Sengoku Night Blood (Discontinued)

S2~07: Sanada Beauty

Having learned that treating Runa's illness requires ancient relics that's been imbued with unlimited amount of Astral Energy, such as the Sacred Treasures, Yukimura and the rest of the Sanada Army began to gather information more intensely than ever. But while the werewolves are digging through their castle treasury, Runa suddenly began to lose control over her Astral Powers and falls unconscious.

In order to save her before her powers goes berserk, Hanbee drank her blood to relieve the pressure, saving Runa from having a painful death. And while she recuperates, Runa's social circle came in to check up on her and just as they were talking, Yukimura and Nobuyuki came noisily and in a rush.

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"Haa... haa... so this is where everyone was!" Yukimura exclaimed, placing his hands on his knees as he wheezed between his breaths.

◇◇◇◇◇

What was conveyed from their mouths were unexpected words.

◇◇◇◇◇

"Everyone, it's an emergency. Listen well." Nobuyuki advised. "Just now... a letter from an unknown sender reached us." He announced, and after leaving a small pause, he opened his mouth gravely. "Its contents - is relates to Himemiko-sama."

◇◇◇◇◇

"Its contents - is related to Himemiko-sama." Nobuyuki announced.

"Wha?!" Sasuke choked, shocked that he nearly gouged his eyes out. "What exactly is written?!" He asked.

"To summarise the letter's contents - it said 'We are searching for the Sacred Treasures in order to build a world of peace. We would like the Sacred Treasure possessed by Sanada to be handed over.' And then - it asks us to bring the Sacred Treasure to the northern checkpoint by tomorrow. Otherwise... they will send 10,000 soldiers to Sanada territory. That is what is written." Nobuyuki read out, closing the said letter in his hands.

"Huh?! 10,000?!" Sasuke exclaimed. He felt like his eyes were about to pop off.

"With that sort of force, the sender is... a lord with considerable power, is that it?" Saizou asked.

"Who in the world sent this letter?" Hanbee asked.

"I don't know." Nobuyuki replied. "The sender's name isn't written anywhere."

"I see. Without revealing their identity, they're simply threatening us, hm." Saizou hummed, smugging.

"But by Sacred Treasure, they mean the special tool gifted from Himemiko-sama that we're searching for right now, right?" Kamanosuke boredly asked. "In the first place, we're still in the middle of searching for it, so isn't it unreasonable to tell us to hand it over?"

"Could they be setting up some kind of trap?" Hanbee wondered.

"Hm... it does not seem to be a good idea to present the Sacred Treasure either, but even if we don't find it then the worst will unfold." Nobuyuki analysed, placing a finger on his chin. He held up the letter closer and intently stared at it. "The enemy appears to be rushing our search for the Sacred Treasure and, on top of that..." He looked up. "... wishes to make it their own."

'No way...' Yuzuki thought, feeling uneasy and looked down. 'What should we possibly do?'

"It'll be alright. Don't look so uneasy." Yukimura assured when he saw the girl's worried look. He then turned to everyone. "Everyone, listen up."

Everyone looked up at the werewolf in wonder.

"From here, we of the Sanada Army - will search for the Sacred Treasure!" Yukimura declared.

Everyone's eyes went wide.

"But, even if we were to find it, we absolutely won't hand the Sacred Treasure over!" Yukimura stated and looked at Runa with serious eyes. "Because the Sacred Treasure is an important tool for her!"

"Yukimura..." Runa stared at the werewolf in shock. 'Just what did Hanbee tell him?' She wondered. When she and her brother gave small information about her illness, Runa passed out a little after and wondered if her brother said any more.

"That's right..." Nobuyuki smiled, knowing behind his brother's intentions. "It's exactly as Yukimura said."

"Geez, that's just like Yukimura." Sasuke laughed, crossing his arms.

"Heh, he is always like that." Saizou commented, smugging.

"Well... I guess I have no choice if it's for this girl." Kamanosuke said.

"Good." Nobuyuki said. "Knowing that other forces are targeting the Sacred Treasure, we need to find the Sacred Treasure quickly, and secure it."

"But, you know, even if you say that there's no clue anywhere." Sasuke pointed out.

"Ahem." Hanbee and Runa gave the ninja a deadly glare.

Sasuke flinched. "I-I mean, there's no clue but the very confusing riddle." He quickly added.

"Hey, in the first place, why does the enemy know that there's a Sacred Treasure in Sanada territory?" Saizou asked, wondering how the enemy knew they were looking for it.

"Hmm..." Runa hummed, tapping her porcelain cheek with her delicate finger in thought. "What does... the riddle... say again...?" She asked.

"'Descended from the heavens and hidden below, the 3rd Sacred Treasure that heals, the earth's pockets is never empty but it can be hard to dig into'." Hanbee recited.

"No matter how you say it..." Sasuke sweatdropped.

"It makes no sense." Kamanosuke finished.

"Okay, okay, then... let's try to break it down." Hanbee suggested.

"We tried that, and it made it more confusing." Saizou said, remembering the long hours of migranes when everyone tried to crack the clue.

"Have you... even thought... what it could mean...?" Runa asked, tilting her head cutely.

"Like how?" Yukimura asked, wondering if the girl might know something.

"The first... half of... the riddle..." Runa glanced at her brother.

"'Descended from the heavens and hidden below'..." Hanbee recited.

"It could mean... the Sacred Treasure... is hidden... or buried... somewhere... high..."

"Somewhere like a sacred place?" Yuzuki guessed.

Runa shook her head. "Yes... and no..."

"Huh?"

"The other... half..."

"'The earth's pockets is never empty but it can be hard to dig into'." Hanbee repeated.

"By 'earth's pockets'..." Yukimura trailed off, starting to understand it.

"It could mean the Sacred Treasure is hidden somewhere high but in the ground." Nobuyuki theorised.

"By high, you don't mean a mountain." Sasuke laughed.

"..." Runa stared innocently at him.

Sasuke stopped when he saw the look. "You're kidding!"

"I mean, if you think about it, it makes sense." Hanbee spoke, gaining everyone's attention. "The clue said 'Descended from the heavens and hidden below' - meaning somewhere high, but has ground; so a mountain." He summarised.

"And 'the earth's pockets' must mean the Sacred Treasure is buried somewhere on a mountain." Yukimura smiled.

"Okay, but which mountain do we look?" Kamanosuke asked. "There's like, a lot in Sanada territory."

"'Descended from the heavens'... so... the tallest one..." Runa said.

"If that's the case, the tallest one would be in the east of Sanada territory." Hanbee mentioned.

The Sanada Army stared at the vampire with questioning looks.

"What?" Hanbee gave them a smile. "It is my job as a strategist to learn everything about the areas of his enemy. Even his allies."

"Nii-chan... your scary..." Runa blurted out.

"That stings, Runa-chan." Hanbee pouted, faking his pain.

"Hrm..." Nobuyuki placed his fingers under his chin as he used his arm as support. "... I would like to ascertain the authenticity of this information, but with other forces aiming for it, we don't have time." He stated.

"Yeah." Yukimura agreed. "Let's set out right away."

"Alright!" Sasuke jumped to his feet. "Now we're talking!"

"Then let us make preparations immediately." Saizou said, getting to his feet also.

"I don't like climbing mountains... but it's for her so I guess I'll do it." Kamanosuke said, yawning.

"Wait a moment." Nobuyuki halted, stopping everyone. "Before we depart, there is one thing I would like to request no matter what." Saying that, Nobuyuki walked over to Runa and knelt down in front of her. "If possible, would you accompany us on this mission as well?"

"Huh?" Runa thought she misheard him. "M-Me too...?" She questioned, pointing her finger at herself.

"H-Hold on, Brother (Nii-chan). That mountain is a pretty severe journey." Yukimura pointed out. He was concerned Runa's health might worsen if they made her go. "It might be too dangerous to bring her along..."

"And what happens if she gets an attack?" Hanbee added. "Yuzuki-chan, I'm okay with, but Runa-chan's body is fragile. She can't handle any physical work, and she can faint at any time."

"I know." Nobuyuki said. "But this time, we may have a tougher opponent that the forces and yakuma we've fought up to now." He pointed out. "Depending on the situation, we may have to rely on her powers, more over Yuzuki's."

Yuzuki widened her eyes at the statement, but she understood. Runa is more reliable than she is. The girl can do more than she could and could defend herself.

"I apologise for being unable to say it other than in this way." Nobuyuki said. "However, we need your power."

Runa was stunned at how extremely serious Nobuyuki's gaze was. It could be seen that he had already prepared for what battle could happen in the future.

"That's true, but..." Yukimura was still opposed of the request.

"I'm okay... with this..." Runa said, gripping her blanket tightly. "I'm not... feeling tired..." She looked at Nobuyuki, imitating his gaze. "Nobuyuki... please... let me go... together with everyone..." She begged.

"Are you really sure?" Hanbee softly asked, worried about her.

"Mhm." Runa nodded. "I'm a bit scared... but..." Her grip tightened to the point her hand turned white. "But.... everyone's... doing their best... and I... I don't want... to be... the only... one waiting..." 'Not again...' She internally added.

"Alright, thanks." Yukimura smiled. He walked over to her and knelt down, and grabbed her shoulders, causing the girl to look up at him. "I think you'll be pushed pretty hard, but we'll protect you with all that we have so don't worry." He assured.

