Author's notes: Since I forgot last time, DOA not mine, blah di blah. If it
was, I'd like to see it animated. Midorikawa rules! Also thanks to reaper
for the updated info on Ninja Gaiden and Ryu. I've made corrections to this
part, and if I can get off my lazy ass, I'll go back and correct it for
part one.
Hayate woke with a start.
Breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, he tried desperately to figure out what had disturbed his slumber so badly. A bad dream? No, it was more frightening, and more real. It had been a feeling, a feeling of inescapable doom.
He glanced around quickly to get his bearings. He was still in his own room. The full moon had risen high outside his window.
He felt the hot taste of bile rising up to his mouth and choked. This was bad. These feelings were getting more frequent. Grimly, he removed his hand from his mouth and got up. Maybe a glass of water to calm him down.
He quietly padded his way down the hall to the kitchen, passing Kasumi's room, which was peacefully quiet, and then his father's, whose lights were still on, causing him to pause. It was way past even when his father usually turned in, so what was keeping him up as well? Carefully so he didn't make a sound, he leaned over and pressed his ear to the sliding door.
At first he couldn't hear anything, and if it weren't for the lights, he would have thought he made a mistake and his father was actually asleep. He had to be sitting in serious contemplation, for whatever that might be. Hayate was almost sure he could hear the faint tapping of a brush being laid against an ink well. He finally heard a distinct sigh. "Fame Douglas, huh?" his father said softly, all of his usual brusqueness and strength gone. Never before had his father sounded so incredibly aged to him. "A rich man's folly is going to be the death of us all." There was the sound of paper shuffling, and moments later, the lights went out.
Hayate slowly sat back on his haunches and released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He couldn't be certain, but he was pretty sure he just heard something he shouldn't have.
Fame Douglas?
This was going to be a long night.
***
Because he didn't get to go very often, Hayate found shopping downtown rather interesting sometimes. He only came here for things not native to their own mountain, and seeing such busyness in the face of the relative quiet of mountain living was usually a welcome change.
Even though it wasn't on the shopping list he held in his hand, he added a ripe avocado to his basket as well other items that struck his fancy. Western food was actually quite easy, he discovered from experimentation, and offered a lot of room for creativity. Though nothing could really take the place of traditional Japanese, it broke the monotony of eating the usual rice and fish quite nicely.
He almost left the produce isle when he heard a voice call his name. Turning around, he saw his friend Ryu Hayabusa, nearly obscured by a pile of potatoes. Abandoning what vegetable he had been contemplating, Ryu instead hurried over to talk to his friend.
"I thought it was you," he said when he finally caught up, "but I couldn't be sure. I never expected to see the 'Iron Fist' of the Mugen Tenshin to be in a place like this."
Hayate groaned the lame nickname Kasumi had coined for him. "Not you, too."
Ryu grinned. "What, you don't think it'll strike fear into your opponents hearts when you come blazing onto the scene? Of course, seeing the Iron Fist shopping for tomorrow's dinner is a little less than frightening, I must admit. Maybe we should call you the Iron Chef instead."
Hayate rolled his eyes at his friend's witty comment. "It's a good thing you can fight, because you can't tell a joke to save your life," he muttered. "Anyway, it's been a while. What are you doing here?"
"Same thing as you, I suppose. Running errands for some of the elders."
"I've got some errands to run, too. But while I was here, I decided to pick some stuff up."
Ryu eyed all those mysterious food items in Hayate's hand. "You know how to cook that stuff?"
"It's actually not that hard. Even Kasumi can make this stuff. I figure tonight I'd show her how to make some pasta." Ryu looked incredulous. "It's good, trust me. If you have time, you should come over and try some."
Ryu seemed to consider the offer. "Well, I am almost done. . ."
"I've still got to hit the hardware store because we're doing some repairs to the dojo, and then the bakery."
Ryu grinned knowingly. "For some strawberry millefueilles?"
"Yeah. So you'll have to wait a while. Or," he added, "you could finish up for me here, so I can do those other things and I'll meet you outside."
