Sai Mouri was preparing for lunch and relaxation with this new family. While he cooked dinner and his four-year-old daughter played with her dolls, his wife Michiko and their six-year-old son Yoshio waited outside in the nice weather. Sai smiled to himself, quite content. He hoped to keep this family and hoped the armors would never interfere. Michiko was actually his second wife. His first wife divorced him many years ago because of the armors. His first wife could not bear the strain of constantly fearing for his life, so they divorced and she received custody of their two sons who he never saw since. Michiko, however, was more understanding and considerate. Sai hoped his new marriage would be a blessed, long-lasting marriage.

Rowen Hashiba would much rather write an op-ed piece for the newspaper than lecture college students over the Heian era. The students may or may not be listening, and he seriously doubted the quality of their papers that he had yet to grade. Both he and Ryo had chosen careers in education because school schedules matched the best with their duties as Ronin Warriors, Rowen a college history professor and Ryo a high school soccer coach. Rowen initially found his career choice to be rewarding, but the rewards soon vanished. Most students simply did not care enough. Then, he began to write op-ed pieces for the newspapers where he always knew people would listen to him. Even if the responses were hate mail, he knew someone felt passionate enough about his thoughts to bother with a response.

While coaching soccer, Ryo Sanada had more important issues on his mind. His two stepsons Hikaru and Isaru Hideo-Sanada were who-knows-where. His prefecture's school district held a class-free holiday for honor roll students. 16-year-old Hikaru had excelled in his classes, so he earned the holiday off from school. Nothing wrong with that. However, 15-year-old Isaru did not excel but chose to skip class to be with his older brother. Definite problem with Isaru. At least his two children Banana (named after author Banana Yoshimoto) and Hiroyuki Sanada were well-behaved; they dutifully tended to their classes and their assignments. An age gap prevented much direct influence between stepchildren and children; Banana was nine, and Hiroyuki was six. Ryo knew he and his wife Sayoko would discuss Isaru's truancy later. He wondered if a discussion would even matter. Isaru followed his older brother in all areas except education.

Sometimes, Kento Rei Faun wondered who his children's parents were. All but one of his children had been adopted. His wife encountered severe complications during her first and only pregnancy, which left her unable to have more children. They both wanted a large family, so they chose adoption instead. Kento and 11-year-old Kuyen were shopping for a toothbrush while Yokohama's schools held a holiday. Last week, one of Kuyen's younger brothers used his toothbrush and thus "contaminated" it; the typically well-mannered and easy-going Kuyen threw a fit, so Kento bought him a new one. However, it was not the right type. Thus, while Yokohama's schools took a holiday, they were back in the store to pick the right one. Kento never imagined anyone being so finicky and obsessed with dental hygiene.

Kento often never thought about his adopted children's biological parents or where they came from. Kuyen was a different matter. Watching Kuyen examine the bristles and the varieties through the plastic, Kento remembered when his son was seven at this same store. Innocent Kuyen inquired about the function of the different shapes as well as about toothpaste, floss and mouth wash. Smiling helplessly and a bit amused, Kento replied to many of these questions "I don't know." When Kuyen was three or four, he always tried to pry into people's mouths and look inside. Kento had been trying to encourage him into normal children's interests such as prehistoric animals, which seemed to work to an extent, but also seemed to further Kuyen's knowledge of the different types and functions of teeth. Where did such an unusual child come from? Kento had no idea. He knew Kuyen's future, however. Dental school. His unusual son would become a dentist, and Kento was already trying to figure out the college costs.

Sage Date enjoyed the nice and peaceful weather. He also enjoyed time with his daughter and son, Kotoni and Sejo. Sage had been excited with the birth of his son and waited sometimes impatiently for Sejo to age past infancy and toddlerhood when Sejo could begin learning sensible thoughts and proper behavior. In the meantime, Sage had been primarily attentive to his older daughter Kotoni all the while waiting. But now, at age five, Sejo was finally nearing the point where Sage could begin to teach him. Sage remembered well his own lessons at that age. Still too young for swords, though.

