Chapter 3 - Echoes and Illusions

Ayane’s legs’ muscles were burning up, her hair sticking to her skull with sweat, breathing came out hard and harsh, and her body threatened to give in to exhaustion as the Mugen Tenshin clan village came into sight.
 
The purple-haired kunoichi and her team had been pushing themselves to the limit, forcing their bodies to cover, in only about six hours, a distance that had previously taken them over nine hours, and on those nine hours they were already moving at a faster than usual pace. Which combined with the exertion she’d had to make when fighting the Van Gelf, and allowing herself close to no breaks, was about to leave her at the limits of her endurance.
 
But she had to report on her findings. They didn’t know how long it had been since Kasumi’s party had been attacked (they hadn’t had the time to really look into it), so every minute counted if they hoped to find her half-sister still alive. 
 
Ayane jumped over the village’s gate, and kept bounding from rooftop to rooftop, making her way towards the Ujinokami’s residence. It was the middle of the night, but she knew Tono-Sama would want to be informed as soon as she arrived. With her team following her, Ayane finally made it to the residence, the guards outside easily recognizing her, and making no move to stop her from entering. Once at the entrance, she takes off her 7-inch platform heels, as well as her face mask, and makes her way to the main room. Entering she finds it empty, but kneels down on one leg, knowing she needs but wait.
 
She doesn’t need to wait much, for both Shiden and Ayame enter the room shortly after, both wearing nemaki. They were either already sleeping, or were about to. Ayane greets them as they sit down. “Ayane-San, please report.” Shiden tells her.
 
“Tono-Sama, after about nine hours of travelling, we found Hime-Sama’s party. They had all been slaughtered.” She sees her uncle’s eyes going wide, and hears her mother’s sharp intake of breath. “It was…  a gruesome scene, for they had been attacked by, we believe, large number of demons, and though they managed to slay a number of them, no Shinobi survived the encounter.” She sees the Ujinokami’s hands closing into a tight grip, evidence of his anger, and she can almost hear the heartbeat coming from Oku-Sama’s heart. “W-What about K-Kasumi…?” She asks in a pained voice.
 
Ayane pulls out the ripped blue scarf and presents it to her uncle. “We found Hime-Sama’s scarf next to the torn apart remains of a shōzoku, a certain distance from the main fighting area. There was no corpse or even blood to be found there.” She finished as Shiden grabbed the blue cloth. “Then… do you think my daughter’s been captured, Ayane-San?” He asked in a voice that was a mix of rage and worry.
 
Ayane glances at her mother before answering, taking in her worried and scared countenance. “That is my conclusion indeed, Tono-Sama. I left three teams behind to guard and prepare the corpses, as well as to conduct further investigation on site, but both myself and Yoshihiro-San agree on that possibility.” She finished, gazing at the couple, looking at their reactions. Tono-Sama was doing his best to restrain his anger, and probably a feeling of helplessness at the entire situation, whereas Oku-Sama seemed as though she might break, but succeeded in steeling herself.
 
“I see… Ayane-San, I want you set the Hajinmon sect into looking for points of demonic activity. I shall do the same with the Tenjinmon sect, and we’ll share any information found.” It was a good strategy, Ayane thought, it would allow the clan to work in a more organized and seamless way, and cover more ground than if the two sects were working completely separate. “After that, let yourself have a rest, you ran yourself ragged coming back to the village.” That caught Ayane by surprise. She was going to rest regardless, but having Tono-Sama basically order her to do so was unexpected. She nodded in acquiescence. “Do you have any other findings to report?” He asked.
 
“Yes, Tono-Sama. While we were searching for Hime-Sama’s party, we were attacked by a Van Gelf in the forest.” Again, she saw surprise cross over Shiden and Ayame’s bodies. “We managed to kill the demon, but its presence was worrying, and to make matters worse, it appears at least one such demon participated in the massacre of Hime-Sama’s party.”
 
“Do you think… the beast was sent to delay you? Or perhaps kill your party to delay our findings?” Her uncle inquired. Ayane took a few seconds to think, before answering. “I’d say No to both of them. One Van Gelf alone wouldn’t have been able to vanquish my entire group. As for the first one, blood was already dried and coagulated by the time we found the bodies, and Rigor Mortis had already settled in. That suggests, from mere basic observation, that the bodies had been dead somewhere between 8 and 36 hours.” She declared, feeling a terrible cold coming over her. 
 
