If anyone could see it, no one would suspect anything was wrong with the building. Except for its rather isolationist location and stark, foreboding structure, it was on the whole a completely ordinary building with only a small plaque stamped with the words DOATEC to differentiate it in any way. But even this most humble of buildings would draw at least mild curiosity if by some chance someone happened to be standing outside at that ungodly hour of night and saw the top most floor all alit as though full operations were still continuing.
This hypothetical observer would be disappointed to know, however, that the floor was in fact mostly empty. Out in the sterile hallway, beneath fluorescent lights, a lone woman walked purposefully towards the office at the end of the hall, her heels giving off harsh clicks as they hit the linoleum. She didn't bother knocking once she reached the door. She knew she was expected.
The man sitting behind the desk didn't bother looking up as he heard the door close. In fact, he chose not to say anything for a several moments, instead finishing up the documents he was perusing. When he finally did finish, he languidly looked up and acknowledged his waiting guest without bothering to get up. "Christie."
The woman didn't seem at all phased by his deliberate indifference and remained at attention. "You wanted to see me?"
He tossed a nearby folder rather unceremoniously towards her. Her eyes flickered questioningly towards it then back to him. "Have you seen this?" he prompted.
Christie picked up the folder and glanced through its pages. "The 'Dead or Alive Tournament'?"
The man grimaced. "Douglas' newest pet project."
Christie nodded and tucked the report under her arm. "I'll see that the rest of the Faction vetoes it at the next board meeting."
But she was surprised to see him shake his head. "No, no, Christie. I think we'll leave this one alone."
"Sir?"
"This may actually work in our favor," he said. Then Victor Donovan smiled, an action rare to his face and one that was never, ever pleasant. It was all Christie needed to know this Dead or Alive tournament was going to be something big.
High in the mountaintops of Japan, someone else was having a rather sleepless night. Ryu Hayabusa tossed and turned, and eventually gave up. Throwing back the covers of his futon in an attempt to help with the heat, he lay there guiltily enjoying the last vestiges of the particularly vivid dream until it faded completely. Then he sighed and got up, deciding going back to sleep was not a viable option. He might as well train for a bit and burn off all this excess energy.
Ryu was once again able to witness a spectacular sunrise coming over the eastern mountains by the time he was about done. It was becoming more and more common for his days to start this early, and he figured he should probably do something about it. It wasn't healthy, he reasoned as he headed down to the creek to wash up, and Hayate would kill him if he knew what was going on.
He splashed water onto his face and enjoyed the ice-cold feel as it ran down his hot skin. He felt too good to bother turning around at the soft footsteps behind him and chose to wait for the person he knew was there to come up and join him while he continued to relish the feel.
"Mornin', Ryu." Akira Ryuuzaki was not at all surprised to find him there. He heard Ryu had been training in the early hours more frequently recently. Ryu barely nodded over his shoulder before continuing to wash up. Akira continued, "Or is it, 'good morning, Master Hayabusa'?"
Ryu made a face. "You don't have to say that."
Akira chuckled. "You should probably get used to it, though, Ryu. Sooner or later, you'll have to." Ryu said nothing. Undaunted, Akira continued: "You're certainly an early riser nowadays. More training?"
"You could say that."
Akira snorted. "Why? You've already beat most of the elders, and you're already way ahead of most shinobi of your level. You can't get any more ahead. Or…is this for something else?" His companion didn't say anything in response. "You know, Ryu…lately, you've been disappearing randomly. The elders don't say anything about it, because you still keep up with your training, but the rest of us never see you anymore."
Ryu shifted uncomfortably and avoided Akira's eyes. "I've…just been around."
"Where?"
Ryu tried to ignore Akira's piercing stare. "Around," he repeated lamely.
"You know, there's been a lot of rumors flying around," Akira said slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Ryu for any hint of reaction.
"Yeah?" Ryu tried to keep his voice steady.
"Some people are saying you've been secretly training with some powerful master outside our clan. Which is ridiculous, since it's forbidden to take the Hayabusa ninjutsu out of our clan, right?" Again, no reaction. "Some other people have been saying you have a girl stashed somewhere and you've been going off to see her. Akane's livid."
Ryu grimaced. "Look, I know she's your sister and all, but…"
Akira waved the rest of Ryu's reply away, "I know, I know. I keep telling her you don't have any interest in her, but she still thinks she has a chance. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks."
"Hey, Ryu?"
"What?"
"Where do you go?" When he still didn't get a response, he added, "Hey, didn't we used to be best friends?"
"We're still friends," Ryu said, a bit defensively.
"Sometimes I wonder. We used to tell each other everything, but lately I haven't even seen you around."
"I…" Ryu felt the weight of guilt suddenly crashing down on him. He hadn't even realized how much he had changed. He recalled back all he and Akira had been through, and felt like he had betrayed those memories. When had he started to prefer the company of Hayate to his childhood friend? "Sorry," he mumbled, embarrassed.