Right below Japan, a dark and sinister cloud began to emerge from the sky. Brownish-yellow lightning strikes of nether energy rippled throughout it, bringing it into the mortal world. Dirt developed underneath the mass, revealing it to be a piece of land torn from the nether world. Ground, grass, and buildings appeared atop. Nether soldiers on horseback ran in anticipation.

The dark cloud surrounded the top in an ominous mist and propelled it forward. Youja with their armies gathered and watched Japan come nearer. The leader of all these youja raised his weapons; he shouted victory against the Ronin Warriors. They would defeat the Ronin Warriors who wished to destroy them, hapless products of humanity's own antagonism. The Ronins' crusade against the netherworld was merely the result of their own hatred toward humanity - a hatred for what humanity can produce and a wish to eliminate human nature. The netherworld cannot be defeated by such misguided principles. Now was the time for a pre-emptive strike!

Thus the dark and sinister shadow crept over unsuspecting Japan. The dolphins and whales sensed the wickedness above; they dived deeper into the water and refrained from their customary leaps to the surface. People went about their normal lives. Even the Ronin Warriors went about their normal lives.

Sai paused in his cooking. He stared in the direction of his yard. His armor sensed the netherworld approaching. His wife Michiko and their 6-year-old Yoshio were outside. His eyes widened at what this meant. Hurriedly, he turned off the burners and ran toward the door. The netherworld was soon upon them.

Michiko and Yoshio did not understand what they saw. Yoshio pranced in the middle of the yard; he clapped his hands, "Yay, it's a storm!"

Sai spun to his wife, "Michiko, get inside."

"What?"

"Get inside. We're in danger. I'll get Yoshio."

Michiko glanced at the dark cloud. Was that an evil her husband had battled?

Sai did not bother to see if she heeded his warning. Yoshio was too cheerful, too oblivious. They saw the brownish-yellow nether energy rippling throughout the cloud. It flowed outward as if to touch the land. Sai hastened to save his son, "Yoshio, it's not a storm!" As soon as he grabbed Yoshio, the nether energy enveloped them, and they vanished.

Yuli Yamano sighed impatiently. Traffic on the bridge was at a standstill due to a car accident at the front. Yuli could not see the accident, but he assumed it was pretty bad on account of how much it halted traffic. His car had been turned off for nearly thirty minutes now to save on gas.

His eight-year-old daughter Eiko was equally bored. She lightly shook her small bunny backpack. She twisted her mouth in a little frown. Bored. She looked outside. The same car outside. Bored. She looked in her side mirror. "Daddy, there's a storm coming."

Yuli thought sarcastically, 'Great, that's just what I need.' Because there was nothing else to do, he looked at the rearview mirror. Alarm set in. The cloud was familiar, too familiar. "Eiko, I don't think that's a storm."

"Then, what is it?" she asked, curious as Yuli turned the key to start the car engine. Nothing. She watched her father turn the key again.

"The car isn't working."

"Is the battery dead?" Eiko never heard her father sound so worried or concerned before.

"No." Again, Yuli looked in the rearview mirror. This time, he saw sparks of nether energy. He and his daughter needed to escape immediately, but they were trapped on the bridge. "Eiko, how good can you swim?"

"I came in third out of the district championship."

Third out of over a thousand students? "Excellent. Get out of the car."

"What?"

"I said get out of the car." Yuli opened his door and stepped out, but Eiko was slow, uncertain, not understanding her father's behavior. "Hurry!" He grabbed her hand and began to pull her through the line of cars. Eiko protested loudly at this erratic behavior.

A younger guy in his early twenties stepped in front of him. He seemed to have once had a crew cut that he was trying to grow out into another style. "Hey, man, what are you doing?"

Yuli took a deep breath. "We're going to jump off the bridge."

"Don't do it, man. Think about the girl."

"Oh, I am thinking about the girl. She is one of the best swimmers in her entire school district."