“Then it means they had already been killed even before we sent you to search for them.” Shiden said, more to himself than to Ayane or to his wife.
 
“Considering where we found the bodies, and the distance between ours and the Shiranui village, I’d suggest they were attacked after around half a day’s journey.” Her mother stood up as Ayane voiced her thoughts, clearly shaken by it.
 
“Then… Ayane-San, you’re suggesting my daughter was attacked, and possibly captured, at least two days ago?” There was a tremble to Ayame’s voice, an unsteadiness to it that revealed how disturbed she felt over her conjunction. “Hai, Oku-Sama. I fear that might be the case.” She answered with honesty. 
 
Ayane couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy as she saw her mother cover her mouth with her hands trying to cover the anguished sob. It was childish and dumb. She knew Ayame cared about her, just that she couldn’t show that care in public due to the circumstances of her birth. Shiden stood up and went to hug his wife, while Ayane remained kneeling. “Ayane… thank you for your dedication and effectiveness. Please, go arrange preparations within your sect, and then take a rest. We’ll meet in the morning again, to plan.” Shiden told her.
 
Ayane wasn’t finished yet. “There’s another finding I must report, Tono-Sama.” She said in a foreboding tone of voice. “Near where we found Hime-Sama’s scarf, there were… signs of a clash between two people who used the Art of Rending Wind against each other…” She saw both Shiden and Ayame stiffen up at her statement.
 
“That’s… that’s not possible!! Only the heads of the Mugen Tenshin clan, and their heir, are taught the technique.” Shiden said. “Kasumi knows the technique of course, but aside from her, knowledge of it is locked within this room. Everyone else who knew it is dead.” Ayane knew he was talking about Onii-San and Raidou.
 
“If I may offer a suggestion, Tono-Sama, both Hime-Sama and Raidou used the technique during their duel at the end of the Dead Or Alive Tournament…” Ayane saw her mother stiffen at the mention of the man who had raped her. “… so perhaps a recording of their clash exists, and someone may have been able to copy it.” Ayane had thought about the matter while travelling back to the village, and that was the only explanation she could find.
 
Ayane saw her uncle consider her words, ponder on them, before he made a decision. “It might be the case, Ayane-San, for my brother managed to copy the technique just from seeing Hayate using it.” There was pain in his voice as he recalled the manner in which his son had died, and to his own uncle to make matters worse. He protectively embraced his wife, as if trying to protect her from memories that might anguish her. “You’ve given us much to think about, Ayane-San. Thank you for your efforts.” He looked at her with kind and grateful eyes. “You may go. Rest. For tomorrow will be a demanding day. Likely the first of many to come…”
 
“Hai, Tono-Sama.” Ayane bowed and retreated from the room, leaving the couple to their heartbreak and pain. She had work to do before she could rest.
 
…
 
A half an hour later Ayane is pulling out the last sweaty stocking, and stands naked before the entrance to her personal bath, a luxury awarded to the Shishō of the Hajinmon sect. Inside there is a large wooden tub, filled with hot water, as well as a wooden stool for her to sit on, and a pair of Hinoki bath buckets.
 
The red-eyed teen steps inside and sits on the stool, enjoying the heated atmosphere within the bath. Her muscles were getting sore after all that running and jumping, and a hot bath was exactly what she needed. Next to the stool there was a wooden tray with a Kamenoko body scrubber, a bar of soap, and a bottle of shampoo.
 
Ayane starts by scooping water from the bath using the larger bucket and using it to soak her head and body. She starts by soaking her head, then her left arm, her torso follows, including her voluptuous breasts and her shaved crotch, then her left leg, her right leg, and finally ending with her right arm. Once she’s soaking wet, Ayane grabs her shampoo, squeezes a good amount on her hand, and uses it to starts scrubbing her hair. She starts by vigorously rubbing her scalp, ensuring the shampoo coats her hair completely, before she changes to slower circular movements, almost as if she was massaging her own head. Ayane greatly enjoys the feeling of it.
 
