Chapter 16

Momiji made her way to the Black Spider village, with a few Hayabusa ninjas that followed close behind her. She then came to a sudden stop when she looked down from the tree tops to see Hikaru walking through the darken area.

She held her hand up, to signal that the ninjas should wait up there. Nodding, they watched as Momiji jumped down and landed behind a boulder, not far from where Hikaru was standing.

Hikaru then froze in her place and quickly drew out her sword and kunai, her grey eyes scanning the area.

Momiji was about to signal the ninjas to come down, when another Black Spider ninja appeared in front of Hikaru, in his kneeled position.

"We have the woman, as asked." He told her and slightly looked up when two other ninjas appeared behind him. Then the last of them came from the shadows, with Mizuki in his arms.

"Doesn't sound all simple if you aren't the one carrying her." The ninja with Mizuki sighed.

Mizuki rolled her eyes from the back.

"Where do you think you're taking me?!" Mizuki asked.

In response of her question, the ninja threw her off his back and kicked her over so he could see her face.

"Where do you think? Your little girl is here as well. Ryu Hayabusa has no clue to where you are. Coming to find you, it'll just make our job easier." The ninja laughed.

A fist quickly collided his jaw the second the ninja had his outburst. He fell to the ground and looked up to see Hikaru's fist pulling back from her actions. Giving him an icy glare, she made her way over to Mizuki. The ninja then popped his jaw back in place as he watched her walking away.

She kneeled down and grabbed Mizuki's chin, staring directly into her eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to hear all that, but no matter. You're already done for anyway." Hikaru smiled.

"You of all people, why? Why are you even getting sucked into all of this?" Mizuki asked.

"Why?-" She laughed. "I'm a Black Spider ninja. I have a job to do. Once Canna becomes the new goddess of this world, I'll be worthy again...towards my people, clan, and my father. I am not going back to my old, weak self. I'm not going back to your life style." She continued and stood up to look down at her.

"You bastard..." Mizuki glared at her.

A loud smack was heard throughout the area. Mizuki clenched her teeth as the slap made a red mark on her cheek. Hikaru pulled her hand back after her sudden actions.

Momiji narrowed her eyes and lowered her hand down, signaling the ninjas to divide out in the area.

Obeying, two ninja stars were thrown at the Spider ninjas. The two ninjas died within seconds as the weapons impaled their back sides.

Hikaru and the other ninjas looked around and drew out their weapons. She then stood in her fighting stance and glanced behind her, to see the ninja she punched and the leader, in their own fighting stance.

"Take her back, Saburo." She ordered the one she punched.

Blinking for a couple of times, he took Mizuki and left the area as quickly as possible.

Hikaru and the other ninja stood back to back, waiting for the Hayabusa ninjas to strike.

"Die!" A voice was heard from behind them. They turned to see the Hayabusa ninjas surrounding them.

Smiling, Hikaru and the ninja stroke at the ninjas.

Momiji watched in awe as she witnessed Hikaru's fighting style. Many ninpos was already she had learned herself. She managed to strike all the Hayabusa's in seconds before she was ready to make her final blow towards them. Her skills were flawless.

But why would she go through all the trouble, acting like she knew nothing about us ninja? About their skills?

Getting back to reality, she walked out from her hiding place and drew out her own sword.

The Spider ninja fell to the ground as the last Hayabusa ninja struggled to stand.

"Please...let me live!" The Spider ninja pleaded and grabbed his wounded side.

Before the Hayabusa could react, the ninja's head flew off. He fell dead to the ground. The Hayabusa ninja quickly looked up to see Momiji standing behind the fallen ninja, her sword stained with the Spider ninja's blood.

Hikaru pulled out her sword from one of the Hayabusa ninjas and turned to see her comrade, headless on the ground.

She then looked to her side to see Momiji standing beside the weakened Hayabusa ninja. Lowering her head, she slowly lifted it and raised her bloody sword to her chest.

"You will die! Right here, right now!" She yelled.

Momiji stared her down and lifted her palm. A fireball came from her palm and shot itself towards Hikaru. Nearly dodging it, the fire stroked her shoulder, causing her get pushed back from the strong ninpo. Steadying herself, she looked down to see her feet trail in the ground.

"What have you done Hikaru? Why did you use us? Hurting Canna...and now her mother." Momiji said.

Hikaru looked back up and shielded her weapon. Holding her shoulder, she stared down the maiden.

"...My father. I'm going to be useful again. I'm not going back to how I was before! I will obey his every rule until he's proud of me. This mission is perfect for me to show him. I know you wouldn't understand, I know what I'm in for when this is complete. We will rule over this hell city!" Hikaru exclaimed, teeth clenched.

