Hayate

Hayate (ハヤテ, Hayate) is the eighteenth master of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan from the Dead or Alive series. Although he was first mentioned in Dead or Alive, his official appearance was in Dead or Alive 2 as Ein; the amnesiac Karate master from Germany. He regained his memory during the second game and appeared as himself in Dead or Alive 3. He is Kasumi's older brother, and Ayane's older half-brother. He is also friends with Ryu Hayabusa.

Early Life
Hayate is the eldest child and only son of Shiden and Ayame, the leaders of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, and was born to be the next leader of the clan. He had a happy childhood, training in the art of the clan, Tenjin Mon-styled ninjutsu, with his younger sister Kasumi, who loved him dearly.

After Genra requested to Shiden for Ayane - the village's "cursed child" - to help him in his duties, Hayate treated the girl with kindness, which most of the clan didn't give her. The two formed a strong bond, although Hayate did not know that Ayane was actually his half-sister, conceived when his uncle, the rogue ninja Raidou, raped Ayame when Hayate was only seven years old. During his early life, he also became good friends with Ryu Hayabusa.

Years later, Raidou attacked the Mugen Tenshin Village in an attempt to steal the Torn Sky Blast ninpō attack. Ayane attacked Raidou to defend Hayate, but was defeated. Hayate ran to her side, but when Raidou called him a "weakling" for hiding behind a woman, Hayate attacked him in rage. He used the Torn Sky Blast to fight Raidou but was overcome by the ninja's superior fighting skill, and the Torn Sky Blast was stolen from him. As both of their ninpō attacks collided, the resulting explosion threw Hayate into a tree, cracking his spine and sending him into a coma.

Kasumi dutifully looked after him, but she soon departed the village in order to seek revenge against Raidou for harming Hayate. Despite her loving actions for her brother, leaving the village put the clan in danger of being discovered, so she was branded a runaway shinobi. Ayane was sent after her half-sister to kill her.

The First Tournament and Project Epsilon
By the time of the events of the first Dead or Alive Tournament, Hayate had been captured by the DOATEC and made to undergo various experiments as part of Project Epsilon. One the scientists working on the project Lisa Hamilton, released Hayate. Whether she did this out of contempt for the company's increasingly shady experiments or because she grew attached to him is unknown.

The Second Tournament
After the first tournament, Hayate was found in the of  by Hitomi, whose family took him in. Suffering from amnesia, he could not remember his past or even his name and ended up going by the name of "Ein".

He studied karate under Hitomi's father, and soon mastered it. After that, he joined the second tournament to find answers to his lost past.

Eventually, Hayate encountered Ryu who defeated him and his memories slowly began to return soon afterwards. Sometime later, he encountered Kasumi, whom he still didn't remember. Ryu, who had just defeated Gohyakumine Bankotsubo, encouraged them to fight each other so that Hayate's memories would return. Sure enough, after he defeated Kasumi and knocked her unconscious, Hayate's memories returned. Shortly afterwards, Genra appeared before them and revealed himself to be the one who broke the Kekkai barrier that seperates the Spirit World from Earth. As the traitorous ninja made his leave Hayate and Ryu confront Ayane, who was under Genra's control, and Kasumi Alpha, who was Kasumi's clone. Together with Ryu, they were victorious.

After the fight, Ryu introduced Hayate to his friend, CIA agent Irene Lew. After Ayane regained her conscious, they soon realised that Kasumi disappeared, leaving Hayate worried.

The Third Tournament and Omega
After Genra was turned against the clan, Hayate requested his father to allow him to hunt down the traitor, which made Shiden believe that Hayate may be ready to take over as the leader of the clan. Hayate wanted to find Kasumi first, but Ayane spoke against it, calling Kasumi a traitor and suggesting that she might had been consorting with Genra. Enraged by her words, Hayate slapped Ayane.

Sometime later, Hayate found Ryu sitting on the roof of Azuchi on a moonlit night. His friend said that Hayate couldn't possibly defeat Genra, but Hayate told him he doesn't know Genra at all. Ryu tested Hayate to see if he remembers everything. Hayate appeared to beat him, only to realize Ryu used the Kawarimi (変わり身substitution) technique to trick him at the last second. Ryu told him that he and Hayate can settle their bout in the third tournament.

