Kasumi's Restaurant Side Story: Kasumi – Rebirth
A.N.: The final side story. This time, it's Kasumi's turn. This side story will go into her self-imposed exile from Japan and her fresh start in Hawaii. You have no idea how many drafts I went through when I was writing this piece, which is why it took too damn long to publish, so apologies to the readers. The story is almost finished, so stay tuned for the conclusion. Will Kasumi forgive Hayate, or will Hayate lose his sister forever?
Japan Airlines flight 298 left Narita Airport on schedule, heading south to Okinawa. From there, it would be a non-stop flight from Okinawa to Hawaii. It was a red-eye flight, the plane half-filled with businessmen, tourists...and one woman who had shed her past.
Kasumi was one of few people who were awake for the flight. As she looked out the window, the metropolis of Tokyo was replaced with the suburbs, then the wooded mountains of Honshu.
Kasumi reached underneath her seat, and pulled out her overnight bag. Opening it, she pulled out her laptop, a strawberry red Sony VAIO. The laptop was a gift to her from Ryu. The Mugen Tenshin clan also had a squad of computer hackers, of which several had taught Kasumi how to use a computer. Ryu had been keeping her in check, after all, being a ninja combined the old with the new.
That was before Raidou reappeared.
Kasumi logged on and opened her journal. She began to type in her latest entry.
July 13, 8:09 pm
The clan had given me no choice. My brother had given me no choice.
I thought that because I have killed Raidou and played a part in the destruction of DOATEC, he would forsake the clan doctrines and allow me back into the clan.
I was wrong.
The attacks on my life continued. They ceased when I was staying with Ryu, mostly they didn't know where I was. But I was careless. A Hajinmon scout saw me entering Ryu's curio shop and had quickly notified Hayate and Ayane. I didn't want him involved in my problems, so I left, eventhough I knew that Hayate nor Ayane would not dare to attack Ryu or destroy his shop, otherwise, they would have the Hayabusa clan on their tail.
I hid in a mountain temple until Ayane finally caught up with me. The ensuing fight was brutal, and she had improved, but being a ninja, one tends to fight dirty in order to survive, which is exactly I did.
Once that bitch of a half-sister was incapacitated, I summoned Hayate. My original plan was to challenge him to single combat, but that changed. I don't know what came over me, but I was not in the mood to deal with his bullshit. He had clearly chosen the clan over his family, and I made him pay for it. In one fell swoop, I declared myself ronin, severed my ties with my family...make that ex-family...and destroyed both Hayate and Ayane's honor.
I knew I had to work fast. After leaving the temple, I went back into Tokyo and back to Ryu's shop. We talked about this, Lisa, Ryu and myself, about when I decided to leave Japan, far away from Hayate and those damned ninja. Lisa - bless her heart - had sent me a passport and a fake ID card, while Ryu and I had stashed some money away so I can get the hell out of here.
At the moment, I am heading south from Tokyo on a three-hour flight to Okinawa. From Okinawa, it's a nine-hour flight to Hawaii. No one knows where I am headed, not even Ryu. I'll send word once I'm safe, probably through Lisa. Once I'm situated in Hawaii, I can finally rebuild my life. Hayate could not defeat me, not with martial arts or with honor...as if he had any to begin with anyway. He had forfeited the last hand he had to play.
It's finally over. I am truly free.
Honolulu, Hawaii – twelve hours later...
Suffering a case of jet lag, Kasumi made it past customs without a hitch. Lisa had done her job well in getting her the fake ID's. However, the ID's were a temporary solution since Kasumi discarded them once she exited the airport.
Kasumi flagged down a taxi and once the car pulled over, Kasumi tossed her overnight bag in the trunk, unslung her backpack and entered the car, closing the door behind her.
"Where to?" the driver asked.
Kasumi handed him a sheet of paper. The driver read it and nodded. "Imperial Gardens Condos. No problem." The driver then sped off.
The Imperial Gardens Condominiums was a five-story building located in a quiet section of Honolulu (think the apartment building in the movie Quarantine, minus the textile rooms). For the moment, Lisa resided there, having known the landlord from her days in college. Each floor had six condos, two on one side, two on the other side and so on.