"Hikaru...you were once a comrade-" Momiji paused and shielded her weapon. "I don't even know who, or what you are to me anymore. Therefore, I will have no regret on doing what I have to do to get Canna and Mizuki back to where they belong."

Hikaru's eyes widen once she heard those words escaping her lips.

She then narrowed her eyes and turned around, ready to leave the area.

"Canna will always be a memory, my own little memory." She replied and disappeared in a flash of lightning.

'There's a good side in you Hikaru, you just have to wake up to it.' Momiji thought and turned her attention to the injured ninja.

"Let's head back, Jiro-san. Can you hold up long enough?" She asked him.

"I can try." Jiro shortly replied.

They soon left the area, heading back to the Hayabusa village.


A swirl of green leaves danced around the abandoned area in Tokyo, Japan. The wind carried the leaves over in front of a small curio shop.

Ryu Hayabusa appeared in the tornado of leaves as he stood up from his kneeling position and looked up at the sign of the shop.

"ムラマサ" The shop's name in red lights.

Walking up to the door, the sign was flipped to "OPEN". He glanced inside then made his way through the door.

Once he walked inside, he looked to see a small old man sitting on a stool behind the counter, reading his book.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here so soon Ryu." The man didn't even bother looking up to meet Ryu's eyes.

"Although, it's nice to see more customers." The man then looked up at the Dragon ninja.

"Same to you Muramasa." Ryu replied with a slight bow.

"What brings you here? Sent back on another job I see?" Muramasa asked and placed down his book. He then glanced over and studied Ryu's cursed arm.

"Oh, I see what I can offer." Muramasa jumped to the point and hopped off his stool. Grabbing his walking stick, he disappeared down the hallway.

Ryu watched as Muramasa walk down the hall. Once he was gone, he walked up to a bookshelf that contained several mementos from multiple missions Muramasa and him have faced. Jewels, ninja throwing stars, pieces of cloth, etc.

Looking through the items, something sparkled in Ryu's emerald green eyes. A small silver ring shined on one of the shelves as Ryu stared at the item. As seconds pasted, he then grabbed the ring and studied the jewel before placing it in his pocket.

"Here we are."

Ryu turned to see Muramasa carrying paired Dual Katanas and another weapon, similar Eclipse Scythe, but this one's handle was crafted into a dragon's body, the head being at the bottom.

Examining the weapons, he strapped the weapons on the back of his ninja attire.

"Thank you, Muramasa." He bowed again.

"No, thank you for stopping by Ryu."

Nodding the dragon ninja turned, walking towards the exit.

"A friend has stopped by to pay you a visit." He heard Muramasa say.

"It was a young girl, she had wanted to meet with you here. She didn't say much. She wore those Spider uniforms..I hope you know what she's wanting. With all her commotion, I hadn't quite understood her point." Muramasa continued, getting back up on his stool.

Looking behind his shoulder, Ryu paused and turned back towards the door and out the shop.


Hayate bolted through the forest, with Kasumi right behind him. They had to slow down every now and then due to Ayane's wounds. Kasumi had tried to help by asking Ayane for a ride on her back. But she refused everytime. In the end, Ayane was struggling to catch up with the two and Kasumi quickly allowed her on top on her back.

Hitomi still was unconscious in Hayate's arms. He looked down every now and then, hoping for her to at least call out to him. But as minutes passed by, nothing was heard from her.

"Brother." Kasumi called out to him.

He stopped in his tracks and slightly turned to face her.

"You know..that I..."

"That you what? Hehe, supposed to be dead?" Ayane's voice was heard.

Hayate narrowed his eyes at her remark.

"...I'm not going back Hayate." Kasumi replied.

"Kasumi-"

"I refuse to go through those gates. I decided on the way here, I'm going to stay hidden like I always do." She interrupted.

Hayate was taken back at her response. He slowly turned to face her and began to slowly walk up to her. Their faces were nearly inches apart from each other once he closed the distance between them.

"I could care less about what the villagers say, you're coming with me." He ordered and stared into her amber eyes.

"I'm not allowed to enter those grounds..I'm not even supposed to be even standing here." Kasumi responded and gave him the same look he shot at her.

Hayate grew more annoyed once she had her sudden outburst.

"Haya..te..." A weak voice mumbled from Hitomi.

The two quickly looked down to see Hitomi slightly move her lips.

Hayate leaned down to place his forehead to slightly press onto Hitomi's wounded one.

"Take her to the village." Kasumi ordered him.

He then looked back up and glanced at Kasumi then back down at Hitomi's state.

