Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Tecmo, Team Ninja, or Dead or Alive…although I wish I was cool enough to be. (

Chapter 7

Against All Odds

How can I just let you walk away?
Just let you leave without a trace
When I stand here taking every breath with you
You're the only one who really knew me at all

Then again, Ayane isn't a filthy liar like I am...

Kasumi sat in the windowsill of her room window, staring distantly out at the descending moon. It was nearly morning, and Kasumi hadn't slept at all. She couldn't feel Hayate in her blood or in her mind. How far had he gone to where she couldn't summon the mental bond they shared?

Tucking her knees to her chest, Kasumi glanced down at her feet. Although she had to move some picture frames to sit by her window, one remained looking at her. Kasumi picked it up, running her slender finger along its side. The wooden frame held a picture of her handsome brother smiling at the camera with his famous grin, as his younger sister wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, also smiling. It was the most recent picture they took before Hayate disappeared.

A tear splashed on the glass surface.

"I have to do something," Kasumi said, wiping her cheek. Then she saw it.

The moonlight illuminated her tonto resting silently on its wooden perch.

How can you just walk away from me?
When all I can do is watch you leave
Cause we shared the laughter and the pain
And even shed the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all

Fully-dressed in her kunoichi garb, Kasumi tied her weapon to her back. Then, over it, she slung her pink backpack over her shoulders. Inside, Kasumi packed clothes, weapons, maps, some food, and all the money she had been saving. It was quite enough to last her some time on the move. She turned to the window she once sat under, but a sudden smash made her reel around.

"You klutz," she cursed under her breath.

Kasumi knelt by the picture frame she accidentally knocked over with her pack. Picking it up from the floor, she sighed. It was a relatively recent picture of the four ninja friends. Hayate stood on the far left, smiling broadly as his muscular arm draped over Ayane's shoulder. Even she smiled, one eyebrow arched playfully, as if challenging the camera. Hayabusa stood next to her, the tallest of the four, with Ayane's arm linked through his, and his other arm around Kasumi's shoulder. In turn, Kasumi smiled daintily as she hugged the taller ninja's middle.

Kasumi frowned. It was a rare time when the four of them were happy. It was sometime after they learned of Ayane's lineage, after Hayabusa returned, and before her and Hayate's disappearances. Somehow, they managed to work through and retain their friendship. It was a foreign time for the young kunoichi.

Kasumi studied herself and the ninja she hugged. Back then, was she attracted to Hayabusa? She thought she would have ended up closer to Hayabusa, but then chided herself for thinking that he could ever confide in her. They were worlds apart. She thought about the thin relationship that held the four of them together now: Hayate was missing, Ayane only concerned herself with the Hajin Mon, Hayabusa apparently took control of his father's clan, and she was nothing more than a dirty liar.

She broke apart the damaged frame and pulled out the picture, tucking it into her blue uniform. She would redeem herself somehow. Making sure her other pictures were safe from further destruction, Kasumi walked to the window and pushed it open. She could only hear the song of the grasshoppers. Kasumi took one last glance around her room, her shelter, and her prison. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on her wall. The brown eyes stared at the reflection, challenging her to really go through with what she planned. Kasumi stared at the vast darkness outside her window. Then she jumped.

So take a look at me now
There's just an empty space
There's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face
Take a look at me now, there's just an empty space
But you coming back to me is against the odds
And that's what I've got to face

Landing silently in a crouched position, Kasumi paused before pressing her back against the side of her home. She glanced at the armed guards pacing about the front gate of the fortress, then to the window where she exited. Kasumi wondered when the next time she would be back at home, but vowed to find her brother and return. She had to redeem herself somehow.

"One, two, three," Kasumi counted in her head before sprinting at the fortress wall directly across from her hidden position. She ran up the wall as swift as the wind, but lost her footing before she reached the top. Kasumi grabbed the top of the wall, slamming her body against the wood.