It was also the last place that the Mugen Tenshin clan would ever look for a former kunoichi. It was nearly 8:20 when the taxi pulled up to the Imperial Gardens. After paying the driver and gathering her belongings, Kasumi took a deep breath and entered through the front doors.
The main hall was spacious. A set of stairs was to Kasumi's right, the elevator was across from it, and straight ahead, was the workout center. Kasumi looked at the scrap sheet of paper which contained Lisa's address. It said that her room number was 406, meaning that she lived on the forth floor.
Taking the elevator to the forth floor, Kasumi followed the path until it led to the door with the number 406 emblazoned on it. Kasumi knocked on the door. No one answered. Kasumi knocked again.
"Alright, I'm coming!" Lisa's muffled voice came from the other side of the door. After unlocking the deadbolt, the door opened and standing in her bathrobe, her hair in a towel, was Lisa. The Lucha Libre wrestler took in the sight of her friend, dressed in traveling clothes, bags in her hands.
"Kasumi?" Lisa blinked. "Is that you?" Before Kasumi could answer, Lisa was pulling her inside. After looking out in the hallway, Lisa closed the door, locking it behind her.
Kasumi looked around the place. Lisa kept it clean, save for her business jacket which was slung over the couch. The condo itself was pretty spacious.
"You had my number," Lisa said. "I would have picked you up from the airport."
Kasumi shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't know if you would be here or not. So I took my chances."
"If you're here, then that means..."
Kasumi nodded. "Yup. That damned brother – no, make that ex-brother of mine and that bitch of a Hajinmon kunoichi wouldn't leave me in peace."
"Wait a second...what do you mean ex-brother?"
Kasumi dropped her belongings and sat down in a chair. "Got any tea? I'll explain everything."
Over a cup of Chinese Formosa tea, Kasumi explained everything to Lisa, leaving nothing out. Lisa wasn't surprised that Kasumi was here. After all, this was part of the fallback plan that Ryu, herself and Kasumi had devised before the beginning of the last tournament.
What did surprise Lisa, was Kasumi disowning her family and stripping both Hayate and Ayane of their honor.
"Whoa," Lisa said as she took a sip of her tea. "Didn't know you had it in you to pull something like that off, Kasumi."
"Neither did I."
"You weren't followed, were you? I'm not insured against feuding ninjas, you know."
"I'm sure."
"In that case, let me show you your room," Lisa said, standing up. Kasumi followed suit. Lisa led her to the room that was opposite her own.
Kasumi looked around. The room was big, complete with a bed, nightstand and a dresser. There was also a walk-in closet and the window had a nice view of the beach from several yards away.
The runaway ninja nodded in approval. "I like it," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Good to hear that," Lisa said. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to get ready for a business meeting with some stockholders."
Kasumi nodded and Lisa walked out of the room. When Lisa returned to check on Kasumi, she found the Japanese woman on her side, fast asleep. The former DOATEC scientist thought that it would be wise enough to just let her sleep and left Kasumi alone.
Over the next couple of days, Kasumi began to become familiar with the area. She had made friends with several of the tenants, under her alias, Reina Kasumi.
Ryu had called Lisa, who verified that Kasumi was safe in Hawaii, staying with her as her roommate.
Kasumi, in the meantime, had came up with a back-story for herself. Her name was Reina Kasumi, eighteen years old. Born and raised around the Kansai region of Japan, until she was orphaned as a teenager while staying in Osaka. After spending time in an orphanage, she left for America shortly after her eighteenth birthday. To back up her claim of growing up in Osaka, Kasumi had been practicing speaking in a mild Kansai accent, until she was able to speak it comfortably. English was not a problem, since she could speak it perfectly, having been taught the language as a child and with Ryu keeping her drilled in lessons.
In her third day in Hawaii, Kasumi managed to get a job working as a waitress and short-term cook at a popular beachside restaurant. Soon, Reina Kasumi became one of the more popular waitresses and cooks at the establishment. No one knew about her dark past. The last thing she wanted to do was freeload off of Lisa, so she helped around the house, paying her share of the rent and the utilities.
