By Kochan
Chapter 7: The Road Home: Consigned Fate
Irene and Ryu's room was three times larger than the one Hayate had awoken in, but it was still small by most standards. A double futon, a small, plain chest of drawers with a paraffin lamp providing light and a full length mirror filled an otherwise sparse room. The stack of folded clothes on the futon he recognised as Kasumi's.
He sat at the edge of the futon, knees drawn up to his chest. There was an old-fashioned bed warmer under the blankets. He leaned back against it, hearing the rattle of the coals within. His eyes settled upon the sweet, young girl in the mirror staring back.
A raise of his hand and she did the same. A girlish pose and she fluttered her long lashed doe eyes with a cute pout...
...just like Kasumi...but this wasn't his sister. Without that gentle innocence and natural grace that contrasted her true role as a Kunoichi, she may as well have been a clone...like Zwei.
Hayate rose without taking his eyes from her. The obi came loose beneath his fingers and a strange sense of arousal spread through him as the folds of the Yukata parted.
A fond reminder crossed his mind: the delightful skin of a peach easing apart to reveal the sweet flesh within. It was only at the last moment that Hayate resisted the temptation to touch his new body and pulled the Yukata closed again. He took a deep breath and chided himself; This body was sacred. To look and explore it in such manner was wrong, disrespectful.
The antique clock beside the futon read a few minutes after nine as Hayate eased under the warmth of the blankets.
It wasn't long after that Irene entered and he feigned sleep with closed eyes. The blanket was drawn up to his neck before a light kiss settled at his forehead, "Poor baby..." came the woman's voice. The room darkened as Irene snuffed the lamp wick and eased in beside him.
The minute hand hadn't seemed to have moved much since the last time he'd looked. He egged it on in silence, just as he had for the past few hours.
It was an eternity before the short hand of the clock pointed at One. The Shinobi crept out of bed in silence, finding it easy to keep noise to a minimum with this body. Cold shrouded him as he stepped through the corridor with calculated steps: Ryu had installed loose slats at random intervals to warn of intruders.
Smoke was swirling an eerie gray in the moonlight from Ryu's cigarette as Hayate stepped outside. The man was leaned against the wall of the house in the chilled darkness. Despite the cold, he was still in the loose pants and tight singlet from earlier in the evening. Snowflakes dotted the dim light of the moon as they floated down from sparse clouds above.
Hayate ensured the smoke was blowing in the other direction before he leaned against the wall beside his friend. They watched the moon until Hayate broke the silence. "I didn't know you smoked."
"I don't." Ryu cleared his throat before clarifying. "Herbs for the lungs."
Hayate blinked a stray snowflake from longer than usual lashes and decided not to pursue the contradiction; there were other things to speak of.
"You should have just told her, Ryu..." he said with a shake of his head.
"We've literally been to hell and back, Irene and I. She wants me out of that life and I don't involve her in it." Ryu took an extended drag after this, exhaling it in a long breath. "After Tairon, she made me promise not to take on High-Risk missions again. Said she'd leave me." his voice trailed off at that last comment.
Hayate turned the slightest, a frown knitting at his brow as he recalled what Ryu had mentioned about Irene being backup, or so he'd said, "You did tell her where we were going... didn't you?"
He got a smirk in reply and Ryu trailed his fingers through his hair as he answered, "I told her what she needed to hear. She thinks you were both in training. There was no need to mention the demon."
Hayate sighed, rubbing his hand at his forehead, "You're putting a lot at risk here."
"There are more important things at stake, my friend. And as for the thing between your sister and me..." Ryu nodded to him, "Irene needs to learn a little trust." a last puff and he crushed the glowing butt between thumb and forefinger with a sizzle.
"This is your wife we're talking about, Ryu. Not some new student you've taken under your wing and decided to tutor in the ways of the Code." Hayate shook his head, deciding against arguing and released another frosted sigh into the night sky. His tired mind set to work on the issue of the pendant as he fingered it in his hand, "I don't know how much time Kasumi has in my body. I have to find out more on the coin."
"I've asked for Murasama to come by." said Ryu. "Expert on herbal remedies. No doubt he'll know of an antidote for the poison and something about the coin as well. Helped me out in Tairon and a bit at the shop after. He'll be here in a few days."
