Hi again! Sorry about the long time in coming, what with this site being down so much and my lack of memory and all. Hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless!

He should go and get her. He should.

Yet, his feet seemed unwilling to act, so he simply sat there, watching the fish's skin turn to charcoal. Suddenly, his appetite seemed to have gone.

This is ridiculous. Why am I helping her?

Almost as if in answer, Hayate's words, spoken so many years ago, drifted through his mind.

"Ryu, please, protect her. No matter what. Promise me!"

And promise he had. He had protected her with all that he had. But now…

Promises don't end just because you currently dislike the person.

Maybe, deep down, he was jealous of her, to some extent. She didn't know the meaning behind Hayate's sudden absence, that caring, carefree personality lost. He did. He had seen the anguish it had caused his best friend to hunt Kasumi down.

Or maybe it was just anger he was feeling towards her. And he was too naïve to know the difference.

Either way. A promise was a promise. And he wouldn't allow that promise to be put in jeopardy, despite how he felt like doing so at this moment in time.

A scream from down by the lake. A young girl's scream.

Was it her? It didn't matter.

He was up and running. Trees and leaves and branches whisked past like nothing as he ran towards the sound, trying to ignore his own fears.

It could have been her. And I could have been too late.

Kasumi was there, clenching a bloodied tanto, eyes large and determined and defined in her pale skin. Nearby lay the bodies of several ninja; he recognised the Mugen-Tenshin crest on their attire. And nearby that lay the body of a young girl, not more then five or six. Judging by the basket that lay strewn carelessly on the ground beside her, she had been picking flowers shortly before her death.

Not now. Now, she was lying in a pool of her own blood, sword blade imbedded in her chest. Now, she was staring glassily up at the sky, blue orbs wide and unseeing.

Now, she was dead. He had been too late.

Kasumi glanced up at him, eyes flickering to the young girl's corpse. Sadness crossed her face, sadness so deep that for one split second, he wanted to stand by her and hug her and chase her fears away.

It didn't last long.

"Hayabusa-san."

Her tone was melancholy, all anger that she had directed to him earlier gone in the face of death. "She tried to protect me. They just pushed her aside and killed her as though she was nothing. What sort of monsters are my brethren turning into?"

"Monsters of necessity, Kasumi," he said, unconsciously taking a step closer to her. "Your brother's only doing what he feels he has to do."

He wasn't expecting her to suddenly fling her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly as though he were her one lifeline to sanity.

"I'm sick of this life I lead. I don't want to be the reason so many innocent lives are lost. I'm not worth that much."

He couldn't quite bring himself to return the embrace. Instead, he settled for awkwardly petting her on the head, like one would do to a stray puppy that one wasn't sure where it had been.

Large amber eyes stared up at him, visible emotion in their depths.

"Hayabusa-san…" she started, before turning away, dropping her arms from around his waist. To his surprise, her eyes were dark with unshed tears.

He tried to ignore the tears. He wouldn't know how to comfort her if she cried; it was better to just pretend that they didn't exist at all. "Yes, Kasumi?"

"I… I… I think I…"

She seemed extremely nervous, a far contrast from her usual merry, happy-go-lucky nature. Something was definitely amiss.

"What is it, Kasumi? We can't stay here all day."

She flinched at his words. A single tear trickled down her cheek. And he still didn't know what on earth was wrong.

"Don't worry. We should move off now."