"Hold it, Yukimura." Hanbee gave the commander a look. "I may be following orders because Hideyoshi-sama says so, but I am still keeping my priority as her older brother. And as an older brother, it is my job to protect her."

But the vampire's words were heard by deaf ears.

"Hear that, everyone?" Yukimura smiled over his shoulders. "We'll definitely protect them!"

"Yes!" All Sanada vassals raised their fists.

'Everyone's really motivated...!' Yuzuki stared at everyone in surprise, but still smiled. 'Maybe it's because of that?' She wondered, staring at Yukimura, who was smiling brightly as he talked to the raven-haired beauty. 'I was uneasy just a while ago, but now it's gone somewhere... Yukimura-san and the others will protect me -' She placed a hand over her chest. '-just thinking that lets me be at ease. But I don't want to just be protect!' She clenched her hand into a fist. 'I want to be helpful too...!'

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At the valley...

"So she's done it again." The figure from Oda sighed exhaustedly, placing a hand on their head.

"If you think about it, they wouldn't be making any progress without her." The shorter one from Uesugi pointed out.

The taller one from Uesugi sighed and noticed the figure from Sanada was looking at something. "Um... why do you have that on you?" They asked, pointing to the old scroll in their hands.

Everyone else noticed the scroll and walked over to the Sanada figure. They all looked down and saw the contents of the scroll; it had the cryptic words and a smudged image of a hairpin with flowers, and a large diamond in the corner.

(Appearance.)

"Oh, just reading over it." The Sanada figure replied, scanning the contents they could make out.

"You do know that it only tells you what it is, who it belongs you and one word on how it works, right?" The figure from Date questioned, recognising the image.

Sanada figure gave the Date figure a deadpanned face. "Fine. I just like the picture. Happy?"

Date figure blinked under their hood but smiled. "Very."

"Okay, okay. No need for arguments." The Oda figure clapped their hands together, gaining the other's attention before a fight broke out. "Now that we know Sanada Army are on their way to the Sacred Treasure's location, we should proceed as well." They turned to the Sanada figure. "I want you to follow them and make sure they get there safely."

"But what if yakuma shows up?" The Sanada figure asked.

"Help them from a distance."

"What about the enemy?"

"I'm sure they'll manage. If not..." The Oda figure smirked. "... have some fun with the soldiers."

The Sanada figure stared at the Oda figure in wonder before smirking in return, already filling their head with ideas.

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On the mountain...

"Haa... haa..." Yuzuki was taking heavy breaths as she and the others walked up on the tallest mountain in Sanada territory.

After Runa made her decision, everyone hastly made preparations to leave as the girl got ready with Hanbee's help. And with everything ready, they grabbed their horses and immediately set out to the east side of the territory, and didn't waste any time climbing up the mountain the moment they decended from their horses.

'We've climbed quite a lot already, but...' Yuzuki paused in her steps, taking heavy breaths as she looked up to see the continuous large path of green of the mountain. She couldn't even see how long it is or where the summit was. 'How much more is there to go?' She sulked before catching up with the others.

"Hey, we aren't at the top yet?" Kamanosuke asked, stopping to catch his breath since he felt more tired than ever.

"Yes." Nobuyuki answered. "We've only climbed halfway still."

"Heh... I'm still perfectly fine with this." Saizou smugged, picking up his pace, ignoring the bead of sweat rolling down his cheeks.

Yukimura paused and observed the path up ahead; there were rocks sticking out, slippery muds, and dead logs. "The mountain trail takes up more energy than I imagined..." He mumbled and turned to the others. "Why don't we take a break?" He suggested .

"Huh?" Sasuke looked over his shoulders and noticed everyone was lagging behind. "What's up with everyone?" He turned on his feet and placed his hands on his hips. "Are you all pooped out? How lame."

Everyone paused and looked up at the werewolf.

"At this pace, it'll be dark before we reach the top." Sasuke turned around and looked over his shoulders. "Come one, let's keep going!" He encouraged and climbed with ease.

"Why is Sasuke so energetic...?" Kamanosuke wondered with his usual tired expression, as he looked at the young ninja jogging up, going over the rocks and turning around on the longs, as well as avoiding or having perfect balance over the slippery mud.

"He's a monkey." Saizou sneered. "Normally, he runs around the mountains and so he must be accustomed to this."

Sasuke's wolf ears twitched, hearing the blue ninja's comment and looked over his shoulders with offence. "Don't look down on monkeys!" He shouted, letting his voice echoed through the area. "Anyway, come on, let's go ahead!" He added, seeing everyone was slowing down for some reason.

"Sasuke, wait a moment." Yukimura said. "We're fine, but they're..." His worried eyes trailed over to two out of breath girls and one vampire.

"I-I'm sorry..." Yuzuki apologised, placing her hands on her knees. "I can't move my legs anymore..."

"My feet is getting sore!" Hanbee complained, using his free hand as a fan since his face felt hot for some reason.

"I can't breathe..." Runa choked, collapsing to the ground. Her face was flushed as she was sweating bullets all over her body.

"Ah... O-Oh, sorry." Sasuke slided down over to them. "This mountain trail is rough on girls, huh."

"Just so you know, I'm not built for hiking." Hanbee wheezed as he placed his hands on his knees.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, kneeling down before Runa, who planted her hands on the ground for support. "It's because I rushed too much at the head... Erm, do you want to drink water?" Sasuke offered his bottle to her. "Ah, if you're hungry, there's riceballs." He showed her a box of riceballs.

"Haa... haa..." Runa painfully glanced between the riceballs and the ninja, wheezing through her flushed face.

Sasuke panicked that the girl might be having problems. "Are you hurt or something? If anything hurts, tell me right away." He fretted.

"W-We're just a l-little tired..." Yuzuki said, standing up after resting a little. "But we're alright."

"Don't be shy to let me know!" Sasuke smiled.

'Does Sasuke worry a lot...?' Runa wondered, staring at the werewolf, who was talking to Yuzuki. 'Come to think of it, when I was sick he came to take a look...' "Sasuke... thank you... for... worrying about... me..." Runa reached over and petted his head, enjoying how his ears flopped down.

"What's with the innocent look...? It's cheating." Sasuke mumbled, blushing.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Yuzuki asked.

"N-Nothing!" Sasuke shot up.

"Hmph. This is what an unpopular man is like." Saizou commented.

"S-Shut up!" Sasuke snapped before turning to the raven-haired beauty. "A-Anyway! Um... there's no need for th-thanks!" He stuttered. "It's my bad for going on and on." He apologised before an idea popped into his head. "Oh, I-I know! How about I carry you then?!" He suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Hanbee deadpanned.

"Agreed..." Runa mumbled. "Mountain climbing... while carrying, me... on your back... is... unreasonable..."

"It's fine!" Sasuke assured. "Right now, I'm in an awesome mood! You can count on me as much as you want!"

"B-But..."

"No, you should let yourself be carried." Nobuyuki urged.

Runa looked at him in surprise.

"It may be a little embarrassing, but we don't really have the leisure to take breaks in order to retrieve the Sacred Treasure before the enemy."

"Yep, yep! Besides, no one but us will see so there's no need to be embarrassed." Sasuke assured. He turned his back towards her and knelt down to her height.

Runa looked unsure.

"Yuzuki-chan, you should let Sasuke carry you." Hanbee advised.

"Huh?!" Yuzuki blushed.

"Just like Nobuyuki said, we don't have the leisure to squeeze in breaks. I can carry Runa-chan."

"O-Okay. Then..." Yuzuki took him up on his reasons and let herself be carried by Sasuke. She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, and let the werewolf grab her legs as he slowly stood back up. When he did, Yuzuki felt that Sasuke's back, which she thought was small, was very large.

"Alright, hold on tight!" Sasuke said, having a firm grip on Yuzuki's legs. "Let's go then!" After that, he ran up the mountain at top speed, but not too fast to make Yuzuki fall.

"Wait, aren't you two too close?" Kamanosuke questioned, narrowing his eyes at the duo.

"What is it, Kamanosuke? Are you jealous?" Hanbee teased as he lifted Runa into his arms.

"But they're so close..." Kamanosuke then eyed the siblings with a look. "You too."

"Nobuyuki-sama! I share the same opinion as Kamanosuke!" Saizou yelled, pointing at the said lazy werewolf.

"Hey, everyone!" Sasuke yelled, staring down at everyone since he, and Yuzuki, had already made a large gap between the group. "What're you doing?! If you don't come quickly you'll be left behind!"

"Good gracious..." Saizou sighed, placing a hand on his hip. "Just because his specialty is mountain paths..."

"Sasuke! If you get too excited you'll get hurt." Yukimura warned, cupping his hands to amplify his voice. "You have her with you so be careful."

"I'm glad I'm not on his back..." Runa mumbled, watching Sasuke climb up the mountain, with Yuzuki on his back, with ease.

"Yep." Hanbee winked at her before walking up the mountain with everyone.

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At Toyotomi Castle...

"You said what?!" Toshiie, Twyla and Mitsunari yelled, staring at the Toyotomi commander as if he was crazy.

"..." Kanbee grunted with annoyance as he crossed his arms with his eyes closed.

