~Six months later~
"This is not acceptable, Hayate. The code was created to protect our existence and to prevent any secret leaked to evil hands such as DOATEC." An elder of the village strictly explained.
Hayate then raised his voice a notch in frustration, "DOATEC is no longer a threat to us and all of the evidence were destroyed. Kasumi is not the real danger here, we need her back in this village. What good would she be out there if our other enemies find her?"
"Do you realize what you are asking of us, Hayate?" Another elder joined in. "You are asking us to break the rules..."
"I'm asking you to change the rules there's a difference, if anything, Kasumi had done this clan a favor by removing Raidou out of our way." Hayate kept on reasoning.
"We cannot undo something that was created decades ago only for you to feel better about yourself, rules are rules. Kasumi broke these rules by abandoning this village without permission and took the matter into her own hands that had put all of us in danger and therefore must be punished." The elder kept going.
"Then why wasn't I in the same situation as Kasumi if that was the case?"
"Hayate, that's enough!" Shiden tried to make his son quiet before he said anything disrespectful towards the elders.
"No Shiden, that's alright." The elderly then looked back at Hayate and proceeded to answer his question. "You didn't abandon this village on your own free will, they kidnapped you while you were in the coma. Kasumi on the other hand knew very well what she did when she chose her path. This meeting is over and the case is close. You have wasted enough of our time. You may excuse yourself."
Hayate slammed the door to the council hall, furious with what just happened.
"Hayate calm down, getting worked up won't do you any good nor will it lead to any solution..." Ryu followed his friend.
"It's like trying to reason with a wall!" Hayate shouted in anger, "I won't back down until they remove Kasumi's sentence, I just won't. This has to stop one way or another."
Ryu's gaze fell to the ground, thinking, "Maybe… it's not a really bad idea if they don't change the rules."
Hayate slowly turned and threw Ryu an aggravated stare, "You better have a good reason for saying what you just said." He didn't like the sound of Ryu's opinion.
"I do, but I don't think I should discuss this with you while you're angry..."
"I'm not angry. If there's something I should know I want you to tell me." Hayate tried to talk in a calmer voice but Ryu didn't buy it.
"It can wait, I have to return to my village." He slowly began backing away but Hayate followed.
"Not before you tell me, Ryu..."
"I'll see you soon. Good night, Hayate." Ryu disappeared in an instant.
Hayate was suspicious of his friend. Everybody was getting on his nerve that night. He was about to head back to his house when his father approached him making Hayate sighed warily, he wasn't in the mood to be lectured.
"Walk with me, I need to talk to you."
Hayate followed obediently.
"Why do you want Kasumi back in this village so badly?"
The question made Hayate stopped in his tracks looking strangely at his father as if he had asked a stupid question, which to Hayate's ears it was.
"Because she's my sister..." He simply replied rather annoyed at the question. "Why are you asking me this? Do you want me to give up?"
"I just want you to pick your battle carefully, it's not worth the…"
"Not worth the fight? You do realize that she is your daughter, right? or has it been that long that you don't care anymore?" Hayate cut in.
"What did you just say?" Shiden was getting annoyed himself with Hayate's boldness.
"I didn't mean to disrespect you father, but someone has to fight for Kasumi if you're not willing to."
"Making tough choices is part of your job. It's not just about your personal feelings and you cannot let your emotion gets in the way of your duties Hayate."
"What are you suggesting then?" Hayate asked.
"You are the clan leader, I suggest you act like one and follow the rules. The fact that you need to be reminded of that, perhaps you are not as ready for this role as I thought you were. Germany had made you soft and forgetting what you're about."
It took Hayate everything he had not to explode by his father's words.
"Good night, father." Hayate excused himself before he said anything that he would regret towards his own father.
…
Tired after a long night Hayate took off his clothes, took a quick shower and got ready for bed. He laid in his futon staring at the ceiling letting his last thoughts wandered off.
Life was so much easier when I was with you, Hitomi. I wonder what you are doing right now and if you miss me as much as I miss you…
He sighed at the thought and closed his eyes.
"Wake up, Hayate."
Hayate opened his eyes and covered them due to the sunlight that had filled his room blending his sight.
"Finally, you're starting to worry me…" A voice next to him said.
Hayate almost jumped out from his futon startled. He then quickly turned to the side to find Ryu staring at him with a deep frown.
"What the hell, Ryu? Don't you know how to knock first?" Hayate was annoyed that Ryu had disturbed him from his good dream.
"I did, we were supposed to go training together remember? You never showed up, so I went to check on you and you didn't open the door either, what did you expect me to do?" Ryu explained in a concerning tone.
"Right, sorry to keep you waiting. I was just so tired I hadn't realized I overslept..." Hayate yawned.
"It's still early, get ready then, I'll wait for you outside." Ryu made his way out but he suddenly paused and turned back around.
