The characters from Dead or Alive belong to Team Ninja. All others are mine. This story is an unauthorised work done purely for my personal enjoyment, and is not intended to infringe on any of their rights in or their profits from these characters. But this story is copy write to me.
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Darkness Of HajinMon - Chapter 1 - A Voice from the past
My Beloved Ayane,
If you are reading this letter, then I am dead. I am sorry for leaving you, and wish that I could be with you, but it seems that the Kami have other plans for me.
There is something I must ask you to do for me, now that I can no longer carry out the task myself. The HajinMon sect is dying. We both know that. The TenjinMon school is favoured by new students, who are put off our school by the talk of their elders about the 'darkness' which surrounds practitioners of our art, and the feeling that HajinMon is obsolete. I do not wish to see the legacy passed down to me lost forever. I will not have HajinMon die!
Several years ago, I discovered that what we were teaching in our dojo was not the sum total of the HajinMon teachings. I came across a letter that told me that ancient scrolls existed which contained within them techniques lost to us, techniques far more powerful than those taught in our dojo - techniques whose rediscovery would rejuvenate the HajinMon ryu.
These scrolls were, for some reason which the letter did not disclose, hidden away in secret shrines within the mountains and forests of the Land of the Rising Sun. It also made reference to a ritual, or set of rituals, which had to be performed, though the letter did not divulge why they were important.
The scrolls I have recovered, I have hidden within the HajinMon dojo where I taught you as a child. Recover them, then seek out the remainder.
My child, my deepest regret is that I could not spend more time with you. You were, you are, my daughter in every sense, and I know that you see me as your father. Unfortunately our duties to the clan have meant that we could not spend as much time together as we would both have wished.
Farewell, my daughter. May you live a long and happy life.
Genra.
"Only a heart unburdened by temporal loyalties can see what is right and what is wrong. All else is conceit." (1)
A slender hand reached up to brush away a stray tear which had fallen onto a pale cheek.
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Sunlight slanted down between the tall tress, insects hummed as they went about their business, birds called to one another, and the heady scent of damp earth filled the air. The rain during the night had certainly rejuvenated the forest, Ayane thought to herself.
Sitting on the fallen tree which lay not far from her house in the forest, the lavender-haired girl studied the faded script of the scroll, careful not to crack the parchment more than it had already. The writing was blurred by time, the lettering bleached from black to grey and smudged from previous study by persons unknown. Crimson eyes narrowed in concentration as the kanji letters refused to give up their secrets easily.
It's a good thing that I was taught the secret code of HajinMon, otherwise I wouldn't have known how to decipher this scroll. I think .... no, wait ... yes, I was right! There's something about a waterfall, and a series of caves in the rock face over which the water drops, and on the ... I think it must be Southern slope ..... one of the old shrines. And there are more scrolls hidden there ....
She raised her head suddenly and, without looking round, said quietly "Hayabusa."
"Ayane." The super-ninja dropped from the trees, landing silently twenty feet from the kunoichi. He straightened up and looked steadily at her.
I suppose I should have known that she would sense my presence. She did not become the best assassin in the Mugen Tenshin, if not the best of any of the ninja clans, without honing all of the skills a ninja may use.
She turned to face him, noting with amused detachment that he was, of course, dressed in no colour other than black. A real surprise, that. And people ask me about my purple fixation! She ran her hand absent-mindedly over her own faded lilac jeans and purple tee-shirt.
"I take it you're here for a reason."
He nodded. "Your brother sent me. Apparently, a number of bodies have been found in the woods not far from here. They were dressed in ninja garb, and had died from a mixture of blows from blunt objects, such as fists and feet, and cuts from a very sharp blade. Your doing?" As if it was likely to be anyone else's doing.
The super ninja didn't know of anyone else in this part of the ancient forest who would have the skill to defeat a score of attackers and live, other than himself. And since it had not been him who had killed them ....
She shrugged, the movement stirring her short, soft hair. "Renegades. They attacked me, I defended myself. A couple escaped, for the moment. End of story." She looked up at him, red eyes meeting emerald green. "I'm surprised Hayate-sama cared enough to ask you to come."
He sighed. I hope she won't make this difficult. I really don't need this. "Despite what you might think, your brother cares for you. He had to exile you for disobeying him, you know that. And he simply doesn't have the time to visit you. You could go and see him, you know. The terms of your exile allow you to enter clan territory twice yearly without needing an escort or a summons from Hayate or Kasumi."
She shrugged. "I could, but I won't. No, thank you for the invitation, but I'll pass. I'd rather listen to the song of the birds and the hum of the insects than visit the clan again."
He sighed again. She just won't accept that anyone cares for her - Hayate, even Kasumi. No, she feels she has to be alone all the time. Then again though, who am I to criticise someone who wants solitude?
"Since you're my brother's messenger, you can go back and tell him I'm fine. They only inflicted a few minor wounds, nothing life-threatening." Her soft voice cut across his thoughts, and he blinked and looked back at her. He studied her, the tiredness evident on her face, yet also the determination and resolve, and knew that nothing he said would change her mind.
Bringing the conversation to an end, she got to her feet, placed the ragged piece of parchment back into its case, and silently headed for her house. "Goodbye, Hayabusa."
He watched her walk into the ramshackle building, noting the faded paint and general air of imminent collapse. I wonder why she doesn't live anywhere better? Perhaps she simply doesn't spend enough time here for it to be worth the effort of making the place more habitable.
Or maybe she has so few visitors, it isn't worth the effort involved in smartening it up ....
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"Left hand, then right. Left, right! Try to keep the tempo up!"
