Chapter 1: Haunted

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His sword radiated a demonic power as the fresh blood of his victim dripped from it.  The metallic smell of blood surrounded a poor girl, her mind suspended because of shock. Her ocean-blue eyes mirrored the unmoving and breathless body of her beloved father, the leader of their village. Unable to think straight and move her body accordingly, all she could do was breath a quiet cry under the dim light of the full moon. Her eyes that just opened after a deep slumber darted to the shadow standing on a tree branch whose emerald eyes stared back at her. She couldn’t clearly see the assassin’s face, however, his hungry eyes were something she could not forget.

Hanabi flung her eyes open, her breathing was ragged as she felt her heart thumping wild in her chest. She was even dripping with sweat as if she just finished her daily training. Realizing that it was just the same nightmare, she got up from her bed and headed to the window where she could see the already rising sun.

"You've overslept," a soft voice said behind her.

"I'm sorry," Hanabi apologized to her mother without looking at her straight in the eyes. 

Noticing that she avoided eye contact, her mother knew that her nightmares were haunting her again. It was something she could not eradicate, and all she could do was hold her hand tight and tell her that what happened had long been done and she was not at fault at all.

However, Hanabi could not just forget about that incident, it was entrenched in her mind that no matter how hard she tried to forget it, it still comes back whenever she least expects it.
Her mother kissed her on the forehead before telling her to get ready for breakfast and left so her daughter could get ready.

Hanabi went straight to the washroom and washed herself, wishing that the water would also wash away the nightmares that haunted her. She immediately changed into her combat apparel before walking into the training ground, a place of solace that helped her temporarily forget about the tragedy.

She tied her long, black hair with the red ribbon that was given to her by her father when she was still young. She breathed in and out to calm herself down, her eyes scanning the training hall as if instilling in her mind every crook and cranny and plan her attacks.

10 years ago...

Hanabi just turned 10 that day, she and her father were currently at the village of the Shadow sect for an important meeting of the village leaders. She was told to play outside but instead of doing so, she was secretly eavesdropping on the meeting by staying at the very next room of the meeting place. Just by placing her ear on the thin wall that separated her and the people from the other room, she could hear their voices quite clear. However, she was not able to listen until the very end.

"Hanabi," her father suddenly called out to her upon noticing her presence. "Eavesdropping has not been taught so why are you doing it?"

"I'm sorry!" Hanabi turned red before turning her back, ran towards the long hallway and shut herself in her assigned room.

She clicked her tongue out of disappointment and rolled her eyes since there was nothing interesting for her to do. She peeked outside and tried to hear any footsteps, wondering if someone had followed her, yet no sign of any person which showered her with relief.

With nothing else to do, she simply got her kunai set tucked under her bed and started writing seals on several rectangular special parchment papers, which will help her enhance her weaponry.

At a young age, she had been very keen when it comes to fighting especially that she was the only heir to wield the Higanbana, an heirloom and a cross-blade weapon that only their bloodline could use.

Just when she was fully focused, her concentration broke when a small knock came from her door. She stood up rolling her eyes and slowly opened it.

"Come play with us. You might be bored staying here alone," said Kagura, a kid that trained inside the household of the main family in the Shadow sect.

Her white hair that was as silver as the moon had captivated the eyes of Hanabi, making her entranced at the beauty of the little girl. Aside from her alluring beauty, Kagura's friendly aura had drawn her to do what she said.

"No," Hanabi replied sternly, trying her hardest to not waver by another girl just because of the cuteness she possessed. "I need to pack my things so I do not want any disturbance."

"Come!" Kagura insisted upon opening the door wide and grabbed Hanabi's hand before she could even shut the door again.

Though the dark-haired girl acted aloof, she actually wanted to have some bit of fun and try to make friends in a new place. It was not a bad idea at all, she thought.

They both ran out and went to the yard where the other kids were currently playing. There was a large pond at the middle of the yard and n olda sakura tree that was yet to bloom stood just beside the clear water. Kagura introduced Hanabi to the others and while they were playing hide-and-seek, Hanabi noticed a young boy from afar. He was wearing an all-black apparel and was surrounded by numbers of dummies.

