(Author's Note: After doing some consideration, I have decided to stick around . I will not repost my old fanfics, but I will rewrite the ones I feel inspired to. Starting with Twisted Reality.)

Disclaimer: This fanfic is a work of fiction from the creative mind of a fan of the anime Ronin Warriors. Yoroiden Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors created by Hajime Yatate is produced and owned by Sunrise and Graz Entertainment. This is purely for amusement with no financial gain.

TWISTED REALITY

Cye watched as the pitter-patter of raindrops hit the outside of the window, creating a syncopated beat against the windowpane. Across to the left of the sofa he was curled up on, a fire cackled in the fireplace, sending bits of ember and ash from the burning logs into the air. It was quiet this morning, which was how he liked it. There was something about the quietness that allowed him to think more clearly and in a house filled with so many people it was hard to even get a singular thought in. It was why Cye usually took off for the lakes. Today, the weather had deemed him unworthy to go, bringing forth a downpour that had erupted in the skies just an hour ago. There seemed to be no letting up to it any time soon.

It was just as well, though. The last time he had gone outside in weather like this, he had ended up with a terrible cough, and Ryo had brewed something that tasted like a combination of vinegar and ash mixed together. Cye still regret giving Ryo a chance, because fact was Ryo could not cook. Or brew anything for that matter. Sage had made a simple trip to the pharmacy and picked up Cye regular cough syrup and chamomile tea, which had helped tremendously. The irritating cough lasted over a week, and since then Cye made it a point to avoid going outside during the cold and wet days. Ronin of Torrent, he may have been. Immune to colds, he was not.

Cye sipped his chamomile tea, having developed a desired taste for it. Damn Sage and his knowledge of delicious, herbal teas. There was something about the taste that lit up his taste buds with delight, like biting into a juicy hamburger with all of the right toppings, or the perfect blend of coffee first thing in the morning. The tea was more delicious than Starbucks Veranda Blend. Starbucks was the only place Cye could go to get a decently made coffee of his favorite blends where people did not smoke up a storm. Cigarettes were not something he was very fond of.

Normally, the tea would have made him sleepy, but after having drunk a few mugs of it per day while he had been sick he had become quite immune to its drowsing effects.

He glanced at the clock atop the mantle. 6:42. Sage would be the first one to wake. Rowen wouldn't wake until mid-morning at the earliest. That was, unless he had stayed up until a couple of hours ago. As late as the Ronin of Strata stayed up, it was perplexing to Cye that he could function so well. Cye could never stay up that late. He tried during a dare with Kento once, and fell asleep before the clock struck 1 A.M. Kento had stayed up until 3 A.M and was even awake at 9, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed for that matter. Cye hadn't gotten to live that one down for a while.

The creaking of the stairs caught Cye's attention. Sage hesitated with one foot raised slightly above the offended step, as if afraid he'd provoke its wrath again. He muttered something in English that Cye wouldn't care to repeat. It was astonishing what could come out of the Ronin of Halo's mouth, particularly since he was so usually poised with calm.

Sage hesitantly put his foot down on the next step, which groaned under his weight. He let out a mumbled curse and quickly descended the rest of the stairs.

Cye hid a tiny smile. "Good morning, Sage. Sleep well?"

Sage muttered in return and headed straight for the kitchen. Evidently, Sage was not a morning person by any means today. Must have been the rain.

Cye scratched an itch that sprang out of nowhere on the left side his forehead and stood up. Might as well go see about making Sage some breakfast. A clatter echoed from the kitchen, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

'Oh no… What did he do?' Cye hurried into the kitchen. He stopped abruptly when he saw glass shards of white with blue on the floor. One quick look told him that Sage had accidentally knocked down the cookie jar from off the counter. There were no broken cookies on the floor, and there were no crumbs either. Most likely, Rowen had been snacking during the night and eaten the remainder.