Once she’s satisfied with the state of her hair, she grabs the soap and the body scrubber, and rubs the soap against it, glazing it until the scrubber is covered with the deep green bubbles and soap. This time she started by scrubbing her neck, then her left shoulder, next her slender, but powerful arm. Her right side follows in the same order, the kunoichi delighting over feeling sweat and grime being cleansed away. The scrubber is then rubbed over her collarbone and between her breasts in what many would view an erotic manner, before she gently rubs her left breast, coating the globe of soft flesh with the scented soap. Ayane makes sure to also scrub her nipple before she moves to her right breast, paying the same careful treatment to it.
 
She then goes lower, scrubbing her torso, belly, her navel, and sideways, cleaning her ribcage. She finally goes even lower, using the body scrubber to wash her sex, her clit, her pussy, going carefully on it as to not harm the sensitive flesh there, she then stands from the stool, taking a crouching position, so she can scrub between her pussy and asshole, taking the opportunity to also wash her bubbly buttcheeks. With that done, Ayane makes use of her great flexibility to wash and scrub her back next, feeling as if the soreness on her muscles slowly abates.
 
She sits back on the stool, and moves to her left thigh, giving the soft and yielding flesh a good wash, then raising her leg it so she can wash her knee, calf and shin. She finishes by giving an energetic scrubbing to her foot, wiping her sole to a mirror shine, and making sure she washes between the spaces of every single one of her toes. Once she’s finished, Ayane does the same routine to her right leg, and finally washes her face. By the time she puts the scrubber down, she’s feeling much better than she did coming in, having cleansed her body from all the dirtiness she’d accumulated during her search for her half-sister.
 
Ayane gives herself a minute to just remain sitting there, every inch of her body soaped to perfection, before she grabs the smaller bucket, which has a vertical handle, dips it into the bath, filling it with hot water, and rinsing her head. She repeats the motion until she’s completely clean of all the soap, when Ayane finally stands up, and dips her leg into the bath, letting out a moan of satisfaction as her leg is enveloped in the hot water, and then dipping her whole body inside.
 
“Aahhh!!! I really needed this…” She murmurs to herself, sitting down on the wooden tub, and leaning her back against it. The water reaches to her shoulder blades, but she leans further, so that it covers her upper body completely. Ayane sighs in contentment, her body truly starting to relax as she just lays there. And to think she once used to wash her body with wet rags, or needed to take a dive in the river and streams next to the village.
 
The kunoichi lays back her head on the counter of the tub and closes her eyes, just indulging on the feeling of being soaked in water, and letting her whole body relax within it. And for a moment Ayane forgets about the massacre of her half-sister’s party, and of her abduction, she forgets about the fight with the Van Gelf, she forgets about all the work and challenges she’ll be facing the next day, when she will have to help organize a massive search effort in order to locate Kasumi. Ayane allows herself to just… feel the relaxation, and wrap herself in it like a warm and fuzzy blanket.
 
After a few minutes, she feels her brow starting to sweat, so she opens her eyes, steps out of the tup, soaps and rinses herself a second time, and re-enters the tub, feeling even more relaxed than before. She lays back again, closes her eyes, drowsiness coming over her, and as her mind goes into autopilot mode, it starts recalling the previous time Kasumi had been abducted.
 
…
 
She cut through the body armour worn by the DOATEC mercenary, carving a line of crimson across his chest, before a spinning motion had her Kodachi open his throat. The man fell backwards, gurgling in the throes of death, his blood staining Ayane’s bare upper body, and her masked face. The recently promoted jōnin wasting no time in moving forward alongside the rest of her combat team. It had taken them a lot of time and effort to locate the DOATEC facility in Germany, but the Mugen Tenshin clan had obstinately pursued after it, and had eventually found it. 
 
All for the sake of rescuing her half-sister, who had been abducted from the village seven days past, an incident during which a trio of Hajinmon Shinobi had also been killed, including Ayane’s forster-father, Genra, whose body they had barely been able to identify due to being horribly burned. 
 
