Lol, Nakahito, that is so true… except I have pretty much finished them. Just been really slack on posting them. *Grin* I'm really happy because I'm so close to finishing this story, just trying to sum it up… but thank-you ever so much for all the reviews! I'm experimenting with pairings to see which ones I like (as you may have noticed from my stories where Ryu is paired up with everybody except the kitchen sink) and if you don't like this pairing, hopefully I'll soon write a story which has the pairing that you prefer :)

What on earth had possessed him to not try and get her out of the room as soon as possible? It wasn't manners, although pushing her out of the room would be extremely rude, he knew. It's just that he hadn't actually sat down with someone and had tea for a long time. Since, yes… her. Why was this happening, now of all times? He didn't need this!

"No!" he exclaimed out aloud. Ayane turned, and looked slightly concerned. "Are you sure you're alright? You don't seem overly well," she said. He shook his head, grabbing the teapot, before adding the tea and the boiling water.

"I'm fine," he replied for the second time, pouring the tea and handing her a cup. She nodded gratefully, taking the cup. He poured some for himself, and took a careful sip. "As fine as I'll ever be, I suppose," He sighed. Irene's death had never affected him like this, was it going to do this from now on? He felt as though he was sinking into a hole of depression, and he didn't like it.

"I miss Hayate, you know," Ayane said out of the blue, so he had to look up and make sure that she had actually said that, it wasn't just his mind playing tricks on him. "Even though I would never tell him that… I don't even know why I'm telling you, it's just…" she broke off, slightly embarrassed. Hayabusa didn't really know either.

"As do I," he said instead, opting for a minimal number of words. "Your sister is making it difficult, though," Her words were still bothering him.

"Half sister," Ayane corrected; malice evident in her tone. "That wretch will never be my proper sister, and it's a damn good thing as well," She took a sip from her cup of tea, putting down the cup with a significant amount of force, causing tea to spill on the bench. "Oh, sorry about that," she said, wiping the tea off the bench with her hand. "It's just that she makes me so angry, down to the mere mention of her. It's always me living in her shadow. I can't stand it!"

Hayabusa suddenly discerned why she was seeking revenge against Kasumi. Because she was sick of her getting all the attention. Ayane looked slightly embarrassed at his realization.

"Well, it's true. I want to be my own person, instead of Kasumi's sister. It drives me crazy,"

"It would," Hayabusa replied softly. She looked at him piercingly, almost as if trying to read what expression he was wearing, but the question she asked was far from what he was expecting.

"What's your first name?" she asked. "Call me stupid, but I've forgotten after all these years,"

"Ryu," he said shortly, looking at her bemusedly. Why did she need to know that? "What's with the change of heart, anyway?" he asked, changing the subject. "Wasn't it just yesterday that you were throwing knives at me, yet now you apologize and are having tea with me, telling me more then you have in the years I've known you? What's brought on the sudden change?"

"I…" she started. "I felt bad about what I had said considering it isn't your fault that Kasumi's an annoying little twit and I get annoyed with her and her stupid statements, etcetera,"

"You're an assassin, though," His voice was still remaining soft, almost probing in its tone. Ayane found it… interesting to some point, which was odd. "Isn't it in the repertoire of an assassin to be ruthless and emotionless?"

"You've killed before, probably more then I have," she shot back. "And besides, no emotion would be boring. Does it really matter why I came to see you? I have my reasons, okay? I've tried telling you them. Do you need a step by step reason?" she asked. Sarcasm was her best department, in her opinion.

"I suppose not," Nothing else was said on the matter and they drank the rest of their tea in silence. After a while, Ayane broke it.

"I should be going now, but I might see you once the tournament starts,"

"Okay," he said, looking into her eyes with his own, which were still pain-torn, and made her feel… concerned, she supposed, distantly, of course. "Until then,"