Note- Chapter five, aw yeah.
Mask- Well, Ayane's given age for DoA 3 is 16, seeing how I'm also 16 and a third year in high school, then yes, Ayane would still be in school.
Chapter 5:
"Ha... Hayate? What are you doing here?"
"How dare you ask me that," His voice was a harsh whisper, "Why are you here?"
Ayane began to talk, but he cut her off, "No, don't bother, I have a good idea why. Just tell me... Is she still here?" Ayane shook her head.
"I see, and I guess I have you to thank for this?" He turned his back to her, she could see that his right arm was tense, his hand clenched in a fist.
What was he so mad about? He should be happy that his sweet Kasumi had gotten away from her.
"You will meet me at the estate in two hours, there we shall have a long talk..." He began to walk off.
"Hayate, wait!" He didn't stop, just continued to walk, "Hayate!" She was left standing on the old woman's front porch.
He probably came to see Kasumi, her mind told her. Ayane wanted to think of another reason that he could've been here, but no... he had come to see Kasumi. What did he think when, instead of Kasumi, he found her? Light footsteps came from behind her.
"Oh my, I thought I heard voices." The old woman said, peeking outside her door. She looked at Ayane who was just standing there; "Did you find what you were looking for, dear?" She turned to the old woman and gave her a fake smile.
"Yes ma'am, thank you for your help. I'll be going now." Ayane walked down the stairs, and hurried to get as far from the house as she could. Kasumi's ID was burning in her pocket, as if it were telling her what a fool she was.
Sure, she'd gotten what she needed, but now the one person that she cared for was mad at her. Yeah, she found what she was looking for, but for what price?
It didn't take her long to get home. She wasn't sure if she had walked or ran. Did it matter? She was home now... and in two hours she would have to face Hayate.
"Great... just great..." She flopped onto the sofa and kicked her shoes off, resting her head on the armrest.
Hayate must have figured out that she had eavesdropped on him and Hayabusa. He wasn't stupid... what would he say to her when she went to meet him? Could he punish her for eavesdropping? It's not like she meant to.
What if she had asked him about Kasumi on that day? Would he have told her? Hayate wasn't the kind of person to lie to others, but with Kasumi involved, who knows what he would've done.
Ayane sat up and pulled out Kasumi's ID. The picture on the ID showed Kasumi's face, smiling that sickening sweet smile of hers. God, it made her want to puke.
Ayane grabbed a pen from the coffee table, where her coffee mug from this morning still sat, and started to gouge Kasumi's eyes. That will teach you, you little whore... She continued to draw a beard and mustache, not caring how childish it was. A growl from her stomach broke her trance of vandalizing Kasumi's ID.
"Yeah, yeah, quit your complaining..." She threw Kasumi's ID, with her modifications, on the coffee table and headed for the kitchen. It would be best not to have to face Hayate on an empty stomach.
After eating Ayane headed to her room and got out of her day clothes. She studied her body in the mirror, looking at the scattered bruises she got from the other days late night swim. They didn't hurt her; she hadn't even remembered she had them until she saw them.
Their only purpose was to remind her that she had failed. Kasumi had gotten away and these bruises were laughing at her for it. "Damn it..."
She went to her closet and pulled out her black ninja suit, dismissing the thought of her laughing bruises. No doubt everyone on the estate would be dressed in the nighttime grab, going out on missions, teaching younger clan members the ninja way. Stuff you wouldn't do in broad daylight.
Of course, her suit was different from the others. She didn't wear the blue or soft burgundy of the Mugen Tenshin, but the black of the Hajinmon style. She slipped into it and pulled on her black headband. With one look in the mirror, she was ready to go!
Or so she thought. She was welcomed at the front gate by one of the servants, though his welcome was only a small nod to acknowledge her; the expression he wore told her he would have rather been doing something else. He led her through the gates and to one of the small waiting rooms along the main hall.
