"We"re almost at the Shadow faction," the horseman said as they go through the b.u.mpy road."That"s great!" Hanabi exclaimed excitedly but the carriage suddenly stopped which forced her to lurch forward. "Did we hit something?"
Hanabi looked out the small window to look at what happened but a strong gust of wind pushed her out of the carriage. She winced in pain for her injury starts to ache. She immediately stood on her feet but before she could defend herself, her attacker kicked her on the abdomen. Hanabi was thrown back and hit a ma.s.sive rock. She felt a warm liquid on her back and the pain starts to weaken her.
She summoned her Higanbana and threw it right to the masked man who didn"t manage to dodge it. Her weapon bloomed into a beautiful yet deadly flower, paralyzing and poisoning her enemy. She lunged forward and slashed his throat.
Thinking that it was all over, Hanabi had her guard down. She was about to get her baggage at the broken carriage but a shadow suddenly appeared before her. It turned into a man and gave no chance for Hanabi to counterattack by strucking her abdomen with his foot once more. This time, Hanabi hit the rock with the back of her head, making her lose consciousness while her injury continued to bleed.
"That was boring," the scarlet-haired and masked man said as he stares at the unmoving ninja.
"Hanzo!!"
The masked man turned and saw his colleagues running towards him.
"What are you doing here?!" Kagura yelled at him. She has long, black, and silky hair. Her turquoise-colored eyes glared at the masked man. "We are supposed to wait for the Scarlet ninja!"
Just then, Kagura saw the wrecked carriage and the tied horseman. Her eyes widened and she panicked upon setting her eyes on a black-haired woman lying on the ground with blood all over her body.
"What the h.e.l.l did you do to her?!" she exclaimed as she ran towards Hanabi. "Hayabusa, carry her back to the village."
Hayabusa obliged. His hazelnut-colored eyes stared at the Scarlet ninja. He carried Hanabi on his back and the three, together with the horseman, made their way back to the Shadow sect village.
"We"ve got to sneak in, go to Mizuki"s place and treat this ninja back to health," Kagura explained. "We should not let the higher ups know about this absurdity of this idiot."
"What"s with the worry, Kagura?" Hanzo asked. "I just came to test her abilities if she could fit in our group but even an ordinary a.s.sa.s.sin could take her down. She should just be sent back home."
"Shut it, Hanzo," Kagura sneered at him. "We are tasked to look after her! We"ll get in serious trouble if somebody knows what happened. Hayabusa, why didn"t you stop him?"
Hayabusa smiled awkwardly at the lady and replied, "I was actually waiting for her to arrive as well so I could fight with this ninja but Hanzo got to her first."
Hanzo laughed while Kagura narrowed her eyes at him. Hayabusa looked away, not wanting to enrage the girl for she might punch the h.e.l.l out of him.
As they reach their village, Hanzo was instructed to distract the guards at the gate. While he was talking with them, Kagura and Hayabusa quickly snuck in and went to Mizuki"s place.
"The Shadow Trio," Mizuki greeted them as he sips coffee from his mug. But when he saw the girl on the a.s.sa.s.sin"s back, he choked.
"What the h.e.l.l happened to Hanabi?!" he half-yelled as he puts down his mug and helped Hayabusa lay her down on the bed.
With Hanabi lying on her stomach, Mizuki took off her gears and cut off the b.l.o.o.d.y bandage wrapped around her. He carefully wiped off the blood and started his healing process. The door banged open as Hanzo makes his entrance.
"Care to explain about this?" Mizuki asked.
"Hanzo fought with her," Kagura mumbled, feeling troubled for they might be discovered.
"What?" Hanzo shrugged. "She is in that state for being too weak."
"She must have acquired this injury back in their village," Mizuki stated. "It"s a deep cut. If this was infected, she"d die slowly. Hanzo, if she died, it"ll create an unnecessary war against the Scarlet faction. You three must be more careful for you hold high reputation."
