Welcome To Dead or Alive

Pairing: Mai x Kasumi

Genre: Romance

Disclaimer: I do not own DOA or any of its characters.

Author's note: I always wanted Kasumi and Mai to fight ever since she debuted, but nothing came to mind. So, I want to thank Major Mike Powell for outsourcing this idea. Enjoy~!

Silence fills the air except for trees swaying in the wind. Two girls stand in front of a shrine in their battle positions. Those girls, who happen to be ninjas, are ready for battle. Mai holds out her fan while Kasumi is still in her battle position. Neither of them move a muscle.

"So, Mai-chan," she says. "You say you want to join Dead or Alive, right?"

"Absolutely," Mai says as she waves her fan. "And I'm going to show you what I'm capable of."

"Prove it to me then," Kasumi says.

The two ninjas charge at each other at full speed, only to completely miss each other. Mai swiftly turns around and jumps high in the air as soon as Kasumi tried to kick her. The brunette flips over her and lands behind her. She throws her fan at the ginger, but misses. Kasumi jumps and tries to kick Mai, only for her to dodge that attack.

"It'll take more than that!" the ginger shouts.

But before Kasumi can kick her again, Mai summons her fire from the power of her pyrokenesis. Fire surrounds her from the ground, rising from it, hitting Kasumi and sends her flying. But the ginger flips backward and lands on her feet. She huffs and charges at her, only to get hit by the fire again. Mai then charges at the ginger, punching her left and right, kicking her and performs an uppercut, with fire appearing afterwards. It sends Kasumi flying until she hits the ground with a thud. Mai lands on her feet, holds out her fan with a grin on her face.

"Yeah!" she cheers. "I'm number one~!"

However, Kasumi struggles to her feet. It is clear that the ginger will not give up that easily. "I'm not done yet!" she shouts.

"Uh-oh…" Mai swallows hard as she gets into her battle stance.

But before she can do anything, Kasumi spins and vanishes into thin air. Mai gasps and frantically looks around for the ginger, but she's nowhere in sight…at least not for long. Kasumi appears out of nowhere and kicks Mai in the back. The brunette flips to her feet, but Kasumi kicks and punches her from all directions, making it impossible for Mai to stay on her feet and attack at the same time. Kasumi finishes it with a flying kick, sending Mai flying into a wall, creating a bit of dust.

"Ha!" the ginger chuckles. "Who's number one now?"

Mai struggles her feet, groaning. "Y-you're good, Kasumi-chan. But…I'm still the best in Japan! Just you watch!"

The two ninjas charge at each other again, releasing a fury of punches and kicks. Both of them dodge and block them while in the air for a short time before they land on their feet. Mai summons her fire power again, but Kasumi jumps in the air to dodge it and lands far away. The brunette then throws several fans at Kasumi, squats down and then charges at her with fire appearing on her fists and successfully hits her in the chest, sending the ginger flying towards a wall, creating large amounts of dust. However, Kasumi still won't give up, so before Mai launches another attack, she spins and vanishes from sight as dust settles. Mai stops and looks around for her, in case she decides to perform a sneak attack again. She closes her eyes, relaxes her stance and concentrates. She acts as if she's in her own world. There is nothing except her. She then senses something coming from behind her, so she immediately opens her eyes and jumps right when Kasumi tries to kick her from behind.

"What!?" Kasumi gasps in disbelief.

"Haha!" Mai chuckles. "I won't fall for the same trick twice."

Kasumi grits her teeth as she charges at her with Mai doing the same and both of them kick, punch and dodge each other's attacks. Up, down, left and right goes the punches and kicks until they leap far away from each other. Mai throws one of her fans again, but Kasumi blocks it with her sword, making it bounce back to her.

"I won't fall for your tricks twice either," the ginger says.

"Ahhh, quite the strategist yourself, aren't you, Kasumi-chan?" Mai says as she waves her fan.

"Yes. But this ends now, Mai-chan."

"We'll see about that."