When they gathered for a council meeting for the upcoming war, that's happening soon, Hideyoshi immediately dropped the bomb by telling them he had sent a letter to tell the cross dresser to hurry the search for the Sacred Treasure in Sanada. And if he doesn't return with it, then he nor the girls are allowed back into the castle.

"It was funny, right?" Hideyoshi laughed, smacking his knee as Toukichi jumped onto his shoulders. "Hanbee must be confused and the girls must be panicking. Ahahaha!"

"You are insane!" Twyla hissed, bearing her fangs.

"No, I am clever." Hideyoshi grinned.

"That is reckless." Mitsunari stated, his glasses up with a curt.

"Hime-sama is going to rip you from limb to limb when she gets back."

"That's a bit crazy." Toshiie said. He couldn't imagine Runa, of all people, would try to butcher the Toyotomi commander out of anger. The girl was so quiet, thin, and distant around them. The only person she'll open up to was her brother.

"It doesn't matter." Hideyoshi waved their concern off. "They're working hard and so should we."

Twyla and the others sighed, nodding their heads, agreeing and got on with the meeting.

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Meanwhile...

The Sanada Army continued to climb the mountain at a steady pace. They tried to preserve their energy while climbing as quickly as possible, but also prioritising the girls' safety.

"Now then, we should be seeing the summit soon..." Nobuyuki stated, noticing they're nearly at the top.

"Haa... haa..." Sasuke paused in his steps to catch his breath. The sweat on his face rolled down to his chin and dripped to the soil.

"Haa, haa... W-What's wrong wrong, Sasuke? You're quite exhausted, aren't you?" Saizou sneered, wiping some sweat off his chin.

"No, duh...!" Sasuke snapped, denying it. He stood back up before yelping when something heavy just climbed onto his back. "H-Hey!" Then a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. "Cut it out and walk on your own legs..." Sasuke looked over his shoulders to see who the culprit was. "... Kamanosuke!"

"Nope." Kamanosuke tiredly said. "I can't even take a single step." He put all his weight on the green-haired werewolf.

Sasuke grunted.

"A-Are you alright, Sasuke-san?" Yuzuki asked, worried at how tired he looked.

Sasuke inhaled sharply and stood up straight. He glared over his shoulders with annoyance written all over his face. "Look..." He pointed his finger at Yuzuki. "... even this girl is walking on her own! You walk by yourself too!"

"It's because I was carried by Sasuke-san too and got a little rest..." Yuzuki said, not sure what to do.

"But Runa-chan isn't walking..." Kamanosuke protested, glancing at the said girl, who was softly snooring away in the Toyotomi vassal's arms.

"Runa is an exeption." Nobuyuki stated. He and Yukimura swore not to reveal anything about her illness, so he tried to be cryptic as possible.

"That's right. Runa can't handle any physical labour." Yukimura added.

"Unless you want to exhaust the poor girl to death, would you?" Hanbee chimed in, giving them a hurtful look.

"O-Of course not! But Kamanosuke is resting too much!" Sasuke argued, trying to pry the ninja's arms off his neck.

"Hmph, what a noisy man." Saizou smirked. "To admit defeat at this level..."

"Switch with me then!" Sasuke roared, ignoring his sweat flying everywhere like sparkling raindrops.

"I refuse!" Saizou shouted. He placed a hand to his chest. "I'm at my limit as well!"

"Don't get on your high horse then!"

When Sasuke and the others were having their 'conversation', Runa woke up from their yelling. She yawned and looked around to see they're nearly at the summit. But something else caught her attention. Runa noticed something in the bushes, but especially the slashes on the trees. And she could tell she wasn't the only one who noticed.

Nobuyuki's ears twitched. "Everyone, stop!" He shouted, abruptly stopping everyone with a tense voice.

"What's wrong, Brother?" Yukimura asked.

"Look at the woods over there..." Nobuyuki pointed to the trees with claw marks on their trunks. "... there's signs of having been damaged by yakuma..." He lowered his hand. "The scratches on the trees are fresh. They may be close still."

"Hey, Kamanosuke, get down!" Sasuke shouted. "There might be a battle!"

"Ehhh? How annoying." Kamanosuke sighed, but complied with the demand and hopped off.

Yukimura drawed out his sword and turned to the girls. "You'll be in the centre." He said.

Yuzuki nodded.

Yukimura turned to the vampire. "You'll stay with them."

"Yes, sir." Hanbee nodded. He tightened his hold on Runa and walked over to the brown-haired girl.

The Sanada Army circled around the three, having their backs on them as they all held their weapons in their hands. Their guard was up as they are ready for the yakuma to show up or any enemy might be around.

Yukimura backed up a bit. "Everyone, watch the surroundings-"

*Rustle!*Rustle!*

"Is it that bush?!" Yukimura wondered, tensed as he, and everyone, immediately shifted their attention to the rustling bushes in the woods.

Then, red glowing eyes were shining through the shadows.

In the inky shadows of the bushes around the group, stood hunched over monsters; yakuma.

"*ROAR!*" As each came out, they all launched themselves at the group.

Yukimura blocked the attack with his sword, that was aiming for his face. He struggled as three more joined in, adding their strength until they managed to push him a bit.

Sasuke striked down another that came for him with his dagger, and noticed more were coming. "H-Hey! There's yakuma over here too, you know?!" He informed.

Nobuyuki pushed back a group of his own and jumped back for some distance. "We're caught in between..." His eyes scanned the area and noticed the yakuma circled them completely. "There doesn't seem to be a way to escape..."

"Then we'll simply defeat them all - !" Saizou narrowly blocked an incoming yakuma, that tried to get his head. He struggled before clawing the monster back, killing it. "Kuh... it was shallow."

Kamanosuke jumped into the air and threw his ninja scythes at a group of yakuma, but only managed to kill one instead of three. He landed and stopped to catch his breath. "No good. I don't have any energy." He stated.

"I'll go then!" Sasuke leaped into the air. "I'll blow all these guys together away!" When he's above the group, he mustered his energy. "Eat this! Personal Style Ninja Arts! Whirlwind Technique!" Sasuke twisted his body to create a tornado, but not much wind gathered.

"Nothing but a gentle breeze happened...?" Saizou questioned, feeling the gentle breeze blowing his hair.

Sasuke landed on his knees and out of breath. "Crap... I'm knackered so there's no power..." He cursed and turned his attention to his commander, who was killing yakuma left and right. "Y-Yukimura! What do we do?!"

"We could manage somehow if there was one or two, but-" Yukimura striked down another. "-with this amount..."

Just as Runa was ready to kill a yakuma, that launched itself at her with its claws out, something came flying down at it and killed the monster.

"Wha?!" Nobuyuki looked up and saw a rain of brown with silver linings heading for the yakuma around them. "These are..." One landed before him. "... arrows?" He looked around and the yakuma that were surrounding them, were getting killing by the arrows as well. "Where are they coming from exactly?!"

During their surprise, arrows rained down one after another, killing each monster in a straight beeline. Nobody dared move a muscle as they were stunned at the mysterious help they're getting. The arrows continued to rain down after another, piercing the yakuma, and in a flash, the last few yakuma were knocked down without any remaining.

"Are we saved...?" Sasuke wondered after a moment of silence.

Now that the path had been cleared, Yukimura noticed a shadowy figure up ahead. "The other side!" He exclaimed. "Someone's there!"

Everyone looked closely and saw the shadowy figure as well.

"Huh? Isn't that...?" Hanbee mumbled, recognising the built and the midnight-coloured hair.

Runa could smell the ipomoea scent coming off the shadow figure. She looked behind her and saw Yukimura walking up before passing her without a care in the world.

"Ah! Yukimura, wait!" Nobuyuki called out.

Before anything else could be said, another batch of arrows rained down the mountain, only this time, they were all aimed at the Sanada Army.

"E-Eh?!" Yuzuki exclaimed, freaking out at the arrows that were aiming at her. "W-What's going?! The yakuma are gone already! Why are they attacking?!" She asked no one in particular as she bent down to take cover.

'How annoying...' Runa thought as she countered the arrows by letting her thorns devour the thin pierces of wood out of existence.

"Ugh!" Kamanosuke grunted when an arrow pierced his chest.

"Kamanosuke!" Yukimura exclaimed when he noticed the werewolf was down. He wanted to go over to him, but he got occupied by the arrows aiming at him. "Are you okay?!" He asked.

"M-Mm..." Kamanosuke weakly nodded, putting pressure on his wound. "It managed to miss my vitals..."

"Don't move." Hanbee and Runa rushed over to the injured vassal and began doing medical treatment.

Runa took her bag off and pulled out her medical kit and gave it to Hanbee.

The vampire opened the lid and grabbed the disinfectant wipes, ripping the packet open and began wiping the blood off of Kamanosuke's wound.

While medical treatment is happening, Nobuyuki cut down the arrows for them. "It's clear they are aiming their attacks at us." He stated.

"Could they possibly be the force that is targeting the Sacred Treasure?!" Saizou wondered as he continued to flip through the air and clawed the arrows like a wild animal.

"..."

Just as he was applying the bandages, Hanbee looked up and noticed their enemy was casually making his way over to them. "Everyone, we careful!" He warned. "That man is the famed One-Eyed Dragon who rules the North - Date Masamune!"