Ryu hesitated, but then shrugged. "Sure, okay." How hard could it possibly be? Too bad he missed the evil glint in Hayate's eye as he thrust the basket and shopping list a trifle too cheerfully towards Ryu.
"Just tell me the total and I'll pay you back," Hayate said as he hurried out. "See you in a bit."
Ryu waved goodbye and then glanced over the list he now held in his hand:
Butter.
Eggs. Large, brown.
Shampoo. Ryu furrowed his brow. What kind? It didn't say. He glanced at the shelf with a plethora of different brands. Great, were the rest of them this bad?
Soap.
Shaving cream. Fine, easy enough.
And then. . .
But as his eyes scanned further down, his face paled.
Oh no.
He closed his eyes for a moment and prayed that when he opened them again that last word would disappear or at least magically transform into something else. Or maybe he had read it wrong. Yeah, he must have read it wrong.
No such luck. When he opened them the word was still there in all its blaring injury.
Tampons.
Lord help him.
C'mon, Ryu, he chided himself. You're shinobi. Think of your training! Your training that taught you to handle any situation head on, even battling to the death.
He looked at the list again and felt himself go green.
I think I prefer death, he thought miserably.
He trudged over to the appropriate isle, and thought for an instant he saw his life flash before his eyes and then realized that it was probably just all those colorful toothpaste labels.
I have measured my life out in toothpaste labels. [1]
Does the mind go delirious from trauma? Best not to go there.
Ryu was quick to discover that there were not only several different brands, but different kinds whether real or advertised that took up nearly half an entire isle.
He felt like banging his head into the shelf.
Or better yet, Hayate's.
***
Hayate had been waiting patiently, and a trifle smugly, at the appointed place by the time Ryu emerged red faced with embarrassment and annoyance. Hayate tried unsuccessfully to hold his laughter in, but couldn't resist the dig: "Something wrong?"
"Thanks to you I can never show my face around Mrs. Toriyama's market again without all the employees laughing. Here's your stuff," he added sullenly shoving a plastic bag at him with the receipt. Hayate merely smiled complacently and handed Ryu a wad of yen.
"Come, come, Hayabusa. I'm sure the famed super ninja couldn't have had such a hard time shopping for a few feminine needs."
"How about the Super Ninja drive the Iron Fist into the ground?"
Hayate quickly held the box of pastries he had been holding in front of him like a shield. "One false move and these pasties get it! AND I'll tell Kasumi you did it. Tell me, Ryu, have you ever had to face down a kunoichi with PMS before?"
Ryu gaped and regarded Hayate with a measure of new respect. He had no idea the Mugen Tenshin was faced with such. . .apocalyptic horrors. Satisfied with at least a momentary truce, the two gathered their supplies and began the long journey back to the Mugen Tenshin hold.
***
Hayate felt something warm inside when he saw the small village appear at the end of the tiny mountain trail; it was home, and he didn't think he'd ever feel any different coming back to this familiar sight. He accompanied Ryu as far as the he could before he turned and said, "I'm going to go drop this stuff off at the dojo. I'll meet you back at my place."
Ryu carried on as before after Hayate took off, knowing full well where he was headed. He was surprised, however, to see another familiar face waiting just at the other end of the square. "Kasumi?"
She looked up in surprise. "Hayabusa-san? It's been such a long while! How are you?"
"Fine. And you?"
Kasumi favored him with a cheery grin. "I'm good, thank you, but you know me. What brings you here?"
Ryu held up the bags in his hands. "Met your brother in town and just dropping these off for him."
"Oh! Where are my manners?" Kasumi fussed before hurrying to take some of purchases from him. "You really should stay for dinner, Hayabusa- san, since you've come all this way. I'm sure Father and Nii-san won't mind."
"I wouldn't want to impose. . ."
