Sangokuden Armored War Gods Saga 01: Tales of the Armored War Gods

by Kamen Rider Chrome

The story of the Peerless Princesses begins anew. They begin their paths which will lead them to the formation of kingdoms and glory. But they do not walk the path alone. Messengers of Heaven descend on the land. Unsure of their purpose, wary of those around them, they walk on their own path of divine conquest. They are the Armored War Gods. First in the Armored War Gods Saga.

1. The Orange Armored War God

We do not own Koihime Musou or Kamen Rider Gaim. They belong to their respective creators. Chrome and I just thought this idea would be fun and I decided to give it a try. If you like it then that's great. If you don't then we tried. Anyway, come along and let's see what you think.

Sangokuden Armored War Gods Saga: Tales of the Armored War Gods

Co-Written By Ten-Faced Paladin and Kamen Rider Chrome

Chapter 1: The Orange Armored War God

The world was pain.

"Ow."

Opening his eyes, Nagata Oda groaned and sat up. His head was pounding and his vision was a bit blurry. Shaking his head, he checked his body for any sort of wounds to explain why he felt like a semi truck had run him over. His blue jacket with an orange shirt, his jeans and sneakers, and most importantly his head were all intact and clear of signs of blood or wounds. Scratching his head, he felt his slightly spiked black hair still in place with his ponytail. It was slightly dirty but very much intact.

His personal check dealt with, he stood up with minimal amounts of vertigo and managed to see where he was. Looking around, he found himself in a field of some sort and the trees looked like they were blooming into cherry blossoms. Above him, the sky was clear blue, but he couldn't hear the noise of the city he was used to. In fact, he couldn't hear anything but birds and the breeze. For a guy who lived in the city his entire life, it was a little strange. Not unpleasant of course, but still strange.

"What the...wasn't I in a museum before…?" Nagata wondered, now thoroughly confused at what he was looking at.

Scratching his head, Nagata tried to remember what had happened before being knocked out. He and his classmates had been visiting the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum for a field trip. He got separated from his class when he got distracted by terracotta warriors supposedly made for Sousou of the Three Kingdoms era. He spotted some kid in a white school uniform trying to make off with a mirror from the same era as the statues. Nagata chased after the guy, but he had some sort of mad skills in martial arts and either knocked Nagata back or outright clobbered him. Still, Nagata boasted serious stamina raised by his kendo classes and kept right on the kid. He remembered shouting for help and some kids from some of the other visiting schools jumped in to grab the would-be thief. Nagata remembered some kid in a black and red uniform actually tackling the thief and knocking him over. Sadly, the mirror broke in the chaos and the next thing Nagata knew…

"I'm all the way out here," he frowned. Looking back at the pink trees, he had to frown, "But the Sakura Viewing was a month ago. The blossoms should all be gone by now. Did some stick it out or what?"

Thoroughly confused and more than a little worried Nagata tried to figure out which way he was supposed to go for civilization. Every direction looked the same: blue sky, pink trees, and green grass. It was pretty enough, but definitely not helpful.

And then his stomach growled.

"Oog. Mom was right. I shouldn't have skipped breakfast," Nagata groaned, clutching his stomach. As he did, his hand hit something and pushed it.

[LOCK ON!]

"Huh?" Nagata looked down as a war trumpet began to play and he spotted a black belt buckle with a padlock in the center which was decorated by an orange with the black letters L.S.-07 on the front. The edges around the orange were glowing as the traditional Japanese war trumpet went off. On the right side of the lock was a sword-like handle poised to cut the orange open. On the other side was a picture of a blue-helmeted warrior with a silver mouthplate and a rainbow-colored visor.

"Oh yeah. Forgot I had this. Didn't know I was wearing it," Nagata chuckled to himself. He was a bit of a Kamen Rider nerd and was a big fan of the new Kamen Rider Gaim. He had seen the SengokuDriver for sale on his way to school and he just couldn't resist it. He had even bought Gaim's arsenal of Lockseeds from the store to complete it. Suika, Pine, and Ichigo were all crammed into his pockets. He was going to geek out and show it to his friends who were just as big nerds as he was. In the confusion of his surroundings, he had forgotten that he had it. He couldn't remember putting it on though.

As he tried to discern which way he should be going, several men started coming out of the trees. They were a bunch of dirty guys wearing drab and dirty clothes. They were all armed with medieval weapons from ancient China and none of them had nice looks on their faces. Other than that, they seemed rather nondescript save for the fact that one had a large nose and was short, the second was tall and chubby, and the leader of the bunch had a metal helmet on his head and a cleft chin.

"Man, what a letdown!" the leader with the helmet snorted, hefting his Dao sword over his shoulder. "We hear those war horns and think we're getting a front row seat to a battle and all we get is this brat."

"So much for getting swag from dead soldiers," huffed the shorter man with the big nose.

"That belt and his clothes look like they could be worth a lot though!" remarked the chubby one, pointing his spear at an increasingly scared Nagata.

The leader blinked and looked Nagata over, a greedy gleam coming to his eyes, "Hey, yeah. That material looks mighty strange. It might just be worth a lot! Let's take it all boys!"

"Hey, wait!" Nagata gulped, backing away from the men with his hands raised defensively in front of him. "Can't we talk about this?"

The group of men didn't seem all that interested in listening and instead all began to charge with loud battle cries. To the day he would die, Nagata would deny he screamed at such a tone it could be mistaken as a girl's. Fortunately, none of the bandits had time to laugh at him when something more important took their attention.

"Stop!"

A black blur leaped from the forest and something struck at the bandits' weapons in a clash of steel and shower of sparks. The men halted their advance, becoming guarded. Nagata blinked but his vision was blinded when a sheet or cloak landed on him, blocking his sight. He struggled with it for a moment before tossing it aside. Able to see again, he looked to see who had joined them.

The new person was, in fact, a girl. She had long black hair which hung on the side of her face and tied back in a simply but oddly luxurious ponytail. Her outfit looked oddly ornamental, colorful, and very enticing. She wore a white blouse with a pink and white tie that didn't clear her breasts. She also wore a blue/green corset which wrapped around her abdomen and cupped her breasts but also had five tails trailing past her waist. Her sleeves were mainly white with gold and glue/green decoration, but were detached from the rest of her outfit and were wide at the ends, leaving her shoulders bare. She had a simple skirt which wouldn't have looked out of place on a schoolgirl and her legs were covered with thigh-high dark socks while she wore simple shoes which looked oddly like a schoolgirl's but perhaps made with sturdier leather. In her hands was a guandao which was green with the blade coming out of an ornate dragon's mouth. Her face was pretty though, easily leagues above plenty of girls Nagata had met in his life. Her skin was smooth and looked slightly tanned from exposure to the sun while her eyes were simply golden.

She also had big boobs. Couldn't forget about that.

"Bandits!" the girl declared, pointing her weapon at the group. "I will not allow you to harm any more innocent people! I have made it my duty to hunt down and exterminate your kind!"

The leader of the men snorted, getting ready for a fight, "Tsk! And just who the heck is this poser?"

"Purdy," the big bandit grinned with a dim sparkle in his eye. It was something the other bandits agreed with considering the lustful looks in their eyes.

Only the short bandit seemed to be holding some concern, "Hey, boss. we might be in trouble here," the boss stopped his optical examination of the girl's boobs and glanced to his comrade. "This might be that woman everyone's been talking about. The one who's been wandering around the mountains and taking out bandit groups everywhere. She's got a green crescent blade, long dark hair, and is a beauty from what I heard."

"Oh yeah? They said that chick's supposed to be a goddess! This one isn't that great," the leader huffed. The shorter bandit glanced at their opponent and nodded, something the other bandits agreed to with solidarity nods. That comment caused a bulging vein to appear on the girl's head as she gritted her teeth.

"What are you guys, gay?" asked Nagata with a sweatdrop. "There is no way this girl is anything but beautiful!"

"Excuse me!" the girl cried, her cheeks turning red as she glanced back at Nagata. "Is this really the time to discuss such things?"

Nagata blinked, but then blushed, "S-S-Sorry! Got...caught up in..the moment. Yeah...Uh...go back to what you were doing…" Yeah, he'd just die of embarrassment while they were busy with their deathmatch.

"Tsk! Whatever!" the lead bandit huffed, losing his patience. "Even if you are the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter I'll just chop off your hair and use it for something nice on my head! Get her boys!"

Nagata flinched, but the girl charged just as the bandits charged back at her. Despite being severely outnumbered, she somehow managed to handle herself expertly. Her weapon crashed against one of the bandits, somehow not even a hair on her head getting cut even though so many strikes were aimed at her from so many angles. Nagata was entranced, somehow the girl's beauty was shining through even greater than before despite being in the midst of battle. Despite the life-and-death consequences of the fighting, Nagata couldn't look away.

What was quickly apparent though was that the bandits were outclassed by the girl's skill. Despite how she looked like a high-class lady, she obviously was no damsel-in-distress. One thrust of her weapon caught the leader off guard and knocked him flat on his butt, the tip of the girl's blade cut into his tunic. He hissed in pain, both from the impact and from the slight cut on his chest. Crab-walking away from the girl as his underlings continued fighting, he spotted Nagata out of the corner of his eye, still watching the fight.

'A bandit knows when to cut his losses,' the leader snorted in his mind before looking back at his men. "Forget the woman! Just grab the boy and we can profit off of his belongings!"

"What?!" Nagata gasped, but two of the bandits broke off from their fight and began running at them.

"No! Leave him alone!" the girl cried but was cut off by the remaining bandit.

Nagata yelped and began backing away from the fight, watching the two bandits charge closer with greed in their eyes. He backed away as fast as he could, only to back into a tree as he tried to turn and run, smacking his head against the bark. The tree branches shook slightly from the impact and disrupted the things above in the branches. One particular object was a heavy nut which a particularly lucky animal had managed to hunt down for a meal. The impact to the tree caused the nut to wobble precariously in the nest it was situated in before it tumbled out. Falling down, it defied immense odds and struck the Cutting Blade lever on Nagata's SengokuDriver. The weight and the force from the fall pushed the lever down and thanks to the inner mechanics the device completed the cut once it went down far enough to strike the Lockseed. The orange device opened, revealing the inside of an orange in the lock, and an orange-themed scimitar in the bottom slice. The Lockseed flashed as an enlarged image of the slice was projected.

[SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!]

Above Nagata, the air seemed to ripple as a zipper opened a circular hole in the air, revealing misty air and giant trees. From the hole emerged a giant orange made of steel with studs, shining with enough orange light to cause the girl and the bandits to stop fighting and begin gaping at the object.

"Eh?" Nagata blinked, looking up to see the orange. "EHH?!"

The Orange Arms then dropped, landing squarely on Nagata's shoulders, covering his head. When the item hit, waves of energy wrapped around him, covering him in a blue reinforced fabric with a quilted chest and gold bracers and greaves on his arms and legs. On his side was a thin black sword with a hilt designed like a handgun.