Sage was currently on his knees, picking up the shards and putting them into an empty box. "Who puts the cookie jar so close to the coffee pot?" He grumbled a bit, tossing the shards in one handful after another.

Cye smiled and shook his head. "Had to be Rowen. You know what a sweet tooth he has." He dropped down to the floor and helped.

"Surprising he hasn't had cavities as many sweets he eats every night," Sage said. He dropped a few more shard pieces into the box and dusted his hands off. He sleepily glanced at the floor, noting a few sparkles and mentally moaned. How could he have missed the ones right under his nose?

Cye saw them too. In a flourish he swept down and picked the last remaining pieces up and dropped them into the box. "There, all done."

"Thanks," Sage said, half-wryly. He turned to the coffee pot. "Now, don't say another word until I've had my coffee."

Cye chuckled and picked the box up, taking it to the little den just off the kitchen. The den held Mia's computer, several artifacts, and plenty of swords. Unless he had met Mia long before, he wouldn't have ever guessed her to be a sword collector. In truth, her grandfather had begun the sword collecting, and she continued it on well after he had passed away.

'Must be hard to let go,' Cye thought, gazing at the swords. Mia certainly never used them; wouldn't even allow anyone to coerce her into training with the swords. Well, it was her personal decision, and besides he always thought she was one of the bravest women he had ever met. She certainly put herself at risk quite a bit to help them out. If she hadn't united them, they wouldn't have ever been a team, or even close comrades.

His forehead itched again. Scratching it furiously, he wondered if a nasty fruit fly, or worse a mosquito, had bitten him. He rubbed his index finger over his forehead. Nothing there. Not even a bump. He stepped over to one of the swords and bent down just enough to see his forehead. Smooth. No sign of a bug bite. Not even a scratch.

"Strange…" He grimaced. If there wasn't anything wrong with him, then why was he itching so much? Well, there wasn't anything he could do now. If it didn't stop, he'd ask Mia for cortisone or something. He returned to the kitchen and found Sage seated at the table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. The blond didn't say a word. Cye headed to the refrigerator and took out eggs, rice, tofu, sausages, and bacon. Several minutes later, the burners were alive under the pots and pans. What Cye really wished for was a rice cooker.

Tomorrow he would be sixteen. He had hinted before to everyone that a rice cooker was just the thing he needed, since rice was the largest part of everyone's diet. It was simply a hassle to cook so much rice in a large pot, and usually it didn't even come out perfectly the first time. Either it came out too sticky or too soupy.

He glared at the pot of water. This time he would get it right. Come hell or high water, he would succeed in cooking rice the way it was meant to be cooked.

"Glaring at the pot won't make the water boil any faster," Sage said. He set the newspaper down and stared at Cye critically, as if examining him or wondering if he had been hit in the head a few times this morning.

"It's not like that," Cye said. He helplessly shrugged. "It's just… well, you've seen what my rice looked like the last several times I tried making it."

"I remember. I thought we were simply having congee," Sage said.

"Congee. Hah! This time I am determined to make rice correctly," Cye said. His eyes never left the pot of water. "I know I'm making a mistake somewhere, but I can't figure out where. I've followed the recipe to the T, and it still comes out poorly. You know how disappointing that is to me?"

Sage let out a slow breath. It wasn't easy listening to Cye's self-rant, even if it were mildly calm. There was something about the way Cye spoke that could make one feel empathic to his needs, and this morning was no different. "Cye, you're a terrific cook, but even terrific cooks make mistakes. You have to follow your own style, not someone else's. That's how chefs become great."

Cye did not respond right away. He flipped over the sausages and tended to the eggs, adding some salt and some pepper on Kento's and Ryo's, a dash of oregano to Sage's and Rowen's, and left Mia's and his plain. The water in the pot still had not reached boiling point.

"Cook it my own style, you say…." He stared into the pot. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way. "I think I'd feel better if I could get my hands on a rice cooker."

