Chapter 14
"Ayane!"
Was the last thing she heard her sister call out to her as her body slowly began to grow limp.
'Dammit. Did I get hit? Curse that little brat..' She thought to herself. Ayane then fell to the ground, beginning to lose consciousness.
'Wait, what the hell?' She realized when her body slightly turned and suddenly, she felt two arms that caught her.
"You damned ninja girl. Finally caught you, stubborn, helpless, you." She heard a deep male voice say.
"H-helpless.." She mumbled and tried to look up to make out his face.
"My poor little Aya-chan, I hope we'd meet again someday." Was the final thing she heard him say once she lost consciousness.
"..Y-you.." Ayane mumbled and fell unconscious.
"You're so beautiful, after all the years you've grown." The ninja replied and kissed the top of her lavender hair.
Suddenly a figure jumped to the ground and quickly pulled out their sword in a flash. It slowly then began to walk towards Ayane and the man.
"Oh, look who decided to ruin everything." He whispered into her ear and caressed the arrow that was impaled in Ayane's back.
"Let my sister go." The figure stated.
"I see, you're Miss Traitor I've heard of." He stated, and looked up at no other than Kasumi of the Mugen Tenshin. He then ripped the arrow out of Ayane's back to witness fresh crimson blood that spewed out her back.
"I said.." Kaumi paused and stepped out from the shadows and raised her sword up to their chest, ready to attack. "Let my sister go, you bastard."
The ninja gave a heavy sigh as he glanced at the girl and kneeled down then placed the kunoichi down at his feet.
Bowing, he placed his hand over his heart.
"Yes, my lady." He replied with smirked then removed his hand from his chest to slowly began brushing it against Ayane's face.
Kasumi appeared right behind the ninja, hoping to stab their sword into him. But instead, a clashing a metal was heard. Her eyes widen as she witnessed the other ninja having their own short sword in the other hand, that was placed behind his back.
"Now, now Miss Kasumi. I've done what you wanted me to do. I wouldn't harm her and to see her beauty become no more. Now would I?" He smirked, once again, and disappeared into ashes.
Kasumi was frozen in her spot, repeating the words he told her.
'Who..was he?' She asked herself and slowly shielded her sword. Looking around her surroundings, she fell to her knees and crawled over to Ayane.
"Ayane! Please get up.." Kasumi said as little tears fell from her eyes to Ayane's cheeks.
"B..Bastard, I'm g-gonna...kill him." Ayane groaned and slowly opened her eyes to witness Kasumi being the usual crybaby she is.
"Where did he go?!" Ayane shot up and looked around to find the man who was embracing her. Seconds later, her body laid back down once she felt the pain of the piercing wound that was on her back.
"Please don't worry about him, you're in too much physical pain to be moving around this much." Kasumi gasped and wrapped her arms around Ayane's injured back side.
"Get off of me!" Ayane exclaimed, trying to release Kasumi's embrace around her.
Kasumi frowned but removed her hands to watch her sister struggling to get up from the ground.
"Aya-"
"I'm fine. I can walk this pain away." Ayane interrupted her and continued to balance herself up against a tree.
She then sighed and pushed herself away from the tree and began to walk over towards Hayate, who was struggling to finish the last of the fiends. Her knees wobbled as she slowly grabbed one of her short swords from her side.
'She isn't planning on finishing them herself, is she?' Kasumi thought as she watched her struggling to get to Hayate.
"I just can't sit here and watch her." She mumbled and drew out her sword.
About the run past Ayane, the two girls both came to a sudden stop to witness something they never seen happen before.
Sparks of energy was released from his body, with blue lightning also forming around him as well. He jumped into midair and began spinning in high speed to create a rapid tornado with the lightning striking around the disaster storm. Hayate then stopped and pointed his hand over to the group of fiends.
"Watashi no teki no mawari ni supin." He ordered his ninpo.
His tornado, he created, then flew its top speed over to the fiends. It then hit its target and the fiends cried in agony.
A wide smile came across his face as he grabbed a hold of multiple kunais and threw them over towards the tornado.
