Family Portrait
Part 2

The Mugen Tenshin village had a great hall, used for large meetings where old men would discuss and debate different topics regarding different aspects of the village. As there was quite a large community, it had to be thoroughly maintained.

Although he was the leader, the hall still overwhelmed Hayate, just the same as when he had first entered – Ayane even more so. Shiden had failed to inform them both of all the responsibilities they'd have to be taking once they were promoted to the position of importance. Having the fighting abilities needed was all well and good, but if they couldn't strategize the safety of their people, then they weren't fit to be leaders.

A strong abundance of incense filled the hall – although it was empty. When meetings would take place, tall candles would be lit to offer light. Portraits of past leaders and heroes decorated the golden wall, plants lined the floor. Other important objects such as swords and vases were also used as decoration, hung against the wall or put on stone podiums. The walls, floor and ceiling all had a differing, yet equally intricate, design. The furniture was made from mahogany, carved by the best craftsmen.

Hayate and Ayane ignored all of this as they headed towards a door in the top corner of the room. Hayate slid it open, allowing Ayane to enter first. The room they entered was nothing compared to the hall. It was small, a dull brown colour all around. There was a little table in the centre of the room, a white haired man sitting by it. Behind him was a window, letting the light of day through.

Ayane and Hayate kneeled on a soft futon mat each, then both bowed their heads in unison. "Master," Hayate started. "I heard you have urgent news to tell us?"

Shiden stared down upon his son and niece. Ayane used to feel intimidated by Shiden's glare, until she realized that was his only expression. A tense silence filled the room, neither Ayane or Hayate breaking their gaze from the older man. Shiden swapped between both, before stopping on Hayate. Ayane watched the deadly father-son staring contest with little patience. However, she knew better than to disrespect Shiden. Her attitude was the one thing he disliked more than anything.

"Kidnappings," Shiden said, lowering his eyes to the table. Hayate and Ayane blinked in surprise to see three pictures on the wood. They were not there when entering the room. Shiden had not moved a muscle other than his eyes. Then again, his abilities did exceed both Ayane and Hayate ten fold.

In each picture was a small family, a black circle around one member of each family. In each picture, the family member circled was a small baby. It wasn't hard for the two young leaders to piece together what Shiden was going to talk about.

"Over the past month, these three children have been taken away from their families, with no lead as to who could have done it," Shiden continued. "Only yesterday night did I receive a report from another family that their child had been wandering around the village at night. The child had apparently seen someone, heard them calling out to him."

"You want us to investigate?" Ayane questioned. A short nod was her reply.

"Why are we only hearing of this now?" Hayate asked. Shiden caught onto the annoyed tone that accompanied the question.

"As leader of the clan, missing babies are not top priority," Shiden answered. "I had other members look for them."

"So why are they suddenly so important to us?" Ayane shrugged.

"I've noticed a pattern in the kidnappings." Shiden pointed to the baby in the first picture. "She is only a few months old." His finger moved to the baby in the next picture. "He is a year old. And he is two years old." His finger tapped on the baby in the last picture. "The child that was almost taken away yesterday was three. I don't know why the kidnapper has done this, but it means that Ayane and Kasumi are most at risk in our family."

"Do I look as gullible as some..." Ayane stopped when she saw the glare her uncle gave her. She cleared her throat, instead saying, "We'll find the kidnapper before he gets past five, Master. I won't have a chance to be considered."

"Master," Hayate spoke up. "Have you considered that the kidnapper might be somebody from the clan?" Ayane gave her brother a puzzled look, he noticing. "It'd be unlikely that an outsider would know the age of each child without being acquainted with the family in some way. Therefore, they'd have to be part of the clan or very close to it. The only clan we let that close to us is the Hayabusa Clan."

"I have considered both," Shiden said. "But it doesn't make any sense for either party to do such a thing."

"There have been traitors before," Ayane seethed.

"Ayane!" Hayate snapped, his palm slamming against the table. His sudden outburst had caused even Shiden to jump slightly. Ayane couldn't make her eyes come into contact with Hayate's own.

"I... I didn't mean..." Ayane breathed out, but Hayate didn't listen. He turned back to Shiden, moving a strand of misplaced hair from his eyes. He gathered the pictures together, putting them safely into his garb.

"If that is all, Master, then we will make our leave," Hayate said.

Shiden looked from Ayane to Hayate. "I want you to start your investigations at the Hayabusa Village. Do so subtly. Understood?" Both nodded. "That is all."

The two leaders bowed their head, before standing. Hayate held open the door for Ayane, yet did not meet her gaze when she looked up at him. She cast her eyes down at the floor as she walked through the large hall, Hayate behind her. Before they left the building completely, Ayane turned to him.

"I didn't mean Kasumi," Ayane said. "It was general. There are always going to be traitors."

Hayate slid open the door, leading outside of the hall. "And it's our duty to find this one, before he steals any more children."

Ayane nodded, walking outside. Hayate closed the door as he left.

"Sorry."

Ayane stopped and turned her head, only to have Hayate walk past her. She followed him, a smile on her face. The two walked until they reached the bridge outside of the entrance to their village. Ayane rubbed her bare arms. "Aren't we going to get changed?"

"There's no need," Hayate replied. "It's just going to be a quick, friendly visit."

The two walked across the bridge until they reached the other side. Ayane kept on going, wanting to make the long journey as short as possible. She turned around and saw that Hayate had stopped though. She sighed. "What is it?"