"Hayate?"
"What?"
"Were you dreaming about that German girl?"
Hayate frowned at the question. "Why are you asking me that?"
"Because you were repeating her name over and over..." Ryu restrained himself from laughing.
"Just get out." Hayate threw a pillow aiming at Ryu's face making him quickly dodged and headed out closing the door behind him. Hayate sat in his futon for another five minutes staring at the wall. He then sighed and forced himself up to get ready to start his day.
…
That same afternoon, the two ninjas were deep into their ninjutsu training in the peaceful deep green forest near their villages with the relaxing sound of the water in the river. A place that provides tranquility and a perfect training ground.
Hayate fell to the ground with Ryu's legs wrapped tightly around his neck.
"I give up… you won Ryu." Hayate could barely force his words out since Ryu had put most of his strength into his legs.
He soon let go and got up towering over Hayate to check on him. "You need to work on your defense Hayate, what is with you today? You didn't even give your best."
Hayate laid on the ground panting heavily covered in sweats staring at the blue sky above. He didn't reply but kept on staring at the sky or tried to…
"You're blocking my view and your sweats is dripping on me…do you mind?"
Ryu moved away and laid down beside his friend staring at the clear blue sky together.
"Hayate?"
"Yeah?"
"I need to discuss something very important with you."
Curious, Hayate turned his head to the side to look at Ryu. "It's Kasumi, isn't it? I already know what it's about."
"You…you do?"
"Yeah, they all expect me to continue to hunt her down and how I don't do my job properly and my emotion this my emotion that, same old speech. If my father had somehow convinced you to make you talk to me about the matter, just so you know that it won't work on me. So, save your breath because I will never give up on Kasumi." Hayate replied in his sleepy voice as his energy was drained after the hard training and the coolness of the afternoon air didn't help keeping him awake either.
"That's not it Hayate. It's not in my position to tell you how you should run your clan. However, there is one thing we certainly have in common, and that is Kasumi. I care about her just as much as you do, perhaps more…"
"More? What are you getting at Ryu?"
Ryu pushed himself back up and walked towards the river. Hayate's eyes followed. He dipped his hands into the cool water and then splashed the water onto his face. Hayate got up and marched over to Ryu.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
Ryu turned and looked deep into his friend's eyes. "Do you promise not to go crazy on me?"
"Okay, I promise." Hayate got more curious of what it could be about.
Ryu then took a deep breath…
"Kasumi has been living with me in my private home up in the mountain and we also have been secretly engaged for the past year, but we won't get married unless we have your blessing first. I should have told you much sooner, I'm sorry Hayate... the time never seemed right..."
Before Ryu could finish talking, he felt his back hitting the water, created a giant splash around him. Hayate had punched him hard in the stomach without any warning and before Ryu could get out of the water, he saw Hayate running towards him. He grabbed Ryu by his wet ninja garb and threw him down on the grass by the river. Hayate then sat on top of Ryu and stared him down with his fiery brown eyes while grabbing his neck with both hands.
"YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH MY SISTER?!"
"I've never said that…you promised you wouldn't go crazy…Hayate let go of me...I can't... breathe…" Ryu tried to push Hayate's arms off him but failed as his newfound overprotective big brother strength was beyond his own.
"How could you betray me, Ryu? I asked you to protect my baby sister but instead you're taking advantage of her innocence? I'm going to kill you!" Hayate growled.
Momiji and Kasumi arrived at the scene. Kasumi wanted to say hi to her brother and Momiji brought lunch for the men. They stood and watched from the distance. At first, they didn't react since they thought Hayate and Ryu were in the middle of a sparring match, but they soon realized it wasn't the case after hearing Hayate kept repeating, "I'm going to kill you for sleeping with my sister!"
Kasumi's eyes widened in horror...
"I guess Master Ryu broke the news. Let's stop them before they hurt each other." Momiji suggested and they quickly ran towards the guys to interfere.
"Hayate let go of him! What are you doing?" Kasumi shouted.
Hayate didn't even realize that the girls were there as he was blacking out by rage, until he looked up all sudden noticing his sister's presence…"Kasumi?" he wondered in surprise and double blinked his eyes a few times to make sure that it was really her standing in front of him.
He then let Ryu go.
"This is why I don't talk to you about anything Hayate, you never listen…" Ryu coughed badly trying to catch his breath. Momiji rushed to make sure that he was okay.
Hayate ignored Ryu and hugged Kasumi tightly. He hadn't seen his sister in almost two years. Kasumi hugged him back as she had missed him just as much. She had always looked up to her brother who had always protected her from anyone and anything. But she also needed to make him realize that she was growing up and was making her own life decisions. Kasumi gently broke away from the hug.