The Hayabusa Shinobi turned and folded his arms as an icy gust of wind found its way through the trees. Hayate noticed the way Ryu's muscles bulged in the moon's fluorescence as it peeked from behind a cloud. He seemed tense about something.
As for Murasama, Hayate had never met the old man. He only knew of him through the tales from Ryu. When it came to knowledge of alchemy and relics preceding their generation, the old man had no equal. But the problem was not knowledge. The problem was time. Time was a luxury they didn't have and Hayate voiced this.
"We don't have a few days Ryu. That poison is rotting my body with every second that passes and it's taking Kasumi's soul with it!" Losing his mortal shell meant being trapped in his sister's body, but that didn't concern him as much as getting her back. He didn't care if he had to suffer or even die from the poison wracking his body, as long as Kasumi was well and safe.
"I have to get back to the Burai Zenin." Hayate continued. The answer to the coin pendant lay within their family library, he was sure of it. And that library which housed most of the books and relics was deep within the fortress keeping watch over his village. One of his few remaining hopes was that some of the underground passages leading into and out of the village hadn't been sealed, by man or nature.
"Too risky. It would be wiser to wait for Murasama. He'd be able to advise you of what needs to be done." said Ryu.
Hayate lowered his gaze to the sleet on the ground, watching the shadows shift as clouds glided past the moon overhead. Getting to the library meant stealing into a fortress that he'd made impenetrable, sneaking past guards that he'd chosen himself for their skills. Ryu wasn't exaggerating the risk, but he had to do something...
"Mother would know about this." Hayate's fingers were gripped tight about the coin, the only item that mattered to him now. The urgency in his sister's voice was all too apparent, paired with the desperation teeming within him, crying to get out. "She was the one who told me about the coin, years ago. If anyone knows, she would!"
"Hayate, you're in no condition to go anywhere." came the flat reply.
He flared at this, frustration bursting past his lips, "It's none of your damn business where the hell I go, if I go!" His voice pitched to a shriek before Ryu's hand clamped over his lips.
They both remained silent, ears perked for the slightest movement from the house that would suggest that Irene had awoken. Hayate calmed his mind, reminding himself to control his temper.
"You know just as well as I do: your own men are out there looking for Kasumi." whispered Ryu in a low, hushed tone as his fingers eased down to Hayate's chin. "Tenshin Mon has patrols all over those mountains. You're talking about traveling into the lion's cave and searching for a needle in a haystack that might not even exist? That's not courage. That's not honour. That's just suicide." Ryu was right, and Hayate hated to admit it.
He turned in defiance but Ryu's hand was firm in jerking his head back, "Throw your life away if you want, Hayate...but don't take hers with you." came the hiss, the Shinobi's hard green eyes darkening in the moonlight. "She deserves better."
Hayate pushed back with a hiss of his own and looked away, unwilling to meet the other man's gaze. He didn't know if anger was the right emotion to feel for now.
"Look." continued his friend, tone softened, "You're exhausted, you're still suffering the after effects of that cave. Most of all you're still getting accustomed to being in Kasumi's body. Do what's best for her." Ryu emphasised that last statement with a shake of his head.
"She could be lost by the time the old man arrives." he whispered more to himself than to Ryu, "I just need to do something...anything." A deep breath as he held tears back; Girl's body or not, He wasn't about to cry in front of Ryu.
His friend gave him a squeeze of reassurance at his shoulder, "Let's see what Murasama has to say."
Hayate clenched his fists hard, forcing out a hard sigh to hide a sob; It did little to ease the tension in his body. "I'll see you in the morning." he mumbled before sliding the Shoji aside with a trembling hand and returning to the corridor.
A visit to the bathroom and he sloshed extra water down the latrine in case Irene was awake. Tending to his toilet as a female was taking some getting used to.
He stopped by the room where his body lay and lit the paraffin lamp. Again he went through the ritualistic task of sponging the sweat from the man's chest and forehead with the wet cloth.
A soft, feminine sigh of exhaustion uttered from his lips as he lay his cheek down on the body's chest. He lay there listening to the heartbeat: it was slow, strong and regular.
He frowned.
