Ayane

Ayane is a video game character from the Dead or Alive video game series. She has been a member of the series from the beginning, starting as an unplayable training dummy in the Sega Saturn port of the original Dead or Alive. Ayane became a full playable in Dead or Alive 2. Ayane is also a non-playable character in the Ninja Gaiden series, helping Ryu Hayabusa with hints and clues.

Ayane is a ninja from the Hajinmon clan. She was born after Raidou raped Ayame, meaning that she wasn't ment to be born if it was for Raidou. She has deep against Raidou, Kasumi, and DOATEC; however she has a strong connection with Hayate. According to series canon, she won the third tournament by defeating Omega.

Besides the Ninja Gaiden series, Ayane made appearances in the live action film DOA: Dead or Alive and in Monty Oum's Dead Fantasy. Her purple ninja outfit was also used for Mayu from Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly. Ayane is yet another popular female character in the series.

History
One night when Shiden, the leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan and Kasumi's and Hayate's fater left on a mission, Shiden's arrogant brother Raidou went and raped his wife and Kasumi's and Hayate's mother, Ayame. The results, Ayame was pregnant yet again to a girl; she named her Ayane. Since birth, many in the village believed that Ayane was a demon child since she was born from rape. The only person who took Ayane in was Genra, the leader of the Hajin Mon clan. Ayane was close friends with Kasumi. However, they were soon to be separated as Genra sent Ayane to become part of the Hajin Mon clan. Before she left, Ayame told Ayane the truth that she was her mother, angering Ayane.

On the night of Raidou's rampage, Ayane helped out Hayate and fights him with anger and hatred, however she was quickly defeated and Raidou was able to retrieved the Torn Sky Blast from Hayate. The next night she learned that Kasumi left the Tenshin village to fight Raidou. Sent by Genra, she was ordered to kill Kasumi.

Dead or Alive
Ayane initially appeared as the training dummy in the Sparring mode of the game's Sega Saturn version, but was not selectable as a character. She is an unlockable fighter in the PlayStation version.

Dead or Alive 2
Ayane is the half-sister and cousin of Kasumi and Hayate. During the events of Dead or Alive 2, she is ordered by Genra to hunt down and kill Kasumi who had been considered a runaway shinobi because of her departure from her village. However, Ayane fails her task and is defeated by Kasumi in the final rounds of the tournament. Ayane encounters Hayate as well in the tournament, but because he is suffering from temporary memory loss due to the Epsilon Project, he does not remember her and views her as just another opponent.

During the tournament, Ayane is confronted by Helena, who accuses her of killing her mother. Ayane does not confess, nor deny the accusation outright, choosing instead to taunt Helena before they battle.

Dead or Alive 3
Ayane enters Dead or Alive 3 in order to kill Genra, who has been made into a puppet of DOATEC. She sees this as her responsibility to end his pain and return the favor of Genra having taken her under his wing. Ayane eventually succeeds in her mission, even defeating Hayate in order to fight Genra. As a reminder of her foster father, she takes Genra's ritual mask and energy sword.

In Ayane's story mode, Ayane "allows" Kasumi to go on and see Hayate regardless of the outcome of their match. She will not allow Kasumi to advance higher as she wanted to be the one to end Genra's life, after Kasumi affirms that she will go see Hayate. Ayane also tells Kasumi that she can't "allow her to have this one", possibly alluding to the fact that in the first tournament, Kasumi defeated Raidou, Ayane's biological father.

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
Like the rest of the female cast of the DOA series, Ayane was invited to Zach Island under the pretense of the fourth DOA World Combat Championship, only to find that it did not exist.

Dead or Alive 4
Ayane has pledged her life to her half-brother (the Mugen Tenshin clan leader Hayate) in his cause to destroy DOATEC for all the suffering the company has caused to the ninja clans. Ayane has a threefold stake in this revenge trip in that Raidou was changed by DOATEC into a monster, Hayate was brainwashed in DOATEC's attempt to realize Project Epsilon, and the brainwashing and death of Genra.

In her story mode, she stays back to delay Kasumi from keeping Hayate away from joining up with the other Mugen Tenshin ninja to travel to DOATEC's headquarters. She also goes one-on-one against the assassin Christie, giving time for Ryu to go after his own targets. She is responsible for this campaign's success by which she cast a very powerful Ninpō spell in the middle of the DOATEC complex with Hayate defending her, destroying the foundations of the buildings as the screen fades. Ironically, as shown in Helena's CG ending with Ayane and Kasumi away from the tower, Hayate and Ryu Hayabusa are nowhere to be seen as the building explodes. Ayane also prevents Kasumi from returning to the building, already fearing the worst. This action seems to indicate that Ayane and Kasumi's rivalry could be over.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2
Ayane is a female Ninja who was born in the same as Kasumi. She has followed Kasumi all the way to New Zack Island. Has had a complex relationship with Kasumi ever since they grew up together.

Stats
Ayane is similar to Kasumi, but she seems to be a little more powerful and a bit slower than Kasumi.
 * Power - 2/5
 * Technique - 5/5
 * Defense - 2/5
 * Jump - 5/5
 * Speed - 2/5

Kasumi
Ayane and Kasumi are half-sisters. As kids, they were close friends; however Ayane was jealous of Kasumi because Ayane was treated like a demon child in the village while Kasumi was treated like a princess. Ayane shows her deep hatred toward Kasumi when she was sent to kill her for leaving the village. She also tries to keep Kasumi away from Hayate as well. Ayane may have managed to reconcile her feelings of hatred towards Kasumi somewhat, as demonstrated when she stops Kasumi from entering the burning DOATEC building seconds before it explodes in Dead or Alive 4.

