Chapter 9: Reminisent.
It has been three years since Hanzo had last seen his daughter. The shadow war he fought was indeed a long one. If Ozpin and the Shirai Ryu clan had fought this war for centuries then there's no way of telling how long was he going to fight. But, the ninja did not give up on his hope. He knew that he was fighting to make the world a safer place for his child and that is a task he would accomplish no matter the odds.
The battle against his enemies had become much easier thanks to the sheath enhancements that had served him well. The design of the sheath was simple. It was a rectangular titanium sheath that held his katana on top of his kunai. A dust container lay at each edge of the sheath, close to the katana handle. One carried gravity dust for the tanto and the other carried wind dust for the katana.
Hanzo was walking through a forest close to Patch. This is the same forest where he met Summer's team and it brought him some memories.
Flashback
10 years ago
Team STRQ was walking through the forest until the silence was broken by Taiyang.
"Sooo,... Uh, where's the guy Ozpin told us to meet? What's his name... Oh yeah, Scorpion." He asked.
"Dude, we've been walking for like, what, 15-20 minutes? Calm down, man." Qrow told him.
"Yeah, I know, but aren't you guys a bit nervous? I mean, Ozpin told us that he is an ally but he also told us that this is not someone who should be taken lightly of. Doesn't that mean this guy is a scary person? What if he tries to hurt us!? Or, or maybe tries to ki – "
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Besides, even if he tries anything, and I mean anything, we have each other's back Summer." Raven ensured her.
"I know, I know. I just can't help but feel worry about our ally. Is he really dangerous like Ozpin said?" Summer asked.
"To be honest, I don't think any of us knows. But let's just keep our heads up in case of trouble. We are here to convince him to join us in the war against Salem as his clan used to be the strongest forces against the immortals. Oz believed that those guys could be valuable allies." Qrow answered.
Grimms's roar was heard in the distance along with the sound of explosions.
"Someone is fighting the Grimms! We should help them!" Summer stated as she burst into a ball of white pedals and zoomed torwards the source of the sound. The team was about to follow her but they were stopped by a group. All of them had huntsmen weapons and they seemed to know how to used them. Team (S)TRQ readied themselves into a fighting position.
Realising that her teamates weren't following her, Summer stopped on her track. She was then greeted by five enemies with close range weapons. Two long swords, a spear, an axe and kamas. Summer drew her Summer Slashers (two short swords) and front-gripping them. Both of them have a trigger at their handle to shoot dust rounds out of the blades.
Change of scene
'Strange... The Grimm population in this area have never been this dense before. Hmm, hopefully team STRQ is alright.' Hanzo thought to himself as he pulled his katana out of the Sentinel Grimm.
"Grandmaster! We have located the huntsmen team that is sent here fighting against a group of killers. It seems like one of them isn't with the others. What are are your orders, grandmaster?" A man in Shirai Ryu uniform asked.
"You four go and help them. I will find the missing one myself." Hanzo declared.
"As you wish, grandmaster." The same man told Hanzo. Scorpion then started sprinting away.
Change of scene
Summer was standing still with her guards up. The man with an axe raised his weapon above his head and tried to brought it down on her. Summer dodged to the left and spun opposite clockwise to cut him in the face with her left blade.
The girl with kamas then sliced at her in an x motion, to which Summer points her right sword down to block the attack. The girl then locked Summer's blade in place with her kamas. Summer then shot both of her sword down onto the ground and used the force of the blow back to sliced both of her swords in an upward motion, cutting the girl in the face.
Two guys with long swords then came at her. The first one raised his swords above his head while the other one ran at her in water stance (search in Ghost of Tsushima for more info). Summer then pointed her blade to her right and shot her blades to launch herself at the attackers. She spun opposite clockwise and slashed at the first one's stomach and pushed the second's sword to her left to avoid getting stabbed. Summer then used her right sword to push away his defense and jabbed the other straight into his face.
The one with a spear then hit Summer in the back, pushing her forward. He then brought his spear down upon her, to which she dodged to her right and pushed her left foot on it to lock it in place. The man's strength was more overwhelming than she expected. He completely lifted his spear, causing her to back flipped and face planted onto the ground. He took advantage of that and tried to stab Summer. She rolled to her left and held her Summer Slashers in a back grip position before shooting it to her left and spun clockwise to cut the man in the back of his knees.
The axe wielder then got back to his feet and slammed his exploding hammer onto the ground, creating a small earthquake. The force of the hit caused Summer to fly torwards him. He then spun his axe opposite clockwise before throwing a hit at Summer, to which she burst into a ball of white pedals and dodged to her left.
As Summer landed, she kicked the girl with kamas in the face, causing the girl to stay down. Summer then spun clockwise to sliced at the axe user, to which he blocked with his axe handle and hit her in the face with it. Summer staggered back before a sword hit her back, knocking her face first on the ground.
