TheDarkestShinobi: This is something I had waiting on my computer since DOA Dimensions first came out that I recently found and decided to finish up. It's set during the game, bacasically right before and after the first tournament in which Kasumi and Ryu take a really beaten path towards respecting each other.

Start

To think, 10 minutes ago she thought she loved him.

It starts with a fight, as it always did. She is outnumbered by her old friends and has to fight them to leave with her life. It's really all she has. She knocks out who she can before he shows up to take care of the last two or three, to kill them despite her protests. He always came now. If she asks he would speak of a promise and say he would always protect her; then he'd ask her to come to his shop for the night. She'd deny him because of her fear for his safety and disappear before he could protest any more.

Despite what her brother and sister said that never changed.

The last time had been a little different, despite the fight starting the same. That time, there was another woman with him, he hit her.

She thought it was her fault, that he slapped her because she wasn't thinking like a proper kunoichi, but she slowly opened her eyes. She looked up, her vision as clear as it's been in a long time. Ryu. It's Ryu and Irene. He hit her, disrespected her in front of an American. He wanted her to leave her brother. He never could have respected her if he hit her; not there, not like that.

She ran.

All these thoughts flash in her head as she hears the first gurgled response from one of the men from her clan. Hers still. He should understand more than most, what happened to them was irrelevant as long as the clan thrived and the family retained its honor. She doesn't need to hear him, she feels his presence behind her; the tension she always thought was sexual and forbidden. How could he ever have wanted her if she was so beneath him? This time, much like the last, it wouldn't go as scripted. She hears his sword being sheathed and gathers her courage and turns to him. She may be weaker, but she was still respectable. The look on his face is annoyance and hers is set in anger.

"Kasumi," he starts but this time she doesn't care to hear the rest of what he has to say. She crosses her arms and as much as it hurt her that he didn't respect her, she couldn't not respect him.

"I am not a damsel in distress, Hayabusa san, you do not need to help me." Maybe he did, but she doesn't even want his help if he can treat her like that. He looks from the bodies to her face. The reason he protected her was obvious, he had told her many times. Did she need reminding?

"I made your brother a promise." He speaks as he sheaths his sword and turns towards her.

"You constantly remind me," she deadpans, "and he made you make that promise long ago, when I was a young girl." And she wasn't anymore. She is a grown woman who could take care of herself, who had been taking care of herself for months now, on her own.

"You are-"

"A woman now." She interrupts and the look that crosses his face is scalding. She is 16 now, on her own and capable, she is a killer, not a child. She steps forward. His eyes narrow.

"Very rude as well. You'd do well to remember who you can take that tone with." Ryu's voice hold no emotion, it was a command, perhaps a threat, she does not care.

"My apologies, dragon ninja," she said it was such a tone of disrespect that it felt like a slap in the face. He has an urge to remind her just who would win in a fight if they fought but he knew he shouldn't. Ryu doesn't look at her, instead he searches for wandering eyes and moving shadows, but there were none; they are alone. She is safe for now and he could just leave her.

"I've given you the same respect you've shown me in the past." She continues and he doesn't really care what he should do because he demands more respect than that, especially from her.

He stalks over to her and she feels her breath quicken. He doesn't care about his promise at the moment. She narrows her eyes as she blocks his first two and moved out of the way of his kick. She shakes her head.

"A fight won't solve anything." She's distracted by talking, talking down to him, and he uses that to flash to her side and pin her arm up her back. She grunts in pain as he started to lift her off the ground by her arm. Her shoulder is starting to burn.

"Respect is earned," His voice growls into her ear, "and what have you done to earn it?" She lets out a pained mewl as his fingers tighten and her shoulder starts to scream. He doesn't stop. "You abandoned your clan in a time of need." He pushes her to the side and she trips over the limb of a fallen clan member. She takes a few steps to right herself.

