Chapter 21

Before the sun had risen in Magical City, the Shadow Trio of the Shadow faction has arrived in the city after successfully handling Natalia and bringing her in their village. And to do their part in the pact they made with Princess Odette, they shall offer their help in the incoming trouble that decides the future of Land of Dawn, Magical City, and even the Moniyan Empire. 

"Would the princess appreciate our help? Only the three of us came here," Kagura worriedly says while they are having their rest in the lobby of the rent house. Their chief village had refused to have another ninja be deployed, he demanded that the three of them are enough help especially that they are the best among all.

Both Hanzo and Hayabusa did not respond to her for they both have their minds somewhere else. Kagura sees Hayabusa's worry in his eyes for the excitement she usually sees in them has vanished and it pains her to see him like that. She originally thought that things are already working out between them but it is just one of her false hopes. 

The wind chime rings as the door opens up. They all turned their attention on a man dressed in a purple coat trimmed with white fur on the edges, his presence somehow turned the atmosphere heavy. Hanzo raises his brow as the man approaches him and hands a letter with the golden seal of the Swan Castle. 

"The princess is formally inviting you in the Swan Castle," the man said before taking his leave. Both Hayabusa and Kagura approach their leader as he opens the letter. The sweet whiff of the letter lingers around them as they read the handwritten letter of the princess herself.

"Why does she have to be so formal when she can just come and ask us?" Hanzo says as he stands, he handed the letter to Hayabusa before heading to the exit.

Kagura immediately grabs his arm and forces him to stop on his tracks. Hanzo clicks his tongue as he glares at her but this did not stop her from confronting him. 

"Where are you going? Don't do anything reckless, remember that you are still the leader of this mission we have accepted from the Swan Princess," she reminds him and she is hoping that her words would somehow reach him.

From his actions, Kagura could feel that he's up to something and he plans on doing it himself without telling them. He has done it many times already especially when it involves Hanabi. Even though he is not vocal about his feelings, she could see how much he is worried about her. Ever since Hanabi's disappearance, he pretended to be his usual self but still, there are hints of uneasiness he leaves behind.

"No need to lecture me about such things," he replies as he slaps his hand away. He pulls the door open and leaves without saying anything else. 

Upon taking his exit, he vanishes in midair to make sure that the two would not be able to follow him. He only wants to have some fresh air and a short break from all the responsibilities he is shouldering. He has always chosen to do things that would benefit the majority and now that he starts to feel a bit empty, he is having the feeling of regret.

He decides to go to the nearest cliff where he could somehow overlook the beauty of the wild. Upon finding the perfect spot, he settles underneath the shade of a rather large tree. From his position, he could see the large mountains domineering over the city and the thick forest somehow reminded him of their home, Iga town.

His scarlet hair flows with the wind that blows swiftly. Somehow he feels at peace and he finally could get himself together. He has to bring his old self back wherein no one could be able to penetrate through the walls he had built around himself. Missions first before anything else, that is what he had always told himself. 

Just then, he hears light footsteps from behind. He slowly reaches his sword from his back and stands on both feet. The footsteps suddenly vanish which confirmed that someone has followed him. He is about to jump up the tree branch to get a better view of the vicinity but someone appears from above.

Their swords clash and a strong force spread out from the impact of their swords that screeched against each other. The familiar face of his attacker reminds him of what had happened during their first mission with Hanabi. He grits his teeth in anger as he remembers how he outsmarted them before and managed to escape from their grasp. Hanzo tightens his grip on his sword and swings it upwards, wanting Kenshin to be cut in half. 

"You've become better than last time," Kenshin smirks at him as he takes his chance to attack him with his katana. With his good reflexes, Hanzo blocks it with his Ame no Habakiri that has a mind of its own and could feel the approaching danger.

"And yours became weaker," he responds to him and raises his sword whose mouth opened which startles Kenshin for he has never expected that a sword like that exists. He falls on his knees as his energy is slowly being devoured but still, he uses his sword to support him and would not be under the mercy of the Akuma ninja. The Ame no Habakiri continues to drain his energy, giving Hanzo the chance to finally end his enemy's life.

He is raises his sword and about to behead him with just one swing of his weapon but before it could touch Kenshin, a masked woman with dark hair appears before him and at a fast speed, she almost cuts his throat if only he did not step back.

Hanzo jumps back and as his feet touch the ground, Hayabusa and Kagura appear behind him with their weapons drawn out. 

"Fighting alone is never an option," Hayabusa tells their leader who has never expected their appearance at such a convenient time. He has his blades and shurikens ready while Kagura is up and ready to summon the demons from her umbrella.

Kenshin gets his strength back after losing contact with the Ame no Habakiri. He stands beside Hanabi whose spider-limbs are appearing one after another. The Shadow Trio had the same thought, hoping that the woman in front of them as their enemy is not the woman who had disappeared on them without any trace.

But Kenshin could feel their doubts about Hanabi so to make their minds come into conclusion, he purposely removes Hanabi's mask which the woman did not respond to. He caresses her cheek and moves her bangs to the side so her face could be seen clearly.

"Doesn't she look glamorous?" He asks with a smirk curved on his lips as he turns his gaze to the three who had mistreated Hanabi before. At a loss of words, no one dares to speak as confusion clouds their minds and overflowing questions run over them.

"We should get back, it is best not to make the others worry," Hanabi says, ignoring the presence of the three ninjas she had forgotten. Kenshin shakes his head in disagreement for he wants to tease Hanzo a bit more.