"Wha?!" Yuzuki exclaimed, shocked that Masamune was in Sanada territory.

"I heard that Date Masamune is a man skilled in ingenious schemes." Nobuyuki said, backing away to gain some distance. "You were right Hanbee! The letter was a trap to make us depart in search for the Sacred Treasure!" His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. "And they've been following after us this entire time!"

Masamune smirked at their frustrated expressions.

"Everyone, careful! They're coming!" Yukimura warned when he saw multiple archers up ahead.

And on cue, another hailstorm of arrows rained over them.

Sasuke panicked and began dodging as many as he could like a runaway mouse. "There's so many arrows!" He drew his dagger and began slashing them as quickly as he could. "I've got my hands full just defending against these and I can't get close!" He ranted.

Yuzuki watched everyone struggle from a distance. She was worried at how slow some of their movements are. 'W-What do I do...?' She wondered.

"Duck!" Hanbee ordered, swinging his shortsword at the brown-haired girl.

Yuzuki yelped and ducked just as Hanbee's sword cut down an arrow that nearly hit her, by an inch.

'Everyone's exhausted and yet... with this...' Runa looked at the situation they're in and began to panick.

*BA-DUMP!*

All the noise around her began to faint out as the sound of her heartbeat was the only noise Runa could hear.

*BA-DUMP!*BA-DUMP!*

'Bitter...' Runa thought, her bangs shadowing her blindfold.

*BA-DUMP!*

'Why...'

*BA-DUMP!*

All of a sudden, her vision began to break as if everyone was slowly being covered with blood.

'... do I always feel...'

*BA-DUMP!*

'... so bitter...?'

*BA-DUMP!*

'Bitter...' More blood splattered onto her vision.

*BA-DUMP!*

'Bitter...' More and more blood splattered her vision.

*BA-DUMP!*

"Stop..." Runa softly begged.

"Ouch!" Yukimura hissed when an arrow cut his left arm.

*BA-DUMP!*

"Stop..."

"Kyaaa!" Yuzuki screamed when a few arrows headed her way.

"Ah, Yuzuki-chan!" Hanbee stepped in and deflected the attacks.

*BA-DUMP!*

'So bitter...'

"Everyone! Please hang in there!" Yukimura begged, backing up to catch his breath while his brother switched places with him.

'-Bitter...'

*BA-DUMP!*

'-Bitter...'

*BA-DUMP!*

Then just as her vision is being invaded with blood, Runa suddenly can't hear anything but the sound of some wires short circuiting invading her senses.

"-Ouch!"

'-Bitter...'

*BA-DUMP!*CRACKLING!*

'-Bitter...!'

*CRACKLING!*

'-Bitter...!'

"Hey, Saizou! More are coming from your end!" Sasuke alerted, jumping into the air to cut some down.

"Same goes for you!" Saizou lunged into action and joined in on the fray.

Before she knew it, Runa saw that her vision was nothing but black with red splatters of blood, trying to consume her in their devilish hypnotism.

*BA-BA-DUMP!!*

'BITTER!!'

"-Watch out!"

"Huh?"

Before Runa could process what just happened, Sasuke appeared out of nowhere and used his body to shield her from some arrows that nearly hit her - only this time, they punctured the ninja's back.

"Guagh...!" Sasuke grunted and collapsed forward, his face falling onto Runa's lap.

"S-Sasuke...?!" Runa softly exclaimed, stunned. She snapped out of it when she saw the arrows on his back. "Oh no... because you... protected me..."

"I-I'm okay, I'm okay!" Sasuke assured, planting this hands onto the ground for support as he forced himself up. "This isn't anything seriou - Ow!" He hissed when one arrow bended on his lower ribcage when he tried to stand.

"Sasuke, don't force yourself to move." Nobuyuki ordered, striking some arrows down. He looked over his shoulders and saw Runa pulling the arrows out of the ninja's back, before Nobuyuki switched his gaze to the other injured party. "Kamanosuke too, recover from your wounds." He ordered.

"Even if you say that..." Kamanosuke started, backing up.

"There's no time to rest!" Sasuke finished, forcing himself to stand.

"But the two of you..." Yuzuki couldn't believe the amount of scratches and cuts the two got. "... you're bleeding so much...!" Then a random idea popped into her head. "I know, drink my blood!" She blurted out.

"Huh?" The two injured werewolves glanced at her in surprise.

"If you do then your wounds will heal too-"

"No, you can't do that!" Hanbee shouted, completely opposed of the idea.

"If they drink your blood, they will obtain tremendous power." Nobuyuki added. "And if their forms are seen, the enemy will try to capture you without exception... Once that happens, you'll be exposed to danger-"

"Oh who cares?!" 'Runa' cut in, devouring the arrows with 'her' thorns.

"Runa?" Nobuyuki questioned, wondering what got into the girl. It's as if her personality did a 180° spin.

"Masamune and all of you know about the power of her blood, so why bother giving the lecture?" 'Runa' questioned as she destroyed another round of arrows that headed their way. "If you want to defeat them, all you need is power ri-" Before she could finish, 'Runa' didn't see a rock in her step and 'her' feet got stump into it, causing her to trip and faceplanted to the ground with a thud. "Ow..." Runa struggled to her knees and when she looked up she flinched when she noticed some arrows were heading her way.

"Runa!" Yukimura stepped in and swiftly cut down the arrows. Once he was done, he turned around and knelt down before the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes..." Runa nodded and slowly stood back up.

Sasuke dodged an arrow and hissed when he tried to apply pressure to his feet. "Yukimura! We won't last much longer!" He shouted.

"We have no choice..." Yukimura murmured, thinking if they should retreat or let Sasuke and Kamanosuke drink Yuzuki's blood.

"I don't believe... using a power... that is limited... is... always the answer..." Runa said, slowly walking up the mountain, oblivious with everything that's happening around her.

"Huh?" Yukimura was confused. He watched the raven-haired beauty made her way to the injured werewolves, while dodging the arrows at the same time.

"They had no choice... but to... accept their powers..." Runa stopped before the injured werewolves, who were cutting down the arrows as much as possible. "It's that... kind of horror..."

Hanbee sliced down another group and collapsed to his knees, dropping his sword in the process.

"Hanbee-kun!" Yuzuki rushed over to the exhausted vampire and felt how warm he was. 'He's burning up!'

"I'm fine..." Hanbee whispered. He then turned his attention to his sister. "Runa-chan, don't push yourself!" He shouted. "Whatever you do, don't over do it!"

Runa nodded. "Then... I'll provide support...!" She twisted her body to the left and as she did, a light of pink appeared beneath her, as well as wind began to gather. "O swift wind that dashes through the heavens!" After that, she raised her arms up.

(Like this.)

At the same time, some sort of circle appeared below Sasuke and Kamanosuke. The light coming from it closed their wounds as the two looked beneath them to see the pattern and symbol of the circle.

(Aero circle.)

"W-What's this?!" Sasuke exclaimed, shocked at the sudden turn of events.

"My body..." Kamanosuke felt his body got healed and... lighter? "It's light as a feather..." 

With the amount of wind gathered, Runa spreaded her arms out like wings. "Vernier!"

Then the two ninjas got enveloped in a ball of pink lights, as if they're powering up the two. After a few seconds, the two lunged into the air with immense speed.

◇◇◇◇◇

A little further up...

Masamune noticed the sudden change in the two werewolves' movements. "They dodged?" He questioned, suspicious.

◇◇◇◇◇

As the arrows continued to rain down, Sasuke and Kamanosuke flew around the air with lightning speed, dodging and cutting them down before any arrows could reach the others. 

"Wow! Fast!" Sasuke yelled, enjoying the breeze blowing in his face. "Alright, Kamanosuke, let's go! We'll scatter those enemies!"

"Mm. I'm feeling good right now so I guess I can be a bit serious." Kamanosuke said, pulling out his ninja scythes.

"Amazing..." Yukimura stared in amazement. He watched as both Sasuke and Kamanosuke flew down, and aimed their weapons at the enemy soldiers and began to strike down at them with record speed.

"What did you do?" Nobuyuki asked, staring at the two powered-up werewolves with wide eyes.

"..." Runa grabbed her chest, feeling her heart was being suffocated by her Astral Powers. Her face showed slight pain as she noticed her scar was glowing, and it could be seen through her top. She covered it with her hands so no one could see it, but the golden light leaked through gaps between her fingers as her body began to glow. "E-Enchant... ment..." She choked.

"Enchantment?" Nobuyuki questioned, never heard such a word.

*Swoosh!*

"Hey, no matter how many we kill, they just keep coming." Kamanosuke mentioned, noticing the amount of Date soldiers from above.

"Damn it! I'm still knackered so I can't put in the strength!" Sasuke complained.

Runa painfully looked up, admiring the pretty pink balls that were just zooming across the sky.

"We're barely pushing them back!" Sasuke added.

"In that case..." Runa struggled to her feet and raised her left arm. "O strength of arm to cleave the heavens!" Controlling her powers, she activated another enchantment and the aero circle appeared above her palm.

Sasuke and Kamanosuke landed, and just as the enveloped light died down, the aero circle appeared beneath their feet. The glowing wind bursted beneath them, blowing cold breeze in their faces.

