Separating Love from Destiny
Disclaimer: You know I don't own them and you know who does. So just drop it.
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Chapter 4
Lei Fang ran blindly through the forest. She was out in the middle of nowhere, it was too dark to see an inch in front of her face, and her whole body desperately screamed for rest. Still, she ran. She had no idea how Christie was doing and was incredibly tempted to turn back. However, she knew that Christie wouldn't have told her to run if there wasn't a good reason.
Pretty soon, though, as much as she willed it to, her body couldn't take anymore. She slumped to the ground and leaned her back against a thick tree trunk. Her entire body ached from the car crash and she was pretty sure she had sprained an ankle from her recent dash into the forest. Plus, it didn't help that her head was pounding from where she had hit the steering wheel. She reached up to feel her forehead and felt a good-sized lump.
"If Bayman somehow gets past Christie, there's no way I'll be a match for him in this condition," Lei Fang muttered to herself. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but her vision was getting hazy. "Can't fall asleep, he'll get me for sure." Lei decided to just close her eyes for a minute, but NOT fall asleep.
Bayman knelt by a small bush to examine a branch. Just as he thought. Broken. He ran his fingers lightly over the soil and felt a fresh print that had obviously been made by a shoe. He stood up. He was close. Bayman continued through the dark forest, following the trail that Lei Fang had accidently left.
Lei was jerked awake suddenly as a very strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet.
"Not very smart to fall asleep in a strange place while being pursued," came a mocking voice with a heavy, Russian accent. Lei didn't need to see him to know that it was Bayman.
"What did you do to Christie?" she demanded, or tried to. She was just so weary she barely had the strength to stand. She was worried. If Bayman was here then that meant that he had beaten her . . . or worse.
"She's taking a nap. Permanently," he replied cruelly as he began to drag Lei Fang through the forest, who pathetically tried to fight him off. He laughed at her meager attempts. Lei's eyes widened.
"No . . . " she whispered. She stopped trying to fight him off. Just as Christie had begun to open up to her . . . this asshole killed her! The anger welled up inside her, but her previous struggles had already exhausted what was left of her strength. Her whole body felt heavy and her legs felt like rubber. Bayman, sick of dragging her through the dirt, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
"There is no use in trying to fight. As long as you co-operate you'll get through this sooner and can be reunited with your parents in no time," Bayman said, not sure if the girl was unconscious or not. All of a sudden, his sharp senses detected movement in the trees. It was very slight and gone in a split second, but he was sure that it wasn't just the wind. He quickened his pace through the forest, following the markers he had left to lead him back to the road.
There it was again, he could feel it passing on either side of him through the treetops. He stopped and placed Lei Fang down on the ground. The he pulled out his gun and crouched in the bushes, his instincts kicking in. He scanned the bases of the trees and the treetops, trying to detect the source. But it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Wait, he could see one of them now.
He couldn't see the man's face as he was wearing a mask, but he was definitely a Shinobi. Bayman had seen similar clothing worn by the man named Ryu Hayabusa at the tournament. Bayman began to sneak towards the man to try to catch him by surprise. Bayman didn't notice the ten others surrounding him, as they made no sound whatsoever.
One of the darkly clad Shinobi crept up behind Bayman and brought his hand down on the back of his neck. Bayman let out a small grunt and fell to the ground. The man signaled to the rest and they parted as their leader stepped through. He surveyed the man on the ground and a look of recognition passed through his emerald eyes. He motioned to the others, who took Bayman away.
Then the Shinobi walked over to the girl on the ground. She seemed to have trouble breathing and was injured. He knelt beside her and rolled her onto her back, propping her up into a sitting position while supporting her back. She was unconscious for the moment. However, the Shinobi knew this girl well and it pained him to see her in this condition.
Lei Fang opened her eyes and could feel strong arms around her. She thought it was Bayman for a second, but the thought disappeared as she noted the tender way she was being held. She looked up into the face of a masked man. It was too dark to distinguish anything about him.
"Who . . . who are . . . " she began, but didn't finish her sentence as she passed out again. The Shinobi carefully lifted her into his arms and carried her deeper into the woods.
*~*~*~*~
"The intruder has been taken care of. We left him by the road were we found two destroyed vehicles and the body of a white-haired woman. Luckily, he never stumbled upon our camp." The leader nodded in approval and dismissed the Shinobi in front of him. As he left, another man came in, his face no longer masked. He had emerald eyes and long, medium brown hair that was tied in a ponytail at the base of his neck. We wore black, sleeveless, ninja-like clothing and a katana on his back. His golden headband secured the black cloth around his head that left his face exposed and he wore some armor across his shoulders.
"I've confirmed the identity of the white-haired woman. It's definitely Christie, the assassin we met at the tournament who had been hired to kill Helena," he told the man in front of him. He had short, reddish brown hair that was held back by a blue headband, yet a few rebellious strands still fell into his golden brown eyes. He wore a white, traditional Shinobi outfit with a tight, yellowish gray top underneath that was partially showing. Both men were well built and muscular, the first was just slightly taller.
