Disclaimer:

I don't own the rights to anything related to the games:

Dead or Alive or Devil May Cry

The rights to them belong to…other people…

I do (for what it's worth) own Charles Ivano R.

Chapter 1: Zack's Awakening and a Contract with Caramel Boy

It was a dark and quiet night out in the forest with the only source of light coming from the waning moon sitting in the pitch black sky. An owl, perched on the tip of a tree, slowly scanned the forest and let out a soft "coo" as it shifted its wings. A noise caught its attention, spooking it slightly, and it quietly glided towards its source.

Under the cover of night, it landed on the branch of a nearby tree and slowly scanned the area to find the noise's source. "Coo?" The noise, a groaning sound, resurfaced and the owl quietly glided to the ground. It looked curiously at the man lying there in the moonlight.

He was dark-skinned, probably in his mid-twenties, and a pair of sunglasses covered his eyes. He wore a black vest and white t-shirt, along with black jeans shorts that reached a few inches past his knees. On his feet he wore black shoes with yellow laces and soles.

The owl hopped over to the man and cooed curiously. The man shifted slightly and groaned before slowly moving his hand to rub his bald head. The owl watched as the man slowly lifted himself to a sitting position and looked around.

"Where the hell am I…" he groggily asked, staring at the owl, "Do you know?"

The owl cooed and flapped its wings before taking to the skies, leaving the man by himself. He looked around at the dark forest trees that looked deformed and crooked in the moonlight. A shudder escaped him when he realized how creepy his environment was.

When trying to get up, he heard a chinking sound as he moved his hand over the ground and glanced down at his side. Lying there was a strange, broken sword.

What was left of its blade was cold steel that had reddish tint. Its guard resembled bat wings that pointed upwards towards the broken blade. The handle was spiral like a screw, ending in a dull point that still looked like it could kill someone.

"That must've been one wild cosplay convention," the man chuckled nervously, picking the sword up from its earthy bed. He examined the weapon and slowly turned it over, as if it were some precious artifact.

He heard a small crackling sound, like the kind one would hear from electricity, but brushed it off as the wind playing tricks on him.

"…I…am Alastor!"

The man let out a shocked yelp when the sword spoke up and immediately dropped it when a surge of electricity suddenly ran through it. The man stifled a pained yelp and looked at his injured hand, a burning, stinging pain running through it.

"Wh-what the hell," the man exclaimed as he scrambled away from the sword. A malicious chuckle filled the man's ears and the sword began to lift itself from the ground.

"The weak shall give their heart and swear their eternal loyalty to me!"

"Aren't you gonna at least buy me dinner first?"

"No," the sword boomed, awakening several birds from their slumber as shown by the several dark figures that darted towards the sky. It slowly began to approach the man only to suddenly lose its levitation and fall to the ground.

A long, awkward silence ensued as the sword desperately shook, attempting to lift itself from the ground again.

"Human, assist me and I promise to make your death swift and painful!"

"Don't you mean 'painless?"

"No! Just be grateful that I am giving you this option, human! You will make a lovely sacrifice for the restoration of my powers!"

The man cocked an eyebrow at this and hopped off the ground. The sword stopped shaking as the man approached it and seemed like it was trying to lock 'eyes' with him.

"Heh, sorry but it doesn't seem like you're in the position to negotiate, my hallucinated friend!"

"I am no hallucination, fool! I am as real as the fear of inferiority your heart! I am…"

Before the sword could finish its sentence, the man lifted it from the ground and tossed it into the air. The sword twirled around for a bit, making a sound that could be compared to a frightened yelp, and came crashing down to the ground. It made a sharp 'ching' sound as it sunk into to the earth below.

"F-foolish…human…h-how dare you treat me with such disrespect," the sword grumbled, sounding a tad bit dizzy. "You're almost as bad as that half-demon who used to own me…"

"Half-demon, huh? I'm not sure what you're talkin' about, but then again dreams aren't supposed to make sense," the man shrugged, reaching for the sword.

"Fool," the sword growled, sending a wave of electricity through its body. It quickly dislodged itself from the ground and lunged at the man, aiming for his heart. The man backed up and fell back onto the ground; his eyes slammed shut and he threw his arms in front of him to provide a mediocre defense.