"Well, we'll have to see if the birthday fairy is nice to you," Sage said and picked up his newspaper again. A sausage landed atop his head.

Ryo rubbed his face vigorously and stumbled away from the mirror in his bedroom. His hair was a tangled mess and even running his fingers through it proved little help. He had no desire to even make his bed, something he never failed to do. Sleep had been an enemy to him, and his stiff shoulder muscles were proof of that. Outside, the rain danced outside the window, showering everything around the manor in a haze. It was both beautiful and depressing at the same time.

"So much for that jog with Kento."

Ryo threw off his t-shirt and tossed it into the hamper. It barely made it in, partly hanging out over the edge. Not that he cared. It was mostly in. He pulled off his boxers and walked nude to his bureau and found a clean pair of briefs, gray in color, soft and comfortable. He slipped them on and found a pair of socks to pull over his bare feet. Digging through the second drawer, he pushed aside several t-shirts of varying styles; mostly crew necks, a few muscle tank tops, plenty of v-cuts. He opted for a black v-cut today and slipped it over his head. A pair of dark blue denims to add to the ensemble and he was ready to go.

He headed out of the room, hoping that perhaps the rain would let up; that the sun would come out and dry everything. The jog was something he had looked forward to this morning, but in this heavy downpour there was just no way. Oh well. C'est la vie as the French say.

A delicious aroma hit his nostrils and Ryo wiped drool from his mouth. He hastened down the stairs and directly went to the kitchen. Cye and Sage were seated at the table, eating sausages, tofu rolls, bacon, eggs, and something that looked like a dried up rice cake? He blinked, puzzled. Cye certainly had his own particular style when it came to rice.

"Good morning, Ryo," Sage greeted. He gestured at the stove. "Cye spent the last hour cooking breakfast."

"Could have done better with it," Cye said and blew out a sigh.

Ryo walked over to the counter, anticipating what he would put on his plate as he greedily eyed the fried eggs and sausages, the tofu rolls, and the bacon. Toward the back of the counter was a place of sad looking rice cakes that were a bit mushy on one side and crusted on the other side. Ryo guessed that Cye had once again failed to deliver what he had originally intended to finish with.

He took his time in choosing a bit of everything, including the sad rice cake and carried it back to the table. He sat down opposite of Sage and diagonal from Cye. "Looks delicious, Cye."

"You're just humoring me," Cye said, dryly.

"I'm not," Ryo said. He picked up the rice cake. "What made you decide on rice cakes?"

Cye's shoulders jerked upward and he stabbed his fork into his eggs with a clanking sound. He mumbled something under his breath and allowed the fork to drop noisily to the plate with a clank. "I didn't have a choice. I tried using water to boil the rice in, but recalled the last time I did that we ended up with…. What was that, Sage? Congee?"

Sage nodded once.

"So then I thought if I drained the water and used butter and milk it would come out better," Cye continued, tilting his fork up and down on the plate as it made its chinking sound. "That failed. The end result is what you see before you."

Ryo frowned, sensing that Cye's mood wasn't the greatest. So he had a fault with a particular food. Who didn't? The key was to keep trying until you succeeded. Normally Cye was very reserved about his cooking, confident even. Lately though, he had been anguishing over this matter, trying all types of cooking recipes from a variety of sources and still could never get the rice the perfected way that he desired.

"Cye, don't let this get to you," he said, smiling a bit. He cut up his sausages with a fork and ate several pieces at a time. "You're a terrific cook, and you know this."

"Damn it, I've already been told that by Sage!" Cye snapped, slapping his hand hard against the table. "I don't need a reminder, Ryo. The issue isn't that I'm a terrific cook. The issue is why can't I seem to make rice when I can cook and bake everything else? It makes no sense to me!"