Getting a lead on Kasumi's whearabouts in Kyoto, Hayate and Ayane join the third tournament. While on the Freedom Suvivour, Hayate met up Hitomi again since he left her family's home when he was Ein. Hayate introduced Ayane to Hitomi, who assumed that Ayane was Kasumi, the girl who Hayate was mumbling about when they first met. Angered for being mistaken for Kasumi, Ayane fought Hitomi. After the fight, Hayate revealed to Hitomi the truth about his shinobi identity, much to her surprise.

Some time later, Ayane and Hayate argued about who should take down Genra; Hayate felt that as leader of the clan, it was his duty to take down the former master, but Ayane too felt it was her task, being Genra's foster daughter and heir. After fighting about it, they both agree to work together to kill Genra.

During the rounds of the tounament, Hayate met with Helena, who recognised him as the subject of Project Epsilon. Hayate demanded to tell her why Genra joined DOATEC, but she claimed she didn't know, that Genra and even herself were just puppets that DOATEC could control. After defeating Helena in battle, he tells her that he would defeat Genra, and she should leave DOATEC for her own safety.

A while later, Hayate and Ayane met up with Ryu and Irene, and the men engaged in battle to see who was the greater shinobi. The fight become extreme as the boys started a Torn Sky Blast duel, but were stopped by Ayane as Irene was kidnapped by Chrisite. Ryu ran off to save Irene, but Hayate and Ayane realized that her kidnapping was just a distraction for Genra. The fallen master created a portal to Hellfire, and transformed into his powerful Omega form. The two shinobi try to take him down, but Genra proved too strong and they were starting to become overpowered by him. When Ryu realized that Christie was just a decoy, he quickly ran to aid his friends, and ran Genra through with the Dragon Sword. Before the monster could regenerate, Ayane and Hayate performed a duel-spell together and struck the final blow, killing Genra. When they returned to the village, Ayane cremated Genra, putting him to peace.

The Fourth Tournament and The Fall of DOATEC
During the fourth tournament, the Mugen Tenshin clan set out to defeat DOATEC. Hayate combined his strength with Ayane and Ryu to destroy DOATEC and stop the Alpha-152 prototype. During the assault, Hayate fought DOATEC's soldiers and even destroyed the DOATEC zeppelin with a ninpo-powered arrow. Part-way through the tournament he encountered Kasumi, who tried to convince him to simply return to the Mugen Tenshin Village. However Ayane intervened, calling Kasumi a traitor and asking Hayate to meet her at Tritower Heliport. He left Ayane and Kasumi to battle.

At the Tritower Heliport he encountered La Mariposa, where she revealed that he and the other ninjas had been manipulated by her to come and destroy DOATEC. Hayate merely replied that she had done him a favored and repayed her with a fight.

Then Hayate encountered Hitomi again, who pleaded for him to come back with him to the dojo, admitting that she did not know what to do without him. Hayate told her that he couldn't because he was no longer Ein, and the fourth tournament was no tournament at all, but a war. He then asked her to spar for a warm-up, for old time's sake, which she happily accepted. After the fight, they told each other to take care and Hitomi took her leave.

In the end, Hayate and his ninja comrades destroyed the Tritower complex and escaped the building as it burnt to the ground.

Appearance
Also see: Hayate's Outfit Catalogues

Personality
Hayate has a powerful sense of duty when it comes to his role as the leader of his clan. He is so devoted to the clan's rules and traditions that he would hunt down his own runaway sister, albeit with much reluctance.

An honorable soul, Hayate was close with both Kasumi and Ayane throughout their childhoods, and thus does not attempt to kill or capture Kasumi over the course of the tournaments. He has also grown to develope a special bond with Ayane, having always played the role of a caring friend and senior, even though she is an illegitimate member of the family.

Etymology
The kanji used to spell Hayate's name (疾風) means "Gale", "Hurricane" or "Storms". This serves to distinguish Hayate's character in terms of his skills as a ninja and his wind like nature, being as gentle as a breeze to his friends and family, and as lethal and encompassing as an actual hurricane when enraged.

Kasumi
Kasumi is Hayate's younger sister. Hayate was a very protective brother to Kasumi, so they had a close sibling relationship. After Hayate was injured by Raidou, Kasumi sought revenge on Raidou for what he did to Hayate, seeking to restore her brother's honor.