The storm shade slowly turned to a chartreuse color as the fiends' bodies were sliced up once by one.
Minutes later, the tornado faded elsewhere and Hayate fell to the ground, panting and grabbing his head in pain.
"Master Hayate!" Ayane called and rushed over to his side. An excruciating pain shot up around every part of Ayane's body, causing her trip over her own feet and soon she fell to the ground. Her sword didn't fall far from her as she looked up to see Master Hayate, with concern that spread across his face.
Kasumi was also shocked after she'd seen Hayate perform that ninpo.
'Have I've seen that before? I haven't seen him perfect that in a while now. Father hasn't been around to teach him again, has he?' Kasumi asked herself but snapped out of her thoughts to see Ayane falling to the ground.
Kasumi shielded her weapon once again and rushed to her aid.
Ayane looked from Hayate to Kasumi and narrowed her eyes at the shinobi. But her attitude changed once she looked back at Hayate, who was quickly making his way over to her.
"What happened?!" He asked with concern as only a little energy was still formed around his body.
"Master Hayate..what did you do? Are you okay?!" Ayane asked him, not bothering to answer his question.
Kasumi looked from Ayane to Hayate, whose body was producing blue lightning energy.
"Brother, who..?" She asked, hesitating to finish the full question.
Hayate was confused of the way both of his sisters were looking at him, having their brows furrowed. He looked down at his arms to witness his aura of energy the flowed across his body. His eyes widen when he realized that he had shown his power to not only the spider fiends, but to them as well.
'Dammit!' He cursed to himself. He hadn't been practicing the ninpo since he was young. But Kasumi had always been at their training grounds when his father was teaching them. Why keep it a secret? Hayate narrowed his eyes once he remembered the reason he stopped using the ninpo.
"Hayate. Stop fooling around. At this rate you'll never be able to perfect it." Master Shiden told Hayate, who was panting on the ground.
"I know!" 14 year-old Hayate yelled at his father.
Master Shiden sighed and shook his head with frustration.
"I'm finished with this useless conversation with you Hayate. If you're finished here, find Ayane. It'll be time for supper soon." His father ordered, walking passed Hayate and exited the training grounds.
Hayate sighed and laid on the ground for a good few minutes before he got up to look for his baby sister.
Minutes Later...
Hayate jumped from plateau to plateau. It's known as "The Lost World" due to the endless number of plateaus that are high up in the skies. He then came to a sudden stop when he felt someone's presence behind him. Hayate jumped and landed on one of the plateaus. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the fog.
Seconds later, the fog thinned and suddenly a sharp kunai was thrown his way. Dodging the weapon, it cut his cheek in the process.
Hayate sighed with relief but quickly drew out his short sword.
"Alert as ever." He heard a familiar voice call to him.
Hayate relaxed and walked over to the voice then smiled at the figure.
"I can say the same thing to you Ryu." He answered and came to face his best friend. Being dressed in his ninja garb, he assumed that he was up here training himself.
"What are you doing here Hayate?" Ryu asked him, leaning against a boulder.
"Looking for Ayane, have you seen her here? This is one of the main places she'd run off to.." He asked and walked to the edge of the plateau to look down at the view.
"I haven't seen her come up here for a while now." He answered and sat down near a puddle.
"What do you mean "For a while."?" He questioned and turned to give him a stern look.
"She came up here asking to spar with me, of course I told her no. I'm afraid you'd kill me if she came home limping." Ryu shrugged.
'Reasonable answer.' Hayate thought and walked over to sit across from him.
A frown spread across Ryu's face as he watched his best friend mumbling to himself. Hayate then released a heavy sigh and laid on his back, facing up at the sky.
"He gave you another lecture, huh?" Ryu asked him.
"It's none of your concern.." Hayate answered.
Ryu raised a brow and crossed his arms, hinting Hayate he wanted to hear his explanation.
Hayate glanced at Ryu's reaction and rolled his eyes. Getting up, he continued to look up at the sky then looked at his reflection in the clear puddle.