Before they could do anything, two burning chained kunais impaled the two swordsman and dragged them backwards into the forest.
"What in the hell?" The man with a spear cursed. From the forest, walked out the Scorpion of the Shirai Ryu.
Taking advantage of the enemies suprise, Summer burst into a ball of white pedals and flew between the axe user's legs and slashed him in the back. But, when she turned around, the spear wielder stabbed her. The spear shattered her aura and went into her stomach. Despite her aura taking the majority of the blow, it still went four centimeters deep into her body. The spearman then pulled his weapon out of her stomach, she dropped her weapons and collapse onto the ground. The last thing she remembered before passing out was the red color of blood.
LINEBREAK
Summer then woke up in a small room that is unfamiliar to her. She tried to sat up but was greeted by a sharp pain in the stomach area. She pulled her shirt up to find her wound already stitched up. Summer's mind then drifted to something else.
What happened? The last thing she remembered was getting stabbed. Did that ninja guy brought her here? She shruddered at the thought. That man killed people without batting an eye so he would have had no problem ending her. She then looked around for her weapon and hopefully find it. She had to find her teamates before it was too late.
The door then slowly opened. Summer yelped before getting into a boxing stance.
"Who are you!? I-I know karate a-and I am not afraid o-of hitting you!" Summer threatened but couldn't hide the stutter in her tone. The man in a familiar yellow uniform didn't even flinch at the threat and deadpanned.
"You are in no position of standing. Rest. You are safe."
"W-Who are you?" Summer carefully asked.
"My name is Hanzo Hasashi. Some called me Scorpion. I believe that you four are the huntsmen team that is sent here to convince my clan to join your side." The man answered.
Summer then lowered her arms and suddenly remembered that name. Scorpion. He was the man Ozpin told her to assist. That was good and all but first, she needed to find her weapons and team.
"Where's my Summer Slashers? A-And where's my team? Where am I?" Summer questioned.
"Both your weapons and team are fine. You are currently in the clan's pharmacy. Now rest, I will alert your teamates that you have awoken." Scorpion calmly stated.
Summer didn't want to argue. Her body was very weak due to blood lost so she needed a rest. She went back to her bed and lay down to get some shut eye.
When she woke up, the rest of her team was there. Raven was sitting on a chair with herr eyes shut and her head leaning forward, Qrow was standing next to her with his arms crossed and Taiyang was sleeping and leaning his back against the chair so far that it seemed like he was going to fall.
"Hey, Summer's awake." Qrow stated. The other two's eyes then shot opened and turned to Summer, startling her.
"Summer, how are you feeling?" Raven asked.
"I'm a bit hurt and maybe tired but overall fine." She stated "How about you guys? What happened after I left?"
"We got some cuts and bruises but nothing else. The Shirai Ryu appeared out of nowhere and killed the attackers. Those ninjas are pretty damn good, I give you that. They didn't even try to hold back or take any prisoners." Qrow answered her.
"I get that those guys are our enemies but just straight up killing them? Jeez, I'm starting to question if we should even form an alliance with these guys." Taiyang added.
"But, it's better than to become their enemies, right? I mean, I'd rather not go against highly trained fighters." Raven said.
"Come on, Raven. They are not huntsmen, they are highly trained killers. I don't think we'd be safer with them than without them." Tai told her.
"We are fighting a war, Tai. Yes, they are brutal but it was necessary to win our battle. Think about it! Their powers could help us in combat." Raven told the team.
"I don't think I trust these guys. They are dangerous. And staying away from them might be our the best option." Qrow replied.
"Guys, can we stop? I need a break. Can we discuss this matter later? Right now we need a rest. All of us do. It's been a long day." Summer stated. They all agreed and began lying on the mattress on the floor. Raven and Taiyang lay next to each other while Qrow leaned against a wall close to them.
"Uhhh, what are you guys doing?" Summer asked.
"We agreed on taking turns guarding you while you sleep." Qrow answered.
"You guys don't have to do that..." Summer looked down guiltily.
"We do actually. Scorpion said that our enemies is taking out the silver eyed warriors such as yourself. While we don't know if that's true, it's still better to keep an eye out. Just rest, we will handle this." Taiyang said. Before Summer could say anything, Raven spoke.
"He's right. I can't let anybody hurt my best friend."
"Tough mouth for someone who takes the last turn." Qrow mocked as Raven scowl at him. Summer just giggled before lying down.
Early next morning
Raven looked outside to find those same ninjas talking to the young grandmaster about something before going with him and a few more guards.