"EHHHHH?!" Nagata cried inside the orange before he felt his head being wrapped in a helmet. It was identical to the one on his belt, complete with a gold head crest that was shaped like a katana, before an orange samurai-esque headpiece with metal studs, gold side decoration, and a green stem on the top attached to his helmet, giving him a visor colored and shaped like an orange slice. The metal orange then gave off a splash of orange energy before opening and wrapping around Nagata's body. The front portion folded together in the middle before connecting to his chest, fitting perfectly with the orange metal and black siding to accent it. The two sides folded together before resting on his shoulders as protective plating. The top and back folded together onto Nagata's back, landing on his back but without the color. Another splash of energy allowed the armor to set, as well as summon the sword from his Lockseed into his hand.

"EHHHHHHHH?!" the new Gaim cried, grasping at his helmet, daring himself to say it wasn't there.

"Wha-wha-what the hell is this?!" the leader of the bandits cried, breaking the spell of the transformation.

"Must be some kind of magic! Boss, we could sell it for a fortune and live like kings!" one of the bandits cried out.

"Read my mind!" the leader grinned. "Get him!"

The bandits forgot all about the girl and instead charged at Gaim with riches on their minds.

"Oi! Oi! Oi! Chotto!" Gaim shouted in protest. One of the bandits went to slash at Gaim and he screamed, "Aaaaahhhhh!" By reflex, he raised up the orange scimitar. The orange blade actually broke the bandit's sword. "Eh?"

He didn't have time to really consider what he did when more of the bandits lunged at him. He yelped and swung wide with his Daidaimaru, breaking their weapons with every strike, and rendering them unarmed. Even without their weapons, the greed was driving them like a force of nature at that point. They lunged to try and pin him down so they could take something, anything from the suit that they could profit off of. Gaim never gave them the chance as he punched one bandit in the face, sending him tumbling backward into the dirt. The short bandit tried pulling at Gaim's belt, but got kicked away and landed against a tree with a groan. The fat bandit even tried a body slam, but Gaim actually caught the man before throwing him away into the dirt.

"Wow...sugei..." Gaim uttered in awe. He had never felt so powerful before. It was like a dream. "Then that means..." He drew the Musou Saber. "Then this can..." He pulled the hammer on the gun piece and a portion of the blade glowed yellow. "It works."

He got the chance to test it when the bandit leader tried charging him with his two cronies. Gaim took aim and pulled the trigger, shooting a single bolt which struck one bandit in the shoulder and left him with a smoking hole in his shoulder as he rolled on the ground in pain. The other two bandits left him as they continued the charge, but they were likewise stopped by several more shots which left them writhing in pain as well.

"Look, I don't want any trouble," started Gaim, still shaking after just shooting them, "But if you value your...your lives..." he was trying to sound confident, and slightly failing. "You'll get out of my sight!" he barked.

The bandits seemed to have been snapped out of their greed and their common sense returned. Grunting, groaning, and even yelping in pain the collected what was left of their dignity, their wounded comrades, and began to make a run for it into the woods. The only ones left behind were Gaim and the girl who was still staring in shock at him, her weapon pointing at the ground.

Once the bandits were out of sight, Gaim fell to his knees and exhaled, "Hah..." He then closed his Orange Lockseed and his armor vanished in a flash of light. He unlocked it from his SengokuDriver and studied it, trying to rationalize what had taken place, "But it's supposed to be a toy, right? This must be a dream. That could be the only way to explain it."

What the girl, one Kanu Unchou, had seen could only be called an act of magic. Somehow, this unimpressive young man had summoned a suit of armor which fell from the Heavens themselves. Wait, the Heavens? She studied him better. He wore strange clothes and had strange tools that he used to adorn himself in that suit of armor. His accent even sounded quite strange. He then fought the bandits and was able to chase them away with little effort. She had heard the legends. Could he be...?

Nagata looked up and saw the girl looking at him and blushed. 'Wow...' he couldn't help but admire. She was gorgeous! She had a great figure, smooth skin without blemishes, and long black hair that looked smooth and silky.

The girl looked almost shy or timid as she managed to get her senses back. Holding her weapon in a manner that showed she wasn't going to threaten him, she approached him. She opened her mouth several times but instead kneeled in front of Nagata in order to look him in the eye. Finally, she got the nerve to speak.

"Are...are you the Messenger of Heaven?" she asked, almost quiet as if she feared that another was listening from someplace hidden.

"Huh?" Messenger of Heaven? "Ah...no. I don't think so. Sorry."

"What? But, your armor, your strange devices! No one else can do that! You must be the Messenger!" Kanu insisted.

"News to me," Nagata sighed. "If I'm a Messenger then no one told me the message. I just ended up here trying to stop a thief! I don't know what's going on or where I am!"

"W-well, you are in the Kei Province," the girl answered.

"Kei Province?" Nagata blinked. "That sounds like a Chinese province…"

"Well, we are in China so of course, it would," the girl nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Nagata blinked...

and blinked…

and blinked.

"EHHHHHHHH?!" he cried out. "I'M IN CHINA?!"

"Ah! Um, y-yes!" The girl nodded, shocked at the outburst. "Um...is something the matter, Goshujin-sama?"

"I got transported thousands of miles into China!" Nagata cried. "And I don't even know how!"

"Is it not obvious?" asked the girl. "The gods must have sent you here as their messenger! The one who will end these turbulent times!"

"Huh?" Nagata blinked. "Turbulent times? Like with what, the government or something?"

"Which government do you speak? There are many in these times," the girl sighed. "With the Gi and the Go factions conquering lands by the day, and other minor factions and provinces scrambling to amass what power and territory they can, it is not the safest of times."

Nagata blinked, "Gi and Go? You mean the kingdoms led by Sousou Motoku and Hakufu Sonsaku? Two of the three great kings of the Three Kingdoms era?"

"Well, that is them," Kanu nodded, "But I would not call this era one of Three Kingdoms since there are only two."

"Uh…" Nagata frowned, now thinking he may have just hit his head and everything he witnessed this far was just a dream. "Excuse me for not asking sooner, but just who exactly are you?"

"Oh! Forgive my rudeness!" the girl bowed deeply. "I am Kanu, followed by Unchou. A mere humble woman doing what she can to protect people from the viciousness of the bandits."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Kanu...Unchou..." His eyes widened. "Wait, did you say your name was 'Kanu Unchou'? The Kanu Unchou?"

"Ah, you have heard of my reputation as the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter?" Kanu asked with some trepidation. She was truly tired of the rumors which painted her as some goddess. Normally she wouldn't mind, but it had gotten to the point where people wouldn't believe who she truly was. Her hair was more famous than the rest of her!

"..." Nagata blinked. Something wasn't right. Kanu Unchou was one of the Five Tiger General who served Ryuubi Gentoku of the Shoku Faction of the Three Kingdoms period. Then again, Kanu was a man but, still… "Wh….what year is this?"

"I believe the year is...two years after Emperor Han had passed on," Kanu replied with some though. "However, I do not keep up with such things in these times so I could be wrong."

Han, the Emperor Han of the Han Dynasty of China. It was the only name that came to mind since modern China did not have an emperor anymore. The age after the Han Dynasty fell was the Era of the Three Kingdoms which was likely one of the most well-known periods in Chinese history.

"Guess I've been taken back in time," Nagata realized. He pinched his cheek, hoping it was still just a dream and that he would wake up. When he felt a pinching pain in his cheek it finally dawned on him. "I'M NOT DREAMING!"

"G-Goshujin-sama?" asked Kanu with concern for Nagata.

"Ah man! Ah man! What am I gonna do!?" Nagata panicked. "My folks are gonna be worried sick about me!"

"Goshujin-sama, please relax! You've been through a traumatic event!" Kanu began to fret. Oh, she found the Messenger and now he was going into a panic over his prophesied duty!

"But I won't be able to go home!" he cried. "What am I supposed to do!?" He then looked at her, "And why do you keep calling me 'goshujin-sama'?" Admittedly, every teenage boy wished they could have a beautiful woman call them that, but when it really happened most tended to question it. Reality tended to suck that way.

"Well...this may sound silly," Kanu scratched her cheek. "When...when I was told the legend by my father...I swore to myself that should I meet the Messenger I would swear myself to them so that I could help bring peace to our lands."

"O-oh," Nagata gulped. "Well...since you've given me your name then I should give you mine. It's Oda. Nagata Oda." He put his hand on his belt, "But I guess with this belt my more obvious name would be Gaim."

"I thank you for sharing your secret name with me, Gaim-sama," Kanu bowed respectfully. "Although I am unworthy of it so I shall refer to you by your more public name."

"Huh? Public name? Secret name?" Now Nagata was confused. What did she mean by that? Dropping it off as a question for another day he continued, "Well, Kanu-san, I am in your care." He bowed to her. He really didn't have much of a choice, being a stranger in a strange land. Besides, traveling with a beauty like her was better than traveling alone.

Kanu escorted Nagata to the road where the pair of them began walking towards the next village. Nagata really had nowhere to go so he let Kanu lead the way, which the girl happily did after she reclaimed her travel cloak. A slight chill was in the air, but fortunately, the spring weather quickly warmed it up.

"So where are we going?" asked Nagata.

"Wherever the wind or the rumors take us, Gaim-sama," Kanu smiled over her shoulder. "At least until we can find the fated path which will allow you to bring peace."

"Uh...okay…" Nagata sweatdropped. He really didn't get all the Messenger of Heaven talk but he couldn't convince Kanu otherwise. The Orange Arms had fallen out of the sky and given him armor, which was something that couldn't be explained logically. So, it could only be because he was Heaven's Messenger that he had such 'magic'.

"So how long until the next town?" asked Nagata, curious about where they were heading. The scenery was beautiful what with the mountains and cherry blossoms but he could only take so much of that before it got boring. He was a city guy after all.

"I believe from the last town I visited, at least a day's walk from here," Kanu replied.

"A day?!" Nagata gaped. Okay, he didn't like to complain but if that kind of walking kept up he'd whine like a little kid after a few hours. So he wracked his brain for a solution when it suddenly hit him. "You know, if you want to get to the next town faster, I should have something that can help us," said Nagata as he took out the Sakura Hurricane. It was a pink and white Lockseed marked with the code L.V.-01 and a sakura flower on the front. Since the SengokuDriver and the Lockseeds had become real and fully functional, there should be no reason that the Lockvehicle shouldn't work either.

"What is that?" Kanu asked, looking at the strange lock curiously.

"Hopefully, something we can ride," Nagata said as he clicked on the switch and unlocked the device. He then tossed the Lockseed up into the air where it started to unfold and grow in size. It shifted and grew until it landed on the ground as the Sakura Hurricane Lockvehicle.