A month later, a tropical storm had struck the Hawaiian islands. Kasumi's boss had called, saying that until the storm blows over, the restaurant will remain closed. Kasumi decided to stay at home. Lisa had left earlier for a business meeting.
In the month she had been in Hawaii, Kasumi had changed her appearance. She had cut her hair short, the tresses ending at her neckline (ala Rosemary from MGS4). The ginger color was also gone, since Kasumi had also dyed it dark brown.
As she sipped her tea, the door unlocked and Lisa entered, clad in a trenchcoat that concealed her business suit. In one hand, she was holding a briefcase and in the other, was a closed umbrella. "I got your papers, Kasumi," the stockbroker said after she had gotten herself settled.
"Let's see them," Kasumi said.
Lisa sat down and opened her briefcase. She pulled out a heavy envelope, opened it and upended the contents onto the table.
Kasumi looked at the items. The first, was a birth certificate, in Japanese and English, stating that Reina Kasumi was born in Osaka General Hospital eighteen years ago to Mariko and Takeshi Kasumi. The second item was a high school diploma from Osaka Technical High School, complete with report cards, showing that Kasumi had a A-plus average. Another was her Hawaii driver's license. The last important item was a student visa.
"So what do you think?" Lisa asked, grinning. "My friends are very thorough when it comes to things like these."
"I'm impressed," Kasumi replied. "And they didn't cost you a thing to get these made?"
Lisa shook her head. "Nah. They owed me a couple of favors back when I was working for DOATEC. So it was no problem."
Kasumi nodded. "I'm impressed. And these are genuine?"
"Very. They will check out. I told you before, Kasumi – or should I say, Reina. You are in good hands."
"Thanks. I really appreciate what you have done for me," Kasumi replied.
Lisa waved her off. "Let's just say that my helping you is my personal atonement for the DOATEC fiasco with Alpha-151."
Kasumi nodded. Ever since the destruction of the DOATEC Tritower, the clone known as Alpha-151 has been missing. Until several days after Kasumi had fled Japan, Ryu had e-mailed her, notifying her of the clone's destruction at his hands, allowing the former kunoichi to breathe a sigh of relief.
Ryu had also added in the e-mail that Ayane was combing Japan searching for her and Hayate was in a depression following Kasumi leaving them. Her parents were somewhat relieved to find out that their daughter was safe. Ryu had told her that Shiden had pulled him to the side and told him that he was relieved that Kasumi was safe from the clan's reach. Never in his mind did he realize that the Mugen Tenshin clan would prove to fare so poorly under his son's leadership, and that he should have done more in trying to keep the death sentence off of her head.
Still, it made Kasumi feel good that her father and mother supported her decision in pursuing Raidou, and that they were still supporting her, even as she was now living in exile, far from the clan's reach. Far from her former brother and half-sister.
A month passed, and Kasumi settled into a quiet routine. For the past year, she had been hounded and harassed by her former clan, not to mention being used as a test subject for DOATEC. Now, she truly found a degree of peace.
One day, as she picked up her paycheck from her job, she ran into one of the cooks at the restaurant. Earlier that week, Kasumi had discovered that the older woman was a martial artist, and was capable of defending herself if needs be.
The woman was one of the senior cooks at the restaurant, since the owner was also her husband, not to mention very friendly towards Kasumi. Like Kasumi, she was also Japanese, hailing from Hokkaido before moving to America.
"Excuse me, Miss Saiyuri?" Kasumi asked, tapping the older woman on the shoulder.
The woman, Sayuri Kodo, turned around. "Ah. Kasumi. What can I do for you?" she asked.
"Well..." Kasumi began. "I saw you the other day on the beach. You never said anything about being a martial artist."
"It's one of my many talents, aside from cooking," Sayuri replied. "My husband is also a martial artist."
"If you're a martial artist, why the restaurant?"