"Man -"

Screams broke their conversation. All three turned to see the source. Nether soldiers ran through the rows of cars. There was no time to jump to safety. Terrified people stampeded toward the other end of the bridge even as the nether energy flashed over them. Some vanished but others continued the stampede Eiko might be crushed.

Pulling Eiko along, Yuli hurried to a nearby car. They could hide underneath. He bent down to check it, but her grip was suddenly yanked from him. Her own screams came simultaneously as their hands were ripped apart. Yuli hurried up in time to see her be lifted in the air, nether energy swirling around her. The wicked cloud was directly above them.

Nether soldiers on foot stood throughout the many rows of cars. Instinct took over. Yuli had years of sword practice; Ryo and Sage were his inspiration for swords. He reached for the sheathed blade of a nether soldier, wholly unprepared and never expecting a counterattack. He sliced the soldier with its own blade. By then, the other soldiers realized what happened and converged upon him. Before they could reach him, the nether energy also took Yuli, and he vanished.

Halfway done with the white board, Rowen dropped his black marker. He sensed the netherworld. He turned his head toward the window. It was moving fast. It contained incredible violence; apparently, it already commenced hostilities. Rowen walked to the window and peered through the blinds.

From the fourth floor, he witnessed much more than the other people had so far. An actual piece of land had been ripped apart from the netherworld to invade humanity. The youja planned for a long and sustained attack. This might be the youja's point of no return. A piece of the netherworld might remain in the human world indefinitely.

Ryo called for a brief pause in this team's soccer practice. His cell phone was ringing. He pulled it out of his bag. His wife Sayoko, the local news reporter, was calling from her work. Strange. He answered the phone.

Trying not to arouse curiosity among co-workers who might overhear, Sayoko whispered in an frightened and urgent tone: "Ryo, how is your armor?"

"It - it's fine. Why?" Ryo glanced at his students, making sure they were alright. This was the first time Sayoko brought up the armors before.

"Are you aware of anything?"

"No."

"Maybe it's too far away. It's not here yet."

Ryo felt deeply alarmed. "Sayoko, what's going on?"

"It's all over Japan… snatching people… it's coming here… I'll be on the news talking about it in ten minutes. I have to go."

"Alright." Closing the phone, Ryo called his student's attention. He instructed his upperclassmen to lead the lower classmen into the auditorium. Then, he marched into the principle's office and without mentioning the armors, informed him of Sayoko's call. Something was approaching; their town was in danger. Soon, the entire school was packed into the auditorium, the most interior portion of the building.

All the teachers including Ryo gathered around the television to watch the news. Wildfire was still silent. The video footage came from the lower islands and revealed nether soldiers everywhere. They came, took hostages, and disappeared as the cloud/landmass moved on. It was flying too fast for the Ronin Warriors to meet or contemplate any counterattack. Ryo knew it already went past Sai and Rowen. He needed to gather his children to safety before the netherworld reached his town.

Sage heard about it on the radio as he drove his two children home. It was expected to bypass Sendai. Although there had been many battles against the dark forces since they received their new armors, their last fight with the netherworld was against Talpa in 1988. Quietly, Sage prioritized what to do next. Contact Sai and Rowen to determine what they knew. The landmass was already past them.

Keeping a careful eye on the road, Sage reached for his cell phone and turned it on. One missed call. The Mouri household. He dialed back. "Hello?"

Michiko Mouri's voice wailed: "They took Sai! They took Sai and Yoshio!"

The street was full of pleasant activity and good-spirited hustle and bustle. Hikaru and Isaru Hideo-Sanada walked down this street toward their next destination. Hikaru answered his cell phone.

"Who is it?" inquired 15-year-old Isaru, not bothering to look up from his magazine of anime and manga.

16-year-old Hikaru pulled the phone down to say: "Father."

Isaru smirked at what he assumed was a complaint over his truancy. "What should we tell him, hm? It's your fault. You're a terrible influence."

"I make more As than Bs, and I am honor roll! I earned this holiday."

Isaru continued to smirk.

Hikaru put the phone back to his ear. "Hello? Sorry, father."

