Disclaimer: The Troopers and their universe do not belong to me but to their respective creators (whose name escapes me at the moment). Azhure, Orion and Silver belong to me and as for Aikyo and Rin, these characters belong to my friends Annette and Linda Marie.

About the story: I mainly wrote this fanfic for me and my two friends so yes, there will be pairings and yes, there will be romance. However, the story is mainly about the Troopers and how they will deal with a new threat. Love stories are on the side but not the main subject of this story. Also, I wrote that like I was reading a manga so if you want to have a better idea about the facial expressions and the action scenes, do the same.

About comments: Feel free to send me constructive comments about the story.

About misspellings: English is not my first language so, despite the fact that I'm not an awful writer, I'm sure there is grammar errors and misspellings in my chapters. Do not be shy to tell me about it and I shall correct the mistake right away. For future references, feel free to also explain to me the mistake to not repeat it. ^-^

Destiny

"Touma!" Shin screamed in his sleep. "What's wrong, Touma?!" The screams woke Aikyo up. She looked at her lover with a concern look and tried to wake him up.

"Shin! Wake up!" she told him while she was shaking him gently. Finally, the young man woke up and sat up straight in his bed, realizing this was a nightmare. "Are you alright? What were you dreaming about?" He looked at her and took her hand.

"It's…nothing."

"Shin…" she warned him. He sighed. He knew his dream meant something so was she but he didn't want her to worry. "Don't tell me it's nothing when you dream about another man and sweat like a little pig. What's going on?"

"It's Touma. I think…he's in trouble."

"Why?" Her first thought were for Azhure. If she knew the genius of the group was in trouble, there was no way to know what she will do or how she will react.

"He seemed…in pain. Tormented even. Then, I saw another armor that looked like the Tenku armor. I think he's trapped in there."

"Another armor? Shin, you said you were done with the fighting and that the armors were no more."

"I know what I said," he said a bit snappy at her. He sighed and apologized for his tone. He never felt so free ever since the burden of the armor was gone. To think it was only temporary gave him a sick feeling at the bottom of his stomach.

As Aikyo wanted to push the matter further, the phone rang. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was one of the Troopers. Shin told her to go back to sleep, kissed her forehead and walked out of the room to answer the phone. However, Aikyo never was the obedient type. She sneaked out of bed and listened to the conversation.

"You had that dream too Ryo? I see… No, I'm not totally sure what to make out of it. Huh-huh. What? And are you certain the manuscript is authentic? Right. Yes, I'll be there. See you soon."

She saw him hang up and sighed heavily. Only one conclusion was possible: what Shin dreamt about might be more real than any of them dared to admit.

Later that morning, unaware she listened to his conversation, Shin told his girlfriend he had an appointment with the other Troopers to discuss a few things. Although he tried to make it sound like it was some sort of pleasure reunion, the girl sensed there was nothing fun behind it. She played the game and told him to have a great time. They kissed goodbye and Shin promised to call her later that day. Unfortunately, that phone call never came. Needless to say that made Aikyo worried sick about him. She tried to call him but his cellphone was closed for some odd reason. She called the other Troopers only to be told they didn't see him since their meeting. With no surprise, she tried Touma's cellphone only to get his voicemail. Out of resources, she called the only person who would give her some answers.

Azhure.

"Yagyu residence," said a calm voice on the phone.

"Azhure, it's Aikyo. Open a portal to get me to your place. I need to talk to you."

"Aikyo? What's going on?" her friend sounded preoccupied by the tone she used. Never Aikyo was so direct with her.

"I'll tell you once I'm there. Please. Hurry." The magician didn't waste any moment. She told her to wait a couple of minutes and cut the communication. Three minutes later, a portal opened next to Aikyo and the latter entered it. She found herself in the living room and was surprised to see Nasuti, Rin and Shiro there.

"Hey," the tomboy replied carelessly. "We were already around when you called."

"Good. I need all the help I can get," the water user said as she sat down. "Shin has vanished."

"What?" Shiro said with a frown. He was usually a quiet person and to see him expressed that much concern was unusual. Aikyo guessed he cared more about the Troopers that he wanted to admit. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. His friends didn't hear from him since their meeting and I tried to call him on his cell but it's closed. Moreover…I think Touma has vanished as well." She turned her gaze to Azhure who seemed oddly calm about the news. She frowned. "You don't look surprised." Her friend didn't answer. "Azhure, don't tell me you had a hand in this."

