16Author's note: When ideas flows in, I hurried and put it down into writing. Hope you will enjoy reading this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They belong to Tecmo and Team Ninja.
Happy Reading!
~A Touch of Destiny~
Twelve-year-old Hayate casually walked inside the house in time for dinner. His mother Ayame was still preparing dinner, so Hayate took a seat next to his father by the table while they waited.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" His mother reminded.
"Oh, right." Hayate rose back up and walked to the sink to wash his dirty hands and then went seated back.
"Hayate, my son…where is your sister?" His father then asked.
With a faint shrug, "Isn't she somewhere in the house?"
His casual response made Ayame and Shiden exchanged glances…
"You went out to play together and we expect her to be with you. So, where is she?" Shiden asked slightly concerned this time.
Hayate scratched his head, "She told me she was going home so I continued without her."
"You let your sister walk home on her own?" Ayame joined in.
"It wasn't far, so it was safe I thought."
"Hayate, go find your sister. We told you to look after her." Shiden strictly told him.
Irritated sound came out of Hayate as he rose in annoyance, "She always does this!" and headed back out.
His parents looked at each other and shook their heads at the typical situation.
…
Kasumi stood on a hill behind a tree and kept a good distance as she curiously peeked at the mysterious boy that was fishing by the river nearby. She had accidently seen him one day when she passed by that river area outside her village. She had seen him on that same spot every day that week since then doing the same thing. Though, she wasn't sure if he had noticed her spying on him yet.
But that day, the boy looked at her for the first time. Her throat swelled and felt like she had no choice but to smile at him, though he did not smile back and kept staring at her until her smile awkwardly faded, then switched his gaze back to the river and ignored her further.
"That was awkward..." Kasumi told herself in a whisper.
Time to go home before mother and father find out I wandered off again…sighing to herself at her thought.
As Kasumi turned to leave, one of her foot was misplaced and she ended up losing her balance, sending her stumbling down the hill in a speed.
The boy turned in surprise as she landed flat on her stomach on the ground.
He rushed to her and carefully helped Kasumi into a sitting position.
"Thank you…" She said in a trembling voice with her gaze lowered, too embarrassed to look at him. Then she felt his hand on her cheek sending her to flinch in surprise.
"What are you doing...?" She wondered and raised her eyes bravely at the boy kneeling so closely to her. Her breath hitched when her gaze met his, as she had never seen eyes so beautiful like his…they had a unique shade of green that she had never seen before, the kind of eyes that made her blush and stomach flipping.
"You're bleeding…" He said low.
She touched her cheek at the small cut she had gotten, then wincing, taken with shudders, Kasumi shifted and when she tried to get up, she fell back down due to the pain on her knee. There was an ugly scratch to one of her knees and blood began leaking. She made more uncomfortable noises at the wound.
He walked away from her all sudden…
Kasumi studied him with a strange frown, then raised her hand to remove a few dead leaves off her hair and clothes. Soon the boy returned with a wet cloth in his hand. He began cleaning the blood carefully.
Kasumi couldn't stop staring... as being that close to that boy was intimidating, yet she felt drawn to him. He was so close she could smell him, and he smelled like fish.
"So…what's your name?" Kasumi asked curious.
He simply looked at her in a long-hushed moment, as if she had asked him a stupid question. Kasumi tilted at his silence…those eyes of his were unbearably fond when looking at her.
"Ryu…" He replied, at last.
"That's a cool name, and my name is Kasumi." Though she noticed how he only had one monotonous face expression the entire time. He strikes her a little strange but perhaps he was a very shy boy, Kasumi thought to herself.
He soon rose back to his feet and stuck out his hand to her, Kasumi took his hand and he helped pulled her up so she could stand.
"Kasumi?!"
The voice from afar that was calling for her startled her. Then the sound got closer and she turned to look.
"Kasumi? I've been looking all over for you…where the hell have you-" Hayate abruptly paused and looked questionably at the boy standing closely to his sister.
"Big brother, I…"
Hayate quickly noticed the bruises and cuts on Kasumi's face and knee. He sent Ryu the nastiest death glare, assuming he was the one who had caused them. In sudden rage, he ran up to the boy and pushed him so hard he flew backward and landed on his back.
"Who the hell do you think you are hurting my sister, you freak!" Hayate shouted angrily.