"What is it this time?" Sasuke wondered, pondering what Runa is doing to them this time.

Runa thrusted her arms out as the circle pulled down before her, as if she had control over its movements. "Arms!"

Sasuke gasped as he looked at his arms to see them oozing out some sort of pink haze. But that's not the only thing surprising him. His body felt like it's being filled with energy. "Power is welling up inside of me!"

"It's mana that increases your attack power!" Hanbee explained. "It will feel like you're in your awakened form!"

"Oh! Is that so?!" Sasuke smirked, piping up.

◇◇◇◇◇

"What?" Masamune noticed the sudden change in Sasuke and Kamanosuke. "Their power is increasing?"

◇◇◇◇◇

"Great! Now I can really go all out!" Sasuke exclaimed, dashing into his enemies. "Personal Style Ninja Arts! Whirlwind Technique!" He twisted his body and a large tornado formed and swallowed the Date soldiers.

Kamanosuke snuck up behind the enemy and threw his ninja scythes at them with normal force, but to them, it looked like he added some power that took down 7 soldiers in one swing.

"Looks like they've got this under control." Saizou observed, casually sitting on a rock as he watched the two take down the enemy.

"I'm glad those two are better." Yuzuki smiled in relief.

"Spinning..." Runa collapsed to her knees, exhausted.

"Runa-chan!" Hanbee rushed over to her.

"Are you alright?!" Yukimura followed after, kneeling down beside the girl.

"Y-Yes..." Runa mumbled, holding her head with her hand. "Sorry... I'm only... feeling dizzy..."

"It's because you forced yourself to use your powers despite your health. You probably have anemia." Hanbee stated, worried how flushed her cheeks were.

"I apologise." Nobuyuki said. "We've pushed you too hard..."

"No... please don't... apolo-" Runa covered her mouth with one hand to muffle her coughs. "I'm glad... I can... help... everyone..."

"Take it easy." Hanbee whispered, rubbing her back. He then took her bag off her back. He opened it and pulled out a bottle filled with water. "Here."

Runa accepted it and opened the lid, and chuck the water down her throat, drinking at least nearly a half of it in one go.

"Sasuke-san and Kamanosuke-san is really fast!" Yuzuki blurted out, causing everyone to look what was going on.

Having granted power by Runa's enchantments, Sasuke and Kamanosuke flew around the sky and took down the majority of the enemy in a flash.

The remaining forces of Date retreated with Masamune disappearing off with them.

"Heheh! They got scared off quickly after they saw our power!" Sasuke sassed as he and Kamanosuke landed, and their body stopped glowing.

"Over already? Boring..." Kamanosuke yawned.

"However..." Saizou got off the rock he was sitting on. "... who exactly were they?"

"The Date Army." Hanbee answered, lifting an exhausted Runa into his arms, holding her in a bridal hold. "They must be the force that sent that letter."

"If so, that's no good." Nobuyuki said, his facing shifting to serious mode. "They might have realised that there is a Sacred Treasure on this mountain."

"It'll be bad if we're overtaken." Yukimura said, realising they're in a more tight situation. "Hurry! The summit is right there!" He pointed and began to run at top speed, ignoring the fatigue.

Everyone rushed after the Sanada commander. Since they've rested a bit they managed to pick up their pace a little and made it to the top. Some trees were in front of them, but after walking a bit they've made it to a clearing - which was the summit itself.

"There's no sign of people." Hanbee observed, sensing no movement around them.

"It doesn't look like the enemy has come yet." Yukimura added.

"But we don't know when they'll catch up." Nobuyuki pointed out. "We need to retrieve it quickly." His eyes trailed over to Runa, who was taking in short, quick breath to breathe through her painful, expression like she was begging for air.

Hanbee scanned the area, seeing nothing but a large gap between the forest on the mountain. But then his lime eyes landed on a small wooden shrine, that's sitting at the centre of the summit and was covered in dust.

"The Sacred Treasure... is in this shrine?" Hanbee wondered, walking over to it.

Everyone else followed.

"It seems that there's light coming out from the gap of this door..." Hanbee mumbled as he and the others stop before the shrine.

Sasuke perked up. "Really?!" He smiled. "Then it has to be inside, right?!"

"For s-some reason... I'm a bit nervous." Yukimura said, tensing his body out of nervousness.

"Heh. Then why don't we open this shrine now?" Saizou suggested. "Here I go- Hm?" When Saizou walked up to the shrine and tried to open it, the door won't budge. "How strange... Hah!" Saizou tried to open it with more force, but still nothing. "Nrghhh!" He placed all his strength in his arms and tried to pry it open but the door just won't move. It was like it was sealed off with some sort of strong sticky substance that made it impossible for it to open. "Ugh, gughhh...!"

"What are you playing it, Saizou?" Kamanosuke asked, watching the blue ninja having a mini battle with a door. A door.

"Yeah. Hurry and open it." Sasuke pressed, getting impatient with his rival's antics.

"H-Hold on a moment." Saizou gave up and stood back. "This door..." His eyes scanned the door that has the Sanada crest carved right into it, and noticed something was missing. "... has no sign of opening, you know?" He mentioned.

"Hah?" Sasuke looked at the ninja as if he was crazy. "It's a door made out of normal wood though?" He questioned. He stared at the shrine before walking up to the ninja. "Switch with me."

Saizou moved aside and let the green ninja have a go.

Sasuke placed his hands on the door and tried to push it open, but the same thing happened; it refused to open. "Nngh?" The werewolf was confused but tried again by applying more force. "Nghh!" And more strength. He even firmly planted his feet into the ground and pulled his upper back to apply extra force. "Aghhhh!!!"

'That won't work.' Hanbee thought, sweatdropping. He also felt bad for the werewolf at the show he's putting on.

After another good 30 seconds, Sasuke released the door from his firm grip and wiped some sweat off his chin. "Haa... aah... haa... aah... N-No good." He wheezed, feeling tired all of a sudden. "It really won't open!"

"What in the world...? What's going on?" Yukimura wondered.

"This must be the 'it can be hard to dig into' part of the clue." Hanbee mentioned.

"Perhaps some sort of special skill was used in order to protect the Sacred Treasure." Nobuyuki theorised, coming up with possibilities on why the door won't open. He walked up to the shrine, switching places with Sasuke. He closely looked at how the door was built and what's on it. "The Sanada crest is carved into the door..." He mumbled before turning to his brother. "Yukimura, why don't you try opening it?" He suggested.

"Huh?" Yukimura stared at his brother in surprise.

"I see!" Sasuke smiled, getting all energetic again. "It might be opened only by a legitimate heir, huh!"

"Ah, okay." Yukimura understood the plan now. "I'll try." He walked up to the shrine and switched places with his brother. He reached out and tried to open the door, but just like everyone else - it won't budge. "Kgh, it doesn't work!" He informed, trying to open it again. But after another attempt it still refused to be opened. Yukimura took a step back and examined the door's position. "It hasn't moved an inch..."

"Hey. What should we do about this?" Kamanosuke asked, getting tired by the second.

"Is there some sort of essential condition or tool to open this?" Hanbee asked, walking closer to the older Sanada.

"I haven't the slightest idea and I'm stumped." Nobuyuki responded.

While everyone was pondering on how to open the door, Yuzuki was staring at the shrine with wonder. 'I really wonder why it won't open?' She wondered. 'I don't know why though but this door... feels like it can be opened easily.' "Hey, can you switch with me?" Yuzuki blurted out.

Yukimura turned to her. "Yeah, sure but... do you know the way to open it?" He asked, wondering what the girl is up to.

"I'm not confident but..." Yuzuki switched places with Yukimura, and when she stood in front of the door she touched the depicted Sanada crest, as if she was guided by something.

*Click*

"Huh?" Yuzuki blinked in surprise.

"It o-opened?" Yukimura stared in amazement.

"What in the...? What did you do?" Nobuyuki asked.

Yuzuki pulled her hand away. "U-Um, I'm not too sure either..." She stuttered. "I just felt like it'd open with this..." She pointed to the small dent on the corner of the door, that looked like a hand or finger could fit into.

"Ah, look inside." Hanbee said, noticing something shiny inside.

"This is probably... the Sacred Treasure, right?" Kamanosuke wondered.

"It's a... hairpin?" Yukimura questioned as he pulled it out of its place.

The hairpin is consisted with three pink flower bouquet as its centre, as it has multiple wing-like leaves and a decorated sunset above as a background. Its made of gold with a 5 stick pin sticking out.

(Appearance.)

"It's kinda normal." Kamanosuke pointed out. It looked like any other hair ornament to him. "We fought with our lives for this?"

"Hrmm. True, no matter where you look at it from, it's a normal hairpin, huh." Sasuke murmured, a little disappointed.

"But there is no mistake that this is something gifted from Himemiko-sama, right?" Saizou questioned, eyeing the hairpin as well.

"Well, what Kanbee and I learned was that Himemiko-sama visited your lands a long time ago." Hanbee mentioned "So this must be the reason for it."

"Yes, that's right." Nobuyuki agreed. "I don't know what power may be concealed in this but it's an important item that connects us and Himemiko-sama." He stated.

