A.N.: The word 'halvsie' is a term to describe someone of mixed ancestry; usually a child, and often half-Asian/half-Caucasian. Hitomi falls under the category, since her father is German and her mother is Japanese. Kirina Houshi, an original character from my Tiger and Dragon series in the Street Fighter section, also falls under the catergory, with Juli as her mother and Ryu as her father.

Kasumi's Restaurant Side Story: Ayane - Redemption

Five weeks after the confrontation with Kasumi...

Following the explosive confrontation with Kasumi, in which the nukenin had declared herself ronin and stripped both Hayate and Ayane of their honor, Ayane had left the Hajinmon village in search for her rival. After traveling all over Japan, visiting clans that were allied with her own, as well as exploring Raidou's old training grounds, she found nothing of her much-despised half-sister.

By the time she had returned to Tokyo, she was exhausted. Worse yet, a typhoon had struck the Japanese mainland, soaking her to the bone. Knowing that in her condition that she would not make it to the village, she saw that she was close to the Hayabusa Curio Shop and managed to make it there before passing out at the front door.

Lucky for the Hajinmon kunoichi, Momiji, who was at the curio shop helping Ryu for the week, saw Ayane collapse at the front door. In an instant, she called for Ryu.

The Hayabusa superninja/shop owner stepped out of the backroom. "What now, Momiji?" he asked.

Momiji pointed to the fallen Ayane. "She just collapsed in front of the doorway!" she exclaimed. "We should call an ambulance!"

Ryu took one look at the shivering, coughing teen and realized who she was. In an instant, Ryu opened the door, scooped the drenched Ayane in his arms and kicked the door closed behind him. "Get me some dry towels!" he barked as he carried Ayane to the second floor, which served as his living quarters.


Ayane was dreaming.

She was dreaming of the past events in her life. Clad in her usual ninja uniform (her DOA 3 default) she watched as the events played out in front of her.

"Ayane! Ayane!"
The image of a six-year old Kasumi playing in the lake.

"Come on, Ayane! Keep up!"
A younger Hayate encouraging her.

"Look at her...the poisoned child...she is nothing!"
The taunts of the clan members.

"I hearby ask that Ayane should be moved to the Hajinmon village immediately; and that she be assigned to join me in my duties, assisting the Mugen Tenshin clan from the shadows..."
Genra's masked face dancing in the candlelight.

"Ayane...the truth is...I am your mother...please forgive me..."
Ayame's sobbing form visible behind the tatami curtain.

"Smile for me, will you? You have a beautiful smile."
The kind face of Joe Hayabusa, camera in hand.

"Worthless coward! Hiding behind a woman!"
Raidou's cruel image taunting them in the rain.

"She is a runaway. There is no need to capture her. Find her and kill her."
Genra giving Ayane his final order.

"You...and her...are nothing more than girisezu."
Kasumi's fiery gaze at the mountain temple as she stripped herself and Hayate of their honor.

This was more than Ayane could bear. Watching these memories was the equivalent of torture. "Stop...please...stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!" she screamed, hands at her ears in an attept to block out the memories.


Ayane shot up with a start and found herself inside a room. The last thing she remembered was passing out in front of the Hayabusa Curio Shop. Outside, the rain continued to fall. Looking around, she saw that she was inside one of the two guest rooms above the shop. Her ninja uniform and bandanna were on a nearby chair, dried and neatly folded. She saw that she was wearing only a tanktop and a pair of shorts, clothes she had left the last time she was here.

"You're finally awake," Momiji said from the doorway. In her hands was a steaming bowl of soup. "Hayabusa-sempai found you outside the curio shop. You were out for most of the day."

"Who...are you?" Ayane croaked.

"I'm Momiji, shrine maiden and kunoichi of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan."

"Momiji...you're Kureha's sister."

Momoiji nodded and walked closer to Ayane. "I occasionally help out Hayabusa-sempai at the shop. He is currently on the phone with Hayate-sempai." She knelt down and placed the bowl on the nightstand, along with a spoon. "You must be hungry. This soup will help."

"Thank you," Ayane replied softly.

Once Momiji took her leave, Ayane slowly consumed the soup. She saw that the soup was chicken noodle, her favorite as a child, aside from marrons glacés. After drinking down the broth, she placed the soup bowl and spoon back onto the nightstand and went back to sleep.


