Chapter One: A Shift in the Wind
The dreams never ceased. Visions continued to plague him- visions continued to plague them all. Ryo knew it was no coincidence that they were all having these dreams. Something was happening; something was changing. But what was it?
The dreams were clear enough to be sure they weren't ordinary dreams but they were too cryptic to decipher. All that was clear from these visions was that Yuli would be involved, as well as Kayra and the warlords. There also seemed to be something about two girls and a tenth armor but it wasn't anything certain about it.
After being awoken by the cryptic vision for the twelfth time in one night, Ryo gave up on his feeble attempt at getting some sleep and left his room. He headed down to the kitchen where he found the others waiting for him. After about four hours of on and off sleep, all of them threw their need for sleep aside and met in the kitchen, where they fended off the urge to sleep with lattes and Oreos. Sage, being the smart one of the group, was very hesitant to submit to this nightly ritual of wiring his body on caffeine and sugar but he eventually gave in.
"Glad to see ya up, Ryo," Rowen said with a grin. "Misery loves company."
"For being misery you seem awfully cheerful," Ryo murmured, sliding into a seat opposite Rowen.
"Yeah well what can I say?" he leaned back in his chair. "The dreams make me miserable but reality makes me happy."
"Is this about your girlfriend again?" Kento asked, stuffing his mouth with Oreos.
Shortly after their dealings with the Netherworld had ended, Rowen had met a girl. She was unusually strong, very pretty, and quite an intellectual. Her hair was reddish-brown and her eyes were blue. She wore normal clothes and went by the name of Allyson. Rowen had liked Allyson from the start but the feelings were not immediately returned. It was quite an effort to win her over, but Rowen was happy that he had, because, when Allyson was with him, he felt like he was the luckiest guy in the world.
"Actually," Rowen replied with a sly smirk, "it's about my fiancée."
Except for Kento's choking on Oreos in shock, the room fell awkwardly silent. To say the least, this was a very brusque change in events. After about ten minutes of the uncomfortable silence, Ryo decided to break it.
"So I take it this means you're really in love with her then, huh?" Ryo said.
"Yep! Sure am!" Rowen grinned proudly.
"I think it's time we turn to more important matters," Sage spoke up. "Not that your engagement isn't a big deal, Rowen, but if we don't decipher these dreams, the world might end."
"Ya really think it's that serious, Sage? If it were that serious, dontcha think Kayra woulda figured it out and contacted us already?" Rowen asked.
"Something tells me she's been trying to contact us for a long time but she doesn't know how to," Sage replied. "She showed up in one of my visions tonight and said something about Tokyo Tower at noon. I think we should go check out this lead tomorrow."
"What if it's not a lead and yer just bloomin crazy, mate, what then?" Cye chuckled.
"Or what if Kayra's contacting you in particular because she wants to meet you there for a date?" Kento winked, teasingly.
"Kayra doesn't like me that way, Kento," Sage said calmly, though slightly blushing.
"Of course she doesn't. We're just playing with your head, mate," Cye laughed.
"Yeah, we all know Mia's more your type than Kayra is," Rowen teased.
"For the one thousand two hundred thirty-first time, Mia is not my girlfriend," Sage insisted.
"Dude, I don't think were up to the one thousand two hundred thirty- first time you've had to say that yet," Kento said.
Yes, we are," Sage replied. "I've been counting."
"Ah leave him alone guys," Ryo insisted. "He doesn't like Mia or Kayra. cause I saw him going to dinner with some other chick last night."
"You. saw that?" Sage blushed.
"Yep. She's pretty cute and she seems smart. What's her name?"
"Uh. well. It's. Aonor," Sage replied nervously, with his head turned to the side, "Aonor Minamoto."
"Cute name too," Ryo said. "So how'd you meet her?"
"Some guy was mugging her," Sage replied.
"And Sage the Brave saves the day right?" Rowen laughed softly.
"Can we get off the subject of my romance life and go watch TV or something?"
"Yeah, let's go," Ryo agreed.
At ten the next morning, the boys set out for Tokyo. With some effort, some help from strangers, and the aid of a map, they managed to find Tokyo Tower. Kayra was there waiting for them with several escorts that remained unseen until she brought the Ronins into an alleyway. She had brought the three remaining warlords with her as we as two female escorts, who stayed in the shadows.
