Prologue - Heian Period 865 (1157 years ago)

It's a cold, windy day, the first snow just falls.

The year of samurai reign and power rising.

A young girl, hiding under the roof of an old shrine, shelter herself from the

piercing cold snowflakes.

Samurai are everywhere, holding their katana around their waist.

She was both terrified and hungry.

Her empty stomach growl, asked for fill.

Her families already died due to samurai attack about a month ago.

From a wealthy and strong clan, no one would ever imagine that this tragedy would

befall upon her.

Nothing left from the brutal war against the

same humankind.

She only manages to hid herself under a pile of lifeless corpse and get away from

the samurai inspection.

She ran far away from her village, day and night, doesn't stop walking until she

felt that it's safe for her to stop and rest for some food.

The only food that available for her was only from the nature itself.

She's only ten by that time, but she already manages to save herself from the harsh

situation.

She did not waver, neither cried nor mourned for all the

thing that had happened

Yet here she is now, hides herself under the roof of an old shrine, away from the

merciless cold snow.

She used to love the gentle touch of snow, while eating some newly cooked hot

potato, side by side with her parent.

But for now, she hates it so bad as she doesn't want to even experience it again.

Not long after that, she heard a footstep behind her back.

Too scared to look at, she just bowed herself to the floor, as she couldn't hide how

bad her body were shaking right now.

"I am so sorry. I didn't know that you were here. Please forgive me." She starts

to cry.

That man sits in front of her.

"What is your name?" He asked.

It was a decent looking man, smiling peacefully towards her.

"Ha... Hana... Hanabi..." She answered, try to peek at him.

Upon sitting in front of the man, she looks so tiny and fragile.

He could do her bad at any time.

"Hanabi-chan, it's okay. You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you." He spoke.

Hanabi mustered her bravery and sit in such a more comfortable way.

She clenched her hand so tight, almost hurting herself from her long dirty fingernails.

"I am Hibiki. Where are you from? Do you want me to send you back home?" He

asked her with the most soft and sweet voice he could offer.

"I am Hanabi from the Kuragari clan. My parent, my families, my clan and my home

already perish by the act of samurai. I got no place to go anymore." She

answered him, trying to hold back her tears.

Shock from how well her speech is, how matured she muttered her words, Hibiki smiled.

"Kuragari, huh? How old are you?" He asked again.

"I'm ten years old." Hanabi look down as she answered.

She is the young lady from a wealthy clan.

Learning how to poetry and etiquette from a very

young age.

There was nothing about her that left to be not amazed about.

"Do you want to follow me? I am a traveler. I travel around, searching for

stuff." Hibiki invited her to join him.

He knew that if he left this helpless girl alone, no good will befall her.

"What if you are a bad person? You look the same as the samurai. You got katana with

you." She frowned.

"This katana is also to protect me from the bad guys. I promise I will never hurt

you. I will protect you from the bad guy. If I turn out to be the bad guy, run

away from me, okay?" Hibiki take out his promise finger, trying to

convince her.

Out of the sudden, her stomach growl.

Give her a sign that her body need some replenishment.

"That is so rude of me, pardon me." Hanabi felt ashamed.

"Here." He gave her a rice ball for her to eat.

Her eyes widened.

Slowly, she let her hands out, take the rice ball using both of her hands.

Hanabi couldn't resist it, as she doesn't eat a decent food for quite a long time.

"There, there..." Hibiki patted her head, feeling grateful for gaining the trust

from her.

From that very moment, Hanabi follow every steps of Hibiki's no matter how hard the

path is.

He teaches her how to defense herself from the bad, how to use her chakra and how to wield her jutsu.

Hibiki did not age a bit from the moment they met.

Despite already reaching 100 years, he still looks like a 15 years old boy.

Time seems to be frozen for him.

As soon as she turned 14 years old, Hanabi suddenly fall weak.

Making Hibiki worried about her day and night.

He tried everything, from acupuncture to

chakra replenish.

Nothing seems to be works for her besides, her health become worsened and incurable.

At her deathbed, there it seems to be one last thing that Hibiki left to do such

thing as hope, to save the only person that he loved from the bottom of his

heart.

To embedded within her the power that Hibiki been collecting for

almost 100 years.

Knowing that this is such a godly power, he couldn't take the chance to give it to her.

He doesn't want Hanabi to live the immortal live like himself.

This power might endanger her in the future.

There were a lot of things he worried about.

While Hibiki deep in his thought, Hanabi call out for him, "Hibiki..." with

such a cracked and weaken voice.

"Yes, I'm here." Hibiki reached out her right hand and hold onto it so tight,

didn't want to let her go.

"Thank you saving me and include me in your world. I guess that this is my time."

She told him while look deep into his dark green eyes.

"I wish I could be here longer, so that you won't be lonely." Hanabi let out

a heavy breath as she gasped for

air.

"I promised you; I will protect you with my life. At whatever cost it might

take." Hibiki left a peak on her forehead.

"I will never let anyone lay their hands on you, not even the grim reaper."

He throws her a smile, as he picks her up and embrace her in his warmth hug.

Hibiki raise his left hand slowly into the air, "seal jutsu, release." he

said.

Along with the gentle and soft motion of his hand, eight small sphere balls appeared

floating in the air.

Those spheres rotating in circle and transform into one bright red sphere.

Hanabi now in the verge of her death, gasping for more air.

Hibiki couldn't bear to see her dying like this when he can do something about.

"I love you, Hanabi." He kissed her on the forehead as he waived his left

hand to the direction of the red sphere, guiding it into Hanabi core heart.

The once used to be discolored face of her start to show some tone.

Her body become warmer after a few second pass by.

Hibiki sighed in relief, the ritual succeeds.

 End of Prologue:

Heian Period 865 (1157 years ago)

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