Author's Note: Hey, guys! Hope you like the first chapter. This took longer than I expected because my 9 year old brother wouldn't stop bothering me while I wrote (even more than usual), so sorry about that. As always, constructive reviews are highly appreciated. JSYK if you're dying for a Scorpion x OC pairing, then you've come to the wrong place. All this OC cares about is revenge. XD Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far!

CHAPTER 1: PERSISTENCE

"I'll ask you again," said the kunoichi, "Do you know who I am?" Her black, flowing, waist-length hair cringed upward in the rising sun as she stared at him with a piercing glare which could melt through almost anyone. She kicked his shin with her black, thigh-length boots without a second thought. He continued to glower at her, unaffected by her glare and disgusted by the fact that someone would dare to confront him like that. The woman wore a long-sleeved navy blue kimono, cut off at her thighs, with black trim and a leotard underneath. A glimmering yet modestly designed sapphire necklace adorned her neck.

Without any hesitation, he turned around and began to walk away through the forest. Before he could take as much as three steps, he front rolled on the ground which was strewn with red, orange, and yellow leaves, just evading a the knife which had been thrown to him from behind.

"Humph. Your reflexes are just as quick as I suspected." He turned around to see her spinning her kusari-gama instinctively, staring at him with a condescending expression.

"She isn't getting the message," Scorpion thought to himself.

"You don't know who you're up against. Leave me be if you value your life," he retorted bitterly. Despite his threats, she didn't move a muscle. He remained still, his back turned to her. It was as if she had no fear, no remorse. No care for neither his reputation nor his threat. She didn't even care if he was already dead, she wanted him gone, permanently.

"Oh, I do know who I'm up against. I know what I've been up against for twenty god damn years!" she yelled at him.

"But I won't kill you unless you know why. My name is Usagi Kimura. Do you recognize my family name? Do you recognize my eyes?" she said slyly. He kept his back turned to her, uninterested in her quest for vengeance.

"I have more important things to worry about than the likes of you. Leave," he said.

The kunoichi's glare intensified, and her fists clenched even tighter as she grew increasingly frustrated by Scorpion's obstinacy. He continued,

"I don't care if you're that pathetic clan leader's daughter. You don't stand a chance."

She eased up, surprised by this statement.

"So he does know who I am," she thought, "In that case, I can kill him."

"I was overjoyed when I heard the Shirai Ryu had all been exterminated. But then I found out that you of all people were left alive. It was a mistake for you to confess this to me. Now, you will die by the hands of I, Viper, daughter of Izanagi Kimura, clan leader of the Shimizu clan!" she screamed loudly, charging at him, prepared to attack.

The Shirai Ryu turned around and pulled out his sword, blocking the blade of her kusari-gama. She tried wrapping around his legs with her weapon's chain, but he easily evaded it. Viper continued to press attacks onto him, delivering blow after blow with her weapon. She threw shurikens and poisonous darts at him relentlessly. Each of her attacks were avoided with little effort as Scorpion jumped from branch to branch of the trees. He refused to waste his time with a petty warrior such as her, so didn't bother to attack, and merely evaded. Kimura threw blows at him for several minutes, not losing energy or momentum, for even a moment.

"Persistent bitch," he thought to himself as he dodged each attack.

"What's the matter, Scorpion? Afraid, are you?" she asked sarcastically as she failed to hit him with her kusari-gama yet again. He grew weary of her attacks as she potently attempted to hit him, but to no avail. Her fighting style reminded him of his own. Always taking the offensive, fueled by emotion and anger. He could relate to this anger-driven kunoichi. He had no time to deal with her, as he had more important matters to take care of. For days, he had been tracking the Deadly Alliance, and had found himself in the forest.

After several minutes had gone by, the shinobi lost his patience and threw his kunai at her only to see many mirror reflections of her surrounding him. Each of the reflections smirked and said,

"You won't be able to find me!"

"Genjutsu," the specter thought to himself. This form of ninjutsu involves illusions and trickery. Considering she was able to create such a powerful illusion, he deduced that she must have been particularly skilled in this style. Each mirror image surrounding him laughed mockingly, angering him to no end. The ninja used his katana to cut through each of the illusions, but found himself cutting through air. All of the images disappeared abruptly, but the specter remained in a defensive stance.

"Show yourself!" he yelled. Scanning his surroundings, he found Viper standing behind him. Her figure soon faded and reappeared in front of him.

"I've grown weary of your antics, Usagi. Leave or prepare to die!" he shouted harshly. She frowned and shook her head slowly.

"No. You prepare to die!" she responded, throwing the kusari-gama at her opponents face. The specter barely evaded this unexpected attack, leaving a small cut across his cheek. Now much more frustrated than before, he delivered an enraged back spin kick to her face, leaving her partially disoriented. He connected with a cut to the arm with his sword.

Both of the warriors were shocked by what they saw when the blade had sliced through her pale skin. The woman did not bleed. Rather than the red liquid pouring out of her arm which the specter had anticipated to see, the two saw what appeared to be wispy, grayish-green air arise from the kunoichi's arm slowly. Scorpion was stunned, and merely stared at this unusual sight.

Usagi's eyes widened immensely as she stared in horror at this prospect.

"What... what's happening to me?" she screamed in horror.

"Why... don't I bleed? What is this?" she thought to herself in a combination between bewilderment and terror.

Before the specter could react, Usagi had disappeared within a cloud of smoke, and when it was cleared, Scorpion looked around to see that she was gone. Sheathing his sword, he walked away through the forest, continuing through his initial path.

"So, she must not be human. She'll be back though." Scorpion said to himself.

The shinobi was perplexed by this new threat. What confused him the most is why she didn't bleed. She appeared human, yet the only thing which left her body was a strange, grayish mist when he had cut her.

He wasn't really worried... just, curious. What was she? Why didn't she bleed? Questions roamed around his mind, and he grew frustrated that he couldn't have these questions answered. His focus then moved from this enigmatic woman to his current task. He continued walking through the forest, ready to combat the Deadly Alliance.

Author's Note: Reviews are really appreciated! Hope you all enjoyed it. Expect way longer chapters from here on out (which means longer waiting periods, unfortunately.)