Later that night, Hayate was wide awake while Hitomi was sound asleep next to him. They'd really done it he thought, tenderness washing over him, they'd really made love…and he wished that he could have more nights like that with her.

But happy thoughts quickly turned into more doubtful. He was starting to regret the decision he made to reveal himself to her at the tournament. Everything that had happened in the last couple of days had made him feel worse than how he felt on the day he left her in Germany. He got a little taste of what it could be like being with Hitomi, and every time he was with her, everything just made sense. Hayate was dueling with guilty conscience, and he now had to deal with losing her once again. This was one of those time where he wished he wasn't a ninja. Her happiness meant the world to him. All he wanted to do was make Hitomi happy, but realized he was the only one hurting her.

Hitomi suddenly tightened her arm around him, as she unconsciously whispered in her sleep. "I love you, Ein…"

An impatient sigh escaped Hayate.

Ein…maybe it's him she missed, she loves him, not me. Ein could offer her a lot more than I could.

He didn't think that she really loves him but that she was still in love with the other version of him.

Why would she love someone like me?

The fact that she wasn't afraid of him the other night when they had talked about what he did as a ninja worried him a little. Maybe she couldn't see pass the real him and that she was still naive enough to think he was Ein, a guy who wouldn't hurt a fly. Hayate pulled himself up into a sitting position, then slide his fingers through his brown hair in frustration while having an inner argument with himself. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a soft hand stroking his back.

"If you're thinking of leaving, you could at least say goodbye this time." Hitomi said in a low sleepy voice.

His silence and stare made her a little uncomfortable. His eyes were more intimidating in the dark when staring at her. She had woken up during the night and had looked at him sleeping. He looked uncomfortable and was not at peace. It was as if he had his guard up while sleeping, maybe that was how ninjas sleep, she thought, always on alert even when their minds weren't completely connected with reality. It crossed her mind that Hayate wasn't a normal guy with a normal job. He was a shinobi, the one who kill for a living, a dangerous kind. The thought did bother her, but somehow she wasn't afraid of him. He had a way of making her feel safe. She pushed herself up and looked into his eyes.

"Hayate, what's wrong?" She asked a little worried, as he looked upset.

He didn't reply but only turned his gaze away from her.

"Talk to me, don't shut me out." Hitomi tried again, knowing something was clearly bothering him.

Hayate then looked back at her. "Could you see having a relationship with someone like me?"

Hitomi was caught off guard by the question. Though she knew what he meant, it was just that she had never really thought about it since he left her as Hayate and she never got the whole picture of who he really was. "Hayate, why are you…"

"I'm not him, I can never be him again and I'm not a good guy like he was." He interrupted her. His firmed tone made Hitomi a little nervous, he seemed angry. He saw that he had made her uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I don't even know why I asked when I know we can't be together…"

"Do you want to know what I really want?" Hitomi said softly. "I want to be with you Hayate. I know you're no longer Ein, but my feelings haven't changed. In fact, after spending a little time with you, you made me want to get to know the real you even more. I want you to come back to Germany with me, that's what I really want."

His arms then wrapped around her, gathered her close, holding around her tightly. "I really wish I could, you have no idea how much I have missed you Hitomi…" He replied hopelessly.

"Then, why can't you?"

"Because they will do the same to me like they did to my sister, Kasumi. Leaving my village is not an option especially not in my position and they might hurt you as well. I would never forgive myself if anything bad happen to you."

Hitomi broke away from his hold. "I see… so, Kasumi is your sister." She remembered the name he had called her in the woods when she first found him. It finally hit her that they have no chance of being together. Hitomi felt selfish as well for even asking him to leave everything behind for her…she had never fully comprehended everything up until now.

"This is my entire fault. I keep hurting you…" He mumbled in guilt.

"Don't blame yourself Hayate, I will be fine and so will you." It was breaking her inside but she wanted to stay strong for them.

"Kiss me…" Hitomi then whispered as she leaned closer and lifted her mouth to him, so he did. He laid her back on the bed while their lips passionately locked. She wanted him again and he wanted the same.

Hours later, Hayate woke up and the first thing he did was looked at the clock on the wall. He carefully rolled Hitomi to the side off his arms trying not to wake her, as he had to go back to his village to make it to the early meeting that his father had demanded him to be there. It seemed important.

Hayate made his way out of the hotel but struggling to keep his eyes open since he was tired after a long night. He didn't get much sleep, but it was worth it he thought. As he turned around a corner, he accidently bumped into a woman making her stumbled backward since he was going in a fast pace.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there miss..." He quickly apologized for his clumsiness.

"It's alright, accident happens." She smiled.

Hayate then continued making his way out, but something made him abruptly stopped in his tracks. His gaze lowered, frowning deeply. Something was off about the woman. He walked back around the corner to see if he could still see her but she had disappeared into a room. His eyes narrowed, as he tried to put together of why her aura had bothered him all sudden. He wanted to follow her but he couldn't be late for the meeting. He instead shook the feeling off and decided that he was just being paranoid.