...that rhythm ...
As though it came from a machine, a soulless shell that existed without purpose rather than a living, breathing human being.
He rose up, eyes flashing open. The answer came clear as he held the lamp closer. The deep purple of veins swollen beneath the skin surface. This despite the pale face and limbs. He dared peel an eyelid down and almost dropped the lamp as he fell back; The pupils had dilated to the extent of blackening the iris's themselves. Moreover, he'd felt the eyelid twitch under his thumb.
Hayate brought in his own sword for the final test and unsheathed a small portion of it. With one of Kasumi's long, sharp hair-pins he pricked the end of the man's finger to draw a drop of darkened blood. This he eased upon the exposed blade and narrowed his eyes as the blood bubbled away into choking smoke...just as it had in the caves.
...The Demon...
He exhaled in a shaking breath as the realisation sank in.
Corrupted blood coursed through the veins of the man before him. Foul blood that would raise the body from rest and animate it like a puppet before long, with the sole purpose of releasing its rot across the land.
Hayate trembled as he thought of the consequences, then the responsibilities he had as the Leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan. Sense called to destroy the body before him and reduce it to ashes in a fire without delay.
But it meant the destruction of his own body, and with it his sister's soul. The Clan would be left without a leader once again and his sister would be lost to him forever. Ryu had known this and had left the decision to him to either dispose of the body or wait for Murasama if he held hope.
He let out a soft groan as he covered his face with shaking hands. Every tick of the clock beside the futon reminded him that time was running out.
Days would pass before the old man Murasama showed and something had to be done before hand.
His eyes opened and narrowed as the idea took hold.
Hayate made his decision.
Hayate gathered his sister's belongings in silence then and used the most of her lighter, stealthier body to steal into the corridor with less sound than a mouse. The Yukata was shed for the black uniform he'd used for sparring with Ryu. Over this he donned a dark coat by the house entrance for further concealment and warmth.
At almost four times the length of Kasumi's Tanto, his own Nodachi was heavy, as tall as her own body and required someone of considerable strength and height to wield. His sister's Tanto slid into the obi behind his waist with ease, providing for immediate access with a perfect fit.
He slid the side door open, feeling the cold wind bite into him as it had an hour before. But this time he was rewarded with the sense of freedom and the knowledge that the fate of his sister and himself were now in his own hands. The feeling warmed him from within as he drew in a deep breath.
Not even two steps onto the fresh snow before the voice startled him like a firecracker, "I thought you'd try something like this."
Hayate froze, head turning the slightest, "Don't try to stop me, Ryu."
"I didn't think I could, so I've decided to come with you instead."
He whirled to find Ryu leaned against the back wall, stroking the collar of a generic black Shinobi uniform, sword in tow. A swing of his hand and he tossed over a small sack: rations and some notes from the feel of it.
Hayate frowned. On one hand, he was glad that his friend had come to understand how much this meant to him. On the other, he knew he couldn't involve Ryu on this, "This is something I have to do alone." he whispered, his sister's voice sounding in that dulcet tone as he pleaded.
"Tenshin Mon patrols have changed every three days since you were last there, Hayate. Hajin Mon have added traps and alerts about the perimeter as well." Ryu shook his head, "You'll never get in alive, let alone undetected."
Hayate's felt the heat rise to his cheeks for the second time tonight, "And if they see you with me? You'll be branded a traitor for helping a fugitive and the Alliance between our clans will crumble!"
"They'll never know it's me. You need an extra pair of eyes out there, Hayate!"
Hayate stepped off with a shake of his head, "Stay with the body, I have to do this." Ryu's hand snapped at his arm and Hayate almost bared teeth as he tried to pull it back, "Let go of me, Ryu..."
Ryu shook his head, "I left a note for Irene on that. If you think I'm going to let you commit suicide like this, you've got another think coming." the Shinobi's grip was firm, showing no intention of releasing him.
Hayate glowered, fuse at its end. He slapped his other hand at Ryu's collar whilst extending his trapped arm out in a sudden jerk.
His newfound speed and reflexes were able to surprise Ryu and he pinned the Shinobi to the snow with a collar-wrist throw. But Ryu left no pause in reversing the tables and Hayate found his smaller, lighter female body being pulled down and about. A feminine grunt was forced from his lips as he was thrown hard against the icy ground with Ryu's weight atop him.
