Noon, SHDP laboratory, Creutzwald Germany
-----------------------------------------
Beakers. Computers. Liquids in jars. More mindless, soulless pieces
indicating technological prowess littered this place. Deep in the wild
forests of borderline Germany, there was a laboratory for those
belonging to the Super-human Development Project. Those scientists
within the complex were some of the finest in the world. Their skills
(on a scientific level) were unparalleled.
These were the men responsible for the renowned Epsilon Project.
Even though Project Epsilon was supposed to be a defining moment in
their careers, it had ended in failure. The mind of the subject for
use in the project, Hayate of the Mugen Tenshin, was too much for them
to fully control. It was decided that he should be left for dead in
the ‘Black Forest’ as it is known.
The millions spent on Project Epsilon and the failure that followed it
meant that a whole new scheme had to be carried out. And through some
great luck, they had done something that the science community and its
seamy underworld had only dreamed of.
They successfully copied the DNA of a certain subject. That subject
happened to be the sister of the previous sample, Kasumi. In other
words, they had successfully cloned the most powerful female fighter
on the face of the planet.
The glass-eyed, white clothed scientists all smiled with glee as the
huddled around their beautiful creation. Her body was suspended in a
gelatinous substance, a very unusual form of suspension.
One of the scientists spoke up. “I cannot believe this. Although we
have fallen out of favour for the failure of Project Epsilon, we have
this little prize to fall back on.”
“Yes.” Another one concurred. “I am interested to see how well her
skills hold up to the data we collected from the original. It was
unfortunate that we lost K-1. We will be hard pressed to find such
a... fascinating sample.”
The head scientist stopped in his tracks and looked at the jell-like
case holding the clone in suspension. “Back away.” He said. “She is
about ready to awaken. If the subject sees all of us like this, she
might suffer some trauma. It is very likely that she will have the
memories that K-1 had before the cloning process.”
The majority of the other scientists grumbled a bit to themselves,
they were eager to see the fruits of their labour, but their leader
did have a point. They unhurriedly left the room to leave the main
scientist and the subject alone. The jell-like prison started to
wobble as the clone’s naked body thrashed about inside of it. Soon
after, her head, swathed in beautiful, un-hindered locks of golden
brown hair, peered out of the viscous substance. Following that, each
of her limbs extended to their fullest and tore through her
restraining incubator. Soon there was nothing holding her back as her
lithe body burst out into freedom, and she fell forwards upon release,
for the first time, she was using her muscles.
The scientist above the clone tried to keep his attraction discrete
enough to say this. “Welcome. Welcome to the world that is now open to
you... my dear.”
**********
What... what happened?
What is going on? ...What am I doing here? Why am I naked like this? I
look up to that man hovering over me. His cold eyes... they frighten
me. I should not be here...
I... feel strange about myself. I have memories. Of...parents...and a
brother...and...a woman...
I feel like I can... reach them somehow. To let them know that I am
here, that I remember them. But something divides us all. And I feel
like these memories of mine are not mine. Like they were...borrowed
from something else.
I try not to think about too much, I just hold my arms around myself
to cover up my breasts in front of this man. I do not like the stares
he gives me. I do not want to be here anymore. I want to get out.
“Where... am I...?” My voice sounds weak. I must not have spoken for a
while. The man above me just kneels down and faces me at eye level.
“You are in a small laboratory complex just south of a town called
Creutzwald. Do you remember anything my dear?”
I try to think, even though it worries me. “I...cannot remember much.”
The man nods. “I see. Well, whatever you do remember, you can forget
it all. You see my dear, you are a creation of the Super-human
Development Project.”
My spine runs cold from hearing that, but I don’t know why.
Super-human Development Project.
What is that? “...W-What is that?” I ask.
The man walks over to a large table across from me and assembles some
things. They look like clothes. “You are a product of that project. We
at the Super-human Development Project enhance physical and mental
abilities of human beings and increase their natural powers. Many of
our ‘clients’ see this as a way to raise up a new wave of powerful,
subservient soldiers. But they are fools. I see our efforts as a new
genesis for mankind.” I hear him snicker. “We can improve God’s
work...”
So I was apart of the project? “Why me...?”
“Because you are unique, my dear. Unlike my other endeavours, you were
not enhanced. You were created. And you appear to be a perfect sample
of the K-1. Identical in physical appearance... but do your skills
surpass hers?”
What? I was... born here? But... but how? Am I a... clone of something
else? How is that possible?
“You’re... lying, aren’t you?” I can feel my voice coming back to me.
