Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with the Ronin Warriors. All rights to them and anything related from the manga or show are property of the writers. I do, however, own this storyline and any made up characters, powers, ect…
Filia di Virtus
It was a beautiful day. The late spring breeze blew in the scent of flowers and rustled the leafy trees softly. The sunshine was warm, but not overly and it was perfect for sunbathing. Which was exactly what Mia Koji was doing. She spread her body, clad in a pink string bikini, out on the towel-covered Adirondack chair. Sighing happily, she pulled her long auburn hair into a bun atop her head and covered her turquoise eyes with a pair of sunglasses.
"Ha! Is that all you got? You're getting old and slow, man!" Kento of Hardrock jeered.
"I'll give you slow, rock head!" Cye of Torrent laughed sportingly. There were cheers and jeers from the three young men on the side too. Mia's mouth turned up at the corners and she relaxed to the sound of her friends training, eyes drifting shut. Soon, all sound faded.
Mia shivered. When had it gotten cold? The wind was no longer gentle or soothing. It howled furiously around her, whipping her hair into her face. But hadn't she put her hair up? She shivered again, violently. Glancing down at herself, she was startled to see she had no bikini on. In fact, she had nothing on; she was completely naked. Hugging herself against the biting cold, she looked around. Trees were bare and claw-like. It was night, but there were no stars. Only a full moon hung ominously in the sky. She felt the intensity of a phantom stare.
"I've been searching for you for a long time, pretty Mia." The voice was as cold as the wind and frightened Mia far more than the surrounding darkness.
"Who are you?" Mia grimaced at the shaking of her voice. She cleared her throat to steady it. "Show yourself!" A Little stronger. There was laughter, maniacal and cold.
"You were such a pretty child. You are even lovelier grown. Such perfection, all of you." The voice was oily now and there was a creepy phantom caress down her back. Mia felt her skin crawl. She glanced around her again and was suddenly accompanied by four young women, similarly naked. They were shivering and staring at one another. The evil presence faded suddenly; not gone completely, but faded. Mia heard a faint but furious howl.
"Mia, we're coming to you. Be strong. This won't be the last time he takes you under. He can only manage it when you let your guard down. Sleep with someone; you'll be protected that way." The speaker was a tall young woman with dark sable brown hair that hung to her lower back. She was lovely and pale with dark midnight blue eyes. Her arm was around a smaller woman who looked a little younger than Mia. She too was pale and beautiful with light brown hair streaked with red-gold that framed her pixie face. She looked terrified, her forest green eyes wide. There were two more women to Mia's left. One was medium height with pitch black hair that fell in a riot of curls to her middle back and coffee brown eyes, exotic looking and beautiful. The other was Mia's height with angel blonde hair to her shoulders and stormy gray eyes.
"I don't understand. Who are you? What's going on?" Mia demanded.
"I'm Korrin, this is my younger sister, Trisara." The woman who'd spoken to Mia said, then gestured to the black haired girl. "That is Leila and the woman next to her is Ayanna. We are your Demi sisters. We are close. Another day and we will be with you. I will explain everything then. Until then, you must keep your spirit safe while you sleep. The only way to do so is to have someone sleep with you, to watch over you. Until we arrive, you are not safe from him. Together we are stronger. Mia, remember what I've said. We can't stay any longer." Korrin was fading with the others. Mia could feel herself being pulled by an invisible force.
"Wait! Wait!" Mia cried. But they were gone and she fell into blackness, the maniacal laughter echoing again.
Someone was shaking her. Rather violently, in fact. And there was noise. Someone was yelling at her. Mia came to slowly, her eyes focusing on five faces staring at her in fear.
"Mia! Mia, come on! Answer me, damn you!" Ryo's face was very close to hers. He had a very handsome face with very bright, blue eyes. Not thinking, Mia brought up a hand and traced his jaw lightly with her finger tips. Then she jerked her hand away as the force of her dream came flooding back. Her eyes snapped open and she screamed. The five young men jerked, simultaneously startled. Mia began to shake.
"Mia, what happened? What' wrong?" Cye's voice was troubled. They were all looking at her so concerned. She couldn't take it and the memory of the voice speaking as if he would cress her body. She began to cry.
"Oh baby, shh. It's ok. You're safe, we're here and nothing's gonna hurt you." Suddenly Ryo's arms were around her, rocking her and stroking her hair. His voice was low and soothing. It took her a minute, but she finally relaxed enough to pull away. She smiled gratefully at Ryo and then took a breath.
"What happened?" she asked.
"We were sparring and then there was a cold breeze and the sky darkened for a minute. Then it was gone and the day was normal. Kento came to make sure you were ok and then he was yelling." Sage explained.
"I thought you were just sleeping and hadn't noticed. But when I shook you, you didn't respond. I shook you harder and you didn't even twitch. I couldn't see you breathe." Kento said shakily.
