In which Shin has an attitude, Naaza thinks he's king, and hilarity ensues after the nightmares go away. Spoilers abound, though some plot points have been altered. Read at your own peril. =P

This was it—the moment I'd been trained for practically since the time I could understand it.

I'm not exactly sure why my family had chosen me instead of Sayoko, though I suppose it made sense considering her personality. But there had only been us two sisters to pick from, and I seemed to take to the yari like a fish to water. So train I did.

Not to mention Suiko settled all doubts by coming to me, who ironically had the same name as the yoroi's virtue. (Something told me my father had had a hand in that.)

Then it all began, and I stood on top of some office building in Shinjuku—one of over a hundred others—with the Kourin bearer not far away on my right. Rekka had taken quite a beating already; I suppose it was considerably lucky of him that Tenku and the rest of us had shown up when we did. All four boys seemed incredibly confident (Kongo in particular stood out for his bravado), holding stances that were obviously as well-trained as my own.

I couldn't help but feel nervous, however. And while that vanished during the ensuing battle against Arago's amped-up minion, it nevertheless returned full-force when we convened to rest. If the boys found out I wasn't quite like them, I had no idea what they would think.

So far, though, so good. We'd scrounged up some food from a blacked-out MacDonald's and were now filling our growling, growing teenage stomachs. Kongo munched loudly and happily across the way, his demeanor so incredibly upbeat it was hard to recall the anger he'd shown when the Soldier of Doom had used the girl and the young boy as bait.

I was too lost in thought to realize everyone else was introducing themselves. When Nasté—as I shortly learned her name—turned to me and asked my name, it took a few moments to hear her and then fight down the impending nerves.

They'd already heard my voice before, and seemed to have accepted my shaggy-necked haircut. Maybe things would turn out alright… "M-Mouri, Mouri Shin."

And then Nasté realized which family I was from, and I blushed as she went on and on about the story of the three arrows. My glancing away from her enthusiasm landed my eyes on Shu Rei Faun, though, and I buried my face back in my hamburger when I realized I had caught him staring at me.

Little did I know how this would affect the outcome of the war.

-/-

The five of us had spent so much time running around Empire-controlled Shinjuku that by the time we finally defeated Arago (or at least thought we had), I had completely forgotten about what would happen when we armored down.

Early on I had tried to come up with a rehearsed explanation, to brace myself for the eventuality of them finding out I was a girl. But with everything that had gone on, it had completely slipped my mind.

Luckily, everyone seemed just as exhausted as me. So when they powered down and conked out piled one over another in the back of Nasté's Jeep (Jun curled happily in Shu's lap), all I had to do was make sure I snagged the front seat and outwaited their sleepiness. Of course, that inevitably meant Nasté would learn the truth when she asked why I was still in my subarmor.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in your street clothes, Shin?"

I smiled sadly at her—we'd grown a fairly close friendship over the course of the war so far, something that had been a little surprising but not unexpected despite the dire circumstances. "I guess, but… Nasté, can you keep a secret for me? From the others?" I had to look away, through the window at the rolling valley that dropped far below the mountain road we drove.

Worry crept into her tone. "Of course, Shin. But what could you possibly want to keep from them? If it's something about the Empire—"

My subarmor melting away cut her short. I forced myself to meet her eyes (just in case she decided I was more fascinating than the road). She kept glancing back and forth between the two, obviously not wanting to get us all killed in her shock but too surprised to not want a better look at me. I'd made sure not to wear anything too "girly" before donning the subarmor all that time ago, but it was still quite obvious I was a very mature female rather than the young boy they'd all assumed I was.

And while Nasté was very agreeable about keeping my secret, I still had no idea how to tell the other Samurai Troopers.

It didn't occur to me to think what might happen if the Empire figured out this otherwise insignificant little detail.

-/-

My worst nightmare came true when the five of us split in order to discover the true depth of our yoroi's power.

It had been a shock to stumble upon Red Suiko, an exact opposite replica of my own yoroi. The shocking part was that it was even opposite down to what I supposed its gender might be if it weren't a disembodied spirit like the rest of the "tin cans". It wracked my nerves so badly that it almost beat me—as it was, Kaos was barely able to help me discover the Sodando Sho Ryu Ha before my injuries overcame me.

I awoke to find myself in a tiny cell, one wall lined with bars spaced barely an eighth of an inch apart. A solid metal door on the far left stretched straight to the ceiling and showed no obvious latch from the inside; a six foot piece of metal had been bolted along the inside to prevent any attempt at reaching around to tamper with it on the outside. I was surprised to see how normal the construction appeared.

All curiosity about the architecture (Touma would have loved analyzing this) fled when I realized my subarmor was gone.

Panicked, I shuffled backward into a corner and made an attempt at hugging myself despite the shackles which held my wrists and ankles close to each other. I had managed not to cry even once through the entire first ordeal with the Empire (except when White Blaze had pretty much died—though not one of us Troopers hadn't), but now the floodgates opened unbidden.