Ayane had felt numb when given the notice that her foster-father was dead, not entirely sure of how she ought to feel about it. Genra had never really shown love, or even great care for her, instead seeing her as a weapon of great potential that needed to be sharped to a perfect edge. In fact, Yoshihiro-Sensei had been more of a foster-father to her throughout the years, despite simply being her instructor. 
 
But despite all that, Genra was still her foster-father, he had taken her in when Tono-Sama had been pressured to send Ayane away; he had given her a future, one of servitude to the Tenjinmon sect, but a future that could afford her to gain honour and acknowledgment from the village. Now he was dead…
 
She ran through the facility, eventually making it to a pair of big sliding metal doors, which were already being worked over by the combat team. Yoshihiro-Sensei was shouting commands, loudly demanding his men to open the doors. “Sensei, we’ve cleared out the warehouse and living quarters of enemies. The facility is now under our control.” Ayane reported to Yoshihiro-Sensei, taking a quick knee.
 
“Good job, Ayane. Now we just need to get this door opened, and we should find Hime-Sama.” He turned to another jōnin. “Shiro, how long until you get this opened?” He inquired.
 
Ayane stood up, unsheathed her Fuma Kodashi once again, and took a combat stance, just waiting for them to crack open the door, so they could go rescue her damned half-sister, and just get this over with. They’d need to prepare the funeral arrangements for Genra and the other Shinobi, something which Ayane found herself lacking the stomach for. “Yoshihiro-Sama, we got it!” Shiro loudly proclaimed, catching the purple-haired teen’s attention, and indeed, the double doors started sliding open, revealing the lab hidden behind them.
 
The first thing Ayane saw was the big tube in the middle of the room, inside of which floated her half-sister, enveloped in some kind of green liquid. Kasumi was fully naked, just with an oxygen mask strapped over her face, and she appeared to be sleeping peacefully, likely heavily sedated and drugged. A second examination revealed there were a number of sensors strapped to her chest, likely monitoring her vital signs, as well as IV tubbing going into her upper arm and wrist, and there was also a feeding tube going into her mouth, inside the oxygen mask. They were keeping her half-sister carefully sedated, fed, and monitored… but why?!
 
As her eyes moved away from Kasumi, she saw several scientists, guarded by a number of DOATEC mercenaries, working the equipment. In particular she noted a female scientist among them. A dark-skinned woman, with brunette hair in a bob cut, with light brown eyes behind a pair of black glasses. She wore a white lab coat over a blue blouse, a purple miniskirt with a white belt, black garter belt stockings and black high heels. She had dangling silver earrings and a matching necklace. 
 
The mercenaries opened fire on the ninja, while the scientists scrambled for cover. Ayane launched herself against a mercenary, avoiding his shots, and in a flash, she had decapitated him with her Kodachi. Taking a quick look around, she saw the mercenaries being killed by her companions, while the scientists started running away. Ayane caught the woman scientist trying to make her escape, and ran after her, somersaulting over her and landing ahead. “You! What are you doing to Hime-Sama?! Answer me!!!” She demanded of the woman, sheathing her weapons and grabbing a hold of her arm…
 
Ayane was dumbfounded as the woman smashed her shoulder into her stomach, grabbed her arm, and flipped the kunoichi with an over-the-shoulder throw. “What the…?!” Ayane said loudly. Weren’t scientists supposed to be pencil-pushers?! Why the hell did one know how to fight like that?! 
 
Feeling more than a bit humiliated, Ayane stood up and resumed running after the scientist, who glanced back, saw her coming, and with a resigned look, turned around, took off her glasses, and assumed a combat stance. Ayane threw herself with a flying kick, trying to smash her platform heel on the other woman, but she dodged to the side delivering a round kick to the still airborne kunoichi, still catching her by surprise and nearly dropping her to the ground. Frustration rose within Ayane as she launched an incessant attack on the woman, overwhelming the scientist with a barrage of fast attacks she couldn’t defend against. 
 
Ayane blocked a high kick, hitting a chop to the dark-skinned woman’s throat, and following with a powerful thrust kick, sending her crashing against a computer console. Ayane was on her before the brunette could stand up, pressing a Kodachi against her throat. “I’ll admit you surprised me, Miss…” She looked at the ID card on the woman’s lab coat’s lapel. “… Lisa Hamilton. Wasn’t expecting to see a fighter here.” Lisa grinned at her.
 
