Sisters

"You think you can escape...?"

Thunder boomed as Kasumi went wide-eyed. The voice was all too familiar. Arrogant, sassy, full of malice and contempt. It was her sister. Ayane stood on a tree branch, glaring down at her older sister with scorn. The purple-haired kunoichi jumped down, standing only a few feet away from Kasumi with arms folded.

"Onegai...Ayane-chan," Kasumi pleaded, her brown eyes fully expressing her sorrow. "...I don't want to fight you! Please let me be!"

Ayane scoffed. "Liar. Don't try to act innocent and peace-loving now. You did a good job dispatching our ninjas. I saw you. Saw you dismantle every one, like they were rookies."

"Please..."

"Shut up! I am tired of your heroics! You bastard...always taking the center of attention! And what about me? I got nothing but reprimands...from Mother...from Hayate-sama...from EVERYONE. But no more. We will settle the score, here and now."

"But--"

Kasumi was given no time whatsoever to build her argument, or even a proper defense before Ayane was upon her, striking hard with twin palm strikes into an angry mid kick which knocked Kasumi off her feet. She landed hard, rising slowly as Ayane sprinted fiercely to reach her again. Intent on never giving Kasumi the chance to strike back, Ayane continued her ruthless assault.

With a small hop, Ayane went from running full-tilt into a near-horizontal position in midair, about a foot or so above the ground. Her body spun like a drill as her feet bashed into Kasumi's midsection, just as Kasumi had almost gotten back into a standing position. Unable to defend, Kasumi was sent flying backwards, the breath being knocked from her lungs as the powerful attack connected with its target. The force of Ayane's drill kick sent Kasumi back several feet, until her path was stopped by a large rock. Kasumi screamed in agony as she sat on the ground, her back still against the rock. Ayane seemed to take pleasure in Kasumi's pain.

"...Always the better one..." Ayane muttered as she approached Kasumi again.

Just as Ayane reached her, she kicked down at her again. Kasumi rolled sideways at the last moment to dodge it, the impact from Ayane's kick leaving a considerable crack on the rock's surface where Kasumi had been only a moment ago. Kasumi rose, off to Ayane's side, behind her. Ayane did not turn to face her sister, instead taking up her fighting stance facing the opposite way. "Mirror stance..." Kasumi thought, bracing herself for any sudden attacks. Ayane then attacked Kasumi again, spinning on her heel to swing her arm at Kasumi's head.

More alert this time, Kasumi ducked under two such swinging attacks. Ayane continued to spin, increasing her speed as she attacked with a spinning high roundhouse kick. Kasumi stood and caught Ayane's high kick, then hopped up into the air, still holding Ayane's leg as she delivered a jumping kick of her own to Ayane's face. Startled, Ayane fell backward, her face stinging from Kasumi's reversal attack.

Ayane was up again in an instant, however, throwing more palm strikes. Kasumi dodged and blocked them, shifting her momentum to sink her elbow into Ayane's torso. As Ayane doubled over, stunned, Kasumi then jumped over her head. While descending, Kasumi placed both feet softly on Ayane's back sideways, pulling Ayane down by the arm with her arms, landing on her back in a roll. After lifting Ayane from the ground slightly, still with her feet on Ayane's back, she kicked both legs out, fully extending them with force to launch Ayane through the air. The Hajinmon kunoichi landed facefirst, sloshing into the muddy forest floor. Only a second later, Ayane was back on her feet, teeth clenched in pure rage. "Damn you..." Ayane growled, her anger growing. "Bastard...I'll kill you!"

Ayane did some strange motions with her hands, as Kasumi clutched at her side again. She recognized the hand positions as those of a Hajinmon spell, though she herself was not very familiar with the style. Ayane had begun to chant, seemingly unintelligible syllables, spoken at a fast pace. Ancient kanji symbols composed entirely of Ayane's ki formed in the air as a white aura appeared around her. It reminded her of the energy attack Ayane had attempted during their battle at the second Dead or Alive Tournament. The purple-haired kunoichi tensed up, letting loose an intense beam of white-hot energy, which ripped a path through the forest at breakneck speed, headed straight for Kasumi.

Even though she didn't feel strong enough to attempt it again, Kasumi closed her eyes, going for the teleportation technique one more time. She focused on the ground immediately behind her sister, groaning slightly as the warp began. When she had regained her vision, Kasumi's brown eyes stared directly into Ayane's enraged red ones, not more than an inch away. Then Kasumi's jaw was suddenly met with a swift backhand, Kasumi stumbling back a few steps with her face forcibly turned toward the ground. Ayane reached into her sash, pulling her father's weapon. As she tightened her grip on the deceptively simple looking grayish rod, it activated, purple beams of energy and light extending from both ends.

Ayane dashed to the still recovering Kasumi, swinging the energy-bladed weapon with malice, total fury. Sensing the immediate danger, Kasumi just barely dodged the swiping blade, but was caught full on by a spinning, high speed roundhouse kick from Ayane. Ayane's foot connected cleanly with the side of Kasumi's face, Kasumi yelping in pain as she spiraled straight into a tree trunk. Kasumi crashed completely through it, causing the mighty tree to fall in its entirety. There she lied for a few moments, wondering if she would be able to get up again. She felt like she couldn't move...and Ayane was already walking toward her, threatening to end her life.

Ayane stood over her downed sister, a look of murderous intent on her face. She growled, kicking Kasumi's side. Kasumi cringed, her body curling up helplessly. She wouldn't be able to take much more. She had to get back up, and defend herself. But she couldn't. The agony was too much. But she had to. Reaching deep within herself, she somehow found the strength to hop up, lashing out at her younger sister with a high speed combo of punches, palm strikes, and kicks. Taking Ayane completely off-guard with this sudden rush, Kasumi finished the combo with a vicious jumping, spinning kick. Ayane was sent flying several feet, crashing into the forest brush.

Kasumi panted heavily, leaning forward. She waited...waited to see if Ayane would emerge. But she didn't. She wasn't killed, but Kasumi could sense that Ayane was unconscious. She turned her back slowly, limping away into the shadows.

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