Mobile Legends Anthology

The Last Scarlet 6

"This is too heartbreaking," Haruko said with a devious smile, "for someone not to recognize his brother."

Recalling the times Hanabi mentioned of a twin she saw, it finally dawned in Hanzo that her words were true. But as far as he knew, he's got no brother or twin. He immediately stood before Hanabi before the newcomer would hurt her. It shouldn't be the time thinking about this sort of thing but protecting Hanabi was the most troublesome mission he had ever received. Not only was he dealing with a crazy Scarlet woman but an unexpected twin suddenly popped out of nowhere and caused confusion.

"Don't worry, Hanzo, I won't fight especially that you are not in a good shape. It would be boring to fight you when you are this weak," Haruko stated. And with his gaze shifted to Hanabi, he added, "I should thank you for making our meeting possible. Do take good care of Hanzo until the next time we meet again."

He turned his back on them while waving goodbye. He seemed harmless at that time but for sure, he was a dangerous man. Hanzo was still in a daze, trying to process what just happened right before him. And when he turned his gaze towards Hanabi, he asked,

"What's with those blank eyes?"

"After seeing that, I dare you to call me crazy again," she said, holding a grudge against him for taking her lightly before.

"You're crazy," he responded which earned him a whack on the head. Either way, it still did not change the fact that their journey to Kyoto became more dangerous now that another opponent appeared and in addition to that, Haruko seemed to be knowledgeable about their movements. Seeing the problematic face of the ninja, Hanabi looked down with a heavy heart.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess," she whispered but still audible to the assassin. Hanzo did not know how to respond so he simply looked at the raindrops by the entrance of the cave.

"This is all pointless, you can just kill me here and now so you could go back," she added which made Hanzo walk towards her and sat across her. When the Scarlet ninja lifted her head, she got to receive a flick on the forehead.

"Ow! Your aggressiveness is too direct! Give me some time to at least prepare myself!" she retorted.

"You're one hell of a crazy woman telling me you'll live one way or another but suddenly offers the chance to kill you now, are the screws on your head became all loose that your brain is failing?"

His remark offended Hanabi but she did not talk back because he was right. She, herself, was confused because of the series of misfortunes she was facing. And what else can she do? She could only rely on Hanzo for protection but what if he, too, will be dragged in more dangerous situations after this mission? She'd feel responsible about it. Staring at him, Hanzo felt uncomfortable that he held the top of her head and forced her to look at the entrance of the cave instead.

"Anyways, until I take you to Kyoto, you shall be under my protection. And it seems that you're doing just fine, shall we go back on our way?" he asked and upon seeing the teary eyes of Hanabi, he was taken aback.

"Should I call you my guardian angel?" she asked out of nowhere with her eyes filled with sparkling stars. And of course, his reply was a flat out, big no. Who in their right minds would want to be called that anyway?

With the rain finally subsided, the two wandered to search for the right way before they would be totally lost.

"So, what do you plan in dealing with Haruko?" Hanabi asked. There was a bit of long pause before the assassin responded.

"Dunno, really," he simply replied, "he seems to be looking for trouble but I don't. And if ever it comes to the point that he and I will fight sooner or later, you might want to prepare your coffin beforehand."

Instead of biting on his bait of teasing, Hanabi smirked and recalled the words of Hanzo before. She walked ahead and turned to face him as she walked backwards.

"Stop talking about death, I don't want to go to the other side of the world yet," she said while imitating his voice which was not really a pleasing act for the assassin. "You said those words like a caring husband and now you're telling me to go make my coffin and die? Hanzo, please be more consistent and don't confuse me."

Seeing her sudden rise of energy made Hanzo think that she really did recover fast since she had the guts to tease him. Retaliating too much would only drain his energy so he wanted to shut her up with just one statement.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who wanted to die just a moment ago so zip that mouth," he stated.

The fatigue that built up within the hours of wandering was washed away when the two of them finally stumbled upon a small village. The first thing they had done was look for an inn that they could comfortably spend the night in.

"Two rooms please," Hanabi said to the caretaker who was sitting behind the desk. Her silver and black hair contrasted the young look on her face so she cannot tell if she was an elderly or a youngster or someone in between.

The caretaker got the four gold coins given by the Scarlet ninja and handed her one key.

"I apologize but there is only one room available. Enjoy your stay, dear customer," she simply stated which shocked Hanabi. They had already asked around the village but the only inn in that place was this one and to think that there was only one room left, she just could not shrug it off easily.