Into the Beginning of the End
By Quiet Chaos
Chapter One
The scent of fall drifted in the night, its stench tainting the relaxing warmth of the summer's late hours. All remained quiet in and around the Koji mansion; its residents ignoring the smell of change in the predawn hours. Locked in deep slumber, none sensed what lurked in the night.
Nothing stirred as it swept by, getting steadily and silently closer to the house. It moved like a wisp of smoke on a night breeze: invisible, but present to any who cared to smell.
Noiselessly opening the locked front door, it entered the house. It paused, getting its bearings and sensing where the manor's seven occupants slept unaware. Then it moved on, ascending the stairs leading to the vulnerable bedrooms.
The first room it passed held the snoozing Mia Koji. The next had Sage Date and Rowen Hashiba, and the one after that contained Cye Mouri and Kento Lei Fan, whose roaring snores would've concealed any sounds the intruder might have made. The last door was the one it sought.
There he lay, Ryo Sanada. As it moved closer it could see in the moonlight that his black hair was matted and tangled on the pillow; his body lay twisted in sweat-soaked covers. Only his rhythmic gasps for breath interrupted the still night.
So this is the one, it thought. An easy job... It laughed silently and unsheathed a blade; the soft scraping sound it created pierced the empty air like a hum of death. But Ryo did not awaken. He was lost in a dream, oblivious to the danger hovering over him. The noise instead set off a most unexpected alarm.
An enormous white tiger leapt up over the bed, roaring with rage at the trespasser, who moved back just in time. The commotion not only awoke Ryo, but everyone else who had been asleep in the mansion.
Wildfire stared at the intruder, his eyes fogged with sleep and his mind numb from the sudden wake up. The end of White Blaze's tail caught him lightly on the nose, snapping him into reality and bringing clarity to his mind.
"Who are you?" he demanded while his fingers instinctively searched for his armor orb. He glared at his opponent through the darkness, waiting for an answer. Judging by the moonlight, he guessed the attacker to be female. She wore tight black leather jacket and pants. Combat boots, shin and forearm guards, black gloves, and a black mask also adorned her, protecting both her body and identity. She held a katana between herself and White Blaze.
Other voices drifted into the tense silence that hung in the room. "What's going on?"
"That sounded like White Blaze."
"Did Ryo fall on him again?"
"I thought that was Kento snoring."
"Come on, guys, let's just check. Then we can all get back to bed."
White Blaze roared again, urging the others to come and help. The intruder stole the moment to leap over to the door and lock it, and Ryo's hand finally found his armor orb. He quickly summoned his sub-armor and moved to his tiger's side.
"I won't ask again! Who are you?" Instead of answering, she calmly sheathed her sword and pulled out two pistols. She aimed one at Ryo and the other at White Blaze.
"Ryo? Are you all right?" Rowen called through the door while fumbling with the nob. "Why is his door locked?"
Louder and impatient knocks followed, accompanied by Kento's boisterous voice. "Ryo? You up, bud?"
BANG!
"RYO!"
"Kento! Break down the door!" Sage yelled.
Several incessant crashes of flesh on wood echoed in the room where Ryo stood, unhurt, but dazed. His attacker still faced him, guns in hand, surprise in her eyes as she stared at the small dent in his left armor breast.
Suddenly the wood gave way under Kento's weight as he charged through the door. He carried so much momentum that he couldn't stop himself as he tripped on the door shards and crashed face first on the floor, mumbling curses all the way at his sleep-induced clumsiness.
"Ryo?" Cye called as he stumbled through the door. "You okay?" Soon everyone had found their way through the darkness and into the room, only to stop and stare at the shadowed face off. Mia, last to enter, turned on the lights.
"Guys, look out!" Ryo yelled as the blinding artificial light exploded in the room. Suddenly more gun shots rang out, and everyone instinctively ducked, Sage threw himself protectively on top of Mia, pushing her to the safety of the ground. But the shots had not been aimed at them. Ryo was the first to look up and see his assassin running full throttle at the gun-shot glass door, the one leading to the outside balcony, and crash right through it. Once outside she hurtled herself up onto the railing and leapt into the night.
