Author's Note: Kochan, thanks for the review! (FINALLY... j/k! ^_^) Feel free to drop another one if you like. They're always welcome. That goes for anybody else who's been reading this too; let me know what you think! I'm interested in hearing if you guys like the way the story's going. Anyway, on to Chapter 8!

Chapter 8:

Kasumi's Troubles

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Ren was still having a hard time believing all this. Here he was, deep in some forest, and instead of spending time trying to search for the girl he saw at the Octagon, he found himself nearly being taken out by her in almost complete darkness. She rose from him, standing quickly. Ren shook his head a couple times, remaining in a sitting position, still only half-aware of what was going on.

"Ok....why'd you have to tackle me?"

Kasumi simply brought a forefinger up to her lips, signifying silence. Her eyes were narrowed, as they darted from side to side, scanning the area around them a number of times for any signs of unusual movement.

"Shh....They're still here."

"Who...?"

Ren fell silent, strapping Lighthawk onto his back, keeping his eyes on Kasumi the whole time. She looked back at him momentarily, her eyes somewhat solemn. Ren tried to focus on the environment's sounds, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Suddenly, Kasumi's eyes went wide, and she lunged for Ren's arm.

"Come on!" She said quietly.

 She grasped his forearm firmly, dragging him along into a run. Even though she pulled him along, Ren had a hard time keeping with her pace. He found himself nearly tripping on a few occasions, his feet almost being tangled in vines or stumbling over small rocks or uprooted trees. By this time, Ren could faintly hear a tapping sound behind them, though it seemed far away. Kasumi looked off to their right, then led them toward a lake area, where the ground they were on stopped, a drop of a couple feet beyond that. As they reached the edge, the two leaped over, Kasumi landing gracefully without a sound, though Ren's landing was slightly clumsier. Before he could fully recover, Kasumi yanked him backwards, into a small hidden alcove in the face of the cliff they just jumped from. They dashed inside, hiding deep within, covered by the darkness of shadow. Kasumi looked at him, in a look that discouraged him from speaking.

"Just wait."

And so they did, Ren leaning against a slightly damp, mossy wall, arms folded. Kasumi sat cross-legged, almost in a meditative position. Here they waited, Ren finding himself growing bored fairly quickly. They heard more footsteps, some farther, some closer, some very close. Ren started to feel tired, because after all, it was late. He almost yawned, but quickly stifled it by shooting a hand up to his mouth. At this moment, the footsteps stopped temporarily, Ren becoming a bit nervous. But fortunately, the footsteps finally went away. Kasumi let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew....they're gone now. We're safe."

Kasumi then stood, starting to leave the small cave, and Ren followed.

"Kasumi....what is going on?"

The kunoichi stopped at the edge of the lake, folding her arms, but keeping her back to him.

"I'm sorry to have involved you in this."

"How did you find me?"

"I'm a shinobi. Or, I used to be. Anyway, you were making lots of noise, so I thought you were one of them."

"Yeah.... I was training." At this, he reached back behind his head, scratching at his hair with a slight chuckle.

"I figured as much, with that katana you have there. You have the look of a fighter."

"But why were you being chased...? Why did you take me with you?"

"I wanted to save your life. They would've killed you if they found you, no doubt."

"Who are they?"

Kasumi sighed again, still not looking at him. He gazed intently at her. The image of her standing there at the edge of the lake, with the light of the moon at her other side filled Ren with a sense of awe. He stood only a few feet from her as she looked back at him finally, seeming to carefully judge her words, her eyes showing signs of deep thought.

"My family."

Ren stared at her incredulously.

"....Come again?"

"The Mugen Tenshin Clan....I was one of them. Matter of fact, I was next in line to lead them. But oniichan... *brother"

"What happened?"

"He was supposed to be leader before me. It's a long story....maybe I'll explain more later."

"Ok....but now they want to kill you?"

"Basically."

Ren sat down, peering into the reflective waters of the azure lake.

"So then....what will you do...?"

He looked up, back at where Kasumi was standing just a moment ago, but she was gone. Ren stood up, trying to see if he could spot her, but she was already long gone. Would he see her again...? "Probably..." he thought as he stared into the late again, trying to process everything that had just gone on.

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Ren only remembered the long walk back home in snatches. He also remembered having a hard time getting any sleep that night, as it was around 3 a.m. when he got home, and he had the next round of the tournament to prepare for. The quarterfinals and the semifinals would be taking place on the same day, taking from mid-morning to late afternoon or early evening. Ren's grandfather woke him early that morning, in spite of protests. After cleaning himself up and eating a light breakfast, he made sure that his gi was folded up and placed neatly into his bag. Soon, he was ready to go, already out on the street by the time his grandfather came out. They walked the short distance to the main road, the same black taxi awaited them at the curb, as promised. Ren tossed the bag into the trunk, and they were on the way. Traffic was a little heavier on the way this morning, but Ren didn't really care. All he thought about was the events of the previous night. Strangely, his grandfather didn't really say much of him coming home late.... Why was Kasumi being chased by her own clan? It didn't make sense. She must've done something really terrible.... but how could she? She didn't really strike him as the type to betray family.... hopefully he'd see her again. Then, he got an idea. He'd head back out to the spot in the forest where he'd trained before. Maybe he'd see her then...