"Not at all!" Kasumi insisted. "We'd love to have you! You can help judge my progress. I'm trying my hand at pasta today," she confided slyly. "Nii-san thinks I've never done it before, but actually, I have, and it's really easy. So I'm going to try some new things today and beat the pants off of Nii-san!" Kasumi's smile became adorably devilish. "Ne, Hayabusa- san? How would you like to earn some extra yen?"
"How?"
"Well, when I try my cooking against Nii-san's, I'm going to wager next week's allowance that mine is going to be better than his. And since you'll probably be our judge, say mine is better and I'll give you half."
Ryu snorted in laughter. "Tell you what, I'll vote in your favor and you can keep the entire thing." It was time to pay Hayate back for that lovely turn he did him at the market.
Kasumi giggled and skipped ahead a few steps before turning back to Ryu. "Well, we'd better hurry back," she said before turning to skip ahead again, so excited at the clear prospects of mischief in the air that Ryu didn't even get a chance to tell her to look out before she collided with the person walking behind her.
Bags and packages and limbs went flying everywhere in one chaotic heap.
Kasumi was quicker to pick herself up off the ground. "Ayane! I'm so sorry! It was an accident," she explained while offering a helping hand up to the other fallen girl. Ayane ignored the proffered hand and instead wordlessly started to pick up her scattered books. "Here," Kasumi said quickly, "let me help" and reached for a book which Ayane pointedly snatched out of her grasp. Kasumi watched in silence as Ayane turned her back to her and continued to collect her fallen things. Sighing, Kasumi did the same, first putting things back into their bags and last reaching for the bakery box when a heavy boot crushed it, squirting strawberry and cream between the ruined cardboard.
Kasumi looked up in disbelief straight into Ayane's glare. Eyes widening in mock surprise, Ayane exclaimed, "Oops! I'm _so_ sorry, Kasumi! It was an accident!" before turning heel and walking off without so much as looking back.
Kasumi watched her half-sister's retreating form even after it disappeared from her view, only to be suddenly called back by Ryu's voice next to her.
"That was uncalled for," he said angrily. "She had no reason to do that."
Kasumi gave an uneasy laugh. "No, Hayabusa-san. It was an accident."
"An "accident"? That was no accident!"
"Please, Hayabusa-san, she apologized."
"And I'm sure she meant it, too," Ryu added bitingly.
Kasumi bit her lip, unable to deny it. "Please don't tell Nii-san," she pleaded in a small voice.
"He should know what kind of behavior is going on in his own clan!" Ryu argued, unable to believe that Kasumi was willing to take this lying down.
But Kasumi was adamant. Catching his arm and forcing him to meet her eyes, she begged, "Please! Please, promise you won't tell Nii-san. Ayane has enough to deal with already. It's all right, really." Ryu didn't answer and continued to stew angrily. "Please, Hayabusa-san."
Ryu closed his eyes and counted to ten before finally letting go of a long-held breath. "All right," he sighed.
"Thank you, Hayabusa-san," she said with sincerity that was both puzzling and profoundly melancholy. The two continued their trip back to the dwelling in uncomfortable silence.
***
The atmosphere was almost tangible when Hayate finally stepped into the house. His sister and friend were standing side by side, unloading their purchases onto the kitchen table not saying anything to each other, so obviously preoccupied with their own thoughts.
His voice broke through the silence like a bullet. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Nii-san!" Kasumi let out a surprised squeak. "O-okaeri!"
"Tadaima. Something happen to you two?"
"No, not at all," Kasumi said with what she hoped would be a natural smile. "How are the dojo repairs going?"
Hayate eyed his sister critically. She was obviously underestimating how well he knew her, but he decided to let her off since she was so uncomfortable about it. "Fine. Need any help with anything?" he asked, stepping up to the table.
"No, we're just about done. But Nii-san, these weren't the ones I wanted," she said, holding up that box that had been the bane of Ryu's shopping experience.
Hayate shrugged and said, "Tell Ryu that. He's the one who bought them."
". . .Oh."
Though he tried to ignore the impulse, Ryu couldn't help but sneak a glance at Kasumi at her tone of voice and caught the full blast of her wide- eyed, flushed expression.