“Shouldn’t let stereotypes rule over you, Miss Ninja.” She took a good look at Ayane’s sexy and revealing outfit. “I mean, if we were judging you based on what you wear, I’d say you’re some fetish sex worker!” She said defiantly, and succeed in infuriating the kunoichi.
 
“You’d like that I think, but enough chatter. What are you doing with Hime-Sama, why do you have her inside that… aquarium tube?! Tell me!” Ayane threatened, pushing her blade closer to Lisa Hamilton’s throat. The scientist looked around, saw how the mercenaries had been killed, and how the science team was getting captured by the ninja. 
 
“We… we are responsible for a new revolutionary project for creating the… Ultimate Fighter. We dubbed it… Project Alpha!” Ayane looked at Lisa without blinking, saying nothing to encourage Lisa to continue speaking. “We decided to use Kasumi, who won the DOA Tournament, and killed Raidou, whom we believed was the greatest fighter alive. She was the perfect subject for the project… but we needed to capture her. We needed to have full access to her body and genetic code.”
 
Ayane’s eyes grew colder. “And that’s why you attacked the village and took her away!” She said enraged. “How did you do it?! How did you discover the village’s location and managed to capture her?!! Answer!!!” 
 
Lisa looked fearfully at the younger woman. “We… we had help from the inside… we had a mole within the village, and he facilitated the village’s location, and played a big role in capturing her.” Ayane felt her blood run cold. There was a traitor in the village, one who had willing sold them out, and caused the death of three Mugen Tenshin Shinobi, their own comrades…
 
She was about to demand the name of the traitor, when her vision suddenly went completely dark, and Ayane no longer found herself kneeling on the chaos-filled lab, threatening Lisa Hamilton, but inside a dark void all around her. “What… what is going on?!!” Ayane shouted as she stood up and looked around. “Yoshihiro-Sensei!! Everyone!!! Is anyone there??!!” The purple-haired teen looked around frantically, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, feeling nothing.
 
And then she heard a footstep.
 
Ayane turned around to see a figure walking towards her, a masculine figure shrouded by darkness, and he came closer, and his figure became clearer. Ayane felt her blood run cold.
 
The man was wearing a white-and-blue shōzoku, with chainmail under it. He wore leg guards, tabi-boots, fingerless gloves, and a metal headband around his forehead, below a head of light brown hair. His eyes, which Ayane knew all too well, were also light brown, the light brown eyes of a dead man.
 
“O-O-Onii-San…?!”
 
Ayane felt he arms going slack with shock, her weapons dropping to the floor as Hayate walked towards her, his eyes fixed on hers, unblinking and hard. She numbly ripped off her mask, exposing her entire face. “Ha-Hayate O-Oni-San… b-but how?! You-you’re… dead…” She said as she felt tears running down her face, and her heart felt constricted within her body. “Are… are you real…?” He was less than a meter away from her, enough for Ayane to extend her arm, her hand, her fingers, and lay them over his chest.
 
And there was matter there, it was solid, it was real, Hayate was real!!
 
Reduced to a sobbing mess, Ayane threw herself at her dead brother, hugging him fiercely, clinging to him as if her life depended on it. “You’re real!! You’re real!! You’re alive Onii-San!!!” She cried in joy hugging and ugly-crying over his strong and muscled torso. “I don’t know how this ha-happened, but you’re h-here!!” She cried joyfully, her heart soaring high on the darkness that enveloped them. “I th-thought I wouldn’t be a-able to tell you, Onii-San!!” Her eyes looked at his, vermilion orbs filled with emotion and tears, meeting cold, uncaring brown. “I-I lo-love you Onii-San, I’ve al-always loved you!!!” She confessed, revealing the feelings she had harboured since being a small child over the boy who was seven years older than her, but who was always kind to her, who always treated her as family, even before they discovered they were family, sharing the same mother. That had killed the possibility for love, for It would be incestuous.
 
