Chapter 27

Shizuka is currently going around the city to cool off for she could not get over what happened between her and the one she likes. Up until now, she blushes and smiles as she remember how he appreciated her.

On the other hand, Hanabi starts to regain consciousness. She tries opening her eyes, expecting to finally see the light, but she could only see the darkness. She tried to speak but she could not do so. She only winced in pain when she tried to move her body.

"Oi, don't force yourself to move," she heard Hanzo speak. She swallowed and felt her dry throat wanting some water.

"Wa...Water," she murmured which the akuma ninja clearly heard. Hanzo helped her sit down so she could have some water. He held the cup for her until she finished.

After quenching her thirst, Hanabi managed to speak easier.

"Damn you, rhino head," she wheezed weakly.

"Rhino head?" Hanzo scoffed for he had never been called such.

"That thing on your forehead you wear with your mask, it makes you look like a human with a rhino horn," she chuckled.

" Once I get my strength back, Imma gonna kill the hell out of ya," she added.

"Do not throw any threats at me while you're still at your frail state, it makes me want to put you in a black coffin and throw you down at Izanami's lair," Hanzo responded as he hands another cup of water for her.

Hanabi drank it in one gulp. She chuckled, then starts to laugh. Hanzo was about to tease her but he saw her tears welling up. Her laughter soon turns into sobs.

Hanabi tried to keep herself together but the betrayal she felt from Shio hinders her from doing so. She covers her face as she weeps. Hanzo, being ignorant, simply stares at her for he does not know what to do. Seeing a woman cry and trying to comfort her is definitely not one of his expertise.

"Oi," he called as he touches her forehead so he could see right at her eyes. "The hell are you crying for?"

"..se...Please... Return back my eyesight," she muttered between her sobs. "I... can no longer take it... The darkness... It feels like it's devouring me. Please..."

Hanzo, at that very moment, does not want to bring her eyesight back. The more she stays fragile like this, the more he wanted to protect her. But the way she begged, he could not say no.

"Stay still," Hanzo said.

Hanabi calmed down a bit and lowered her hands. She sniffed, trying to stop her tears from falling. She wiped off her tears with her palms. She closed her eyes as if ready for a ritual. Hanzo wiped off her tears as he leans closer to her, closing the gap between them.

The scarlet ninja froze upon feeling his lips on hers, her mind went blank and her body seems to have stopped functioning. She opened her eyelids, still she could see the darkness. But she could feel how near Hanzo is. She wanted to push him away but her arms seemed frozen in place.

One...Two...Three...

Hanzo distances himself and immediately left for he could feel his face heat up. He gripped his hair as if waking himself up and tries to get back to his senses.

"What the hell did I just do?" he thought to himself as he covers his mouth with the back of his hand.

When he was all alone, Hanekage reveals himself as a black cat. His purple eyes stares at Hanzo as if teasing him for what he had done. If he could turn into a human, he'd smirking right now.

"Get lost," he growled at it.

"You feel better?" Hanekage jested as he chuckles. "You're finally a grown man. Ah, I can finally feel at ease."

Hanzo glared at the demon but it continued to tease him. "I feel like a father watching his son grow up and finally be ready to be married off."

Hanzo swiftly grabbed Hanekage by the neck and strangles it.

"Stop blabbering, demon," he warned before letting it go as it chokes.

"If only you weren't my master, I could have roasted you into a delicious meal," Hanekage managed to say.

Shizuka, who now calmed down, finally returned to the renting house and found Hanabi sitting on her bed, still dumbfounded.

"You're finally awake," she greeted as she sits on the edge. She was startled when Hanabi looked right at her eyes as if she just saw a ghost. . "What?"

Hanabi bit her lower lip and blushed like hell upon remembering what happened just a moment ago.

"Why the hell are you blushing? Did something happen while I was gone?" Shizuka asked but the scarlet ninja shook her head. She slowly laid back down, covers herself with the blanket and curled up like a child.