"I can't help but find this a little strange, Ryu," the man said to his friend. "We suddenly find three intruders in our forest and they all turn out to be people we know from the third Dead or Alive tournament." Ryu nodded. "By the way, you never told me who the third person was or what you did with them."
"I brought her back here," Ryu said simply. The other man's eyes narrowed.
"You know that for our own safety we must keep the location of this camp a secret! We are hunting my own sister for that very reason!" he said angrily.
"Hayate, it was Lei Fang. And from her injuries, I think she was the victim in all this. If I had left her there, she surely would have died," Ryu told him, knowing full well that he had broken the rules, yet he knew in his heart that what he did was right. He saw Hayate's eyes soften a little, but his tone remained sharp.
"We don't know that. Christie and Bayman are both assassins, they were probably working together. Lei Fang could've been the one to kill Christie," Hayate said. Ryu shook his head.
"Christie's neck was broken. Does that seem like something Lei Fang would do? We both met her; we know that she's not capable of something like that. Besides, a broken neck is an easy sign of Russian Martial Arts, the fighting style that Bayman practices." Hayate remained silent, but did not avert his gaze. Ryu took this as a sign to continue. "Besides, don't you think we should find out what happened? Finding three DOA competitors together in the middle of nowhere with one dead and one severely injured isn't something you see everyday. I think we should hear about what happened directly from Lei Fang."
"I completely understand what you're saying, Ryu. But I have the rest of the clan and our safety to think about," Hayate told him.
"It's alright, she was unconscious when we brought her here. The location is still secret," Ryu told him. "And we can easily blindfold her and lead her out again without risking revealing our whereabouts once she has regained her strength." Hayate almost smiled at his friend. Clearly Ryu had though this out completely.
"Alright then, let's go find out exactly what happened."
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Author: Now I know that the Shinobi and the Hayabusa are two different things, but I really have no other ideas on how to get Ryu into the story, so let's just pretend that they are both part of the same clan with Hayate as the leader. No flaming! I guess Ryu is like the second-in-command. And of course there's no Ayane and no Kasumi. They exist; they're just off somewhere else. It makes sense in my own mind. Oh, and please review, 'cause it helps me move the plot along, and it's also nice to know that people are actually reading the story ^-^! Anything you say will be thoroughly considered!
Disclaimer: You know I don't own them and you know who does. So just drop it.
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Chapter 4
Lei Fang ran blindly through the forest. She was out in the middle of nowhere, it was too dark to see an inch in front of her face, and her whole body desperately screamed for rest. Still, she ran. She had no idea how Christie was doing and was incredibly tempted to turn back. However, she knew that Christie wouldn't have told her to run if there wasn't a good reason.
Pretty soon, though, as much as she willed it to, her body couldn't take anymore. She slumped to the ground and leaned her back against a thick tree trunk. Her entire body ached from the car crash and she was pretty sure she had sprained an ankle from her recent dash into the forest. Plus, it didn't help that her head was pounding from where she had hit the steering wheel. She reached up to feel her forehead and felt a good-sized lump.
"If Bayman somehow gets past Christie, there's no way I'll be a match for him in this condition," Lei Fang muttered to herself. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but her vision was getting hazy. "Can't fall asleep, he'll get me for sure." Lei decided to just close her eyes for a minute, but NOT fall asleep.
Bayman knelt by a small bush to examine a branch. Just as he thought. Broken. He ran his fingers lightly over the soil and felt a fresh print that had obviously been made by a shoe. He stood up. He was close. Bayman continued through the dark forest, following the trail that Lei Fang had accidently left.
Lei was jerked awake suddenly as a very strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet.
"Not very smart to fall asleep in a strange place while being pursued," came a mocking voice with a heavy, Russian accent. Lei didn't need to see him to know that it was Bayman.
"What did you do to Christie?" she demanded, or tried to. She was just so weary she barely had the strength to stand. She was worried. If Bayman was here then that meant that he had beaten her . . . or worse.
"She's taking a nap. Permanently," he replied cruelly as he began to drag Lei Fang through the forest, who pathetically tried to fight him off. He laughed at her meager attempts. Lei's eyes widened.
"No . . . " she whispered. She stopped trying to fight him off. Just as Christie had begun to open up to her . . . this asshole killed her! The anger welled up inside her, but her previous struggles had already exhausted what was left of her strength. Her whole body felt heavy and her legs felt like rubber. Bayman, sick of dragging her through the dirt, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
"There is no use in trying to fight. As long as you co-operate you'll get through this sooner and can be reunited with your parents in no time," Bayman said, not sure if the girl was unconscious or not. All of a sudden, his sharp senses detected movement in the trees. It was very slight and gone in a split second, but he was sure that it wasn't just the wind. He quickened his pace through the forest, following the markers he had left to lead him back to the road.