Boy, was it hot in here or was it just him?
***
As the rest of the evening progressed, Ryu's anger slowly melted away and time passed pleasantly. Besides, it was impossible to stay angry in the face of Hayate's indignant squawk at the results of the little wager. Eventually, the rising moon's pale white light filtered in the window and lamps had to be lit. As though his cue, Ryu stood up to leave. The Mugen Tenshin heirs got up as well. But today, Hayate turned to Kasumi and asked her to clean up while he saw Ryu off. Any protests she might have had died with his very gentle but very firm: "Please."
Ryu had the feeling that he wouldn't like what Hayate was about to ask him, and waited a touch anxiously in the courtyard, wondering if he would be able to preserve his promise to Kasumi without lying to his best friend. But when he heard the front door slide shut, and turned to see Hayate standing there, his friend merely gave him a tight smile and shrug before leading the way out through the village in the dark of the night.
Even though the full moon's light bathed the village in its pale light, or perhaps because of it, everything felt more ghostly somehow. With the square empty of its bustling people, and the only dim light afforded coming from the windows of families safely in their homes, even Ryu felt the chilling feeling on the back of his neck. And whatever that was, he could sense his friend was steeped in it.
"You want to tell me something, Hayate." It wasn't a question.
Hayate nodded but still paused, as if trying to compose what he was trying to say. He finally decided to throw all caution into the wind and go for the blunt approach: "Who is Fame Douglas?"
For a brief instance Ryu felt ridiculously relieved it wasn't about Kasumi that he almost lost the presence of mind to be puzzled. "Fame Douglas?"
"You don't know either?" Ryu shook his head, and Hayate's brow creased visibly in worry. "Something's up," he said, and Ryu realized that this was the Mugen Tenshin addressing the Dragon clan, not as a friend to a friend. "Our fathers are worried about something, and it involves this Fame Douglas."
They had already reached the village gates, and in response to Ryu's farewell, Hayate merely said: "Keep your ears open" before turning around and disappearing the way from whence they came.
[1] Silly reference to T.S. Eliot XD
Hayate woke with a start.
Breathing heavily and drenched in sweat, he tried desperately to figure out what had disturbed his slumber so badly. A bad dream? No, it was more frightening, and more real. It had been a feeling, a feeling of inescapable doom.
He glanced around quickly to get his bearings. He was still in his own room. The full moon had risen high outside his window.
He felt the hot taste of bile rising up to his mouth and choked. This was bad. These feelings were getting more frequent. Grimly, he removed his hand from his mouth and got up. Maybe a glass of water to calm him down.
He quietly padded his way down the hall to the kitchen, passing Kasumi's room, which was peacefully quiet, and then his father's, whose lights were still on, causing him to pause. It was way past even when his father usually turned in, so what was keeping him up as well? Carefully so he didn't make a sound, he leaned over and pressed his ear to the sliding door.
At first he couldn't hear anything, and if it weren't for the lights, he would have thought he made a mistake and his father was actually asleep. He had to be sitting in serious contemplation, for whatever that might be. Hayate was almost sure he could hear the faint tapping of a brush being laid against an ink well. He finally heard a distinct sigh. "Fame Douglas, huh?" his father said softly, all of his usual brusqueness and strength gone. Never before had his father sounded so incredibly aged to him. "A rich man's folly is going to be the death of us all." There was the sound of paper shuffling, and moments later, the lights went out.
Hayate slowly sat back on his haunches and released a breath he didn't know he was holding. He couldn't be certain, but he was pretty sure he just heard something he shouldn't have.
Fame Douglas?
This was going to be a long night.
***
Because he didn't get to go very often, Hayate found shopping downtown rather interesting sometimes. He only came here for things not native to their own mountain, and seeing such busyness in the face of the relative quiet of mountain living was usually a welcome change.