What I wouldn't have given for any of the guys to be with me right then. I hoped they managed to escape this fate, but considering how split up we were and the new powers our foes were exhibiting, I didn't really have any hope right then. (A thought which would later prove to be almost prophetic.)

Just as I thought that, however, I felt Suiko pour its strength over me. I couldn't tap into it to form the subarmor—something told me that was the Nether Spirits' doing—but the sense of Trust that came with it helped to calm my wild thoughts.

"Thank you, Suiko," I murmured, though my body still shook with the after-effects of my terror.

Wouldn't it be just my luck then that Naaza appeared at the bars to my cell.

"Well, isn't this a pretty sight. Suiko no Shin certainly isn't what any of us first expected."

The predatory smile on his face nearly sent me cowering back again—but I was a Samurai Trooper. No way in Hell was I going to let him have the satisfaction of seeing my fear. I simply spat at him; Shu would have been proud of how accurate I'd gotten, with his encouraging coaching. The Masho grimaced and casually flicked the saliva from his yoroi's bracer. "Little whelp's got a personality, too, I see."

I wavered between pulling a Shu and showing bravado, or a Seiji and just giving Naaza the silent treatment. Deciding I'd better not risk the waver in my voice or demeanor, I went for the later.

"Hmph. Certainly not the talkative type, then—" The full-fanged grin came back. "Though I do recall you were certainly verbal enough in our sparring matches. Makes me wonder how you might sound in other engagements."

My stomach twisted with revulsion at the implication. Now I really wished one of the guys were here to help me.

I jumped when the Masho vanished and reappeared directly in front of me, all inside the space of half a second. So much for pulling a Seiji—there was no way for me to deny the terror that tensed my whole body against Naaza's vile hand touching my cheek.

"G-get your hands off me, snake!"

My defiance seemed to amuse him, for he tilted his head back and laughed. My breath rushed from my lungs when his armored hand jammed itself into my throat, pressing deeply into the soft spaces beneath my chin. "You should know better than to resist by now, Suiko. My master hasn't said anything about the condition in which he takes your yoroi, except that you remain alive," he hissed, snake-like pupils hypnotizingly exotic yet horrifying at the same time. (I had to wonder if it weren't the yoroi that had made them that way, or if he'd been born like that.) "Have I made myself clear, little Samurai Trooper?"

As tightly as he was holding my neck, somehow I managed a nod that he felt through the choke-hold. It held for a few more seconds—long enough to start causing dark spots to intrude on my peripheral vision—before blessed air whoosed into my mouth and nose once more.

When I had finished wheezing and coughing, trying to feel for any damage to my esophagus, I looked up again, expecting to still see the Doku Masho gloating over me. My spine crawled with chills when I found that he had vanished. Rattled to my core by the encounter, I pulled my knees to my chin and wrapped my arms protectively around them.

Suiko's embrace was the only sense of hope I had right then.

-/-

Somehow I managed to fall asleep, though it was a light and nightmare-haunted slumber. I frowned when Suiko roused me, sensing two other yoroi presences in my immediate vicinity.

Desperately hoping my first guess was completely off-base, I bolted awake.

Rajura loomed large in the opposite corner from me, his bulk almost unrecognizable in the darkness that fell across that side from the door's wide shadow. His shape bent into a crouch, something sliding from his shoulders onto the stone floor with a soft thump. Before I could say anything that would alert him to my wakefulness, the Gen Masho vanished.

At first I wanted to be cautious of this new development, recalling Shu's stories of Rajura's deceptions and my own experience on the end of Ryo's Sou En Zan. But then the figure groaned and stirred, and my eyes widened.

"Shu!"

My voice seemed to rouse him further from unconsciousness; I shuffled my way over on my knees, thankful for the heavy denim that protected them from the damp stone. "Shu, Shu, wake up—it's me, Shin."

His dark grey eyes slid halfway open, then closed again in a wince. He groaned, reaching a hand to his apparently aching head. "Shin? What happened? Where are we?"

"We're in the Empire's dungeon," I told him grimly. "Naaza sent a dark Suiko soldier after me; I was too weak from fighting it to take down or run from the Masho."

Shu sighed and attempted to sit up, but I could see how wiped out he felt and gently pushed him back down. "Rest. Who knows what they have planned for us? You'll need your strength."

The odd look he turned on me made me nervous. Did something in my voice give away my worry? "Shin, what did they say to you?"

The butterflies fluttered even more. "W-what do you mean?"

His head-tilt and the "I know something's up" look didn't do anything to help my feelings. "One of them said something to you that's got you more rattled than I've ever seen you. And coming from me, that's saying something, because I got a whole lot of respect for your strength." Against my protests, he sat up—and apparently discovered the same chains on him as on me, for he pouted. Quickly setting that aside, he looked back at me. "C'mon, what's up? You can talk to me. If it's anything really embarrassing, I promise I won't tell the guys."

Of all of them, when they'd finally found out I was a girl, I'd felt the most comfortable around the Kongo bearer. Perhaps it was the fact he had a few sisters himself (that didn't torment him like Seiji's had), or that he was so much more widely-built (though somehow we all managed to be around the same height); but that comfort now eased my fears at being in the bowels of the Empire.

