To Dark Samarian,
Thanks for the review, but Ayane did not kill Ryu sparring. He died by a stone that fell from the shrine (it's still being built). The reason he did not move was because Ayane didn't tell him to. She had told him to stay put near the shrine, because she was getting tired of him following her.
What you read with the tanto was a quick flashback for Ayane. She was remembering a time when she felt more powerful than Hayabusa and that was when they were young. Of course, you know when you fight someone and you draw blood then you get that feeling that you are more powerful than that someone, right? Ayane did feel that way when she slashed Hayabusa with a tanto when they were younger, especially since Hayabusa is suppose to be the better fighter. But when she witnesses him bloodied on the ground and knowing it was her fault, she's not so sure about having power anymore. She's also regretting her wish upon Hayabusa. I hope it's clear to you now.
As for everyone else, thanks for the reviews! It's been a bit hard for me to write this, because I've been too happy lately. Anyway, here is the last chapter!
Chapter 5 - And Then There Was Dark
It was silent that night. But it was no surprise to her. Every night had been completely silent for the past several weeks. But now the silence seemed to be waiting for someone or something.
She opened her eyes to look up at the ceiling through the dark room, observing it dark green color. She could not sleep. She felt something was coming, but she did not know what. All she could do was wait. She picked her head up to look down at the spot the rabbit had placed itself that night before she went to sleep. It was not there. It must have been somewhere else. Ayane looked over at the tabletop, but it wasn't there either. When she tried to sit up, she realized her arms wouldn't budge. They felt as if they were glued to the sheets. Neither could she move her legs or waist. She struggled against the unknown force that held her down, but it was futile; she soon found this out. She collapsed back onto her pillow, breathing deeply from the struggle. She would be able to move again later she assumed.
Ayane closed her eyes once more, hoping to obtain rest. Unbeknownst to her, a white aura was glowing on the far wall. It took the shape of a human body and slumped against the wall on the floor. Its presence caught Ayane's attention. Her eyes shot open as wide as they could get. She jerked her head towards the wall and caught sight of the white aura. With her mouth agape, she watched as the aura slowly lifted a leg then the other. The aura lifted itself off the group and seemed to lazily slump from weariness. It started to move towards her, staggering, but never falling. Ayane had to move, but her body wouldn't allow her. She strained against the force and it was futile once again.
The aura was already near her bedside. Ayane feared that it was a force sent by someone more powerful than her to punish her for her sins. It kept a tight grasp on her, making sure she couldn't move. All she could do was wait and try to withstand whatever came.
The aura's glow began to diminish and the face of a girl appeared. Her auburn hair and eyes, the blue gi she wore, and the black and blue bruises that became a part of her pale skin. Ayane felt as if her heart had stopped. And as she struggled to breathe, she believed it did.
"Kasumi?" Ayane whispered the name.
Her dead sister stood before her, a distressed expression upon her face. Ayane's eyes were fixated on Kasumi's. They glowed as if they were ready to shed tears. And upon her cheeks were the trails of tears she had cried that night of her demise.
"You are dead," Ayane stated, more likely to convince herself, "I saw you die . . ."
Kasumi wanted to speak, but no words came when she opened her mouth. She looked away, trying to find the words to say to her younger sister.
"Ayane, I . . ." was all that was said before she stepped away from her bedside as if ashamed to be seen in front of her.
Another body lied on the floor. It was the body of a man. The head lied hidden behind the tabletop. Ayane strained against the force that confined her to look over the bedside at the body. A pool of liquid was surrounding the tabletop's feet. Ayane knew who it was. Similar to Kasumi, he still bored the garments he died in. He began to move, sitting himself up. His dark hair swayed to the front of his face, concealing it from her. He stood himself up, turned towards her direction, and then began to move towards her. He staggered and fell onto the bedside, startling Ayane.
"Stay away from me," Ayane commanded him, "Go away!"
"Even as my soul lies in the past life, you still believe you can control me?" he spoke in a low tone, "Don't you realize what you have done? You've corrupted everything in your path, Ayane. You've ruined everything."
Ryu began to stand from his place beside her bed, his hair moving from his face to reveal his green eyes and the blood that surrounded them and ran down to his chin.
"Is this what you've always wanted?" he spoke to her, "Death and deception?"
Ayane pretended to not hear. She pretended they weren't there. She closed her eyes shut and hoped for sleep to come soon.
"I suppose it doesn't matter to you as long as you're satisfied," he continued to speak, "As long as you gain something from it . . . But in the end, Ayane, you gain nothing."
Ayane opened her eyes and scowled at him.