"Ayane-"

"I have her, please brother, take her to Yori. I'll bring Ayane home." Kasumi replied and turned to leave the two.

"Kasumi!" He stopped her.

Slightly turning, she stopped in her tracks.

"Don't mention this to Father yet. I'll have to fix all this on my own time." He told her.

Kasumi nodded and with that, she jumped up into the trees and disappeared seconds later.

Hayate looked down at Hitomi once again and turned around then sprinted towards the village's gates.


Seconds later, the two finally arrived at the village entrance, and came to face two guards standing there, with complete shock on their faces.

"Master Hayate-"

"Get me Yori and send her to my home, immediately." Hayate ordered the guards.

They nodded and with said, they opened the gates for the returning ninjas.

As he walked through the village, the villagers' eyes widen once they saw Master Hayate carrying an outsider through the grounds. His head was lowered then suddenly he began to hear several whispers coming from the people.

"Who's that chick?"

"Why is Master Hayate bringing her here? Is that even allowed?"

"Of course, it isn't! Wait till Master Shiden hears about this."

Hayate stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head the second he heard one of the ninjas outburst.

The male ninja laughed but suddenly cold sweat trailed down the back of his neck when he felt someone's presence behind him.

"You will not tell Father anything. Unless you wouldn't want anything to happen to your position, now would you?" Hayate laughed into the ninja's ear. "Now mind you, I'll go to any means necessary if you bother this girl while I'm going to deal with this situation."

The ninja grunted as he tried to slowly get a hold of his kunai from his side. But a sudden burn was presented on his hand as he fell to the ground. He then looked back up to see Hayate giving him a dark glare. He then turned around and walked away from the ninja and towards his destination.

The ninja smirked and took of his mask to reveal his caramel colored thin eyes. His dark brown hair was perfectly shaved on the sides (giving the fade look) and long on the top of his head. He then ran his hand through his hair and bowed down at Hayate's backside.

"Of course. I will not interfere with your duties Master Hayate." He mocked.

"Live up to your name, Katsuro." Hayate only responded back and disappeared down a corner.

"Tch." Katsuro clicked his tongue and disappeared in the opposite direction of Hayate.

The villagers were shocked after they witnessed the two's conversation. One of the guards then walked towards a male figure who was dressed in a full, dark body coat. He then whispered something into their ear, and seconds later, the figure nodded and disappeared into thin air.

A sudden déjà vu had hit Hayate going back to when he was young. As he continued his walk towards his home. Looking down, Hitom's state hadn't changed since they arrived at the village gates.

"Hitomi..." He mumbled and looked up at the sky. Clouds began to cover the sun, and soon, everything was dull. "Again?" He said and glanced behind him. Slightly sighing, he hurried to his home.


Minutes later, they came face to face with his front door. Hayate opened the door and made his way to his bedroom. He then slowly placed Hitomi down on his futon and kneeled down beside her. Scanning her wounds, he was lost in his own thoughts. Why did she have to be targeted? Why didn't he think twice about leaving her? Why wasn't he there to protect her?

He then glanced back at the door and stood up to go close it. Returning, he stared down at her injured body. Without thinking, he reached out to untie her top to see what Donovan had did to her body. His eyes then suddenly changed to where he was now giving Hitomi a seductive look. His blue aura surrounded his body as he reached his hand out towards her top. His hand then slightly sparked with blue lightning as he was about to strip her.

"Hayate-sama." A voice and knock interrupted him. He slightly jumped when he heard a knock at the door. His blue lighting and aura quickly faded as he took his attention away from Hitomi.

"Come in." He responded.

Her light brown hair was braided off to the side while she wore a silky green kimono, similar to Kasumi's blue one, but this one looked different to Hayate's eyes. He hadn't seen her in years, since he was busy with all the missions his Father had given him.

"Um Hayate-sama, is something troubling you?" She asked, making him come back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, no it's nothing Yori." He replied and rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to make eye contact with her.

Blinking a couple times, she smiled and then looked behind him. Yori then hurried over to the futon and kneeled down to look at her wounds.

"She has multiple cuts, but..." She paused and untied her karate top. Her lower stomach area was infected and bruised. Her skin was a dark shade of red where the bruised area was. "She must've gotten hit pretty good to have this kind of bruise." She finished and turned back to look at Hayate. Standing up, she bowed down at him.

"Don't worry Hayate-sama. She's in good hands now!" She stated.

Hayate looked down at Yori and smiled. Oh, how he missed her positive attitude.

"Thank you, Yori." He said and walked back to his futon and placed a kiss on top of Hitomi's wounded forehead.

"Don't die on me Hitomi." He whispered and with said, walked out his bedroom while closing the door behind him. He then leaned against the doorframe, waiting for Yori to finish her work.