"We used to own a dojo back in Japan," Sayuri explained. "But when our son got married, we turned over ownership of the dojo to him and moved to America. You can say that Ryuji and myself were not ready to retire just yet."
"So what style do you and Ryuji-san use?"
"Kenpo," Saiyuri replied. "I'm a shihan in both Nippon and Shorinji Kenpo. My husband practices Akido. Why you ask?"
"I was wondering if you would take me on as your student," Kasumi said.
Sayuri sized the younger woman up. "Hmm...you got some experience in martial arts. I can tell by the way you move."
"I dabble in it a bit," Kasumi admitted, keeping out that she was a former kunoichi. "But I never took the time to actually learn a style. I also know gymnastics and a bit of tumbling."
Sayuri nodded. "That's a start. But the real question is not whether or not I can teach you. The real question is can you learn?"
Kasumi saw that as a challenge. "Oh, I can learn."
That was how it had started. On the days that Kasumi didn't have to work, Sayuri took Kasumi to a martial arts studio a friend of hers owned and Kasumi's training began.
As Kasumi found out, Sayuri was a very demanding sensei, reminding her of her own father back home. What impressed Sayuri was that Kasumi decided to train in both styles of Kempo.
Kasumi always had a natural talent in learning things rather quickly, and martial arts was one of them. It was because of that talent that she was known amongst her former clan as the 'Destined Kunoichi.'
Six months had passed.
Six months and Kasumi felt more at peace in her new life than she ever had growing up in Japan.
But her past was going to catch up with her...in a most pleasant way.
It was nearly the end of Kasumi's shift when one of the waitresses tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Reina, there's someone asking for you," she said.
Kasumi blinked. "Who is asking for me?"
"Some Japanese guy at a table," the co-worker replied.
Kasumi frowned slightly, thinking that Hayate had found out where she was, until the waitress added, "Real hunky, especially with those green eyes of his."
There was only one person Kasumi knew who had eyes the color of jade. Thanking her friend, she clocked out and stepped out into the main area.
Sure enough, seated at a table, was Ryu Hayabusa.
The superninja was dressed in a simple shirt and slacks, his hair, once long, now cut down to his shoulders, was pulled back into a ponytail.
Ryu saw Kasumi approach him and rose to his feet, grinning broadly. Kasumi rushed over and embraced Ryu, hugging him tightly. Ryu returned the embrace as well.
"How long have you been in Hawaii?" Kasumi asked as she and Ryu walked along the street to Kasumi and Lisa's condo.
"A couple of days," Ryu replied. "I was in Hilo on business. I decided to take a little detour to check up on you. I'm in town for a couple of days before I return to Japan. So how's things here?"
"Good," Kasumi replied. "I actually like it here. It's...peaceful. I don't have to look over my shoulder every five minutes, worrying about the next hit squad trying to kill me. So how are things back home?"
"Oyaji and I are busy rebuilding the clan," Ryu said. "We took over Murai's old fortress and made it into a training ground. He knows that I have something to do with your relocation. He sends you his best wishes and regards."
Kasumi bit her lips. The next question was somewhat hard to ask.
Ryu saw the expression on her face and guessed as to what her next question is going to be. "You left Hayate and Ayane a real mess with your declaration," the superninja said. "Ayane searched all over Japan for you, until she showed up at the curio shop in the middle of a storm. While recovering, she had a nervous breakdown. She took what you have done pretty hard.
"Hayate was the worst," Ryu continued. "He locked himself in his room for several days. I didn't find out about what had happened until I returned from a training trip with the old man. So I paid the Mugen Tenshin clan a visit. Hayate was a wreck. He was whining about how you stripped him of his honor. I tried to tell him that eventhough his honor was gone, you were still alive, but he still didn't get the big picture. So drastic steps were taken."
"What did you do?"
"I dragged him out of his room and tossed him into the lake," Ryu replied. "He showed up at the fortress days later. He admitted that he messed up big time. Kasumi, there's something you should know." He stopped and looked at her. "Genra's death sentence was an illegal order. He had absolutely no right in ordering your assassination."
"Nani?" Kasumi blinked.