Ryo's eyes widened in disbelief and he jerked back. He had heard of Cye's temper, which rarely ever so went off, from Kento, but this was the first time he had gotten to see a bit of it. He stared at Cye, hardly daring to breathe. For a moment, he could have sworn he saw Cye's pupils flare up with a red light. Suddenly, it was gone just like that. 'Maybe I imagined it…'

Sage's eyebrows rose up suddenly, but he was silently observing mostly. No doubt deciding to stay out of it. He had already had this conversation earlier and did not see a reason to repeat it. Wisely, he changed the subject. "Do you think it will stop raining soon?"

Cye let out a small snort. "I hope so. Don't get me wrong. I love the water, but not when it's cold out like this."

"Kento and I were going to go jogging this morning," Ryo said, grateful to Sage for the change of subject. He continued eating. "Canceled that plan when I saw the downpour."

Sage's head turned toward the windows. They were bay windows, which allowed extra light into the room. Mia had decided to have them installed as opposed to her previous windows that had been destroyed countless times when the Dynasty had attacked.

The Dynasty was gone now, and the bay windows were a wonderful touch. Rain paraded and waged war against the glass. It could almost sound musical. Almost. "Unless you and Kento decide you want to shower outside in your clothes…." He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. He was never good at being sarcastic. That was usually Rowen's department, or Ryo's. Maybe they were rubbing off on him in some way.

"I regret not checking the weather last night," Ryo said, stuffing a few tofus into his mouth. It had been pleasantly nice all week, with temperatures averaging between 70 and 75. The sun had lent its warmth of rays to them, caressing their skin and darkening their tones a bit. The only two who had not become a bit tanned were Sage and Cye. Ryo had especially darkened, making his blue eyes more vivid than ever before. Rowen had tanned too, but he was the lightest one of them all.

"Nothing can be done about it now," Sage said, dryly. He carried his empty plate to the sink and rinsed off the marks left there by the food. He glanced out the window and curled his lip in disgust. No traces of a ray of light anywhere. "The appearance of the sun would be nice."

"No chance of that," Cye said. He carried his own plate to the sink and deposited it into the sink after Sage. Being the bearer of Torrent, Cye could tell that the rain would definitely not let up any time soon. He turned away from the sink, deciding to wash the dishes after Kento and Rowen ate. Momentarily, he scratched his forehead again.

"Well, whenever it lets up, hopefully it dries up enough so that we can all go outside." Sage walked away from the sink too, running a hand through his blonde locks as he suppressed an irritated sigh of displeasure. Something was nagging at him; a feeling that warned him his life and the lives of his friends were about to drastically change and not for the better.

What was it then? A new enemy? Things had been quiet since they defeated Talpa the last time. The Warlords and Kayura had retreated to the Dynasty where a new constitutional monarchial governmental order had been set up. This type of government limited the powers of any emperor – though Sage was not yet sure who had replaced Talpa, if one had already. Sekhmet, Dais, and Cale ran the three branches with people under them. Sekhmet ran the Executive branch. Dais ran the Legislative branch. Cale ran the Judicial branch. Kayura had become the Prime Minister, so to speak, though she mostly performed duties as a monk, leading and guiding the Warlords and their Cabinet members.

'And to think the Warlords also protect the Dynasty from any prevalent threats,' Sage mentally mused to himself. He wondered how the setting of the court system was going as he headed back up the stairs to his and Rowen's room.

Rowen's form lied in a 90° obtuse triangle form with the blankets partially cascading over him like a poor man's tent. Sage raised one eyebrow at the scene and envisioned grabbing the camera for just this special occasion. The other part of him wasn't even sure how Rowen could possibly be comfortable in that position. Rowen was going to have several cricks when he woke.

Stepping over discarded books; one of them a textbook of Gödel's Theorem and candy wrappers of Glico Mini Caplico sticks, a sort of ice cream snack Rowen had become addicted to, and two empty cans of Salty Watermelon Pepsi, Sage reached the closet and opened the door.