"Brother, stop it! it wasn't his fault." Kasumi ran and stood in front of Hayate to block him from hurting the boy further.
Ryu gathered himself back up without saying anything.
"Let's just go home okay?" Kasumi yanked at Hayate's clothes desperately.
He then took his sister by her wrist and dragged her away in a rush. Kasumi while stumbling, turned to look at the boy one more time, offering him a quick gentle smile as good bye.
The boy only stared their way until they disappeared out of his sight.
On the way home, Hayate had been walking ahead of Kasumi and gave her the thickest silent treatment. She tried to keep up but couldn't walk as fast due to her pain in her knee. Now and then Hayate would turn and glanced at her, his angry way of keeping his eyes on her.
"Hurry up, would you?" He said in an aggravated tone.
"I'm trying!" Kasumi shouted.
He rolled his eyes not feeling sorry for her and kept on walking.
But there was a sudden small wave of guilt inside Kasumi's chest. She ran to him while wincing and clutched onto a piece of his clothes.
"Big brother…" Kasumi pleaded.
She heard him exhaling an impatient sigh as he paused and turned to look at her with his arms crossed, "What?"
"…I'm really sorry I lied to you."
"Why did you then? And why are you hanging around that weird looking boy? It's dangerous to wander off on your own, Kasumi."
She forced herself to stay quiet since she didn't like it when her big brother gets angry and just lowered her gaze in surrendering kind of look instead of arguing with him.
He stared at her for a moment. "You're so stubborn."
Hayate then shook his head and kept on walking. Kasumi followed slowly. He turned to look at her again, noticing she was limping a little. He waited and paused until she reached him closer, then knelt in front of her with his back turned.
"Come on," He told as a gesture to climb on.
With a faint smile, Kasumi hopped onto his back. He carried her and continued walking.
"Do you want to know why I wandered off big brother?"
"Because you're spoiled and the baby, so you think you can do whatever you want to without get in trouble." He teased but there was also a slight resentment to his tone.
"Hey…rude. You're spoiled too, always clinging to father's attention just because you're the oldest."
"I have no choice really. It's for training." Hayate sighed at that. "Tell me, then?"
"Well, because I never get to play on my own, as father always has someone following me everywhere. If it's not you then other adults. It's annoying."
"You're still a kid, Kasumi. It's dangerous for kids to wander far from the village without adults."
"I'm only two years younger than you, so why can you go anywhere you want, and I can't. It's because I'm girl isn't it? I can take care of myself you know." Kasumi complained.
Hayate shook his head at his whiny sister. "What am I going to do with you…" he mumbled.
…
Later that evening, Kasumi tiptoed as soundlessly possible out of the kitchen with a plate of left-over dinner in her hand. When her feet walked passed her parent's bedroom, their voices had her feet pausing in her steps. For a moment, she could faintly hear what they were talking about.
"You're too hard on him."
"Ayame, do you know what happens to boys that grow up to be undisciplined men?"
"I hear you dear, but Kasumi is old enough to know what she did as well…we have to treat our children fairly. Did you think that Hayate would have let her go if he knew it wasn't safe?"
"This is not the first time he had done this…he doesn't take things seriously."
"No matter the case, we need to find a new way to discipline our children when they misbehave. Refusing Hayate dinner will only affect his health. I don't think it's right."
Kasumi breathe out a heavy sigh and quickly walked away. It was rude to eavesdrop, as she felt guilty enough already. She then continued towards the porch to their backyard. From behind the door, she could hear loud growling sounds. Poor Hayate, he must be very hungry… She slid the door open and saw Hayate sitting on his own staring at the cloudless night sky. He didn't even react to her presence.
"I brought you dinner..." She tilted and kept her distance. A little scared that Hayate was angry with her, she was the reason he was punished.
"I'm not hungry." He replied cold.
But his stomach strongly disagreed when it wouldn't stop begging for food. Kasumi studied him for a moment longer…then marched her little feet and stood in front of him, took one of the buns and shoved it inside Hayate's mouth.
"What the hell…" He reacted in surprised.
"You must eat, I don't want you going to bed hungry and die." She said so concerned.
"And if I die, who's fault is it?" He got close to her face and draw a glare at her.
"Don't yell at me!" Kasumi raised her voice a notch.