But I still sound so desperate.
The man just continues to prepare those clothes for me. “I am not
lying to you, my dear. You are a clone of a ninja woman this group
acquired a while back. We lost her, but we managed to extract a sample
of her blood cells. Using our technology, we created you. You are
Kasumi X. You will suit our purposes well.”
I fell myself getting angry. I am not a toy for people to use. How can
this man treat me like that?
“I will not be used.” I say.
And I can see my new determination bothers him. “You have no choice.
You are my creation; therefore you are my property. And your first
mission will be to track down the original model and bring her back
here. You will do so without fail.”
How does he think he is to talk to me like that? I stand up, not even
bothering to hide my nakedness anymore.
I will not be used.
**********
A few hours later, a solitary figure dashes between the trees of a
murky forest just outside of Creutzwald. It was Kasumi X. She darted
quickly through the trees, desperate to escape the jurisdiction of the
scientists. It was a battle to get away from that place, as it had
many guards defending it as security. Luckily Kasumi X was cloned from
someone as strong as the original Kasumi. With a lot of effort and a
little luck, Kasumi X managed to flee from the laboratory.
She had to escape.
**********
“Oof!”
With a tired groan, Ayane of the Mugen Tenshin Hajin Mon was thrust
into the cool ashen snow of the White Storm. She wiped her jaw and
scoped her crystal scarlet eyes back up to the woman who had defeated
her.
Kasumi.
It was a long, even battle and at points, the tides looked as if they
could have gone either way. But in the end, Kasumi came out the
victor. The older fighter had bested Ayane into submission, and she
stood above, silent, feigning that pathetic wall of innocence.
“Damn you...” Ayane seethed that out. “Damn you to hell...”
Kasumi looked away. Almost as if those words had stung her. “You can’t
defeat me. So please stop trying, Ayane. Just go away.”
After casting one more look at her fallen opponent, Kasumi turned to
walk away from her. She knew in her heart that by competing in a
second Dead or Alive championship, she was essentially locking herself
into combat with Ayane. But she had no choice. There was no way she
could back down. She had to find Hayate at all costs. Just to know
that her brother was safe. Even if it just meant learning that one
fact, Kasumi would readily throw herself into battle.
Ayane scowled as Kasumi walked away from her. “Yeah, that’s right you
little coward! Walk away! That’s what you’re good for!”
The brunette looked back with sad eyes. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I bet you didn’t!” Ayane yelled sardonically. “Why the hell do you
even bother competing in this when you know we’ll track you down?”
Kasumi then looked away. “Because... my brother... he...”
Ayane’s eyed went wide. Why the hell did she have the right to speak
his name? Kasumi was the one who abandoned the clan; she was the one
who shirked her duties as easily as water rolling off her back. This
wasn’t her problem anymore.
“He isn’t your brother anymore!” Ayane yelled. “You gave Hayate up a
long time ago, Kasumi! You’re nothing to the Mugen Tenshin now! So
just runaway, shinobi.”
Though it was a struggle, Kasumi held back her tears. She was a strong
woman, and it would usually take a thousand sharp stabs by her Tanto
for her to even to shed a tear, but Ayane’s words hit her hard. She
didn’t want to abandon her friends and family that was just an
unwanted consequence of her actions. Everyday she felt punished for
her choices in life. Not a day went by where Kasumi regretted that
decision. But she was not going to apologize or show remorse for it
just because it bent Ayane in the wrong way. She had committed no
crime.
Kasumi’s truth was accentuated through the passion and fire in those
ginger-brown eyes of hers. “I didn’t run away because I wanted to.”
She started. “I left the Mugen Tenshin because I had to protect
Hayate’s interests. Not because I wanted to leave him behind. I think
a part of me also wanted to explore life outside of the clan. That is
not a crime. It’s my right as a woman, and nobody can take that away
from me. Not even you. I won’t justify myself to you, Ayane.”
“Because you can’t!” Ayane yelled. The snow was beginning to pick up
again, just like it had done in their battle. “Hayate isn’t your
concern anymore, none of this is! Just get yourself lost and never
come back!”
Kasumi’s head jerked as she looked away. “Do... do you really hate me
that much...?”
Ayane herself looked away. She did not want to answer that. Neither
one of them wanted to know the answer to that question, chances are it
would stir up something that didn’t need to be re-awoken. Ayane’s
reprieve from those memories was granted as Kasumi’s feet touched the
white snow in an opposite direction. She was off to find Hayate. Find
someone who she more or less discarded. And Ayane was left to wallow
in the snow. Even though Kasumi was the one who ran away, Ayane was
the one left alone. Always alone...