"It's all right. I understand. But…"
"But?"
"How about next time I go with you?"
Ryu was stumped. On one hand, he felt really bad about ignoring his friend, but he didn't think Hayate would be too keen on the entire Dragon clan taking field trips to the secret hold of the Mugen Tenshin. Fortunately, at that moment they heard the distant sound heralding the beginning of another day for the village. Saved by the gong. Ryu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We'd better get going." Not waiting to see if Akira was following, Ryu sped back home.
"Let's spar" was the very first thing Hayate said to him the next time he saw him, which is how they ended up in the courtyard on the beautiful spring day trying to pummel each other into the ground. Oh, sure, mused Ryu between blows, no 'hey, long time no see' or even a 'how you doin'?' Don't see your friend in a long time and the first thing you want to do is knock him on his ass. But, to be fair, it'd probably be Ryu's reaction, too.
Ryu belatedly realized his mind should not be wandering when locked in combat as he found himself being pushed back to the edge of their fighting area. Quickly spinning out of the way so that Hayate's knuckles grazed the trunk of the tree instead of his face, he maneuvered so that he was opposite where he was before, facing the tree.
It was one of the cherry blossoms that lined the entire courtyard, and in its full bloom it was indeed truly magnificent, the kind the elders of his clan would write haikus about on a day like this, and despite his situation, he allowed his eyes to quickly scan up in admiration. The white branches full of pale pink blossoms seemed to float against the sky. As he started to lower his gaze, his eyes caught a slight rustle; narrowing his eyes, he sought to bring whatever was hidden into focus. And when he finally discerned what it was, Ryu forgot to breathe. There nestled within the branches sat Kasumi, surrounded by the pink blossoms, eyes demurely lowered as she continued to weave a few branches into a circlet, stopping only to pluck another delicate branch when needed. Was it the pink of the blossoms that added color to her cheeks? Had her skin always glowed like that, or was it the cold early spring? Completely oblivious to what was going on below her, she, the very picture of serenity, continued on her peaceful task, with only the wind to tug gently on the bright hair swept up into a long ponytail.
He never saw that left hook coming.
He grunted as he skid to a halt a few feet away and started to pick himself up. Hayate, looking like a cat that just ate a canary, came over to gloat.
"Man, I totally kicked your ass!"
Ryu hissed in annoyance. "Only because you took a cheap shot."
"What are you talking about? You were wide open!"
"Yeah, well, only because I got distracted," Ryu shot back.
Hayate gave him an amused smirk. "And what was so distracting, oh great Super Ninja?"
Before he could stop himself, Ryu felt his eyes involuntarily glance up at the tree. Shit! That was really dumb of him! Panic start to trickle in and Ryu glanced worriedly at Hayate. It was only a for a second, maybe he didn't notice…
No such luck. Hayate had already turned and followed his line of sight to exactly what Ryu had seen moments ago. The smile that was growing on the Mugen Tenshin heir's face froze where it was and Ryu could see his eyes widen visibly. He stood there for a while, absolutely frozen and silent. But when he finally turned back towards Ryu, it was like Hayate was seeing his friend for the first time.
"Ryu…" Hayate's throat felt incredibly dry all of a sudden and even to his ears his voice seemed hoarse. "Ryu…you…"
Ryu just flushed guiltily and had no way to answer his friend. He was relieved when he saw a Mugen Tenshin ninja run up behind Hayate and announce that Genra wanted to see him at once, but Hayate ignored the messenger shinobi and continued to stare at his friend.
"Uh…Hayate-san?" the messenger ventured when he still didn't get a response. "Should I tell him you're coming?"
Hayate sighed and finally turned around. "Yeah, we'll follow you." And then he called for Kasumi, but not before sending a look over his shoulder clearly stating that this business was far from finished before motioning for his friend to join them.
"This exercise," Genra said when they were all gathered at the Hajin Mon dojo, "will last for three days. Ayane, sit down. I want you to hear this, too." The girl nodded and set down the tray with tea mugs and obeyed. "Now," he continued, "it will be conducted in teams of two. No supplies—food, water, weapons—are allowed. You're ninja—find them yourself. During this time you could face combat from various teams stationed through the training area, so be alert."
Kasumi tentatively raised a hand. "Genra-sama? What's the goal of this exercise?"
Genra smirked and from the folds of his gi took out a tiny silver bell and held it up for them all to see. "This." The disbelief in all faces he found rather gratifying. "The first team to retrieve this wins." [1]
That didn't bode well with her at all, but swallowing the increasing nervousness, Kasumi ventured to ask, "And…where is the exercise to take place?"
Genra's smirk grew. He gestured out the window, and immediately all eyes turned to face the vast expanse of thick forest stretching until it blended with the misty foothills of the distant mountains. "What you see. All of it." His students sat dumbfounded. "Well," Genra continued, in a chipper voice, "if that's all the questions, I'll see you all at sunrise in two days."