A snort sounded from out in the bedroom, and his eyebrows twitched. He hoped Rowen wouldn't start snoring. Normally, the bearer of Strata was a sound sleeper, but these days it was just hard to tell what to expect from someone. At least he knew he could always count on him.

Sage grabbed a clean pair of trousers and a white buttoned down collar shirt to go with it. Changing quickly, he was thankful it was Sunday. School hadn't exactly been a pleasant experience for him, and three times he had been snapped at by his teacher in the course of a week. Something was nagging him and it frustrated him that he couldn't figure it out. What was it? Was Halo trying to give him a warning? It tugged at his spirit, tried to scream in his mind, but all he heard was the distant wail that something wasn't quite right.

He heard a thump and instantly whirled around, fists clenched, ready to dive and grab his orb from his nightstand. It was only Rowen. He had fallen off the bed, having landed on his back with his knees propped up over the edge of the bed.

Sage expelled a huge sigh of relief and his muscles relaxed. 'I'm too paranoid. I need to focus and calm my spirit down.'

Rowen moaned with something akin to a disgruntled grunt and opened his eyes. The first thought running through his mind questioned his position. He clearly remembered sleeping in his bed, so why was he halfway on the floor with his legs propped up over on his bed? Come to think of it, why did his body feel so stiff?

He pulled his legs back, rocked a bit, and then got to his feet. He yawned, trying to shake that I just woke up feeling. He cracked his neck with several cricks and pops, relieving the pressure he felt and rolled his shoulders back. They, too, popped.

"Good morning," Sage said to his left.

Rowen stifled another yawn. 'Mornin'. What time is it?"

Sage glanced at the clock above on the wall; an owl type clock he never actually cared for, and said, "Eight in the morning."

"Whaa?" Rowen groaned and turned back toward his bed. "I'm goin' back to bed!"

"Cye made a delicious breakfast," Sage said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Make me a plate and save it for me, will ya?" Rowen promptly allowed gravity to take over his form as he fell down to his bed, smacking the middle of it. He instantly fell back to sleep.

"Tch," Sage tsked. He grabbed his armor orb and walked out of the room.

"Aw man!" Kento whined. He stared, discombobulated at the sheer force of the rainstorm outside. He didn't recall the meteorologist even announcing that it was suppose to rain. No. He was quite positive it was suppose to be a good 75° with clear blue skies. That was why he had agreed to go jogging with Ryo. He had made it a point to check the weather before bed. He made a grunted noise within his throat that sounded akin to a choked growl and walked away from the window.

"Man, this bites," he said, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

It wasn't every day that he got to go jogging with Ryo, and the one chance they had to go, their plans changed. Kento could go out in the cold and not worry so much about getting sick, but Ryo easily got sick; hell even Cye caught a cold the last time.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. He might as well change his clothes and get breakfast. Maybe he could spar with Ryo in the sparring room or play a game on the Sega afterward. It would make up for the disappointment of the morning.

He quickly changed into a pair of light gray jeans with a deep brown t-shirt, and tossed his previous clothes into a pile on the floor. He raced out of the bedroom without bothering to make his bed. He collided with Ryo in the hall.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Ryo asked, fully well knowing where Kento was off into such a hurry.

"You should know," Kento said and smirked. "Say, Ryo, wanna spar with me after I eat? Uno on uno?"

Ryo grinned. "You bet. One hour okay?"

"Sure."

They parted ways; Kento heading down the stairs and Ryo to his bedroom. Kento skipped the last three steps and beelined to the kitchen. Sage was sitting at the table, listening to the radio.

"What's up, Sage?" Kento said with a wave of his hand. He quickly grabbed himself a plate and loaded everything on it, pausing at what looked like rice cakes. "Er….are these rice cakes?"

"That's what we've been calling them," Sage said. "Cye was pretty upset earlier."