Hayate
The connection between Ayane and Hayate is strong. Although she is Hayate's half-sister, Ayane fell in love with Hayate as he was the only person who would always be with her, as shown in the Dead or Alive Ultimate opening where he holds her hand during the festival. Ayane and Hayate cares for each other as they both look out for each other's backs and they would fight for each other.

Raidou
Raidou is Ayane's biological father. Ayane shows deep hatred on Raidou as he was the cause of her birth. However Ayane failed to get revenge on Raidou as Kasumi defeated him in the first tournament.

Genra
Since no one cared for Ayane, Genra took Ayane in as if she was his own. Genra trained Ayane and made her joined the Hajinmon clan since he was the leader. After his defeat by Ayane, she cremated him which sadden her as Genra was the only person who cared for her.

Ryu Hayabusa
Mostly, Ayane's connection with Ryu was mostly shown in Ninja Gaiden as Ayane helped Ryu throughout his journeys. However, they were shown conversing in Dead or Alive 4, where Christie appears to fight either one of them.

Personality
Ayane was born as the result of Raidou raping Kasumi's mother, Ayame. Though Ayane was allowed to stay in the ninja clan, she was always looked down upon as a "poisoned child", generally ignored by many of the ninja clan. Ever since they were children, Ayane admired Hayate. She looked up to him as a way of increasing her self-esteem and lifting her sadness. Hayate as well was fond of Ayane; he might have learned of the true circumstances behind Ayane's birth and did not see the point of isolating her as everyone else did.

While Kasumi and Hayate joined the rest of the village in a festival, Ayame called her estranged daughter to her and revealed through tears that she was indeed her mother instead of being an orphan as she was probably lead to believe. Shocked at this news, her young mind quickly deduced that it seemed that everyone knew that she was indeed the daughter of Ayame, wife of the leader of their village. Along with a burning hatred for Raidou, the man who ruined her life by creating it in the first place, the focal point of her ire rested on the one who had been treated like a princess while she was treated like dirt even though they shared the same mother - Kasumi. This envy that Ayane harbors can be greatly compared to the hatred Raidou had over Shiden, Kasumi's father.

Quiet and reserved, she tries to forget her experiences as a child. She has honed her skills to unbelievable heights in an attempt to make others see her to be more than the "cursed child". With the death of Genra, Ayane is now the strongest ninja of the Hajinmon, if not the de facto leader.

Gameplay
Ayane's fighting style is Hajimon Sytle Ninjutsu. Ayane is more powerful than Kasumi as all her moves are does twice as much damage and she is also a fast character. Although she is powerful, Ayane is a very hard character to master. All her moves takes alot of practice. This means that Ayane is definitely not suited for beginners. Before using Ayane, you should try out Kasumi as she is a much balanced character than Ayane. If you haven't played Ayane, use her in practice mode to master her moves and get use to her. If you played Ayane, you should still use her in practice mode first so you can learn new moves and still get the hang of her.

Musical Themes

 * TehuTehu (DOA 2)
 * Prismatic Butterfly (DOA 3)
 * Shade (DOA 4)

Other Appearances
The upcoming Xbox 360 title Dead or Alive: Code Chronos will also feature Ayane, acting as a prequel to the Dead or Alive (series) series and detailing the history between Kasumi and herself as they grew up within their clan.

Ayane's signature butterfly dress is an unlockable costume in Super Swing Golf Season 2, alongside Kasumi's ninja clothes. The same clothes also appear in Fatal Frame II: Director's Cut.

Ninja Gaiden Series
Ayane has a recurring appearance in Ninja Gaiden. In Ninja Gaiden, Ayane is a young ninja in training at the age of 14 who first appears to inform Murai and incidentally Ryu Hayabusa that the Hayabusa Village is under heavy attack. Throughout the game, Ayane provides tips and assistance via her own kunai to Ryu while always keeping an eye on his progress. In the expansion Ninja Gaiden Black, if the player chooses the Ninja Dog Easy mode, Ayane condescendingly provides Ryu with assistance.

DOA Movie
In the film DOA: Dead or Alive, loosely based on the video game series, Ayane is portrayed by Natassia Malthe and therefore appears much older than her 16 year old self. Instead, she is the lover of Hayate and half-sister to Kasumi. She is assigned the task of killing Kasumi for abandoning the village and as a result follows her to the Dead or Alive Tournament, where she finds Hayate alive. She then realized that Kasumi was right about Hayate still being alive. At the end of the movie, she saves Hayate and they exchange a kiss. Her character was portrayed similar to herself in the video game series, in the sense that they are both somewhat cold and focused on their objective.

Dead Fantasy
With Kasumi, Hitomi, and Ninja Gaiden's Rachel, Ayane made her appearance in Dead Fantasy, fighting against the Final Fantasy girls, and Kingdom Hearts' Kairi. Ayane appeared in the first two parts so far. She fights with the double edge energy sword that belonged to Genra.