Had to change the title because there was already a fic out there with the same name. Heh . . . yeah. Read on!
Chapter 3 - Insane?
It was raining on the forest. The limbs of the tree slumped from the heavy weight of the rain. Dark clouds hovered above them. They flickered with light as lightening cracked and a rumble shook the earth. No living being stirred in the forest; all took cover from the rain except a crowd of men and women in the clan. Their clothes were soaked and their hands were wrinkled from the long exposure to the rain. They coughed and shivered with their noses red and many of them were close to falling asleep where they stood. Dark rings were under their eyes from the lack of sleep. They had not lied down to rest in weeks, too dedicated to their leader to halt their work upon her shrine to sleep.
It was what Ayane had requested. She was the new leader of the clan after Hayate had gladly given up his responsibility to her. It was an unbelievable act. A bastard child was now the leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan. After years of being looked down upon, she was now the one who looked down upon them. A shinobi had refused to take orders from her and after leaving the clan to live in the forest, a kunoichi had found his body in a gorge the day after.
She had reported her findings to Ayane and Ayane replied by saying, "Let that be a warning to anyone who decides to leave without my consent."
The kunoichi had quickly spread the word of the shinobi's death to her clan members. After witnessing this, Ayane did not know where their loyalty lied and she had wished that they would worship her. And worshipped her they did. They were immediately fond of the young girl and had forgotten about the shinobi's death. And the key to worshiping Ayane was with a shrine.
Hayabusa witnessed it all take place. He was forced to stay amongst the clan as a clan friend. Ayane refused to let him leave. She believed it was pointless since he no longer had a clan of his own. Besides she wanted him to keep her company at times when she was tired of having Hayate in her presence. She would often lie in her bed with the rabbit on her stomach, stroking its fur as she spoke to Hayabusa about whatever came to her mind. Sometimes she would speak about the weather or the color of the ceiling or how her shrine was coming about. And Hayabusa would stand in the corner across the room, not paying her attention, but nodding or humming yes or no to whatever statement or question she made.
She would speak about Kasumi also. It was the only time she had gotten his attention. He knew that she only spoke of her, because he and Kasumi had shared a relationship he and Ayane could never have.
"Why did you like her so much?" Ayane would ask, narrowing her eyes on his, "What's wrong with me?!"
Hayabusa would say nothing in return. He was even beginning to believe that Ayane was fond of him, often asking what Kasumi had that she hadn't and making small gestures to brush the hair from his face or place her small hand on his arm whenever she spoke to him. He did nothing at this nor did he speak against her. He had seen what she could do as long as the rabbit was by her side. And she could do anything she wanted. He was in fear, a feeling he thought he had forgotten. He was in fear of being corrupted just like the ninjas and his best friend, Hayate.
It was too late for his friend, he knew. He would forever worship Ayane and never again remember the sister he had lost. His conversations with Hayate were becoming shorter and rarer. Many of them ended with Hayate speaking of how wonderful Ayane was, proof that he loved her. But Hayabusa believed he loved her too much. Ayane had always wanted the love of her brother and she had gotten that. However, as the times passed, her ego grew and Hayabusa knew that her admiration of him was dwindling. Her main concern was herself.
She had thought about one other person. She had thought about this person many times when she believed she was alone. She would sit in the cramped storage room and look upon old portraits of the one she called her father. And when Hayabusa went in search of Ayane, he would come upon a sobbing door in the midst of the hallway. He would sit beside it, close his eyes, and listen to the soft sobs. Ayane wanted to resurrect her father. But unfortunately, the rabbit had claimed that it was impossible. For what reasons, he didn't know. Neither did Ayane. The young girl had immediately dispelled all hopes of seeing him again.
The cause of all the dysfunction was the rabbit of course. It was a disease that had found itself a place in Ayane's tormented mind and she quickly spread to her brother and clan members. They were all corrupted and one was already dead. More than once had the thought of killing the rabbit occurred to Hayabusa, but the rabbit was always by Ayane's side. He never thought of it in her presence in fear that she had wished to read minds. He had no idea what Ayane would wish of him if she found out his intentions. The rabbit had become an essential fragment of her life.
But one night as Ayane slept in her bed, Hayabusa was awake and so was the rabbit. He had heard small footsteps outside his bedroom in the hallway. When he had sat up in his futon to look, the rabbit's shadow passed by his screen door. There had been no sign of Ayane in sight. It was his chance to dispose of the evil creature. He had quickly grabbed his katana and pursued the rabbit in the hallway. It was near a corner when Hayabusa had stepped on a loose board, causing a loud creak to echo off the walls. The rabbit had jerked its head back to witness him only a few feet away with his katana in hand. That was when it ran. Hayabusa had cursed himself before running after the rabbit.
By the time he had turned the corner, the rabbit had already turned another. He continued to run after it in hopes that he would catch it before it reached Ayane. He had tried to run after it as quietly as he could as to not wake anyone in the rooms including Ayane. But as the rabbit ran faster so did he and his footsteps became heavier. He didn't reach the rabbit in time, because it had reached Ayane's room and quickly jumped upon her bed, causing her to wake. Hayabusa had stopped himself at her doorway and was about to turn and hide, but Ayane had said his name. She had told him to step inside. He regrettably placed his katana against the wall outside the room and had slept beside Ayane the rest of that night. But he did not take his eyes off the rabbit that had placed itself on the other side of Ayane. Nor did he sleep.