Kento's lips tugged downward instantly and he slowly blinked. He set his plate on the table, and pulled his chair out, but didn't sit down right away. "Man. Cye's been pretty bummed about things lately. Do you think it's because he's anxious about turning 16?"

"I don't believe it's that," Sage said. He adjusted the dial on the radio when interference scrambled the song he was listening to. The song came in clearer and he laid his arm against the table, tapping his fingers against the top. "Haven't you noticed that Cye has had trouble with the one food he cannot easily cook?"

Kento picked up the so-called rice cakes and cocked an eyebrow at it. "Now that you mentioned it… He still wants that rice cooker?"

"I told him if he was good, the birthday fairy might get him one," Sage said smoothly.

"How'd he take it?"

"He threw a sausage at my head," Sage said with a wry smile.

Kento laughed and dug into his breakfast. If Cye wanted a rice cooker, he saw no reason to deny him that. It would be difficult to go buy one if Cye accompanied them, so maybe he could convince Cye to go somewhere for a while, perhaps with Ryo or Rowen.

Kento knew all about rice cookers, because his mother owned one. It worked great; a stainless steel Zojirushi Micom. His mother praised it highly, stating it was the best she had ever owned. That was the one Kento wanted to get for Cye.

"Tomorrow, Cye's going to be surprised, dude," Kento said, getting himself second helpings. "We just need to keep him preoccupied long enough for it to be accomplished."

Sage's eyes slightly widened. "Wait. Do you have a plan? Since when do you ever come up with a plan?"

"Sage, dude, when it comes to food preparations, I excel in those plans."

Cye relaxed under the massaging tendrils of the showerhead's water, allowing his thoughts to flow in a singular line. Guilt washed over him. He hadn't meant to snap at Ryo, but it was frustrating when he was constantly reminded that he was a good cook. If he was such a good cook, then why did he always screw up the rice? Sure, there were many ways to cook rice and he had failed every single one.

Maybe the issue wasn't the rice. He had felt on edge lately without explanation and the odd feeling he had hadn't gone away. A piece of him felt disconnected from the other Ronins. Their armors had come from Talpa's armor. The Ancient had broken down Talpa's armor and forged the nine armors according to the elements and the seasons.

When he had been captured, Talpa had had an audience with him, just before he had been moved to the stone gargoyles. "Did you know that you and the other Ronins are connected to me through the armors?" Talpa had asked. "In a way, we are one."

Cye had refused to believe it; refused to accept it. Now, nearly two years later, he was beginning to fear that it was true.

He finished his shower and stepped out. Water dripped from his form onto the mat beneath his feet. He dried off with the towel and dressed in a pair of faded denims with a dark green t-shirt and a dark blue windbreaker that he left unzipped. He left the bathroom shortly after cleaning his mess up.

Out in the hall he heard voices. 'Kento's up,' he thought with a wry smile. No doubt Kento was stuffing as much food into his mouth as he possibly could. Sage's voice reached him next. There was concern in the Ronin of Halo's voice. Cye bit his lip. Was he really that bad?

He turned and went into his bedroom. Maybe he could avoid the others until his mood improved. A full length Seatac Cheval Mirror caught his attention. He stepped over to it and gazed at his reflection. He looked so very different compared to a couple of years ago.

He was slightly taller than he had been, though he was still the smallest Ronin. His auburn hair had darkened to more of a brunette color with a hint of chestnut highlights. Sure there was still a bit of shading of auburn, but it only really showed up when the light hit it just right.

A small breath escaped through Cye's lips and he ran a hand through his hair, allowing his thoughts to continue flowing. He could apologize to Ryo later when he felt just a bit better. Maybe they could even- His head snapped up and his eyes widened at the reflective glass of the mirror. Behind him!

Cye jerked around, fully expecting the image in the mirror, with its form dressed completely in a metallic armor and the horrid blood colored mask with the hideous grin that sent chills down his spine, to be behind him. Cye paled and his heart clenched.

The room was empty, and only his image remained in the mirror.