"You are to wait here, Hayate's order." Then he was gone, closing the door behind him. Ayane looked around the small six tatami-mat room. It held a small table surrounded by cushions to sit on, and there was a bookcase in the corner.
"Yeah, like I'm going to sit here and read while I wait." How dare Hayate! Sending her to a waiting room like she was some outsider! Why did she have to wait in the first place? He told her to be here in two hours, and she arrived in two hours. So if he wasn't ready that was his fault!
She went to the sliding door, opening it to find two ninjas outside looking at her. Both of them were dressed in the blue of the lower ninja, with their faces covered.
"You are to stay here, Ms. Ayane." One of them said, the other gestured to the door, "Please return to the room." Not only did he make her go to a waiting room, but he even placed guards to make sure she didn't wonder off.
"The hell I will..." She started to walk down the hall, but one of the ninjas got in her way.
"It is Hayate's order that you wait here."
"Well here's another order, get the hell out of my way." The ninja flinched under Ayane's glare, but still didn't move, she shrugged, "Fine then, your choice." She grabbed him by his arm and easily threw him behind her, sending him crashing into a wall. It took him a while to get on his feet again.
"Maybe next time you'll think about who you're talking too." His partner was getting ready to attack her, but suddenly stopped, falling to kneel on the floor. The movement startled her, "What the..."
"That's enough Ayane..." Came an all to familiar voice. God, she was tired of people coming up behind her. She turned to see Hayate decked out in his burgundy ninja gear. She couldn't see his face, only his eyes, which gave her a steely gaze.
"You have some nerve, you know that? Sending me to a waiting room, you're the one who said be here in two hours, so what's the deal?" Hayate stood there, listening to her, and then he turned and started down the hall.
"Follow me." He ordered, "I would like to talk somewhere less crowded." Ayane looked around her to see everyone who was currently in the hall looking at them.
"Fine." Hayate led her to his room. He dismissed the guard at the door and waited for her to enter before he followed.
Once again his room was perfectly neat, not a thing out of place. The door to the garden was open, allowing her to see the fireflies dancing outside around the pond. Hayate gestured for her to sit while he stood looking out into the garden.
Ayane began to talk but he silenced her with a wave of his hand. "I have some questions I want answered." He looked at her from over her shoulder, "Truthfully."
"What do you mean by truthfully? Do you think I'd lie to you or something?" Hayate turned to face her fully.
"Yes, I do. You have already lied to me once today." Ayane opened her mouth but he put up his hand again. "When I came to see you today you told me that all you had wanted was to see me, but, in truth, you just came for information on Kasumi, didn't you?" Ayane fidgeted under his eyes, there would be no point lying to him.
"Yes, but..."
"And then you eavesdropped on my conversation with Hayabusa," Hayate had started to pace back and forth, "That's how you found out about that house, didn't you? You left for that house and challenged Kasumi, who, being herself, ran off to avoid conflict with you, correct?" Ayane nodded.
He stopped pacing to look at her again, "But that leaves me with one other question, what were you doing there today?" What was she supposed to tell him? She could lie and tell him she knew the old lady that lived there, but he would probably see right through that.
"I went there to find information on where she would've gone next..." Hayate shook his head as if he had been expecting that answer. There was silence now, a stiff, tense silence. Silence so thick you could cut it with a katana.
His voice was a slight whisper, "Why are you so eager for Kasumi's blood, your own blood, on your hands?" He started to pace again, 'what has she done to drive you to act like this?"
"She broke the rules! The very code that we live by!"
"Don't give me that!" He was yelling now, something he rarely did, "I would expect that from any other member of this clan, but not you! Kasumi is your sister!"
"Half-sister!" She yelled back at him. Hayate stared at her, there was a certain look in his eyes, one she couldn't place, and she didn't like it,
"Yes, your half-sister, just as I am your half-brother. So tell me, if I were to run away, following Kasumi's example, what would you do?"
"Hayate, you would never..."
"Your right, I wouldn't, but what if I did? Would you hunt me down as you do Kasumi?" No, he wasn't really asking her this was he? He couldn't be. Ayane shook her head and looked at the floor. Hayate turned away from her.