"Where did Hanzo go?" Shizuka asked as he opens the door leading to the living room.

"I... I don't know," Hanabi stuttered.

Shizuka decided to question Hanabi so she sat down on the floor and faced her direction.

"Hey, Hanabi," she called out. The scarlet ninja shifted her position to show that she has her attention. "What happened between you and Shio back at the Kira headquarters?"

"I thought he is still the person I once loved back then but I was wrong," she answered. "He still craves for more power."

"Oh, what a shame. I thought you two finally have a happy ending but he ruined it himself," Shizuka commented.

"Say, Shizuka," Hanabi called out.

"Yes?" she responded.

"Nothing," the ninja mused. "Never mind."

Shizuka rolled her eyes in annoyance. She, then, decided to leave to look for Hanzo.

Hanabi waited for her to leave and when she is all alone, her spider-like limbs appeared. She crawled at the ceiling and could feel too much pain around her body but she chose to ignore it. She got Shizuka's cape and made her way out.

At a nearby store, Hanabi saw a carriage that is ready to leave. She wore the cape and hurried to the back of the ride. She flinched as she positions herself carefully in order to remain unnoticed by anyone. Just then, her stomach growled in hunger.

"Why am I leaving?" she asks herself. She tries to go back to sleep but when she closed her eyes, she recalls what Hanzo did so she immediately opens them. "Damn you, rhino head!"

Shizuka, on the other hand, saw Hanzo by the roof of an unused and old house. She waves at him and signals him to come down.

"What?" Hanzo asks as he hits the ground.

"Why did you leave Hanabi by herself?" she responded. "She might escape."

"She cannot do that with her state right now," Hanzo replied. Just then,a  realization hits him. "Why did you leave Hanabi alone?"

Shizuka wanted to slap her face at that very moment for her stupidity. The two of them ran back as fast as possible.

"But she's too weak to move around," Shizuka said, trying to convince herself that her gut feeling that Hanabi left is wrong.

"But there is nothing that woman can't do," Hanzo pointed out.

Upon reaching the rent house, Shizuka immediately banged the door open on Hanabi's room and just as they expected, the scarlet ninja is not on her bed.

"We'll search the city. With her state right now, she could not have gone far," the girl remarked so they both left and spread in search for the missing scarlet ninja.

"Hanekage, search for her," Hanzo ordered as he summons the demon.

"Sure thing," Hanekage replied. "So long as you let me witness the next time you kiss her again." Hanzo glared at it before it vanished.

"Have you seen a dark-haired lady? About a foot taller than I am and is wounded?" Shizuka asks one of the crowd.

"No, haven't seen one," she replied.

Hanzo heads to the road going out of the city. He observed every carriage that passes by hoping to see the scarlet ninja for she is still not strong enough to travel alone.

He was about to leave but something caught his attention. A black cat is waving at him and beside it is a woman covered with a black cape.

"Halt!" he ordered and the farmer stopped his horse.

"What is it, young man?" the farmer asks.

"I have to retrieve this back," Hanzo replied as he carries the sleeping Hanabi.

The farmer got confused upon seeing an unexpected cargo but he continued going on his way when Hanzo gave him the go signal.

"She's got a fever," Hanekage said before he puffs back into a black smoke.

Hanzo could hear her, she's hardly breathing and her temperature had risen above the average. So, he ran her back to the rent house.

Shizuka brought some water and medicine with her.

"She's the most stubborn woman I have ever met. You deserve to be in this state so you could behave well," she complained as she wipes the scarlet ninja with warm water.

"Hanzo!" she screamed, startling the akuma ninja. "You brought her eyesight back, right? Take it back so she could never escape anymore!"

Hanzo shrugged and snapped his fingers. A black smoke floats right towards Hanabi and it eventually vanished right in front of her eyes.

"Keeping her feels like taking care of an annoying and tenacious child," Shizuka retorted. After such, she puts a cloth, dipped in warm water, on Hanabi's forehead to reduce her hot temperature.