"I can't do the freakin ninpo, alright? Father stopped trying to teach me after he saw what I fool I was earlier." Hayate said.
"Hhm? I could teach you." Ryu calmly stated and glanced at his friend, to find his brown eyes piercing straight into his own emerald green eyes.
"Teach me?! You, teach me? You're funny." He laughed.
Ryu ignored his insults and stood up, to stare down at Hayate. He was slightly confused, but watched Ryu walking over the middle of the grounds.
The young dragon ninja stood in his fighting stance and took a deep breath.
Sparks of energy surrounded Ryu Hayabusa's small body as he signaled in Japanese language. His emerald eyes shot open then he jumped from his position and began to spin in high speed. Green leaves danced around his tornado-like form, with light coming from parts of the storm.
Hayate's eyes widen as he witnessed his best friend perfecting the ninpo with no problem. He hated how he always got everything done correctly before he did when it came to things like this. Hayate then shielded his eyes as the bright light shined from the tornado Ryu created.
Seconds later, the tornado began to decrease in speed as Hayate glanced to witness Ryu beginning to slow down. Finally, Ryu landed on his feet to see Hayate's eyes sparkle with emotion as he stared at his body.
"Why are you looking so impressed?" Ryu asked him, when suddenly his nose began to trickle with blood.
"How the hell did you learn that so quickly?!" Hayate exclaimed and ran over to him.
Wiping the blood that dripped from his nose, he answered.
"Father made me learn it from Master Shiden for a mission I was sent on recently. It wasn't hard actually, Hayate. It's probably because you're just too stubborn."
"Call me stubborn. Show me what the hell you did." Hayate replied sticking out his tongue.
"Ganko ni mi nasai." Ryu sighed.
"Damare.." He ordered.
A chuckle escaped Ryu's lips once he heard Hayate's response.
"Concentrate your mind and body, first thing." Ryu stated and got back in his fighting stance. "Think about what your objective is."
He did as he was told and, too, got in his fighting stance. Closing his eyes, he thought about overpowering Ryu with the ninpo. He then began to feeling a warm energy grow across his body.
"Now, assure that's your main objective is. Nothing more."
Hayate nodded and confirmed to himself that he was ready to complete the ninpo.
His light brown eyes shot open with rage and he jumped into midair and spun in top speed. Seconds later, a tornado wrapped around his form as he continued to spin. Cold and warm winds became of the tornado throughout the process.
Ryu backed up away from him to witness his progress.
'Hhm. Not bad.' He told himself.
Suddenly, the clear skies turned grey as the wind speed started to twirl. The meadow of flowers swayed vigorously as they were whipped up into the air. Two storms appeared besides Hayate, violently twisting air rotating around each other.
Now, it was Ryu's eyes that widen with concern as he looked around the place.
"What the? What is he thinking?!" He mumbled and drew out his sword.
A devilish smile crept across Hayate's face once he heard the sound of Ryu's sword.
"Kokufuku suru." Hayate told himself and stopped spinning. He then stared down at Ryu, who was ready to attack.
Grabbing several kunais, Ryu threw them over towards his friend. But they quickly bounced off and hit the other two storms that collided into one.
'No.' He thought and began to slowly back away from his best friend.
"What's wrong Ryu? Are you afraid I'd overpower you? I'd attack you?" He laughed. "Cause I'm going to do more than that." He finished and tilted his towards him.
"ike." Hayate ordered and just like that, the tornado flew straight over towards Ryu.
Right before the storm was about to hit Ryu, a voice was heard behind him.
"Master Hayate! Hehe! Hayate! Look! Look at these pretty flowers!" A small little girl called, having freshly picked white lilies in her hand. Her lavender hair swayed in the wind as she ran towards the two.
'Ayane?!' The two both thought as she broke their fight.
Hayate's eyes then darted at his baby sister, which caused the storm to change its direction.
Running in top speed, Ryu tried to make it over to Ayane before she was attacked.
Ayane then stopped laughing once she opened her eyes to see a tornado coming at her.