"From now on I forbid you to hunt Kasumi. You are not to fight, search for, or even think of her. If I find out that you have, then there will be punishment."
"Hayate! What are you talking about? Everyone on this whole estate is after her life, so why are you saying this to me?" He looked at her coldly.
"Because... I don't want her to die at the hands of someone like you..." He began to pace again, "I don't know what drives you on, I don't know what motivates you for wanting her dead, but she will not die at the hands of her half-sister."
That hurt... worse then if he had stabbed her himself. Someone like you. What did that mean? She had done nothing wrong, nothing at all! Kasumi was the one who broke the rules. Ayane was just following the order given to the members of their clan. Find and kill the runaway.
"All of the clan holds respect for Kasumi..." He continued, "If she hadn't run then she would now be clan leader. Tell me Ayane," He stopped and looked into her eyes, "Would you give her a honorable death?"
Enough. He has no right to be asking this, "What about me, Hayate? I'm your sister too! What about my feelings?" She was screaming at him, she didn't mean to, but she was.
"All you care about is Kasumi! She kills more and more of our clan each day, Hayate! And you just let it slide! Don't you care?"
"She does so in self defense. Each ninja here knows the risk they take when they..."
"Stop justifying her actions!" She wanted to cry, but she wasn't going to, "Tell me Hayate, what are you going to do when someone finally kills her? Will you fly into a rage and murder her assassin? Does anyone on this estate even know your true feelings? That you don't care if they all die as long as your sweet, little Kasumi is safe?"
He looked at her for a long moment. His eye's stayed the same, not showing any emotion. His silence was driving her mad, "Say something, you prick!"
"Get out." His voice was shaking with anger, "Your remarks will no longer be tolerated, leave the estate at once."
Tatami Mats- Floor mats made of reeds. In Japan, tatami mats are so common that the number of tatami mats it would take to fill them measures room sizes. Each mat should be 3' x 6' in size.
Mask- Well, Ayane's given age for DoA 3 is 16, seeing how I'm also 16 and a third year in high school, then yes, Ayane would still be in school.
Chapter 5:
"Ha... Hayate? What are you doing here?"
"How dare you ask me that," His voice was a harsh whisper, "Why are you here?"
Ayane began to talk, but he cut her off, "No, don't bother, I have a good idea why. Just tell me... Is she still here?" Ayane shook her head.
"I see, and I guess I have you to thank for this?" He turned his back to her, she could see that his right arm was tense, his hand clenched in a fist.
What was he so mad about? He should be happy that his sweet Kasumi had gotten away from her.
"You will meet me at the estate in two hours, there we shall have a long talk..." He began to walk off.
"Hayate, wait!" He didn't stop, just continued to walk, "Hayate!" She was left standing on the old woman's front porch.
He probably came to see Kasumi, her mind told her. Ayane wanted to think of another reason that he could've been here, but no... he had come to see Kasumi. What did he think when, instead of Kasumi, he found her? Light footsteps came from behind her.
"Oh my, I thought I heard voices." The old woman said, peeking outside her door. She looked at Ayane who was just standing there; "Did you find what you were looking for, dear?" She turned to the old woman and gave her a fake smile.
"Yes ma'am, thank you for your help. I'll be going now." Ayane walked down the stairs, and hurried to get as far from the house as she could. Kasumi's ID was burning in her pocket, as if it were telling her what a fool she was.
Sure, she'd gotten what she needed, but now the one person that she cared for was mad at her. Yeah, she found what she was looking for, but for what price?
It didn't take her long to get home. She wasn't sure if she had walked or ran. Did it matter? She was home now... and in two hours she would have to face Hayate.
"Great... just great..." She flopped onto the sofa and kicked her shoes off, resting her head on the armrest.
Hayate must have figured out that she had eavesdropped on him and Hayabusa. He wasn't stupid... what would he say to her when she went to meet him? Could he punish her for eavesdropping? It's not like she meant to.