The loud voice of the instructor could be heard from quiet a distance, and Ayane smiled to herself. She remembered having to go through the same basic training, though she had started late in life, the clan having been reluctant to train her. It hadn't been until Genra adopted her that she had gotten properly trained.
She walked into the tiny village and looked around. This was the new home of the HajinMon sect, ever since the destruction of the main dojo by DOATEC. There were few HajinMon practitioners left now, less than fifty people here all told, even including those who would never see active duty as ninjas.
Outcasts, every one. Those who the clan did not want for various reasons. Much like Ayane herself.
That's probably why this is the only place I'm willing to visit of my own volition. I feel at home here, in a way - here, I'm just one outcast amongst many.
She walked amongst the small, shabby-looking buildings. People who saw her nodded their heads in greeting, without the scowls and glares she normally got. There were none of the lust-filled leers, none of the jeers and insults she received from the majority of the Mugen-Tenshin. Here she was not looked down on, but simply accepted. She had no close friends here, any more than she had friends elsewhere, but here at least she had no enemies.
A young boy, running fast, collided with her and bounced off, his eyes going wide when he saw who he'd run into.
"M-my apologies, Ayane-sama! I didn't see you!"
She reached out to ruffle his hair. "And what sort of young ninja doesn't keep his eyes open, hmm?" She smiled briefly at the boy. "Remember, a Shinobi stays alert at all times."
"Hai, sensei!"(2) He bowed low to her, and ran off to join the rest of his class, though taking more care to watch where he went. She smiled to herself and walked on.
And there was the man she'd come to see.
"Kagero!"
The one-eyed man turned, and smiled when he saw her, the scar across his mouth twisting his lips into a grimace.
"Ayane! It's been far too long since we saw you here. What's the occasion?"
"I have to talk to you."
"Of course. You are the top-ranked in HajinMon, I am only the second, you do not need my permission to talk." He looked down at her from a height advantage of eight inches. He noted that she'd lost a little weight, but seemed healthy enough, apart from the dark rings around her eyes. She must not be sleeping well.
"Ah, but I do not lead the school, you do. We both know I'd be a very bad leader ... "
Kagero shook his head. "I've seen how well you work with the children here. They admire you, look up to you, idolise you. After all, at the last Dead Or Alive tournament, you beat both Kasumi and Hayate, defeated Hayabusa, then killed Omega. Who else in the clan could do that?" He watched her face harden at the mention of Omega, and told himself to avoid the subject in future.
She shrugged, a weak attempt at dissemblance. "I did what I had to do." Praise always made her uncomfortable. She had so infrequently been the recipient of genuine praise that she didn't know how to handle it. She tried to deflect the attention elsewhere. "The children seem to be doing well in their lessons." She gestured at the youngsters working on basic self-defence techniques nearby.
He looked at her shrewdly. "You do realise that, if the rest of the clan found out how well you get on with children you're teaching, it'd ruin your reputation as a bad-tempered, violent, antisocial bitch?"
She glared at him. "So don't tell them!" She seized his arm in a tight grip, and pulled the grinning older man towards the dojo.
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"So, what brings you here?"
They both at on the polished wooden floor, swords placed by their sides in a gesture of trust, steaming cups of tea in front of them.
She took a sip of the hot beverage, then placed the cup back down and looked into his eyes. "I have to leave for a while. A long while."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? Has something of importance come up, or has your chunin(3) given you a task to perform?"
She shook her head. "Neither. I ... have come into information which I believe must be followed up. I feel that I am the best person to do so."
"Why is that?"
"Because my father, Genra, asked me to do so." She waited for him to correct her, but he remained silent, so she pressed on. "The information is that what we teach in the HajinMon dojo is but a pale shadow of the full power of our art, that there are secret techniques which have been lost until now. I intend seeking them out and bringing them back."
"Have you informed your brother of your mission?"
"No, and neither will I do so."
He stared at her in surprise. "Why not?"
"Because my half-brother would not approve. He thinks our art to be tainted, unlike his precious TenjinMon school. You know as well as I that he, and the Elders of the clan, discourage those who wish to follow HajinMon. He wishes our art to die."
She closed her eyes for several seconds, then sighed deeply and looked at the older man. "This business does not truly concern him. He is not of HajinMon."
Kagero frowned at her. "He leads the Mugen-Tenshin clan and is the head of your family. You owe him obedience on those terms."
She glared at him. "You forget, I am in exile. As an exile, I am not formally considered to be part of the clan anymore, therefore I am not subject to the edicts of its head unless I am in clan territory -which, as we both know, this dojo is not, it being built outside clan boundaries."
She closed her eyes once more, taking a deep breath. "Ayame, the mother of Hayate and Kasumi, has declared that she does not consider me hers, or want me (4). In which case, I am not related to either of them, and I have no family other than myself. Only the HajinMon school can still claim my allegiance."
She climbed gracefully to her feet, and waited for him to rise too. She looked at him steadily. "I tell you this, and only you, because only the HajinMon have not rejected me. I must retrieve these scrolls, and restore our art to its former glory. Farewell, Kagero-san."
"Farewell, Ayane-sama."
They both bowed deeply, then she turned and left the dojo.
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Note : This story follows on from my one-shot story, 'Mother's Day'. As noted in that story, after a heroic mission which saved the clan, Kasumi was pardoned and allowed to return, but Ayane, exiled for disobeying Hayate and slaying Genra, wasn't - another example of the favouritism shown Kasumi by the clan.
(1) Shinobi proverb
(2) Teacher.
(3) Shinobi rank - literally, 'middle man'. The junior ninjas, the ones actually sent on field missions, were 'Genin', or 'low men', whilst the leader of a Shinobi ryu was the Jonin - in the case of the Mugen-Tenshin, that would be Hayate's rank.
(4) 'Mother's Day'