Chapter four

Ryu

Hayabusa walked silently behind the Kasumi as the man in white lead them to their room. The tension in the air was palpable. He still felt a tinge of resentment at Kasumi's cheap shot when he pulled her away from Hayate and was definitely not sure about DOA's choice of not only partnering up, but sharing the same living area? Hayabusa didn't like that at all. Neither did most of the other competitors he gathered when watching the room when it was announced.

The white suit technician stopped in front of a solid, nondescript, grey door. Beside the door, he noted, was a panel with some sort of code of numbers and letters sketched into it and a small screen. The tech waved some type of detector in front of the screen and the door clicked. He opened the door and stepped aside. There were two twin beds on the left, a kitchenette near a large window, and a bathroom immediately to the right.

Kasumi

Kasumi stepped inside the room after the Tech opened the door. She barely heard the exchange of words between Hayabusa and the man in the white suit. White noise filled her ears and tears burned in her eyes. Hayate, assassins that almost had her earlier, and the injection that left her uselessly weak all bubbled up in her mind. Her stomach clenched and she felt nauseous. She slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, shutting out the rest of the world.

She struggled to regain control of her breathing as more tears streamed down her face. She locked the bathroom door and she searched for other passages as her paranoia heightened. The assassins knew where she was. There were no windows in the bathroom, and only one vent too small for anyone to enter or exit. She satisfied the fear pounding in her head by stuffing a towel in the crack under the door. It would at least slow them down. Kasumi turned on the shower as she choked back a sob. She took off her bag and stepped fully clothed into the cold stream. She could feel all of the injuries she had sustained today, she lowered to the shower floor and huddled in the corner as she cried. She wasn't ready to die.

Ryu

"Will you be needing anything?" The tech asked.

"I was under the impression we would have private rooms." Hayabusa said to the man.

"Rowan Turnodime felt that these rooms would improve the partnerships and.." Hayabusa heard the door to the bathroom close. Kasumi was gone. "... training for the tournament. I that's all I'll be taking my leave. If you do need anything you can request it using this." He tapped on a gray panel inside the room near the door that had a speaker and a small touchscreen. Hayabusa nodded. At least he would be able to keep a close eye on Kasumi.

The tech closed the door and Ryu heard a click of a lock. He studied the door, tested the knob. It was locked. Hayabusa examined the room after studying the door for several minutes. The floor was a wood-like laminate, a thin white rug covered about half the room. Two twin beds with light blue sheets were pushed against opposite walls each with it's own glass nightstand. Old style trunks sat in front of each bed and they stood out in the clean, modern decor. Each trunk had a letter addressed to each of them. Ryu open and read his letter three times before opening the trunk, inside was clothing and a random assortment of objects.

An abstract painting hung over the center of the wall between the beds. Ryu checked behind the painting. More wall. There were four small vents in the ceiling, a fire alarm, and a security monitor near the floor to ceiling window on the opposite wall of the door. The window didn't open. Ryu carefully judged the strength of the window. It was thicker than most. It had pull across blinds.

The kitchenette didn't consist of much, it was a couple of cabinets, a sink, a removable electric stovetop with a silver kettle, a small refrigerator and a coffee maker. The cabinets contained basic cookware and a few different choices of canned and boxed food while the refrigerator contained only a picture of water. A small round glass table and two chairs were placed in front with a complete set of dishes for two. Overall the living area was small, but open. Not many places one could hide.

Ryu paced the room, looking for any other inconsistencies he could find and thinking to himself that perhaps he shouldn't have drank so much water at dinner.

Kasumi

Kasumi just hung up her wet outfit and turned off the shower when there was a knock at the door.

"Are you finished?" Ryu's said through the bathroom door.

"Yes, I am." Kasumi wrapped a large towel around her waist and rubbed her eyes hoping the redness had gone away. She didn't fully trust Hayabusa, but if he was willing to kill her there was nothing she could do about it in this state. Plus it wouldn't be a wise move for him to harm her while at DOA. However the thought of locking herself in the bathroom until training began tomorrow had crossed her mind more than once. She pulled the towel out from under the door, swallowed her fear and grabbed her bag off the counter.

When she opened the door she found herself face to face with Hayabusa. She took an involuntary step back. After glancing at her towel clad body he averted his eyes in clear annoyance. She slid past him gripping the towel suddenly feeling annoyed as well.

"I didn't choose to share a room with you." The words came out without thought, a reflection of the built up stress. The only response she got was the bathroom door closing behind him. She went to the beds and she saw one of the trunks had a letter with her name on it. She opened the letter. It was generic, but it did state that all the stuff found in the trunk was hers to use. She opened it to find three outfits. Two for training and one for downtime. Also inside was a tube a cream for quick healing as per the letter. She changed and began rubbing cream on her wounds.

Ryu

When Hayabusa came back into the room Kasumi was sitting, legs crossed, on her bed rubbing cream onto the long blade wounds on her arms. She wore a soft loose white shirt with a long blue cloth belt tied around her waist and pants of the same material that ended just past her knees. Her long red hair was loose around her face and her eyes were trained on her extended arm. If Kasumi noticed Hayabusa was back in the room she didn't show it. There was uncomfortable silence in the room. Hayabusa sat down on his own bed. Kasumi closed the jar and set it softly on the glass nightstand.

"Kasumi." Hayabusa said, his deep voice disrupting the silence. "Are you alright?" The question came out a bit accusatory and emotionless, not how it sounded in his head. Feeling as though he had to justify such a question with her he added matter of factly. "Your eyes were red."

The look Kasumi gave him could make a plant wither. She curled up on her bed facing away from him in response.

**Thanks for reading!