What if she had asked him about Kasumi on that day? Would he have told her? Hayate wasn't the kind of person to lie to others, but with Kasumi involved, who knows what he would've done.
Ayane sat up and pulled out Kasumi's ID. The picture on the ID showed Kasumi's face, smiling that sickening sweet smile of hers. God, it made her want to puke.
Ayane grabbed a pen from the coffee table, where her coffee mug from this morning still sat, and started to gouge Kasumi's eyes. That will teach you, you little whore... She continued to draw a beard and mustache, not caring how childish it was. A growl from her stomach broke her trance of vandalizing Kasumi's ID.
"Yeah, yeah, quit your complaining..." She threw Kasumi's ID, with her modifications, on the coffee table and headed for the kitchen. It would be best not to have to face Hayate on an empty stomach.
After eating Ayane headed to her room and got out of her day clothes. She studied her body in the mirror, looking at the scattered bruises she got from the other days late night swim. They didn't hurt her; she hadn't even remembered she had them until she saw them.
Their only purpose was to remind her that she had failed. Kasumi had gotten away and these bruises were laughing at her for it. "Damn it..."
She went to her closet and pulled out her black ninja suit, dismissing the thought of her laughing bruises. No doubt everyone on the estate would be dressed in the nighttime grab, going out on missions, teaching younger clan members the ninja way. Stuff you wouldn't do in broad daylight.
Of course, her suit was different from the others. She didn't wear the blue or soft burgundy of the Mugen Tenshin, but the black of the Hajinmon style. She slipped into it and pulled on her black headband. With one look in the mirror, she was ready to go!
Or so she thought. She was welcomed at the front gate by one of the servants, though his welcome was only a small nod to acknowledge her; the expression he wore told her he would have rather been doing something else. He led her through the gates and to one of the small waiting rooms along the main hall.
"You are to wait here, Hayate's order." Then he was gone, closing the door behind him. Ayane looked around the small six tatami-mat room. It held a small table surrounded by cushions to sit on, and there was a bookcase in the corner.
"Yeah, like I'm going to sit here and read while I wait." How dare Hayate! Sending her to a waiting room like she was some outsider! Why did she have to wait in the first place? He told her to be here in two hours, and she arrived in two hours. So if he wasn't ready that was his fault!
She went to the sliding door, opening it to find two ninjas outside looking at her. Both of them were dressed in the blue of the lower ninja, with their faces covered.
"You are to stay here, Ms. Ayane." One of them said, the other gestured to the door, "Please return to the room." Not only did he make her go to a waiting room, but he even placed guards to make sure she didn't wonder off.
"The hell I will..." She started to walk down the hall, but one of the ninjas got in her way.
"It is Hayate's order that you wait here."
"Well here's another order, get the hell out of my way." The ninja flinched under Ayane's glare, but still didn't move, she shrugged, "Fine then, your choice." She grabbed him by his arm and easily threw him behind her, sending him crashing into a wall. It took him a while to get on his feet again.
"Maybe next time you'll think about who you're talking too." His partner was getting ready to attack her, but suddenly stopped, falling to kneel on the floor. The movement startled her, "What the..."
"That's enough Ayane..." Came an all to familiar voice. God, she was tired of people coming up behind her. She turned to see Hayate decked out in his burgundy ninja gear. She couldn't see his face, only his eyes, which gave her a steely gaze.
"You have some nerve, you know that? Sending me to a waiting room, you're the one who said be here in two hours, so what's the deal?" Hayate stood there, listening to her, and then he turned and started down the hall.
"Follow me." He ordered, "I would like to talk somewhere less crowded." Ayane looked around her to see everyone who was currently in the hall looking at them.
"Fine." Hayate led her to his room. He dismissed the guard at the door and waited for her to enter before he followed.
Once again his room was perfectly neat, not a thing out of place. The door to the garden was open, allowing her to see the fireflies dancing outside around the pond. Hayate gestured for her to sit while he stood looking out into the garden.