"Nani-" Ayane was cut off and was hit with the ninpo. A bright blue light engulfed the area the second the girl was targeted.
Ryu froze with fear as the light didn't bother him.
"A-Aya.." He stuttered once the light began to die down.
Hayate's eyes were still bugged out as he witnessed the explosion. His own tornado stopped spinning and slowly decreased in speed as he came back down, landing on his feet.
Tears dripped from the sky, not long for it to start raining down throughout the area. Gas died down due the rainstorm that poured down on the three.
Ryu looked around to see her laying on the ground, with several kunais stabbed in parts of her body. Her blood filled the puddles as it leaked from her small form. Her lavender hair was covered with mud along with crimson liquid as she laid there, completely still.
The two ninjas stood frozen in their spots, witnessing the kunoichi's state. Hayate looked from Ayane and looked down at his hands. His aura was still around his form.
Ryu was the first to walk over to the fallen kunoichi, dragging his feet walking across the grounds.
"H-Haya-te. Y-you.." He stuttered once again as he was still slowly making his way over to Ayane.
He then stopped once his feet touched her side, where her rib cage was. He fell to his knees and placed his hand on top of her heart. Nothing was showing signs she was alive. Everything felt cold on her body.
"Killed...her...you.." Ryu hesitated and looked besides him to see Hayate, with his head lowered.
"You killed her!" Ryu shot up and moved his hand to grab his collar, but another hand swiftly stopped him from touching Hayate.
Ryu looked down to see Hayate squeezing his wrist and rose his head up. Ryu's eyes widen with fear to see sparks of energy crackling around Hayate's body.
"You couldn't save her? Y-you had the chance..and you c-couldn't save her?! You taught me how to create it, but not how to destroy it?! Ayane's dead! She's dead! I killed her! The power of the ninpo..it killed her!" Hayate yelled and grabbed Ryu's collar then threw him down to the side.
Hayate then too fell to his knees and lifted his baby sister in his arms.
On the other hand, Ryu slowly got up to see Hayate having Ayane in his arms. Ryu glanced up at the sky to receive raindrops hitting his cheeks. He then glanced back and suddenly heard sniffling. Staring at Hayate for a few minutes, Ryu noticed his shoulders shaking.
"Ayane!" Hayate cried and pulled her closer to him. Blue light was then produced from him as he cried yet again.
Ryu began to crawl over towards them, but stopped once he watched how broken down Hayate was.
"Hayate.." Ryu called as his eyes started to fill.
Cries were heard for a response for his call.
Ryu lowered his head as tear by tear began to fall down his cheeks. Blood stained his hands and clothes as he grabbed the ground, sobbing continuously.
"I couldn't..I couldn't..I..." Ryu hesitated and looked up at Hayate.
"I couldn't teach you! I didn't teach you! It's my fault she's dead! Hayate, don't blame yourself! Dammit!" Ryu yelled.
Hayate stopped sobbing and turned to his best friend to see that he was crying as well.
A lightning bolt stroke as the two friends locked eyes.
"Ryu.." He hesitated and suddenly, his energy disappeared in a flash.
Before they could exchange anymore words, multiple footsteps were heard in the distance.
"Hayate? Hayate!" They heard someone call out.
Ninjas appeared on the plateau, with Master Shiden along with them. He looked at the two boys and noticed Hayate having someone in his arms. Walking over, Master Shiden rose a brow looking his daughter, who laid motionless and stabbed with many kunais. He then glanced to see a small tornado symbol a little bit below her right shoulder.
"Father-"
"What is the meaning of this?!" Master Shiden demanded.
Hayate lowered his head yet again in disappointment once he felt the tension in air.
Shiden glared down at his son, waiting for an answer. His eyes then shifted over to Ryu, who was covered in blood.
"What happened Ryu? Tell me what the hell happened here." Shiden ordered an answer from Ryu, who's eyes were still spilling warm liquid.