They finalled arrived at the site, and headedback up to the 10th floor, same as before. There seemed to be more people around this time, since the stands were already filling up before the tournament started. Ren made for the locker room, changing into his gi, and heading out to the main floor to sit down. More students filed out, finding their spots, as the tournament announcers came out again.

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to our International martial Arts Tournament! As you all know, the quarterfinal matches are about to take place, followed by an intermission, and then the semifinals. To all of our powerful students who will be competeing today, please do your best!"

Ren looked around the floor, at the students around him. Even though only a fraction of the students who fought last time were going to actually fight. Though, it seemed that there were still quite a few in attendance. Red guessed that they were only there to spectate. Well, he'd give them a show. He sat there, smirking to himself as the names of the fighters in the first few matches were called out. It was then that something caught his eye. Way back, in one of the high back rows of the stands, sat a figure shrouded by a dark blue cloak. The cloak's hood covered the majority of the face in shadow, but Ren knew, in that instant, who it was. He just knew. As the light from a nearby spotlight shined briefly into that area of the crowd, the shadows covering the auburn eyes of the figure were removed, only confirming Ren's suspicion. Ren just  had to do his best. But, how exactly did Kasumi know to come here...? This puzzled him, until he felt someone shaking his shoulder from behind. He looked back, and some girl with brown eyes and hair was trying to get his attention.

"Aren't you Hokunaki Ren? They're calling you!"

The announcer looked at Ren curiously. He must have missed his name being called when he saw Kasumi. He rose swiftly, a small sign of embarrassment on his face. Kasumi saw this and giggled softly, covering her mouth with a dainty hand. Ren walked over to where his opponent was waiting for him, a boy who was slightly bigger than him, but looked slower. Ren looked over, and saw two more combatants, both female, ready to fight. At the other side of the room, to more fighters were meeting each other, one male, one female. Finally, near the back of the room, another two were preparing for battle, both male. Max was one of them.Upon finally reaching the mat where his fight would take place, the two warriors smirked at one another, from opposite sides of the mat. The announcer came on again.

"Now....let the matches begin! Fighters, hajime!" *begin!

The boy stood ready as Ren approached, looking prepared to parry any incoming attack and counter. Ren attacked first with a punch he wasn't really ready to throw, and as he suspected, it was deflected to the side. But, as the boy counter-punched, Ren deftly ducked under, ramming a fist into his gut. The boy stepped back, but Ren continued in a combo, punching rapidly. Some of the punches hit, and some were blocked. Though Ren was unaware of the boy's upcoming reversal, taking one of Ren's punches and yanking him toward the ground. Ren fell, but rolled when he hit the ground, directly into a powerful upward kick from his right leg, sending the boy flying to land outside the mat. Ren stood, folding his arms arrogantly.

"One down...."

Ren's match was actually the first to end, so he had to sit at the sideline, waiting for the others to finish. A few minutes later, their bouts were over, and intermission began. As people began to move about, Ren looked for his grandfather, and saw him sitting near the middle of one of the stands. He then looked toward Kasumi, and saw her gazing down at him. She smiled briefly, only the very tips of her mouth curving up slightly, barely even enough to notice, especially given the fact that she was so far away. Finally, the intermission ended as the crowd returned to their seats. It was time for the semifinals. The girl with the brown hair who had spoken to him earlier walked up to him again, all smiles.

"Nice fight! Now, though, you're up against Akiko..."

"Akiko?"

"Yeah....she's one of the toughest fighters around. She beat me without breaking a sweat!"

"Heh.... well, I'll just have to see how tough she really is, huh?"

"Hmm....it'll be a great fight for sure!"

As promised, Ren was up against one of the girls, Hirano Akiko. Her long black hair reached to her mid-back, tied in a ponytail. She had a fierce look in her dark brown eyes, a look which told Ren that this wouldn't be quite as simple a win as all his other matches had been. She was about his height, if only a little smaller, just barely. Akiko chuckled softly, pointing an arrogant finger at Ren.

"Your little joyride ends here, Hokunaki. You may be good, but you won't get past me!"

Ren smirked, enjoying the moment. He folded his arms, head cocked to the side.

"Heh...we'll just see how it goes."

 They stood at both ends of the grey mat, as the annoucer came in.

"Hajime!"