"I'm not yelling..."
"Yes, you are!"
"You're the one raising your voice at me Kasumi, so who's yelling at who silly?"
To that her mouth curled into a heavy frown and turned away from him. Hayate frowned strangely at his sister. Then he heard soft sobs coming out of her…he tilted at her.
"Are you crying?"
"No…" Kasumi responded while wiping her tears with her sleeves.
A small smile displayed on Hayate's lips, as Kasumi was being cute to him. She has the kindest soul and he knew that she must've felt so guilty about getting him in trouble.
"Thank you for sneaking me these curry buns, I was really hungry actually." He tried to get her attention again.
He was met with silent at first…
"So, you're not angry with me big brother?"
He pulled Kasumi closer into him and wrapped his arms around her. "I was angry with myself…not with you."
"Why?" She frowned at him.
"Well…if anything would to happen to you today, I wouldn't be able to protect you."
"But that boy actually saved me, you shouldn't have pushed him."
Hayate rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't just trust any strangers. He could've have hurt you for all I know…he looked sneaky enough."
"Well, he didn't. He seemed really nice, and lonely…"
That made Hayate frowned. "What made you assume that he was lonely?"
Kasumi shrugged, "Just a feeling."
"Who was he anyway?" Somehow Hayate got a little curious.
"I don't know, but his name is Ryu."
"An ugly name for an ugly looking kid." Hayate made a funny sound as he said it.
Her eyes narrowed at him. "That's very rude and he wasn't ugly. I think Ryu is handsome… his eyes looked so cool, and if you look closer at them, it was like they can see straight into your soul. Have you seen someone with green eyes before? Because I haven't..."
Hayate stared at his sister like she was crazy. Pure annoyance was registered across his face. "Why are you talking like that?"
"Like what?" Though Kasumi was confused at what had caused Hayate to be so irritated just by the sound of his tone.
"Like so poetic over a stranger. What's the matter with you?"
Kasumi was still looking at her brother in a confused manner. She didn't even know how to respond as she didn't get what was wrong with saying kind things about others.
Comfortable silence filled the air around them as Hayate set his gaze back up at the beautiful moon that shone so brightly.
"Kasumi?"
"Hm?"
"Stay away from him."
There was a certain eagerness to her tone earlier that he didn't like. She sounded excited when talking about a boy she didn't even know. Kasumi was way too naive about the world around her that it bothered him greatly sometimes.
"If you say so…" Kasumi said low while yawning and rubbed her tired eyes like a toddler, as if she didn't even hear what he had just told her.
"I mean it, Kasumi."
He then peeked at his sister who suddenly became so quiet. She had fallen asleep in his arms. He looked back at the moon and exhale a light sigh at the sight. He lifted Kasumi and headed back inside to lay his sister down in her futon. He drew the cover over her shoulders and left the room to get ready for bed himself.
Later that same night, Kasumi opened her eyes in a rush and pulled herself into a sitting position while breathing heavily. She glanced towards to the window in her room. The shadows of the trees swayed back and forth by the wind that sounded like howling and crying send shivers up her spine. The rolling boom of thunder crack through the air making her jumped in her futon. Rainfall sounded like bullets on the roof…when another crack of lightning rent the air, Kasumi grabbed her pillow and ran out of her bedroom to her brother's. She slid his door open and ran to him. She knelt on floor beside him, how can he sleep in this weather… her hand then reached and poked on his shoulder a few times.
"Hayate?" She called in a whisper.
Hayate made drowsy sounds but didn't react much to her presence.
"Hayate?" She poked him again.
This time he opened his eyes and Hayate was startled.
"Kasumi, why are you here? What time is it?"
"It's midnight…brother I'm scared…please let me sleep in your room?"
Hayate made a go away motion with his hand. "Don't bother me, I have to be up early for training." Then hugged his other pillow and began snoring again.
Her gaze shifted to the window again and the wind had intensified. She put her pillow next to Hayate's and snuggled close to him. She'd rather have Hayate get angry with her than sleeping alone in a dark room in that scary weather.
A few minutes later, Hayate awoke after hearing soft breathing beside him. He shifted to find Kasumi sound asleep. He studied her a little. He then made more space in his futon so she could lay comfortably and shared his cover as he drew it over her shoulders. Soon he drifted back to sleep again.