"...T-the..n-n-ninpo. H-Hayate, h-he-"
Shiden's eyes widen and they darted to look over at Hayate. He had performed the ninpo. He had finally perfected the ninpo. But he hadn't learned how to control the power of it. Why did he aim it towards Ayane? Why was she here? Did Ryu teach both of the two, but not how to control it?
A gust of wind past the ninjas as Master Shiden was collecting everything together.
His light grey hair blew in the storm as he crouched down by his son. He then placed a hand over the symbol on her shoulder. A purple light shined from his hands and around his body. The energy slowly made its way to the symbol and, it too, glew a purple color.
Taking his hand away from her shoulder, he glanced at Hayate.
"We're going back to our village." He told his son.
"Make sure Ryu comes along as well." He looked back at his ninjas and ordered. They nodded with confirmation.
Ryu looked up to see one ninja holding a hand out to him. He then held his own hand out, which was shaken with fear.
"Sorede īdesu." The ninja said and gripped Ryu's hand.
Rain fell down more hard once the ninjas left the area. The blood filled puddle suddenly changed back to its original state once they were out of sight.
An hour later...
The group of ninjas walked through the village, with Hayate and Ryu walking on both sides of Master Shiden. Villagers eyes widen as they saw Hayate carrying Ayane's injured body through the grounds. A frown tugged Ryu's face as he heard some villagers start to whisper.
"Master Shiden is back. Did he go out on his mission with one of the Hayabusa ninja?"
"Hayate-chan went along with them?"
"Why did he tag along? He hasn't even mastered it yet. Has he?"
"Wait, is that Ryu Hayabusa?"
"And Ayane-chan too?!"
"What happened to her?"
"Don't tell me he..?"
Ryu lowered his head and continued to walk alongside Master Shiden, ignoring the rumors.
Hayate, on the other hand, stared own at his sister, with anger that rose through him. He couldn't protect her. He couldn't save her. His own self issues caused this thing to happen. The only thing to do now is pray that Ayane isn't really gone.
He glanced at Ryu, who's fists were clenched into tight balls. His head was lowered, so Hayate couldn't see his face. Thinking, Hayate remembered what happened right before the tragic scene. Ryu could of teleported over to Ayane, but all his energy was stored to defend himself against Hayate, himself. Instead, he ran as fast as he could to shield her with his own body. But in the end, everything happened in slow motion. Ryu reached his arm out to Ayane, but she didn't notice. Stopping all her excitement, the ninpo hit her. The Hayabusa ninja froze with fear as he watched the explosion.
"You killed her!"
"I couldn't teach you! I didn't teach you! It's my fault she's dead! Hayate, don't blame yourself! Dammit!"
Hayate replayed those words Ryu had yelled at him.
He then stared up at the sky, which still was shedding its own tears.
The group continued through the grounds and finally made it into Master Shiden's home.
Minutes Later...
Ayane laid on Hayate's bed, still out cold. Ryu and Hayate stood by the foot of the bed while Shiden sat beside the girl. He had sent the remaining ninjas back to the Hayabusa village to report the whereabouts of Ryu to Master Joe.
Shiden didn't want Ayame finding out what had happened to Ayane and neither tell Kasumi. The two would get in the way and cause too much presser on the boys and himself.
Sighing, he placed an ice cold towel on her forehead and looked down at all the bandages her body was wrapped in. Her face was pale and her breathing was ragged.
Ryu watched Ayane's motion with concern in his eyes, which Hayate did the same. Shiden then looked at the two and shook his head. A short gasp escaped their lips and they took a step closer with concern.
"Father, you mustn't-"
"I'm going to bring her back..but the only way is to erase her memory of the ninpo." Shiden explained.
"She'll be alright even after you erase them?" Ryu asked and glanced at him.
"Ryu, Hayate. After I perform this treatment, you must never train or show her this ninpo. This would cause her to want to learn the technique, and with that being said, may cause physical and mental pain on her body over time." Shiden answered.
Ryu then looked at his best friend, who's eyes narrowed down at his sister. Hayate then darted his eyes at him and shook his head.