"A hairpin, huh." Yukimura mumbled, twisting the hairpin in his hand, observing the fine details on it. "It's something a woman uses..." He turned to Yuzuki. "How about you try putting it on?" He suggested. "It think it'd suit you. Here." He held it out towards her.

"Eh? N-No way..." Yuzuki waved her hands in front of her. "If you hand such an important thing to-" Before she could finish, Yukimura placed the hairpin in her hands. And the moment she touched it, Yuzuki felt the metal rapidly burning up. "Ouch!" She hissed and dropped the hairpin to the ground, hearing it clanging against the dry soil.

"Are you okay?!" Yukimura asked, worried.

"Y-Yes..." Yuzuki nodded, holding her blistered hand.

Hanbee walked over and bent down, and picked up the Sacred Treasure. He stared at the flowers, that were faintly glowing, before turning to the brown-haired girl. "Did it sting you or something?" He asked.

"Huh? Yes... I felt like the moment I touched it, the hairpin felt really hot."

"It must be some sort of safety mechanism."

"Safety mecha-what?" Sasuke asked, didn't understand one word of it.

"Some sort of protection to something the Sacred Treasure feels like a threat." Hanbee explained.

'The Sacred Treasure thought... I was a threat?' Yuzuki thought in disbelief, staring at the hairpin with bewilderment.

Runa inhaled sharply and began to sqirm around in the vampire's arms.

"O-Oi, what's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked, worried and panicking at the same time.

"Is she...?" Yukimura gasped, remembering the state Runa was in.

Hanbee knelt down and set the girl on the ground. Holding her upper body up with one arm, he gently tapped Runa on the forehead with the Sacred Treasure.

The moment the Sacred Treasure made contact with the raven-haired beauty, the flowers on it glowed as Runa got enveloped by a black and purple haze. The haze oozed its way over to the Sacred Treasure like tentacles and it began to absorb the mysterious sparkling haze.

"What... is this?" Saizou asked, surprised at what's happening.

"It's the same as the others..." Yuzuki blurted out.

"The same?" Nobuyuki questioned.

"For some reason, each Sacred Treasure that we find, they all absorb the excess mana from Runa-chan and reduces her fever." Hanbee explained, watching the said mana being absorb by the Sacred Treasure.

After what felt like a minute, the dark haze around Runa faded and the remaining mana got absorbed into the hairpin, leaving not one whisp remaining.

Hanbee blinked when he realised the Sacred Treasure isn't changing. He stared at it before remembering how the others changed. He placed it on Runa's hand and clenched it into a fist.

That's when the Sacred Treasure glowed and changed form. It glowed brightly, creating a green-golden light that shined like the sun, blinding everyone.

"What's with the light show?! It's killing my eyes!" Sasuke complained, using his arms to shield his eyes.

"You're so weak!" Saizou sneered, shielding his eyes also. "To admit defeat at this kind shine. No wonder you're so unpopular."

"Shut up!"

After a couple of seconds, the blinding light died down. Everyone lowered their arms and saw the light revealed a small of green light in its stead. They all stared at it in wonder, before flinching when it jumped a bit. Their gaze never left the ball as it flew around Runa, who was still unconscious, circling her a couple of times before stopping before her.

As the ball remained motionless, it glowed brightly for a moment like a heartbeat before it grew larger and changed form.

As it grew, the light revealed a small hedgehog that had wild dark magenta hair and yellow coat like the sun, with its tiny ears sticking out of its mane, and a golden-brown stomach. It had a green headband tide most of its fur on the side, giving it a tree stump-like style with a strawberry decoration glued to it. The creature had large forest green eyes, a large pink star tattoo under its right eye and a pair of matching forest green eyes on its back.

(Appearance.)

"It's a Faery..." Hanbee mumbled.

"*Yawn*" The Faery yawned, rubbing its large eyes with tears in the corner. "That's one way to wake up..." It mumbled.

"The stuffed animal just talked!" Yukimura, Saizou and Sasuke exclaimed in bewilderment.

"I am not a stuffed animal!" The Faery firmly shouted, completely offended. "I am Nova!"

"... Ngh..."

Everyone shifted their attention to the weak grunt, which came from the Toyotomi vassal's directions. Looking down, they saw Runa trying to sit up with the vampire's help.

"Take it easy." Hanbee told her, holding her up.

Runa nodded, still feeling rather woozy.

"Are you the one who awakened me?" Nova asked, smiling ear to ear as she flew down to get a closer look at her new master.

Runa stared at the Faery before her heart began to race again. "K-"

Hanbee placed his hand over the nerve-racking girl. "You're not going to scream, are you?" He asked.

Runa slowly shook her head.

"Okay..." Hanbee hesitantly removed his hand from her mouth.

"Oh, are you nervous? Scared?" Nova asked, seeing how shaky Runa was when she spotted her.

"N... N..." Runa wanted to say something, but her words were stuck in her throat.

"Hm?" Nova tilted her head in wonder as her large eyes never left Runa's shaky body.

"We went through a lot of trouble to find you, Nova." Yukimura mentioned, earning the Faery's attention. "An enemy force was trying to take you, but thanks to Runa's powers, we managed to get to you before they could."

"I see..." Nova murmured. 'It's not they can get me anyway...' She thought, sweatdropping with a wry smile. 

"Also, we would like to ask you of your power." Hanbee requested.

Just like everybody else; Nova was very curious of the sudden request.

◇◇◇◇◇

At Mouri Castle...

In one of the many rooms, Motonari was polishing the Solomon's Cane with care, cleaning off any dirt or dust to make it shine. He was doing it in silence until the door to his room was opened.

"Motonari-sama." A young voice called out.

Motonari paused in his polishing session, his hand, that held the cloth, stopped at the gem. "Yes..." He gently set the relic down on its pillow and turned around to face the strawberry-blonde-haired oni.

The oni was the smallest than the rest of the Mouri clan, but has the brightest personality. He had strawberry-blonde-haired hair, aqua baby blue eyes and short horns pointing up. He wore a sleeveless yellow kimono, that has a hood, pink outlines and matching Japanese shoes.

(Appearance.)

"... Terumoto?" Motonari smiled.

"About capturing the girls..." Terumoto trailed off with a conflicted expression.

"Please speak your mind." Motonari encouraged, putting the cloth he was using down beside him.

"We can't find them." Terumoto quickly said, exhaling heavily. "We nearly had them in Takeda territory, but it seemed they have spotted our movements."

"I see..." Motonari closed his eyes. He thought for a moment before revealing his bright magenta-coloured eyes. "If we can't get them both, then we'll just have to capture one of them in the one place where they'll sure to show up." He stated, smirking.

"Huh?" Terumoto blinked in wonder.

◇◇◇◇◇

Outside the room...

A black cloaked figure heard everything and cursed inside their head. They looked at both ends of the veranda hallways, making sure no one was coming, they lunged up to the tree branch that stuck inside. They grabbed it with ease and leaped over the castle walls. They landed on the ground with ease and ran to the east side of the territory - heading straight for Sanada.

◇◇◇◇◇

The next day...

Everyone walked down the dry path in the many fields of Sanada. Even though it was warm and sunny, many gusts of wind blew here and there, sending chills around their body.

"Where are we going, Yukimura-san?" Yuzuki asked, no longer able to stand the awkward silence.

"To the village." The commander replied, leading the group with his brother beside him and Yuzuki on his other side.

"Why?"

"Remember the sudden trombe problem we had a few days ago?" Hanbee asked. He was carrying Runa, who was holding Nova, who reverted back into the Sacred Treasure of Terraria.

"Yes..."

"There was so many that they grew into a large tree, and well..." Nobuyuki trailed off and pointed to the village up ahead. "That's why."

Following his direction, Yuzuki looked to the far back of the village - the place near the entrance of the woods they would use to collect firewood, and noticed there was a large hole in the forest like a big crater.

Yuzuki's eyes widened at the sight. If she looked carefully enough, only the parts that were exposed to soil, there were no trees or grass. "How did it ended up like this?" She asked.

"Trombe is a rare type of plant that rapidly grows when the seed gathers the right amount of mana and explodes into many seedlings, and grows in a matter of seconds." Hanbee explained.

Yuzuki then remembered the fruit she showed to Runa and it did exploded the moment the girl touched it. 'Did that fruit absorbed her mana...?' She wondered.

"Once it grew, its roots continues to suck up the mana in the plants and soils around it, causing the trombe to grow stronger and more dangerous. If it isn't dealt with when it's still a weed, it could turn Sanada territory into a wasteland, and can cause harvesting to be very difficult."

"That's why Runa panicked..." Yukimura murmured, staring at the girl, who had been in her mind as she continued to stare at the Sacred Treasure.

Runa rubbed one of the flowers on the hairpin as she remembered what Nova asked her to do.

Flashback:

"No way..." Runa said, hating the idea.

"Yes, yes, yes." Nova continuously nodded her head.

When they got back to the castle, Hanbee immediately revealed his request to the Faery, and the Faery requested something from Runa.

"Can't one of us do it?" Sasuke asked, not seeing the point on why Nova needed Runa specifically.

"No." Nova said. She spun around to face him. "None of you possess the right amount of mana needed for something this large-scale." She stated. "Or... any..."

Runa sulked and buried her head in her knees, curling herself into a ball. She could feel Hanbee stroking her hair in attempt to comfort her.