"I'm not going to ask again, Ryu." he hissed between pants. "Let...Me...Go." he punctuated that last word with the biggest glare he could muster, but his friend held fast and shook his head with a smirk.
Hayate flashed an eye poke up only to have his hand snatched from the air and then pinned beside him.
That he'd expected, and followed with a hard snap of his fingers against Ryu's wrist, targeting the pressure point.
He aimed a backhanded chop at Ryu's temple with the same hand but had it deflected by a reinforced Kevlar armguard. Ryu's hand snaked about to catch and nail the offending limb to the ground after. Hayate cursed within; Kasumi's body just didn't have the strength to do what he needed it to.
"Most times, I'd say 'Do as you please'. Tonight, we leave together or we don't leave at all." Ryu's tone was unemotional, those green eyes colder than the icy chill soaking at his back.
Frustration had built almost to bursting point; Ryu wasn't leaving him much choice. There wasn't time to play fair; in fact there wasn't time to play at all. Friend as Ryu was, he'd had his last warning.
Hayate closed his eyes and bit his lip, nodding as though he were admitting defeat. He drew a deep breath into his sister's lungs...then let shriek as loud as her voice would allow him.
"Iiiiiyaaaaaaa!...mmmmphhh..."
He'd managed a good, piercing scream of about a second before the last of it was muffled by Ryu's hand clamping over his mouth.
"What the hell are you...oof!" Ryu's eyes came wide as Hayate made the most of the opportunity to bury a lightning fast knee in Ryu's crotch. The Shinobi's grip loosened and he turned a further shade of white as the sliding door was flung open, punctuated by the cocking of a pump-action shotgun.
"Kasumi-Chan! Are you alright, Kasumi-Chan! Wha..." The urgency and concern in Irene's voice was interrupted by a shocked gasp, then followed by a sharp hiss laced in venom, "...Ryu..."
The man never had the time to curse let alone blurt out an explanation before the cast iron saucepan slammed into the side of his head.
"Kasumi-Chan! Did he do anything to you?" Irene was frantic, her eyes wide as she shoved Ryu's limp body off him with an unsympathetic foot. Then her hands were at Hayate's shoulders, shaking him hard, "Say something!"
He pulled out of the shock of witnessing such spousal brutality upon his friend and managed a weak reply, "I...I'm fine, Onee-san..."
"Did he touch you anywhere? Did he try anything with you? Because if he did..." Hayate's eyes widened as he saw Irene's knuckles come white upon the pan handle in the moonlight.
"Uh...uhm...Ryu...ah...Hayabusa-san was trying to catch a mouse...for Kasumi-Chan." he lied. Even to himself it was a pathetic excuse.
"Oh really?" the woman's voice brimmed with sarcasm. "I personally think there are much bigger rats to worry about here. No need to protect him, Kasumi-Chan." Hayate winced as the saucepan swung down to sound another solid Clonk from Ryu's head and draw yet another twitch from his body. A muttered cuss in Cantonese and Irene picked up a leg before dragging her husband's body back towards the house.
"Onee-san." Hayate called out. "I have to leave." he then whispered as his gaze traced the footprint from his Zori Sandal on the snow.
Irene dropped the leg and whirled, "Kasumi-Chan! It's Two in the morning!"
Ryu raised a trembling hand from the snow, "...no...don't let h.." he got out before he was silenced by another descent of the now thrice dented pan.
"Please take care of my sibling. I shall return soon." Hayate whispered, ignoring Irene's calls.
He launched into the snow-frosted canopy of the cedar forest and before long found the familiar sting of the wind at his face.
The cold numbed his cheeks but he ignored it, skipping from tree branch to tree branch with ease and grace he'd never thought possible.
The thrill of escape, the liberating sense of freedom and most of all, the feeling of purpose. All of this he'd longed for and now he had it.
This was Homecoming.
Author's Notes:
Zwei: A.K.A Kasumi Alpha or Kasumi X. Now freed from the control of DOATEC. Zwei remains an enigma and pledges allegiance to no one, clan or individual.