"How would she be protected?" He asked.
"Starting in the next two weeks, Ayane will not be training here or at the Hayabusa village. Genra will be teaching her the path Hajinmon ninjutsu style. Learning the ninpo is unnecessary for her training." Shiden stated.
Hayate lowered his head, disappointed at the answer he was told. A blue aura surrounded his body as he thought back when Genra took her away from them, as a child of his own.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back up to see Ryu staring straight into his intense eyes.
"There's nothing else we could do Hayate. Erasing her memories would be the best situation instead of leaving her like this." Ryu told him.
Hayate sighed and took his hand off his shoulder. His aura faded elsewhere and he walked to the side of the bed, opposite of Shiden's. He brushed his hand against her forehead, moving the bangs away from her face.
"Bring her back. I don't care what happens, as long as she's alive..I'll never perform the ninpo to her. Even Kasumi..I'll never perform it." Pausing, he looked at Ryu to his father. "Teach me. Teach me how to control this." He opened his palm and a blue light danced upon it.
Shiden placed his hand over his palm and suddenly, the blue light turned to ashes. The ashes fell to the floor as Shiden gripped Hayate's hand.
Removing his hand away from his palm, he trailed his fingers along Ayane's face. He then took the cold towel off her forehead and replaced it with his own hand.
Seconds later, white lightning bolts surrounded Ayane's body and a light breeze blew through the room. Fire danced upon the lightning symbol that was on Ayane's shoulder. A high pitched scream was heard as the fire burned the young girl's body.
Hayate tried to take a step closer to the two, but was stopped by Ryu. He grabbed both his arms and pinned them to his back, unable for him to reach out and break the healing process.
"Ayane!" He yelled while trying to escape Ryu's hold.
"Hayate, please.." Ryu said with concern, which made Hayate look back at him. His emerald green eyes started to fill as the scream grew louder.
Gritting his teeth, he looked back at Ayane.
Shiden then rose his left hand up and drew out multiple Japanese traditional characters, and seconds later, his arm suddenly began producing purple lightning. He moved his arm over, to hover over her chest and removed his other hand away from her forehead. Shiden closed his eyes and started mumbling in foreign language. His arm sparked more and more as he continued to chant.
The room glew its purple light and multiple signs covered Hayate's room. The two boys stared at all the signs to realize that they were all different clan symbols from all around the country. A particular symbol suddenly caught Ryu's eye when it appeared onto Hayate's wall.
A single spider symbol glew on the surface during the process. His eyes widen with fear, which caused him to automatically release his hold on Hayate. He fell to the ground and he then looked up to see Ryu, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Hayate's eyes followed to where he was looking. A blank face came across his face, having no idea what he was so afraid of.
Another symbol then appear next to the spider one. A crescent moon with one sword stabbing it and another onto of it, creating a lowercase T form. Ryu stayed in his position as he tried to remember where he had saw the marking before. His brows frowned and the picture flew through his mind.
"Uncle..Murai." Ryu mumbled and backed away from the scene. In the process, he stumbled over his own feet and fell back. He used his elbows to prevent himself from falling straight down on his back.
Observing from the distance, Hayate frowned feeling concerned for his friend.
Ryu closed his eyes, wanting to leave the area completely. His sweat continued down the back of his neck thinking about the terror of the spider marking.
A hand interrupted his thoughts and he shot his eyes open to looked back to see Hayate. Ryu then only glanced back at the two symbols and looked back at Master Shiden.
The Master stared down at them, with his dark grey eyes that flashed purple in range.
"Hayate, do you promise to never show them your true powers?" He asked.
Hayate stood up to bow down at his father.
"Hai."
He then wondered his eyes to Ryu.
"Ryu Hayabusa, do you commit to teaching Hayate the proper way of using the ninpo?"
Ryu did the same and looked up to meet Shiden's eyes.
"Hai Master Shiden."
Nodding with confirmation, Shiden shot his sparked arm over at Hayate. His purple lightning struck the boy's body automatically.