Both of them get into their battle positions, but neither of them move a muscle. It is as if they are reading each other's thoughts, possibly trying to figure out one's final move. Wind blows, making trees sway and their hair swaying as well. One lone leaf starts falling and happens to be blowing between the two ninjas. As soon as the leaf hits the ground, as if on cue, the ninjas charge at each other and kick each other at the same exact time. Both of them were sent flying and falling to the ground with a thud, creating dust. When it clears up after a few minutes, both of them are lying on the ground, for a moment before Mai is the first to recover. She groans as she rubs her head in pain.

"K-Kasumi-chan…" she moans.

"Ah…Mai-chan…" Kasumi slowly gets up. "Can we….?"

"Yeah…let's call it a draw. Obviously, we're too evenly matched."

"It seems that way."

Both of them laugh and get back on their feet, walk towards each other and shake hands.

"That was a great fight," Kasumi says. "Thank you for sparring with me."

"No problem," Mai replies. "I had fun."

When the two let go, Kasumi says, "So…want to hit the hot springs? Cause I'm feeling that I need a warm bath right now."

"Same here," Mai says as she stretches out her arms.

"Let's go~!"

**Hot Springs**

Mai and Kasumi take a dip in the warm water at the same time and sigh at the warm temperature touching their bodies. Mai closes her eyes as she leans back.

"Ahhh, this is perfect," she says. "What do you think?"

"This is like heaven," Kasumi says. "In fact, the warmth of the water actually makes my body feel better after that fight."

"Same here!"

Both of them giggle and look up at the sky. None of them say anything after that, at least for a while. They wouldn't stop stealing glances at each other and blushing. However, Kasumi just stares directly at Mai's chest and then her own. It is then that Mai decides to break the silence.

"Is something the matter, Kasumi-chan?" she asks.

"Well…it's just that…your chest…" Kasumi says, softly.

"Hm? Oh! Haha!" Mai giggles. "Why so glum about it?"

"Yours is a bit bigger than mine…." The ginger pouts with a blush on her face.

The brunette bursts into laughter. "You're SO silly, Mai-chan! I think your big chest is fine to me~! There's not comparing whatsoever!"

Kasumi chuckles softly and nods. "You're right." She scoots a bit closer to the brunette, watching the night sky. It is then that the ginger finds herself touching Mai's hand, causing the brunette to gasp and turn towards her, blushing. Kasumi blushes as well, staring into her eyes.

"U-um…Kasumi-chan…" she says as she looks down at the water.

"Yes…Mai-chan?"

"There's something…I want to tell you…" The brunette looks up at the ginger, blushing even more. "I, um…I've been…admiring you for a while…ever since I saw you in the Dead or Alive tournament. I thought I could join because you inspired me."

"R-really?" Kasumi asks as she blushes as well.

Gripping the ginger's hand a bit tighter, Mai gathers all her courage and faces her. "Kasumi-chan, I…I love you! Please go out with me!"

Kasumi gasps at her confession, but smiles as happy tears appear in her eyes. She takes Mai's hands in her own. "Mai-chan…oh, dear Mai-chan! I feel the same exact way! I've had feelings for you for a while, too."

"Kasumi-chan…"

Both of them intertwine hands as they stare lovingly at each other. Then, they lean in and brush lips for a moment before moving to a complete kiss. Their lips feel moist and it feels so right. They deepen the kiss shortly after, with tongues caressing each other, thus soft moans being heard from the two ninjas.

After a while, both of them pull away to catch their breath and stare at each other lovingly again.

"Mai-chan, love," Kasumi says. "Welcome to Dead or Alive. You've proved yourself of entering the tournament."

"Thank you, Kasumi-chan," Mai says. "Thank you very much! I love you!"

"I love you, too, Mai-chan."

Both of them kiss again, more passionately this time. It is just the beginning for Mai, but for her, it's all worth it. Not only that, but she now has a new lover, Kasumi. And she will never forget this moment…ever.

A/N: I would've written this the day of her debut, but like I said, nothing came to mind. So, I hope you like it, everyone! Feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review~!