“But…” He suddenly spoke, his voice, sounding as if coming from the depths of the earth, cold as ice. “I don’t love you, Ayane.” He merely stated, as if he was telling her the sky was cloudy that day, as if she hadn’t fully opened her heart to him and revealed a secret she had been carrying for the longest time.
 
“O-Oni… San…” 
 
“How can I love someone like you.” He mercilessly stated. “A… weakling, a stain on my family, a “cursed child” whose mere existence is a reminder of the indignities that were perpetrated against my mother.” Her tears had gone from joy to sorrow, her heart being broken, smashed and squashed by her brother’s every word. “A thing that should not have been allowed to live in the first place.” No, please, she thought, please don’t say it… “A pregnancy that should have been erased at the earliest possible moment, or, if it really needed to be carried to term, a baby that should have been left in the depths of the forest to die.” His implacable voice was worse that a million beatings, Ayane dropping down to her knees, her legs failing her as her brother spoke with a certainty that carried the very truth within it.
 
“You existence corrupted mother, tainted her, even more than Raidou raping her did. Why do you think she and father never had another child together?” No, not that, please don’t say it… “You destroyed mother’s ability to conceived. You’re a curse so great, you cursed mother to never be able to conceive again. To never have a legitimate child again.” Ayane was sobbing without any restraint, her body quaking with the sorrow and heartache she felt. “You’re a rotten thing, malicious, selfish, envious, ugly inside…” She was down on all fours, crying and sobbing and screaming, an entire life’s worth of fears and doubts and hidden terrors all bursting out as Hayate voiced them to her, as if he knew all along about her deepest rooting insecurities and worries, all the things that came to haunt her during her worst moments…
 
… but how did he know?
 
Amidst the pain and grief, one thought materialized, one thought that illuminated the darkness that was about to swallow her! How did Hayate Onii-San know about all this? She had never ever voiced these thoughts, much less voice them to someone else. They had always been her secret and dark terrors. Nobody but her knew about them…
 
And Hayate Onii-San… he was dead, dead and buried. She had seen him die, she had desperately searched for any sign of life within his body, only to find none. She had been there at the funeral, had seen him being buried.
 
He was dead, and he’d never come back.
 
And those thoughts allowed Ayane to grab to that light with an inexorable grip, use it to pull herself up from the dark pit of despair she had fallen into.
 
She had been interrogating… Lisa Hamilton… Lisa Hamilton had been her name, about Project Alpha when her vision had gone black, and she was in this void, and Hayate Onii-San was here, alive.
 
It wasn’t real, she realized. It couldn’t be. It was all an illusion that had been cast upon her. Onii-San wouldn’t talk like that to her. Onii-San wouldn’t know about those fears. Onii-San didn’t hate her. He didn’t love her the way Ayane loved him, but he had loved her as a sister.
 
Holding onto those hopes, Ayane focused her spiritual energy, her hands flew through the hand seals needed for the Dispelling Ninjutsu, and she uttered. “Release!”.
 
Before her eyes, she saw her brother melt, his figure losing consistency and solidity, like a wax figure melting when exposed to heat. The darkness around her shattered in a million million pieces, eventually giving sight to the DOATEC lab they had attacked. Around her Ayane could the other Shinobi all sitting, crawling, kneeling or laying on the ground, many of them sobbing, some trying to fend off invisible attackers. The scientists were gone, even Lisa Hamilton, and the tube that had housed Kasumi’s form was empty… for next to it she saw a man carrying the naked, still unconscious, form of her half-sister on his arms.
 
Hatred filled her mind, hatred directed at the man who had used a Genjutsu to exploit her deepest fears. She grabbed her Fuma Kodachi, and stood up. “Motherfucker!!! You’re going to pay for what you did!!” She shouted, causing the man to turn around… and Ayane felt as though she had been paralysed.
 
“G-Genra-Sama…??!!” She asked, not believe what her eyes saw. He was dead, she had seen his burned body… but there was no mistaking the attire, there was no mistake the black mask he wore, and more than that, there was no mistake his entire body language and sheer presence. Was she still caught on an illusion?!
 