"So Kayra, let's get down to it- what's going on?" Ryo asked.
"Manners should come before business, Ryo. I have not made proper introductions," she replied. "Girls."
The two women in the shadows stepped into the light. One was about five foot five with messy blue hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in clothes similar to Kayra's battle gear and she carried a quiver of silver arrows. The other woman was approximately five foot seven with blond tousled hair and green eyes. She carried a large sword and wore an emerald kimono which cut off an inch about the knee.
"If they weren't women I'd say I already knew them," Kento glanced back and forth between the two girls and Rowen and Sage and noticed the unbelievable amount of similarities.
"Boys, I would like you to meet Samantha and Rebecca. Girls, these are the Ronins. That's Ryo of the wildfire, Cye of the torrent, Kento of the hard rock, and I believe you already know Sage and Rowen."
"Oniichan?" Samantha and Rebecca questioned together. "Oniichan!"
All of a sudden, Sage found his oxygen being cut off by a giant hug from Samantha. Rowen found himself in a similar disposition, except he was being crushed by Rebecca.
"I'm sure even you two, Sage and Rowen, do not remember Samantha and Rebecca. You were separated when you were very young. Though Samantha is Sage's sister and Rebecca is Rowen's, they were raised by different people. Samantha and Rebecca were raised by bandits, while Rowen and Sage were raised by others," Kayra said. She then turned to Cye and frowned, "I'm sorry, Cye. I was able to locate your sister but she disappeared one night."
"Ah don't worry about it, Kayra. She's been in good hands," Cye smirked. "Rowen's been making sure o that."
"What do you mean?" Rowen asked.
"Didn't I tell ya, mate? Your fiancée is my sister!" he laughed.
"How could you forget to tell him something like that?" Ryo asked.
"I dunno! Must 'ave slipped me mind!" Cye smiled nervously.
"How does something like that slip your mind!?" Rowen shouted.
"Boys! This is no time for petty quarreling!" Kayra insisted. "The fate of the world is at hand!"
"Well, fill us in, Kayra!" Kento insisted.
"Let's start from the beginning. Long ago in ancient times, around the time your armors were forged, a peculiar young woman was born. Her strange unity with nature and ability to predict and even alter wind currents were what made her so peculiar. Some people feared she was a demon; others believed she was a goddess. Either way, her name was Kaze and she was more popularly known as the Wind Goddess. When she passed on, she left behind no body and no ash- all that remained of her was a magical armor. With her body missing, people believed that she seriously was a goddess and that she hadn't died but had rather returned to heaven, leaving this armor behind as a tool for humans to achieve a final victory over evil. Even I do not know Kaze's origin, but I do know that no suitable wearer for the armor was ever found. Thus, to prevent it from falling into the hands of wicked creatures, the humans sealed the armor deep within the ground."
"And how does the impending doom of the planet come into all of this?" Rowen asked.
"A very powerful hate has been growing in the area where the armor was buried. This hatred has given birth to a powerful bloodthirsty demon, who is now seeking the armor. If the demon gets the armor, the world could be destroyed."
"Demons are born from hatred among men?" Kento blinked. "They don't come from other demons?"
"While it is possible, it is less likely for a demon to be born of a demon mother rather than from the hatred here on earth," Kayra replied. "Demons do not get along with each other well; if by some miracle, a male and a female demon get along well enough to have children, it is most likely that they will despise, and ultimately kill their offspring."
"So where will we find this demon and this armor?" Ryo asked.
"On the island of Hong Kong- that is all the information I have. Your friend Mia might be of some use in finding the exact location. She studies mythology does she not?"
"If we ask her, she'll demand that we bring her along," Kento looked at the others.
"And then Yuli will insist on coming with us," Sage continued.
"Too bad the kid's parents disappeared. If he weren't living with Mia, we might have been able to get away with only taking her."
After all the business with the Netherworld was finished, Yuli's parents did return. However, on April morning, Yuli woke up and found that he was the only living being in the household. Instead of waiting there for some strangers to come and ship him off to an orphanage, Yuli went to Mia's house right away. He'd been living there ever since.
"Shall we begin our quest to claim the armor and defeat the demon now?" Kayra asked.