Ching! The sound lingered in the air for a minute or two before fading into the moonlit sky. The man slowly opened his eyes and saw Alastor lying on the ground in front of him, completely motionless. He silently wondered what exactly had happened and placed a hand on his chest.

He found that his shirt had been ripped by Alastor's attack and that something metallic and cold was underneath it. He looked down at his chest and saw part of something with a golden white color underneath the ripped fabric.

"What's this," he asked no one in particular as he rubbed the strange object.

"I'm glad to see you're finally awake, Zack," a female voice mused. Zack nearly leapt off the ground when he heard the voice and frantically began to look around for its source. "Stop doing that, you're making a fool out of yourself," the voice sighed, followed by a rustling sound in the bushes.

Zack's eyes fell on the shaking bushes and he quickly scrambled to his feet. After putting himself into an offensive stance, he mentally readied himself for whatever was going to poke its head out of the bushes. After a few seconds everything grew quiet; the bushes stopped shaking and Zack tilted his head in confusion.

"Heh, it probably took off like a little-"

Suddenly, something furry and cold squeezed his shoulder. Frozen by surprise, Zack helplessly stood there as a warm breath breathed down his neck and another furry thing squeezed his other shoulder. Then, something nuzzled against his neck and he could practically feel the creature's jagged grin as it mumbled, "…Boo…"

He quickly turned and fell on his back, sending a shock of pain through his body as it made contact with the ground. The creature, a bone white fox that wore a spine and ribcage, stared at him with piercing yellow eyes that held an unearthly glow.

The fox let out a long yawn and began to slowly circle Zack, examining every move he made.

"A talking sword and fox? That's why I hate going to those cosplay conventions! You never know what some weirdo's gonna decide to slip into your drink!"

The fox scoffed at his statement and lazily wagged her tail from side to side. "No one drugged you, Zack. Well, at least not technically…"

Zack stared at the animal for awhile, his mouth wide open.

"…Are you okay, Zack," the fox asked, tilting her head with curiosity. He ignored what the fox said and began to slowly crawl towards her. The fox stood her ground, feeling a bit uncomfortable as Zack stopped three inches from her feet and slowly reached out for her.

"…Ow…" she flatly said in response to Zack poking her with his index finger. He did it again and she let out a low growl.

"…Speak…" he mumbled, poking her again. "C'mon, say something like you did just a few seconds ago…Speak…" He poked her again and she bit his finger. It was a light bite, but strong enough to leave a mark and throw Zack into a fit of pain.

"I don't appreciate your single minded poking spree, Zachary."

"Whoa, s-so I'm really not dreaming and there really is a magical talking fox in front of me?" The fox scratched herself as Zack repeated that same question to himself, and anyone listening, over and over again. Suddenly, he stopped repeating the question and a grin stretched across his face.

"Do you know how much people would pay to see a talking fox? Huh? Do you," he asked before hopping off the ground and reaching for the fox. He lifted the less than amused animal from the ground and raised it in front of him. "I could get rich from this! People will be lining up the block just to see you, my little money ticket! Just think of all the publicity we'll get!"

He pulled the fox close to him and released one of his hands, using it to point to the sky in a dramatic fashion. "I can see it now, Snowy, you don't mind if I call you "Snowy," right?"

The fox said nothing, let out a small sigh, and stared blankly at the man as he continued.

"Our names up in lights; people chanting our names! Zack! Zack!! Zack!!! Snowy! Snowy!! Snowy!!!" He let out a delighted laugh and gently placed the fox on the ground. "We'll make a killing! But, let's just hope your drug problem doesn't get to you."

"Ugh! Humanity at its best! Your greed will consume you, human!" Zack paused and looked at the sword lying on the ground. He let out a small sigh and stepped on the sword's handle.

"Huh, I guess I wasn't dreaming you up either, right," he asked the sword, though it remained silent. Zack hummed for a bit and placed a hand on his chin as he contemplated something that was obviously related to money and fame. "A talking sword is pretty cool, but people are just gonna assume it's just mechanical magic making you talk. The whole lightning thing is pretty cool, but again mechanical magic is an easy explanation for it. Then you've got your floating-"

"I'll kill you before you even have the chance to empty your disgusting human systems!"