"Amazing!" Kanu gasped. She didn't know how else to describe it.

"Hopefully, it works," Nagata sighed, mounting the machine. He was no expert, but he hoped enough riding bicycles and playing motorcycle games would give him the experience to ride the machine well. Hitting the ignition, the whole machine came to life with a roar, causing Kanu to squeak and jump back in fright.

"It's okay Kanu," Nagata laughed. "It won't hurt you. Think of it as a mechanical horse. So hop on and let me show you how people travel in my world."

"Ah...ah…" Kanu gulped but steeled herself. "V-very well G-Gaim-sama" Kanu approached the machine and poked it a few times to make sure it would not hurt her. Seeing it did not move, she copied Nagata's movements and sat astride the machine. She tried not to blush as vibrations from the machine caused an interesting reaction between her legs.

"Oh, you might wanna wear this," suggested Nagata as he handed Kanu a helmet. "These things go really fast so it's best to be safe." The Lockvehicle included two helmets. Pretty convenient or maybe they were made to generate helmets for their riders. Who could say?

"Of course, Gaim-sama," Kanu agreed, pulling the helmet over her head with a little difficulty thanks to her ponytail and hair ornaments.

"Ready?" asked Nagata. Kanu nodded and turned to look down the road. "Then hold onto me tightly because here we GO!"

*VROOOM!*

"Kyaaaa!"

*SMOOSH!*

Kanu screamed at the sudden increase in speed and clutched onto Nagata tightly, her breasts squished against his back, forcing the young man to blush as he forgot about that one aspect of riding with a girl. Doing his best to ignore it, he focused on driving. The dirt road was bumpy in places and he didn't want to drive too fast and get thrown off by a sudden bump. Still, Kanu's chest was really soft and…

'No! Don't think that!' Nagata chided himself. He could ogle Kanu later when he wasn't driving in a world without speed limits or safe roads!

Like Nagata had said, they had arrived near the village within 2 hours instead of one day like Kanu had said. As they drove past the wet rice fields, Kanu tapped on Nagata's shoulder, wanting him to slow down before they could get to the village proper. Obeying, he came to a stop at a turn in the road before shutting off the machine. Kanu dismounted, but her legs were wobbling and she was mighty uncomfortable between her legs and not in a painful way.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom or something?" asked Nagata, wondering why they stopped.

"N-No," Kanu replied as she removed her helmet. "I believe that we should walk to the village from here. Although I know you are the Messenger of Heaven and do not fear your magic, the people in the village might and incite trouble."

"Oh...right," Nagata realized. He was in Ancient China. Anything he had or talked about would seem like magic or fantasy to the people around him. If he did something wrong, people would call him a monster or a man-witch or something and try to kill him. He could imagine a lynch mob being involved, causing him to shudder. "I see your point."

Dismounting his machine, he and Kanu placed their helmets back on it before he found a switch on the screen and pressed it. The machine reacted by compressing the motorcycle back into its Lockseed form. Pocketing it, he smiled at Kanu, "Shall we?"

"Yes," Kanu smiled.

The pair of them walked towards the village, seeing the main gates in the distance. As they got closer, the pair found what looked like a large rock with Chinese characters carved onto it with flowers and incense set in front. Obviously, it was a shrine, but to whom Nagata couldn't tell since he couldn't read Chinese.

"Hey, Kanu-san. What does this say?" he asked his traveling companion.

"It is a memorial to the people who have been cut down by bandits," Kanu frowned sadly. "It is all too common for these times."

"Oh," Nagata looked sympathetic. "Think we should pay our respects?"

"Of course," Kanu nodded. The pair soon bowed to the stone and made silent prayers to the unfortunate souls who were robbed of more than their welfare by the bandits. Their means of prayer were different, the gap between Chinese and Japanese to be sure. Still, the message was the same; Rest in Peace.

As the two prayed, an old woman carrying an empty basket walked by and glanced at the pair. She sighed sadly before going on her way with a dark muttering, "This wouldn't be happening if the patrols just did their jobs. Nowhere is safe these days."

"Why aren't they?" Nagata questioned, although he may know the answer. Corruption, bribery, or simply put the people didn't pay protection money. It wasn't exactly new. In this era, there weren't exactly a lot of checks or balances to ensure the officials stayed honest.

"Ah, the magistrate is just a coward here and so are his advisors," the woman sighed. "He blusters and makes a show, but he avoids any real responsibility." Shaking her head, she continued walking. "It's best you and your wife keep going if you don't wish to be made a victim here."

"ERK!" the boy and girl choked as the woman's words hit them.

"We're not married!" Kanu cried out with a flush, but the woman just seemed to go on her way without a care.

"Sheesh," Nagata scratched his cheek. "Well, let's go shall we?"

"Fine," Kanu blushed as the pair proceeded to go towards the village.

Despite how it seemed that the bandits victimized the place, it was thriving. All the buildings seemed to have been made to stay where they were, not be removed to be rebuilt someplace else. The people walked the streets, perhaps a little subdued but not downtrodden. Plenty of them talked about the important things, like rising produce prices, where to find the best fabrics, who was courting who, typical village talk.

"I really have stepped back in time," Nagata gawked at everything, feeling like he was in Cinema Village back in Kyoto, only he knew it was real. This was a problem since he didn't have any of the local currency.

"To think even a place like this can be plagued by the bandits," Kanu frowned, her grip tightening on her weapon.

"I guess bandits are a really huge problem here," Nagata sighed. "But how threatening can a few bandits be to a trained group of soldiers?"

"Exactly!" Kanu frowned. "Just what is wrong with the magistrate here?"

The pair fell to silence again as Kanu stewed over the injustice and Nagata just pitied the people. There wasn't much they could do about it at that time though. So they continued, just looking at the scenery when…

"There they are!"

The voice sounded enraged like someone had stolen from him. Kanu was in a stance at the moment, trying to see where the bandits harming the people were found only for a chicken to flutter down from above and blind her for a few moments.

"What the-?!" Nagata blinked as Kanu cleared her face of feathers.

On the other end of the street were a group of kids running towards them, all having packs of eggs or potatoes. One kid was even waving a daikon like a weapon of some sort. At the front of the pack of the wild little ones was a large and rather cute pig and on its back was a girl who couldn't have been much older than ten or twelve. She wore a yellow jacket with a black top underneath with a red scarf around her neck. She wore black gloves which ran to her elbows with red leather gloves on top. She even wore what looked like black bike shorts with two leather belts around her waist. Lastly, her feet weren't protected by shoes or sandals, but she simply wore some kind of material like her top and shorts which left her toes and heels exposed. She waved a stick around like some cavalry leader with her she had red hair which was short and framed her face, only tamed by a tiger-shaped hair ornament.

"Make way for the Rinrin Bandits!" the girl declared loudly. "We're making our getaway!"

Kanu blanched and Nagata couldn't help but chuckle, "A...bunch of kids?"

"They're just playing. I really thought it was real bandits," sighed Kanu.

The two were interrupted from their thoughts when they realized that the self-proclaimed Rinrin Bandits were charging right for them! Kanu stumbled to the side, falling on her butt while struggling to keep her skirt down. Nagata wasn't so lucky as the large pig trampled him with a loud oink as the kids ran for the gate out of the village.

"That's what you get for trying to stop the Rinrin Bandits!" the leader shouted as the children ran out of the village.

"...ow…" Nagata groaned, his body covered in pig track marks. "Well...at least it didn't poop on me…"

"Ah! Gaim-sama!" Kanu gasped, running to his side. "Are you okay?"

"Well, it wasn't an elephant so I'll live," pulling himself up. "Can we just go someplace to eat, or better yet sleep?"

"Of course," Kanu giggled slightly.

Helping Nagata stand, the two quickly located a restaurant to eat at. It wasn't incredible, but Kanu was on a budget and a strained one with Nagata riding along so they had to be frugal. Still, the hostess was happy for the business and made them a nice meal.

"Oh, those little ones!" the hostess giggled as Kanu and Nagata recalled their encounter with the Rinrin Bandits. "They're at it again huh?"

"Just who are those kids?" asked Kanu. "They call themselves bandits of all things!"

"They're just who they say they are," the hostess replied. "They're bandits led by little Rinrin. Oh, you should have been here a few days ago! Someone drew a silly face of the magistrate on the wall of his own house! Oh, it was so funny!"

"I take it the magistrate isn't a likable guy?" asked Nagata. He knew from history that the medieval people of China tended to take insults seriously and a mocking picture would have been a big one, both to the man himself and to the community if he was a well-liked person.

"Psh! Maybe if he did more than sit in his home and collect taxes," the hostess huffed.

"One would think this Rinrin's parents would have more to say about her behavior," Kanu huffed, not at all impressed by a girl emulating bandits and bringing her friends into the lifestyle. Considering her vocation, Nagata could understand why she didn't approve of it.

"Her parents are dead," the hostess sighed sadly. "They were killed by bandits when she was small. Her grandfather took her in and raised her out in the forests, but he eventually passed away too. She has no one now."

Kanu flinched and Nagata could only feel a wave of pity for the girl. The hostess sighed and continued speaking, "She's not really a bad girl. In fact other than a little bit of mischief she never causes trouble. Everything she takes is easily replaceable and we're hardly lacking. Heaven knows that girl needs the food herself since she's just too young to do any other kind of work. Even the parents of her friends can't blame her since she hasn't encouraged them to do anything truly harmful and even taught them that hurting people is bad. So please don't judge her too harshly."

"It's fine. Besides, we're only staying for a little bit anyway," Nagata told the hostess. "We'll be on our way pretty soon."

"Yes," Kanu nodded, "But in the meantime, my friend and I have a request."

"A request?" the hostess pondered. "What could it be?"

---

Nagata groaned as he and Kanu headed into the storeroom for the night. The hostess was most agreeable with Kanu's request. In exchange for helping with the chores, she would allow Kanu and Nagata to spend the night at her establishment. So Kanu and Nagata started on the chores of moving firewood and packages of food to the secure spots so people and animals couldn't get to them. Nagata felt his muscles protest slightly since he hadn't exerted himself so much since his last gym class. He wasn't really out of shape, but he didn't live the lifestyle the villagers were used to.

Inside the storeroom, there was a large pile of firewood and a pile of dried grasses and straw to use as kindling for the stove that the hostess would need to cook.

"Ah, this isn't so bad," Kanu smiled, sitting on the pile of dried straw. "It's better than sleeping out in the wild."

"No doubt," Nagata sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "So do you want the straw or the floor?"

Kanu waved her hands, "I wouldn't dream of making the Messenger of Heaven sleep on the cold floor! You may sleep on the straw. I will sleep on the floor."

"I couldn't ask you to sleep on the cold hard floor," Nagata groaned. "Not after everything you have done for me."

Kanu blinked, but then blushed and began poking her fingers together, "W-well if you insist then...then we...then we can share!"