"N-Naaza… Naaza threatened me," I admitted, leaning back and looking away. I wanted to hug my torso again, but instead subconsciously found myself rubbing my throat where he'd choked me.

I almost jumped at the contact—Shu gently taking my hands away so he could see the bruises forming there. My heart raced inexplicably at the closeness between us, and I had to swallow to force some saliva into my suddenly-dry mouth.

Anger quickly clouded his eyes, though. "Damn that Masho," he hissed. "I'm gonna kick his ass straight into Hell next time I lay eyes on his snaky face. After you get a swing at him, of course," he amended, grinning at me.

I tried to smile back with equal amusement, but something about how recent and sincere the threat was prevented it from being more than a twitch of the lips. Shu noticed, and I almost couldn't hold back a squeak when he lifted his arms over my head and pulled me to him. If I had had a mirror, I was sure I'd be able to see my face as red as the Rekka yoroi.

"S-Shu—"

"It's okay, Shin. I won't let him hurt you," he soothed. "None of us will."

Despite our awkward positioning, I couldn't help but relax at the feeling of protection that wrapped around me. Suiko seemed overjoyed to have another of its set this close, the energies of water and earth mingling together and strengthening their bearers.

A niggling thought at the back of my mind didn't allow me to completely melt into the contact, though. One hand tightening in the collar of Shu's T-shirt, I asked, "Do you think… Do you think the others will be alright? We're all split up across Japan—even if we can feel everyone through the yoroi, there's no way they'd be able to help each other in time."

In that moment, even though I was the oldest of us, I felt every one of our meager teenage years. We were all really so small, so tiny, so insignificant compared to the evil which we fought. How could we mere high-schoolers (myself only a few months fifteen, Seiji not far behind, and Touma still months from his birthday) possibly think to crush Arago when even the might of the Self-Defense Forces had not been able to pierce the ominous clouds around the Empire?

"They'll be fine," Shu said bravely. Somehow he managed to shift our positions so I lay curled up inside the circle of his huge arms (I'd never quite realized exactly how strong they were), my back against his chest. "Seiji and Touma are way too smart to let any of the Masho trick them, and Ryo's just too stubborn to get caught. Remember when we thought we'd lost the war, and Ryo just busted straight from Arago's body like a bat out of Hell with that Kikoutei?"

His enthusiasm somehow dragged a half-hearted chuckle from me. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

-/-

We must have fallen asleep like that, pressed against each other for mutual comfort, because the next thing I remembered was the same feeling from when Rajura had dropped off Shu. His shifting body and arms tightening around me drew me to consciousness, and I barely got a glimpse of the Gen and Doku Masho before they were looming over us.

"Oh, look what we have here, Naaza," Rajura rumbled, a smirk on his pale face. "Seems a romance has flowered between these two before you even got a chance to deal with Suiko."

His amused comment seemed to set the other Masho off, who swiftly darted a hand out for me. Tangled as we were in each other and our chains, Shu couldn't do anything to prevent Naaza from dragging us apart. His armored fist in my hair elicited an involuntary cry of pain, and while I could feel Shu's anger through our yoroi, Rajura easily snatched him up by the manacles on his wrist.

"Behave, you two, and perhaps Arago-sama will let you live once he controls the ningenkai," Naaza hissed. I squirmed at the arm around my waist that held me upright, dread in my stomach, and my captor yanked my head back.

I got the feeling he enjoyed the yelp of pain I couldn't hold down. Shu's anger spiked, but I could also feel his helplessness through the yoroi link.

In the blink of an eye, the dungeons disappeared. Whatever force had been holding back our access to the yoroi vanished, too—but then the opposite happened, and Suiko flashed into existence on my body before I even had a chance to take in our new surroundings. Shu's gasp dragged my attention from the disturbing revelation that something had bypassed my control of Suiko, and I glanced up to see what it was.

My jaw dropped. "NO! Seiji!"

He hung limply from chains similar to Shu's and mine, also in full armor. The contraption in which he was held reminded me of Buddhist statues, only more terrifying—three gaping mouths on each side and eyes painted above the openings which seemed so real as to send shivers down my spine.

"Welcome to your new prison," Naaza snarled, shoving me forward at the statue. "Perhaps when Arago-sama is through with you, you'll come to me with open arms."

I could feel Seiji stirring as I whirled to face the Masho, shouting my defiance at practically the entire Empire. "Not a snow's chance in Hell, Naaza!"

"And not if I have anything to say about it!" Shu added, stepping up beside me, also in the complete Kongo yoroi.

Rajura and Naaza were quick to separate us again, however, and as we were still shackled and our weapons were nowhere in sight, any further resistance proved futile. "I vote we separate these two—what say you, Naaza?" the Gen Masho purred.

Though Seiji hadn't yet said anything, I could feel him coming more awake at the activity below him. "I concur, Rajura." Icy dread filled my stomach, as if I'd eaten rocks for breakfast. "Kongo can stay with Kourin. I'll handle little Suiko myself."

And that was the last I saw of either Shu or Seiji for a long, undetermined amount of time.