The sword going cleanly through his back… his mouth opening in pain but not managing to summon the energy to make a sound… blood pooling around him, his prone body falling to the floor…

NO! It wasn't possible! He couldn't be killed by… that thing…!

"I won't believe it!" she screamed, before realizing that she had woken up. Perspiration was beading on her forehead and she wiped it away with a trembling hand, whispering his name under her breath, brushing damp hair away from her face. "Hayate-sama…"

She missed him. She wasn't the only one, either, she knew. But she also knew that there was no way that she could have a restful night's sleep after that particular dream. She wasn't even going to try. She softly opened the window, before slipping out onto the roof. It was so still, dark, quietly peaceful out here. She glanced around, her eyes adjusting to the slight light which the clouds had allowed to escape. Then she started. There was a person silhouetted against the light. It couldn't be…! She let out an almost inaudible gasp of pleasure, before a voice interrupted her.

"Ayane-san. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am not Hayate," his soft voice broke through her consciousness. Sounding so similar, yet so different at the same time. Obviously it hadn't been only her who had been woken up from something.

"Keeping guard or something, Ryu?" she asked sweetly, her disappointment suddenly and surprisingly disappearing the moment she set eyes on him. He looked sideways at her, before back out towards the moon again.

"No. If you really must know, I had a nightmare. Are any sarcastically cutting comments waiting for me if I tell you that?" His bitterness surprised her. The comments that she had made the other day, although she had apologized for them, must still have been bothering him. Although right now he looked as though the entire earth's future was resting on his shoulders. She shrugged. It was.

"No, actually, that's the reason I'm here," she confessed, sitting down beside her. She was grateful that he didn't scoot over as soon as she did so. He merely remained in exactly the same position, staring out at the moon. 

"Hayate died, didn't he,"

The statement was not said as a question. She simply nodded.

"Stabbed in the back by his darling slut of a sister, Kasumi. All I could do was watch as she shoved his own sword into him. What sort of justice is there in that?" she demanded angrily. "I could just kill that damn-"

"It was just a dream, Ayane-san. Do not forget that," he paused, eyes still locked on the silvery orb hanging lazily in front of him. "I have had dreams like that before, with Hayate being murdered. However mine differs from yours in the fact that I was the one dealing the killing blow," His voice was as emotionless as if he was talking about the weather forecast. "And it was with Ryuken, not Hayate's sword,"

"Ryuken?" Ayane asked. "What's that?"

"The Dragon Sword," he said simply. "The sword of my family. The sword I have carried around for years, and so it will be until the sword chooses another owner, probably if I ever get around to producing an heir. Otherwise I don't know what will happen,"

"So you're it now, are you?" she questioned. "Head honcho?"

"The last direct member of the Hayabusa family, yes, but not the remaining clan member," he said softly. "I couldn't believe it when I woke up the other night and saw the sword's blade clean and ready to use. The dream was so realistic; I couldn't help but feel that I had committed the crime. I miss him too,"

"How much?" she asked, stifling a grin.

"Enough," he said shortly. Obviously he had got the gist of her 'innocent' question. She shrugged.

"Suit yourself, then,"

The silence was almost comforting in the way that neither had to force words out to break it, although she had a distinct feeling that Ryu wouldn't have, even if the silence had been uncomfortable. But finally, after pondering, she spoke.

"So. The tournament's today, in a matter of hours. What are you going to do after it's over?"

"Probably nothing," he said softly, surprising her. "Look after my shop. Travel. Wander aimlessly around. Climb mountains and camp there for days in an attempt to get away from civilization. What I always do. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," she said, before thinking back over what he had just said. "…Huh?" she exclaimed out aloud. The statement which Hayabusa had made totally contradicted with what he did for a living and who he was. "You just said you try to get away from civilization, yeah?"

"Yes. What of it?" he asked coolly.

"But you're a ninja," she said, confused. "You're supposed to help the same people who you try to get away from. What's the logic behind that?"

"Destiny and what I was bound to do and what I have to do," he said, shrugging. "What about you?" he asked, changing the subject awkwardly. "What are you going to do after this tournament is over?"

"Find Hayate and convince him that killing Kasumi is safer for the clan's wellbeing, and makes my job a lot easier," she muttered under her breath, assuming that she wouldn't be heard. To her surprise, Ryu had heard, and he responded to her statement.

"It probably is. No clan would let a runaway live. Yet your brother has to deal with emotions surrounding his sister as well. She is not as disposable to him as any other ninja, excluding yourself and Kasumi, of course. If Hayate does convince the clan to kill her, inwardly he will always have regrets once they retrieve her body. Feelings cannot die for somebody, but Hayate is always convinced of the clan's wellbeing and regulations,"

"You probably wouldn't be disposable to him," she said, not really knowing what else to say.

"For a start, I'm not in his clan. It isn't his choice of what to do with me. But even if I were, he would not mind risking me to benefit his clan. It's the sort of person he is,"

She couldn't argue with the statement about Hayate being that sort of person, but even still... "I don't know," she protested lightly. "He really cares about you,"

"He should have listened to me instead of acting as though he knew best," he said softly. "It was the one piece of advice I could give him, that his sister was better as a weapon for rather then against the clan. But he didn't. Now he will have to kill his sister, and there is nothing that anybody can do about it,"

Next chapter, the tournament starts! No talking, just straight into the action :)