"Hey! She's escaping!" Kento yelled as he briskly stood, shoving off a confused Cye.
"After her!" cried Rowen.
"Let's go, Blaze," Ryo said. White Blaze growled in response and quickly followed the scent of the assassin out the window, Ryo ran closely behind. As soon as their feet had touched the earth, they were lost in the chase. Shortly after, the rest of the Ronins followed.
"Ryo! Wait up!" called Cye when he was outside, but Wildfire was already too far to hear.
"Rowen, take to the air and see if you can spot them," Sage said.
"Right." He summoned his full armor and flew above the trees.
"See anything?" Halo asked.
"No, nothing. It's too dark out. Wait a minute..." he paused, squinting into the distance. Suddenly his senses tingled with the familiar blast of red warmth, emanating in the distant area he was looking at. "Sage, he's summoned his armor!" the archer called down. "I see them now! They're headed for the main road!"
"Okay, I've got a lock on Ryo now," said Sage. "Rowen, you fly over there and give him backup. The rest of us will go on foot and meet you there as soon as possible. Go!"
"Gotcha!" With that settled, Rowen flew off as fast as he could. Ryo, please be all right, he silently prayed.
Ryo ran as fast as his armor allowed, but even with the extra speed it gave, he could only catch glimpses of his quarry. What on earth is going on? he wondered. We've had four months of peace since Talpa's destruction and no contact whatsoever with the Dynasty since. Now this. He paused in his thoughts as White Blaze suddenly changed direction. I feel that the Nether World is somehow involved, but, he scowled, she doesn't act or feel like a Dynasty demon at all. Who is she?
He skidded to a stop beside White Blaze and habitually put a hand on his sheathed sword. He glanced at his surroundings. They had run further and faster than he had first thought. They now stood in a small clearing off the side of the main road, which was over two miles from Mia's house. But there she was, standing with her guns drawn again on him and White Blaze. Behind her he could just make out the front tire of a motorcycle.
He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "Who are you?" he seethed.
"Disarm."
"What?"
"Disarm yourself," she said slowly between measured breaths. "Or I'll kill your cat." The gun aimed at White Blaze twitched slightly, adding silent emphasis to her threat.
"Answer me first," he said cooly, releasing his grip on the Wildfire sword. "Who are you? And why are you trying to kill me?"
"Gee, why would an assassin try to kill someone?" She laughed sarcastically. "Could it be that someone just asked me to?"
"Who was it?"
"Sorry, but that's confidential," she sneered. "Now. Disarm so I can make this a quick kill." She raised the gun higher so it pointed at his head, stressing her order.
"RYO!" A golden arrow flew out of nowhere and shot straight into the gun, melting it. The assassin tossed the ruined weapon and, at the same time, fired the other, the one aimed at White Blaze.
"BLAZE!" Ryo screamed, his cries of anguish erupting in the night air and melding with the pained howls of his downed tiger. He ran over to his cat who lay on the ground, blood trickling down from a hole in his front leg and staining his white fur. "It's okay, Blaze," he crooned shakily as he stroked the silken head.
White Blaze whimpered softly. That was it. Hot white anger surged into the bearer of Wildfire, flaring in his blue eyes. He grit his teeth. How dare she...
Rowen descended from above the trees, landing protectively between the assassin and his downed companions. He held another arrow taunt in his bow and had it aimed straight at her heart.
"Drop the gun!" he ordered. "My arrows are known for always hitting their mark, and I'm sure it'll do more than just pierce your flesh!" She reluctantly obeyed, letting the gun fall with a heavy thud to the dirt.
Out of the corner of his eye, the archer watched his leader slowly stand. "Ryo, you okay? The others are on their way. But you just say the word, and I'll send this girl to the morgue." He pulled the arrow tighter.
"No," Ryo said quietly.
"What?" Rowen glanced quickly at Wildfire, searching for reason, but Ryo's eyes were shadowed by his helmet, which was glowing? Rowen continued to stare out of his peripheral vision. The armor of Wildfire was indeed glowing, more like pulsating with red light.
