Lovestruck (Hanabi x Hayabusa)

Chapter 1

--Prologue--

Hanabi watched as sunlight dappled the training grounds. She knew, even though she still refused to accept it, that it has been almost ten years since The Betrayal of The Former Shadow of Iga, otherwise known as Hanzo. She knew that betrayal was one of the most unforgivable deeds that a ninja from the Order can ever do. She had been the only one from the Scarlet Sect that was selected by the leaders because of her natural talent for Ninjutsu.  She had been told by the Chiyo Sensei that it needed to be kept secret. Hanabi hated lying, but she knew her Sensei had a good reason to ask her of that. She had participated in many sparrings to test her skill and the skill of others.

The final competition to see who would lead her Clan was near, and there was no denying it. Hanabi had trained hard to meet her Grandfather's expectations. Her Grandfather, called Gwyndor, was one of the joint leaders of the the Order, so he had little to no time for her. Her only family was her Grandfather and her mother. The rest being a few of the elite ninjas that Hanzo had mercilessly slaughtered.

All that Hanabi had left of her father was the shuriken choker he and her mother had given her on one birthday or another. She wore it at great risk of her own, instead of wearing neck armor to protect her neck, she wore the choker. Exposing her neck to her enemies. But she didn't care. She simply didn't. Whenever she took it off, it felt as if she was no longer watched by her father.

The shuriken itself is a real one with carvings of a lost runic language that Hanabi was studying hard to learn in her free time. It took her mind off of all the worries she had about the competition.

She also wore an Eyepatch shaped like a Red Spider Lilly. From an outsiders' point of view, it seemed like that there was nothing to keep it from falling. But it was actually stayed on because of a very thin piece of string that was literally unbreakable.

Hanabi sighed as she remembered when she had started training to kill Hanzo at the age of five, she was so determined to be the best ninja the Clan has ever seen. She had dominated anyone who fought against her. Until one day, she met a boy from the Shadow Sect at one sparring, that could hold his own against her.

His name was Hayabusa.

--Flashback--

Hanabi had just finished tying her hair up when her Sensei taped her lightly on her shoulder. "It's time for the qualifiers," the Chiyo Sensei whispered to her. "Good luck. I know you'll do great." Hanabi's warmed at her praise and bowed her head towards her "Thank you, Sensei. But even if I won, it is because of your guidance and wisdom." "Nonsense," her Sensei murmured softly, pride in her eyes. "Good luck, Hanabi." She said with a small smile on her lips. "I'll do my best." Hanabi promised. And they separated from each other.

Hanabi waited to be paired with a sparring partner. The Announcer paired up the rest of her Sect, and when he said "Hanabi, with-" Hanabi's heart lurched, who was she going to get? "-Hayabusa" Murmurs from everyone watching. Hanabi and Hayabusa locked gazes, the dark green meeting the brown, and Hanabi pulled her gaze away. ~it looks as if he is older than me by a couple of years~ Hanabi thought. The Announcer started to tell them the instructions "You guys will have 30 minutes to do whatever with your sparring partner. You will be fighting them last, but you may not, if you get eliminated. For the Scarlet Sect, there will be no such thing as 'being hit twice means your out, being knocked down on your back, and you will be counted as dead', understand?" The Announcer paused, and the students from the Scarlet Sect either nodded or murmured agreement. The Announcer countinued on "If you get pinned down for five seconds, you are eliminated. Now is the time to practice with your sparring partner." Hanabi weaved through the crowd towards Hayabusa. She saw him see her, then turned towards one of the more isolated areas, as if he were the leader already. "So this is how it's going to be, huh?" She muttered to herself. But followed him anyway.