**********
Kasumi X stumbled aimlessly through the crowds and crowds of commuters
and shoppers in this business district of Creutzwald. It had been
almost 3 days since she escaped the Super-human Development Project.
She was wearing a stealthy red ninja suit she found inside the
complex, but she assumed that it would make her stand out from the
crowd. Luckily she managed to find a cloak on her way into this town.
Though she looked very suspicious, Kasumi X was actually aiming for
the opposite. She was trying her hardest to seem less conspicuous, but
still she received stare after stare from people as she walked.
{I need to be off this street.) Kasumi X turned sharply to the left,
walking into a very quiet alleyway. Luckily this alley was also the
entrance into a small, under-city nightclub called the Dead Moon.
Kasumi X thought about the pro and cons of entering the club. {Maybe I
can stay here for a while until I figure out what to do.}
The clone walked over to the small flight of steps leading to the
inside, and walked in. From the moment she stepped inside, she was hit
by the rancid stink of smoke, alcohol and lost hopes. This bar itself
was fairly spaced out; burly characters that were fruitlessly trying
to drink their problems away surrounded each table. The climate of the
place screamed risk, but these people did not concern Kasumi X. She
had been on her feet for so long, K-2 just needed to rest herself for
a while.
The bright-eyed girl took a seat by a small table in the corner of the
room, breathing a sigh of relief from finally sitting down. She wasn’t
going to attempt to blend in, that would be impossible, but she would
try not to draw too much attention to herself.
Soon, a waitress walked up to her from the other side of the bar. She
had a notepad in her hand and her jaw was moving up and down, she was
obviously chewing gum.
“What’s your order?” She asked.
Kasumi X looked up to see this woman. “Huh?”
The waitress rolled her eyes. “Well, you wanna have a drink, right?
Well what would you like?”
The clone girl thought about that. From the way she was feeling right
now, she got the impression that the original Kasumi was abhorred to
alcohol. All the same, if she didn’t buy something, she might get
thrown out of here.
“Eh...” Kasumi X stumbled around this. “W-What would you... suggest?”
The waitress sighed. “I guess I’d have a Pina Colada or something.
Would you like that, honey?”
Kasumi X just nodded. After scribbling down the order, the waitress
walked over to another table to get their order. Just as she settled
down again, she realized that she really didn’t have any money. She
had literally nothing more than the clothes on her back. But she had
more urgent things to worry about. Ever since she stepped through the
doors to this bar, a table of men had had their eyes on her.
She knew that she was an attractive woman; she was bound to get a few
stares from people. But she didn’t have to like it. Kasumi X wasn’t
going to leave either. She finally felt comfortable here; she did not
want to leave yet. As the girl suspected, those three men stepped away
from their table and came over to her.
Kasumi X looked away. She really did not want to have to dislocate
anyone’s shoulder right now.
One of the three men spoke up, his voice feigning a weak air of
caring. “Hey there, gorgeous. You on your own?”
She nodded, still looking away from them. “Y-Yes.”
A second man took a seat next to Kasumi X. “That’s a shame. My buddies
and me have a little place not too far from here. We could go there...
it’d be quieter than this place...”
“No.” The brown-haired girl said. “I think I like it here.”
The third man had an annoyed look on his face. “You should really take
up the offer, girl.”
Over by the bar side, Ayane was drowning her sorrows. The second Dead
or Alive tournament ended three days ago, she had been removed during
the semi-finals by that damn Kasumi. Ayane had been commissioned for
an assassination here, somebody DOATEC obviously wanted out of the
way. Normally she wouldn’t have bothered (the way she was feeling) but
she had never been to Germany before. Plus, the job paid well; there
hadn’t been such a well-paid job for her since her attempt on Helena’s
life. This time however, she would not fail.
Ayane lifted up her shot glass ad quickly took it down. She was still
underage to drink, but nobody here was questioning it. Seems like they
just had their own problems to worry about. Just like Ayane. The
Female Tengu tried hard to think out her next move, but a rowdy table
was making noise.
She looked back to see what was going on. Some girl draped in a shabby
cloak was being hassled by three men. Ayane gritted her teeth.
Normally she really wouldn’t have given a damn about that girl and
what happened to her, but right now, she was in one sour mood. Getting
herself involved would shut those guys up and it’d give her a chance
to stretch her muscles a bit. Before she knew it, Ayane was walking
over there.