Even though it wasn't on the shopping list he held in his hand, he added a ripe avocado to his basket as well other items that struck his fancy. Western food was actually quite easy, he discovered from experimentation, and offered a lot of room for creativity. Though nothing could really take the place of traditional Japanese, it broke the monotony of eating the usual rice and fish quite nicely.
He almost left the produce isle when he heard a voice call his name. Turning around, he saw his friend Ryu Hayabusa, nearly obscured by a pile of potatoes. Abandoning what vegetable he had been contemplating, Ryu instead hurried over to talk to his friend.
"I thought it was you," he said when he finally caught up, "but I couldn't be sure. I never expected to see the 'Iron Fist' of the Mugen Tenshin to be in a place like this."
Hayate groaned the lame nickname Kasumi had coined for him. "Not you, too."
Ryu grinned. "What, you don't think it'll strike fear into your opponents hearts when you come blazing onto the scene? Of course, seeing the Iron Fist shopping for tomorrow's dinner is a little less than frightening, I must admit. Maybe we should call you the Iron Chef instead."
Hayate rolled his eyes at his friend's witty comment. "It's a good thing you can fight, because you can't tell a joke to save your life," he muttered. "Anyway, it's been a while. What are you doing here?"
"Same thing as you, I suppose. Running errands for some of the elders."
"I've got some errands to run, too. But while I was here, I decided to pick some stuff up."
Ryu eyed all those mysterious food items in Hayate's hand. "You know how to cook that stuff?"
"It's actually not that hard. Even Kasumi can make this stuff. I figure tonight I'd show her how to make some pasta." Ryu looked incredulous. "It's good, trust me. If you have time, you should come over and try some."
Ryu seemed to consider the offer. "Well, I am almost done. . ."
"I've still got to hit the hardware store because we're doing some repairs to the dojo, and then the bakery."
Ryu grinned knowingly. "For some strawberry millefueilles?"
"Yeah. So you'll have to wait a while. Or," he added, "you could finish up for me here, so I can do those other things and I'll meet you outside."
Ryu hesitated, but then shrugged. "Sure, okay." How hard could it possibly be? Too bad he missed the evil glint in Hayate's eye as he thrust the basket and shopping list a trifle too cheerfully towards Ryu.
"Just tell me the total and I'll pay you back," Hayate said as he hurried out. "See you in a bit."
Ryu waved goodbye and then glanced over the list he now held in his hand:
Butter.
Eggs. Large, brown.
Shampoo. Ryu furrowed his brow. What kind? It didn't say. He glanced at the shelf with a plethora of different brands. Great, were the rest of them this bad?
Soap.
Shaving cream. Fine, easy enough.
And then. . .
But as his eyes scanned further down, his face paled.
Oh no.
He closed his eyes for a moment and prayed that when he opened them again that last word would disappear or at least magically transform into something else. Or maybe he had read it wrong. Yeah, he must have read it wrong.
No such luck. When he opened them the word was still there in all its blaring injury.
Tampons.
Lord help him.
C'mon, Ryu, he chided himself. You're shinobi. Think of your training! Your training that taught you to handle any situation head on, even battling to the death.
He looked at the list again and felt himself go green.
I think I prefer death, he thought miserably.
He trudged over to the appropriate isle, and thought for an instant he saw his life flash before his eyes and then realized that it was probably just all those colorful toothpaste labels.
I have measured my life out in toothpaste labels. [1]
Does the mind go delirious from trauma? Best not to go there.
Ryu was quick to discover that there were not only several different brands, but different kinds whether real or advertised that took up nearly half an entire isle.
He felt like banging his head into the shelf.
Or better yet, Hayate's.
***
Hayate had been waiting patiently, and a trifle smugly, at the appointed place by the time Ryu emerged red faced with embarrassment and annoyance. Hayate tried unsuccessfully to hold his laughter in, but couldn't resist the dig: "Something wrong?"
"Thanks to you I can never show my face around Mrs. Toriyama's market again without all the employees laughing. Here's your stuff," he added sullenly shoving a plastic bag at him with the receipt. Hayate merely smiled complacently and handed Ryu a wad of yen.