"Oh no!" she gasped, wondering if any of the sentries heard her. No one came to investigate the noise. "Great start, Kasumi!" she cursed at herself. She pulled herself up and over the wall, landing once again on the ground outside of the Mugen Tenshin village in a crouch.

The forest seemed darker and much more formidable in the darkness, the canopy of trees shielding the moonlight from reaching where Kasumi rested. The scar on her side began to throb as she heard a noise ruffling in the bushes.

"I can't think about the pain right now," she panted, wincing at the burning sensation. Discerning a path leading west, Kasumi sprinted to an escape from the forest, leaving her safe haven home behind her.

The shinobi kept running until she reached the very top of the rocky mountain. Her feet hopped from rock to rock, Kasumi's breath in a deep rhythm, trying to keep her heart from racing from the pain. Now in the familiar temple, she stopped to squeeze her side. The pain was finally subsiding.

The sky was turning a soft pink as the sun began to wake from its nightly slumber. A few dew drops fell from the metal shingled roof and onto the stone ground. The temple stood proudly among several cherry blossom trees and other floral arrangements. As always, the familiar rush of the nearby waterfall rumbled by the cliff's edge. Kasumi loved the Aerial Gardens, a place of reflection built by an old hermit man named Gen-Fu. On a few rare occasions, Kasumi saw the caretaker with a straw hat and watering can in hand, showering each flower bed with water. She figured that he lived by himself, but didn't know for sure.

Kasumi dropped to the ground, resting against the trunk of a sakura tree closest to the waterfall. This was her favorite place in the gardens.

"Are you sure you want me to teach you that?" asked Hayate, now twenty-two years old and incredibly handsome. He ran a hand through his long shaggy hair and glanced around the momentarily empty garden. Hayate had begun his training to succeed their father as clan leader, and after receiving a letter from Ayane boasting she was learning Hajin Mon magic while working for Murai, Kasumi whined to learn something like her brother and half-sister.

"Yes! More than anything!" she replied, flashing a brilliant smile and batting her round eyes.

Hayate shook his head, knowing he was a sucker for his baby sister. First, he had taught her how to fight, and now she was extorting magic incantations. "Okay, okay! Do you remember the spell I taught you?"

Kasumi nodded her head and took her stance. She muttered the chant and twirled her arms in a circle before disappearing and re-appearing again. "Good," Hayate said, nodding his head in approval. Kasumi smiled back proudly.

"Now, you take the same stance and say the chant while you move your arms like this," he instructed. Hayate punched his arm out, reeled it back, and twirled it around himself as Kasumi had before. In an instant, he disappeared, leaving only a trail of gray feathers falling to the ground.

"Wow," Kasumi gasped, ready to learn her brother's trick. Hayate appeared once again, biting into a spring roll. Obviously, he teleported back home for a taste of their mother's cooking.

"Now you do it," Hayate said, pieces of crispy wrapper escaping from his mouth. He pulled a sakura leaf from the tree's branch overhead and placed it in his sister's hand.

Kasumi nodded, determined to copy her brother's actions. She pushed her arm forward, pulled it back, and out again, now disappearing with soft pink leaves filling her absence. The ninja looked around, unsure of why his sister hadn't appeared again. He took a step forward before freezing. Hayate felt the hand trying to grab him from behind.

Grabbing his attacker's wrist, Hayate pulled them forward, pushing his fingers into the belly of his little sister. Kasumi giggled under the friendly attack. She hugged Hayate tightly, happy she mastered the art of teleporting. The older ninja smiled, smelling the soft scent of cherry blossoms, before Kasumi pulled away.

"Can I ask you something?" she said, arching an eyebrow at Hayate.

"What?"

"Why do you have feathers when you teleport?"

Hayate almost choked on the last piece of spring roll in his mouth. He furrowed his eyebrows, silently asking to be excused from answering the question. Kasumi only pouted.

Sighing, Hayate ran a hand through his hair again. "Well, the first time I teleported, I was trying to escape from Ryu," he said to the glee of his sister. "We were having a pillow fight, and I needed to get away from him."