Hayate held a finger to his lips. He turned his head, looking into the forest ahead. He started heading in the direction, leaving Ayane blank. She sighed again, staying close to her brother. Then she heard something. It sounded like some sort of moan. Hayate headed in the direction it came from, Ayane at his heels. They kept on for a couple of minutes, the voice becoming clearer, yet even more distant.

Finally, they both stopped. Both their eyes widened at what was in front of them. A woman, pale faced, with three babies on her lap. She squinted, although she was sitting in the shade of the forest, dragging out one word.

"Water."

Hayate had turned back almost immediately. Ayane was about to follow, but he stopped her. "Stay here. I'll be quick." He then began to run back to the village.

Ayane looked at the woman. She had greasy black hair that was in quite a mess, and dark eyes. She looked to be in her middle ages, but was very thin. She looked at the babies around the woman. They were asleep. Ayane still recognised them as the three missing babies they were trying to find. 'At least we have less work to do.' Ayane thought. She heard a shuffling sound; looked down to see that one of the babies – the youngest – was stirring. She was beginning to wake up.

Ayane bent down to rub her back to try and get her to go back to sleep, but the baby turned to see who was touching her. As soon as she saw Ayane, her face scrunched up. Ayane panicked. Her cries would wake the other infants. Quickly, she picked up the baby girl, holding her at arm's length. The baby shrieked, throwing her limbs around. Ayane tried jogging the baby carefully, making funny sounds as she did so, but the crying girl didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to Ayane.

There were whimpers from the woman's lap, and Ayane had noticed that the other babies had been woken up. The eldest was shaking the woman, the middle had the same scrunched up face that the youngest had only moments ago. Ayane felt as if she wanted to cry herself. She turned back to the baby in her hands, disgusted at the mix of tears and snot running into her large, screaming mouth. Ayane then started to dance a little, shaking the baby in time to her moves – yet the crying did not deter.

The sound of a cap unscrewing stopped Ayane from her dance, seeing Hayate with a small flask, kneeling next to the woman. He held the bottle to her limp lips, carefully draining the water into her mouth. The thought of Hayate seeing the killer kunoichi dancing like an idiot made Ayane blush. She stared daggers at the baby in her hands, even though she couldn't see anything through her tears.

The woman's eyelids fluttered open after a minute. She gulped down the rest of the water Hayate offered her, breathing quite heavily. "Thank you," she said, her voice hoarse. She coughed.

"These are the babies we were supposed to be looking for," Ayane called over the wailing baby. Hayate inspected the three children and nodded. He turned to the woman.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She began to nod, but let out another throaty cough, then shook her head. "I'm going to take you to my village. It's very close by. Can you walk?" The woman looked at the two boys on her lap, so Hayate picked them both up. Ayane was amazed at how easily he managed to carry both of the toddlers close without either of them crying. The youngest boy gripped tightly to the collar of Hayate's blue under-shirt, the eldest just looking at the clan leader with an awesome amount of interest. The woman used the tree she was leaned up against to help herself up. She wobbled, moving close to Hayate. She draped an arm around him for support, then nodded her head. Hayate took small steps so that the woman could keep up with him, Ayane taking her chance to move in front.

"Hold her close," Hayate said. Ayane knew he was taking about the snotty baby in her hands and grunted. She held her breath, bringing the baby close to her chest, cradling her. The three walked back to the village, taking their time. Ayane wondered why Hayate had immediately trusted the woman, and hadn't interrogated her yet. Still, she had faith that he knew what he was doing, as he wouldn't want to endanger the clan.

By the time they had made it back to the village, the baby in Ayane's arms had stopped crying, instead gurgling and patting the purple butterfly design on Ayane's chest. However, the woman's condition seemed to worsen. Her coughing fits were more frequent and painful, she barely able to support herself. Ayane followed Hayate past a few huts, ignoring the looks that people were giving her. Soon, they had reached their destination; the infirmary. The kunoichi supported the stranger up the steps, leading her into the small hut. A nurse appeared at the door as soon as it was opened. She bowed at the sight of Hayate and Ayane. "Oh Master, what can I do for you?" she asked, offering a sweet smile.

"I need you to take care of this lady for us." Hayate gestured by nodding his head towards the pale woman. "And to check that these infants are in a good condition."

Ayane thrust the baby she was carrying upon the nurse. She looked at the child given to her, nodding to Ayane. "Of course. I will get some results back to you right away!" She called for assistance – which quickly arrived. More female nurses took the baby boys from Hayate and lay the woman down on a futon, herbs and medicines being prepared. The two clan leaders left the commotion of the infirmary for the peace of the nature outside.

"How can you trust her?" Ayane said. "She might be the kidnapper we are looking for."

"True," Hayate said. "but it'd be hard to question her if she can barely keep herself conscious. She has to make a recovery first before we start any sort of interrogation." Ayane nodded in agreement. "But... it looked as if she had saved the children. They didn't seem frightened to be around her – they were sleeping on her lap. It's as if they could tell that she isn't a threat."

"What if she is?"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

AS WILL YOOOOU!

This happened to me with the last chapter as well. I updated on deviantART, talking about how the next chapter of this will come out in about 7 months or so, and BAM, virtually the next day, you get another chapter from me. This chapter was actually very quick and easy to write, because I had it all planned out. It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to, but hey, at least it's longer than the last chapter. What do you guys think?

I dunno, I feel as if the chapters I write have nothing to do with the actual story, although as the author I KNOW that everything is going to connect together (and how), then the plot will show itself, naked and all. If you've read my profile, you'll see that I say I may change the rating to an M, and right now, the story seems like a comedy with a random murder scene as the prologue. But I do hope for more *SPOILERS SPOILERS*.

For now, enjoy baby-sitting Ayane. ;D