"Every ninja knows to mind their surroundings." She let out a huff as she turns to him. Of course he would win the fight, but her anger clouded her judgment, she wants to hurt him back. For a split second, she is so overconfident that she thinks she can. He blocks her punches and kicks with ease before sending her stumbling with two punches. She buckles at her stomach and goes down, and he watches her fall as if in slow motion. She groans out. He walks towards her fallen form and she lashes out with a volley of kicks. The first would bruise his shin, no other made contact.

"A kunoichi should have better form." He catches her foot by his head and pushes it away, "and balance," he shoves her again to the hard ground. She feels anger at herself for being weak, and him for being strong.

"I could have bested you long ago, my karma-"

"Your blood" she spits as she looks to him from her spot on the ground. "Not all of us have dragon blood in our veins."

"Do you mean to say you would beat me if you had dragon blood in you?" He comes closer. She struggles to her feet, another two hits that were blocked and he pins her to a tree.

"No." She finally admits. He doesn't soften. "You are powerful, and in hand to hand combat you are nearly indestructible." His eyes shifts and she realizes he's tuning her out; he doesn't need to have his ego stroked. Her arm breaks free painfully and touches his side where she knew he was scared. "Not even you are invincible."

He drops her as if he was burned, and backs up. She leans against the tree and he crosses his arms.

"You have grown and improved greatly from the last time we fought, and I am not invincible, but do not begin to think you are my equal. You are nothing more than the sister of a dear friend and I protect you because you need protecting." She blinks and he was gone, another breath and she is hunched into herself leaning against the tree.

"I could never be your equal," she finally said knowing he couldn't hear her, "because you do not have one." She feels weak, ashamed. Her hand reaches behind her to start pulling herself up. "But, you are not invincible."

She gathers the last of her strength and then she is gone as well.

…

The DOA tournament is starting up again soon, and he has grown used to visitors, but still, none at this late hour.

His eyes are open as soon as her feet touch his floor, and he makes his way down to the kitchen silently, knowing he could catch whoever it was off guard. He does catch her off guard, and her shocked face and wide eyes do nothing to stop his thoughts. He sees a kunai in her hand, meant for him no doubt. He could not think of a reason she would want him dead, even after their last fight, but he cannot let his guard down.

"I believe an explanation is necessary." He starts and she sighs.

"I meant no harm." He looks pointedly at the kunai and she doesn't bother to hide it. "Disrespect only, maybe a little humbling." As if he was the one who needed to be humbled.

"Get out of my house; don't let me catch you here again." An odd way of phrasing, perhaps, but his girlfriend had been rubbing off on him.

He listens to her apologize again before leaving in a flash of light. He doesn't miss her small smile, though he can't place the cause.

As she appears outside she nods, she wouldn't be caught again.

…

Kasumi has made it to the final round, and is left with only one other before she can truly avenge her brother. Despite that, her clan is still sending people after her, the last of which has just hit the ground.

She turns to see the dragon ninja with his back to her and face to the fallen. This was her fight, is her fight, and her practice for Raidou.

If Ryu took her practice from her, he shouldn't mind becoming it. He turns to her as if he can hear her intentions. She returns her blade to its holder and he settles into his stance. She settles into hers and takes note of the body parts she doesn't need to be tripping on. He lowers into his before he is gone.

Ryu is fast and rough and Kasumi never stood a chance. She spits out blood and keeps going. He tells her she is weak and she screams as she hits him. He tells her she has betrayed the only people that cared about her and she tries not to let the tears cloud her vision. He does not kill, but he doesn't hold back, and he would be surprised if she can recover enough to face Raidou. She doesn't say much back to him, choosing to let her fists do the talking. Unfortunately, Ryu silences them, and uses his fists and words to deconstruct her.

She tries to justify this, but she cannot. Their fighting and harsh words don't seem to have a reason. Maybe he just wants to beat her; maybe she wants to be beat. She doesn't know. When she feels a rib crack she tries not to scream. When she finally hits him, she tries not to smile. When she blacks out from his neck strike four seconds later, she tries not to land on her face.