The Dragon ninja walked through the village grounds lost in his own thoughts, not even noticing a small figure following him in the tree tops.

"Hehe, I got him now!" The figure quietly chuckled as they watched Hayabusa walking into the village.

Suddenly, he came to a stop and smiled under his mask.

He then turned around just in time to see the figure jump down, ready to make a piercing cut into his back side. Luckily for him, he just had enough time to dodge the attack and draw out one of his own paired Dual Katanas. The figure was dressed in all black and the hood of his cape covered his face identity. The attacker was quick to react and drew out its short sword and turned around ready to cut Hayabusa's arm. But no matter what the figure did, he was always able to dodge the attack.

"Dammit! Can I at least get one hit?!" The figure yelled, which caught Ryu off guard.

"Sanji?" Ryu called the name of the attacker.

Sighing, he distanced himself from Ryu and took off his hood. His light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and his blue eyes narrowed as he looked up at the Dragon ninja, who shielded his own sword.

"I could've had you." Sanji said as he began to toss around his sword. "Momiji has been training me Master Ryu! I will be stronger than you someday."

Ryu walked over towards the boy and ruffled up his hair.

"Keep practicing." He slightly smiled and walked past him and continued to his destination.

A knife had suddenly cut through the air, aiming for Ryu's head. Dodging the weapon, Ryu caught the knife in between his two fingers. He then looked back at the boy, who wore a smug look on his face.

"Sure will, Master Ryu." He smiled with a bow and disappeared into thin air.

Tossing the knife aside, Ryu walked back towards the Hayabusa Shrine.

Minutes later, he finally arrived at the shrine. About to walk up the stairs, he heard someone call out to him.

"Master Ryu!" A girl's voice called.

Turning, he came face to face with one of the young villagers.

"Master, may I come with you? My brother, he..he's in there with Momiji-san. I didn't want to go inside without anyone's permission." She said and bowed before her master.

He then walked up to her and wrapped his arm over her shoulder. She then looked up and smiled at him. They then walked up the stairs towards the room.

Walking into the room, they watched as Momiji wrapped Jiro's multiple injuries with bandages.

"Oniichan!" The girl cried and ran over to Jiro. She then jumped into his arms and sobbed in his chest.

"Amaya?" He looked down at his sister. Momiji gave him a sad smile and stopped what she was doing to watch the girl have her little reunion.

"I thought you wouldn't come back! You can't leave me Oniichan!" She sobbed.

Jiro smiled and kissed the top of her hair.

"I won't Amaya, I never will."

He then slightly sighed and pulled her head up against his chest. Covering her ears, he looked up at Ryu.

"I've completed orders as told, Master Ryu. Some were lost, but I was able to get some information." He stated.

"The Spiders. They have a hold of Mizuki McCloud. The one called Hikaru, she...she has betrayed us and has all the information pertaining to this clan. They will destroy us and the world along with it." He continued.

Ryu's emerald eyes narrowed as he listened to Jiro.

"Chikushou." Ryu muttered.

Jiro grimaced and positioned Amaya at another spot on his lap.

"Thanks Jiro." Ryu said.

Nodding, Jiro looked down to see Amaya staring into his eyes.

"Let's go home Amaya." He smiled and ruffed her hair.

"Okay!" She exclaimed and hopped off him.

Momiji stood up to help him out the room. Before he left the room entirely, he turned to look back at the maiden.

"Thank you Momiji." He bowed.

"Arigato Momiji-san!" Amaya smiled.

Blinking a couple of times, Momiji smiled and waved at the two.

Grabbing Amaya's small hand, Jiro left soon after.

Turning back around, Ryu waited for Momiji to respond.

She then walked past him and began to clean up the supplies.

"Momiji?"

"They're gone.." She mumbled while cleaning.

Ryu watched with a frown as she slowly stopped cleaning.

"I've failed you Master Ryu. I'm sorry." She repeated several times.

He then walked over to her and grabbed her chin. Her hazel eyes began to tear up as she looked up at him.

"We will get them back. I promise." He told her and pulled down his scarf to reveal his face.

Tears then fell down her cheeks constantly. Suddenly, she embraced him as she cried softly.

To his surprise, he hesitated to respond to her hug. After a few seconds, he wrapped his arms around her back and rested his head on top of hers.

"I'm sorry Master Ryu...I'm..." She sobbed and disappeared within seconds.

Ryu backed up from his place to see gases of fire faded away along with Momiji. Pulling his scarf back up, he made his way to the dresser and picked up the origami ninja star.

'You'll be safe soon Canna.'