Nagata blinked before his face turned so red Kanu thought steam was going to shoot from his ears, "WH-WHAT?!" She was willing to share a bed of straw with him. In fact, she was offering to share!

"I-I mean if you insist on not allowing me to take the floor," Kanu blushed. "B-but do not think this will a-allow you to take liberties with me!"

"Hey, I'm not that kind of guy!" Nagata raised his hands in defense. "OK, we can share! I'll take one side and you'll take the other." He looked around, "We just need something to put between us as a barrier."

"We can use my cloak or something," Kanu suggested, lifting said piece of clothing.

"That works," Nagata sighed, feeling mortified. "So do you want to be on the left or the right?"

"Left," Kanu picked, moving closer to the wall as she placed her cloak down. It was coiled up so it would be thin as not to take up much room.

Nagata sighed as he lay down on the straw, feeling more awkward than he ever did before in his life. Sure, he wanted to one day sleep with a girl but not like this! One he was in a relationship with preferably. Heck, if he didn't get one by university he'd accept a one-night stand. As it was now, he felt like he was receiving kindness from a stranger he didn't deserve. As they lay down, facing away from each other, Nagata spoke.

"Kanu-san, thank you," Nagata said.

"It's no trouble, Gaim-sama."

"No, not because of this. Not a lot of people would go out of their way to help a total stranger. You could've just left me alone to fend for myself but instead, you asked me to come along with you."

"It was my pleasure, Gaim-sama. I couldn't allow you to be left alone where someone could hurt you," Kanu smiled. "Although you do not believe yourself the Messenger of Heaven, I believe you are and will play an important role in things to come."

"Well, I don't want a servant," he replied as he turned to face her, only seeing the back of her head. "I could use a friend. Besides, I think I lucked out since I got a friend as pretty as you." As soon as the words left his mouth, he blushed. Kanu was still facing away from him but she was blushing at his words as well.

Well, if they didn't feel awkward before…but there was also some comfort mixed in. In Nagata's mind, that broke even for him.

---

The hostess quickly put Kanu and Nagata to work the next day. After Kanu chopped vegetables and Nagata swept up the restaurant, she sent them both out to collect wood and weeds which could be dried out to be made for kindling. The work was simple but hard and Nagata found himself tired as he and Kanu trekked back into town with their spoils.

"So, you do this kind of work often?" Nagata asked.

Kanu told him, "When you're a traveling warrior like myself, you learn to do whatever you need to survive. If you need to work in exchange for a place to sleep and shelter from the rain, you do so. If you need to work in exchange for a good meal, you do so. If you happen to run into some bandits and capture them to claim a bounty, you do so."

"Ah," Nagata nodded. That he could understand. Nothing was free and Kanu was a woman who didn't accept charity. She would rather earn her rewards than receive handouts.

As the two walked down the streets, they passed by the home of the magistrate. The front doors were open and a small group of soldiers was standing in rank in front of the magistrate. The man was slightly wrinkled like he had never worked a laborious job in his life. The man next to him, a rat-nosed guy with a sharp mustache had a sneer on his lips like he thought that he was better than everyone else.

"Listen up all of you!" the magistrate snapped. "Even if she is a brat, that stupid drawing was too much! She may be small, but she's crafty so don't let your guard down!"

Concerned, Kanu and Nagata approached one of the few civilians watching the briefing going on. Kane found one woman who looked quite concerned, "Excuse me, but what's going on?"

"The magistrate is actually going to send out soldiers to arrest Rinrin," the woman replied.

"What? Arrest a child?" Kanu gasped.

"Isn't that a little much?" asked Nagata.

"It's because he's too afraid to face the real bandits," an older woman overhearing them grumbled. "So he comes down heavily on other crimes to make it look like he's doing his job. Like any of us are so easily fooled."

"He was really upset by that drawing," the first woman frowned. "What do you think he'll do with Rinrin?"

"Well, she won't be executed," the old woman reasoned. "But I don't think she'll get away without a whipping or a caning."

"That poor girl," the first woman sighed.

Nagata was disgusted by the magistrate. Here was a grown man who was supposed to be using his power to defend the village against bandits but he was using that power to go after some kids and all because they made fun of him. Talk about petty. Maybe if he actually did what he was entrusted to do then maybe people wouldn't make fun of him so much.

"I volunteer!" Kanu raised her hand.

Nagata whispered, "What are you doing?"

"If the soldiers get to her they'll rough her up," Kanu whispered back. "At least I know I won't try to hurt her."

"And then what?" Nagata asked.

"I'll make her apologize and maybe help her," Kanu replied.

"Who said that?" asked the magistrate, motioning his men to part so he could see. Kanu quickly saw her cue and stepped up so the man could see her properly. "Who are you?"

"Kanu, followed by Unchou. I am a wandering martial artist," Kanu introduced. "I heard you are having trouble with Rinrin. It would make trouble for you if you had so many guards go out and get hurt. Why don't you let me deal with her?"

"You?" the magistrate muttered. "Well, you do seem dangerous with that weapon you've got there. Are you capable? Are you strong enough?"

"Well, I can't say that for myself. However, I do have some skills," Kanu humbly replied. "And she is just a child. Compared to a real bandit she will be quite easy to defeat."

"Ah!" the advisor gasped, recognition coming to him. "Aren't you the Beautiful Black-Haired Bandit Hunter?!"

"Eh? Really?" the magistrate gasped, his men following suit.

"I guess Kanu has a reputation," Nagata chuckled weakly.

The magistrate continued, "The rumors say that her beauty is that of a goddess though. I guess not all rumors can be taken seriously."

Kanu twitched, growling as she struggled not to bean the man over the head for his rather unflattering words, "I-Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Should we trust her, sir?" asked the advisor. If the rumored Bandit Hunter wasn't as gorgeous as people said, other things about her may not be true after all. "She may be unreliable."

"Eh, can't hurt to let her try," the magistrate shrugged before he turned back to Kanu. "Do what you can then. If you can bring the girl to heel and have her apologize, I'll let the incident go. But she has to be here in front of me to do it. Not letters or other messages, understand?"

"Perfectly," Kanu twitched.

"Good," the magistrate nodded. "My advisor will tell you the directions to where she lives. I wish you luck." He then turned and headed back to his mansion while his advisor quickly ordered one of his subordinates to bring him ink and paper so the directions could be written down.

---

"So, this is the way to her 'secret base', huh?" Nagata asked. The pair were walking down a forest path towards a simple hut which wasn't nearly as hidden as a kid would likely want to have a base be. Heck, even regular bandits were smart enough to hide their bases.

"That's what the directions say," Kanu confirmed.

"Well, here's hoping she doesn't kick up a fuss," Nagata sighed. Nothing was worse than hearing a kid throw a hissy fit in his mind.

The pair continued walking until they reached a sizable tree. They didn't do anything to stop, but something else did when a small boy with a ponytail crawled out onto a branch of the tree he was hiding in. In his arms was a basket of small rocks.

"This road belongs to the Rinrin Bandits! Leave now!" he declared boldly before throwing rocks at the pair.

"Woah! Hey! Watch it!" Nagata cried, dodging the rocks. Kanu merely blocked the stones with her weapon.

"Stop that right now! That's dangerous!" Kanu chided the child. However, there was no stopping the child's attack.

"Take this!" the boy declared, throwing more rocks. "I won't let you arrest our boss!"

"We don't want to arrest her though!" Nagata insisted, yelping as he ducked underneath another rock. "Yipe!"

"I've had enough of this!" Kanu frowned. Bending her knees, she leaped forward and slashed wide, cutting through the trunk of the tree the boy was on with ease. The cut was actually so well done, the tree needed a moment for gravity to catch it before starting to fall.

"Waaaagh! I'm falling! Falling!" the boy screamed, dropping his ammunition as he tried to keep his balance while his platform collapsed. Fortunately for him, Kanu was prepared as she jabbed out with her blade, catching him by the back of his shirt while the rest of the tree fell to the ground. The boy struggled, but then came to the realization that he wasn't falling anymore. He couldn't help but heave a sigh. "I'm saved."

"Oh no, you aren't," Nagata chuckled.

The boy looked at Kanu's face which had darkened with dark power and her eyes glowed with righteous feminine fury. The boy could only cry out in fear before Kanu pulled him in and gave him one hell of a spanking which caused the boy to scream out in pain and terror.

"Good! Boys! Don't! Throw! Rocks! At! Ladies!" Kanu chided, spanking the boy with each word she spoke. When she finished, she let the boy go who yelped and ran for behind a rock to hide from Kanu's punishment.

"Feel better?" Nagata asked with a grin.

"Somewhat," Kanu sighed. "Let's go."

The duo left the boy to tend to his rump, but they didn't get far before the remaining Rinrin Bandits emerged. A large chubby boy, a short girl with ponytails, a tall girl with braids, and then a smaller girl with her hair done up in buns. She was so small her elder sister actually had to help her climb the path to meet their adversaries.

"Hey, old lady!"

"Old woman!"

"Ugly!"

"Old! Old! Old!"

"GRRR!" Kanu flinched. "Who are you all calling an ugly old lady?!"

"Uh, Kanu-san?" Nagata winced.

Kanu didn't listen as she began to stomp towards the children but stopped herself when she saw that the ground between them was covered with a circle of leaves. It took her a moment to get it, but she then began to smirk, "Ah, I have to give you kids credit for being so clever. But I wouldn't be Kanu Unchou if I fell for something so simple!" She kneeled before taking a high leap right over the circle of leaves, landing in front of the group of children. "Now then, surrender!"

"Hee, hee, hee!" the children merely giggled.

*SNAP!*

"Huh?" Kanu looked down before the ground beneath her collapsed and she landed in a big heap. Beneath her, sticks and a sheet covered in dirt acted as a cushion. It was much better-disguised trap which Kanu didn't see at all. Nagata was impressed. The first trap had been set up as a decoy.

"We did it!"

"What an idiot!"

"We got her!"

"Yeah!"

"I can't believe she fell for that," Nagata sighed. Although who would have expected a bunch of kids to put together such an elaborate trap? He probably would have fallen for it too come to think of it.

"So what should we do with her?" asked the tall girl.

"We should bury her!" grinned the chubby boy.

"No, let's pee on her first!" giggled the ponytails child.

"Okay!" the littlest girl giggled, lifting her skirt to do the job.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Kanu bellowed, leaping from the hole and landing in front of the group. "TAKE THIS!" She lashed out and captured all four of the children to begin their various punishments for doing something so mean.

"Squeeze!" Kanu bellowed, getting the ponytails girl with Indian sunburns on her arm, causing the girl to squeal and try to escape.

"Brute force drill!" she continued, noogies planted on both the tall girl and her little sister, the girls unable to escape because of Kanu's legs pinning them down.