"Mia." Ryo's voice was low and gentle; his eyes held hers. "What happened?" Oh how he'd matured since their ordeal with Tulpa. They all had. Men now, not boys.
"Was it the Dynasty?" Rowen asked. Mia shook her head.
"Let's go inside and let Mia change and I'll get us something to eat. Then Mia can tell us what happened." Cye said kindly. Mia smiled gratefully at him.
"Can you walk?" Ryo asked hesitantly. Mia was still a little shaky.
"Yes, but…walk me to my room?" She whispered. He nodded and they all made their way into the house.
Upstairs Ryo stopped at Mia's door. "You sure you're alright?"
Mia looked at him a moment. How could she explain that she felt like she'd just barely escaped being raped, both spiritually and physically? It was humiliating in a way that all those other times she'd been used for bait by the Dynasty couldn't even touch. His eyes were so deep and kind. He, more than anyone, would understand. But she shook her head. If there was serious trouble coming, they all deserved to know about it.
"I don't know. But I think I will be. Thank you, Ryo."
He reached up to push back a stray hair out of her eyes, but he couldn't stop himself and his fingers brushed down her cheek and neck. He wanted so badly to press his lips against hers. But he pulled away. Something had frightened her badly and he wouldn't add to her panic by making moves on her. At least, not until the time was right. He was tired of waiting to reveal his feeling for her. So, smiling, he turned and went down stairs.
Mia rushed into her bathroom and stripped off her bathing suit. Her bun was hanging so she let it down and stepped under the hot spray of her shower. She didn't have time to linger so she scrubbed every inch of her body and hair hard to get the slimy feel off of her. After drying she slipped into her favorite turquoise veloram sweat suit and headed back downstairs.
The guys were sitting in the living room patiently sipping tea or water and munching on sandwiches Cye had made. They looked up at her as she entered and sat between Ryo and Cye on the couch. Cye handed her a steaming cup of tea and a turkey sandwich. She thanked him and they all ate in silence. When they were all finished, Mia sighed, feeling slightly better. Opening her eyes, she met five concerned pairs. Taking a very deep, calming breath, Mia began to tell her nightmare. When she finished, an angry silence filled the room. Finally, Kento cracked his knuckles loudly.
"If who ever it is thinks he's gonna touch a hair on your head, he's got some serious wounds coming his way." Kento growled. There were nods of agreement from even generally docile Cye and Sage. Ryo rested his hand on Mia's.
"What do you think it all means?" he asked.
"I'm not sure." Now that the dream was in the open, Mia felt much better and began to think clearly. "I felt safer when the four women showed up. I sensed they meant to try and protect me by warning me about whatever the evil was. And I don't think it was a dream. The one woman who spoke to me said it wouldn't be the last time he'd take me under. And I believe they really are coming here to be with me."
"Then it sounds like we'll get far more answers once they're here." Rowen commented thoughtfully.
Mia nodded. "They said they were my Demi sisters."
"What does that mean? Do you have any siblings you might not know about?" Ryo asked.
"No. My parents were young when they married and had me. And I was only eight when they died in the car accident. My mother was never able to have other children after me and my father was devoted to her. I don't believe there were and illegitimate children. No, I think a Demi sister is something different. In Greek mythology, a Demi was a half god or goddess. The gods would mate with mortal men or women and Demi-gods were often born of those unions. Hercules was a Demi-god, born of Zeus and a mortal woman. But it makes no sense. Those are just myths. And my parents were mortals. I look very much like both of them. My mother had red hair and my father had blue-green eyes." Mia shook her head in confusion.
"Maybe you have inner powers similar to those of the mythological gods? You're a hereditary witch and never knew it? I mean, lets face it. We've all seen unbelievable things happen." Cye suggested. They nodded.
"It's safe to say we can't close the door on any possibilities." Sage commented.
"I think we may be close, but the reality of it will have to wait until those other women get here. For now, it would really help take my mind off things if we all cleaned the house and got the spare bedrooms ready for our guests." Mia smiled hesitantly at them.
"Why don't I take the shopping list into the city and get groceries?" Kento said quickly, jumping from his seat and taking off into the kitchen. Mia laughed for the first time today.
"Figures! He always takes the easy chores!" Rowen complained.
"Yeah, and it's not even a chore for him! I bet he eats three candy bars in line for the cashier!" Sage added. Mia smiled as they divvied up chores and got to work. For a few hours, at least, she could feel a little normal. Something nagging at the back of her mind told her it wouldn't be for long.
Well, there's the first chapter. This story feels pretty good as I write, but it's not gonna be worth writing it if I don't know whether or not anyone's reading. So if you liked it, loved it, hated it or despised it, please let me know by reviewing. Constructive criticism is always welcome and I care what you have to say. Thanks sincerely A.K. Rose