"Just protect White Blaze," he said, his voice growing lower, more dangerous.
"Ryo, I don-"
"She's mine!" Ryo roared, charging like a blast of fire. The archer gasped at Ryo's savage rage; never had he seen such hatred and murderous anger in Wildfire. What had happened to him?
Wildfire drew his swords in a blur, and with ferocious speed, slashed at the girl. She leapt back, dodging the blades by mere inches. The air around Ryo began to shimmer and liquify with angry heat, and she had no choice but to back away from him.
Then Ryo rounded on her again. This time, she wasn't quick enough to dodge all of the attack, and one of the blades sliced cleanly through her mask. She had avoided a flesh wound, but the mask had caught fire from the burning blades, and she was forced to tear it off, or burn.
All anger that had enveloped Ryo froze to a sudden stop upon seeing her face. Her hair, set free from the confines of the mask, drew around her face like a curtain of black satin, fluttering on an unseen wind. It was tied in a thick ponytail high on the back of her head. Black locks of hair, creating curled bangs, drifted quietly in front of her eyes.
Her eyes. Piercing orbs of mismatched gold and blue flared at him in the moonlight. He staggered under their gaze, taking in the impact of the beautiful face that was throwing daggers. She turned away, releasing him from her stare, and seeking the source of noises emanating from the forest. Following her gaze, Ryo saw the other three Ronins appear.
Cye was the first to enter the clearing. "Ryo, you all right?"
"Who's the-" Kento was going to say "babe," but was cut off as the girl threw three marble-sized balls at them. The spheres exploded, releasing thick clouds of white smoke.
"Hey!" Rowen choked, tears coming to his eyes as he inhaled the opaque vapor. "It's tear gas!"
"Where is she?" Sage coughed.
"I can't see anything!" cried Kento as he blindly swung his tetsubo through the oblivious smoke. He jumped as the sound of a motorcycle engine revving up sliced through the air. "Over there!" He started running for the noise, but had to stop when he realized that the vehicle and driver were out of reach. The assassin had fled and was beyond all reach before the tear gas had dissipated.
By Quiet Chaos
Chapter One
The scent of fall drifted in the night, its stench tainting the relaxing warmth of the summer's late hours. All remained quiet in and around the Koji mansion; its residents ignoring the smell of change in the predawn hours. Locked in deep slumber, none sensed what lurked in the night.
Nothing stirred as it swept by, getting steadily and silently closer to the house. It moved like a wisp of smoke on a night breeze: invisible, but present to any who cared to smell.
Noiselessly opening the locked front door, it entered the house. It paused, getting its bearings and sensing where the manor's seven occupants slept unaware. Then it moved on, ascending the stairs leading to the vulnerable bedrooms.
The first room it passed held the snoozing Mia Koji. The next had Sage Date and Rowen Hashiba, and the one after that contained Cye Mouri and Kento Lei Fan, whose roaring snores would've concealed any sounds the intruder might have made. The last door was the one it sought.
There he lay, Ryo Sanada. As it moved closer it could see in the moonlight that his black hair was matted and tangled on the pillow; his body lay twisted in sweat-soaked covers. Only his rhythmic gasps for breath interrupted the still night.
So this is the one, it thought. An easy job... It laughed silently and unsheathed a blade; the soft scraping sound it created pierced the empty air like a hum of death. But Ryo did not awaken. He was lost in a dream, oblivious to the danger hovering over him. The noise instead set off a most unexpected alarm.
An enormous white tiger leapt up over the bed, roaring with rage at the trespasser, who moved back just in time. The commotion not only awoke Ryo, but everyone else who had been asleep in the mansion.
Wildfire stared at the intruder, his eyes fogged with sleep and his mind numb from the sudden wake up. The end of White Blaze's tail caught him lightly on the nose, snapping him into reality and bringing clarity to his mind.
"Who are you?" he demanded while his fingers instinctively searched for his armor orb. He glared at his opponent through the darkness, waiting for an answer. Judging by the moonlight, he guessed the attacker to be female. She wore tight black leather jacket and pants. Combat boots, shin and forearm guards, black gloves, and a black mask also adorned her, protecting both her body and identity. She held a katana between herself and White Blaze.