'What were they talking about? Where are they going?' She wondered. That man – Hanzo seemed to be barely older than they were. It didn't cease to amaze her that a man that age could lead such large clan. She knew that one day, her brother and herself would have to lead the tribe so this would be an opportunity to learn a thing or two about leadership. Without a second thought, Raven turned into a crow and followed them.
Later, in the forest
Hanzo and the Shirai Ryus were watching a group of mercenaries. These guys were sitting and talking to each other.
"Hey, so we are here for a silver eyed bitch, right? Why though? I mean, talking about waste of resorces." One asked.
"Because Salem said so. As long as we get the money, there's no need in askin' for reasons. If someone paid that much for that whore, she must be important. Now quit yer bitchin' and get your ass up." The other demanded.
"LEAVE. NOW." A demonic voice was heard somewhere close to the mercenaries's camp. They all turned and pionted thier weapons at a yellow ninja standing in front of them.
"Who the HELL are you!? What do you want!?" One of them asked.
"You are standing on my clan's territory. Leave now, and no harm will be done." Scorpion threatened.
"I don't give a rat ass about your clan." The same merc said.
"You've breathed your last." As soon as Hanzo finished that sentence, many ninjas ambushed the mercenaries with their flaming weapons. In a short while, the mercenary camp was completely cleared. No mercenary survived the ambush.
'He used himself as bait for the crew to ambush. Not a bad strategy but rather a risky one.' Raven thought to herself.
"It appears that we have an uninvited guest." Hanzo stated, startling Raven. Before she could turn into a crow and flew away, a scorpion kunai shot through the branch she was crouching on and wrapped around her neck. Then, she was dragged down with an incredible speed and landed on her back. The land was so hard that she couldn't breathe and the chain that was wrapped around her neck wasn't helping either.
"Why were you following us? Who sent you?" Hanzo asked. It took Raven a while to regain her breath before answering the question.
"I came because of my curiosity. Nobody sent me,..." She said as she tried to get back up.
"And why must I trust my stalker? Give me a reason not to kill you and your team right now." He demanded.
"I swear to god, nobody sent me! Please, don't hurt them." Raven begged. Seeing that this woman was being honest, Hanzo decided to believe her words, for now. The grandmaster then ordered everyone to return to the Fire Gardens.
LINEBREAK
Once they reached their destination, the whole team was looking for Raven. They all were happy to find out that Raven was alright. After she told them that they were after Summer, the whole team went silent.
"We should tell Ozpin about this. Then we will call our escort here and pick us up. We need to get you some protection, Summer." Qrow suggested.
"We can do this ourselves! I don't want anyone to sacrifice their life for me! They have to return too their families too!" Summer whined.
"But they don't have your silver eyes. Ozpin had said that the glowing thing is one of the best weapons against Salem." Tai told her.
"It seems that we have a mutual enemy." Everyone then turned to Hanzo, who appeared out of nowhere.
"Apologies, I did not mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. I may have a solution for your problem." Hanzo said as he turned to Summer.
"What do you propose we do?" Qrow asked.
"Miss Rose declared that she doesn't want anybody to sacrifice their life for her sake. The Shirai Ryu are being hunted for our ability to control hellfire and the silver eyed warriors are being hunted for their eyes. So, I suggest that she stays with us – " Hanzo was then cut off by Raven.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! No way am I letting her stay here!"
"Raven, as a leader, I demand that we listen to what the grandmaster has to say." Summer said as she raised a finger up.
"Thank you miss Rose." Hanzo told her.
"Summer. Call me Summer." She turned to Hanzo and told him.
"Now, as I was saying, we both are being hunted so why not fight together against our mutual enemy. Nobody is sacrificing for anybody other than their own." The yellow ninja said, causing Summer to think for a while before answering.
"Fine, I will stay. But only for our battle and that's it." Summer declared as she crossed her arms.
"I expected no more." Scorpion told the Rose woman.
Fashback ends
Hanzo was dragged back to reality by the sound of footsteps. The heavy footsteps indicated that this is a rather large man. He then turned around to face a tall, dark skinned man.
"Identify yourself." Scorpion demanded.
"I Geras, am a fixed point in time. With every death, I grow stronger to serve my queen Salem." The giant said.
"No need to waste anymore of your breath. You will soon to be ashes of hellfire." Scorpion threatened as he unsheathed his wind dust infused katana and light it on fire.
"You are good, but you are not Unbreakable Gosaku." Geras told the ninja, causing him to raise his eyebrow.
"You've met my ancestor?" Scorpion was suprised to hear this.
"He stood a chance against me while you have none." Geras declared.
Woooooohoooo. Finally. This chapter took a crap ton of my time. Next chapter will be a battle between Scorpion and Geras. If anyone is asking where Erron and Ruby is, they will appear soon. Next chapter shows how op Geras and Scorpion is so keep waiting, guys. Bye for now