Forgetting about the game they were playing, she ran towards him feeling all excited.

"Hey! Are you also training to become the Shadow Grandmaster?" she asked upon reaching the training ground.

She was fascinated for it was her first time to see yet another kid of the same age as her to be training since in Scarlet sect village, she was not allowed to just go and visit the common training grounds.

The young boy didn't reply, instead, he continued his training without sparing her a glance. Hanabi got irritated so when the young boy threw three shurikens, she got her own shuriken, ran towards the front and blocked them from reaching the straw dummies.

She ran towards him and was about to give him a kick on the head but the boy blocked it with one hand. Hanabi immediately retreated before her foot would be held by him. She threw three kunais towards him and took a sudden lunge, giving him a slim chance of blocking or dodging her consecutive attacks. The boy successfully blocked the kunais but just like Hanabi’s plan, she landed a kick on his abdomen, making him fall on his butt and groan in pain.

Hanabi looked down on him, feeling proud of herself to defeat another trainee, and scoffed. "Stop acting arrogant in front of me if you could not even defeat me. Hmph!"

Hanabi suddenly fell back with surprise when Kagura appeared in front and  pushed her down.

"Don't you dare," she paused with her eyes narrowed at her, "Don't you dare hurt Hayabusa!" she screamed with rage.

Though she tried to make her voice louder, it didn’t really work but it was loud enough to convey to Hanabi that she was not pleased.

"Getting hurt is normal when training," Hanabi said as she stood and dusted off herself. Kagura went towards Hayabusa and helped him stand, and checked if he had some injuries.

"Hanabi!"

"I hope we'll see each other again, ugly Kagura," Hanabi scoffed before running to her father.

"We're going to have a stroll around the village," her father said as he patted her on the head.

Hanabi simply nodded in agreement as she held her father's hand. She turned her head and stuck out her tongue towards Kagura and Hayabusa who were watching her.

Instead of making new friends, Hanabi just found herself some rivals, which was not that bad as well, especially that rivalry was also a fuel to increase her determination in becoming stronger.

Hanabi and her father headed to the public market to buy souvenirs that they'd bring back to their village. They entered in a kimono shop to buy one for her mother since their village festival was just around the corner.

But Hanabi, being curious as a cat, wandered around and left her father by himself at the store without saying a word. With her eyes scanning the different stalls and stores she had never seen before , a young boy bumped onto her by the shoulder that she almost lost her balance but he did not apologize or even looked at her direction. This irritated her so she grabbed the boy's shoulder and whacked his head with her fist.

"Learn to apologize, brat," she snarled.

The red-haired boy stared straight into her eyes, lifted his arm and flicked Hanabi's forehead. He was wearing a dopey face as if he got all bored with his entire life and was only waiting for his death to arrive. He was clad in the darkest shade of blue combat apparel that Hanabi didn’t see before.

"Ow!" she yelped as she covered her forehead with both of her hands. She narrowed her sight at him yet it did not affect the boy.

Hanabi was about to fight back but she stopped when she realized that the guy was taller than her. She did mind their height difference, the boy was one foot taller than her-making her think that he was some sort of a gigantic entity-and it pissed her off.

She felt like she was being looked down upon and it was infuriating. At a young age, her pride of being undefeated back at the Scarlet village made her want to stay on top and be looked up to, not the other way around.

"Don't be arrogant, girl," the boy stated  before walking away as if he felt no interest in the small fight that Hanabi wanted to start. "The name's Hanzo, come fight me if you're strong enough."

Hanabi stuck out her tongue before going back to where her father was, only to be scolded for wandering without saying anything.

"Hayabusa, Kagura and Hanzo, I will defeat you all when I finish my training," Hanabi thought as the images of the three circles around her mind.

The next day, Hanabi and her father was scheduled to go back to their village. Their business had been settled so they no longer had anything to do in that place. Besides, the dark-haired girl wanted to go home right away to continue her training and become someone better, even the best ninja one could ever meet and recognize.