That rainy afternoon, he and Hayate had headed out towards the river to fish with Ayane's consent. Hayate was knee deep in the river, running his hands through the water and Hayabusa was on the shore, sitting upon the rock as he tied the string onto the rod. Only the sounds of the raindrops could be heard upon the surface of the river, rocks, and cloaks on their backs. Hayabusa listened to these sound and breathed in the fresh forest air. And then he relaxed, closing his eyes.
But the sound of rapid splashing caused him to shoot open his eyes to see Hayate kicking up the water and scattering all the fish.
"Hayate! Stop it!" he shouted at him, causing him to freeze, "You're scaring away all of the fish!"
Hayate gave a smirk before retreating back to the shoreline beside Hayabusa. Hayabusa crouched near the river with the rod in his hand. He still was a bit discouraged about leaving the clan. It was unusual that Ayane would allow him to leave. He hadn't been out into the forest for weeks. He felt as if she was planning something for him while he was gone. But he dispelled that thought and decided to look upon the brighter side. He was able to spend some time away from her doing the one thing that gave him peace: fishing.
"What're we waiting on?" Hayate interrupted his thoughts.
Hayabusa jerked his head over towards him, just remembering he was there.
"We're waiting for the fish to return," he replied with a grin, "You scared them away. Remember?"
Hayate grinned back before averting his attention towards the water. Hayabusa didn't take his eyes off him. He looked like the same Hayate and acted like the same Hayate. But despite these facts, he was not the same Hayate. The Hayate he remembered was the leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan and would often speak with him about his sister, Kasumi. But the Hayate beside him knew nothing of Kasumi. All he knew was Ayane. He worshipped her every step. He was her underling and it was evident to Hayabusa that any sign of rebellion towards her would be immediately notified to her. Hayabusa would have to watch what he said.
He pitied the man beside him. His identity had been taken away from him. And every time Hayabusa looked into his eyes, he knew that he was someone else in disguise. It was evident now after all the months of being uncertain. And he felt as if he could hear the real Hayate screaming out to him. He wanted to die. He wanted to be alongside his sister in eternal slumber. And he no longer wanted to be under Ayane's control. He was distraught and alone. Hayabusa could feel it deep within his being. And he believed that if he reached out to him, then he would be able to place a hand on his quivering back and tell him that he was not alone.
If there had been a time when Hayate needed anything, Hayabusa was there and vowed to forever be there. He was going to keep his promise.
"Hayate, hold this for me," he spoke, handing his friend the rod.
He stepped away from the shoreline then stopped only a few feet away. There, he took a deep breath before looking back at his friend. His back was still towards him as if giving him a chance. Hayabusa had to take that chance. He crept towards him in silent steps. Hayate wasn't aware of his presence until his shadow appeared over him.
"Ryu?" he asked the shadow.
It didn't answer, but lunged at him and thrust his head into the water. Hayate thrashed about, desperately trying to get his head out of the water, but the hands that pressed down on him were too strong. He screamed under the water, but no one heard him not even his best friend who was trying to end his life. Hayate could feel the water entering his lungs and he choked as bubbles surrounded his face. His hand frantically searched for anything to fend off his attacker and came upon the fishing rod he had dropped underneath the water. He took it in hand and started repeatedly beating Hayabusa with it. Hayabusa winced at the sharp strikes on his shoulder and reached a hand down to pry the rod out of Hayate's grasp. Realizing the weight on his head had slightly lifted, Hayate pushed himself up, throwing Hayabusa off his back. He shook the water from his face and coughed up the water in his lungs. He turned to see his friend coming at him, reaching for his face, but he quickly thrust his foot in his stomach, shoving him backwards again.
Hayate picked himself up onto his feet as quickly as he could, but he was still dazed from the lack of oxygen. He stumbled onto a stone, but picked himself up again. Hayabusa appeared before him in a swirl of leaves and tackled him onto the shoreline. Hayate gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and tried to breathe again only to find that he couldn't breathe nor see. Hayabusa had pressed his hands onto his face and tried to cease his breathing and conceal his eyes. He couldn't bear look at him as his life slowly slipped away. But it had to be done and he only wished he would stop trying to fight him off. It would be much easier for them both.
But he didn't.
He wasn't ready to die. He pulled at Hayabusa's hair, pushed his face away, and tried to pry his hands from his face. None of it worked. And as his strength weakened, tears began to form in Hayate's eyes. He was saddened and confused as to why his friend that he trusted for years was trying brutally to kill him. It wasn't the way to die. Hayabusa couldn't see his tears; but he could feel them as they wetted his hands and slipped through his fingers.
"Forgive me," he told Hayate, feeling the remainder his life draining away.
Hayate's grip around his wrists loosened and his arms fell limp against the rocks. Hayabusa's eyes widened. Before he could even comprehend what he had just done, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and fell unconscious beside Hayate in a thud. Hayate was still alive. He quickly inhaled the air once again and flipped over onto his side, making sure he could move. He was lightheaded from the lack of oxygen and through blurred vision, he could see Hayabusa lying down on the rocks as the river washed over him.
"I had a feeling there was something wrong with him," a voice spoke.
Hayate looked up to see Ayane standing over Hayabusa, glaring down at him.
"He's obviously insane."
Hayate breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head onto the rocks. The rabbit had seated itself a few feet away from them. It stared at Hayate and he stared back.