"You aren't real," she told him.
"I was once was real . . . I once was human . . . But you took that away from me! You took that away from us!"
Ayane turned away from him. Kasumi looked on from behind Ryu with her head low. She didn't feel the need to interfere. The burden of knowing that everything she ever loved had been corrupted was enough.
"Someone as stubborn as you would never understand the true atrocities of your actions," Ryu stepped away from the bed, "Or maybe you are just ashamed to admit it . . ."
His last words stung her. And just like anytime it hurt, she cried. She shut her eyes tight, trying to seal off the tears, but they ran down her face, quickly soaking her pillow. She could move again. Her body allowed her to turn on her side and bury her face into her pillow, quieting the sobs. Ryu stepped farther away from her. He was no longer angered, but regretted his words.
"I wish you would go away," Ayane smothered voice emitted from the pillow, "Leave me. I can't stand the sight of you . . . Just go away."
Sunlight emerged from the horizon and swallowed Ryu and Kasumi until they disappeared in the sun's own orange aura. It painted Ayane and the room orange with its light. Ayane's tense shoulders relaxed at the touch of the sun's warm light. Sensing the new morning and the end of the nightmare, she ceased crying. She heard the door open then the patting of small feet. They crossed the room and stopped near the tabletop. Ayane sat herself up to look upon the rabbit that had seated itself near her bed.
"Ayane, I have some bad news," the snow rabbit spoke.
"Is it about my wishes?" Ayane inattentively questioned it, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
"Because of your wishes. Another ninja clan is on their way here and they are planning to attack."
Ayane froze in her place. She looked over at the rabbit's desperate look. She had never seen it before nor had she ever heard it inform her on such things. It was a different time indeed.
"Why are you telling me this?"
". . . I'm only doing what is best."
Ayane didn't take her eyes off the rabbit. It was waiting for her to respond. But she was unsure if it was the same rabbit she had been with for over a month. It looked the same, sounded the same, but something about it wasn't the same. And it worried her. Had the oncoming attack of the ninja clan caused the rabbit fear?
"This needs to be taken care of soon, Ayane," the rabbit broke the uncomfortable silence.
Ayane? If Ayane didn't have any sense, she would have thought Hayate of several weeks ago was speaking to her. Her head lowered without her knowledge. She started remember what she had said to Hayate; her harsh words. She created him then pushed him aside. She corrupted the head of the Mugen Tenshin clan then left him to wallow in confusion and despair. Ryu was right about her. She didn't want to admit her true actions, because she was ashamed. It was too evident to be true. But what was done was done. Bear it then forget. None of it could change.
"Rabbit," Ayane began.
The rabbit's ears perked up at the sound of her voice.
"I wish I would never sleep again," she spoke the words.
The simple response of the snow rabbit was, "So be it."
Concealed in the darkness of the night, they dashed through the forest, jumping over decaying tree logs and streams. All that was heard was the patting of their feet as they landed and ran off again. Assured that they were not seen, they occasionally hid amongst the tree limbs or bushes, but never staying put for too long. Their target was only so close.
At the sight of a stiff hand, they took cover and drew their weapons. The war was about to begin. It was only a simple swing of the arm away. Some of them were only seeing the beginning of war for the first time and others living and breathing it. Some hands shook, but others held a firm grasp. Some eyes were closed, but others were wide open. And some took unsteady breaths, but others were easy. But all were ready and willing to fight.
Their head ninja peered at the clearing where the huts stood from behind a bush. There was not a living soul walking about the clearing; a sign that their enemy knew of their coming. Ambush would be at hand.
"I cannot see them," he spoke to his younger underling beside him, "But I can smell them."
His underling glanced slightly at his back at the sound of his voice. The head ninja suddenly froze. Someone not of their kind was nearby. His underling sensed this also. They would have to move soon. His underling clutched his katana tighter that he could feel the blood rushing through them. He was ready to attack, but the head ninja had different plans. And he only hoped that his underling knew to dodge then attack.
That someone was getting closer. He sensed the anger and the need for bloodshed within it. It could not be human. Purple flashed before his eyes and he quickly jumped into the air. A loud burst of a wind and ice shook the earth and lighted up the black sky to a pale blue. As he was landing, he caught sight of the bright blue ice that covered the bush. His jawed dropped. His underling was frozen in place as he was trying to flee. The bright light diminished and the head ninja was cast into dark once again.
"Ayane," he spoke in a fierce tone, standing up from his crouch to face her back.
"You're quicker than I thought," she spoke back then drew her wakizashi and face him, "Do you honestly think you can come here and take what's mine?"