Kasumi laughed and hugged him again. It was the last time she did.

A familiar voice brought Kasumi back from her reverie. "Kasumi?"

The shinobi glanced up to meet the penetrating gaze of Ryu Hayabusa's emerald green eyes. She struggled to take a breath. "Ryu…" she stammered.

The older ninja laughed, his smile lighting up his face like the sun coming through the dark skies. "You've never called me by my first name before," he commented, kneeling in front of her. Kasumi could smell his strong, woods-like scent and noticed how his defined shoulder muscles screamed out to her through his clothes. Hayabusa wore black pants and a tight black tank top under a green button-down shirt. It was the most casual she had ever seen him.

A slight blush warmed Kasumi's cheeks. "Oh, I'm so sorry, it just kind of came out. You startled me!" she continued, trying to fish for her words.

"It's all right," Hayabusa replied, standing up for a better view of the waterfall. He brought his hand to his chin, thinking for a moment. "Actually, you did yesterday when you left me…uh…"

Kasumi looked up at Hayabusa, watching him as he scratched the back of his head with his hand, apparently embarrassed about something. Had he actually recalled what she did the day before? Kasumi blushed more.

"It sure is beautiful here in the gardens. What brings you here so early in the morning?" she asked.

Hayabusa glanced back at her. He looked at a little piece of paper in his hands before slipping it into his back pocket. "I had to make a phone call," he explained. "International. Luckily, old man Gen-Fu is nice enough to let me use the phone since we don't have telephone lines out in the village. Did you know he built this place for his granddaughter?"

Kasumi shook her head. "She has a very terrible illness, but when she is well enough to see her grandfather, she loves spending time planting flowers with him. That's why there are so many here," Hayabusa continued. He smiled at Kasumi again. "If you want to call me Ryu, I wouldn't mind. It's really nice to hear you say it, much more personal, you know?"

All Kasumi could do was nod her head. As much as she wanted to get to know Hayabusa more, she had to escape from him. But the more she stared at those green orbs…

"Kasumi?"

The girl shook her head out of the short daze. She needed to leave and quick! Hayabusa's hand was already tight on her shoulder. "Are you all right?" he asked again. Something was wrong with her. "You shouldn't be out here, especially since today is such a big day for you." Instead of talking, Kasumi got to her feet and shouldered her backpack once again. The only thing holding her back was Hayabusa's firm, yet gentle, grip on her wrist. "Where are you going? Your father told you to stay in the village."

Kasumi didn't bother to look at him. "I don't care about what my father said," she snapped back, instantly regretting her outburst.

"Now wait a minute," protested Hayabusa. He pulled on Kasumi's arm so she would face him. "I know you don't mean that, but where are you going? Something is wrong, I can tell."

"I'm…" she replied, looking away. Hayabusa's gaze was so intense. "I'm going up to the mountains to train for a little. I need to clear my head."

Hayabusa carefully reached out to cup her cheek with his hand. Kasumi's face was so soft and warm. "As much as I'd like to believe you, I would feel much better if you were training in your village."

Pulling away, Kasumi started to march out of the garden. Hayabusa couldn't charm her, not when she had this important mission to do. Not bothering to reach for her again, Hayabusa crossed his arms across his broad chest. There was only one thing Kasumi could do with that backpack. "Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid, Kasumi!" he called after her. "Like throwing your life away to look for Hayate!"

Kasumi stopped in her tracks, turning around furiously to face Hayabusa. "What are you saying?" she growled, marching right back to the older ninja. "Do you think I can't find him? Or my brother isn't worth searching for?"

Shaking his head sadly, Hayabusa tilted his head down and to the ground. "Please," he said quietly. "Just stay here because I know your father won't be able to handle himself if he loses you too. The clan needs you."

"The clan doesn't need a weak leader; they need Hayate."

Hayabusa raised his eyes to gaze at the rich brown ones. Slowly, cautiously, he put Kasumi's hand in his. "Then please…stay for me."