Ayane woke up the following morning. The soup had worked wonders on her fever, breaking it. She still felt weak, but she was feeling much better. She also didn't feel like getting out of bed. Assuming a sitting position, Ayane looked out the window. It was still raining, the typhoon weakening slightly, but still dumping water all over the Japanese mainland.

"You're finally awake, I see," Ryu Hayabusa said from the doorway.

Ayane nodded.

Ryu entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Ryu placed one hand on her forehead, then on her cheeks. "The fever's broken. Amazing what chicken noodle soup can do for you. My mother used to make it for me when I got sick as a child. I called Hayate and told him that you're here and safe. He should be here in a couple of hours to check in on you."

Ayane nodded again.

"In the meantime, I want you to get some more rest," Ryu ordered. "You are now a guest in my home. Momiji is in the next room. If you need anything, call her. I'll be downstairs in the shop."


A day passed and Ayane remained in her room. Momiji occasionally dropped by to bring Ayane food and to make small conversation, but Ayane remained silent.
When Momiji told Ryu about Ayane's behavior, Ryu became worried.

Before Ryu could check in on Ayane, the two ninja heard her scream, which was followed by the sound of glass breaking. Almost immediately, Ryu and Momiji rushed to the guest room. Inside was Ayane, one hand covered in her blood, the dresser mirror completely shattered. But she wasn't finished. She turned on Ryu and Momiji.

Ryu knew one thing. Ayane has more than reached her breaking point. She had completely snapped. And the look she was giving him was nothing short of bloody
murder. In Ayane's mind, the concerned look of Ryu Hayabusa became distorted, until it reshaped itself into a white-haired, one-eyed man. The man who Ayane
despised even more than Kasumi.

Her uncle/father, Raidou.

"Raidou..." Ayane hissed. "RAIDOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" she screamed as she lunged towards the two Hayabusa ninja.

Ryu shoved Momiji out of the way just as Ayane tackled him, sending them both out of the room and into the living area of the second floor. Ryu managed to kick Ayane off of him and scramble to his feet, only to see Ayane charge at him again, her battlecry erupting from her open mouth, fists raised to deliver some serious pain.

Ryu, however, was faster. Five rapid blows to the torso knocked the air out of Ayane, causing her to double over. Before Ayane could recover, Ryu struck her on the back of her head, in a shiatsu point. Instant knockout.

Momiji exited the room, her sword drawn, only to find Ayane facedown on the floor and Ryu standing above her, barely winded. "What the hell happened?" she
demanded.

"She has reached her breaking point. Not being able to find Kasumi has pushed her over the edge," the Hayabusa superninja replied. "I'm guessing that in her mind's eye, she saw me as Raidou and attacked."

"Raidou?" Momiji repeated. "Who's he?"

"Raidou is Shiden's brother," Ryu explained as he picked Ayane up and carried her back to the guest room. "He is the uncle to Kasumi, Hayate and Ayane. He is also Ayane's father. The bastard raped Shiden's wife while he was away and Ayame became pregnant with Ayane. He even maimed Hayate, forcing Kasumi to act. She abandoned the clan to avenge both Hayate and their mother, killing him in the first Dead or Alive tournament."

"So that's why she is marked for death," Momiji said.

Ryu nodded as he laid Ayane back in the bed. "Bingo," he replied as he produced a first-aid kit and began to work on dressing Ayane's injured hand. "She should have been allowed to return to the clan. But sadly, Ayane here was ordered by Genra to kill her half-sister."

"So why are you helping her when you know that you must protect Kasumi?" Momiji demanded, reminding Ryu of his promise to Hayate in regards to Kasumi.

"I am protecting Kasumi," Ryu replied. "But at the same time, Ayane has looked out for me, and I have done the same to her. Kasumi is hiding out in America, far from the clan's reach. She is safe. The right thing to do now is to help Ayane heal. There is too much bad blood between the three. It will destroy them if they don't do anything about it."

Ryu finished working on Ayane's hand. He then cleaned up the broken shards of the mirror and tossed the glass in the trash. "Come. We'll leave her alone."

Momiji took one last look at Ayane before following Ryu out of the room.


It would be later before Ayane woke up again. Only this time it would be past midnight for her. She wondered why the back of her head was throbbing in pain, not to mention why her torso and her hand were sore.

Then she remembered. She had shattered the mirror and attacked Ryu, thinking that he was Raidou.

The thought of attacking him had made her violently ill, forcing her to make a beeline to the bathroom, where she threw up in the toilet. Staggering back into her room, she climbed back into her bed, ashamed at her actions toward Ryu, and cried herself to sleep.