The head ninja was faced with her murderous scowl. The red her eyes seemed to bleed from the inside. The head ninja chose not to be wavered by her appearance. He came to destroy what was corrupt before it engulfed the earth. The mighty Ryu Haybusa did not live to do so. He would have to keep a forward mind.
His ninjas appeared out of the forest in a blur and threw themselves at Ayane. And as quick as they appeared, Ayane's ninjas appeared and threw their swords at their enemies. The head ninja watched in shock as his ninjas were thrown to the ground with a single swing. They did not get nor move when their faces met the dirt. They were inhuman. They were unaffected when shurikens aligned their backs or blades pierced through their gi and into their skin. They did not flinch nor scream in pain. They only drew their swords into backs or chests and removed them when the enemy was down.
Ayane stood in the middle of the bloodshed with her wakizashi in hand and her eyes dead-set on the head ninja. He hesitantly drew his katana. Fighting back would be futile. The evil before his eyes was more powerful and merciless than he had imagined. If Hayabusa had fallen to this, then he would fall also. But he wouldn't go down without a fight. He swore that he wouldn't.
Ayane began to approach him. He was tense and sweat dripped off the point of his nose in front of Ayane's feet. He jumped back at the sight of her eyes in front of his. He didn't notice her in front of him. And because of this, he felt more vulnerable than he already was.
"I am corrupt and that can never change," Ayane told him then lifted her wakizashi.
No wind, no animals, red mornings, black nights, burning suns, dull moons, and ever growing silence; everything had changed. The world around her was void of the life she had once appreciated to witness grow. She was cast into the silence like before. Soon the trees would wither and become bare, the sun would stop shining, the sky would become eternally black, and every person would hold a scowl and every hand a dagger once again; even her own. In hopes of making her life better, she had made it worse. She had only peeked out at the world from under the rock once and unknowingly crawled back in. The silence once again screamed into her ears.
Regret was heavy upon her back; so heavy that she didn't have the willpower to stand and face what her life had became. And she was weary. She could not keep her eyes open neither could she close them to sleep.
"I wish I would never sleep again," her words echoed through her mind and she cursed herself for not thinking it through.
She had not slept for weeks. It was taking its toll upon her. But she didn't want to be faced with them again. She didn't want to have the nightmare again and regret everything she had ever wished for. She regretted it now though. It was too painful to bear and forget. Her eyes were in pain along with her body and heart. She felt as if she were slowly dying. Breathing was too tiring for her. Her lungs were too exhausted from the lack of rest to provide her with oxygen.
And as she lied on the floor in the concealment of her four walls, she thought about Hayate, the one she had misguided and ruined and the one that actually took the time to acknowledge her presence in the past. Hayate had been there for her when she stubbornly went off in battles and ended up beaten and battered in the dirt. He was there to lift her into his arms and carry her off for treatment. She would be yelled at for not listening to him and sometimes she would yell back, but it would soon be forgotten and Ayane would stand by his side once again. And when they were younger, Hayate was also there beside her when they slept at nights; at times when she didn't want to be alone. He had been there for her, but she never noticed it until now. She was even beginning to believe her wishes upon him were pointless. She had corrupted everything, because she didn't open her eyes.
The rabbit entered the room and sat next to her limp body.
"Where is Hayate?" she asked it.
"He's at the well," it answered.
Ever since that day, he had avoided her and everyone. In her eyes, he had become her in the past. She was even surprised he was amongst the monsters she had created for the sake of battle.
"I love Hayate, but he would never truly know what love I have for him now," Ayane spoke again, "I feel like I'm dying. I can't close my eyes and sleep."
The rabbit sat, staring at her.
Ayane closed her eyes, "I'm a terrible person. I can't cry anymore. Someone as corrupt as I don't even deserve to live in this world. They would only ruin it."
She opened her eyes. It was over. She would make it end. The burden would be lifted.
"Rabbit."
Ayane averted her eyes towards the doorway where Ryu and Kasumi stood.
"I wish . . . I weren't alive."
Ayane's eyes fell closed and her breaths came easy. The snow rabbit looked upon her then closed its eyes.
"So be it," it spoke.
And then she ceased breathing. Her heart stopped and her skin paled. She escaped the black world, leaving behind the regret and torment that plagued her. Ryu and Kasumi lowered their heads, feeling her life slip away before they diminished themselves.
Hayate picked up his head. He could feel it. Death was nearby. He looked about until he noticed a small, white figure making its way into the forest. He couldn't breathe. He only hoped his assumptions weren't true. He jumped off the side of the well and ran towards Ayane's hut.
End.