They have a very close and strong bond, even as Hayate becomes the leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan and Kasumi becomes a runaway ninja. Hayate will never harm Kasumi himself, but he will not speak to her over the shame that he chooses the clan over Kasumi.

Ayane
The connection between Ayane and Hayate is strong. Hayate is Ayane's half-brother, although he is unaware of this as Ayane's heritage was kept secret. When she was a child, Hayate was one of the few people who did not see Ayane as a "demon child". His kindness towards her, combined with his strength and resolve, led Ayane to admire Hayate greatly.

They remain at each other's side and look out and protect one another as partners-in-arms. It suspected that Ayane has grown to love him more then a brother, but it is unclear however whether Hayate shares the same attraction that Ayane feels for him.

Ryu Hayabusa
It is unclear exactly when the two met but Hayate and Ryu have always been the best of friends, serving as an example of the close relations the two clans had with one another. Before his abduction by DOATEC, Hayate had Ryu promise to look over Kasumi; thusly when Kasumi was to appear in the Dead or Alive Tournaments, he agreed to participate as well. Ryu and Hayate also share similar techniques, probably due to them practicing together as kids. This is evidenced from during the 3rd tournament, as seen through Dead or Alive Dimensions, when Hayate and Ryu simultaneously executed a Torn Sky Blast to each other.

Hitomi
Hitomi’s family took Hayate in during his amnesiac episode in Germany. During his stay Hayate, known as Ein at the time, learnt karate in the family dojo alongside Hitomi; in the process becoming somewhat of a prodigy for the dojo. It is unclear what Hitomi’s intentions are for Hayate - and it is also unclear whether she actually knows his real name - but when the family dojo came under financial troubles she sought out "Ein" for help. Hayate doesn't correct her when she calls him "Ein."

Gameplay
Hayate's fighting skill focuses on power rather than withstanding. He can best be described as a merger between the styles of his alter-ego Ein and Kasumi, and has been lauded as the best fighter to use in Dead or Alive 4 for his high-end speed and power balance and ease of use.

Many of his attacks have extremely fast start-up and inflict decent amounts of damage. Despite all this, it should be noted that one move in particular, "Raijin", is known as the hardest command throw in the game in terms of execution despite not being the most powerful throw in the game, though it can still be very damaging.

Musical Themes

 * Reincarnate - Dead or Alive 3 and Dead or Alive: Dimensions
 * Goin' for Broke - Dead or Alive 3 Ending Theme
 * The Wind Is Howling - Dead or Alive 4
 * The Broken Arrows - Dead or Alive 4 Ending Theme

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive (Mentioned, 1996 - 1998)
 * Dead or Alive 3 (2001 - 2002)
 * Dead or Alive 4 (2005 - 2006)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)

Dead or Alive 5
Hayate, along with Ryu and possibly Kasumi, has been confirmed to be a playable character in Dead or Alive 5, which is set to be released in 2012. During Tokyo Game Show 2011, Team Ninja showed a pre-alpha trailer featuring Hayate and Ryu battling on top of an unfinished building.

DOA: Dead or Alive
Hayate is portrayed by Collin Chou in DOA: Dead or Alive. In the movie, he is captured by DOATEC after winning that year's DOA competition rather than being captured by DOATEC in his home village. Also, he is meant to test Donovan's newest invention rather than being tested on Project Epsilon. He is also the reason for Kasumi's entrance in the tournament like in the first game. Donovan states that Hayate is stronger then Kasumi and that he has a "perfect blend of skill, timing and strength". Hayate and Ayane are also shown as lovers rather than half-siblings. The fighting style he used was.

Dead Fantasy
Also see: Hayate on Dead Fantasy Wiki

Hayate appears in the fan-made CG movie series Dead Fantasy, with his first appearence in the fifth episode. Although he did not fight, he sent his clan to defeat Final Fantasy's Tifa Lockhart. After Tifa's defeat, he awaits for Helena to pick her up and take her to DOATEC. His and Hitomi's links with Helena are suspicious and still unexplained.

Trivia

 * Hayate is the only ninja character that has yet to win a tournament.
 * Although Hayate did appear as a playable character in Dead or Alive 2 as his alter-ego Ein and was heavily mentioned, Hayate is still considered a brand new character in Dead or Alive 3, since it was the first time in the series to play as Hayate with a brand new fighting style.