It was Hitomi's last day before she had to fly back home to Germany early next morning. When Hitomi woke up from her slumber, the first thing she did was looked to the other side of the bed to see if Hayate was still there, but he wasn't. She figured that left while she was still asleep. Hitomi then turned to face the window. The sound of the heavy raindrops tapping heavily on the windows was making her even more emotional. Her body refused to get out of bed. A piece of paper on the nightstand suddenly caught her eyes. She reached to grab it. Hayate had left a note saying that he would meet her later that evening to say his final goodbye. Hitomi took another deep breath, pulled the blanket over her shoulders and closed her eyes. She didn't want to spend the day thinking about it but rather sleep through it. It was too depressing.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and she quickly opened her eyes again, I thought he said that he would meet me this evening… Curious, Hitomi quickly put her clothes on and ran to the door to see who it was. At first, Hitomi was a little hesitant about opening the door right away.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Room service." A woman's voice replied.

Hitomi looked through the peek hole. A woman with short white hair smiling at her, as if she knew Hitomi was peeking. She then opened the door.

"Good morning." The woman greeted.

"This must be a mistake, I didn't ask for…" Hitomi tried to explain when the woman got inside the room, slammed the door and aimed a gun at her.

"Make a noise and you're dead."

~Mugen Tenshin~

Hayate took his seat at the table with the other leaders from their neighbor clans. He was the youngest in the room. Hayate could hardly keep his eyes open and there was nothing more boring to him than his father's long speech about what they needed to do that week. After the DOATEC, not much was happening besides from non-dangerous missions. The Mugen Tenshin and Hayabusa's mutual enemy, the evil Black Spider clan hadn't made any move on them for a while either. Their silence usually means bad news. It was not in the Black Spider clan's nature to give up until they can overpower them all.

Shiden gave Hayate a serious stare before he began the meeting. Hayate caught his stare, wondering why he was looking at him as if he had pissed his father off or something. He was too tired to care and he just wanted this meeting to be over as soon as possible so he could get out of there.

"There is a reason why I wanted all of you here today," Shiden began. "As you may well know that the Black Spider clan, as I have been told by…"

"Master?" Hayate abruptly interrupted making all eyes turned to him.

"Is there a good reason for you to have interrupted me, Hayate?" Shiden strictly questioned.

"If this meeting is about the Black Spider clan, then shouldn't Ryu be here? He seems to be the only one missing…" Hayate wondered ignoring the others glare on him.

Shiden sighed, "I thought you two always knew of each other's whereabout, obviously you haven't been communicating..." then he grabbed something from what looked like files and photos and placed them on the table so he could explain further. "Ryu Hayabusa and Ayane have been out on a spy mission, and from what I have been informed, our enemies are now not working alone."

They looked at each other curious at who might be helping the Black Spider clan.

"Hayate? I need to ask you something very important because you might be able to give clues that can lead us to their next plan."

It made Hayate more awake since it was obviously not a normal meeting, as things just got serious again.

"What is it, Master?" Hayate curiously asked.

"You were responsible for bringing down the DOATEC, are you sure that everything was destroyed?"

"Yes sir, although there was no news of their leader whereabouts. We failed to locate his hiding location. However, the evidence of our secrets that they had kept in that building had been destroyed, Ayane and I made sure of that." Hayate replied, "What is this really about?"

"The black spider clan is now working alongside DOATEC and their interest seems to be you and Hayabusa. Perhaps, working together would increase their chances to get what they want, and therefore we must be prepared. Be cautious Hayate, they will do anything to get to you again."

Hayate raised a brow at the news. However, he wasn't surprised. He realized there was a chance that they might come back for revenge after what he did to the tri-tower. He had killed most of their scientists and soldiers, ruining their decades of work.

Shiden then proceeded by taking out a few photos that Ayane had sent him and showed them to everyone. "These are the faces of the DOATEC spies and assassins."

Hayate took a closer look at one of the photo in front of him that had caught his special attention. He couldn't pay attention on what his father was talking about since his mind had shut down to only focus on where he had seen the woman in the photo, since she looked very familiar to him.

"Hayate, are you listening?" Shiden was getting impatient.

This woman…it cannot be a coincidence? This morning, in the hotel lobby…this is her, but why would she…HITOMI! He screamed in his mind after putting together the pieces. Hayate abruptly rose from his chair and ran out of the meeting house.

"Hayate! Where are you going?" Shiden called after him and everyone wore a look of confusion.

"He's not very good at listening, is he?" One had commented, as he had been in several meetings with Hayate and it was rarely a pleasant one if Hayate didn't get his way. He was known for being one of the most stubborn young leader of their generation. Shiden shook his head and sighed deeply. He just never seemed to understand what was going on with his son sometimes.