Family Portrait
Part 1

Hayate stood in the hallway inside the main household. A gentle breeze kept him cool as he observed a large picture being held captive in a golden frame. It was located next to his parent's room, so he had made as little sound as possible when we went to view this picture. It was a stunning family portrait, drawn by one of the clan's finest artists of the five people that made Mugen Tenshin.

The first was Hayate's father, Shiden, looking very proud and respectful in the drawing. The second was Shiden's wife, Ayame. Her youthfulness was captured flawlessly by the artist. Hayate stared at the painting of himself. It resembled him, and he resembled both of his parents, mixing together the stern and kind look. The smile that he wore in the picture was small, yet held much meaning behind it.

The fourth was Ayane. She was situated to right of the frame, next to Hayate and under her mother. She too wore a smile, yet it did not suit her. Hayate remembered back to when the family posed for the picture to be drawn, Ayane did not smile. Before his father could scold her for her misbehaviour, the artist said that any changes to the picture could be made afterwards. One such change was Ayane's smile. Hayate frowned, glaring at it. The smile was far too wide for Ayane's tastes. Her smiles wore more like mischievous smirks, as Ayane was always planning something in her head. The artist must not have known much about Ayane, because the smile showed off a face that belonged to anyone else but the kunoichi.

Hayate looked to the last member of the family in the picture. Kasumi. While the artist spent a lot of time to make Kasumi as beautiful as she was, her smile was also off. The smile in the picture was small and shy, yet Kasumi was always overexcited when she was with her family. The artist had not picked this up either as Kasumi was the other member who didn't smile during the pose shot. Like Ayane, her smile was etched in afterwards because of orders from Ayame. But that was not the thing that bothered him most. It was Kasumi's eyes. Ninja artists always worked to achieve the essence of each person they were drawing, and the artist hired was no exception. Yes, although the picture in front of him was nothing more than a still image, Hayate felt that he could still sense the guilt that bathed in Kasumi's eyes.

The guilt of taking someone's life.

As a ninja, Kasumi was not unfamiliar to the act of murder. Was it not she who slayed her own uncle to avenge Hayate himself? Did she not kill the shinobi to defend herself when she was once a runaway? Had she not previously helped Ryu Hayabusa on one of his missions – missions always filled with the death and destruction of many a creature or human? Whether Kasumi enjoyed it or not, murder would always be a part of her life because, as a kunoichi, murder was her life.

Yet these were all excuses. The life that Kasumi took was not the twisted mind of an old man, neither creatures of hell that wanted nothing more than to see her suffer. No, Kasumi had taken the life of a friend, a sister figure, an innocent teenager. Someone who Hayate had been friendly with, someone who had saved his life in a situation of certain death.

But was it not worth it? Kasumi had killed a dear friend of theirs and she was allowed to live with her family again. Although they had both lost someone close to them, they had gained each other – in the end, that was all they had ever wanted. It was a miracle that the Seniors had allowed her back into the clan.

Thoughts were redirected back to the celebration party that the clan held for Kasumi's return. Ayame had been overwhelmed with happiness, an endless flow of happy tears that had lasted for a couple of days. It was as if Kasumi had forgotten the sin she had committed for that night, elated in such a way that Hayate had never seen her before. She was being reacquainted with friends in the clan, including Ayane. Although her younger sister was in no way as joyful as Kasumi or Ayame, she made an effort to smile, speaking as few words as possible to Kasumi. They only spoke together once during the whole party, Ayane purposely keeping her distance. Everybody knew better than to invade her privacy. Shiden had greeted his daughter warmly, spending hours with her, praising her. Hearing nothing but nice words from the man had surprised everyone around him. Yet, Kasumi didn't seem to spend as much time with Hayate as anyone else, even though it was because of him that she was allowed back into the village. Then again, Hayate was lucky to catch any time with his sister, as she was occupied with so many other people, as well as the fact that she had chose to ignore him for a while. He didn't blame her. Like Ayane, he was forced to keep his distance from Kasumi, much to his dismay.

A few weeks after the party was when Ayame had decided that the whole family should have a family portrait done. The family posed for the rough sketch. A week afterwards, the final product was complete, framed, then hung.

It has been two years since.

Hayate gently ran the tips of his fingers across the canvas, feeling the skilful strokes used. It still looked as fresh as the day it was given to them.

"Careful." Hayate turned his head to see his mother looking at him, a smile on her face. "He died, remember? We can't simply ask for a replacement."

Hayate gave a nod in reply, before bowing slightly. "Good morning mother," he said. He bent, offering his cheek to the woman, who took it and gave a small kiss to. He was about to stand straight, but a pair of warm, petite hands blocked his vision. He heard a lot of giggling – from his mother and from another girl.

"Guess who!"

Hayate couldn't help the smile forcing its way onto his face, although he tried hard not to. "Good morning Kasumi."

When the hands were removed, Kasumi pushed her face against his as she hugged him. She laughed, kissing his cheek. Hayate could only chuckle awkwardly, trying to push his sister away from him. "K-Kasumi, please..."

"Oh, don't mind him, dear," Ayame smiled, addressing Kasumi. "We both know he enjoys it." She turned to Hayate now. "You are never too old for your sister's love!"

"Mother is right, brother," Kasumi sang, planting another kiss on his cheek. Hayate grunted, still trying to control his sudden happiness and rid of the smile on his face. Kasumi helped by letting go of him, resorting to hugging and kissing their mother instead. He watched the two ladies, straightening out his creased garb. His mother smothering him was one thing, adding his sister to the mix was another.

Kasumi spotted someone walking the path that led to the household. Immediately, she separated from Ayame, calling to the person. "Good morning Ayane!"

Ayane made no notion as to coming any quicker than her original pace. Kasumi saw her give a nod, still walking over. Once she reached the bottom of the steps that went up to the platform, she stopped, bowing. "Good morning."

Even though it was morning, Ayane was fully dressed in her usual purple shozoku, her arms free of any shielding. Her blood red eyes connected with Hayate's own, she standing from her crouching position. "Hayate, Master Shiden wishes to see us now. He needs to discuss important matters with us."

With any reason to smile gone, Hayate found it easier to keep an unreadable face. "Please lead the way," he said, meeting Ayane at the bottom of the steps. He glanced back to Kasumi and Ayame. They merely waved, then found interest in something else. "Do you know what the news is about?" Hayate asked Ayane. She shook her head.

"Whatever it is though," Ayane started. "It's bad news."

I know authors that update super quick. Me? Whenever I feel like. All I offer are short chapters and lengthy author's notes...
Yeah, felt kinda weird when writing this chapter? I think it's just the characterisation. I mean, I don't really know how Kasumi would act seen as she's always on the run in the games. But it's Hayate. I'd be super happy around Hayate, regardless of how he feels around me. No direct interaction between Ayane and Kasumi as of yet (phew!).

Something completely random but I kinda wanna point out: Kasumi's whole 'Welcome home after breaking our laws and killing lots of our men!' party is like the parable 'The Prodigal Son'. Kasumi goes off after breaking the laws, and when she comes back everyone parties, then Ayane is all jealous because she was the faithful one all along, like, 'Dude, where's my party?' Well, Kasumi and Ayane do have a Cain and Abel relationship, so it wouldn't be the first reference to the Bible. :P

I will finish off by saying thanks for making it this far, how about a quick click of my username to go onto mah profile, where I have started a little poll? I'd like to hear what you think!

And as always, thanks for reading. (Dammit, Vsauce, why are you in my head?!)