"Oh yeah? You're gonna be a real pain to carry around, so I think I'll just leave you here!" Zack paused for a moment and removed his foot before sliding it underneath Alastor's handle. He quickly shot it into the air, causing it to flip around for awhile, and caught it with relative ease. "Or, I'll just sell you on eBay."

"You and that bastard half-demon are just alike, human!"

"Where are you getting all this demon crap from, huh? And who the hell are you tal-"

"That's enough," the fox sighed, letting her paws gently rub against the grass laced ground. "We need to leave now before they find you, Zack."

"Be-before who finds me?"

"I assume you don't remember," the fox asked in more of a statement format.

"The only thing I remember is me and Ryu beating the crap out of each other, but everything kinda goes blank from there." Zack let out a small sigh and plopped down on the ground. "How did I end up here?"

"I can't really explain that right now, Zack. In fact, I won't bother explaining it until we go visit an old relative of yours."

"Kobe?"

"…No…"

"Tch, figures, but I guess I'll follow your league for now, Snowy!" He hopped to his feet and twirled the sword in his hand for a while before stilling it. "And I guess you can tag along too, pal."

"Oh, I can't wait to go on another adventure with an insecure joker…" Alastor sarcastically replied, receiving another twirl, courtesy of Zack. "Stop doing that!"

"Zack, would you kindly focus on the matter at hand instead of your petty squabble with that sword?"

"Don't worry, my furry little friend! I will gladly navigate us through this treacherous South Africa forest and to an ATM where I will withdraw some suitable monetary funds and-"

"We are not in South Africa, Zack," the fox interrupted, letting out another sigh. "We're in a park…"

Location: Devil May Cry 'Agency'

Time: August 12 2009, 2:33 pm

Business was slow as usual for the owner of this 'fine' establishment. It didn't bother him as much as it usually would, considering how he's completely engulfed in playing his new PSP.

His hair was short and white, parted with his bangs brushed down. His skin was milky white and his eyes were a soft blue. He wore a long red coat with rolled up sleeves and two coattails along with what appeared to be a black bulletproof vest that had a golden zipper going down it.

"Its crap," he sighed when someone asked him about it. "If it can hardly block javelins, how the hell is it supposed to block bullets?"

He wore black pants and shoes that rested comfortably on the desk in front of him.

He slowly paused for a moment and silently began counting down to the same lecture he'd receive every day.

"Three…two…o…"

"You know, Dante," a blond haired woman interrupted, twirling a silver handgun while snatching away the man's PSP. "You really should get off your lazy ass and start doing some real work."

Dante rolled his eyes at her and sighed at her attire. She wore the same black leather tank top, the same black leather pants and boots, along with the same black guard that extended from her wrist to her elbow on her left arm.

"With all the clothes you charge to my account, don't ya think you should at least give me the right to see you in them?" The woman shook her head and mumbled something. She watched the man reach for a DS he had hidden under his desk and frowned when he began playing it.

"Anyways, you're a little early today, Trish…Usually your lectures begin at 2:37."

"Ugh…Ever since you got paid for that job you took up awhile ago, all you've been doing is playing those stupid games of yours," Trish complained, dropping Dante's PSP on his new table.

"These 'stupid' games of mine are a lot more interesting than those lovey-dovey novels you read…like…Hmmm…I don't know…Twilight…" he replied, not looking up from his DS.

Trish scoffed at Dante's attitude, "Please, maybe if you actually read one of these 'lovey-dovey' novels then I'd accept your opinion, but you're just…"

Trish was suddenly interrupted by the Devil May Cry front door being flung open, revealing a blond-haired girl with pretty blue eyes wearing a matching blue dress and black shoes.

"Hi, Ms. Trish," the girl beamed. Her cheerful attitude dropped to one of disinterest as she laid eyes on the white haired man sitting at his desk. "…Hi…Dante…"

Dante stuck his tongue out at the girl and resumed playing his game, "So…What the hell do you want Patty?"