He chuckled. Chuckled in that dry and humourless way she had ever known her foster-father to, for the decade she had lived with him. “Didn’t expect anyone to break out of my illusion, but you were always a remarkable one, Ayane.” He was still holding Kasumi in his arms, still looked cock-sure of himself despite the fact Ayane had just seen him. “H-How…?” She asked.
 
“A simple parlour trick. Find a man who shares my height and constitution, dress him up in my clothing, burn him to the point most methods of identification wouldn’t find out, and you can easily fake your own death.” She was hearing it, but she couldn’t believe it. “And it was that much easier doing it when everyone knew I was with Kasumi at the time. Three men were with her when the attack occurred, and three male corpses were left afterwards, all burned almost beyond recognition.” He laughed; he was laughing at her.
 
“W-why?! Why fa-fake your death and kidnap Kasumi??!! Why did you ally with DOATEC??!!!” She didn’t, couldn’t understand why he had done it. “Why betray the village and everyone you’ve ever known there???!!” She was shouting now, her anger making her voice louder and stronger at this terrible betrayal.
 
“Why, you ask?!” For a moment Ayane was sure he was going to try to escape, to get away, to take Kasumi with him, but instead he stayed. “Because I tire of it all, Ayane, I tire of decades of servitude in favour of the Tenjinmon sect, I tire of having to be the clan’s cleaner, the clan’s hound, the clan’s attack dog, the clan’s hidden dagger and poisoned cup.” His voice hadn’t risen in tone, but she could feel the anger hidden in it, nonetheless. “A Dog will do everything you ask of him, and demand nothing but some petting. But I’m no Dog.” Now his voice went up an octave. “I’ve tired of it, so now I’m getting my own rewards, and DOATEC promised me very good rewards after I contacted them through their Japanese branch.”
 
Ayane was clenching her Kodachi with trembling hands, fury and rage coursing through her. “Yo-you sold your own people to DOATEC!!! They didn’t need to buy you out, YOU SOLD YOURSELF TO THEM!!!” She couldn’t handle it anymore, she couldn’t stand the traitor’s visage like that, so Ayane threw herself at Genra, her mental and emotional distress replaced by pure hate. 
 
Genra dropped Kasumi on the floor, and with a swift movement, blocked Ayane’s slices at him with deft skill, using a tokkosho to do so. “Little Ayane, you dare attack your foster-father?!” He asked with mocked indignation.
 
“I don’t dare allowing a traitor to live!!” She bellowed at him, trying for a cut at his throat, but he blocked again. Ayane launched a relentless string of attacks desperate for inflicting pain on this man who had betrayed the clan and brought her heartache twice-over, first by faking his death, and then through his illusion magic. “I’ll bring your head to the village, as a trophy!!!”
 
Genra was blocking her attacks, and while they were coming sloppier than before, due to her mental unrest, she could see he was straining to block them all. “Little Ayane, was my illusion truly so distressing? This isn’t like you, all this emotion and rage, all this sloppiness and carelessness!!” He shouted as he smashed one side of his tokkosho against her right flank. Her ribs weren’t broken because Ayane had managed to pull back, just enough to gain that little bit of space.
 
“I always expected the jōnin outfit to fit you well, Little Ayane, you’ve always had the body for it.” For a moment Ayane could imagine his eyes leering behind his mask, feeling disgusted over it, for he had seen her grow up, but then thought it was probably just him playing mind games on her, trying to enrage her further. Genra was in his mid 40’s, still in great physical shape for his age, but Ayane was in her late teens, in the peak of her physical capabilities. She had him beat in terms of speed, agility and endurance. Her blood was boiling with anger and hate, but if she thought things through…
 
Her mind made, Ayane sheathed her weapons and started throwing her Flash Kunai at Genra, forcing him to dodge, rather than block, because of the explosions. And once she had gained distance, she once again channelled spiritual energy, building a greater amount within her body, and performed the hand seals. Ayane had the satisfaction of seeing Genra realizing what she was about to do, and, smiling widely as she did so, released her Dispelling Ninjutsu, this time over a much wider area, covering most of her teammates with it. “No!!!” Genra shouted impotently. Ayane felt a wild satisfaction. She had gotten the son of a bitch.
 
