Even after everything… I'm a girl, so let's blame it on that as to why this story is getting a little bit OOC and romantic-like. Anyway, hope you have enjoyed… it's been great and hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it! ~Em

"Okay, fine. But as long as we date, you had better be the perfect guy, otherwise you're getting the flick," Ayane said finally. "That means taking me out somewhere nice," Well, she didn't mind the guy, so being stuck with him wouldn't take any skin off her nose, so to speak. And if she could score a dinner or something in the process, what was there to complain about?

He nodded, doing a small formal bow.

"Wherever you wish to go, we shall,"

Hayate laughed at her bewildered looking expression. "See, I told you before that ninjas have wonderful charm and talk nicely,"

"Talking in the right language that I could understand would be appreciated more," she muttered.

He smiled shyly and it was only then that Ayane realized that she had never seen him smile before. It looked almost… timid, but rather cute, if he could be considered that. She resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Kasumi would be so jealous if she could see what was going on.

"That's cute. Do it again," she said. Hayate raised his eyebrows.

"In all the years I've known you, I've never heard you say the word 'cute' before. He must be addling your brain, Ayane,"

Fortunately for Hayate, he dodged the flurry of blows that came his way from Ayane. Unfortunately for Hayate, he didn't see the blows coming from behind.

"Now look who's laughing," Ayane mocked as he struggled to get up, but with Ryu putting most of his weight on him, and Ayane helping, he found that rather difficult. "What do you have to say to this now, Mr. Mugen-Tenshin clan leader?"

"Okay, I give," Hayate laughed. Surprisingly, Ryu chimed in.

"That isn't good enough, my friend. The only thing that can save you from a fate worse then death is by making lunch," His eyes twinkled as he said this and it was clear that they had both forgotten about the could-have-been row earlier.

"Lunch?" Hayate protested. "But I don't do that!"

"You do now," Ryu said seriously. "Otherwise I will make you be my sparring partner for when I practice the Izuna-Otoshi, and I'm working on a rather painful part of it right now, perfecting the spiral drop of it,"

Hayate visibly paled.

"What do you want?" he asked hurriedly. "Sushi? Onigiri? Sashimi? Tempura? Gyoza? Just ask chef Hayate!"

Ayane grinned.

*

They had just gone on their first date, at a very nice sushi restaurant. She had to admit that the kneeling did nothing for her stockings, but it had still been a very pleasant evening. They were just finishing up when Ryu spoke.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," he said softly, taking a sip of his drink.

"More then I thought I would, to be honest," she replied. "This has been great. Thanks,"

"That's fine," he said politely. One thing she had noticed was how… reserved he had been through the entire evening; they had talked for hours about seemingly stupid subjects, and found out a bit more about each other. She had deduced that he was a Gemini, for a start. But he had been acting as though he was going to be marked on his presentation and manners or something. "Ten out of ten. Now will you please loosen up a bit?" she asked. The bemused look showed that he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. "You're acting as though I'm marking you on presentation. So, ten out of ten. Manners, ten out of ten. Loosen up a little. You're treating me like I'm your aunt or something," she said.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I haven't done this for a while. It's a bit nerve-wracking,"

"Just as nerve-wracking as a monster gnawing on your arm, no doubt?" she asked skeptically. They had talked about their pasts a little, and Ryu's seemed to be more of the same as she knew, beating up bad guys and saving the world, among other things.

"That's not nerve-wracking. That's just painful," he said, taking another sip from his drink. "When I first realized that I liked you, I would have preferred take on the Tengu again then tell you that. Five Tengu with me tied down,"

"I'm not that bad," she said indignantly. "Sure, I might be a bit bitchy, but isn't everyone?"

"Not as much as you can be," he said honestly. She considered hitting him but decided against it. After all, he had relaxed a bit.

*

Ryu lay awake that night, pondering, before getting out of bed and sitting on the roof of the building. He thought that the date had gone well. She didn't bite. He was pleased with himself that he had managed to not stutter once during the entire course of the evening. He remembered his first date with Irene; he hadn't been able to get a word out.

"She isn't that bad," he said sleepily to the roof. "Not once you get to know her, at least. Even if she is female,"

I never thought that things would have ended up this way, he thought to himself. Ending up dating Ayane, of all people! Funny how things change, I still remember that encounter I had with her before the tournament and if anybody had told me then that I would end up liking her, there was no way that I would have believed them…

"Irene…" he whispered into the night. "You were right. I hope you think that I've done the right thing… because no matter what happens, I will always love you,"

And he could have sworn that he heard the wind answer back.