Ayane began to talk but he silenced her with a wave of his hand. "I have some questions I want answered." He looked at her from over her shoulder, "Truthfully."
"What do you mean by truthfully? Do you think I'd lie to you or something?" Hayate turned to face her fully.
"Yes, I do. You have already lied to me once today." Ayane opened her mouth but he put up his hand again. "When I came to see you today you told me that all you had wanted was to see me, but, in truth, you just came for information on Kasumi, didn't you?" Ayane fidgeted under his eyes, there would be no point lying to him.
"Yes, but..."
"And then you eavesdropped on my conversation with Hayabusa," Hayate had started to pace back and forth, "That's how you found out about that house, didn't you? You left for that house and challenged Kasumi, who, being herself, ran off to avoid conflict with you, correct?" Ayane nodded.
He stopped pacing to look at her again, "But that leaves me with one other question, what were you doing there today?" What was she supposed to tell him? She could lie and tell him she knew the old lady that lived there, but he would probably see right through that.
"I went there to find information on where she would've gone next..." Hayate shook his head as if he had been expecting that answer. There was silence now, a stiff, tense silence. Silence so thick you could cut it with a katana.
His voice was a slight whisper, "Why are you so eager for Kasumi's blood, your own blood, on your hands?" He started to pace again, 'what has she done to drive you to act like this?"
"She broke the rules! The very code that we live by!"
"Don't give me that!" He was yelling now, something he rarely did, "I would expect that from any other member of this clan, but not you! Kasumi is your sister!"
"Half-sister!" She yelled back at him. Hayate stared at her, there was a certain look in his eyes, one she couldn't place, and she didn't like it,
"Yes, your half-sister, just as I am your half-brother. So tell me, if I were to run away, following Kasumi's example, what would you do?"
"Hayate, you would never..."
"Your right, I wouldn't, but what if I did? Would you hunt me down as you do Kasumi?" No, he wasn't really asking her this was he? He couldn't be. Ayane shook her head and looked at the floor. Hayate turned away from her.
"From now on I forbid you to hunt Kasumi. You are not to fight, search for, or even think of her. If I find out that you have, then there will be punishment."
"Hayate! What are you talking about? Everyone on this whole estate is after her life, so why are you saying this to me?" He looked at her coldly.
"Because... I don't want her to die at the hands of someone like you..." He began to pace again, "I don't know what drives you on, I don't know what motivates you for wanting her dead, but she will not die at the hands of her half-sister."
That hurt... worse then if he had stabbed her himself. Someone like you. What did that mean? She had done nothing wrong, nothing at all! Kasumi was the one who broke the rules. Ayane was just following the order given to the members of their clan. Find and kill the runaway.
"All of the clan holds respect for Kasumi..." He continued, "If she hadn't run then she would now be clan leader. Tell me Ayane," He stopped and looked into her eyes, "Would you give her a honorable death?"
Enough. He has no right to be asking this, "What about me, Hayate? I'm your sister too! What about my feelings?" She was screaming at him, she didn't mean to, but she was.
"All you care about is Kasumi! She kills more and more of our clan each day, Hayate! And you just let it slide! Don't you care?"
"She does so in self defense. Each ninja here knows the risk they take when they..."
"Stop justifying her actions!" She wanted to cry, but she wasn't going to, "Tell me Hayate, what are you going to do when someone finally kills her? Will you fly into a rage and murder her assassin? Does anyone on this estate even know your true feelings? That you don't care if they all die as long as your sweet, little Kasumi is safe?"
He looked at her for a long moment. His eye's stayed the same, not showing any emotion. His silence was driving her mad, "Say something, you prick!"
"Get out." His voice was shaking with anger, "Your remarks will no longer be tolerated, leave the estate at once."
Tatami Mats- Floor mats made of reeds. In Japan, tatami mats are so common that the number of tatami mats it would take to fill them measures room sizes. Each mat should be 3' x 6' in size.