Ryu reached into his back pocket and pulled out a worn notebook. "This is Genra's journal. Ayane gave it to me for safekeeping. Turns out that he wanted to lead the clan and challenged Shiden to combat, shortly before you were born. Genra lost the match and held a grudge against your father." He handed it to Kasumi. "Ayane was nothing more than a pawn in his bid to take over the clan. When you ran away to avenge what Raidou did to Hayate, he manipulated the council in supporting his decision to kill you."
While Ryu was talking to her, Kasumi was leafing through the notebook. What Ryu had said was indeed true.
"I got a copy of the clan doctrine of the Mugen Tenshin at the shop," Ryu said. "If a nukenin showed just cause in abandoning the clan, then the nukenin will be allowed back into the clan, honor restored. But if the nukenin showed cowardice or blatantly deserted the clan, then they are to be killed."
Kasumi slowly closed the book. "So...we were all pawns in Genra's sadistic game. He didn't care who had gotten hurt. He only cared for taking over the clan."
Ryu nodded. "That's the gist of it."
Kasumi sighed. "It still doesn't change anything Ryu. Hayate sent the clan to kill me. Ayane almost did me in on several occasions, as well as Hayate. Is this an attempt to get me to come back home?"
Ryu shook his head. "No. I promised your brother that I would protect you. I would not force you to return home unless you wanted to."
"He is no brother of mine," Kasumi replied forcefully. She then calmed down. "Sorry. He tried to kill me and I find it hard to forgive him. The wounds left on my soul are too great."
Ryu nodded in understanding. He knew what Kasumi was going through, the pangs of betrayal. Only his were more severe, and it nearly ended with the total eradication of his clan, thanks to Murai's desires to wield the Dark Dragon Blade.
"I don't blame you for being upset," Ryu said. "You have every right to be." He then changed the subject. "So how's Lisa?"
Upon arriving at her home, Lisa was not surprised to see Ryu Hayabusa seated at the table with Kasumi having tea.
"Ah, Dr. Hayabusa," Lisa greeted. "You honor my home with your presence."
Kasumi looked at Ryu. "Wait a second...Doctor Hayabusa?"
Ryu sipped his tea. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. I received my doctorate in archeology while you were away. Graduated with honors from Tokyo University." He jerked his thumb to Lisa. "Turns out that Lisa has friends at Toudai who notified her about me graduating."
Kasumi knew that aside from being a top-notch ninja and heir to the Hayabusa clan leadership, Ryu was an avid lover of archeology, something he had picked up from his father, who was also a skilled archaeologist in his own right.
"I didn't know that," Kasumi replied. "Well, congratulations, Ryu." She paused for a moment. "Since you're both here, I want to talk with the both of you about something."
Lisa took a seat. "What is it?" she asked.
"You know that I've been training in Kempo, right?"
Lisa nodded. "Yeah. Your boss is teaching you, right?"
"Yes. As you know, I got promoted at work, so now I'm a short-term cook. And Miss Sayuri suggested that I take some culinary courses at the local college here."
"You're planning on going to college?" Ryu asked.
The former kunoichi nodded. "I guess I am. I really enjoy cooking. More than enough to make it a career. But that means if I take up culinary arts, then I'm also going to have to pursue a business degree as well."
"A dual major," Lisa said. "You think you can handle it, Kasumi?"
"I hope so. I think I can handle college," Kasumi replied. "I've been through worse. And you told me that you've been handling several investments that I've made over the months, so I should have more than enough money for four years of college."
"You got more than enough," Lisa said. "I've made sure of that. You got money in both American dollar and Japanese yen. You're financially set for the time being. But I'm proud of you, Kasumi. You've decided to better yourself."
"As am I," Ryu replied. "You have my full support in your decision, Kasumi."
"Thank you," Kasumi replied.
As the trio shared small talk and stories over tea, Kasumi smiled. For the first time since arriving in Hawaii six months earlier, Kasumi smiled a genuine smile. It felt good to have friends and allies that she can count on. Lisa didn't have to take her in, but she did, showing that there were indeed kindness in the world.