"Brother, please listen to me…don't be angry with Ryu about this. He had been by my side through everything for the past two years." Kasumi tried to reason. Ryu joined and placed himself next to Kasumi trying to talk to Hayate as well since he seemed too had calmed down at this point.
"We love each other and it would mean the world to us if you could come to our wedding." Ryu added but Hayate only looked down to the ground trying his best to listen to what they had to say as hard as it was for him.
"You tried so hard to bring Kasumi back to the village and they failed you each time. If Kasumi and I were married, they will have no choice but to forgive her and remove her sentence, as she will be considered an ally since she will belong to my clan."
There was silent for a moment...Ryu and Kasumi exchanged anxious glances as they weren't sure what Hayate was thinking, but they let him digest a little without interrupting his thoughts until he finally spoke.
"I want you to be happy, Kasumi. I feel like I have failed to protect you. It's hard for me to see my sisters growing up so fast. If you're happy with Ryu, then you have my blessing, but I still need time to comprehend all of this."
Kasumi immediately hugged her brother as it was important to her that he supported her choice and she was also happy to get his approval. Ryu and Kasumi then decided to head home. But before they could leave, Hayate pulled Ryu aside.
"If you ever break my sister's heart, I will hunt you down." He seriously whispered.
Ryu placed a hand on Hayate's shoulder, "I wouldn't think of it… she means the world to me." Soon he disappeared with Kasumi.
Hayate stared in the air somewhat a little confused still of the situation but he decided to just deal with it. Sighing, he turned around and saw Momiji standing still looking at him.
"Hungry?" Momiji held the food basket up with a smile.
"Eat with me?" Hayate suggested.
"I guess I could now that Master Ryu forgot his lunch..."
They sat down by the river eating their lunch and making conversation.
"Did you make these? They're delicious." Hayate took a big bite of the rice ball, as he hadn't realized he was so hungry.
"Kasumi did, I just helped."
He frowned at her strangely, "Kasumi knows how to cook?"
"Why are you surprised? She did survive on her own in the wilderness…"
"Yeah, you're right…" Hayate sighed. "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around my sister and my best friend getting married..."
"Kasumi will be fine you know, and I know how much Master Ryu cares about her."
"Love is just a funny thing to me. How about you Momiji, are you into anyone?" Hayate bluntly asked.
"I am actually, but I don't think he feels the same way…" Momiji softly replied looking at Hayate's handsome profile.
"A beautiful woman like you, he must be blind." Hayate replied clueless.
Momiji let out a light sigh, "Love is not an easy thing to understand that's for sure."
An easy silence fell between them. Hayate laid himself down on the ground after he finished eating and stared at the clear blue sky once again.
"This place brings a lot of memories. Remember how we used to hang out here almost every day? life was so much less complicated back then..." Hayate proceeded but his tone hinted sadness.
"How could I forget, this is where we first, um..." Momiji quickly stopped herself and looked away feeling embarrassed for casually bringing up a special memory between her and Hayate. He turned his gaze to her and she gaze back at him.
Hayate then pushed himself back into a sitting position looking at Momiji a little puzzled.
"Momiji?"
"Yes?"
"What really happened to us?" Hayate asked remembering their specific past.
"I'm not sure… ever since you were made the leader, I hardly see you around anymore, then DOATEC got you, and we all thought that you were..." She didn't want to say the word out loud. "I really thought that you were gone, Hayate." She turned to him with sadness in her eyes.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, Momiji..."
"Don't be, we were too young to understand what it was anyway." Momiji then started packing the lunch boxes back into the basket but Hayate touched her wrist making her looked back at him. He leaned closer and aimed for her lips. Momiji brought her face closer with the same desire. As their lips brushed each other's, she put a finger on his lips to stop them from going any further.
"Hayate, let's not do this to ourselves. I know you're in love with someone else..." She whispered pulling herself away from him and turned around to continue packing the food basket, so she could leave.
"Momiji..."
"See you around, Hayate."
~Germany~
Hitomi dance around in the kitchen making breakfast. It had been six months since Hayate left Germany. She still missed him a lot but was not as sad about his absence anymore, perhaps she was slowly getting used to him being gone. She found a way to move on and keep herself occupied. She even had a boyfriend since then. But her time was mostly spent in training and school work since it was her first year in college, it helped keep her mind focused on something else besides Hayate.
There was another thing she had been excited about, a Karate tournament that will be held in Japan in a couple of days. Hitomi decided to enter and had dedicated her times preparing herself. Her father wasn't sure if she was ready but he was more worried about Hitomi going far away than it was about the Karate tournament. After a good thinking, he had no choice but to be reasonable in the end as Hitomi was no longer a teenager, she was an adult now and she had proven to be a great fighter. She even beat him a couple of times during their sparring sessions. In the end, he had to let her go.
