25 Chapter 25

"Shio, what the hell are you up to?" Hanabi asks with gritted teeth for he is also a traitor of their clan.

"I want the Higanbana, Hana. If you let me have it, I wouldn't have to hurt you," Shio replied as he came closer towards the scarlet ninja until their foreheads touched.

"You won't ever lay a hand on it," Hanabi replied. "Never."

Shio smirked as he distances himself and had his hand slap Hanabi's face. The scarlet ninja winced in pain and she even tasted her own metallic blood from her lower lip.

"I could still remember the old days. The times you always come to me when you're in trouble, Hana, I would always help you. Remember the time you let me borrow the Higanbana? It was the time I realized that it should belong to me, not you," Shio recalled.

"But there is this one thing that I could only vividly remember up until now. The time your father announced that only you can have the Higanbana, I started to have hatred against your clan, especially to your family. So I decided to join Shizuka's father in his rebellion. But it was a failure so I decided to form my own organization and now look, Hana. I have been a successful leader for my organization grew so wide that even the richest men come for us. It is actually a shame that the Scarlet faction perished in my hands."

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asks in confusion.

"Don't you know? It is I who ordered the best assassins of my group to go get the Higanbana. I also predicted that they might not be able to get it easily so I gave the command to just kill everyone and burn the village into ashes. And just as I expected, only you survived, my dearest Hana," Shio replied.

"It is you who killed them and not Hanzo?" Hanabi asks with clenched fists.

"Hanzo?" Shio chuckled. "He just got involved and only your grandfather was the person he only killed and now he bears the weight of being a traitor for not just killing your father but also killing the entire clan of the Scarlet faction. Hana, come to my side and become my other half. I could give you the best life, the wealth, the fame and leadership. I could give you all that, simply hand over the Higanbana. We don't have to hurt each other, Hana."

He once again touched Hanabi, this time, he wiped off the blood on her lip.

Shio moves closer and attempted to kiss her. At this time, Hanzo released his power, untying Hanabi.

Hanabi attempted to pierce Shio with her kunai but he blocked it and hit her on the stomach. Hanabi is sent flying in midair and hits the wall hard. Rubbles fell down from where Hanabi landed.

Shio thought she is already injured but to his surprise, Hanabi is perfectly fine with her spider limbs clinging onto the wall. Her scarlet eyes could locate every assassin in that place. Despite being blind, she could sense the warm presence of her enemies.

She summoned her Higanbana and

with her hollow and shrill voice, she questioned, "Is this what you want?"

Shio smirked for the Higanbana emits more power than the last time he saw it. "Yes, Hana, hand it over like a good girl."

And with a painful and deafening shriek, Hanabi proclaimed, "Catch it, then!"

She threw her Higanbana on her right side and it cuts through each assassin it passes by. Hanabi vanished from sight and had snuck behind an assassin to another as she stabs them with her soul scroll kunai, letting them suffer a painful death with the demonic energy slowly poisoning them. Arrows rained down on her but not a single one shot right through her for her spider limbs are fast enough to repel them.

"Petal barrage," Hanabi activated her ninjutsu as she clings on the ceiling with her spider limbs and shot countless of petal blades which helped her kill more of her enemies. She starts to go down to be able to stand on both feet.

But she was caught off guard by Shio who has his katana and had cut one of her spider-like limbs. Hanabi screamed in pain as Shio smiles for her cries sound like a beautiful melody in his ears.

Just then, he heard her cries turn into a hollow and earsplitting laughter. Hanabi summons back her Higanbana which is now covered with blood. She turns behind her to face the person whom she once trusted but now a person she must end. The spider-like limb that Shio had cut is now regenerating back.

"I may be blind but I could feel your warm presence, Shio," she mused. "I feel heavy-hearted that I must end your life to avenge the whole Scarlet faction."

"Do you think you could do such? I have countless assassins with me," Shio smirked but Hanabi laughed which echoed through the hallways. Her hollow voice sent chills to Shio.

"Look around you, Shio. All I could sense is fading warmth and I could clearly smell the scent of blood. It is only you and I in this bloody hall," she snickered.

Shio did look around and he saw his colleagues, all lying on the ground and sufferring  the unbearable pain from the demonic energy that Hanabi had spread with her Higanbana, soul scroll and petal barrage.

"You said you've always wanted the Higanbana," Hanabi reiterated as she walks forward. "Here, just like before, I shall let you borrow it."

The scarlet ninja hands it over like it was just a toy that could be borrowed. Shio hesitated for he knew she would not give it to him that easily. He reached out his hand and pointed his katana towards her. Hanabi smirked and slid the Higanbana on his sword. It slides down to the hilt but Shio never took off his sight from the scarlet ninja for she might do some trick. He hesitated to touch the Higanbana but Hanabi simply raised her both arms in surrender. He slowly reached out to the Higanbana which made the scarlet ninja smirk.

"Gotcha," she purred as she waves her hand forward and the Higanbana thrusted into Shio. He held the Higanbana and forces it off from his body but Hanabi presses it forward, cutting him deeper.

"Have a taste of its demonic energy, Shio, and I am sure you shall be satisfied," she mused before summoning back her Higanbana. "The Kira organization have their weapons stained with every villager in the Scarlet village. How ironic it is that at this very moment, my Higanbana is stained with all of your filthy blood."

Shio drops on his knees as he looks up to the woman he once loved. He spits out blood and he could now feel the pain crawling from his abdomen. It felt like he is being devoured from the inside and he could not do anything to stop it. Hanabi turns her back on him and walks away for he deserves to suffer a slow yet painful death.

"So long, my first love," she muttered before Shio has been fully consumed by the demonic energy.

Before Hanabi could make her way out of their headquarters, her energy was all drained in all of a sudden that she fell down on the solid ground and could not move. Her eyesight still did not come back. She crawled but the more she moved, the more she loses her energy. Against her will, she slowly lost consciousness. She reaches out to the exit but she blacked out.

On the other hand, Hanzo finally reached the Shadow village by night. He sneaks into the office of his father, hoping Shizuka is brought there.

"Tell me, Shizuka," he hears his father's hoarse voice. "Tell me everything you know about Hanzo."

"You won't get anything from me," Shizuka blatantly replied.

"What is your relationship with him? Why are you so eager to protect him?" the chief asked as he narrows his eyes on her.

"It is only right to protect the person who once saved me," Shizuka replied.

Hayabusa who is about to enter the chief's office sensed the presence of the akuma ninja. Thus, he appeared before him and attacked him with his shurikens before lunging towards him for a close combat. Hanzo protected himself from the shurikens by using his sword as a shield.

The two of them fighting broke into the chief's office, interrupting Chief Haruno's questioning.

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"Hanzo!" Shizuka screamed out. "Behind you!"

Hanzo looks behind him and the Seimei Umbrella hits him and it is too late to evade it. His movements slowed down due to the power of Kagura's umbrella.

Hanzo shot a kunai towards Shizuka and the lady stretches her hand so the kunai cuts the rope tying her up. She stood and draws out two daggers from her back and stood behind Hanzo.

"Thank you," Shizuka said.

"Surrender," Hayabusa proclaimed, "The two of you are surrounded."