"If you want to help the villagers survive through the harsh winter this year, Hime-sama is the only person who can do this." Nova stated.

"But I... don't even... know the words... for the... ritual..." Runa said, her voice muffling through the fabric of her clothes.

"That won't be a problem. I'll teach you."

Flashback ended:

"I want to die..." Runa mumbled, burying her face in Hanbee's neck.

"You'll be fine." Hanbee whispered, falling back in the group a bit so they could talk in private. He patted her on the head. "And this is also a good opportunity."

"Opportunity for what...?" Runa asked, her voice muffling through the fabric of the vampire's clothes.

"To relieve some stress."

"..." Runa gripped the Sacred Treasure harder.

Hanbee placed his hand on her cheek, making the girl look at him. "You're..." He paused for a second. He glanced ahead to see everyone talking and didn't notice their own conversation. Hanbee then turned his attention back to Runa. "You're building up too much mana inside you." He whispered. "If you do this ritual, you can release all that unneeded mana and keep it under control."

"..." Runa still can't shake the feeling it's going to end in a disaster.

After making it to the village, they all headed to the place where the giant trombe grew. After it was defeated by Yukimura and the others, the trombe sucked up a lot of mana from the soil that it created a large circle with exposed soil, and it looked like a giant red/brown plate was placed in the forest.

"I never imagined a trombe could do this much damage..." Yukimura admitted as he and the ohers stood at the edge of the crate.

"If the trombe would have spreaded throughout Sanada territory, the damage would be too great to handle." Nobuyuki added. If they had let it continue to grow, it would be difficult for the farmers to migrate, plant or grow any crops.

"The land would eventually lose their mana if the healing ritual is not held." Hanbee chimed in.

"..." Runa stared at the crate with a blank expression. She didn't know what to think. Her mind was so busy memorising the prayers Nova told her and now that she had to do it, it just makes Runa wanted to dig a hole and hide in it for the rest of her life.

"Let's go." Yukimura said, taking the first step into the crate.

Everyone slowly descended into the crate as well, being careful with their steps to not slip since the ledge was rather steep. The soil was not the moist black soil that you often see in the forest, but the dry soil of reddish brown that looked like a flower bed. Every step they took, the soil would crunch together. Eventually, they made it to the bottom and didn't waste any time walking to the middle of the crate.

"Okay." Hanbee gently set Runa down. "The moment of truth."

Runa gulped, her body wad shivering out of nervousness.

"You can do it." Yukimura encouraged.

Runa whimpered as she slowly made her way to the dead centre of the crate. Once she found the spot she wanted, Runa sat on her knees and delicately held the Sacred Treasure in her hands, holding it close to her chest; but specifically - her scar.

"Calm down." Alice told her.

Runa stopped shaking at the familiar voice.

"You can do the ceremony with peace in your mind. But this is also the chance for you to show off a little."

"Showing off  was not what I was planning..." Runa admitted.

"I think it's better to use as much mana as you can. Relieve some mana out of you before it 'explodes'."

'Dramatic as always...' Runa thought, relaxing her shoulders. When she felt relaxed, Runa took a slow, deep breath and closed her eyes. "O Izira, Goddess of Water, bringer of healing and upheaval. And the twelve disciples who serve her."

The Astral Energy inside the raven-haired beauty, where she imagined she trapped it inside a large cystal, began to leak open, despite how much the crack healed so that it doesn't overflow, and move the mana inside her. Runa found that mana overflowing from the back and flowed into the hairpin in search of an exit.

"Hear my prayer and grant me your holy powers."

The pink stones, shaped in the flowers, embedded in them gave off a strong green light. The Astral Power swirled, and the occurred around the raven-haired beauty. The wind shook her hair and rose them, making it look like a bunch of her locks look like tentacles going berserk, as well as her frilly sleeves and the hem of her skirt fluttered.

(Imagine Runa holding the hairpin near her chest while she's sitting down.)

The wind was so strong that Yuzuki, Hanbee and the Sanada Army was amazed at the sight before them. They didn't even care that their hair or their clothes were fluttering everywhere, they got shot with bewilderment at the magical ritual before them.

"Your friend has been hurt by the minions of evil." Runa continued, concentrating on her mana being solely absorbed by the Sacred Treasure. "Grant me the strength to heal Terraria, the Goddess of Earth."

The green light expanded like a ring and the soil beneath everybody's feet began to sprout out green.

"In return, I offer you a sacred melody."

Yukimura gasped when he realised blades of grass were flying passed his face. But his gaze never left Runa.

"Unleash your supreme waves, and offer your pure protection." Runa opened her eyes under her blindfold and felt her scar burning up because of her mana. "For as far as I seek, cover these lands in your hues!"

At once, a large chunk of Astral Power flowed into the hairpin, and all that mana bursted out of the flowers and the light expanded out like a giant shock wave, just as big as the crate, and penetrated into the soil through the hairpin.

The parts of the black soil spreaded with rushing noise, and just as the green light flung pass the group, they all looked down to see fresh green sprouts sprouting out beneath them and expanded in a rapid pace.

They all gasped in amazement as the grass continued to grow, reaching their ankles in a matter of seconds, and grew all over the land that had become a crater in no time.

Runa felt her scar burning up even more as it released more mana before she could suppress it. Instead, she flowed all that mana into the hairpin and gripped it tightly as it use her mana to grow the grass.

"Stop!" Hanbee ordered. "That's plenty!"

Runa gasped and lost focus. She quickly suppressed her mana, that was being released and locked it in. She inhaled calmly, and looked down to see her scar stop emitting the golden light and remained calm.

At the same time, the flowers stopped glowing and changed into Nova.

When the wind died down, Runa exhaled in relief. "Will... that do... Nova...?" She asked, looking around and saw the entire crate was covered in tall, strong, healthy grass. When she turned over and faced the others, she was lined with stunning faces as if they saw something incredible. Runa also noticed Nova had a smug on her on her face while the others had their eyes wide open and their jaws dropped, especially Sasuke and Yukimura.

"Yes." Nova nodded. "The land's mana has been replenished."

"Too much, if you ask me." Hanbee murmured, sweatdropping with a side smile.

Runa heard what he said and flinched. 'I think... I've overdid it...' She thought.

"That was... amazing!" Sasuke exclaimed, running over to the raven-haired beauty and effortlessly picked her up.

"I told you, you'd do great!" Nova ranted, smiling as she flew over to the two.

"It's a big surprise." Kamanosuke commented, but walked over to the youngsters.

"That was quite a flashy performance." Saizou added. "I'm impressed." He walked over to them.

Hanbee smiled at the scene. He watched Runa being carried by Sasuke and listened to all of the compliments she's receiving. His eyes then trailed over to Yuzuki and the Sanada siblings, who were still stunned. "Are you three that in shock?" He teased.

"Huh?" Yuzuki blinked, snapping out of her trance. "Y-Yes. I was really surprised. I had no idea Runa-san could do something this." She admitted before realising how she put it. "I didn't mean it in a bad way, it's just-"

"Surprising?" Hanbee laughed, amused at her panicked expression. "Yes, Runa-chan..." His eyes trailed over to the group. He saw Sasuke and Saizou fighting again as, Kamanosuke and Runa watched the two in between with bored expressions. "... is indeed full of surprises."

◇◇◇◇◇

After fulfilling the request by Nova and secured her with the Sanada Army, Runa was, of course, left bedridden. By the time she was okay to be out and about, fall had reached its peak.

◇◇◇◇◇

A few days later...

Sitting on her futon, already dressed for bed, Runa stared at the colourless moon with a wondering expression. The air just seemed so warm and comforting, that it's making Runa rather sleepy. The darkness always put her at ease. The dark mists of the night were devastating beautiful. Runa reached her hand out towards the moon as if it was within her grasp. Everything around her was stunning.

"Sorry for the wait."

Runa jumped slightly and when she turned her head to see who it was she relaxed.

Hanbee giggled as he walked into the room and set the tray down beside the girl, before sitting down himself. "How do you feel?" He asked. "Do you still feel tired?"

Runa shook her head.

Hanbee placed his hand on her forehead and felt her temperature was normal. "Good, your fever's all broken."

"It's cold..." Runa mumbled, shivering when a sudden cold breeze blew through the opened door. She rubbed her arm for warmth.

"Fall had reached its peak." Hanbee mentioned as he got up and walked over to the door, gently closing it. He turned around and went back to his original position. "That means you need to take care of yourself more."

"..." Runa stared at the vampire with wonder.

"Runa-chan?" Hanbee questioned.

"Are you... alright, Nii-chan...?" Runa asked with a concerned expression.

"Huh?"

"You look... paler than normal..."

Hanbee's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? I'm fine." He smiled.

'No... You don't look fine.' Runa thought, worried. She noticed his behaviour was a little off after they found Nova. He seemed to be in pain and paler too. 'Maybe he's feeling really sick...' "Are you sure...?" She asked.

"Yes." Hanbee nodded, keeping the smile on his face. "I'm a vampire so I'm fi - Achoo!" He immediately covered his mouth.

Runa reached her hand over and placed it under his bangs, feeling how warm the vampire's forehead was.

Hanbee dropped the act and leaned on the cool hand on his forehead.