"I just came by to see how Ms. Trish, Ms. Lady, and Ms. Lucia were doing," Patty answered, receiving a false look of disappointment from Dante.

"So…you…you didn't come to even see how I was doing," Dante questioned her, feigning a broken heart. "I…I…That hurts Patty…that really…"

"Oh hush, Dante," Trish interrupted the devil hunter's performance. "Thank you for stopping by Patty, but Lady and Lucia left a few hours ago for a job Lady took up."

"Oh well, I'll just stick around till they come back," Patty beamed as she plopped down on Dante's new silk couch. "I mean, since they're two of the three best demon hunters in the world, whatever demons they're dealing with won't last long. So they'll be back soon."

"Two of the three best, huh," Trish restated with a smile. "So, who's the third best?"

They didn't look at him, but they knew Dante was grinning his usual grin.

"Why, you of course, Ms. Trish," Patty answered, causing Dante to fall out of his seat at the news of being outranked by her and the others. "Who else could there be? You three are the best demon hunters ever!"

"Thank you, Patty," Trish smiled, giving the girl a high five.

"He-hey! What about me," Dante questioned, breaking his usually cool headed character. "Where do I rank?"

"Oh…" Patty replied as if she just noticed Dante for the first time that day. "Don't worry, Dante…I'll find somewhere to rank you."

"I don't need your pity…" he replied before returning to his game. "At least I'm still the best at Sonic Rush…"

The girl giggled at Dante's attitude and skipped over to his desk. She pressed her elbows against its surface and rested her chin in her hands as she stared at the man. He ignored her for a few seconds and shivered as her staring grew.

"Listen, I know how you feel about me, but I don't play with jailbait…"

"Hmph, as if I would want to date someone like you," the girl fumed, moving away from the desk. "You're so, ungentlemanly."

"What, chicks dig my rugged good looks and charming personality," Dante replied, rubbing his chin as if to prove his point.

"Anyways…Have you gotten any new jobs since the last time I visited, Dante?"

"Unless you count saving a kidnap victim, which turned out to be a cat named 'Snowballs' trapped in a tree or if you count delivering a package that turned out to be lingerie that was, in turn, thrown back in my face, because the person who paid me to deliver it was some sort of sick stalker pervert and the lingerie belonged to the woman he paid me to deliver it to, yes I stood around and waited for her to open it because I was curious, or if you…"

"Okay, okay," Trish interrupted him, "I think we get the point…"

"Sooo…You didn't get another big job," Patty asked, only to receive a slight glare from Dante, "So I guess that's a no?"

"A big no…" Dante added, "Every good demon hunting job goes to Lady, while I'm stuck with low paying snore fests, no thanks to my 'manager' Enzo. Morrison doesn't help much either, considering he's been gone for a while. Not that it really matters anyways, considering the loot I got from my last major job is keeping me pretty occupied."

"You should really be more careful with what you spend your money on," Trish warned Dante.

"Oh, coming from she who thinks she can get away with charging all her dress expenses to my account and go unpunished…" Dante reminded her. "You're just mad because I'm not letting you girls mooch off my wealth and because I bought this awesome leather coat," Dante gloated as he drew the girls' attention to the coat he was wearing.

"But it looks just like your old one," Patty pointed out.

Dante paused for a moment and resumed playing his game, "Yeah, but its leather."

Trish began to lecture Dante on the fact that he needs to get a job of sorts or do something more productive than just sitting around his office playing video games. The man just brushed her off, saying something along the lines of, "Gotta beat my high score…"

A few hours passed, leading the time to be around 6:23 PM, with no Lady or Lucia in sight.

"Well, it looks like your idols ran into a little trouble," Dante teased Patty, feeling a slight rumble in his stomach. "I got the munchies," he said out loud before reached for 'his' brand new cell phone, something his old employer had forgotten to take from him. "Guess I'll just order up some pizza…"

"Don't you get tired of eating so unhealthily," Patty questioned, "Why don't you eat some vegetables or fruit for dinner?"