After having her breakfast, Hanabi went to the small patio of the house and looked out at the whole village. She felt at peace as the sun kissed her and the wind caressed her skin and had her black hair flowing behind. It was always her ritual to relax both her mind and body before another day starts, in that way, she would be more than prepared to take on every challenge that life was to give her.

But her mood changed when she suddenly spotted Hayabusa and Kagura playing near the pond. She could barely hear the thin voice of the white-haired mage as she laughed with Hayabusa. Kagura saw her as well but she simply rolled her eyes out of irritation. Hanabi did the same and raised her middle finger at her while making a funny face. She was rude and a pain in the ass but she covers them up whenever she faces her family that has high expectations of her. That made Hanabi a complete brat.

After some time, her father called her out to prepare for their departure. Hanabi obediently obliged and ran to her assigned room. She grabbed her baggage and ran out of the hallway, challenging herself to be faster and swifter like the wind.

"Passing through!" she yelled as she met the two other kids who just entered in the main house. She passed by between them at a fast pace, making Kagura almost fall behind only if Hayabusa did not hold her hand.

"Suckers!" Hanabi blurted out before taking her exit. Outside, she saw her father waiting for her. She smiled happily before going inside the carriage.

It takes one day of travel to reach the Scarlet Sect village by carriage. Hanabi sang songs that her mother had taught her as they passed through the rough and bumpy road. She was trying to entertain her father whom she never saw a smile on his face when they entered the Shadow sect. Though she did not know the reason why, it didn’t stop her from trying to cheer him up. And having someone beside her with a sour mood also made her feel bad.

"You got the lyrics wrong," her father commented, feeling entertained by her daughter's sudden outburst of excitement.  A small smile curved at the edge of his lips, making his daughter glad that her plan worked.

Hanabi pouted and crossed her arms but then, she immediately lit up and suggested that they should sing it together. Her father laughed at her suggestion but they did sing together until Hanabi got tired and had fallen asleep. That peaceful night, Hanabi suddenly awoke upon hearing loud noises. She rubbed her eyes to clear up her vision and to fully awaken but what she saw shocked her speechless.

Even though the light illuminated by the moon wasn't that bright, Hanabi could still recognize her father. He was lying down on the ground covered with a pool scarlet blood. Was that his blood? That was the question that popped inside her mind. The top of their carriage was gone and the horseman with them was clearly dead, his throat was slit and some blood was still oozing out from his wound.

She looked up across the tree, and saw a guy holding a sword. She could see blood dripping down from it, and for sure, he was the culprit and no one else. She couldn't move at all, her arms were shaking and a cold chill came running down her spine as their gaze met.

There was some dark aura looming around him and there was no doubt that he seemed to be thirsty for more blood. She wanted to scream for help but she couldn't find her voice and it felt like there was a lump in her throat. With the shadows almost covering half of his face, Hanabi could not see who he was. After some time, the guy disappeared without any trace.

Hanabi forced herself to move, she wriggled her fingers as tears fell down her cheeks. A few seconds later,  a sob escaped from her mouth which triggered her body to fully react and function. Her energy came rushing back and she jumped off from the carriage and sat down beside her dead father.

"Father!" she screamed at the top of her voice. "Please, help us!"

She wrapped her hand on her father's wound to stop the bleeding even though she knew that his breathing had already stopped. She was hoping, she was pleading that her father would somehow still live. In between her sobs, she kept chanting that her father should not leave her alone.

End of flashback…

"Hanabi."

She halted from striking another straw dummy upon hearing her grandmother's voice. "Breakfast is served. Go wash up before going to the dinner hall."

"I will be there," she simply replied before wiping off her sweat dripping down her chin. But before ending her morning training, she tightened her grip on her kunai and plunged it right on the chest of the dummy, thinking that it was the murderer who took her father’s life.

She wasn't yet satisfied that she retrieved it and slashed its neck with all her strength, almost beheading it.

“I will find you.”

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