"Aikyo!" Rin exclaimed, offended. "How can you say that? She's our friend!"

"I'm just thinking about how she reacted when the guys said they got rid of their armors. She was the only one who was upset. Shin said he saw a new Tenku armor and Touma was trapped inside of it. That alone should make you go get your book and open it to get a spell of some sort! We all know how you feel about Touma and you do nothing!!"

"I've been told to stay away," her friend replied with a frown. "You don't know how hard it is for me to do so."

"What? Who told you that?!" Aikyo stood up, angry. How could her friend let Shin and the others in danger?

"Suzunagi."

"Who's Suzunagi?!"

"The one who is kidnapping them."

"You KNOW what's going on and you don't do a thing about it?! What's wrong with you?!"

"You better have a good reason," Rin said with a glare. Both of them loved Azhure and were proud to be her friends. However, sometimes, they just didn't get her way of thinking.

"Listen to me," Azhure pleaded. "That woman came to me because she sensed I was close to the Troopers. She just told me to let her do her deed. She's not planning to hurt them but to bring back Kikoutei to destroy the world."

"Oh just that?" Shiro replied with irony. "By all means, we should let her do so."

"Why aren't you out there looking for them?!" Aikyo asked.

"Because I believe in them." The reply somehow calmed the two girls but they were still worried nonetheless.

"Can you explain this to us?" Rin demanded. "They don't have their armors anymore. They can't fight back. They're not strong enough."

"This is where you are wrong. Even if their armors are gone, some of their powers remained in them. Remember when we came back from our training and I said something was missing?"

"Yes, I remember," Aikyo said. "You couldn't tell what exactly until you saw the guys." Azhure nodded.

"When Silver stole their orbs, they truly were powerless. He broke their link with the armors to steal the orbs. But when they destroyed the two Kikouteis, it wasn't the same thing. Their link remained even if their armors were destroyed. I suppose it was because they did it willingly and they were considered as the true bearers. Anyway, the fact is that they still have the strength to fight and if they cannot stop her from calling back Kikoutei…"

"What? What does it mean if they cannot stop her?" Nasuti asked eagerly.

"It means this world deserves to be destroyed," Orion answered, appearing from behind a bookshelf.

"Orion!!" Azhure yelled at him with angry eyes. "Don't you dare say that!"

"Well why else would they fail?"

"They won't fail!!" Rin replied. Her fists hit the living room table and almost make a dent in it. "Shuu won't let that happen! He knows how dangerous that white armor is! It has no virtue! It lives only to fight and to destroy!"

"How do you know that?" Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unlike you, I SPEAK to people and I LISTEN when they talk back!"

"That was uncalled for, Rin," Shiro said as he looked away from her. No one but Rin knew she hurt him and she felt bad about it.

"Shiro…I…I'm sorry. It's just…"

"Azhure, we still should help them. To make sure it won't happen," Nasuti said. "I know Ryo. He will rush into this if he knows his friends are in danger."

"We have to believe in them, Nasuti. This…this is their fight. That Suzunagi is not human. She's a spirit. I felt so much anger and pain in her. She is the one imposing the rules. Fighting her is not a good idea. We could do more damage than anything." The magician was confident in her choice but her thoughts were on Touma. He was the first one to disappear. Was he truly ok? Will the others be able to rescue him? She had no idea. However, this fight was again something the Troopers had to deal by themselves. "We have to believe they will make her realize that bringing back Kikoutei is a mistake. Only the guys can do that."

"You're right," Aikyo finally replied, sitting down. "But I don't like it. I want to help Shin. He was so happy to not have to fight again. I feel like I let him down. I said I would protect him and that Suzunagi has him now. What kind of girlfriend am I?" She sighed. Once again, she had to wait and pray her boyfriend will come back in one piece. How long will she play that role? As long as he is a Samurai Trooper, she thought. But will she truly be able to stand this all her life?

"I hate to be on the sidelines," Rin huffed, crossing her arms on her chest.

It was decided that Aikyo should stay with Azhure and Nasuti until Shin come back home. Using the magic portal, she went back to her place, took a few things and left a message for Shin just in case he came back and went back to Nasuti's home.