Ayane woke up the next morning, feeling very miserable. For all intents and purposes, she didn't want to face Ryu. Not after what she had did. In her mind, she didn't deserve forgiveness.

'I should be happy now that Kasumi is gone,' she thought. 'Why do I feel like shit?'

"Ah, the little Hajinmon ninja ia awake, I see," a male voice - who was not Ryu's - said.

Ayane turned to her visitor. It was a man. He was Japanese, late forties, bald with a goatee. Despite his age, he looked younger and was powerfully built, since it showed through the shirt and pants he wore. Ayane recognized the man immediately.

He was the patriarch of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan, and Ryu's father, Joe Hayabusa.

In the years of knowing the Hayabusa elder, Ayane saw that Joe was laid back, calm and collected, the diametric opposite of Genra, who was cold and ruthless. He was also a superb and powerful ninja in his own right, even defeating both Shiden and Genra in combat on several occasions. He was also the other person alongside Genra who she held in high regard.

"H-Hayabusa-sama," Ayane managed to get out before assuming a sitting position.

"No need for courtesy, Ayane. I told you once before. Outside the village, you can call me Joe," Ryu's father said.

"Gomen. Why are you here?"

"Ryu called," Joe replied. "He said that you were here. Figured that you needed someone to open up to. So tell me what happened."

Ayane swallowed. Getting her thoughts together, she started. "You know about the promise your son made to my half-brother?"

Joe nodded. "The one regarding Kasumi's safety? Yes, Ryu told me."

"It was after the last DOA tournament that Kasumi went into hiding," Ayane began. "One of the Hajinmon scouts saw her leave here and when Kasumi found out, she left the shop since she didn't want Ryu to be involved and hid inside a temple. I found her and well...things have went downhill."


Flashback

The mountain temple.

Ayane had finally tracked down Kasumi. Watching her from the treetops, the Hajinmon ninja watched as Kasumi meditated on the temple's engawa, clad in her blue combat dress.

As Ayane reached for a shuriken, Kasumi spoke. "I know you're there, Ayane."

Ayane jumped down. She was ready for a fight. "Ryu can't save you now, sister," she sneered, pronouncing the last word with venom. "You should have killed yourself when you had the chance."

Kasumi stood up and glared at her sister. The warning klaxons in Ayane's head should have registered by now in the change in Kasumi's attitude, but failed.

"I should kill myself for doing the right thing concerning Hayate?" she asked in an angry tone. "The clan wanted to sweep what had happened underneath the rug! They should have went after Raidou! YOU should have went after Raidou!"

"You can't talk your way out of this one, Kasumi," Ayane snapped. "You know the clan doctrine is clear. You must die."

"The hell with the doctrine," Kasumi snapped as she went into her stance. "I did what no one in the clan could not do! I did something that neither you or

Hayate could not do! I avenged him and our mother! And what does that bastard Genra do?! He places the death sentence on my head!"

Ayane went into her own stance. "Don't you dare talk about Master Genra that way! This ends tonight, Kasumi!"

End Flashback


"I managed to get the upper hand on her," Ayane continued, "but in desperation, she blinded me and knocked me out. She then summoned Hayate to the temple,
where she declared herself ronin and stripped herself of her name. The real blow was when she declared that Hayate nor myself had no honor, calling us girisezu."

"In effect," Joe surmised, "Kasumi's declaration has made her immune from the clan's doctrines. The Kasumi you knew no longer existed, so killing her would be pointless."

"Hayate said the same thing," Ayane replied. "Kasumi's declaration really messed him up, from what Ryu told me before I...attacked him."

Joe nodded. "The clan's honor is preserved at the cost of both your honor and Hayate's honor."

Ayane nodded.

"Can I ask you something, Ayane?" Joe asked.

"What?"

"Why do you hate Kasumi so much? Even when you visisted the Hayabusa village, you always looked down on Kasumi with contempt."

The question caught Ayane off guard. She considered not answering, but since she held a great amount of respect for Joe Hayabusa, Ayane answered the question. "I guess...no, I thought that Kasumi was only nice to me because she pitied me. You know my story, right? Of how Raidou is not only my uncle, but also my father?"

Joe nodded.

"They told me that my mother had given her last breath...so I could breathe my first," Ayane continued. "The villagers knew the truth, and treated me with contempt, calling me 'poisoned,' 'half-breed,' even a 'whore-child.' Hayate knew, but he was nice to me. I guess that Kasumi didn't know." A sardonic smile crept across her lips. "When we were kids, I saw her as my friend, maybe my only friend. No one else took an interest in me."