If you only knew, Kasumi. If you only knew why I can't let you go. I made a promise to Hayate here, right on this very spot…

Hayate watched his little sister teleport away one last time. She had mastered the teleport thoroughly, even when in combat when she had to counter an attack. Fortunately, his best friend showed up after his impromptu lesson, but in time to see Kasumi disappear. Hayate felt his friend's hand on his shoulder.

"I can't help but feel ashamed that I couldn't prevent her from leaving," he said, still looking forward. "I don't even know where she went."

"Yes, that is very distressing." Hayabusa didn't exactly know what to say, but stood next to his friend, gazing at the waterfall in front of them. "As hard as it is to accept, you can't be there all the time for her. Kasumi is becoming her own woman. She needs to experience things on her own, whatever destiny may bring."

"Yes, I know, but I still feel guilty. Like maybe I could have done more…"

Hayabusa turned to look at Hayate, who did the same. "If it means anything," Hayabusa said, holding out his hand. "I will always look after her. Ayane too."

Smiling, Hayate took hold of the hand. The two friends felt close, their peace undisturbed except for the violent rushing of water off of the cliff.

Kasumi didn't know what to say. Was Hayabusa asking her to stay because they were friends, or for something more? She stared blankly at their hands, enclosed like in a lover's embrace. Kasumi made up her mind.

"I need you…to let me go, Ryu," Kasumi replied softly. "For me."

The Dragon Ninja shook his head and brought his hands to his face. He knew he could hurt her severely, but there was no other choice but to face the same obstinate flame in Hayate's younger sister. Kasumi didn't know the extent of the dangers out in the world.

Startled at the gesture, Kasumi turned away, but Hayabusa quickly moved in front of her, blocking any kind of immediate exit. "I can't believe he really wants to fight me," she thought, spinning around again and starting in a sprint.

But the shinobi still wasn't fast enough.

Hayabusa's war cry sliced through the morning sky as he leapt, and a few birds flew furiously out of the tree tops. To prevent being pounced on, Kasumi back flipped away from the second ninja. She held her arms out in front of her, blocking the rush of punches slicing through the air. Kasumi struggled to keep her footing as the sheer brunt of Hayabusa's precise attacks connected with her arm armor, bruising every place he hit. The man was not fooling around with her.

Taking advantage of a break in the attack, Kasumi rolled along the ground, however unstably with the added weight of her backpack. "Please leave, Hayabusa!" she managed to cry out, ducking a mid-kick. "This is something I must do. I don't want to fight!"

Suddenly the offense stopped. Hayabusa steadied his fighting stance, two fingers pointed straight at the girl's eyes. "Don't you realize that while you turn your back on your clan, you are throwing away your life as well, Kasumi?" he asked, his green eyes burning into Kasumi. "If something out there doesn't kill you…your clan will."

Kasumi's heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be true. Finally, even after the prospect of fighting the mighty Hayabusa, she felt scared for her life.

"Remember," Hayabusa continued. "The way of the shinobi is a harsh one."

Kasumi wondered if she went to search for Hayate, would she be considered a shinobi, the hunted and most despised ninja? In her mind, she made the right decision when she believed her brother to be alive. However, Hayabusa wouldn't downright lie to her to keep her with the clan. The possibilities tossed about in her mind wildly, but fighting was the last thing on Kasumi's mind.

"I have to prove myself," Kasumi thought, taking a fighting stance of her own. Her arms ached in protest, ignoring the pains and the consequences.

Hayabusa side stepped, watching Kasumi with great intensity. "Look at me," he said to himself. "I'm fighting my best friend's little sister."

Suddenly, Kasumi flipped through the air and tried to land a kick to his shoulder, but he stepped away in time. Hayabusa sent a low kick, sweeping her off of her feet. However, he moved in too close, and Kasumi kicked up as she got to her feet, landing a hit on Hayabusa's chest. She came in with high punch combos, but Hayabusa grabbed her shoulders and vaulted over Kasumi. Slightly off guard, he hit Kasumi with the tips of his fingers down her back and kicking her legs from under her once again.