That night, she couldn't sleep. She could feel Shin's torment and she was trying to figure out how she could ease his mind despite the distance separating them. As she was standing on the balcony, watching the reflection of the moonlight on the lake, Azhure came and stood next to her.

"Do…do you really hate me?" she couldn't help but ask the water user. Aikyo blinked at her and hugged her.

"Oh, you can be so silly at times," she told her with a small grin. "I'm sorry if I sounded mad at you. If you told me you voluntarily let them go into danger just so they can fight back again, trust me, I wouldn't be hugging you now." The words comfort the princess from another world who smiled at her friend. "But I know you would have done something if you could."

"Yeah… I will say like Rin: I hate to be on the sidelines too." Both girls watched the lake for a couple of minutes before Azhure spoke again. "Ryo moved out a few days ago back to the city. Soon after he left, he received a package from Touma."

"A package?"

"Yes. I went to give it back to him and he opened it in front of me. It was some kind of manuscript."

"Wait. Shin got a call from Ryo today and he mentioned a manuscript. What was it about?"

"You won't believe it but it was about THEM."

"Them? You mean…the guys?"

"Yes. Their fight with Arago. It was all written in there. And it's all true! But that manuscript was very old. It's from the…Edo period? Or something like that. This is what Touma wrote to Ryo anyway."

"A manuscript that predicted their battle? No wonder Shin was concerned."

"Yeah. When I came back home, the spirit of Suzunagi told me to stay out of her way or else."

"Wow. She was fast on you."

"She probably knew all along who were the bearers and since she saw me with Ryo, she wanted to make sure I won't do anything. But you know…if they fail to stop her, I will take on the white armor."

"You're not going to fight that thing alone," Aikyo grinned. "I'll help. And I bet Shiro and Rin will help too. This is our world. We won't let some crazy girl destroy it because… Well what's her reason?"

"I don't know."

"Great. Another villain without a motive. You know, the excuse 'I want to destroy the world because I like it' is getting old."

"I know," Azhure chuckled.

"But I know they will succeed. They never have failed before." Aikyo looked up to the stars. You may think you will gain nothing from fighting, my love, but I hope you can consider me as a good reason to fight.

"They never failed because they had something to protect. Their conviction helped them. I know Nasuti share my opinion. I guess she just wished too that they didn't have to fight again."

"Yeah… I hope this will be over soon. I'm so worried about him."

"I know…"

"So, when are you going to tell Touma you love him?" It seemed like nothing could stop Aikyo from playing matchmaker but truthfully, she needed to think about something else or she would go crazy.

It's going to be a long night, Azhure thought.

***

"Wow, we did it…" Shuu said with amazement.

"It's the beginning of a new legend," Seiji replied with a smile.

"Yes. I'm confident in this one. This armor doesn't feel anything like the other Suiko armor," Shin exclaimed, looking at his helmet.

"Even though they were made out of bitterness," Touma explained, "it all vanished when Suzunagi's spirit found peace. I don't feel any dark aura in mine. I'm not afraid it will take over."

"To fight freely is a great gift," Ryo agreed. "Still, we will need to be careful as we don't know what our powers are now."

"Bah! We'll figure it out," Shuu replied cheerfully.

"Ack! I have to call Aikyo! She must be worried sick about me!" The Troopers couldn't help but laugh as Shin started searching for his cellphone on his new armor. As for Touma, he gazed at the sky and thought of Azhure. He couldn't wait to show her his new armor and the ability he gained from it: fly. He always envied her to cast a simple spell and be able to fly. Now, he would be able to go with her.

"Hey Touma, where are you going?" Ryo called as he saw him getting on the edge of the building.

"I'm going to see Azhure. I have to show her this armor!" Seiji and Ryo grinned at each other. Was that a sign that Touma finally realized his feelings for the magician?

However, their grins were soon wiped out by the apparition of a huge door that only brought back bad memories to them all: a door to the Youjakai. It was way up in the sky, hidden in the clouds but its energy could be easily felt by the five Troopers. They gathered around in a fighting stance, waiting to see what will come out of it. Slowly, the door opened. Not completely. Just enough to let one person pass. They saw the silhouette walked out and it flew down at them with no haste. Was that overconfidence or simply a visitor? That question was answered as, to their surprise, the silhouette was, in fact, Kayura.

"Samurai Troopers," she said with a sense of emergency in her voice, "we need your help."

To be continued in The Rebellion of the Northern Tribes