As soon as the match started, this girl Akiko wasted no time in lunging into a full frontal assault, launching punches and kicks in rapid succession. Ren had to jump back, becoming more alert as each limb came flailing at him. While he was busy blocking a mid kick by crossing both arms just below the chest, he accidentally leaned forward. He realized the danger of his mistake quickly, but it was already far too late as he took a full right cross which connected cleanly with a loud smacking sound at the base of his jaw. He took a forced step backward, jolted by the impact, and even more so by the next two punches Akiko recklessly threw in this window of Ren's guard being down, one aimed at his torso and another at his chin. He finally managed to get his arms up to block another incoming fist, trying one of his own, in a desperate attempt to break up Akiko's fury. It, however was dodged, the girl sliding left into a forceful side kick which sunk into Ren's stomach, knocking him to the mat. Pretty much everyone in attendance either gasped or winced, Ren just as suprised as they that he'd been knocked down, and was getting close to losing.

Ren lie still for a moment, contemplating what to do next. He wondered what Kasumi was thinking at that very moment. He tried to locate her face again, but it was too difficult this time, as the entire place was dark except for the spotlights which were on his match, and Max's. Akiko peered down at him, her serious eyes narrowed.

"...Giving up?"

"Heh, not just yet."

Akiko went into her stance as Ren hopped up, already on the attack again with more punches. Ren dodged most, countering by ducking low to the ground, lashing out with a sweep kick which floored the girl. As soon he he realized his trip worked, Ren dashed back, trying to recompose himself. His vision had been a little off after that little combo rush of hers connected, so he shook his head violently, until his vision cleared again. By this time, Akiko was back up, running at him, ready to strike. He dropped back once more, into a defensive stance, dodging the few punches that came out, retaliating with a swift kick aimed at the midsection, which was blocked. By this time, the aggressive girl had grown impatient, and was lashing out even more now than before, backing Ren toward the edge of the mat. Ren knew he had to do something quick, and saw his opportunity arise as his ferocius opponent prepared a spinning roundhouse kick. Ren ducked under at the last possible moment, dodging behind Akiko, who stumbled forward awkwardly after realizing that she'd missed her mark. Ren countered with a simple back facing kick, only barely edging her off the mat. After realizing that she lost, Akiko yelled aloud, stomping the ground in anger. Ren sighed contentedly, looking up at the bright spotlights, then closing his eyes, dropping to his knees. He heard the crowd clapping, his name being announced as going to the finals. A few moments later, he looked toward where Max had been fighting, and indeed the two would be up against each other in the final match of the tournament. Max grinned evilly at Ren from across the room, punching a fist into a palm threateningly. Ren could only grin back, eagerly anticipating the day their match would take place. Soon, the annoucer took his microphone, speaking once more.

"WOW! What incredible matches! These semifinals have got to be the most intense we've EVER seen! Congratulations to both our finalists, Max Wessler and Ren Hokunaki, who will be meeting each other for the final fight in one week! To both fighters: train well, and we'll see you back here next week!"

Ren finally left the mat, looking for Kasumi's face again as people started clearing out. But, there was only an empty seat where she had previously been. He sighed dissapointedly, then went to get changed. When he emerged, his grandfather met him, and they left the building together. The black cab was there, as always, ready to take them home. During the car ride, the old man patted Ren's shoulder.

"Only one more win to go...."

"That's right. I can't wait."

"Make sure you don't get lazy with your training."

"Oh, don't worry. That definitely won't be a problem."

Later that night, Ren made haste to the exact spot in the forest he trained at earlier, to resume where he left off. He brought Lighthawk with him. There he trained for a while, until it had grown dark. Ren checked his watch.

"1:30 a.m..... and she hasn't shown up yet. Maybe I should try again another day...?"

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"Did you find her?" Hayate stood rigid, with arms folded. They were at the shrine.

"We were close, Hayate-sama, but she eluded us."

"Tch... worthless foot soldiers." Ayane said with a scoff. Hayate turned a stern eye to her.

"You didn't do much better....you didn't even defeat her when you had that match."

Ayane turned her head, looking away. "I could've..." she said softly.

"Regardless, this whole ordeal has been going on for far too long. As much as I hate the circumstances, something must be done."

"Hayate-sama..." one of the foot soldiers began. Hayate turned his attention from Ayane to the other ninja.

"There was....another..."

"Another...? Are you sure?"

"Hai. They fled from us together. We could sense him, could hear his footsteps along with hers. However, his aura was totally unfamiliar, we don't think he's ever been in this area before."
"And you couldn't locate either one?"

"......Well, we found a spot that looked like it had been used for training. Some tree logs were there that looked to be cleaved through with a sword."

Ayane perked up at this news suddenly, though remained silent, an mischievous grin forming on her face.

"Hmm.... I wonder..."