"She"ll survive," Hanzo said as he lies down on the couch.
"But seriously speaking, if she can"t even put up a good fight, she really isn"t welcome in our group," Hayabusa commented.
"But we"ve got no choice!" Kagura retorted, "The chief a.s.signed her in our group!"
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"Relax, you three," Mizuki said. "Give her a chance. No one could fight with this kind of injury hindering them."
"Excuses," Hanzo mumbled.
"There," the healer said as he finished his work. "She"s good as new. It"s a good thing you"ve brought her here or else she"ll bear this painful wound for months."
"Mizuki, how"d you know that Hanabi is her name?" Kagura asked as she watches him walk towards his coffee once more.
"I met her when she was still younger. I was sent to the Scarlet faction as an apprentice 5 years ago," Mizuki answered.
Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a sound coming from Hanabi. Hanzo got up and smirked.
"You"re awake," he said.
Hanabi wrapped herself with the blanket for she was naked underneath. She glared at Hanzo for she recognized him.
Hanzo jumped from the couch to the edge of the bed and looked down on her, "They said you"re the talented beauty of the Scarlet faction but it doesn"t seem like it."
Hanabi remained quiet as the a.s.sa.s.sin carefully observed her. It was as if he is painting every crook and cranny of her face in his mind.
"They are right about you being pretty and such," Hanzo admitted. He jumped off the bed and set foot on the floor. "But the talented part? Nah, it was just a pretense."
"Hanzo, can you shut the h.e.l.l up?" Kagura sneered before facing Hanabi. "I"m sorry, he"s just like that."
Hanzo opened the sliding doors but he stopped on his tracks and turned his head.
"You should go and work in a brothel instead. You may become the highest paid woman in town," he said before taking his leave.
Kagura expected Hanabi to either cry or get mad but she simply stood up, got her gears and went to the restroom.
"Is she going to cry in there?" Kagura asked worriedly.
"She won"t," Hayabusa smiled. "She seems fragile but I think she"s strong."
Kagura looked at the blonde a.s.sa.s.sin and raised an eyebrow, "How"d you say so?"
"The way she controls her emotions is excellent. She"ll be fine," Hayabusa replied before leaving as well.
"Those two are troublemakers," Mizuki commented which earned a nod from the onmyouji.
Hanabi got out from the restroom and gave Mizuki a bow, "Thank you for healing me."
"Don"t mention it," Mizuki replied. "It"s already night time, you two should head back to your quarters."
Kagura and Hanabi left the infirmary and are headed to the quarters of the Shadow Trio.
"About what happened earlier, I am truly sorry, Hanabi. Hanzo and Hayabusa may seem like heartless and cold men but they"re really nice," Kagura stated as they walk down the busy street.
"Okay," was simply the response of the Scarlet ninja.
Upon reaching their quarters, Kagura lead Hanabi to her room.
"This is our quarters. My room is just beside yours. Both of our rooms are located at the left wing of the house while the two guys are on the right wing. We share the same living room and kitchen but with separate washroom. If you want to ask anything else, just ask me," Kagura explained.
"Okay," Hanabi responded. "I"ll take a bath, thanks for the help."
"After you"re done, come down and we"ll have dinner. Hanzo has started cooking so hurry up," Kagura reminded before leaving.
After her fresh bathe, Hanabi put some clothes on and heads down to the door. She got the attention of the three who are now ready for dinner.
"Hanabi?" Kagura called out. "Where are you going? Dinner"s served."
Without looking at them, Hanabi replied, "The amount of food served is just the right amount for the three of you."
"Wow," Hanzo snickered. "How"d you know? Did you become a psychic now?"
"F*ck you," Hanabi mouthed at him before leaving their quarters.
Kagura glared at the two men who are behind that childish act.
"Can"t you at least be a bit nicer to her?" she growled.
"If she has proven that she deserves to be here, then we"ll do so," Hayabusa replied.