"Hmmm…great idea…Mario, can you also add some veggies and pineapple slices? Thanks…" Dante said before hanging up and turning back to Patty, "Happy?"

She brushed him off and Dante resumed his laid back position in his comfy chair. He put his feet back up on his desk and placed a magazine over his face in preparation for one of his naps.

A few minutes passed when the newly installed DMC doorbell rang. Dante remained in his relaxed position and waited for Patty or Trish to answer it, but he was out of luck as neither of them felt like doing so. The doorbell rang again…then again…and again…

"You've GOT to be kidding me," Dante exclaimed as he hopped out of his chair and made his way to the front door. He stopped, abruptly and did some sort of gesture. "Wait, don't everybody dash to open the door all at once, I mean I appreciate the help, but I really wouldn't want you two to waste so much energy helping…"

Suddenly, the door was flung open, knocking Dante back a few feet. "Yeah…that was extremely necessary…" he mumbled as he brushed himself off.

"Well, maybe if you'd actually open the door for us then we wouldn't have had to do that…" a familiar voice mused.

Dante frowned as he looked at the two women standing at his door. One of them had milky white skin, short black hair, and wore a white button up shirt, a dark blue combat vest with dozens of pockets (most likely filled with ammunition), matching shorts that extended three inches past her knees, brown combat boots, and fingerless gloves that extended to her elbows.

An interesting feature about her was her eyes; one was a light blue while the other was a rusty light red. Another thing strange about her was the bladed missile launcher strapped to her back.

"Lady…"

The second woman had a light brown skin tone, red hair tied into a ponytail, and wore a white cloak that extended past her waist, black pants and shoes.

In her black gloved hands were two curved blades that had a light red tint.

"Lucia…" Dante sighed.

"Besides, shouldn't 'The Great Dante' be a little more alert than that?"

Dante let out a mocking chuckle as he dusted himself off, "So…hunt any good demons lately?"

"Yes…A small town was being plagued by a few…" Lucia answered as she sat down on a nearby couch and examined her blades, "But they weren't much of a problem…"

"Feelin' generous? How about tossing a few of those jobs you keep gettin' my way," Dante asked, grinning, "Unless you're scared of the competition…"

"Sure…but it'll cost you," Lady grinned, stomping all over Dante's.

"Fine…be that way. I'm sure Enzo's gonna land me a big job eventually…" Dante was interrupted once again by the doorbell. "Damn, Mario's deliveries are getting faster. Too bad you guys won't get any!"

Dante smirked as he opened the door, only to turn to a frown when he came face to face with a man clad in a white tuxedo. He wore a gold ring on his left middle finger and a beautiful blue rose adorned the upper right pocket of his tuxedo.

"Hello, is this…"

"Got any pizza," Dante interrupted, puzzling the man.

"Well, not with me, but…"

"Well, I guess we're done here…" Dante interrupted again, attempting to close the door, only to be shoved aside by Patty.

"Oh, don't be so rude, Dante," she scolded the demon hunter, "Please, come in mister!"

"Thank you, ma'am," the young man replied with a smile.

He politely entered the agency, wiped off whatever dirt had clasped to the bottom of his white shoes on the door mat, and brushed his short caramel colored hair back.

"My…this is an interesting establishment…" the man commented, surveying his surroundings.

"Yeah, Dante doesn't have much of a fashion sense," Patty giggled, prompting Dante to stick his tongue out at her, "But, where are my manners? My name's Patty and yours would be?"

"Alexander Vilandro Iongel Cross…but most people refer to me as 'Alex.' It's nice to meet you, Ms. Patty…and who might these young ladies be?"

"Oh, well they're the best demon hunters in the world," Dante sarcastically replied.

"Ignore him…" Lady informed Alex, "I don't really have a name, but this joker calls me Lady, so feel free to call me that. She's Lucia."

The dark skinned red head gave a slight 'hello' wave to the young man before returning to examining her weapons.

"And I'm Trish," Trish introduced herself, shaking Alex's hand.

"Hey pal, keep your hands where I can see 'em," Dante warned Alex, who then distanced himself from Trish out of fear of what Dante might do to him.

"And that's Dante…" Trish stated flatly.