"Stronghold! Mount Tai!" Kanu finished with the chubby boy, pinching his cheeks and then pulling to enhance the pain. The boy cried out, tears splashing from his eyes.

"Yeesh!" Nagata laughed. To an adult, the punishments wouldn't mean anything. To a kid though, they were the worst forms of torture to be conceived. Soon the four were at Kanu's feet, reunited with their rock-throwing friend and all looking on at Kanu with fear and disappointment in not keeping Kanu and Nagata away from Rinrin.

"Wow, Kanu-san. That was brutal," remarked Nagata. Well, she could've done way worse to them. To be honest, what she had done was what kids would do to each other in a playground brawl. Childish, especially in the face of the kids teasing Kanu about her age, but in the situation, it was oddly appropriate.

"Naughty children sometimes need to be reminded of their manners," Kanu huffed.

"I won't disagree. So, since we got the subordinates, where's the boss?"

"Grr! You won't defeat our leader Rinrin!" the ponytail boy declared, pointing at the duo defiantly.

"Yes, yes," Kanu sighed patiently. "To be honest, neither of us have any intention of harming Rinrin. Instead of trying to slow us down, why don't you all go back to the village?"

The children all looked at each other, unsure before the tall girl spoke up, "If we do go back, you won't try to arrest Rinrin anymore?"

"I won't arrest her," Kanu smiled. "I promise."

"What about him?" asked the chubby boy, pointing at Nagata.

"I'm just here to support Kanu. I don't have the authority to arrest anyone," Nagata shrugged, looking unconcerned about the group's 'banditry'.

The kids looked at each other before nodding, "Okay. We'll go back." The group of kids collected themselves and began heading down the path back to the village. Before they were gone, they turned around, "Stupid! Ugly! Old maid!" They took off after that before Kanu could get angry at them.

"Always the last word with little kids," Nagata shook his head.

"Ugh," Kanu groaned.

"C'mon, Kanu-san. They're just kids. Just let it go," advised Nagata.

Kanu pouted but gave up the indignation as the two followed the path towards the infamous Rinrin's home. The path soon opened up to a clearing surrounded by rocks while patches went around the edges, one going higher onto the mountain while the other rose up a small hill to a simple hut on top of a ledge. Standing on the ledge was Rinrin, holding a staff with a blue cloth tied near the end with a blade shaped like a flame.

"Seems she was waiting for us," Nagata smirked.

"Yes. Please stay back for this, Gaim-sama. There is no need for both of us to get involved," Kanu spoke, stepping forward to face the tiny terror on her own. Looking up, she stared down the girl, "You are Rinrin?"

The redhead growled and snapped, "Rinrin is my secret name! Only my friends and family can call me that! You are unworthy of calling me that!"

"Forgive me then. Let me try again," Kanu smiled. "Who am I talking to?"

"I am Chouhi, followed by Yokutoku!" the young girl cried out, causing Nagata to twitch, recognizing the name. "Even babies know to fear that name! I am the great leader of the Rinrin Bandits!"

Kanu was calm and composed, "I have already sent your bandits back to the village."

"What?!" Chouhi gasped, but then grit her teeth and leaped down the rocks lining the edge like a rabbit before landing on the ground near Kanu, pointing her spear at her. "What did you do to my friends?!"

"Just a little punishment," Kanu replied.

"Oooooh! I'll pay you back ten times that punishment!" Chouhi cried out. "I won't lose to you, a woman who looks like she's more talk than action!"

Kanu frowned, taking a stance, "So it seems you won't listen to me. That is fine. I will just make you listen by force!"

"HAIYAH!" Chouhi cried, charging at Kanu. The little girl lashed out with several strikes which Kanu blocked expertly with clashing sounds of metal that echoed through the clearing. Chouhi then made a surprisingly nimble move as the recoil of one strike being blocked hit her, she allowed her spear to come behind her, which she grabbed with her other hand and used the momentum to make another swing. Kanu raised her crescent blade to block and the weapon hit hard, but the force of the blow sent Kanu sailing across the clearing before she landed on the ground, skidding another foot.

"Holy…" Nagata gaped. "How...how strong is this kid?!"

Kanu was likewise asking the same thing as she felt her arms tremble from the sheer force they had to endure, 'I'll lose when it comes to a contest of pure strength! Fortunately, I have other avenues of fighting!'

Undeterred, Kanu went on the charge again. This time she attempted to combat Chouhi's uncommon strength with speed and agility, to make her do moves which would cost her stamina and burn her out sooner.

Nagata just watched on in concern, hoping neither of the girls would seriously hurt each other.

---

'How long can they keep this up?' Nagata groaned inwardly as he watched Chouhi and Kanu take each other on for the sixth or seventh hour. The sun had already gone down and the moon was rising into the air as the pair continued to clash with one another. At one point they both leaped into the air and their strikes at each other just pushed them higher into the air from the recoil alone until they hit each other at the same time and came back down to the ground. It was like something out of a kung-fu movie to Nagata.

Chouhi finally seemed to be running out of steam alongside Kanu and as the Bandit Hunter came down from a leap, Chouhi made a quick sweep with her spear which cut clean through a nearby rock. Nagata was about to call out in fear, but Kanu proved she was more than just a pretty face and athletic body as she held her Crescent Blade behind her back, letting it block the strike and stop Chouhi's attack.

"Sheesh, unreal," Nagata sighed.

"What a waste," Kanu sighed solemnly.

"Huh?" Chouhi blinked. "What do you mean?"

Kanu glanced over her shoulder, "I have never seen a child as strong as you before and yet you just sit here and play bandits."

"That's none of your business!" Chouhi snapped, stepping back.

Kanu managed to get her breath back and stood up, but she didn't turn to face Chouhi yet, "I was told in town that your parents were killed by bandits."

"S-so what? What is it to you?" Chouhi huffed.

"Because I know what it's like. My family was taken by bandits as well," Kanu reflected. "That is why I hunt them now. So that no one will have to suffer the heartbreak and pain that I went through because of them!"

"What does that have to do with me?" Chouhi huffed.

"Haven't you wanted to change this world? The constant wars, the roving bandits, the deaths of innocent people?" asked Kanu, turning to the younger girl. "Aren't you sick of it? Don't you want to do something about it?"

Chouhi cringed, but then yelled out and charged at Kanu with an overhead swing. It wasn't as skilled as her usual attacks, but one filled with emotion and anger. It made Nagata worried as Kanu was forced to her knees from the strike. He plucked out his Orange Lockseed and was ready to transform to take on Chouhi if he had to. However, Kanu shook her head, looking over her shoulder at him before she returned her attention to Chouhi.

"Who could understand all this?!" she cried, striking the same spot over and over again. "I've-I've always been alone! I don't know what to do!"

"You have your friends, don't you? How can you say you're all alone?" asked Nagata.

Chouhi slammed down her staff one last time and Kanu couldn't deflect it anymore, losing her weapon. Chouhi reared back for another strike, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She was lost in her own world as tears began to drop from her eyes. Suddenly, she burst out into large sobs and dropped to her knees as she wiped her face. Her weapon, and the battle were long forgotten as she simply continued to cry.

"H-hey!" Kanu gasped. "Wh-why are you crying all of a sudden?!"

"Oh boy," Nagata cringed.

---

"How did this happen?" Nagata wondered to himself as he lay down inside of Chouhi's modest hut as Kanu took a bath in the homemade bathroom.

Once Chouhi calmed down, she admitted her loss by breaking down and crying in the middle of a fight. She insisted Kanu did what she wanted with her. So getting a promise to apologize to the magistrate the next day, Kanu and Nagata prepared to leave. However, Chouhi all but pleaded at them to stay the night with her. He and Kanu easily accepted, if only to make the little one happy. The smile on her face when they accepted sure seemed to brighten the night. Chouhi all but ushered Kanu into the bath while she told Nagata to make himself comfortable.

"Is the water hot enough yet?" asked Chouhi, running into the house from where she prepared the fire for the water. Incidentally, she was stripping as she went, causing Nagata to choke on his own spit as he struggled not to look. He wasn't into lolis.

"It's just fine," Kanu's voice called back.

"Then let me take a bath too!" Chouhi cried as she rushed into the bath, causing Kanu to sputter.

"Confrontational first, now touchy-feely the next," muttered Nagata. He had heard girls could have unpredictable mood swings. He had never seen the kinds of extremes that Chouhi could swing to outside of an anime though. Those kinds of girls who would crush boys with heavy objects or their fists while secretly loving them.

"Your breasts are so big…" Chouhi's admiring voice came from the bath, making Nagata cringe and cover his ears to prevent him hearing anything more about the subject of Kanu's chest. His hormones tried to stage an uprising but he crushed them down. There were some things he wasn't meant to know, no matter how much his more lustful thoughts said otherwise.

Still, it was surprising to see how far Chouhi was working to ensure he and Kanu were comfortable. It seemed like the girl as opposed to before wanted to keep them away from her friends, now wanted them to stay since all of her friends had gone back home for the night. Nagata was a little curious, wondering if the girl really had been alone every night since her grandfather died. That was just no way for a girl to live, much less any child. They deserved to be with their parents and have homes filled with that kind of affection.

"Those bandits have a lot to answer for," Nagata frowned to himself.

"Gaim-sama, the bath is free," Kanu's voice pulled the Japanese boy out of his thoughts.

"Thanks, Kanu-sa-WAAAH!" Nagata looked over to Kanu and blanched when he saw her. She was with Chouhi and they were both wearing sleeping clothes, looking much like yukata. However, while Chouhi's fit perfectly Kanu's was made more for a girl like Chouhi so a lot of her legs were revealed as well as a sizable portion of her cleavage.

"Wh-what?" Kanu blushed, noticing how Nagata was looking at her. "Ch-Chouhi was k-kind enough to let me borrow her sleeping clothes!"

"A-ah, okay," Nagata nodded, trying not to stare at how much skin the outfit revealed, or how naturally sexy Kanu looked at it with her hair down. "I-I'll just go take a bath now!" He got up and darted past Kanu as Chouhi blinked in confusion.

"Why was he so embarrassed? Grandpa and I had baths together all the time. Don't you two do that too?" she asked innocently.

"AH!" Kanu flushed bright red at the thought of doing such an intimate thing like sharing a bath with a man, much less the Messenger of Heaven. "N-n-no! Don't be ridiculous! We only just became traveling companions! Of course, we wouldn't do such a thing like that!"

"Huh? But baths are more fun with people you care about," Chouhi pondered. "Oh, is it because you two just got together?"

"S-something like that," Kanu twitched. How could a child ask about her and Gaim-sama's relationship so bluntly? Besides, she was his dedicated servant and she wouldn't dare think she was worthy to join in a physical relationship with such an important man. "A-anyway, let's get ready for bed! Gaim-sama will be sleepy when he comes out, I'm sure."

