Kento was clearing off the tables near the window when began to notice people moving down the street and pointing off to the south. He raised an eyebrow as he placed a few more plates in his dish bin.
"Wonder what they're all staring at." He said to himself.
Wiping his hands on his apron he approached the window and instantly gasped at seeing the sky a blur of blood red, yellow, and orange. It was darkening into the dark blue of night only a moment before.
"What the-?"
"Kento, get those dishes to the kitchen and finish setting the tables. We have more dinner rush moving through." His mother called to him from the hostess station in Chinese.
Kento barely heard her as he watched something large fly across the sky. Quickly, he turned the from the window, abandoning the dish bin to go out front. From behind him his mother was shouting protests along with a few other choice words.
Outside Kento stared up at the sky with the crowds around him. Whispers of what the sky could mean were around him.
"Probably electrical disruption from a sun ray."
"Northern lights? Here?"
"Maybe there's a fire somewhere."
No, it was none of those things, Kento though. He could feel in his gut it was something much more sinister.
Suddenly cries of surprise and fear surrounded him as the large object from below suddenly swooped down and came straight at Kento.
"Whoa!" Kento yelled and back flipped out of the way. The object slowed, turned then aimed for Kento's family's restaurant.
Without a second thought Kento barreled through the doors, pushing people as he went. Once inside he grabbed his mother's hand, who was still yelling at him, and dragged her with to the back kitchens. At the same time he heard the front window shatter from the dark object that attacked him crashing through.
"Everyone stay back here and hide!" Kento ordered his parents, siblings, along with the other kitchen staff. Outside the kitchen Kento could here he screams and cries of the patrons as they ran out of the way of the dark visitor.
"Shuu, what is going on?" his mother asked hugging Kento's youngest sister close. He didn't get to answer though.
"Kento of Hardrock, come out of hiding and fight like a man." A shrill voice said from the main dining room.
"Hide." Kento hissed one more time at the staring faces. Slowly he turned, taking off his apron as he did, and went to the door that would lead him to his unknown enemy. With a deep breath he pulled his orb from his pocket then pushed the door open and he stepped through.
On the other side stood a tall man in gray armor with a worn gray cape attached to it. His helmet face mask slid open revealing a crooked grin.
"Hello, Kento." He said.
"Who are you? A Nether rat?" Kento asked rolling his orb in his hand.
The stranger's eyes lit with anger, "I am Enkidu of War. I am part of the army of the Nether world empire."
"Right, like I said, a Nether rat." Kento said with a bored tone.
"Silence Ronin swine!"
"Oh, ho! Now who's calling who names?"
Enkidu roared with annoyance and Kento suddenly found himself dodging a gray energy orb that Enkidu released from his hand.
"What the hell?" Kento questioned staring at the new hole that was in the wall directly behind where he had stood only a moment ago. His eyes then turned to Enkidu, who once again had a dumb grin on his face.
"You Ronins are not the only ones with new power."
Kento pulled his armor orb out of his pocket and readied it in his hand, looks like he was going to need a bit of help.
As if someone read his mind Kento watched at Enkidu was suddenly hit with a large glass rice bowl that had been sitting on one of the tables near the window. Both men turned their heads to see the source of where the bowl came from.
Sage and Rowen stood side by side just inside the restaurant where they climbed in through the window.
"Guys!" Kento yelled flooding with relief.
"More Ronins, good, it will be easier to kill you together and please my master." Enkidu laughed seemingly pleased with himself.
"Not so fast warlord."
Enkidu's smile was quickly replaced with a snarl as he turned to look behind him. Kento now stood beside Riska, Hardrock jumped not realizing that she was beside him at first.
"Shōkōjo." Enkidu hissed.
"Leave Enkidu before something bad happens to you. I would hate to send you back to your master defeated and missing a finger."
"Your threats are empty to me Shōkōjo. Now move out of my way."
Riska stepped in front of Kento with a challenging glare.
"Very well, we'll do this the hard way." Enkidu moved quicker than the Ronins could see but Riska reacted just as quickly.
Kento was pushed back against the wall with such force the tiles on the wall cracked. He watched in awe as Riska matched the warlord's blow for blow with her short sword against his long sword.
With quick precision and foot movement Riska lured Enkidu towards the window where Sage and Rowen hastily got out of the way as the mysterious girl finally got the warlord outside onto the streets.
Outside people ran quickly down the streets to get away from the city. The sky above was burst of oranges, reds, and yellows the colors lit the ground with an eerie glow. What stars did make it out in the sky were now being choked out of sight by large black billowing clouds that rolled into view with furiousity. Streets lights flickered on, which only revealed the Nether spirits who were chasing the citizens of Tokyo with glee.
People seemed to divide around the fight without looking twice at it. It was something that most had seen or heard of before. And all they were concentrating on was escaping.
"Sage! Rowen! Kento!" A young adolescent's voice came that cracked with puberty.
The boys took their eyes off the fight before them for a moment to see Yulie running up to them desperate to reach his friends against the flow of escaping panicked people.
"Yulie! What you doing? Why are you coming towards the fight, you should be going the other way!" Rowen yelled over the noise once Yulie reached them.
The boy shook his head, his shaggy brown hair brushed over his eyes.
"I came to fight with you again. It's the Nether World, they're back!"
"We noticed." Sage said tilting his head towards the fight between Enkidu and Riska.
"Who's that?" Yulie asked staring at the girl fighting the warlord.
"Good question, who IS that?" Kento emphasized.
"No time, just someone to help. Yulie, you have to leave, you can't stay here." Rowen insisted.
"No, I want to help, like last time."
"This isn't a game Yulie!" Sage yelled making the boy jump he looked at his sensei with large round eyes. "We can't protect you like last time, we can barely protect ourselves."
"Hey!" Kento snapped which was only received with a look from both Rowen and Sage.
"Kento, Sage, c'mon. Riska and that warlord are heading towards the city center. We need to keep them in our sights." Rowen said grabbing Kento's arm and dragging him along down the street towards the fight.
Sage turned to join them but stopped and caught Yulie by the arm.
"Ah! Sage, please, let me help."
Sage shook his head and looked up in time to see a bus coming towards them with refuges on it. With one hand on Yulie's bicep and his other hand raised in the air Sage flagged the bus down until it stopped for them.
Sage turned to Yulie, he didn't need to kneel to talk to him anymore, the boy was shoulder high to him now.
"Yulie." Sage said delicately. "You need to go with the refuges and protect them. You've been through this before with us, you know what to expect from the Nether Realm, they don't. You need to become their leader."
"But…"
"C'mon little dude, I know they'll be in safe hands with you. And in the mean time we'll kick the Nether Realms butt… again."
After a moment Yulie nodded with a new found determination in his eyes.
"Ok, but you have to promise to come get me as soon as you need me." Yulie insisted.
Sage smiled and ruffled Yulie's hair.
"Of course." He turned Yulie around and pushed him up onto the bus. "Now go."
Yulie watched Sage as the bus doors closed and the vehicle moved on to escape the city. He knew it was better for Yulie to sit out this time, he had a feeling that the fight was going to be harder than what it was with Talpa.