Other voices drifted into the tense silence that hung in the room. "What's going on?"
"That sounded like White Blaze."
"Did Ryo fall on him again?"
"I thought that was Kento snoring."
"Come on, guys, let's just check. Then we can all get back to bed."
White Blaze roared again, urging the others to come and help. The intruder stole the moment to leap over to the door and lock it, and Ryo's hand finally found his armor orb. He quickly summoned his sub-armor and moved to his tiger's side.
"I won't ask again! Who are you?" Instead of answering, she calmly sheathed her sword and pulled out two pistols. She aimed one at Ryo and the other at White Blaze.
"Ryo? Are you all right?" Rowen called through the door while fumbling with the nob. "Why is his door locked?"
Louder and impatient knocks followed, accompanied by Kento's boisterous voice. "Ryo? You up, bud?"
BANG!
"RYO!"
"Kento! Break down the door!" Sage yelled.
Several incessant crashes of flesh on wood echoed in the room where Ryo stood, unhurt, but dazed. His attacker still faced him, guns in hand, surprise in her eyes as she stared at the small dent in his left armor breast.
Suddenly the wood gave way under Kento's weight as he charged through the door. He carried so much momentum that he couldn't stop himself as he tripped on the door shards and crashed face first on the floor, mumbling curses all the way at his sleep-induced clumsiness.
"Ryo?" Cye called as he stumbled through the door. "You okay?" Soon everyone had found their way through the darkness and into the room, only to stop and stare at the shadowed face off. Mia, last to enter, turned on the lights.
"Guys, look out!" Ryo yelled as the blinding artificial light exploded in the room. Suddenly more gun shots rang out, and everyone instinctively ducked, Sage threw himself protectively on top of Mia, pushing her to the safety of the ground. But the shots had not been aimed at them. Ryo was the first to look up and see his assassin running full throttle at the gun-shot glass door, the one leading to the outside balcony, and crash right through it. Once outside she hurtled herself up onto the railing and leapt into the night.
"Hey! She's escaping!" Kento yelled as he briskly stood, shoving off a confused Cye.
"After her!" cried Rowen.
"Let's go, Blaze," Ryo said. White Blaze growled in response and quickly followed the scent of the assassin out the window, Ryo ran closely behind. As soon as their feet had touched the earth, they were lost in the chase. Shortly after, the rest of the Ronins followed.
"Ryo! Wait up!" called Cye when he was outside, but Wildfire was already too far to hear.
"Rowen, take to the air and see if you can spot them," Sage said.
"Right." He summoned his full armor and flew above the trees.
"See anything?" Halo asked.
"No, nothing. It's too dark out. Wait a minute..." he paused, squinting into the distance. Suddenly his senses tingled with the familiar blast of red warmth, emanating in the distant area he was looking at. "Sage, he's summoned his armor!" the archer called down. "I see them now! They're headed for the main road!"
"Okay, I've got a lock on Ryo now," said Sage. "Rowen, you fly over there and give him backup. The rest of us will go on foot and meet you there as soon as possible. Go!"
"Gotcha!" With that settled, Rowen flew off as fast as he could. Ryo, please be all right, he silently prayed.
Ryo ran as fast as his armor allowed, but even with the extra speed it gave, he could only catch glimpses of his quarry. What on earth is going on? he wondered. We've had four months of peace since Talpa's destruction and no contact whatsoever with the Dynasty since. Now this. He paused in his thoughts as White Blaze suddenly changed direction. I feel that the Nether World is somehow involved, but, he scowled, she doesn't act or feel like a Dynasty demon at all. Who is she?
He skidded to a stop beside White Blaze and habitually put a hand on his sheathed sword. He glanced at his surroundings. They had run further and faster than he had first thought. They now stood in a small clearing off the side of the main road, which was over two miles from Mia's house. But there she was, standing with her guns drawn again on him and White Blaze. Behind her he could just make out the front tire of a motorcycle.
He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "Who are you?" he seethed.
"Disarm."
"What?"