"Okay!" Chouhi smiled. "I only have one pillow and blanket though. You can have it though Kanu!"

Chouhi scrambled over to the pair of tatami mats the hut boasted and prepared the futon, easily big enough for two, maybe three if someone of Chouhi's size was involved. She didn't mind giving up the pillow at all for Kanu's sake.

"Sorry about taking so much, even if we are guests," Kanu apologized, moving to help Chouhi.

"Oh don't worry!" Chouhi beamed. "I lost the fight so it's only right! Don't worry about me, Kanu!"

The door to the bathroom soon opened again and Nagata came out, shirtless since Chouhi didn't have any other sleeping clothes available so he was forced to sleep in just his pants. Chouhi welcomed him to the shared futon happily, but the two older people had blushing fits over it for a moment before they decided to simply use Chouhi as a barrier between them. The little girl certainly didn't seem to mind all the added company.

As they all lay down, the limits of the futon reached, Chouhi couldn't help but beam with happiness, "I haven't had anyone to sleep with for a long time. It's great." She drew the blanket over her nose as she tried to hide her happy blush. "When it's like this...it's like being back with Mother and Father again."

"EH!?" Kanu and Nagata yelped, sitting up. Kanu came to the fore first, "N-n-now do not be saying such things! I'm nowhere near old enough to be considered your mother! At most Gaim-sama and I could be considered a brother and a sister!"

"Brother and sister?" Chouhi blinked.

"B-besides, I haven't done anything that could have gotten me pregnant," Kanu huffed, defending her age.

"Uh...a little too much information, Kanu-san," Nagata blushed, causing Kanu's face to turn an even deeper red as she realized what she had just revealed to a man in the room.

Fortunately, it seemed to go over Chouhi's head, "So does that mean I can call you both big brother and big sister?"

"W-well, if you want to," Kanu mumbled.

"Sounds okay to me," Nagata laughed, glad for the change in subject.

"Yay!" Chouhi cheered, throwing her hands into the air. "Then from now on Gaim and Kanu will be Rinrin's big brother and big sister!" She grabbed both the hands of the people next to her, falling back onto the futon where both landed beside her. "Now I won't be alone at night anymore."

"Aw…" Nagata sighed. Now how could he say no after hearing that?

"Together forever from now on, right?" Chouhi asked, looking up to her new adopted siblings.

"You'll travel with us to change the world?" asked Kanu, sounding serious despite the heartwarming situation.

"Change the world?" asked Chouhi.

"Gaim-sama and I are on a path that we hope will change the world for everyone," Kanu explained. "Will you come along with us on this?"

The excitable little girl didn't need to consider it, "Yeah!"

---

Kanu woke up her new sister and master at the crack of dawn so that they could get an early start to the day. After Chouhi apologized to the magistrate, they would have a lot of traveling to do. Of course, part of that wakeup call wasn't because Chouhi had wrapped hers and Nagata's arms around her during the night, having pleasant dreams about families. No, Kanu wasn't embarrassed by such an intimate gesture and in her struggles to get out woke everyone up. No, she didn't use the traveling excuse to cover her tracks. Nope, not Kanu Unchou!

"Fuwaaa," Nagata yawned as he exited Chouhi's hut to see the other girls. "So after we head back to town, where do we go next?"

"Like before, wherever the rumors or the wind take us," Kanu smiled.

"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Chouhi cheered, excited to be off on an even bigger adventure than mere banditry.

"Okay, okay, we'll be off then. Do you have everything you need?" Kanu smiled, wanting to make sure they were all prepared for travel.

"Yep!" Chouhi grinned, hefting her shoulder pack. "So let's go!"

The joyous air, however, soon vanished by the terrified cries of "Rinrin!" Bursting up from the path were the members of the Rinrin Bandits, all looking scuffed up and terrified over something. They were all short of breath and the tallest girl was carrying her little sister who was sniffling, on the verge of crying.

"All of you?" Kanu blinked, approaching the children. "Didn't I send you all back to the village?"

"Boss, the village is in trouble!" the chubby boy exclaimed. "It's being attacked and they're beating up everyone and trying to take everything!"

"Bandits?" Kanu questioned, her eyes becoming hard and fierce.

The little girl cried, "Monsters! There are monsters attacking!"

"Monsters?" Nagata questioned in disbelief.

"Is this some kind of trick?" Kanu was skeptical. She knew the kids as the Rinrin Bandits were known to kick up trouble for fun. Crying monster to the lady who brought them down as payback wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility.

"No, it's true! Please! The monsters are destroying everything!" cried the ponytails girl.

"Yosh!" Chouhi declared, lifting her spear. "The Rinrin Bandits don't turn their backs on their homes when they're in need! I'll crush those monsters!"

"Okay," Nagata frowned, turning to the children. "We'll go and see what we can do. The rest of you stay here and don't do anything that will let these guys know where you went. Don't light a fire, don't shout too loud, don't even try to do anything like bring animals or something since they might hear the calls. Got it?"

"Got it," the five children nodded.

"Let's go!" Kanu ordered, prompting Chouhi and Nagata to follow her, running down the mountain path back towards the village.

---

Kanu, Chouhi and Nagata ran into the village to see the chaos. The kids were right, monsters were attacking the village. They were shaped like men, but dressed in robes of brown and white with black sleeves and pants, looking like they were initiates of some kind of order of fighters or dojo. Their heads were pure white, but not just white but corpse-like white. The rest of their heads were concealed by black bandanas and blindfolds with silver markings on them. None of the men were armed, but they exhibited superior martial arts skills when they fought the guards, easily disarming them before brutally beating them down. They didn't kill but seemed to savor the pain they were causing in civilian or soldier alike. When they weren't attacking people recklessly, they were instead collecting everything of value and taking it to a large pile of swag. Food, gold, silks, anything which could be considered valuable in any sense was taken.

Kanu and Chouhi began to growl, taking stances, but Nagata remained still as he couldn't believe what he was looking at, "Rinshi?"

"Gaim-sama, you know these creatures?" asked Kanu.

"Yeah!" Nagata continued to gape. "They're called Rinshi! They are the revived students of RinJyuKen Akugata! They thrive on fear and pain but...I thought they were just a story!" Well, then again his belt and Lockseeds were just supposed to be toy.

"Rinshi? Zombies?" Chouhi blinked, but then began to smile. "Oh wow! Just like a scary story! Amazing!"

"Not amazing!" Kanu frowned. "Gaim-sama, can they be defeated?"

"Just destroy the bodies and they go down! They aren't the hardest of opponents! It's the Rinrinshi you have to look out for," Nagata replied, his fanboy knowledge going on automatic as he continued to be in a whirlwind of confusion as to how Rinshi could exist in ancient China.

"Then we shall defeat them!" Kanu insisted.

"Yeah!" Chouhi agreed.

Finally, one Rinshi seemed to take notice of the trio. Making a hollow rasping noise, it collected a group of its comrades and they began hopping towards them as Jiang-shi were known to do. Neither Chouhi nor Kanu was intimidated as they faced the zombies down.

"Prepare yourselves, Rinshi!" Kanu called, charging at the monsters.

"Hiyaaaa!" Chouhi followed with her own spear.

"Ah!" Nagata gaped. He was rooted to the spot as he watched his two friends attack the Rinshi. Unlike the soldiers and civilians, the two seemed to be able to hold their own. Chouhi was batting the Rinshi left and right, taking them all by surprise with how strong she was. Kanu likewise was using her superior skill to strike at the Rinshi, some of them exploding into purple ash as she struck lethal blows on them. Despite how skilled the Rinshi were, Kanu was proving better with all her bandit-busting experience.

"Wow," Nagata gaped. Suddenly, he heard a loud scream. He spotted a young girl cowering in fear as one of the Rinshi cornered her. The girl was terrified and Nagata could not bear to watch. Suddenly, he broke into a run and grabbed the Rinshi from behind. He pulled the Rinshi away and punched it in the face, flooring it.

"Run! Get out of here!" Nagata shouted to the little girl. The girl stood frozen in shock, but then her mother picked her up and fled with her. Good, Nagata did not have worry about her. Suddenly, he was roughly grabbed by an arm wrapped around his neck. "Ugh!"

The Rinshi he had punched got back up put him in a headlock. The strong grip caused him to choke. He grabbed at the arm, but the grip was just much too strong and he was at the owner's mercy. Fortunately, the owner just threw him to the side where he crashed into a pile of wicker baskets.

"Ow," Nagata groaned. Shaking his head, he looked up to see a Rinshi approaching him, hopping mad. "Oh man."

Scrambling backward, Nagata felt his body tremble as he was faced with an actual killer that likely had a lifetime of experience in a deadly martial art behind it. Still, the Japanese boy reminded himself that he had something which the Rinshi didn't have themselves. Reaching into his jacket, he produced his SengokuDriver and dug out his Orange Lockseed. Praying for the devices to work a second time, he pressed the SengokuDriver to his waist and a yellow belt wrapped around him, locking it into place.

The Rinshi paused, confused.

"Here goes!" Nagata announced seriously, hitting the release switch to his Lockseed.

[ORANGE!]

A zipper opened a circular portal in the air above Nagata and the metal orange hovered as it slowly came down. All fighting paused as the nearby Rinshi noticed what was happening, even Kanu and Chouhi stopping in confusion. Nagata swiftly placed the Lockseed into the Drive Bay before locking it in place.

[LOCK ON!]

The SengokuDriver released Japanese horagai music as Nagata prepared himself, gripping the Cutting Blade lever. It seemed that the appearance of the Orange Arms and the music from the SengokuDriver had caused all eyes to fall on Nagata. Kanu was actually starting to smile as she witnessed the event.

"What's he doing?" Chouhi asked, utterly confused why everyone was staring, even if there was a large orange hanging in the sky.

"Henshin!" Nagata declared loudly before he sliced the Lockseed open.

[SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!]"

The Orange Arms dropped on Nagata and his pre-Arms suit formed before the Orange Arms opened up and completed the transformation, the Daidaimaru materializing in his left hand. Chouhi was stunned and the Rinshi seemed taken aback. The newly transformed Kamen Rider drew his second weapon and took a stance against the martial arts zombies.

"Kamen Rider Gaim! Arriving On Stage!" Gaim announced. He had heard the original Gaim use a pre-battle line so he came up with his own.

The Rinshi managed to recover their senses, and actually forgetting about Kanu and Chouhi, charged for Gaim en masse. The Rider, though afraid, remembered his kendo lessons and charged back. He struck out at the Rinshi, slashing through them or kicking them aside if they got too close. He struck several lethal blows, causing them to explode as they fell. Three of them leaped at him and knocked him back. Shaking his head, he pulled the Pallete Slide and charged up four shots before letting loose on them. The energy bullets crashed into the Rinshi, knocking them back and unlike the bandits the previous day the Rinshi exploded on the spot.