"But Genra did," Joe butted in.

Ayane nodded. "He saw that I had potential and took me under his wing. It was shortly afterward that I found out the truth from Ayame. My half-sister was the 'princess' of the clan, and I was destined to be in her shadow, just like Shiden and Raidou. Hate was an understatement. I clearly despised her for that. Then I thought I could prove my worth to the clan when Genra ordered me to kill her. I would erase the shame and the clan would accept me."

"So what do you think of Kasumi now?" Joe asked.

Ayane thought about it for a moment. "I...I honestly don't know what to think, Joe."

Joe nodded. "If the roles were reversed, would you forsake the clan for vengeance?"

That caught Ayane off-guard. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She didn't have the answer to that question.

"Kasumi knew that in order to avenge her brother and her mother, she had to break the clan doctrine," Joe continued. "She knew that the clan would just stand aside and let Raidou get away with maiming Hayate and stealing the Sky Torn Blast. She knew that going after Raidou would mean certain death either way. She abandoned the Mugen Tenshin out of love for her brother. Love that has now been turned to hate because of Hayate's actions...and yours. Even the most disciplined can break, Ayane."

Ayane was silent as she absorbed Joe's words.

"In the meantime," Joe continued, "even though Ryu is not the one to hold a grudge, you should apologize to him. He has already cleared it with Hayate.

You're gonna be helping him in the shop for a couple of weeks."

"Hayate...how is he doing?"

"As you said," Joe replied, "Kasumi messed him up bad when she stripped him of his honor. Ryu had to 'talk' some sense into him back in the village. He's hurting, like yourself, and needs time to heal. So what do you say? Feel like helping out around the shop?"

Ayane thought about it for a moment. "Okay."


Hayabusa Curio and Antiques located inside a three-story building in which the Hayabusa clan owned. The first floor was the curio shop itself, while the second floor was Ryu's living quarters. The entire third floor served as Ryu's private workout room, complete with punching bag, weightlifting equipment, wooden target boards, and a training mat for sparring. Placed on one side of the wall, was various weapons from his travels, from the Unlabored Flawlessness to the Falcon Talons.

At the moment, Ryu Hayabusa, clad in only a tanktop and a pair of black denim pants, was casually tossing several kunai into three seperate target boards, each containing crudely drawn pictures of Doku, Murai, and the Evil Tengu known as Bankotsubo, whistling to himself. Even though it appeared he wasn't putting in any effort, he nailed each of the targets with deadly accuracy. Today was the day that he did not open the curio shop. He would either relax or train. Right now, he was doing the latter.

Ayane entered the training area from a side door. Following her conversation with Joe, Ayane cleaned herself up, now dressed in a haltertop with straps and a pair of shorts and without her bandanna. She watched as Ryu tossed several kunai at once into all three targets. He didn't miss.

Then he tossed one kunai behind him. Ayane caught it without missing a beat. "How long did you know I was there?" she asked.

"I'm the superninja, remember?" was Ryu's reply. He walked over to the boards and started to remove the kunai from the boards. "Your breathing gave you away." He then removed the destroyed pictures and replaced them with three fresh copies.

"Oh." Ayane paused for a moment. "Um...Ryu...about what happened..."

Ryu turned around and cut her off. "You don't need to apologize to me, Ayane. You only acted like that because you had a nervous breakdown. If you had attacked and injured Momiji, then I would be pissed." After a moment, Ryu asked, "Where's my father?"

"He left after he finished talking to me. He mentioned something about you needing some help in the shop?"

Ryu nodded. "I think some time away from the Hajinmon village will do you some good." He handed her two more kunai and stepped to the side. Ayane realized what he wanted her to do and took aim.

THUNK-THUNK-THUNK.

Three kunai embedded themselves into the foreheads of the drawn pictures, thrown by Ayane. Ryu nodded in approval. "Good to see that you're still on top of your game."

For the first time since Kasumi had left, Ayane smiled.


For the past couple of weeks, Ayane worked at the curio shop. Whenever she wasn't working with Ryu, she was training with him. At the same time, Ayane had begun to break out of her shell.

Hayate even visited her at the curio shop. Ayane noticed the change in not only his mood, but in his appearance as well. He was wearing black. When Ayane asked why, Hayate simply replied, "I have lost my sister." Like Hayate, Ayane realized that Kasumi's departure had a devastating effect on him. Ayane late found out that Hitomi had found out about Kasumi's death sentence and Hayate's role. Hitomi had not been very happy, and had told Hayate that she never wanted to see him again.

