It was almost as though telling Ayane had made his shoulder ache. He touched the wound lightly. The incident itself had occurred almost a week ago, and the cut on his shoulder was only beginning to heal up. It was so easy to relive the moment, but he tried to block it out of his mind.
Thank the gods that Hayate had come then, even a few seconds longer and I'd be short an arm. A scary thought, that.
He started as Hayate shifted on the table, moaning slightly. Reaching the edge of the tabletop, he looked at his friend to see two golden brown eyes staring at him.
"I'm… alive?" he asked, sounding rather surprised. Ryu nodded.
"Don't try and move. You'll aggravate your wound," he said softly, brushing auburn hair away from his friend's face gently. "You're badly hurt, Hayate. Be careful,"
"Ryu?" He sounded so scarily distant, the young ninja noted. "Is that you?"
He nodded. "Indeed,"
"Ryu… is Kasumi dead? Did you kill her?" Hayate asked wearily. He blinked. He hadn't been expecting that question. He glanced sideways at Ayane, who was wearing an 'it's-your-problem-you-deal-with-it' expression on her face. He shut his eyes briefly, before responding.
"The one that you speak of… she is not here," he said, choosing her words carefully. "She is elsewhere, hopefully a better place,"
"Oh, thank the gods for that," Hayate said, shutting his eyes. "Thank-you, Ryu. And you saved my life as well. I guess that makes us even,"
"I guess it does," Ryu responded softly.
Short chapter… sorry about that! The next chapter's got more Ayane… yay.
Hope you enjoy!