Kanu smiled, impressed that Gaim was able to handle the Rinshi. He was definitely the Messenger of Heaven. Chouhi, however, was awestruck. He hadn't looked like a warrior when she first met him but now she was reevaluating her opinion of Nagata.

"Kanu-san! Chouhi! I could use some help here!" Gaim called to them as more Rinshi heard the commotion and came to investigate.

"Bring them on!" Chouhi cheered, running for the approaching Rinshi.

"Right!" Kanu nodded, running to follow her new little sister.

The three were quick to take on the footsoldiers, smashing them down with cuts and strikes. While stronger, the Rinshi were only slightly more durable than a regular human being. Soon, they were all exploding into purple ashes and soon the group was collecting together in ranks once again to make one more final charge.

"Ha! Too easy!" Chouhi bragged, preparing to charge at the group.

"I got them," Gaim spoke up, hitting the Cutting Blade once again.

[SOIYA! ORANGE SQUASH!]

Gaim lifted the Daidaimaru, the sections of the orange slice blade lighting up. Once it was ready, he charged at the group of Rinshi. Before they could break ranks to fight, he instead slashed wide, cutting through the Rinshi with a wide strike of orange power. It spread out like a slice of an orange which caused all of the Rinshi to explode in a shower of ash and purple smoke.

"And that's how it's done!" Gaim laughed, standing straight.

"Awesome!" Chouhi cheered, running over to Gaim. "You cut through all those monsters like they were nothing! Could you teach me how to do that too?"

"Maybe later," promised Gaim.

"Gaim-sama, that was very impressive," Kanu praised as she jogged to the pair. "It certainly rests any doubts anyone may have about you being the Messenger of Heaven."

"The what?" asked Chouhi.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Gaim rubbed the back of his head humbly.

"So this was why those punks didn't come back."

The cutting voice burst the happy bubble of the trio as they turned to see who had spoken. At the end of the street was another Rinshi, but it was considerably different. It wore red robes with furry shoulders, a golden front, white pants, and red boots. Its face was revealed but was just as ghostly white as the Rinshi with dark hollow eyes and red lining around them. Resting on top of his head was a metal cap which was adorned with a spider on his forehead.

"Looks like we missed one," quipped Chouhi.

"Oh no," Gaim groaned, taking another stance. "Careful, this one's a Rinrinshi. He's probably the leader of this bunch. He's going to be way more powerful than the others!"

"How much stronger?" asked Kanu, taking a stance.

"Well," Gaim frowned. "The Rinshi are just forced to use the common style of the RinJyuKen Akugata. This guy has earned the right to develop and master his personal Beast-Fist, granting him the body of a Beastman."

"Hnn," the Rinrinshi frowned. "You are oddly well-informed about us.."

"Let's just say I've spent a long time studying you guys," Gaim retorted, pointing his Musou Saber at the Rinrinshi. "You've got one chance to clear out! I suggest you take it before I put you back down six feet under!"

"Bah! I don't fear a human!" the Rinrinshi snorted before he took a stance, his body beginning to glow with a dark purple miasma, "Jujin Jashin Hen!"

"A spell?" Kanu tensed.

"Worse," Gaim took a stance.

The Rinrinshi's body began to warm and bulge in places before promptly exploding in a cloud of purple ash. Rather than dying though, the Rinrinshi had instead changed. Its torso looked like a large hairy spider had crawled across the front, the legs wrapping around the torso to the back where the abdomen bulged out. His arms had jagged spikes of hair with black gauntlets and greaves covering his arms and legs, decorated with more spiked hair. His waist was protected with black metal, protective but still mobile. The Rinrinshi's head was covered with protective steel, but the visor was open to reveal eight glassy insect-like eyes.

"KYA!" Kanu cringed, stepping back from the new form of the creature.

"RinJyu Spider-Ken! Gumokage!" the newly identified Gumokage took a stance. "Now you face me!"

"Bring it!" Gaim challenged before he charged towards the Beastman. Gumokage snorted and ducked to the ground before scuttling back much like a spider would. Gaim frowned and struck at the Beastman again and again, but the kaijin was able to leap back, actually landing on a nearby wall like a spider could stick to walls.

"Oh come on!" Gaim groaned, but he pulled on the Pallete Slide and shot off several rounds. The attack seemed to have caught the Spider-Ken user off guard as sparks flew from the impacts. Gumokage fell, screaming in pain before he crashed through an awning into the street.

"Ugh!" the Beastman groaned and then snarled as he picked himself up. "You asked for it! RinJyu Spider-ken! Ringi! Fukusu no Amufomu!" He then performed his technique and two additional pairs of arms grew from his body. "Now I have three times the power!"

"And got three times more hideous," quipped Gaim. He then charged at Gumokage and swung his swords only for the Beastman to catch them in his hands. "Huh?"

"Gotcha!" the Spider Beastman laughed before he used his additional arms to punch Gaim repeatedly in the chest. One last blow sent Gaim flying, his weapons in his opponent's grip. The Rider was sent tumbling before he landed on his back, groaning.

"Now, what can you do without your weapons?" Gumokage asked tauntingly when all of a sudden he was slashed twice in the back. "Argh!" He dropped the Musou Saber and Daidaimaru before he spun around, only to be struck again across the chest, painfully. "GAH!"

"Huh?" Gaim then gawked. "Kanu-san? Chouhi?"

"I will not allow you to further harm Gaim-sama!" Kanu snapped.

"Yeah! He just agreed to be my big brother!" Chouhi agreed.

"Grrr! Fine! I was ordered to take down the brat and I can take Unchou with her too!" Gumokage growled as he took another stance. "Rinjyu Spider-Ken! Ringi! Hakai no Hachi Ken!" Gumokage leaped into the air before unleashing blazing punches and kicks from all of his arms and legs, striking at Kanu and Chouhi from an impossible number of angles for a single opponent. The pair tried their best to defend, but the strikes were too many and from too many angles, knocking them both back with cries of pain, landing on either side of Gaim.

"Kanu-san! Chouhi!" Gaim cried out.

"Ha!" Gumokage laughed, landing again. "So ends the legends of two of the Five Tiger Generals before it even begins!"

Gaim clenched his fists. How dare this monster beat his friends then mock them? Gaim retrieved both his weapons and swiftly combined the ends of his Daidaimaru and Musou Saber together to form the Naginata Mode.

"Gumokage! This ends now!" challenged Gaim.

"So it will!" the Rinrinshi laughed. "Only I will win!"

Gaim yelled, ignoring all fear, pain, and tiredness as he charged at the Rinrinshi with nothing but its destruction in mind. Gumokage raced at Gaim in return and the two struck at one another in a fierce clash of orange Lockseed power and purple Rinki. The two powers clashed before both sides passed each other before skidding across the ground. Gaim landed properly on the ground, but Gumokage landed with a scream, one of his arms a smoking stump while the limb itself landed several feet away.

"My arm! My arm!" Gumokage screamed, trying to keep the purple Rinki from oozing out of his wound like blood.

"For what you did to my friends, it won't end with just that!" Gaim shouted, standing up. Grabbing his Orange Lockseed, he unlocked it and removed it.

[LOCK OFF!]

He then put it into the Musou Saber's Driver Launch and locked it in.

[LOCK ON!]

"Taste my Hissatsu!" Gaim declared.

[1, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000!]

"SEIYAAAAAAA!"

[ORANGE CHARGE!]

Gaim charged at Gumokage and fired a beam of orange energy ahead of him. It struck the Beastman, trapping him inside of an orange sphere of energy which looked like an actual orange. Gaim dashed in close before he slashed wide, using both blades of his combined weapon to strike at the orange and Rinrinshi. The strike flashed and the orange was sliced into two, containing two halves of Gumokage. The Beastman screamed in agony before the entire construct exploded in a blast of purple fire, sending orange slices in all directions before they vanished.

"Show's over," Gaim sighed, standing up again. He was relieved when the Rinrinshi was destroyed and was about to cancel his transformation when he heard a loud scream. Adrenaline spiking again, Gaim and his recovering friends took off to the front of the village where they recognized the hostess of the restaurant pointing out past the gates of the village.

Chouhi, Gaim, and Kanu skidded to a halt at the main entrance of the village and saw an army of Rinshi hopping towards them. The group looked like there was enough of the soldiers in it to level the village twice over.

"Oh no," Gaim groaned.

"Tsk!" Kanu frowned. "Why send so many soldiers to attack one village?"

"We can take them! We can beat them all!" Chouhi cried, lifting her spear into the air.

"No, there's too many," Gaim spoke as he stepped forward. "But I think I have a way to take care of them." Attached to his belt were extra Lockseeds and he took hold of one. It resembled a watermelon, marked with the code L.S.-10. Unlike the original Gaim when he first used it, he knew exactly what this Lockseed could do.

Stepping forward past the gates so to get some space, he looked back at his friends, "Girls, you better step back to give me some room."

"Huh?" asked Chouhi, but Kanu listened and gently pulled the smaller girl back.

Once they were clear, Gaim sheathed the Musou Saber, still adorned with the Orange Lockseed as he lifted his newest weapon and unlocked it.

[SUIKA!]

This caused his Orange Arms to vanish before he locked the Suika Lockseed into his SengokuDriver.

[LOCK ON!]

The same music played and the zipper portal opened above him. This time it was several times bigger to accommodate the size of the metallic fruit which descended.

"A watermelon?" Kanu gaped.

"It's so big!" exclaimed Chouhi.

"Here goes," Gaim sighed, hitting the Cutting Blade. The Lockseed was split open to reveal the red insides on top, and a double-ended sword styled after a watermelon on the bottom half.

[SOIYA! SUIKA ARMS! ODAMA BIG BANG!]

The massive watermelon came down and, at first appearances, came crashing down on top of Gaim, removing him from sight entirely. It caused everyone who was witnessing it to gasp in shock, fearing that the surprising hero had suddenly ended himself.

"GAIM-SAMA!" Kanu screamed in horror.

"He got squished!" Chouhi cried, pointing at the large watermelon.

After several moments of being still, the giant metal watermelon spoke.

[YOROI MODE!]

The Suika Arms jumped up and shifted, the shell of the watermelon shifting and sliding, reforming into the image of a large suit of armor with green shoulder pads, chest, and legs with darker green armor. Gripped in its hand was a double-bladed sword styled like watermelon slices. Gaim's body could be seen within the armor, controlling it easily. The head on top was dome-shaped with a large gold and red decoration like a samurai's helmet. A visor was on the face, but inside was Gaim's helmet with the visor colored like a watermelon slice.

"Alright, here I go!" shouted Gaim as he charged at the army of Rinshi, leaving everyone gaping at the sight of the giant-armored warrior. In mid-run, Gaim's Suika Arms changed back into a watermelon.

[ODAMA MODE!]

It rolled on its side and slammed into the Rinshi, sending them flying like bowling pins.