"Ah, then you're the one I want to see," Alex extended his hand to the demon hunting expert, who quickly shook it and let go, "A man by the name of Enzo implored that I come see you about a certain…problem…I am facing…"

"Don't worry pal, puberty's completely natural…" Dante replied, flexing his muscles, "How else do you think these beasts got their start?"

Alex paused for a moment and then chuckled, "Enzo warned me about your quick wit and sense of humor, but he also informed me of your need for a job…"

"Hmmm…I guess a guy like you must give a pretty good BJ, but I'm not interested…"

Alex paused once again, letting the meaning of Dante's words sink in.

"N-n-no! That's not what I…"

"Dante! You should be more polite with our guests," Patty scolded the grinning demon hunter, "Don't worry Mister Alex, just ignore Dante."

"What I'm trying to say is that I need your help with a demon problem I'm facing…"

Dante raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, why didn't you just say so? I'm all ears pal…" Dante replied, motioning for the other girls to leave, "If you girls wouldn't mind."

"Oh, please," Lady scoffed, "I'm sure whatever he has to say to you, he can say to all of us…Please continue, Alex."

"Of course…Ahem…Dante, the job I am offering you, if you choose to accept it, pertains to clearing out an area of importance to my company that is unfortunately infested with demons that have, so far, hindered us."

"Company…" Lady mumbled, "…You said your name was Cross, right? As in the head chief of Crucifix Cross Corp. a branch of the extensively huge DOATEC, Cross?"

"Yes, well, I am a part of the Crucifix Cross Corp, but you have my position confused with that of my father's," Alex answered, "But I digress…Will you help to clear out these demons?"

"Hmmm….Well, I'm not sure how I'd feel working with another DOATEC official, considering what happened because of a certain orange haired kid…" Dante replied, rubbing his chin, "Why me?"

"Would you prefer I hire your friends? I only really need one person, but…"

"Fine, fine…I'll take it…" Dante sighed, "But I better get paid big for this…."

Alex smiled and extended his hand for a shake, "I look forward to our next encounter."

Dante glanced down at Alex's hand and reluctantly shook it, "Sure…whatever…"

Alex began to dig in his coat pocket and revealed a slip of paper, "This paper holds details to where and when I would like to meet you next, if you're still interested in taking up my offer."

He handed the paper to Dante and bid adieu to the girls and Dante as he took his leave.

"Good-bye Mister Alex," Patty waved to the young man who waved back at her with a smile before she closed the door. "Wow! He was really nice…Unlike a certain testosterone fueled being in this room."

"It's not nice to talk about Lady that way…" Dante mumbled while scanning the paper he was given.

"So, are you going to actually follow through with this job," Trish asked, "If you don't want it, I could always use some extra work."

Dante ignored Trish and continued to scan the paper. He raised an eyebrow when he saw where their next meeting would occur before placing the paper in one of his pockets and letting out a long sigh.

"There's obviously more to this than that guy lets on…or maybe more than he knows about…" Dante mumbled to himself, a grin stretching across his face.

"This should be interesting…"

Location: Dojo located in the Mugen Tenshin Village, Japan

Time: Monday June 11, 2009 (Two Months Ago), 8:35 pm

Hayate was slowly pacing back and forth, examining the five ninjas before him. One of them, their commander, wore a black headband with a golden eagle spreading its wings as a forehead guard to symbolize his rank. His attire consisted of silver gantlets on his wrist, a black vest with red chest armor underneath, black pants, long black hair that reached his shoulders and black boots with golden toes. He looked no older than nineteen.

"Hideki," Hayate calmly called out to the boy. He lifted his head from his kneeling position and stared at his clan leader.

"Yes, Lord Hayate?"

"I am glad that you and your subordinates gathered here," the man replied, casually interlocking his hands behind his back as he continued his pacing. "I would like you all to do something for me." He paused and glanced at Ryu who was silently watching the event from his leaning position on a nearby wall.

"Whatever it is, we will gladly do it, Lord Hayate," one of Hideki's subordinates spoke up. Hayate nodded at this and looked out an open window at the dark blue night sky.