"Come, come, Hayabusa. I'm sure the famed super ninja couldn't have had such a hard time shopping for a few feminine needs."
"How about the Super Ninja drive the Iron Fist into the ground?"
Hayate quickly held the box of pastries he had been holding in front of him like a shield. "One false move and these pasties get it! AND I'll tell Kasumi you did it. Tell me, Ryu, have you ever had to face down a kunoichi with PMS before?"
Ryu gaped and regarded Hayate with a measure of new respect. He had no idea the Mugen Tenshin was faced with such. . .apocalyptic horrors. Satisfied with at least a momentary truce, the two gathered their supplies and began the long journey back to the Mugen Tenshin hold.
***
Hayate felt something warm inside when he saw the small village appear at the end of the tiny mountain trail; it was home, and he didn't think he'd ever feel any different coming back to this familiar sight. He accompanied Ryu as far as the he could before he turned and said, "I'm going to go drop this stuff off at the dojo. I'll meet you back at my place."
Ryu carried on as before after Hayate took off, knowing full well where he was headed. He was surprised, however, to see another familiar face waiting just at the other end of the square. "Kasumi?"
She looked up in surprise. "Hayabusa-san? It's been such a long while! How are you?"
"Fine. And you?"
Kasumi favored him with a cheery grin. "I'm good, thank you, but you know me. What brings you here?"
Ryu held up the bags in his hands. "Met your brother in town and just dropping these off for him."
"Oh! Where are my manners?" Kasumi fussed before hurrying to take some of purchases from him. "You really should stay for dinner, Hayabusa- san, since you've come all this way. I'm sure Father and Nii-san won't mind."
"I wouldn't want to impose. . ."
"Not at all!" Kasumi insisted. "We'd love to have you! You can help judge my progress. I'm trying my hand at pasta today," she confided slyly. "Nii-san thinks I've never done it before, but actually, I have, and it's really easy. So I'm going to try some new things today and beat the pants off of Nii-san!" Kasumi's smile became adorably devilish. "Ne, Hayabusa- san? How would you like to earn some extra yen?"
"How?"
"Well, when I try my cooking against Nii-san's, I'm going to wager next week's allowance that mine is going to be better than his. And since you'll probably be our judge, say mine is better and I'll give you half."
Ryu snorted in laughter. "Tell you what, I'll vote in your favor and you can keep the entire thing." It was time to pay Hayate back for that lovely turn he did him at the market.
Kasumi giggled and skipped ahead a few steps before turning back to Ryu. "Well, we'd better hurry back," she said before turning to skip ahead again, so excited at the clear prospects of mischief in the air that Ryu didn't even get a chance to tell her to look out before she collided with the person walking behind her.
Bags and packages and limbs went flying everywhere in one chaotic heap.
Kasumi was quicker to pick herself up off the ground. "Ayane! I'm so sorry! It was an accident," she explained while offering a helping hand up to the other fallen girl. Ayane ignored the proffered hand and instead wordlessly started to pick up her scattered books. "Here," Kasumi said quickly, "let me help" and reached for a book which Ayane pointedly snatched out of her grasp. Kasumi watched in silence as Ayane turned her back to her and continued to collect her fallen things. Sighing, Kasumi did the same, first putting things back into their bags and last reaching for the bakery box when a heavy boot crushed it, squirting strawberry and cream between the ruined cardboard.
Kasumi looked up in disbelief straight into Ayane's glare. Eyes widening in mock surprise, Ayane exclaimed, "Oops! I'm _so_ sorry, Kasumi! It was an accident!" before turning heel and walking off without so much as looking back.
Kasumi watched her half-sister's retreating form even after it disappeared from her view, only to be suddenly called back by Ryu's voice next to her.
"That was uncalled for," he said angrily. "She had no reason to do that."
Kasumi gave an uneasy laugh. "No, Hayabusa-san. It was an accident."
"An "accident"? That was no accident!"
"Please, Hayabusa-san, she apologized."