Hayate screamed in agony and fell to the floor. The pain caused him to produce his blue aura around his burning body.
Ryu stared at him as he was getting torched. His cold sweat started up again and gulped down his fear.
Minutes passed as he was still being torched by Master Shiden. The lightning then flowed back to Shiden's arm, growing more energy. He then shot it towards Ryu, and the same torcher began.
Hayate tried to calm himself down as he heard Ryu's cries. His eyes widen with fear when the aura around Ryu's body changed to a dark crimson red. Swift blades cut parts of his body and his blood trickled from the wounds. Each lightning bolt caught each blood tear before it hit the floor.
His green eyes looked over in his direction. He then softened them, showing him that he was alright.
"Ryu-"
An incredible pain quickly shot up his body and he tried to stay conscious. His vision blurred on and off as he fixed his eyes on his best friend.
The lightning once again returned to Shiden's arm, feeling more powerful than ever.
Ryu then fell to the floor, unconscious.
Hayate followed, and looked up to see Shiden continuing his work.
Several days later...
Hayate slightly opened his eyes, to find himself shirtless and staring at the ceiling. A cold towel laid on his forehead and bandages were wrapped around his right arm and hand. Glancing besides him, he saw Ryu, who was still asleep. His injuries were far worse from his. Bandages were wrapped around his chest, arms, legs and other parts of his body. Some even were stained with dried blood.
Grunting, he took the towel off his forehead and tried to get up from his position.
"Hayate! Lay back down!" A little girl yelled from besides him. Jumping with surprise, he quickly turned to see his baby sister smiling at him. Her head and shoulder was wrapped in bandages, but she still wore her brightest smile.
His eyes widen and quickly filled with tears of joy. Ayane frowned at him as tears began to fall from his eyes.
"What's wrong?! Did I do something wrong?! I'm sorry Master-"
She was interrupted when he grasped her small head and buried it into his chest. His shoulders shook uncontrollably and he began sobbing.
"A-Aya-ne..y-you're...you're..." He stuttered and buried his face in her shoulder.
Ayane shook off his embrace and backed up from her older brother.
"I'm okay Master Hayate." She stuck out her tongue. "See?" And flashed him a wink.
Tears flowed down his cheeks, glad that his sister was brought back from her original state.
"And like I said, lay down. Master Shiden told me to watch over you. You need to get better, he wants you back and ready for a mission he has assigned for you." She said and pulled the covers over him.
Hayate still sat up as the covers draped up on him. He stared at Ayane and smiled down at her.
"Thank you, Ayane." He flashed a bright smile at her.
Ayane's cheeks glew a bright pink when she looked at his smile.
Quickly she darted her eyes elsewhere.
"Stop looking at me like that! It's weird.." She said, mumbling the last part.
Hayate laughed and some tears escaped his eyes once more. He laid back down, smiling with happiness.
A loud thump was heard. Hayate slowly turned to where the noise came from. Ayane quickly moved towards the noise too to find Master Ryu on the floor, laying on his stomach. He then looked up to see Ayane having a concerned look spreading across her face. His cheeks were tear-dried, but that quickly changed when his tears ran down.
"Ayane!" He cried, while trying to crawl over to her.
"Master Ryu! Please go back to bed! You're hurt!" She ordered and kneeled down, trying to pull him up from the floor.
Ryu grasped her hand when suddenly, blood started to leak from the wounds, that were still bandaged. His body bandages leaked fresh blood as he continued to grab Ayane.
"Master!" She cried and pulled his body to her chest.
Several footsteps were then heard and multiple medical ninjas charged into the room. They rushed over to Ryu and pried him off of the girl.
"Ayane! Let me go, you..bastards! Let me go!" He yelled, trying to escape their hold.
Hayate shot up when he heard his best friend crying. He also tried to get up from bed, but was pinned down by one of the ninjas.
"Hayate-chan, please lay down!" The female ninja told him, slightly pushing him back down.
Hayate grunted and looked back at Ryu, who was getting pinned down to his own bed. His eyes then moved over to Ayane. She stood over at the end of the bed, her crimson eyes filled with concern, looking at Ryu.