"I would like you to search for Dr. Victor Donovan, former head of DOATEC."

The five ninjas looked at him with a bit of confusion and Hideki's subordinates began to whisper amongst themselves. "I thought he was dead," one whispered, "During the Tri-Tower attack, wasn't he killed?"

"Enough," Hideki calmly commanded his subordinates, resulting in them going silent. He locked eyes with his leader and looked somewhat unsure, "My Lord, I mean no disrespect, but didn't Master Ryu-"

"I didn't confirm the kill…" Ryu interrupted the commander, slowly moving from his previous position so that he stood in front of the five ninjas. "That was a mistake on my part…"

"How do we know that Donovan is still even alive," one of Hideki's subordinates asked.

"We don't know for sure, but this letter gives us reason to believe he is." Hayate removed the item from his pocket and handed it to Hideki, prompting the teenager to read it. He looked it over, finding a return address and a few more bits of information.

Hideki paused for a moment and made a sudden realization, "W-we get mail?"

Hayate and Ryu exchanged glances between each other and the commander as his subordinates read the letter over. "Well…we don't exactly receive mail," Hayate, somewhat embarrassedly, began.

"But Kasumi does…" Everyone turned to see a familiar purple haired and garbed kunoichi leaning against the door frame leading to the dojo.

"That is correct…" Hayate nodded slightly, letting out a small cough before he continued. "Her mail is often intercepted to make sure she doesn't send out any information in regards to our clan's secrets and the like."

He was lying, something Ayane and Ryu knew, with the former being irritated by the fact that he was still protecting Kasumi. Hideki suspected something, but didn't bother to say anything.

"When would you like us to begin our mission," Hideki asked, receiving the note from one of his subordinates.

"At dawn or so, but you can take as much time as you need to get ready."

"Then dawn it is…"

The next morning, Hideki and his subordinates were gathered in the same dojo as last night. Hayate provided them with plane tickets that would get them to California by about 5 pm that day and that their first stop would be the address listed on the envelope the letter came in.

"We won't fail you, Lord Hayate," Hideki assured his leader as he humbly bowed. Their meeting was interrupted by the arrival of another ninja, revealed by the sudden opening of the dojo doors.

The ninja was a dark-brown haired female with her hair tied in a high ponytail style by a red band. Her upper ware was similar to Kasumi's usual clothing, save that white was where the blue should be and red was where the white should be. She wore long, white fingerless gloves that extended to her elbows and neutral red pants. On her feet were black, form-fitting, lightweight boots and black shin guards.

"Momiji, what are you doing here," Ryu asked the girl, who quickly bowed in apology.

"I'm sorry Lord Ryu, but I-I would like to join this mission to find Donovan, if I may." The ninjas there stared at her with curiosity.

"…I won't ask what your reasons for wanting to join the search are," Hayate sighed, before giving a small smile, "But, you may join the mission…That is if Hideki and Ryu don't mind."

"Fine by me," Hideki shrugged, not bothered by the idea.

"Do as you wish, but please be careful," Ryu said, receiving a glad nod from the girl. Hayate sent a young, but extremely intelligent, hawk with them to serve as a messenger between them and the village. He reminded them of the importance of keeping in touch with the village, something the ninjas adamantly assured him they would do, and allowed them to leave soon after.

One month and two weeks later, their message arrived later than scheduled. In fact it didn't arrive at all. Hayate brushed it off as nothing to worry about, considering it was only a day after schedule. Then another day passed, maybe the hawk was just resting. Then another day passed, their search could have led them so far that the hawk was just taking a while to get here.

Finally, after a week behind schedule, the hawk finally arrived. Something was wrong. One of its legs was broken and it limped after landing a few inches in front of him. Its feathers were stained with blood and so was part of the paper wrapped neatly around its leg.

Hayate slowly reached for and opened the letter, beholding the cryptic, dark red message written on it.

Charles: "Ohhh, a cryptic message! Can I be in the story? And why don't the ninjas just use cell phones?"

Author: "Their village doesn't have good cell phone reception? Anyways, I hope the first chapter was enjoyable and, like always, reviews, questions, comments, concerns, theories, whatever are accepted."