She saw the other Mugen Tenshin Shinobi ceasing their induced struggling or anguish, their eyes quickly looking around to see what had happened, and eventually falling on Genra. “Yoshihiro-Sensei, it was Genra!!! Genra’s still alive, he betrayed the clan, captured Hime-Sama, and put us all under a Genjutsu!!!” She shouted to her master and teammates, their distressed faces quickly turning to emotions of rage, betrayal, and cold fury, all directed at Genra.
 
“Fucking bitch!!!” Ayane heard Genra shout, and suddenly he was right in front of her, having moved faster than she had thought possible, she felt impact against her skull and everything went black…
 
… The purple-haired kunoichi eventually comes back into awareness, and quickly realizes she’s being carried piggyback, her hands tied together, with arms wrapping around her thighs. Her head hurts something fierce, and she can feel her hair is wet, for sure with blood, but still forces herself to speak. “D-did we g-get Genra…?” She mumbles, the mere act of speaking bringing her great pain.
 
It’s Yoshihiro-Sensei’s voice who answers her, revealing he’s also the one carrying her. “No, the traitorous dog escaped us, but he didn’t take Hime-Sama with him.” Ayane could hear the fury in his voice, but there was something else there too. “It was all thanks to you, Ayane. If you hadn’t managed to break away from his illusion, he would have managed to escape with Hime-Sama, and we wouldn’t know he had turned betrayer.” Sensei’s voice had softened, and there was no mistake the emotion in it. “I’m proud of you Ayane, twice proud, in fact. Not only you managed to see through, and break his illusion, but you also kept a clear mind, and rather than try to engage him alone, you released us from the illusion. Nobody, not even me, could have done a better job back there.”
 
Ayane felt something tugging at her heart, a sense of happiness she rarely got. “T-Thank you, Yoshihiro-Sensei…” She could feel tears forming in her eyes. She must have been concussed, there was no reason for her getting that emotional otherwise, just from some praise.
 
“No, thank you Ayane, the mission succeeded because of you, and only you.” He replied. “I’ll make sure the council knows of it, and that you get the merit you deserve.”
 
This time there was no containing her emotions, so Ayane just laid her head against Yoshihiro-Sensei’s and allowed herself to bask on the praise and positivity she had just got.
 
…
 
The water was lukewarm, was the first thing Ayane thought as she opened her eyes to see the bath’s ceiling.
 
She had dozed off, and old memories had resurfaced as she slept, likely because of the situation the clan was again facing, with Kasumi’s second abduction. Her right hand came to touch her head, feeling the scar from the blow Genra had delivered to her back then. Not the best memento from her first big mission as a jōnin, but one that had greatly contributed for where she was at today. She smiled despite herself, remembering how Yoshihiro-Sensei had made sure she got full distinction from that mission, and how he wouldn’t admit for the council to do anything else.
 
The Master of the Hajinmon sect finally stood up from the tub, water running down her splendorous naked body, and stepped out of it, grabbing a towel. Soon enough she was all dried up, and was just finishing drying her hair, while also putting on a pair of simple white panties. Once her hair was dry, Ayane grabbed a plain nemaki, tied it up with an obi, dropped the towel on a basket, and walked to her room. There she found a futon already set out for her, and after giving a satisfied sigh, Ayane slid under the duvet and laid her head down on the pillow. 
 
The next day would be one of great activity, worry and stress, but for now, just now, she could rest peacefully.
 
She was asleep in a matter of mere minutes. Dreaming dreamless dreams.



First big thing I want to mention: I wasn't anticipating writing over 900 words of Ayane just taking a bath for this chapter, but it just so happened to be that way. Ended up having to research on Japanese bath utensils and such.

The flashback was again very rewarding to write, namely the whole sequence within the illusion, which also revealed an important character point for Ayane, that she fell in love with Hayate at a very young age, but had to bury those feelings once it was revealed to her that they were related, for the relationship would be incestuous and never allowed to flower. She was young and starved for affection to a considerable degree, and here is this older boy than her, who cares and looks after her, and she develops an innocent crush on him, which could have bloomed into something more, had things been different.

The games tend, in my opinion, to sort of dangle the incest subtext within the ninjas, and the fandom certainly runs with it at times, but here I'm trying to take things into a different way.