"Excuse me." A deep voice interrupted the chaos.
Everyone stopped to see Master Shiden standing in the doorway. He glared at Ryu and a heavy sigh escaped his lips.
He nodded his head and soon one by one of the ninjas left the room. Ayane bowed, waiting for his order.
"Bring me fresh towels." He ordered.
"Of course."
And with that, the little girl teleported away.
Ryu slowly sat up, staring at the small amount of purple iris petals that danced where she disappeared.
The three sat in silence, getting lost in their own thoughts.
"Ayane came back, full with confusion. I'd only had to do what I needed for her to understand her situation." Shiden said, breaking the silence.
Hayate looked over at Ryu, who was still mesmerized.
"She has no memory of what happened?" Asked Hayate.
Shiden nodded with confirmation.
He let out a sigh of relief.
"But acting as you are now, may cause suspicion. I can see you are concerned for her state, but getting overly excited would only make things worse." Shiden added and shifted his eyes towards Ryu.
"He's right." Another voice exclaimed.
Ryu's eyes widen when he looked up to see his father, dressed in his white ninja gear, showing that he had just came back from a mission. His white mask covered his mouth and nose. His intimating eyes stared down at his son.
"Ryu, you're too caught up in the moment. Everyone is convinced that she was involved with a mission assigned from Shiden." Joe stated.
Ryu's cheeks slightly turned pink. He shook his head and turned back to Joe.
"Sorry father." He apologized.
Joe then walked over to stand by Shiden.
"Tomorrow you both will begin training." Shiden said.
Ryu then quickly looked back up at his father. He opened his mouth, about to exclaim, but was stopped when he interrupted him.
"I understand. Since you've already perfected the ninpo, Hayate will be learning from you at the Hayabusa village."
His eyes followed his father's, which laid looking at Hayate.
Shiden sighed once again and turned to his son as well.
Hayate's light brown eyes filled with determination, taking all of this in.
'I will perfect it. No matter what it takes, I will perfect it!'
"Hayate!"
Kasumi's voice yelled brought him back to reality.
He slightly shifted away from his sisters, who were still confused of what had happened to him..
His blue aura quickly faded and he began to lift Ayane up, placing her weight against his shoulder.
"Master Hayate, please.." She paused, trying to pry herself off of him.
"Ayane." He said in a stern tone on voice. He looked besides him, looking her straight in the eyes.
A hint of anger gleamed in his eyes, which made Ayane's eyes slightly grow with fear. Not wanting to accept the consequences, she allowed her body to lean up against his shoulder.
Her body then began to grow intensely warm against his body. He then glanced at her. She didn't seem to react to the way her body continued to heat up. Suddenly her body grew limp, and she fell against his back.
"Ayane?" He called to her.
No response.
Kasumi stood up and quickly walked over to the two.
"Brother, she's injured." She told him.
Hayate turned to Kasumi and kneeled down to place Ayane against his chest. He removed his hand from her back, to witness red liquid covering part of his palm. Black lines began to draw across Ayane's lower body as time passed.
"What the hell.." He mumbled and looked up at Kasumi.
Not wasting anymore time, she disappeared and reappeared with several large palm tree leaves, which were still soaked from their previous location.
"Here." She said and kneeled down beside him and quickly wrapped her wounded back side.
Minutes later, the lines started to slowly fade away and Ayane slightly opened her eyes. But they soon closed. Her breathing was normal, but she didn't have the strength to be able to walk by herself. Or even enough to fight again.
Hayate sighed and pulled her body over his, so now she was being carried on his back.
"Kasumi, I'll need you to defend me until we get to the lab." He ordered and began to walk towards the lab location.
Kasumi nodded and jumped above the two. Drawing out her sword, she was ready to protect her brother and sister, at any cost.
Author's Note:
Yay finally Chapter 14 is out! I'm so sorry for the lack of updating very, very slow. Please I hope everyone stays with me as this story continues. Have a wonderful rest of your day :)