Ryo's voice was urgent; worry made his tone demanding. "Where are you and your brother? You need to take shelter quick."

16-year-old Hikaru blinked, bewilderment clear across his face. "Why? What's going on?"

"Tell me where you are, and I'll come to get you. Take shelter."

Isaru heard the conversation. He wanted to laugh at the seeming absurdity. What danger? Wouldn't the police inform them of any danger? However, Hikaru searched for the street sign and told their father. They both heard Ryo say: "Good. Now, take shelter. I'll come to get you. I might be wearing my armor."

Hikaru and Isaru exchanged anxious and frightened stares. Two years earlier, Ryo and Sayoko informed them about the Ronin Warriors and Ryo's duties. It explained their stepfather's numerous and unexpected absences. Yet, the Ronin Warriors never seemed so real until now.

16-year-old Jari Rei Faun gazed out at Yokohama harbor. He had been the oldest child Kento ever adopted, and he remembered life before his family. He remembered thinking how bizarre and nerve-wracking the city was, but as the years went by, he settled in and felt at peace to know Yokohama was his home. The harbor was beautiful; the sea was beautiful; the city was beautiful. The Japanese liked to plan an education earlier than the people of his birth in America. Jari was already looking at colleges in Kanagawa prefecture. He wanted a general business degree to run the family restaurant, perhaps a minor in accounting.

His 14-year-old sister Kasumi walked over to him with food from one of the local vendors. Their 12-year-old sister trailed behind. The three of them exchanged friendly banter and wondered what to do. The day had been peaceful and lazy; they really had no plans in mind. Jari concluded, "Maybe we should wait until father and Kuyen are finished shopping. Then, we'll figure out what to do." Jari's big event - watching a sports game - would not be until later in the evening. Out of all of Kento's children, Jari was the only one who enjoyed sports as much as he did.

Kasumi replied, "That can take forever."

Jari shrugged.

Their 12-year-old sister suggested waiting for mother to finish managing the restaurant for the day. Then, they could all go to the toy store.

By then, the sinister cloud came over Yokohama. Screams broke their conversation. All three children stopped to listen and to worry. Jari ran to see the source of the commotion. His two sisters followed him. They saw armored demons chasing people and herding them into groups where they vanished. Yellow bolts of sick light reached out from the sinister cloud and took them up.

14-year-old Kasumi asked her brother, "Jari, is everything real?" She referred to their father being a Ronin Warrior and the monsters he fought; Kento informed her just a few weeks earlier.

"Yeah," replied 16-year-old Jari, a bit dismayed, "it's real."

Yokohama was in danger. The youja closest to them, seemingly unaware, had a round squat helmet that absorbed the light. The only white in his thick armor were his three bone-colored horns, curving and protruding normally from the sides and front of the helmet. The blackness of his face dipped down into his torso. His limbs and the rest of his torso were gray. He wielded a huge spiked ball and chain. His feet resembled a wolf's or hawk's given humanoid form.

Outraged at the threat to Yokohama and its people, Jari went after the youja. He grabbed a brick from someone's flowerbed and threw it at the armored demon. The brick hit its helmet. The creature turned toward the teenager. Its empty eye sockets glowed red. It lifted its spiked ball and chain, and began to swing it in the air.

Jari stared. He was ready to leap out of the way of a charge, but he sensed something else - something blasphemous to nature. He was so close that he sensed the youja gathering energy and the basic elements around him screaming in fright. Jari knew he was defenseless. He spun around to flee.

The spiked ball and chain struck the street pavement. The asphalt ripped apart. Jagged nether spikes tore through it like a giant chainsaw from underneath the ground. The energy spikes that reached a foot or two feet in the air were duller than the six-inch spikes. Jari tried to outrun the massive attack, but the sure kill caught up with him. The energy spikes cut open his feet and tossed him in the air. He flailed for a moment until he slammed into the ground; his left arm broke in at least two different places, and his left leg also felt broken.