"And I'm sure she meant it, too," Ryu added bitingly.
Kasumi bit her lip, unable to deny it. "Please don't tell Nii-san," she pleaded in a small voice.
"He should know what kind of behavior is going on in his own clan!" Ryu argued, unable to believe that Kasumi was willing to take this lying down.
But Kasumi was adamant. Catching his arm and forcing him to meet her eyes, she begged, "Please! Please, promise you won't tell Nii-san. Ayane has enough to deal with already. It's all right, really." Ryu didn't answer and continued to stew angrily. "Please, Hayabusa-san."
Ryu closed his eyes and counted to ten before finally letting go of a long-held breath. "All right," he sighed.
"Thank you, Hayabusa-san," she said with sincerity that was both puzzling and profoundly melancholy. The two continued their trip back to the dwelling in uncomfortable silence.
***
The atmosphere was almost tangible when Hayate finally stepped into the house. His sister and friend were standing side by side, unloading their purchases onto the kitchen table not saying anything to each other, so obviously preoccupied with their own thoughts.
His voice broke through the silence like a bullet. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Nii-san!" Kasumi let out a surprised squeak. "O-okaeri!"
"Tadaima. Something happen to you two?"
"No, not at all," Kasumi said with what she hoped would be a natural smile. "How are the dojo repairs going?"
Hayate eyed his sister critically. She was obviously underestimating how well he knew her, but he decided to let her off since she was so uncomfortable about it. "Fine. Need any help with anything?" he asked, stepping up to the table.
"No, we're just about done. But Nii-san, these weren't the ones I wanted," she said, holding up that box that had been the bane of Ryu's shopping experience.
Hayate shrugged and said, "Tell Ryu that. He's the one who bought them."
". . .Oh."
Though he tried to ignore the impulse, Ryu couldn't help but sneak a glance at Kasumi at her tone of voice and caught the full blast of her wide- eyed, flushed expression.
Boy, was it hot in here or was it just him?
***
As the rest of the evening progressed, Ryu's anger slowly melted away and time passed pleasantly. Besides, it was impossible to stay angry in the face of Hayate's indignant squawk at the results of the little wager. Eventually, the rising moon's pale white light filtered in the window and lamps had to be lit. As though his cue, Ryu stood up to leave. The Mugen Tenshin heirs got up as well. But today, Hayate turned to Kasumi and asked her to clean up while he saw Ryu off. Any protests she might have had died with his very gentle but very firm: "Please."
Ryu had the feeling that he wouldn't like what Hayate was about to ask him, and waited a touch anxiously in the courtyard, wondering if he would be able to preserve his promise to Kasumi without lying to his best friend. But when he heard the front door slide shut, and turned to see Hayate standing there, his friend merely gave him a tight smile and shrug before leading the way out through the village in the dark of the night.
Even though the full moon's light bathed the village in its pale light, or perhaps because of it, everything felt more ghostly somehow. With the square empty of its bustling people, and the only dim light afforded coming from the windows of families safely in their homes, even Ryu felt the chilling feeling on the back of his neck. And whatever that was, he could sense his friend was steeped in it.
"You want to tell me something, Hayate." It wasn't a question.
Hayate nodded but still paused, as if trying to compose what he was trying to say. He finally decided to throw all caution into the wind and go for the blunt approach: "Who is Fame Douglas?"
For a brief instance Ryu felt ridiculously relieved it wasn't about Kasumi that he almost lost the presence of mind to be puzzled. "Fame Douglas?"
"You don't know either?" Ryu shook his head, and Hayate's brow creased visibly in worry. "Something's up," he said, and Ryu realized that this was the Mugen Tenshin addressing the Dragon clan, not as a friend to a friend. "Our fathers are worried about something, and it involves this Fame Douglas."
They had already reached the village gates, and in response to Ryu's farewell, Hayate merely said: "Keep your ears open" before turning around and disappearing the way from whence they came.
[1] Silly reference to T.S. Eliot XD