"Disarm yourself," she said slowly between measured breaths. "Or I'll kill your cat." The gun aimed at White Blaze twitched slightly, adding silent emphasis to her threat.
"Answer me first," he said cooly, releasing his grip on the Wildfire sword. "Who are you? And why are you trying to kill me?"
"Gee, why would an assassin try to kill someone?" She laughed sarcastically. "Could it be that someone just asked me to?"
"Who was it?"
"Sorry, but that's confidential," she sneered. "Now. Disarm so I can make this a quick kill." She raised the gun higher so it pointed at his head, stressing her order.
"RYO!" A golden arrow flew out of nowhere and shot straight into the gun, melting it. The assassin tossed the ruined weapon and, at the same time, fired the other, the one aimed at White Blaze.
"BLAZE!" Ryo screamed, his cries of anguish erupting in the night air and melding with the pained howls of his downed tiger. He ran over to his cat who lay on the ground, blood trickling down from a hole in his front leg and staining his white fur. "It's okay, Blaze," he crooned shakily as he stroked the silken head.
White Blaze whimpered softly. That was it. Hot white anger surged into the bearer of Wildfire, flaring in his blue eyes. He grit his teeth. How dare she...
Rowen descended from above the trees, landing protectively between the assassin and his downed companions. He held another arrow taunt in his bow and had it aimed straight at her heart.
"Drop the gun!" he ordered. "My arrows are known for always hitting their mark, and I'm sure it'll do more than just pierce your flesh!" She reluctantly obeyed, letting the gun fall with a heavy thud to the dirt.
Out of the corner of his eye, the archer watched his leader slowly stand. "Ryo, you okay? The others are on their way. But you just say the word, and I'll send this girl to the morgue." He pulled the arrow tighter.
"No," Ryo said quietly.
"What?" Rowen glanced quickly at Wildfire, searching for reason, but Ryo's eyes were shadowed by his helmet, which was glowing? Rowen continued to stare out of his peripheral vision. The armor of Wildfire was indeed glowing, more like pulsating with red light.
"Just protect White Blaze," he said, his voice growing lower, more dangerous.
"Ryo, I don-"
"She's mine!" Ryo roared, charging like a blast of fire. The archer gasped at Ryo's savage rage; never had he seen such hatred and murderous anger in Wildfire. What had happened to him?
Wildfire drew his swords in a blur, and with ferocious speed, slashed at the girl. She leapt back, dodging the blades by mere inches. The air around Ryo began to shimmer and liquify with angry heat, and she had no choice but to back away from him.
Then Ryo rounded on her again. This time, she wasn't quick enough to dodge all of the attack, and one of the blades sliced cleanly through her mask. She had avoided a flesh wound, but the mask had caught fire from the burning blades, and she was forced to tear it off, or burn.
All anger that had enveloped Ryo froze to a sudden stop upon seeing her face. Her hair, set free from the confines of the mask, drew around her face like a curtain of black satin, fluttering on an unseen wind. It was tied in a thick ponytail high on the back of her head. Black locks of hair, creating curled bangs, drifted quietly in front of her eyes.
Her eyes. Piercing orbs of mismatched gold and blue flared at him in the moonlight. He staggered under their gaze, taking in the impact of the beautiful face that was throwing daggers. She turned away, releasing him from her stare, and seeking the source of noises emanating from the forest. Following her gaze, Ryo saw the other three Ronins appear.
Cye was the first to enter the clearing. "Ryo, you all right?"
"Who's the-" Kento was going to say "babe," but was cut off as the girl threw three marble-sized balls at them. The spheres exploded, releasing thick clouds of white smoke.
"Hey!" Rowen choked, tears coming to his eyes as he inhaled the opaque vapor. "It's tear gas!"
"Where is she?" Sage coughed.
"I can't see anything!" cried Kento as he blindly swung his tetsubo through the oblivious smoke. He jumped as the sound of a motorcycle engine revving up sliced through the air. "Over there!" He started running for the noise, but had to stop when he realized that the vehicle and driver were out of reach. The assassin had fled and was beyond all reach before the tear gas had dissipated.