Back at the table, those three abrasive men surrounded Kasumi X. She
was trying *very* hard not to reveal her true strength, but if they
did do something soon, she would have take them out. Suddenly a young
woman appeared behind one of them.
One of the bar hoppers spoke to Kasumi X. “listen, kid. We can show
you a real nice time if you play your cards right-“
His sentence was cut off when he felt someone tap on his shoulder.
With an annoyed sigh, he looked back. “What’s the pro-“
Wham! A lightning-fast fist smashed into the face of that crude drunk,
making the injured man cry out from the pain. One punch had probably
just cracked his nose.
The two other men surrounded Ayane, who had an awfully pleased smile
on her face. Kasumi X just watched this with good attention. That was
no ordinary punch. This woman had to be significant in some way.
The previous guy was still screaming on the floor as his nose gushed
blood, while the other two surrounded Ayane.
“For such a cute little girl, you’ve sure got some balls on you.” He
said arrogantly. “But I don’t take kindly to sucker punching school
girls. So you better just run along, honey.”
Ayane smiled a little. “Hmm. Interesting offer. And the survey said...
screw you.”
The body of the Woman Tengu kneeled down to the ground for balance,
and before the drunkard above her knew what was going on, her leg
smacked into his jaw with a powerful arc-like kick. He went sprawling
over into the opposite direction, his feet stumbling over the ground.
The hawkish eyes of the lilac-haired woman darted to the second guy,
and her leg quickly span around the floor, sweeping him off his feet.
But Ayane was not done yet.
{One more for the road.} She thought as she stood up gracefully.
As she stood, Ayane grabbed the drunkard bar hopper by the collar,
pulled him onto his feet and held on a tight grip around his neck. She
swung around his body by means of his neck, quickly stopping with both
of her feet planted firmly on his back. She then pulled him downwards
and rested her back on the ground, pressing both her legs upwards. The
drunk was thrown clear across the room, eventually crashing into a bar
table as gravity did it job.
The whole bar fell silent at this brief but brutal display of power.
The H. Embu really was not that impressive but it did take some skill
to master. While the other customers gazed at Ayane with some awe,
Kasumi X felt strangely about this girl.
{Why does my heart beat faster when I see that girl?} She thought
curiously. {Is she an important person to the original?}
Ayane scowled at the three downed bar hoppers and began to walk away.
She did whip their consecutive cans, but truth be told it didn’t make
her feel any better. Beating around weaker opponents was surprisingly
less fun than it sounded. Before she could get any further away,
Kasumi X held onto the wrist of Ayane. “Excuse me...”
That voice sounded strangely familiar. Ayane looked back. Kasumi X
still had that cloak over her body and her face was obscured by it.
The lilac-haired fighter had no idea who this girl was, but she didn’t
much care either.
“What is it?” Ayane asked dejectedly.
Kasumi X was thankful that her blush was hidden. “Thank you for...”
Ayane looked away. “Not a problem. But don’t get too cheery. I didn’t
do that to save you.”
The young clone fell silent. Ayane got the idea that she might have
hurt the girl’s feelings. Last thing she needed right now was a
blubbering woman who couldn’t defend herself.
“Look...” Ayane tried her best not to seem hostile. “I’m in a bad mood
right now. I just needed to blow off some steam. So who are you
anyway...?”
Kasumi X was curious to see what would happen if she revealed her
identity to this girl. There had to be some connection between that
ninja and the original. Slowly, she unmasked herself to the world,
pulling down her hood. Ayane’s eyes went wide with shock, and then
narrowed with anger. Anger at Kasumi but mostly at herself.
{I just rescued Kasumi’s ass...} Ayane thought scathingly. {You better
be enjoying this, Kami-sama, because I’m not.}
Kasumi X was thrown by Ayane’s sudden change in attitude. One moment
she seemed so calm and relaxed, the next, she’s ready to explode. All
from learning her identity? Well, it confirmed that the original
Kasumi knew who this kunoichi was. But there must have been some
bitterness between them.
{If the original doesn’t like this girl... why am I so attracted to
her?} The perfect replica was confused. Very much so.
Ayane on the other hand, was very focused. She could just as easily
start a fight between herself and Kasumi, right here. But she was in
no mood to be dealing with the brown-haired girl right now. Ayane
turned to walk away from a silent Kasumi (X) and strode over to the
entrance to the bar. Just before she stepped out, Ayane looked back
over her shoulder for an instance.
Her voice was astoundingly gentle. “...Did you find Hayate?”