That same night Hitomi began packing to get ready to fly to Japan in the morning. She would be there for about a month depending on how far she will get in the tournament. Hayate did cross her mind but she doubted that she would run into him. He probably wouldn't want to see her during her stay in Japan even if he knew she was there. Hitomi had never been to Japan before so she was excited about the trip. Her mother was Japanese, that was why she had a Japanese name, and so this trip would be extra special to her.
As she opened the top dresser drawer, something immediately caught Hitomi's attention. A picture of her with Ein. She took it out and stared at the picture in her hand. For a while, she had hidden the picture because she couldn't look at it without getting sad, as it hurt for her to miss him. Now it made her smile at the bright memories it brought back. It was such a happy time in her life. All sudden, the wind blew the picture away from her hand as she had forgotten to close the window. It startled her and she quickly ran towards the window and closed it. She then crawled to where the picture was and grabbed it, looking at it one more time, but Hitomi decided to bring it with her for good luck.
…
Days after Hayate found out about Ryu's relationship with Kasumi and the little incidence he had with Momiji, he had been acting differently. He hardly talked to anyone not even to his parents. After he was done with his clan duties, he would lock himself in his bedroom ignoring everybody and eventually his parents noticed that something wasn't right with Hayate. Shiden called him in for a personal one on one to make sure that he was alright. That was when Hayate had asked for a temporary permission to step back as the clan leader and if his father could take over for a while. Hayate didn't explain why. Worrying for his son, Shiden agreed to take over temporarily. Ever since Hayate came back to the village, he hadn't had a break. Taking care of everyone's needs and going out to mission after mission was slowly taking a toll on him.
"Lady Ayame, is everything alright?" Ryu asked when he was summoned to the village by Hayate's parents.
"It's Hayate. He wouldn't talk to us and he has been in his room for two days, I'm starting to get worried, maybe he will talk to you…" She explained.
"I'll see what I can do," Ryu softly replied.
"Thank you, Ryu." Ayame left.
He then knocked on the bedroom door. "Hayate, open up..."
He knocked once again but Hayate didn't seem to respond, and after a few more knocks, Ryu decided to use teleportation to get inside. The technique was not to be used lightly, but he had to as he was getting a little concerned for his friend. Once inside, he saw Hayate sitting on the floor wearing only his boxers with his face buried between his knees and a sake bottle in his hand. He then looked around the room at all the mess with empty sake bottles laying around everywhere.
"What the hell…" Ryu was not sure what to make of the sight. "You drank all of these? What's going on, Hayate?"
"Leave me alone…" He finally spoke in a tired voice.
Ryu walked over to his friend and lowered in front of him, but something else suddenly caught his eyes on the floor. A photo of Hayate and Hitomi. He picked it up to look closer, and then looked back at Hayate. Ryu got the idea of what had made his friend so sad.
"Why are you doing this to yourself?"
Hayate finally looked at Ryu. His hair was messy and dark circles under his eyes indicated he hadn't slept in days. "Why don't these things work on us?" Hayate wondered referring to sake.
"Stop torturing yourself Hayate, it's time to move on."
"Do you think I haven't tried? I went this far just to try to forget about her even if it's just for a day and it doesn't work, I just can't get drunk." He threw the bottle on the wall in anger shattering it. "She is all I think about day and night, and I can't handle missing her anymore..."
Ryu sighed and then sat down beside Hayate, thinking…"You know, I feel a little guilty for bringing you back home."
"Why?" Hayate wondered strangely.
"Well, when Kasumi and I were spying on you in Germany, she said something about how you looked so happy with the girl. You seemed to have made a good life over there."
Hayate thought about what Ryu had just said. "I'd be lying if I say I don't miss Germany…It is what it is Ryu, you shouldn't feel guilty. I would've want to find out who I was eventually."
Ryu grabbed something else off the floor, a flyer that had suddenly caught his eyes. "What's this?"
"Something I picked up a couple days ago on my way back from a mission."
"You're not thinking on entering the tournament, are you?"
"No, I don't want the attention nor do I care about the winning price. I've considered to go and watch for the fun of it." Hayate replied.
"Right, I forgot Karate is your thing now."
"Do you want to go with me?"
"I can't since I promised Kasumi to take her fishing this weekend and spent time with her before I go on a long mission again next week."
"When are you two planning on getting married?"
"As soon as I get back from my next mission. I need to find a way to announce the news to everyone and we will take it from there. I can't even begin to think what your father will do to me once he finds out..." Ryu said nervously.
Hayate only sighed at that.
"I have to return to Kasumi, pull yourself together." Ryu got up to leave, "And one more thing…"
"What is it?"
"Do yourself a favor and shower." He suggested and disappeared.
Hayate tried to stand up but he instantly fell back on the floor startling himself. "Great, now it's working..." He felt too dizzy to stand up, so he crawled to his futon ignoring Ryu's suggestion and soon fell asleep.