"Ah!" Runa yelped when the vampire suddenly leaned all his weight against her. With her strength, she wasn't able to support him, which caused them to collapsed onto the futon. "Ow..." Runa hissed before realising Hanbee was breathing rather quickly. "H-Hanbee, are you okay...?!"

"Mm, somehow... I feel a bit... anemic..." Hanbee admitted. He couldn't help but rest his hot cheek on Runa's cool chest, listening to her calm heartbeat as he snuggled the girl closer to him than before. 'She smells so good...' He thought, breathing in her scent to calm his aching head. "I can't... keep myself up."

"It's because you've been taking care of me non-stop..." Runa said, guilt held in her voice.

"No, no... it's not your fault. It's mine. Sorry for dragging you into this too..." Hanbee whispered, closing his eyes.

'He looked to be in a lot of pain...' Runa could tell the vampire was exhausted. The hike up the mountain must've made him reached his limit and when she got sick, Hanbee must've tried to hide the fact he was unwell. 'I need to hurry and get Nobuyuki...!' "Excuse me... for a moment... Nii-chan..." Runa tried to get up, but her body was suddenly forced back down. "Huh?"

With his eyes still closed, Hanbee wrapped his arms around Runa's delicate body when she tried to leave.

"Nii-chan...?" Runa questioned.

"There's a sweet smell from your body. A really nice smell..." Hanbee whispered, slowly sitting up, his arms pressed on either side of her head to support his weight, leaving him on top of her. "... a delicious one."

Runa stared at the vampire with a somewhat surprising look behind her blindfold.

Hanbee giggled lightly at sister's expression. It was rare for him to see something like that, so he must've caught her off-guard. "Your skin is so pretty." He complimented, admiring how mystic and shimmery Runa's skin was when the moonlight gracefully shined over it.

"To the point where I want to touch it forever..." When Hanbee placed his hands on Runa's kimono, he pulled it down slightly to expose her shoulder with a happy laugh. He also noticed it was shimmering in the moonlight as well. It was like the night sky had been reflected onto her skin.

"Nii-chan..." Runa was getting more worried.

"... Sorry, but just a little bit... okay...?"

Runa didn't move when Hanbee leaned over, or when she felt his low body temperature from the kiss he dropped on her shoulder, or the weakness in the voice of his request. 'No fair...' She thought, thinking things over at the situation they're in. 'Who can resist a request like that...?'

Then Runa suddenly thought of something.

The girl took her index finger to her lips, and punctured it with her teeth. Blood emerged from the small wound; her alluring, sweet scent enveloped the siblings, making the vampire look at the wound in delight.

The moment Hanbee had taken a whiff of Runa's blood's aroma, he couldn't control his eyes from staring at the wound with delight. His throat instantly dried up, his mouth salivated for a taste, his fangs elongated, and he let out panting breaths. Hanbee clenched the pale blue kimono, Runa's wearing, tightly to control his urge to have a mouthful of her sweet blood.

Runa gently pressed her fingers to his lips. She used her thumb to apply pressure at the bottom of her wound, causing a drop of her blood to make contact with Hanbee's tongue, making him taste the luscious sweetness of her blood.

Hanbee grabbed her hand as he licked the wound, and savoured the limited amount of taste he could get.

"Hmm... You're more sick than I thought..." Runa faintly blurted out, staring at the expression on his face; his eyes said it all - desire, thirst and hunger.

Hanbee continued to lick the wound on her finger, then pecked down to her wrist. He peeked at his sister, silently asking for her permission.

Runa nodded, giving him her approval. For her - he's always allowed to drink from her whenever he wanted. For Runa... she doesn't just let anyone drink from her... There's only a few people she would allow...

Hanbee proceeded to lick her wrist, relishing the scent and taste of her skin that he absolutely loved. He pierced his fangs on her wrist tenderly, and sucked the sweet blood he desired.

Whether he was acting out of concern for her, or whether it was because he was in poor health, but Runa noticed he pierced his fangs into her wrist very slowly.

'Her blood is extremely intoxicating...' Hanbee thought, burying his fangs deeper into her skin. 'It's sweeter than any nectar in this world...' With each gulp he took, he exhaled heavily, savouring the sweet flavour going down his throat.

Runa felt the vampire's breathing brushing her skin, and felt his lips getting hotter with each gulp he took of her blood. Even though she should be feeling some sort of pain spiking at her wrist, but Runa didn't feel anything. To her - this was normal.

After swallowing loudly a few times, Hanbee removed his fangs from Runa's wrist and got off of her. He sat down on the free space on the futon and pulled his sister onto his lap.

The raven-haired beauty leaned her head on the vampire's shoulder as she looked up at him with innocence.

Hanbee gently grasped her wristed again, that's being stained with blood. He glanced down at her and smiled. "Let me clean it up." He said before he started to lick the excess blood that came out from the wound. When he was done, the bite marks healed in an instant, because of Runa's enhanced healing ability. His lime green eyes made contact with Runa's, that's being kept hidden by her blindfold. "I'm sorry, Runa-chan." Hanbee stared down at her with guilt. "I couldn't control myself. Your blood was just incredibly sweet, it's very addicting." He reasoned.

"It's okay..." Runa leaned closer to Hanbee and licked the blood left on the side of his lips. She surprised the vampire by pecking his soft, pale cheek lightly and petted his head like petting a dog that just earned a treat from his master. Runa stared at Hanbee's stunned expression as she continued to pet him. "You're a vampire..." She stated. "It is your nature to feed." She stopped petting him.

Hanbee sighed in relief. He was afraid she would start to hate him for his selfish wishes. He hugged her, pressing his cheek against hers with affection. He gently set her back down on the futon and took off his shoes, as well as pulling the ribbon, that's tying his hair up out, letting his hair fall above his shoulders. After combing his hair with his hands a bit, he removed the red butterfly mask and set it down next to the futon before laying down beside Runa, pulling her closer by her waist, and wrapped his arms around her small frame.

"So...?" Runa asked the moment he laid down. "How do you feel...?"

Hanbee giggled. "I feel a lot more comfortable~" He sang.

"Really...? There's no... dizziness, and you don't feel bad... or... anything...?"

"You're prone to worry, you know?" Hanbee pointed out, smiling.

Runa still wasn't convinced.

"It's not a lie. Look." Hanbee grabbed her delicate hands and brought them to his cheeks. "You can tell by touching me, right?"

'He's telling the truth...' Runa could feel his temperature went back to normal, but to double check, she moved her left hand to his forehead and felt it; it was normal. She switched her gaze from her hands to the vampire's face. Even though she can't see what he sees, Runa could tell his complexion was different from earlier. 'And the colour on his face is much better.' She sighed in relief.

Hanbee laughed. "That tickles~ Is touching my face that much fun~?" He teased.

"Ah..." Runa immediately removed her hands from his face and brought them to her chest. "Sorry..."

"Oh, you don't have to let go." Hanbee pouted. "Rather, I wouldn't mind if we continued to stay like this." He gently moved her head to his chest as he buried his nose in her parue-scented hair. "I'm really relaxed when I feel your warmth, because it makes me feel fine." He whispered.

Runa buried her face in his chest. "I... feel the same way..." Her voice muffled through the fabric of his shirt. "When I'm in your arms... I feel... relaxed... With what's going on lately... I just..." She gripped his shirt. "I'm just... I'm just so tired..." Tears slipped through her blindfold.

Hanbee let the girl cry as he silently stroke her smooth hair. He stared out to the door to see the moon shining through the screens. But the small shadow near the edge was what he caught his interest.

After a minute, Runa calmed down. Her cheeks were stained with dry tears as her face got flushed by her anxiety release.

"Goodnight, Runa-chan." Hanbee whispered, his lips kissed the top of her head gently, and buried his face on her silky, fragrant hair once again.

"Goodnight..." Runa felt her eyes going heavy before the maddening void of darkness consumed her. "... Onii-chan..." She embraced him tightly, clutching his shirt with a fist with the other laying loosely between them.

When he made sure she was fast asleep, Hanbee lifted his head from her hair and glared at the shadow figure on the other side of the door. "It's rude to eavesdrop, Nova."

The door slided open, leaving enough gap for the Faery hedgehog to slide on through.

At the same time, Hanbee slowly sat up, holding his sister close to make sure she didn't wake up or felt something was off. He placed her head on his shoulder as her left hand still firmly held his shirt as her right arm layed loosely on her lap.

"My bad." Nova said, rubbing the back of her head. "I thought you want to hear the riddle to find the next Sacred Treasure." She reasoned, staying near the door.

Hanbee sighed, knowing his commander wanted this information so they could get another in their possession. After all, a war was coming up. "Fine. But the moment you said this, you will tell no one other than the Sanada Army, okay?" He instructed.

Nova nodded.

◇◇◇◇◇

At the same time...

A black cloaked figure stood near the lake near Toyotomi Castle, waiting for some uninvited guests to show up.

"*ROAR!*"

A smirk made its way to their lips as they looked over their shoulders, watching a swarm of yakuma started to gather out of the woods.

They let out a sadistic smile hung on their lips as they unsheathed their red sword, twirling it with ease. "Now..." They turned around to face them fully now that they've came out of the shadows. They stood before the shadow of beasts with gace as they pointed their blade at the hunched monsters. "... please don't bore me."