As his mind started to clear, he heard at all-too familiar voice shout: "Hey, youja! Try attacking someone who can fight back!"

Jari recognized his father's voice. Kento Rei Faun, now Kento of Hardrock. Jari raised his head to see his father in armor. It was a strange experience to see his affable and jovial father behave fiercely and ready for battle, so unlike their life at home. The youja must have disappeared because then, Kento turned around with concern replacing the fierceness.

Kento bent down to Jari and surveyed the broken bones, "Are you injured anywhere else?"

"My bones are broken."

Kento nodded. He turned to his two daughters nearby. "Take your brother to the hospital. I need to follow these youja." He then stood up and ran off.

Watching his father leave him, Jari felt a deep-seated sense of loss but also of admiration.

Hikaru and Isaru hid in a nearby store when the dark cloud came over them, but it proved to be no place of refuge. The glass shattered, forcing them to cover their heads. The yellow sparks of nether energy, which had been increasing in strength, reached into the building and fluxuated along the ceiling. The tendrils of energy swooped down toward them. Terrified at what appeared to be the more immediate threat, Hikaru and Isaru ran out into the street.

The chaos astounded them. Cars had crashed into each other. People were being forced out of the buildings and into the street where strange pieces of ugly armors, the color of green mold, herded them together and snatched them. People vanished as a result.

Hikaru could not believe it. The monsters were taking everyone! Where was father? Before he could consider his options, the crowd of people swarmed around him and his brother. Father was not there. Hikaru and Isaru needed some way to fight back. Hikaru grabbed a round, metal trashcan lid that had fallen to the wayside. At least it was something.

Hikaru charged at a nether soldier that was at front of a crowded herd. The soldier turned to face him; individuals fled while the creature was distracted, but as Hikaru began to swing, he and his brother were taken into the floating landmass above.

Immediately after vanishing from the bridge, Yuli Yamano stood on the floating landmass. He was still posed for battle, stolen sword still in hand. The nether soldiers and youja paused to stare at him; how could an ordinary human have grabbed a nether sword? They were thoroughly bewildered. For Yuli, the presence of nether soldiers and youja brought back plenty of childhood memories, but one major difference was stark in his mind: the Ronin Warriors were not there to save him. The nether soldiers and youja continued to stare in consternation. Yuli steadied himself. He knew he stood no chance, but he would try his best.

A furious, raging voice shouted, "Seize him! Remember the rules of our Order! Minimal interference! Seize him!"

The nether soldiers hurried upon him. There was one sword clash, and then an armored hand slammed into his stomach. Yuli doubled over. Another hit to his back forced him to the ground. They took the sword, but they kept him alive.

"Dammit!" Ryo of Wildfire shouted once the floating nether landmass passed his area, taking with it the people who had been captured. His armor sensed it when it had been a mile away from his community, and the nether soldiers perished immediately from his two katana swords, but ultimately, the floating landmass proved too fast and left almost as soon as it arrived. Ryo and his team needed to regroup and plan a counterattack. First, he needed to find Hikaru and Isaru.

Survivors of the attack began to approach him. The landmass had been too fast to capture everyone. The survivors saw Ryo of Wildfire and were walking toward him. Ryo was not certain what to do. He needed to find Hikaru and Isaru; they needed to see him, and he could not take off his armor right there where his complete identity would be revealed.

"Excuse me," said one of the survivors, "Are you a Ronin Warrior?"

Ryo covered his mouth with his armored hand to hide as much of his face as he could. "Mm-mm." He turned slightly from the survivor. Following her speech at the U.N. in 1991, Mia Koji had written three books over the Ronin Warriors, the nether world, the spirit world, etc. while keeping the true identities of the Ronin Warriors a secret. Nearly everyone knew about the legend now. Many who considered them real believed the Ronin Warriors came from their own spirit dimension instead of living among humanity.

"I hope you can save the ones who have been taken. We would have been taken captive, but these two boys distracted the demons long enough for us to escape. I pray you can save them."

Two boys? Ryo asked, "What did they look like?"