"Let's go," Ryo smirked.
The dreams never ceased. Visions continued to plague him- visions continued to plague them all. Ryo knew it was no coincidence that they were all having these dreams. Something was happening; something was changing. But what was it?
The dreams were clear enough to be sure they weren't ordinary dreams but they were too cryptic to decipher. All that was clear from these visions was that Yuli would be involved, as well as Kayra and the warlords. There also seemed to be something about two girls and a tenth armor but it wasn't anything certain about it.
After being awoken by the cryptic vision for the twelfth time in one night, Ryo gave up on his feeble attempt at getting some sleep and left his room. He headed down to the kitchen where he found the others waiting for him. After about four hours of on and off sleep, all of them threw their need for sleep aside and met in the kitchen, where they fended off the urge to sleep with lattes and Oreos. Sage, being the smart one of the group, was very hesitant to submit to this nightly ritual of wiring his body on caffeine and sugar but he eventually gave in.
"Glad to see ya up, Ryo," Rowen said with a grin. "Misery loves company."
"For being misery you seem awfully cheerful," Ryo murmured, sliding into a seat opposite Rowen.
"Yeah well what can I say?" he leaned back in his chair. "The dreams make me miserable but reality makes me happy."
"Is this about your girlfriend again?" Kento asked, stuffing his mouth with Oreos.
Shortly after their dealings with the Netherworld had ended, Rowen had met a girl. She was unusually strong, very pretty, and quite an intellectual. Her hair was reddish-brown and her eyes were blue. She wore normal clothes and went by the name of Allyson. Rowen had liked Allyson from the start but the feelings were not immediately returned. It was quite an effort to win her over, but Rowen was happy that he had, because, when Allyson was with him, he felt like he was the luckiest guy in the world.
"Actually," Rowen replied with a sly smirk, "it's about my fiancée."
Except for Kento's choking on Oreos in shock, the room fell awkwardly silent. To say the least, this was a very brusque change in events. After about ten minutes of the uncomfortable silence, Ryo decided to break it.
"So I take it this means you're really in love with her then, huh?" Ryo said.
"Yep! Sure am!" Rowen grinned proudly.
"I think it's time we turn to more important matters," Sage spoke up. "Not that your engagement isn't a big deal, Rowen, but if we don't decipher these dreams, the world might end."
"Ya really think it's that serious, Sage? If it were that serious, dontcha think Kayra woulda figured it out and contacted us already?" Rowen asked.
"Something tells me she's been trying to contact us for a long time but she doesn't know how to," Sage replied. "She showed up in one of my visions tonight and said something about Tokyo Tower at noon. I think we should go check out this lead tomorrow."
"What if it's not a lead and yer just bloomin crazy, mate, what then?" Cye chuckled.
"Or what if Kayra's contacting you in particular because she wants to meet you there for a date?" Kento winked, teasingly.
"Kayra doesn't like me that way, Kento," Sage said calmly, though slightly blushing.
"Of course she doesn't. We're just playing with your head, mate," Cye laughed.
"Yeah, we all know Mia's more your type than Kayra is," Rowen teased.
"For the one thousand two hundred thirty-first time, Mia is not my girlfriend," Sage insisted.
"Dude, I don't think were up to the one thousand two hundred thirty- first time you've had to say that yet," Kento said.
Yes, we are," Sage replied. "I've been counting."
"Ah leave him alone guys," Ryo insisted. "He doesn't like Mia or Kayra. cause I saw him going to dinner with some other chick last night."
"You. saw that?" Sage blushed.
"Yep. She's pretty cute and she seems smart. What's her name?"
"Uh. well. It's. Aonor," Sage replied nervously, with his head turned to the side, "Aonor Minamoto."
"Cute name too," Ryo said. "So how'd you meet her?"
"Some guy was mugging her," Sage replied.
"And Sage the Brave saves the day right?" Rowen laughed softly.
"Can we get off the subject of my romance life and go watch TV or something?"
"Yeah, let's go," Ryo agreed.
At ten the next morning, the boys set out for Tokyo. With some effort, some help from strangers, and the aid of a map, they managed to find Tokyo Tower. Kayra was there waiting for them with several escorts that remained unseen until she brought the Ronins into an alleyway. She had brought the three remaining warlords with her as we as two female escorts, who stayed in the shadows.