When she fell this time, Kasumi fell on her side, directly on her scar. A familiar searing pain shot through her chest, laboring her breathing. She stood up with a barrage of attacks, alternating punches and kicks, but Hayabusa only dodged her attempts. She thrust out her shoulder, expecting to somehow knock over the much taller ninja, when Hayabusa grabbed her arm and threw her across the garden in a guillotine throw.

"I have to get away from him," Kasumi thought desperately, tears blinding her eyes. She knew Hayabusa could easily defeat her right then, but there was still hope. She got to her feet again, waiting for Hayabusa to make his move.

Realizing that Kasumi was plotting an escape in her head, Hayabusa decided to pull his Gao-Sho, a punch that could very well knock her unconscious. But he had to keep her nearby, if not for her father, but for himself. Hayabusa was very fond of Kasumi and considered her his family, his only family at that. He pulled his arms back and struck.

Kasumi was ready. She spoke the incantation and disappeared as Hayabusa's hands came forward. The only thing he hit was sakura leaves. Re-appearing behind him, Kasumi ran full force into his back, knocking Hayabusa over, rolling onto the ground with Kasumi on top. The blow caught the Super Ninja by surprise, too stunned to move with Kasumi's body weight on his stomach. She stared into his emerald eyes, her face hovering inches over his. Hayabusa could see the sorrow in her almond eyes.

"Forgive me," she whispered before closing her eyes again and disappearing.

Still on his back, Hayabusa stared up at the blue morning sky, breathing in the flowery scent as a single petal fell on his lips. Kasumi had escaped, and he cursed himself with labored breaths, wishing he could have made her stay. Hayabusa jumped to his feet, scanning the garden in vain. He knew in his heart Kasumi left. Looking up at the cherry blossom tree and placing a hand on the trunk, Hayabusa silently prayed for her safety.

I wish I could just make you turn around
Turn around and see me cry
There's so much I need to say to you
So many reasons why
You're the only one who really knew me at all

At the top of the waterfall, Kasumi peered over the cliff's side to watch Hayabusa brace himself against her favorite tree. Her shoulder hunched in pain and her side still throbbed from the fall. Kasumi wiped the tears from her face and turned away. She felt incredibly guilty for leaving, and the last person she wanted to hurt was her friend. Kasumi thought about her counter, remembering how Hayabusa's body felt under hers, his heart pounding out far enough to reach her. But romantic thoughts couldn't deter Kasumi on her now full-fledged mission.

Kasumi walked to the other side of the precipice, her eyes taking in the beautiful sight of trees covering the earth and cities rising from no where. Somewhere out there, Hayate was waiting for her. And it Kasumi vowed to find him.

"Nii-san," she said into the wind, hoping her voice would float through the wind to her lost brother.

Take a look at me now
I'll just be standing here
You coming back to me is against the odds
And that's a chance I've got to face

So this is the end of the first third of my story...when I finish it, everyone will understand. :wink: Sorry for the slow updating, but I've been uber-busy with school lately, and that has to come first:looks at menacing Hayabusa staring me down from the wall: He knows I'm lying...muahahaha!

In this chapter, I used the song that pretty much inspired me to write this fanfic. It was originally recorded by Phil Collins, but The Postal Service re-made it for the Wicker Park soundtrack (I haven't seen the movie) and The Postal Service is the shitz. And now everyone knows where I got the title from, yes yes? You can hear this song from the AIM webpage if you search in music for TPS, and hopefully everyone can get the full effect of this chapter. I hope no one found it too cheesy; it's really a great song.

Please tell me what you think about my story so far; I have soo00ooO0o much more to tell, I just hope people are enjoying my story! D

My boyfriend also got me a shani for Valentine's Day (isn't that romantic?), a long bamboo pole with a hilt like a sword used to practice sword fighting/ kendo. It's so bad-ass. I've been training really hard with it so when I go home for Spring Break, I can beat up all the boys!