Lovestruck (Hanabi x Hayabusa)

Chapter 3

Hanabi, after a bit of a struggle, had managed to pin down Edme for 5 seconds, thus, winning. Now, she was faced up against Hayabusa. ~Great, just great,~She thought, knowing that once again, it would come out as a tie.

--After the fight between Hanabi and Hayabusa--

Hanabi bowed to Hayabusa, her rival, once again. It has came out as a tie, just as she had predicted. She sighed, and turned away to go back to where the Scarlet Sect were standing or sitting. She thought about the friendly tournament, and wondered why it even took place. Then it came back to her. It was to decide who was going to go on a mission, to take out The Shadow Betrayer. She sighed again, and stood up to look for Hayabusa. She needed a grip to sanity right now. But hadn't she been training to kill Hanzo her whole entire life? Well, almost. But honestly, weirdly, Hanabi, who is a Ninja, prefers not to kill. She only kills when necessary, and she did know that it was necessary to kill The Shadow Betrayer, to set her Clan's mind at peace. As long as that cursed human being was alive, he would haunt her fellow Clanmates. And Hanabi would do anything to try her best to prevent it. She saw Hayabusa, but he was with.. another person. She looked closer, curious. She recognized this person as Kagura. She climbed up a tree silently, with the leaves and branches giving her cover. She overheard the conversation.

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"Why can't you stayyyy?" The girl whined. Hayabusa looked uncomfortable. "I have to meet Someone."
"Come onnnnn! That 'Someone' can't be as important as me, riiightt?" Hayabusa blinked. His face was a mask, so trying to figure out his emotions were practically useless. But Hanabi was an exception. She knew her friend, rival, whatever you call him, too well for him to hide his emotions from her. She read his face. It looked as if he was uncomfortable, and a bit guilty. His dark brown eyes flickered. "Yeah, you're right. It's not important. I'll stay, Kagura."

Hanabi felt slightly pained. She could only think of one word to summarize her situation, right now. "Why?" "Why is he doing this?" She thought that she actually meant something to him. She was clearly wrong. ~Just a rival.~Would it be like that forever? A one-sided love? The thought pierced her heart. She was so used to this feeling, but wasn't at the same time. She ran to the Sakura Tree, where they would meet and spar. She looked up at the rising full moon, and the setting sun. She waited. And waited. No sign of him. Absolutely no sign at all. The moon was high up in the sky. She sighed, and got up and was about to leave, when she heard a rustle towards her right. Hayabusa was there, his mask on, guilt in his eyes. She touched behind her ear, making sure that her mask was on. She needed to control her emotions.

"What do you want, Hayabusa?" Came her voice, colder than she meant it to be. Hayabusa casted his eyes down. "So we have nothing to say to each other." She gave him a curt nod, walked past him, and left. Why does he hurt her so much? He softened her heart, making it vulnerable. Then hurt it. She sobbed quietly. Why? Why? And then Hanabi stopped, and looked up.

She saw the one person that she had decided that she never wanted to see again. She drew in breath to make a remark that would sting, but was cut off by him. "So you know?" He asked casually. Like he didn't even care. Not about her, not about anything, just his new girlfriend, Kagura. Hanabi looked up, "So that's how it's gonna be?" Hanabi said, her voice low. Hayabusa was speechless. He looked even more guilty, even with that mask on. "You obviously think I'm worth nothing." She drew in another breath to say more, but decided against it. It was too painful to handle. Her tears were threatening to fall. She needed to get away from this place. From him. "Hanabi, I'm sorry, I really am. I promise I wo-" Hanabi flinched away from him. "Please.. just leave me alone for now." She said, with no emotion in her voice or face. She walked away quickly.

So, as the days passed, Hayabusa has been visiting Kagura more often, and he and Hanabi had grown more apart than ever. One day, it was announced that it would be another 6-12 months (for some reason) maybe even more than that, before he and Hanabi would be able to go on their mission to kill The Shadow Betrayer. They are allowed to work together, but the person who kills him first will be the Leader of the Order. One day, Hayabusa saw Hanabi walking down the Pathway, her head down, her normally bright, Emerald-Green eyes (or eye, with that eyepatch) dull, and her hands in her pockets. She was wearing a black sweater with a hood and black tights. Her hair was still tied up with that Scarlet red ribbon. She looked.. sad. Very sad. He decided to approach her silently. Apparently not silent enough. She looked behind her and saw Hayabusa. "We have nothing to say to each other, Haya.." Her voice broke off. "..Hayabusa." "Leave me alone.. please.." Hayabusa was was hurt. But he would never show it. He wanted to, but he couldn't. This was one of the downsides of being able to control his emotions so well. He saw his vision blurring with tears. ~Why am I about to cry?!~ He thought. Hanabi turned around, and started walking again. But was stopped by Hayabusa. She turned around and looked at him warily. "Yes..?" She murmured. Hayabusa hugged her tightly. He felt Hanabi crying into his shoulder, and he stroked her hair gently. "I'm sorry that I've been acting like this.." She whispered. Hayabusa smiled bitterly. "It's okay.. Sorry for making you think that me and Kagura.." His voiced trailed off. Hanabi responded quietly, but her voice was drowned out by someone else's voice saying "Hayaaaaaa! Are you coming or not? I've been waiting for so long!" "Forgive me." He said, gently pushing himself away from her. The only reason he went was.. well, he thought Kagura was cute. But he felt like he.. was betraying Hanabi. Which, he was. He stifled a sigh, and followed Kagura, feeling Hanabi's gaze following him.

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Hanabi always visited The Sakura Tree at the full moon, in hopes of seeing Hayabusa. But he wasn't there. He never was. Then, Hayabusa appeared in front of her. She turned away from him. Hayabusa just stared at Hanabi's back. She wasn't like her normal self, at all. He had contacted Esme, to see if she could get anything out of her. Turns out, she couldn't. "Hanabi." He whispered. Hanabi flinched. "What do you want?" She asked quietly. Then said, "I don't want anything to do with you anymore." Hayabusa immediately felt guilty. So guilty that he thought his heart would burst. He decided to try to lighten the mood. He opened his mouth to speak. "So.. do you know when we will be allowed to go kill him?" Silence answered him.

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He knew that his heart laid with Hanabi. He had to revive their friendship and friendly rivalry at all costs. And he meant it. When he set his heart to a goal, he never failed. And he won't. He could fail with any other thing, but not this. He swore an oath. He gazed at the far away mountains. "I promise, Hanabi. And this is a promise I won't be breaking. Ever. I promise you that."

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A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the story! Don't worry, Hayabi isn't dying. They're just having conflicts. The story isn't finished yet! :")