Kasumi X had no idea what Ayane was talking about. Though that name
raised a few sentiments within her. One of them was... security. That
name ‘Hayate’ gave her a striking feeling of love and protection. And
those were the kind of emotions that you would get from family. But
even deeper down, there was a feeling of... envy towards that name,
Hayate. Envy on more than just one level. And somehow, Kasumi X knew
that envy was connected to this lavender-haired kunoichi. When no
response was offered, Ayane chuckled harshly at Kasumi (X)’s silence.
“I didn’t think so.” Her voice had reverted from gentle back to
mocking. Ayane then threw out one last comment as she left. “You’re
worthless, Kasumi.”
Kasumi X’s gaze dropped to the floor. {Why did that hurt me? It wasn’t
all that insulting. Is it because it came from her? Is that why it
hurts so much? I-I can’t let her go now. I have to know why I’m
feeling this way.}
The young confused woman ran through the same double doors that Ayane
went through, following her in her tracks. Out on the main road, Ayane
walked along the busy pavement towards her apartment building. She was
going to be stuck in Germany until she took care of that assassination
job, so it suited Ayane’s interests to rent out a place for now. She
turned a corner and kept on walking for around fifteen minutes.
Eventually she reached her apartment building in the residential area
of this end of the town. The area was very quiet, a large water garden
was in the middle of a large courtyard surrounded the apartment
building.
Ayane would have taken better interest in that quiet scene, if hadn’t
have heard footsteps behind her. The Woman Tengu turned around to see
Kasumi (X) standing just a few metres away. Ayane was incredulous.
This girl had actually followed her. Of all the...
“You followed me here?” She said darkly. “Do you have some kind of
mental problem? I thought I told you to stay the hell away from me?”
Kasumi X tried hard not to let Ayane’s anger hurt her. “I just...
wanted to be around you. That’s all.”
Now Ayane was *very* confused. Kasumi was acting very... strangely.
Especially after how she was acting in the Dead or Alive tournament.
It only struck Ayane now that Kasumi hadn’t even bothered to defend
herself against those bar thugs. However, Ayane just dismissed it as
on of Kasumi’s constant changes. It did not mean anything at all.
Still, she couldn’t ignore the kunoichi’s last comment.
‘I just... wanted to be around you. That’s all.’
Why would Kasumi say something like that, after...? Geh. Ayane tried
hard not to even think about that. That happened a long time ago. No
need to re-live it.
“I don’t know what games you’re playing...” Ayane began. “But I’m
warning you to get lost.”
Kasumi X was strangely firm. “I’m not going anywhere.”
By now, Ayane was actually angry. Instantly she turned around fully,
and her feet began moving her over to an un-characteristically decided
Kasumi. “Now listen, you-“
Ayane froze in her tracks and Kasumi X was strangely alert when she
felt a twinge in her ankle. Ayane had felt it a little when she pulled
off that H. Embu on that guy back at the bar, but it didn’t start
bothering her until now. Well, she had been walking for like fifteen
minutes straight. Maybe that triggered off some damage. The young
ninja dropped on to one knee, realizing that she could not balance on
her legs alone.
Kasumi X quickly went to her side, putting an arm around Ayane’s
shoulder. “Are you okay? Can you stand?”
Ayane cruelly jerked that arm off. “Don’t touch me! I can take care of
myself. What do you care, anyways?”
The emotion within Kasumi’s clone changed from compassion to anger.
“Stop treating me like that! I’m just trying to help you, Ayane.”
The clone then froze. How did she know that the girl’s name was Ayane?
That confirmed it without a doubt. The original model had to have
known this... ‘Ayane’ character.
“Where’s your apartment?” Kasumi X asked.
Ayane (who had decided to cool down a little) nodded over to the
three-floor building to the left of them. Kasumi X kneeled down to
Ayane at eye-level, smiling that generous smile of hers. A generous
smile complimented by those golden brown eyes. Ayane looked away from
that smile. She hated the idea that Kasumi’s smile gave her feelings
of safety.
“I can get you home.” Said the clone. “J-Just let me be near you for a
little while...”
**********
Kaiser’s Afterthoughts
----------------------
* The first chapter of three. This will be a lemon in future chapters,
so stay tuned for more. Oh, and I’m aware that the clone of Kasumi is
called Kasumi Alpha, but my DOA2 instruction book calls her ‘Kasumi X’
so I’m just rolling with it...
* If this goes well, I’m gonna take a swing at a Lei-Fang/Helena
one-shot. Of course, Jann Lee will be involved somehow...
* Any comments you might have? Just e-mail me! Thanks!
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