Ryu shakes his head. She is improving.

And when she faces Raidou, she doesn't need his help.

…

Ayane is a different story, she always has been. Kasumi is devastated to learn her clan still won't take her back and that her brother is now missing. Ryu can't stand incompetence, especially when it comes to one he calls a friend, so he decides to look into the matter himself. What he finds when he spots Ayane is a fight between the two sisters; one that will end in one of their deaths.

So he does what he promised to and saves Kasumi's life by interfering. Ayane is furious, but retreats without protest. He turns to Kasumi when he is done dismissing Ayane to feel a stinging on his face.

This time she slaps him.

My fight.

She doesn't say it but she doesn't need to. Ryu grabs her roughly and she kicks him twice in the chest. He says nothing; her kicks don't hurt him as much as they should. Her slap had more of an effect. She would never do that to him again.

He debates breaking her. Her bones were weak and easy to break, but he thinks of Hayate and decides against it. Instead he hurts her everywhere else. She keeps fighting, even as her skin turns the shades of blue and purple that would stay for weeks. She fights through her pain and agony. He knows how much she is hurting and yet she still goes on. Still trying to prove that she is more than he thinks she is. She may be proving it now, by continuing, but he wouldn't tell her that.

There is no talking this time; there is nothing left to say. Instead he lets his fists drive the point home, and when she's on the floor and too tired to fight back, he continues just to prove his point.

She learns it.

…

Her side is still purple, and her wrist is still swollen, but she knows she will never have an opportunity like this again. Ryu has just finished vanquishing the demons that were threatening Earth and was exhausted.

She hadn't respected him. She took him for granted. It was odd now, she muses as she climbs up the stairs. She has only recently begun to see the man for what he was. Lonely, angry, and still able to put all that aside and fight for things that matter. Not about leaving clans or tournament money, but for millions of lives. After all that, he still sought to protect her.

She could respect that.

Then he let her fight with him until she was satisfied. That last time made her angry, the way he beat her even after she was down, but it was important too. That was Ryu's everything. How many people faced that and survived? Ryu wasn't on their level because he didn't share their purpose.

Her kunai is dipped in red paint. She has only recently decided how to show Ryu he was not invincible and she hoped that it would work because she was done after this. Ryu has bigger things to deal with than her and their fighting would not solve anything.

Look at Raidou, he was dead and Kasumi still didn't have her brother back. Fighting was rather pointless in the long run. Ryu is still sleeping, and the thought is so odd she almost wakes him up. She slowly ghosts the kunai over his neck, just hard enough so that the paint sticks before she has vanished.

Great timing on her part, because Ryu's hand has just crushed the space her neck was in. His eyes, open and alert, keep glancing around the room to see something. He forces himself to rise and check his house and the perimeter before falling back to sleep. In the morning Irene gives him a kiss on the cheek when she walks in, complaining about the travel time. He nods and she freezes giving him an odd look. She doesn't say anything and he doesn't ask.

"I need to go to the Mugen Tenshin today." She shoots him a dirty look and he doesn't respond. She would have to get used to this. He is at the Mugen Tenshin before the sun hits its apex and Ayane is waiting for him.

"You've got something on your neck." She tells him and takes him to the lake to inspect it himself. A neat red line drawn with a kunai. Ayane can tell that too and her questioning gaze is all but subtle. The paint won't come off, so he chooses to ignore it for the moment. Ayane lets the topic go as she begins to talk about the remnants of the demons.

As he listens, he lets his gaze search the trees. He spots Kasumi sitting on a branch and spinning a kunai around her fingers. Have none of the others noticed this? He narrows his eyes to try and see the kunai better and she pauses in her motions long enough for him to see the red paint still caked on the side.

Kasumi may be beneath him.

Most people were.

Weak, in need of protecting

Who hasn't he protected?

But she's the closest any human has ever come to touching him, killing him.

He can respect that.

He resists the urge to rub his neck as he turns away from an empty tree.

End.

TDS: thoughts?