

A lone female figure made her way through the hallways of the secret MIST facility to her destination. She was identical to Kasumi in height and build, and dressed in a hooded black cloak that concealed most of her body, with a black-and-red ninja-style bodysuit beneath said cloak. The hood of the cloak was pulled up, hiding her face.

Before long, she reached the room at the end of the hall and entered, the door automatically shutting behind her. She found herself in a spacious laboratory, filled with all manner of computers, machines, and lab equipment. What really made the lab stand out, however, was a group of metal-encased cylindrical tanks along the far wall. The tanks were full of a green fluid, and floating in the fluid, naked and in fetal positions, were several of the Kasumi clones used for Project Alpha.

The girl spared the cloning tanks the briefest of glances before turning her attention to the desk on the other side of the room. The desk was covered with paperwork, as well as a computer, and sitting at the desk was a man dressed in a white pinstripe suit with slicked-back blonde hair and a white mask covering his face. It was Victor Donovan, the head of MIST, former scientist of DOATEC, and archenemy of the Mugen Tenshin Clan.

"Ah, Phase 4, right on time," he said. The girl, Phase 4, bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Professor Donovan," she said, her voice identical to Kasumi's, but with a slightly deeper inflection. "What is the emergency?"

Donovan wordlessly handed her a photograph, which was a head shot of a beautiful young Asian girl with short black hair in a small ponytail, black lipstick, and piercing red eyes with catlike pupils. Phase 4 pursed her lips; it was Nayuki, Donovan's other super-soldier product, separate from Project Alpha.

"As you may have heard, Nayuki has gone rogue," Donovan said. "She was stationed at Area 51 with Warren Vidic, under orders from myself and the Patriots to guard Raiden while we completed the Cyborg Ninja project, but she decided to defy both of us and go after Kasumi on her own. My sources have confirmed that Nayuki managed to injure Kasumi quite badly, but to the best of their knowledge, she's still alive."

"What are your orders?" Phase 4 asked, returning the photo.

"It's simple, really," Donovan explained, clasping his hands together. "You are to track down Nayuki and capture her by any means necessary. I would prefer it if you brought her back alive, but accidents do happen."

"With all due respect, Professor, why do you want her back so bad?" Phase 4 asked. Donovan sighed.

"Project Alpha may be my magnum opus (1), but Nayuki is just as valuable, if not more so," he explained. "I want you to recapture her before anyone like the likes of Shadaloo or the Mishima Zaibatsu get their hands on her. They and the others may have aided me in Nayuki's creation, but she's the property of MIST, not theirs."

Phase 4 nodded, her face impassive.

"You have your orders. Now go."

Phase 4 bowed respectively before exiting the room. Underneath her hood, her expression was one of turmoil, and she silently regretted what she was about to do.

I don't want to hurt you, Nayuki, but I will if I must, she thought. Please forgive me, sister.


Author's Note:

(1): magnum opus: Latin for great work; he largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an artist. Naturally, Donovan considers Project Alpha his greatest work.

Well, another chapter down. I hope I did good with the romance scene between Kasumi and Akihiko. There will be some shipping here and there, but don't expect any major lemons or sexual content; it's not really my thing, and I'm trying to keep the fic at a T rating for the time being.

A big thank-you to my reviewer Projekt-Z for his input; your review made my day, and I hope you'll stay tuned for more.

Those of you who have played either Dead or Alive 5 or Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate should have a basic idea of who and what Phase 4 is; if not, you'll find out soon enough.

Please R&R. Until next chapter...