There it was again, he could feel it passing on either side of him through the treetops. He stopped and placed Lei Fang down on the ground. The he pulled out his gun and crouched in the bushes, his instincts kicking in. He scanned the bases of the trees and the treetops, trying to detect the source. But it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Wait, he could see one of them now.
He couldn't see the man's face as he was wearing a mask, but he was definitely a Shinobi. Bayman had seen similar clothing worn by the man named Ryu Hayabusa at the tournament. Bayman began to sneak towards the man to try to catch him by surprise. Bayman didn't notice the ten others surrounding him, as they made no sound whatsoever.
One of the darkly clad Shinobi crept up behind Bayman and brought his hand down on the back of his neck. Bayman let out a small grunt and fell to the ground. The man signaled to the rest and they parted as their leader stepped through. He surveyed the man on the ground and a look of recognition passed through his emerald eyes. He motioned to the others, who took Bayman away.
Then the Shinobi walked over to the girl on the ground. She seemed to have trouble breathing and was injured. He knelt beside her and rolled her onto her back, propping her up into a sitting position while supporting her back. She was unconscious for the moment. However, the Shinobi knew this girl well and it pained him to see her in this condition.
Lei Fang opened her eyes and could feel strong arms around her. She thought it was Bayman for a second, but the thought disappeared as she noted the tender way she was being held. She looked up into the face of a masked man. It was too dark to distinguish anything about him.
"Who . . . who are . . . " she began, but didn't finish her sentence as she passed out again. The Shinobi carefully lifted her into his arms and carried her deeper into the woods.
*~*~*~*~
"The intruder has been taken care of. We left him by the road were we found two destroyed vehicles and the body of a white-haired woman. Luckily, he never stumbled upon our camp." The leader nodded in approval and dismissed the Shinobi in front of him. As he left, another man came in, his face no longer masked. He had emerald eyes and long, medium brown hair that was tied in a ponytail at the base of his neck. We wore black, sleeveless, ninja-like clothing and a katana on his back. His golden headband secured the black cloth around his head that left his face exposed and he wore some armor across his shoulders.
"I've confirmed the identity of the white-haired woman. It's definitely Christie, the assassin we met at the tournament who had been hired to kill Helena," he told the man in front of him. He had short, reddish brown hair that was held back by a blue headband, yet a few rebellious strands still fell into his golden brown eyes. He wore a white, traditional Shinobi outfit with a tight, yellowish gray top underneath that was partially showing. Both men were well built and muscular, the first was just slightly taller.
"I can't help but find this a little strange, Ryu," the man said to his friend. "We suddenly find three intruders in our forest and they all turn out to be people we know from the third Dead or Alive tournament." Ryu nodded. "By the way, you never told me who the third person was or what you did with them."
"I brought her back here," Ryu said simply. The other man's eyes narrowed.
"You know that for our own safety we must keep the location of this camp a secret! We are hunting my own sister for that very reason!" he said angrily.
"Hayate, it was Lei Fang. And from her injuries, I think she was the victim in all this. If I had left her there, she surely would have died," Ryu told him, knowing full well that he had broken the rules, yet he knew in his heart that what he did was right. He saw Hayate's eyes soften a little, but his tone remained sharp.
"We don't know that. Christie and Bayman are both assassins, they were probably working together. Lei Fang could've been the one to kill Christie," Hayate said. Ryu shook his head.
"Christie's neck was broken. Does that seem like something Lei Fang would do? We both met her; we know that she's not capable of something like that. Besides, a broken neck is an easy sign of Russian Martial Arts, the fighting style that Bayman practices." Hayate remained silent, but did not avert his gaze. Ryu took this as a sign to continue. "Besides, don't you think we should find out what happened? Finding three DOA competitors together in the middle of nowhere with one dead and one severely injured isn't something you see everyday. I think we should hear about what happened directly from Lei Fang."
"I completely understand what you're saying, Ryu. But I have the rest of the clan and our safety to think about," Hayate told him.
"It's alright, she was unconscious when we brought her here. The location is still secret," Ryu told him. "And we can easily blindfold her and lead her out again without risking revealing our whereabouts once she has regained her strength." Hayate almost smiled at his friend. Clearly Ryu had though this out completely.
"Alright then, let's go find out exactly what happened."
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Author: Now I know that the Shinobi and the Hayabusa are two different things, but I really have no other ideas on how to get Ryu into the story, so let's just pretend that they are both part of the same clan with Hayate as the leader. No flaming! I guess Ryu is like the second-in-command. And of course there's no Ayane and no Kasumi. They exist; they're just off somewhere else. It makes sense in my own mind. Oh, and please review, 'cause it helps me move the plot along, and it's also nice to know that people are actually reading the story ^-^! Anything you say will be thoroughly considered!