"So Kayra, let's get down to it- what's going on?" Ryo asked.
"Manners should come before business, Ryo. I have not made proper introductions," she replied. "Girls."
The two women in the shadows stepped into the light. One was about five foot five with messy blue hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in clothes similar to Kayra's battle gear and she carried a quiver of silver arrows. The other woman was approximately five foot seven with blond tousled hair and green eyes. She carried a large sword and wore an emerald kimono which cut off an inch about the knee.
"If they weren't women I'd say I already knew them," Kento glanced back and forth between the two girls and Rowen and Sage and noticed the unbelievable amount of similarities.
"Boys, I would like you to meet Samantha and Rebecca. Girls, these are the Ronins. That's Ryo of the wildfire, Cye of the torrent, Kento of the hard rock, and I believe you already know Sage and Rowen."
"Oniichan?" Samantha and Rebecca questioned together. "Oniichan!"
All of a sudden, Sage found his oxygen being cut off by a giant hug from Samantha. Rowen found himself in a similar disposition, except he was being crushed by Rebecca.
"I'm sure even you two, Sage and Rowen, do not remember Samantha and Rebecca. You were separated when you were very young. Though Samantha is Sage's sister and Rebecca is Rowen's, they were raised by different people. Samantha and Rebecca were raised by bandits, while Rowen and Sage were raised by others," Kayra said. She then turned to Cye and frowned, "I'm sorry, Cye. I was able to locate your sister but she disappeared one night."
"Ah don't worry about it, Kayra. She's been in good hands," Cye smirked. "Rowen's been making sure o that."
"What do you mean?" Rowen asked.
"Didn't I tell ya, mate? Your fiancée is my sister!" he laughed.
"How could you forget to tell him something like that?" Ryo asked.
"I dunno! Must 'ave slipped me mind!" Cye smiled nervously.
"How does something like that slip your mind!?" Rowen shouted.
"Boys! This is no time for petty quarreling!" Kayra insisted. "The fate of the world is at hand!"
"Well, fill us in, Kayra!" Kento insisted.
"Let's start from the beginning. Long ago in ancient times, around the time your armors were forged, a peculiar young woman was born. Her strange unity with nature and ability to predict and even alter wind currents were what made her so peculiar. Some people feared she was a demon; others believed she was a goddess. Either way, her name was Kaze and she was more popularly known as the Wind Goddess. When she passed on, she left behind no body and no ash- all that remained of her was a magical armor. With her body missing, people believed that she seriously was a goddess and that she hadn't died but had rather returned to heaven, leaving this armor behind as a tool for humans to achieve a final victory over evil. Even I do not know Kaze's origin, but I do know that no suitable wearer for the armor was ever found. Thus, to prevent it from falling into the hands of wicked creatures, the humans sealed the armor deep within the ground."
"And how does the impending doom of the planet come into all of this?" Rowen asked.
"A very powerful hate has been growing in the area where the armor was buried. This hatred has given birth to a powerful bloodthirsty demon, who is now seeking the armor. If the demon gets the armor, the world could be destroyed."
"Demons are born from hatred among men?" Kento blinked. "They don't come from other demons?"
"While it is possible, it is less likely for a demon to be born of a demon mother rather than from the hatred here on earth," Kayra replied. "Demons do not get along with each other well; if by some miracle, a male and a female demon get along well enough to have children, it is most likely that they will despise, and ultimately kill their offspring."
"So where will we find this demon and this armor?" Ryo asked.
"On the island of Hong Kong- that is all the information I have. Your friend Mia might be of some use in finding the exact location. She studies mythology does she not?"
"If we ask her, she'll demand that we bring her along," Kento looked at the others.
"And then Yuli will insist on coming with us," Sage continued.
"Too bad the kid's parents disappeared. If he weren't living with Mia, we might have been able to get away with only taking her."
After all the business with the Netherworld was finished, Yuli's parents did return. However, on April morning, Yuli woke up and found that he was the only living being in the household. Instead of waiting there for some strangers to come and ship him off to an orphanage, Yuli went to Mia's house right away. He'd been living there ever since.
"Shall we begin our quest to claim the armor and defeat the demon now?" Kayra asked.
"Let's go," Ryo smirked.