CHAPTER 1: THE PALE MOON

Hanabi's knees fell to the ground, surrendering to the fatigue. Trying to catch her breath, she looked around warily to see if she's being followed— the cold breeze brushed through her skin as the sakura danced in its lead. She might've lost them by the riverbed hours ago.

Suddenly, she felt a small sting on her fingertips. She raised up the Higanbana with her aching hand, and let the moonlight kiss its deadly beauty. 'It really is surprisingly magnificent', she thought to herself.

Hanabi was already in a trance, staring at the weapon she had just stolen from her sect— her own family— when a shadow suddenly blocked the beauty of the moonlight she indulged herself in. She looked up, ready to engage in battle should it be necessary, when the angelic lady with deep purple eyes before her, spoke.

"You shouldn't have done that, Hanabi." said the girl, staring at the Higanbana. Something tells Hanabi the girl knows that she stole it. "Now you've put your life in danger"

With a tired voice, the ninja replied. "What was I supposed to do then?! Wait and do nothing while my rival and that pesky little onmyoji take all the glory—or worse, get killed?! No!! I'm Hanabi! A proud ninja born to take the name of Scarlet and lead my sect! I can't simply stand by when I know an Akuma is lurking somewhere out there!"

The girl seemed to be taken aback by the desperation in Hanabi's voice. Looking deep into the fire in the scarlet's heart, she sighed and allowed her feet to touch the ground. "Alright, fine. Looks like stopping you is only futile. Where are you headed?", asked the girl.

"To the Forest of Izanami.", answered Hanabi, still keeping her guard up.

The moon illuminated the stranger's body, and the ninja could now clearly see her face. She seemed quite peculiar to Hanabi. She looked as if she was the spawn of Izanami and Izanagi themselves.

"The road you'll be taking is an arduous one, my lady. Allow me to guide you. I am Lunox, the boundary between Chaos and Order." said the girl. Hanabi was about to reject the girl's offer, but something stopped her. For a second, she thought she saw a pair of orbs— dark and light, spinning inside her head. Before she knew it, she was already traversing the path towards the Forest of Izanami with the girl named Lunox. Unbeknownst to Hanabi, the mage had just used her 'dreamland' on the Scarlet ninja to prevent her from turning down Lunox's offer.

Weeks had gone by and the two are getting closer and closer to their destination. They have fought bandits and wandering demons here and there, but no one was a match for the two of them. Lunox tried her best not to let Hanabi use the Higanbana. Most of the time, she would finish off the enemies before Hanabi could even get serious. Hanabi knows what Lunox is trying to do, but not exactly why she's trying to keep her from using the weapon she had stolen, but nonetheless destined to use in the first place as the successor of the Scarlet Sect.

When they finally reached the Forest of Izanami, Lunox acted strange. She felt dizzy and was on the verge of passing out. Hanabi tried to help but was stopped when she saw what was becoming of Lunox. The dark side of her body was starting to grow and overcome the other half. With wary eyes, Hanabi hesitated, "L-Lunox? What's wrong?"

The mage looked at her as if in deep pain. She's clearly fighting something. Something Hanabi could not see. "I-I cannot go further. The force of Chaos is too strong." Lunox looked straight into Hanabi's eyes as if reading it. At first glance, she knew. She knew that there was no stopping Hanabi from going after the Akuma ninja. Therefore, she did not bother arguing with Hanabi to stop. Even her dreamland could not fight against the ninja's determination at this point. "You must go alone, Hanabi."

"Will you be okay?" the ninja asked, worrying about her friend. Lunox nodded, as she slowly stepped back into the light, outside the forest. With one final look, Hanabi bowed to Lunox in respect and turned around to be on her way. "Promise me one thing", she heard Lunox say before she was out of earshot. Hanabi stopped in her tracks. "No matter what happens, you mustn't use the Higanbana."

Hanabi's mind lingered on the words Lunox left her as she forced her way through the bushes. A few branches grazed her skin, but she couldn't care less. What Lunox said bothered her. She couldn't understand why the mage had been desperately keeping her from using the Higanbana. It's not like she was not fit to wield the powerful weapon. She was meant to inherit it anyway, hadn't the circumstances force her to take it ahead of the succession.

As she went further into the forest, she felt chills run down her spine. An ominous sound she had never heard before was starting to approach her. She grabbed a shuriken from her sleeves and gripped it tight in caution. A flock of ravens flew away as huge footsteps got closer. The trees were shaking as the earth trembled— whatever is coming, it is definitely huge.

Hanabi's eyes widened in shock when she saw the hideous monster. 'Oni', Hanabi realized in horror. She felt her hands tremble at the site of the Oni standing before her. Cold sweat trickled down her face as she kept a tighter grip on the shuriken. "State your name, Demon!" she tried to act brave, but her shaky voice gave her away. The Oni laughed mockingly, causing the ground and the air to tremble.

"Shuten Dōji." said the Oni as he smiled viciously. This was enough to make Hanabi's knees buckle. The fact that the Oni standing before him was not an average demon, but their King, terrified her. But nonetheless, she reminded herself of who she is—the Scarlet. She thought of Hayabusa. 'I bet that bastard wouldn't even flinch if he was in my position', she reminded herself. This Oni is not who she should be worrying about right now. The longer she stalls, the more likely her rival would get to the Akuma ninja first.

At that moment, she couldn't bring herself to listen to what Lunox said. She knew very well if she didn't do whatever it takes to bring Shuten dōji down, she won't be physically able to look for the Akuma ninja anymore, and finally beat Hayabusa. In one swift motion, she threw the Higanbana at the Oni. Shuten dōji froze as his whole body was bound by the power of the Higanbana. The scarlet ninja took this opportunity to hit the oni in his fatal spots as many times as possible with shurikens latched with poison.

By the time the power of the Higanbana had worn off, the Oni's body was already full of fatal wounds, and almost fully consumed by the poison. He reached for Hanabi in one last fit of rage before falling down to his death. Hanabi winced at the pain of the wound Shuten dōji had inflicted upon her. His sharp claws wounded her left arm, rendering it almost immobile. A deep red light caught her attention as she tried to grip her aching arm. She looked at the direction the light was coming from and saw the Higanbana she had just used on Shuten dōji earlier.

It looked terrifyingly enticing. There was a deep red aura that covered its deadly blades. It was as if the weapon itself was alive. She felt a strong force pulsating from the weapon and in an instant, she was bewitched to come near it and pick it up. Hanabi herself didn't know what she was doing. It was as if her mind and soul had been bound by the weapon as it controlled her body. She felt a strong, dark force coursing through her veins. The Scarlet ninja's alluring blue eyes turned into a deadly shade of emerald. She was about to completely lose herself when a voice brought her back to reality, letting go of the Higanbana as if it burned her.

"Hanabi."

The Scarlet ninja turned towards the source of the voice. She felt a whole new kind of fear consume her. She couldn't breathe as she stared at the man's hideous state and devilish emerald eyes. She had heard descriptions of the discarded former Shadow, but seeing him in front of her now, she could only stare in horror as the pale moon rose over them.

"A-Akuma..."