Dinner was a rather quiet affair. Ryu Hayabusa sat next to his father while his mother sat opposite to them. So far, the only time either of them said a word was to ask for seconds. Ryu stole another look at his father. He didn't seem to be in a good mood right now, but he was going to have to say it soon. "Father…"
Ken Hayabusa started out of his daze and looked sharply at his son.
This boded well. It meant that whatever was troubling the Dragon clan had absolutely nothing to do with Ryu. "Father," he tried again, "I'd like to request a three day absence."
His father looked puzzled, as though this request came completely from left-field, but Ryu's mother looked positively alarmed. "Why? Where are you going?" she demanded.
Ryu shrugged. "Training," he said vaguely.
"You have training to do here," she said firmly. "You'll fall behind."
"Mother, I've taken care of all that. There will be no complications," Ryu said rather peevishly. He wasn't a child!
She pursed her lips into a tense line. "You're not leaving."
Something pricked in the back of Ryu's mind. "Why can't I leave? What's going on that I don't know about?" he asked quietly. There was no reason for this kind of paranoid reaction. His mother flushed guiltily and looked away, giving no answer. Ryu turned to his father (who was giving his mother a cross look) and repeated his queries. "What's happening?"
"Nothing you should be concerned with," his father said gruffly. "You have my permission to go."
"Father--!"
"Ryu, that's enough. I will answer no more questions." And then, perhaps to mollify the sullen silence that followed, he amended, "You shall learn if the time comes." It wasn't a very comforting statement, and it chilled him to the bone when his father, getting up to go to bed, said, "Ryu, be careful" before leaving the room.
Ayane slid the door open quietly, so as not to disturb the figure inside. But it wasn't softly enough. Genra looked up at the sound and smiled warmly when he saw his adopted daughter standing hesitantly in the doorway, a cup of steaming tea on a tray in her hands. He motioned for her to come in.
Ayane gently set the cup down on a spot on the table not covered by papers and settled herself next to him. "It's late, Father. Shouldn't you go to bed and finish up tomorrow?"
Genra chuckled. "Ever the mother hen," he said fondly, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face. "I'm almost done."
"Are these the team assignments for the exercise?" Genra grunted in the affirmative. "I see," she said, casting her eyes down into her lap. Should she ask? She bit her lip in hesitation.
"Ayane?"
"Y-yes, Father?"
"Is there something you wanted?"
Ayane fought the urge to blush. "Wha—what makes you say that?"
Genra pointed at her hands, which had managed to twist themselves in the edge of her skirt. "Your hands always fidget when you're nervous." He laughed as Ayane flushed. "Well?"
"I was wondering…who I was paired up with."
"Well, let's see," Genra said, scanning over his papers. "Let's see…looks like…Kasumi."
The displeasure was evident. "Kasumi?"
"You don't get along with her very well," Genra said. "This will be a terrific opportunity for you two to work on that."
Ayane resisted the urge to protest, even though internally she was throwing a major tantrum. "I see."
"You're not pleased." It wasn't really a question.
"No," she admitted, "but I shall follow what you think best, Father."
Her response made Genra smile a touch wistful. Yes, he expected she'd say something like that. She never said a word against him. She never complained to him, never unfolded her troubles. She never burdened him at all. Just the way he knew she sought to. He shook his head. Ah, my poor child…. "Is there anything else?" he pressed.
"I…" Ayane blushed again, "was wondering who Hayate-san was paired with."
Genra scanned over his lists again. "With the Dragon clan, that Hayabusa-san."
"Ah." Well, at least it wasn't another girl. "I see. Thank you, Father. Good night," she said, with a short bow, and left the room.
Genra watched her go. After a moment of contemplation, he picked up his brush and continued to adjust his lists.
Hayate bit back a yawn. Despite years of training and getting up with the dawn, he wouldn't mind sleeping in a bit later than the average shinobi was supposed to. But that's life for you. He shot an annoyed look at his younger sister, who, unlike him, appeared to be a morning person. If this constituted as morning.
In the pre-dawn darkness Hayate made out the shadowy figure of his friend and bade him good morning. "Get away all right?" he asked congenially.
Ryu cast another glance over his shoulder. "I think so."
"All right," Hayate said, between more yawns.
Ryu didn't bother hiding his amusement. "You know, I fear for the Mugen Tenshin if their future leader is this lazy."
"Bite me, Hayabusa."
"I'm sorry, Hayabusa-san," Kasumi interrupted gently, but casting a withering look at Hayate. "Nii-san isn't really a morning person."
Ryu grinned impishly at her. "Then I pity anyone with morning assignments in your clan once Hayate becomes head."
"So do I," she laughed.
"That'll be enough of that, you two," Hayate growled, but not really annoyed. "Let's get going before Genra starts this without us.
The three headed towards the horizon beginning to glow with the first of dawn's pale light, facing the new day head on.
[1] I swear I had this scenario planned out before I even heard of Naruto.