"The fun is just getting started," he smirked as his hand ran down  her shoulder blade until their hands intertwine. "Don't you recognize them?"

Hanabi's gaze turned from Kenshin to the three ninjas. Her bare face being shined down upon by the moonlight. Her scarlet eyes fixed on them but their faces are nothing but that of strangers.

"Look at that man with the red hair, can't you at least remember a bit about him?" Kenshin added, his gaze met with Hanzo's piercing stare but he couldn't care less about it.

He has Hanabi now and no matter what is said to her, she will never remember the memories that had already been buried.

"Are they significant that I must recognize them?" Hanabi asked, loud enough for the trio to hear her.

Hanzo could hide his reaction with his mask but the anger Kenshin felt from him during their sword fight tells it all. He felt his anger and now that Hanabi shows no reaction upon seeing him, Hanzo now reeks of jealousy and confusion.

Hanabi grabs Keshin's arm but before they could take a step away from their original position, Kagura releases her umbrella and hundreds of demons emerge from it.

"You cannot escape!" she claimed and the other two also lunged for an attack.

Instead of facing the demons and the three head-on, Hanabi vanishes from sight and shows herself in front of her attacker with her Higanbana just a millimeter away from Kagura's eyes. The mage is stunned for she had not foreseen such direct attack from her.

Hanzo takes Kagura's place and before he could swing his sword, Hanabi vanishes once again and with just a blink of an eye, she appears beside Kenshin and disappears without any trace.

"W-was that Hanabi?" Kagura stutters, still frozen in place as the image of Hanabi seriously wanting to end her life flashes in her mind repeatedly. She gulps and for the very first time, her knees wobble as her heart beats faster than normal. The overwhelming power she felt from Hanabi still lingers around her that she cannot shake off the feeling of fear.

No one spoke after that incident, Hayabusa carried Kagura on his back as they head to their rent house. Each of them tries to rationalize what just happened back at the cliff, trying to figure out how Hanabi turned into something unimaginable. 

"What happened to you?" Hanzo asked in his mind as the cold wind brushes against him and his gaze focused on the countless starts above.

Back at the laboratory, Kenshin and Gusion are having a wordless fight with their eyes doing the fight. 

"How could you carelessly bring Nephila at a dangerous place? And of all the people you met, why does it have to be the ones who know her? Someone like you should just be kicked out from this place," Gusion blatantly tells what he has in mind but Kenshin did not feel offended by it.

"I am the son of the CEO who makes this laboratory working for years. And Nephila recognizes me despite having amnesia, ain't that enough for me stay here and help her get used to the new her?" Kenshin defends his side but such is an unreasonable argument for the leader of the VENOM squad.

Their fight goes on but the others ignore them for they know too well that they are fighting against each other on who has a higher pride. It's what men usually do anyway. 

"You're doing better now, Nephila. Do not do something careless for now since you're still recovering from your brain damage," Dr. Baker reminds the spearhead who immediately nods in response.

While the others are minding their business, Harley could not help but stare daggers at Gusion who acts like he cares a lot about Nephila, when in fact he is just showing off his playboy side. He rolls his eyes and pretends to puke as he remembers that Guinevere likes him from head to toe and he cringes even more as he imagines his sister falling in love with a man like him. 

"You have epilepsy?" Angela asks seriously which made the mage glare at her. She might be a mechanical doll but he cannot decipher if she's being serious or simply has a bad sense of humor.

The atmosphere in the laboratory feels lighter with the presence of the warriors but as the time ticks, the final battle is now coming closer to their doors. Whatever the outcome of the war, only one person can see a glimpse of the future of the three great cities.

"The night sky tells it all," Esmeralda whispers to herself as she stares at the starry night. "Conquer with no fidelity, triumph through perfidy, the land shall be guarded but a vixen shall paint it red."

With a smile on her face, she closes her eyes and feels the cold breeze brush over her bare skin.

"I wonder how things would unfold."

While she is indulging the wonderful sight of the night, the great leaders have gathered in the Paxley courtroom.

"I ask of you to explain this matter right into the details, Paxley," Princess Silvanna stated, her hands formed into fists as she tried her best to suppress her anger at the head mage.

"It has been a tradition to keep the prophecy from outsiders but I shall make some considerations at this situation for we are in a grave danger," the head Paxley commented, his gaze transferring from one leader to another.

"Do make it brief yet precise, head mage. There are quite a lot of matters that we have to speak of," Princess Odette stated with her calmest voice.

Minsitthar was quiet for if he did speak, he would have a blasting argument against the old Paxley.

"The fourth rebel shall rise,

The greatest land shall meet its demise,

Few shall fight,

For victory to take flight,

Conquer with no fidelity,

Triumph through perfidy,

The land shall be guarded but

A vixen shall paint it red."

As Mr. Paxley annunciates the whole prophecy, golden letters are materializing in midair and the prophecy that are being spoken of are written.

The leaders read each and every word, confusion slowly dawning in them. Silence covered the courtroom as they try to comprehend what it is supposed to mean.

This time, Paxley stood up again to share what he has in mind.

"The fourth rebel shall rise. I admit my mistake to overlook the possibility that Gusion is the possible person being referred here," he first stated but before he could speak any other word, Minsitthar interjects.

"Where is Gusion as of the moment?" he asked which made Princess Odette wonder for it is only that moment that she realized that Gusion has never been in sight and out of contact.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question," Mr. Paxley replied, his head hanging low for shamefulness starts to devour his entirety.

"Or rather, you do not know his whereabout," Princess Odette commented.