Mobile Legends Anthology

The Last Scarlet (Hanzo|Hanabi)

(Part 1)

Gathered at the assembly hall, two teams with three members each were given a single mission to be done as fast as possible.

"The team that would bring Hanabi in front of me shall be granted a promotion and be given 10 pieces of diamonds each," the notorious leader of the Shadow faction stated. The Scarlet faction had never taken his side in terms of wars and conquering other lands so he sent his men to burn their village and kill every ninja in that faction.

But one last Scarlet was left, Hanabi. She was the wielder of the Scarlet heirloom called Higanbana that possessed demonic power. Such fact was a threat to the Shadow faction so they were doing anything in their power to eliminate every single Scarlet.

The first team compromised of Nobunaga, Daichi and Hanzo—the assassin that holds the demonic sword called the Ame no Habakiri.

The second team was Hayabusa, Kagura and Haruka.

The two teams departed from their village as soon as they left the assembly hall. Hayabusa's team went ahead while Hanzo paid his two colleagues and dismissed them immediately. He had a more important mission to complete rather than waste his time searching for a defenseless woman.

Just a few miles away from the village of the Scarlet faction lies the town of Mizuyama—the destination of Hanzo. Before the sun rose on the east, he was on the front door of the Saber Guild, a guild compromised of assassins just like himself.

"You came quite early," Vlad stated upon seeing him sitting by the counter. "The person who personally hired you will be here in an hour."

"What's his offer, Vlad, that you made me ditch my mission given by that coward village head?" Hanzo asked after removing the mask that covered half of his face.

"Well, you know that I am looking for a land to build the official building for the guild," Vlad responded with a smile. He put down the glass that he was wiping and leaned closer to the assassin. "She gave me her land in exchange of your service. And I find it agreeable since she asked for the highest paid assassin in our guild."

Hanzo was about to take a sip from the booze that the leader of their guild had given, but he suddenly stopped and looked at him with a creased forehead, "She?"

Just then, the door creaked open and the two shifted their attention on the person walking towards them. She was wearing a black and hooded cloak.

"You're here," Vlad greeted, "do sit here."

Hanzo could not make out her face but just by looking at her height, he suspected that it would be someone he saw and probably knew of. She sat just next to him and when Vlad offered her a cup of water, she removed her hood.

"You've got to be kidding me, Vlad," Hanzo complained upon seeing the face of their client—it was the last Scarlet that their village head was looking for.

Without looking at his direction, Hanabi clutched the cup between her shivering hands and said, "The land is yours to take, but I am only asking for one thing–"

The guild master turned to Hanabi with a smile plastered on his lips and said, "Your safety, yes, I assure you that." He turned his gaze to Hanzo and smirked, "Hanzo will take good care of you."

"How can you be so sure?" Hanabi doubted, her glare directed at the assassin, "He is from the Shadow faction and he might be the one to end my life."

"Worry not," Vlad said with confidence, "Hanzo's master is me, not the Shadow faction's leader."

Vlad left the two alone so they could agree on some terms about the request of the client.

"Until I made it to Kyoto, you shall protect me from harm. That is all I ask for," Hanabi said, "I know that your faction is after my life but I am putting my trust in you."

Still unable to comprehend what was happening, Hanzo jested, "What would you do if I failed to do so?"

Though it was meant to be a joke, he noticed the fear in her eyes. She looked away and drank the water in one gulp. It was a bit unexpected.

"It is something inevitable, then," she said in a whisper. She stood up and stepped closer which made Hanzo lean away because it was making him uncomfortable. Before he could even speak, Hanabi held him by the collar and stared at him with a glare.

"But I'll make sure that you'll lose your life as well," she said with gritted teeth.

Her words were absurd that he scoffed at her in return. She let go of him and grabbed his hand instead but when he saw her with a kunai on her other hand, he snatched it away from her. But she intentionally slid her palm on its tip and her scarlet blood oozed out.  Still holding Hanzo's hand, she chanted a few words that the assassin could not understand before clenching her hand on top of his, dropping a few drops of blood.

Hanzo suddenly felt his flesh burning that he pushed her away before she could do anything.

"Are you insane?!" he shouted at her but Hanabi did not give much attention to it. What mattered to her more was that she got to seal his life.

"That is a mark that I now hold your life," she stated, "I die, you die."

He would not believe such insolence but seeing the back of his hand that looked like being tattooed on its own, he started to believe her words. The mark that he thought was simply drops of blood from the Scarlet became a black figure of two vipers in an infinite form.

"But in exchange, your strength will be enhanced in battle," she added, "believe it or not, that is up to you."

Hanzo did hear rumors about the bond that only the Scarlets could do. Could it be this? Or was he just being manipulated?

Her hand outstretched, Hanabi said, "Let me see it."

Hanabi stepped forward once again and looked at the mark. She, then, examined him as if looking for certain symptoms. She folded his sleeves, checked his neck and even his face.

"You're creeping me, woman," he hissed but Hanabi did not faze.

"I am just checking if you're okay. There are times that after being marked, one can convulse to death or even die of heart attack. Don't worry, it won't happen without showing any symptoms," she replied.

She suddenly creased her forehead and it alarmed Hanzo.

"What is it?"

Hanabi replied, "Sit for a while, let me have a good look at your neck. There is something–"

Cutting her off, Hanzo held her wrist and warned her, "Don't joke around me or you'll die before you could even step away from this place."

He sat to be of the same level as her, letting her check and confirm whatever she saw. Setting everything in place, Hanabi waited for Hanzo to let his guard down.

The door opened, making Hanzo shift his attention and saw Vlad entering with the other assassins in their guild. Hanabi, then, grabbed his collar and forced a kiss on him.

It was a huge blow of shock to him that he froze in place. He even tasted a bit of metallic blood from her and after a few seconds, Hanabi leaned away. She did not say anything but she looked at the back of his hand and saw that the black vipers turned into bloody red in color—creating their bond was a success.

She put on her hood and walked towards the door, "Let's get going."

"That was hot," Vlad commented, teasing Hanzo but only received a deadly glare from him.

"I'm going to kill you after this," he hissed before putting on his mask and followed the last remaining person of the Scarlet faction.