Hayabusa was watching Ayane from a corner of the room, cloaked in shadow. He sighed. He knew full well what would happen if he hadn't broken them up, admittedly it wasn't his business to, except he had promised Hayate that he would protect his sister…
Why had he done that? Did he need a goal so badly that he took up the first opportunity he could find? He didn't think so. Simply, that he knew Hayate needed him to. He wanted to help his friend, was that such a crime? But Ayane… she would make things difficult, he knew. Ayane and Kasumi had never got on well, from what he knew. He himself hadn't really got on well with them either, simply not speaking to either of them overly much. That was just the way he was.
He made a slight face. Why were the tasks that Hayate set him sounded so simplistic, yet were… exactly the opposite? He didn't really want to protect Kasumi; he personally thought that she didn't need him. But he had promised Hayate… and he never went back on his word.
His thoughts were interrupted as soft footsteps were audible. He immediately looked up, glancing around the room inconspicuously to see who they belonged to. It was Ayane, casually walking towards him. Against his better judgment, he checked that his sword was holstered. She could be dangerous when she wanted to be. She walked over, and looked up at him.
"You've just spoilt my whole chance for revenge, I hope you realize," she said, malice slicing through the air in her words. Hayabusa simply regarded her, never losing his cool.
"There must be a bigger reason then that as to why you came here. You could simply eliminate Kasumi without coming here and doing it like this. Why do it so personally?" Hayabusa asked, raising an eyebrow at Ayane, who looked uncomfortable under his scrutinizing glare.
"I want to do it personally, but that isn't the only reason I came. That reason is none of your business," she retorted. He had never been nice to her, why return the favor? The reason was that she wanted Kasumi out of the spotlight. If she won the tournament, she would get the attention she craved, never again doomed to live in 'Perfect Kasumi's' shadow. How she longed to be her own person, rather then Kasumi's sister.
"As you wish," The young ninja said instead, looking down at her. She was frustrated; although she also thought that Hayabusa could make a person over six feet feel as though they were being looked down on. He just had that air about him. How she wanted to slap his face… or even better, scar his face…
Reaching swiftly for a knife which she kept hidden on her person, she drew it and was about to throw it. She aimed quickly and threw… yet he simply put out a hand, catching the knife in mid-flight by the handle. Ayane was shocked. She knew that she wasn't slow, far from it, in fact. So how had he managed to stop her? He had vastly improved from the last time she saw him…
"Why did you do that?" he asked softly, emerald eyes growing somewhat softer as they looked at her. "I wasn't planning on hurting you,"
Now she was annoyed. What could she say? You looking down on me was annoying me so I decided to stab you? She opted for the other option, the one where she could be excused.
"It looked like you were about to attack me. You can't blame a girl for being cautious," she snapped. "Especially around someone as infamous as you," she added nastily.
"Infamous?" he asked coolly, handing her back the knife handle first. "That is a nice knife. Depending on your aim, you could eliminate someone with a single blow," Ayane could have sworn that his green eyes suddenly twinkled, and Ayane was sure that she saw the slightest beginnings of a smile on his lips, but she couldn't tell for sure, because if it ever appeared, it was gone almost immediately.
"You're acting like the thought excited you," she said coldly, flicking her hair over her shoulder carelessly. "Oh well, I suppose being alone for so long can do that to people…"
Anger flashed through his eyes, although his face remained perfectly emotionless. "Don't assume you know what you don't," he said; his voice as icy as his eyes. Ayane shrugged.
"Hope you can restrain yourself from pulling out a gun and shooting up the crowd," she said sweetly before walking off. She didn't turn around. If she had, she would have seen him watching her go with almost a sad expression in those emerald eyes. It seemed that she had hit closer to home then she had realized.