"Why does Hitomi care about what happens to Kasumi?" Ayane had asked one day when she was doing inventory with Ryu inside the curio shop. "Hitomi is not a
ninja. She is just a halvsie karateka who has a crush on Hayate."

"Hitomi sees Kasumi as a friend," Ryu explained. "Remember that Hitomi's family had taken Hayate in when he lost his memory. Hitomi looked up to him. She sees what he had been doing to Kasumi as a betrayal."

"Do you know what happened to Kasumi?" Ayane asked.

Without missing a beat, Ryu replied, "I've heard rumors. From what I've heard, she's not in Japan. I've even heard that she's hiding out in the Vigoor Empire. Why? You still want to kill her? Even after she forsaken her family and name? You of all people know that if you kill her now, then the other ninja clans will see it as murder."

Earlier that day, Ayane had visited the Hajinmon village to pick up a spare ninja uniform when she came across something she wasn't expceting. Inside a floorboard, were Genra's journals. She had taken it with her and upon returning to the curio shop, had read it.

What she had discovered about Genra had shocked her to the core.

"I know that," Ayane snapped. She sat down in a chair behind the register. "I went back to the village to pick up some stuff when I came across Genra's journals. I wanted to know more about my foster father, so I took them. Now I wish I haven't read them."

Ryu stopped his inventory and turned around. "Why?"

"He despised Shiden," Ayane said. "He wanted to lead the Mugen Tenshin clan and challenged Shiden to combat, with the clan leadership as the prize. Shiden
defeated him, but Genra held it against him for the rest of his life. Even when he was appointed to lead the Hajinmon sect, he plotted to use his position to overthrow the ruling family...and I was a pawn in his twisted plan."

Ryu frowned, but allowed Ayane to continue.

"He adopted me and raised me as his own daughter, seeing the potential I had," Ayane continued, anger evident in her voice. "When Kasumi ran away to kill Raidou, Genra saw his chance. He ordered me to track down and kill Kasumi. His plan was once Kasumi was dead, seeing as how she was to lead the clan instead of Hayate, he would seize control of the clan. He even bullied the council in supporting Kasumi's death sentence."

"So...in effect," Ryu guessed, "Kasumi's death sentence is pretty much an illegal order."

Ayane nodded. "I looked through the clan doctrines and found the rules regarding those who become runaway shinobi. The rule states if the runaway has just cause in abandoning the clan, such as Kasumi tracking down and killing Raidou, given his past crimes of raping Ayame...I mean Mother, and maiming Hayate, then they will be allowed back into the clan unmolested. But if a ninja betrayed the clan or showed cowardice in battle and abandons the clan, then he is marked for death." Ayane sighed. "Genra almost succeeded in his scheme. But he wasn't expecting DOATEC to kidnap him and change him into a killing machine."

"You seem to be taking this pretty well," Ryu said. "I thought you would be screaming by now, knowing that your mentor used you and abused his authority."

"I did that earlier. Remember the ninpo I used back at the Tritower?"

"Yeah."

"I blew up a chunk out of the Sacred Wilderness Training Grounds earlier," Ayane admitted. "I told Hayate about the error, and that made him even more upset." She sighed and rubbed her temples, feeling another headache coming on. "I should have researched the doctrines. I should not have taken Genra's decree at face value. If I had killed Kasumi before the Temple Incident, then I would have killed an innocent girl and I would be damned."

"So how do you feel about Kasumi now?"

Ayane paused for a moment. "I screwed up. Big time. She offered me her friendship and trust and I threw it back in her face. I don't think she will ever forgive me, considering the past attempts I've made on her life."

"Well," Ryu said. "You admitted that you messed up. That's good. You're starting to recover."

"There's something else," Ayane said. "Remember that conversation you, Hayate, and myself had about me going to college?"

Ryu nodded. It was his suggestion, after all.

"I've decided that I'll give it a shot," Ayane finished.

"That's good to hear. All you got to do is pass the entrance exams and you're in. Or, I can call a guy I know down in Waseda. He owes me a favor and I can get you in."

Ayane shook her head. "No. I need to do this on my own. But I can use your help in turoting me for the exams."

Ryu nodded. "Sure."

Ayane smiled to herself, knowing that she had taken the first step towards not only absolution of her past offenses, but towards her personal redemption.