[YOROI MODE!]

Now back in Suika Arms' humanoid configuration, Gaim swung at the Rinshi. With such monstrous punching power, any Rinshi that got hit by his fist was destroyed in an instant. His Suika Sojinto was used as well to cut them down. They leaped at him but he spun and struck them down.

Despite the amount of them he took down in the charge, there were two more contingents left. Any number of them could slip around and head to the village. Not wanting to waste any more time or risk innocent people, Gaim struck the Cutting Blade over the Suika Lockseed once.

[SOIYA! SUIKA SQUASH!]

Gaim gathered green energy in the Suika Sojinto and sent it to the Rinshi, gathering them up and trapping them in an energy ball shaped like a watermelon. Now immobilized and incapacitated, they were at Gaim's mercy. Mercy that he did not have as he charged towards the watermelon and slashed at it several times with his Suika Sojinto. The strikes flashed green, causing the watermelon to crack like at a beach game before it erupted in purple fire, taking all of the Rinshi with it.

"Ha!" Gaim laughed before turning back to the village. "I think that takes care of that." He closed the Suika Lockseed and the Suika Arms vanished along with the rest of his suit. Nagata then landed on his feet, completely winded as he stumbled a bit in his landing.

The villagers could only stare as he walked towards them before all of a sudden someone applauded followed by loud cheering. As he came back towards the village, he was met with adoring villagers, Kanu, and Chouhi as they ran out to greet him.

"How did you do that?"

"That was amazing!"

"Can I use fruit as a weapon too?" asked Chouhi.

Kanu was silent, but her smile was unmistakable, 'Just as I thought. You are the Messenger of Heaven, Gaim-sama.'

Of course, it wasn't just the villagers that were congratulating Nagata.

"Step aside! Step aside! Make way!" It was the magistrate as he had his soldiers break the crowd apart so he could approach Nagata. "You!"

"Huh?" Nagata responded, pointing to himself. "Me?"

"Were you the one who defeated those wretched creatures?" the magistrate demanded to know.

"Well...you could say that..." answered Nagata hesitantly. He didn't like the look in the magistrate's eyes. The magistrate clasped Nagata's hand. "Oi!"

"Please stay! Become my personal bodyguard and deal with the bandits! I'll pay you double the amount I pay my men!" the magistrate bargained. "You can live like a king under me! Just say the word and you'll get it!" Nagata opened his mouth several times, truly unsure of what he could say to get out of the situation without getting into some kind of trouble.

Kanu came to the rescue, "My apologies, but the Messenger of Heaven cannot accept."

The crowd grew silent, all of them beginning to gape.

"What?" asked Chouhi. "What does that mean?"

"According to Kanu-san, I'm supposed to be some prophesied savior. I'm not too sure myself," Nagata answered honestly.

"Oh, cool!" Chouhi grinned. "So that's why you have that cool armor and powers!"

Someone then spoke up, "Messenger of Heaven. That means he's a god. A warrior from Heaven."

"And his armor...then he could be..."

"An Armored War God!"

Nagata blinked at the title and looked to Kanu who was merely smiling proudly at him. For some reason, he couldn't help but think that the title was rather catchy. He just hoped that it didn't spread too far, but he doubted that it wasn't going to be the case considering how much people believed in the Messenger of Heaven.

"Then I'll pay you triple!" the magistrate raised his offer. Having the Messenger of Heaven under his employ would definitely boost his reputation. Maybe even make him an imperial magistrate.

"That's very generous of you, but like Kanu-san said I can't accept," declined Nagata politely. "Besides, we were on our way anyway. Plenty of places to go and all. The Messenger's duty is never done and all that."

The magistrate cringed, biting the hem of his robe as he tried to think of something, anything to convince the Messenger to stay and enhance his reputation but nothing came to him. What could one offer? He refused money and property and all that was left were women and he had that Bandit Hunter girl to help with that! Even if she wasn't a goddess, she outshone plenty of the local girls!

"So then, we will be on our way," Kanu smiled, taking Nagata by the arm and turning back to the road. "Thank you for your generosity while we were here."

"Oh! Wait for me!" Chouhi cried, heading out to follow. "I want to say goodbye to the other Rinrin Bandits first!"

"Of course we can," Kanu smiled. "I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise."

The goodbyes exchanged between Chouhi and her friends were rather touching and heartfelt as Kanu and Nagata watched on. Even the pig was crying, spilling tears from its eyes as Chouhi hugged it, promising to come back and visit someday.

"Still think it's a good idea for her to come along?" Nagata asked Kanu. "It could get dangerous."

"She has potential and she doesn't have any family here. So, I think it's best if she travels with us," Kanu told Nagata.

"Yeah, I have to admit that I wouldn't feel right if we just left her here. The kid's grown on me," Nagata grinned in agreement.

"Onii-chan! Onee-chan! Let's go!" Chouhi called, running ahead of the pair.

"Yes, yes, we're coming," Kanu waved to Chouhi. While they walked, Kanu looked to her other traveling companion, "Well Gaim-sama. How do you feel knowing you truly are the Messenger of Heaven?"

"I dunno. Armored War God kinda sounds way cooler than Messenger of Heaven, don't ya think?" Nagata replied.

"Hardly as dignified," Kanu huffed. "Remember, you are not here to wage war, but bring peace. We can't let you get caught up in conflicts lest we lose you and our chance for peace at long last."

"Gotcha, Kanu-san," saluted then pulled out his SengokuDriver and smiled at it. Messenger of Heaven or not, he finally had the power to do something. Maybe this was the reason he was given this power. "Besides, who knows if there are still Rinshi and Rinrinshi out there?"

"You know, you have yet to explain to me what that object is," Kanu reminded, looking at the SengokuDriver. "Is it the vessel of your magic powers?"

"Something like that," Nagata nodded. "Using it and my Lockseeds, I can generate suits of armor and weapons to help me fight."

"An impressive power as proven earlier. Honestly, you had me worried earlier when that giant watermelon looked like it had crushed you."

"Sorry. I promise that it's the only one that does that," Nagata assured her, unable to help but chuckle slightly since he knew how silly it may have looked from the canon series. "So, where are we headed to next?"

Kanu giggled lightly, "You seem hard of hearing. I have said before, we have no set destination. Simply wherever the wind or rumors take us."

"Guess that's a plan then," Nagata relaxed. "I doubt things will get boring."

He was right about that.

News had a habit of traveling swiftly in these lands. Much like Kanu's reputation, Nagata's own legend was just beginning.

To be Continued…

KRC: Hi, Kamen Rider Chrome here. Like Rosario to Kiva, this fic was born out of a chat between me and Ten-Faced Paladin. Since we both worked on this, this should be a nice addition to our library of crossovers. While Paladin has a Gaim/SAO crossover already set, this was done to embody the spirit of the Sengoku-theme Gaim established. Though, instead of the Sengoku Era in Japan, we've decided to use the Three Kingdom's setting, this one based on Koihime Musou. Why? Bishoujo with weapons. Why else? So, please enjoy and leave all your comments in the review section so we know what you think. Your words matter.

TFP: Okay, Ten-Faced Paladin here. Hope you enjoyed this crossover between Gaim and Koihime Musou. Although I have my own Gaim/SAO work going on, this one does seem to fit better with the warring states theme that canon Gaim has. When Chrome suggested it to me I couldn't resist and decided to write up the first chapter to see how it would turn out. Borrowed some elements from the visual novel, and obviously from another show. However, it will be explained how the Rinshi and Rinrinshi got there in time as we learn more and more of the shady background players who are appearing in the Three Kingdoms.

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Lost Scrolls of the RinJyuKen Akugata

Spider-Ken: The Spider-Ken, although a strong style is only a baseline fighting style which can be advanced and refined into more powerful styles since there are so many different breeds of spiders that exist. The skill of this JyuKen bring a balance of speed and agility, allowing practitioners the ability to attack rapidly and from odd angles

Fukusu no Amufomu: Roughly translated, this Ringi is named The Multiple Arm Form. This Ringi allows the user to generate extra limbs with their Rinki to assist them in battle. This technique only works with JyuKen users who are based off creatures with multiple limbs though. A downside to this technique is that the limbs feel real and when wounded or even severed, they feel the pain.

Hakai no Hachi Ken: The Eight Fists of Destruction is a technique which comes with the Spider-Ken. It is a technique which allows the user to punch and kick at a rate which seems like the user has eight limbs instead of their usual amounts. Used in tandem with The Multiple Arm Form the effects are magnified and much more devastating.

Jujin Jashin Hen: The Beast-Man Wicked Body Change is a Ringi common to all Rinrinshi of the RinJyuKen Akugata. By manifesting their Rinki and focusing on their inner beast, practitioners of the RinJyuKen Akugata can manifest a body with attributes of their JyuKen. For Living practitioners, that means a suit of armor characterizing their inner beast. For a Rinrinshi, it is a human/animal hybrid which allows the practitioner to better emulate their inner beast and enhance their fighting style. Although some drawbacks do exist depending on the animal.

Rinshi: Former practitioners of the RinJyuKen Akugata who died, but were reanimated by the leader of the school, whoever that may be at the time. They are only allowed to publicly use the most basic skills of the school because they have not yet proven strong enough to manifest their true JyuKen. As such their skills and strength are limited but still beyond regular humans. Other skilled and dedicated martial artists are able to defeat them though.

Rinrinshi: The shock troops of the RinJyuKen Akugata. They are Rinshi who underwent the Chamber of Trials, forcing them to battle 1000 opponents in one fell swoop. If they can win, they are permitted to reveal their faces, speak, and develop their personal JyuKen. Achieving this enhances their bodies, making them leagues stronger than a Rinshi and allows them to use the Jujin Jashin Hen technique. Only warriors of high caliber can match them thanks to all the enhancements to their bodies.

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Fruits of the Tree, Yggdrasil

Orange Arms: This is the armor produced by activating the Orange Lockseed (L.S.-07) The armor is tough and protective but does not offer any grand advantages or disadvantages so its perfect for beginning a battle with an unknown opponent. Equipping this armor also equips the Daidaimaru, a scimitar-like sword. It is able to combine with the Musou Saber to make Naginata Mode, allowing a wider range of attacks as well as another avenue of Hissatsu in battle.

Suika Arms: This armor is produced by activating the Suika (Watermelon) Lockseed (L.S.-10). Unlike other Arms, this Lockseed produces a large mechanical walker capable of fighting larger opponents. It is capable of fighting in its fruit form called Odama Mode, flying as a weapons platform in Gyro Mode, and fighting as a mecha in Yoroi Mode. The mecha form is rather slow, but ridiculously powerful and fights with the Suika Sojinto, making it a dangerous foe to face. This Lockseed is also rare, making anyone who has it extremely lucky. It also requires a long period to recharge between uses, likely one of the few weaknesses this Lockseed has.