Murasama: Yes yes. The old man weapon smith whom we all love in Ninja Gaiden.
Burai Zenin: The Stage in DOAU is the courtyard out the front of the fortress/temple. The area in which you see about a hundred Shinobi assembled before Hayate in Kasumi's ending (DOA3) is also located within.
Yes - I meant to make the end of the chapter with Irene comical. Purely self-indulgent :P
Replies:
Nemu: It's been in draft for about two years...and it's finally seen the light of day, drastically different to how it was originally planned. One might even notice a change in my style between chapters 5 and 6. I'm still looking for that chapter that was posted - perhaps you'll give me the link sometime :) Nice to know you've gotten back into writing...I think
Little bit more bouncing material in this one perhaps All of you has grown up a little more now, and it's clear in our chats online :) And you can feel good about yourself when you read this, because I did take your suggestion to cut back on the Japanese (mostly). I've changed the dialogue about to reflect it...and found myself comfortable doing so. So there, One point to Mari ;) Thank you for the tip.
You've picked up well on Ryu. And yes - it's because of Irene. She's largely my own creation (an empty shell from the first NGs that's been filled with my ideas), and a great tool for showing that other side of Ryu whom we so rarely see. I'm also having a little fun with her, as you can see (Well versed with firearms, demolitions, espionage...and offensive cookery).
Hope you enjoyed this one, was time to get things moving again :)
Black Dragon37: And Hi there, Black Dragon 37.
I'll have to drop by and review your Soul Caliber II story sometime :)
If you read carefully, you won't notice anything from DOA3 or DOAX in there. That is...up to Chapter V anyhows. I've had to do a LOT of work to rework this chapter in. And my writing style has also changed a lot since then, mostly with the non linear plotting. Nevertheless, no - there is still budget left in this fic. And thanks for the kind welcome back ;)
That's a good point you picked up on. In terms of the timeline. Ryu's father was Go Hayabusa (Ken in the English version), killed by Jaquio when he took an energy blast for Ryu. Ryu was nigh about 16 years old for the 1st NG, so the way I write it is that it all happened in the past, and he ended up marrying Irene (I know - the whole cradle snatching thing is a little much).
Itagaki himself mentioned that the new NG was going to be ignoring the storyline from the first. I'm remaining faithful to it, and blending them as best as I can. Bottom line - I'm not taking the comment from Ryu about his father training in the woods as deciding the events of the latest NG chrnologically. Maybe it's someone he merely calls father in the clan? Who knows :) Anyhows - no bearing ;)
Quick update? Hehe...3 weeks is lightning for my schedule. I wouldn't get too used to it :) But I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter - till next!
Annie: Finally? Hehe...I'm guessing you read a little in the past. And don't worry - Ayane wil get her part. You'll notice that I'm more keen on concentrating on chars I already have rather than constantly throwing in new ones. Tend to prefer that :)
And yes ma'am, I'll try not to go AWOL again.
TigerEyes2: It's different now...trust me. On one hand makes me pleased that I didn't post it 2 years ago. Would have been atrocious :P Destiny Revival? Bring it on !
And you know me about keeping the folks in the air...even for 2 years Don't forget about the old man telling stories by the campfire.
Well, hope 3 weeks isn't too long for you :) And yes - it's good to be back.
Unforgiven Gamer: Hehe...not sure what you meant by half truths, but I try to put a few turns in the road. Yes, that part was tough - fish out of water.
Hope you enjoyed the latest!
Till next!
Jo: Ehe...thanks for the compliments. But it takes time...a LOT of time. I'll have to get moving along with the rest of the story. This should have been finished over 5 times by now.
Thanks again for reading!
3 weeks...one of my fastest updates yet. I wouldn't get too used to it though. It was HARD editing this. One of my hardest chapters yet. Mainly because of 2 reasons:
1) the DOA storyline has thickened somewhat since 2 years ago. I've had to modify the entire plot to make it fit 2) My style's changed. I've had to redo a lot of the story as I wasn't satisfied with the 1st draft.
With all of the plot redone and a whole lot of ideas fresh in my mind, here's hoping they'll find their way onto the web a lot quicker now.
Till next chapter! Thanks for reading!