A/N: This chapter has been re-uploaded to correct section breaks. No other changes have been made.
Chapter Six: Here it Comes Again
"You want answers? Fine. Have a seat, and we'll explain."
He sat down, waiting for the Jedi to follow suit before beginning.
"We've already told you of the Elders, the ones who have trained us. They are known as the Oniwaban, and we are part of that larger group. Our leader goes by the name Okina. His seconds in command are Sejurio Hiko and Kaitra Shinju. There are a few others who are training under them now, though I am not currently familiar with most of them. They are based on the Leco Dacne Islands to the Northeast of this continent. In all, I believe that they number ten, excluding us."
He had noticed Kenobi's expression at Kaitra's name, but chose to ignore it at the moment. The question was bound to arise soon enough.
"Saito is the leader of the other group that we are aware of. They are known as the Shinsengumi. We know that they are many, but only a few are sensitives. Other than that, we have little information, except that many work in the military under Saito.
"There is a possibility that a third group exists, though we have yet to confirm it. If we are right, they are the ones behind the attacks."
He stopped, hoping that the information would suffice. But Kenobi seemed to be on a roll.
"What about the ryuu? How many are there, and do any of the groups have them?"
Sighing, he answered. "We are not sure how many there are, though we are aware of about 16. Three are here," Kenobi jerked his head and he added, "Yes, Leika rides one as well. Our leaders each ride one. There are four that we know of in Saito's group."
"Which leaves six unaccounted for."
"No. There are three others that we know belong to no group." He debated a quick second before adding, "Leika's father is one such rider."
"And the others?"
Did the man ever quit? "Those are the ones we suspect of being in the third group."
Kenobi sat quietly contemplating the information before asking, "Is the Kaitra you mentioned related to Leika?"
"Yes, her mother." Kenshin answered for him, having noted the exasperation he was beginning to feel. "She trained her in healing. And so you know, Hiko was my master, as Okina was Aoshi's."
"I see," the Jedi murmured, lost in thought.
As the master sat contemplating, Aoshi looked over and saw Anakin quietly watching the exchange. From what he knew of the Order, Kenobi seemed the textbook Jedi. However, he had a different sense of the younger man. He decided to talk to him later.
Finally the Jedi snapped out of his thoughts. "You have given me much to consider, but I suppose this is not the time." Taking the same sword his apprentice had used, he walked out to the floor. "I'm ready."
Aoshi removed his kodachi from his belt and took their wooden equivalents from the wall. He twirled them a few times as he joined the Jedi on the floor.
He faced the Jedi, arms at his sides with elbows slightly bent, kodachi tips pointed inward. Kenobi held his sword in a two-handed grip parallel to the floor, point on his left.
Feinting with his right, he spun to attack with his left. He wasn't surprised that the man easily blocked the blow. Keeping on the offensive, he sought for a weakness in the defense, but found none. The man was well trained in the art of self-preservation.
Letting his guard down for a split second, he gave the Jedi a chance to go on the offensive. Kenobi didn't disappoint. He had to admire the man's controlled fierceness evident in the blows that were raining down on him. Still, he didn't care much for fighting defensively if he could help it.
He leapt back, swinging his right kodachi around so that it sat under his arm, and attacked with his left. As Kenobi blocked it, he brought the other blade around, aiming at the stomach. Only by jumping back was the Jedi able to avoid the blow.
This continued for some time until both contestants decided to call a draw. They toweled off, replaced the wooden weapons on the wall and reattached their preferred weapons on their belts. Once they were done, he nodded at Kenshin and turned to face the Jedi.
They had their backs to the wall holding the weapons, so they didn't see Kenshin walk over to pick up the razor whip. "While most of our opponents will likely have swords, many will not. And don't think that your lightsabers will give you the advantage."
As he finished talking, Kenshin lashed straight out at Anakin with the whip. The young man barely had a chance to ignite his saber and turn to block it before it would have struck his back.
"What in the Force..?" he exclaimed. He had probably expected the saber to slice through the whip instead of it winding around the blade as it was doing. Before he could react to this development, the handle was jerked from his hands and deactivated as it skidded across the floor.
Kenshin jerked the whip back towards him and wound it around its handle. "We have developed a shielding device that has proven useful against laser technology," he explained.
"That's handy," Obi-Wan grumbled. "How does it work?"
Aoshi glanced at Kenshin, who just shrugged. "It emits a shield around the metal, enough that the heat from a laser doesn't harm the metal. It was actually developed to shield the blades for practice. We discovered the other use accidentally."
"And you believe that the enemy has this technology as well?"
"Unfortunately, the one who developed this for us was not within this group, but an independent technician. We could not control what he did with this development once he left us."
Aoshi watched as the Jedi absorbed his answer, and could practically see the next question forming on his lips. Glancing at Kenshin, the younger man intervened.
"How familiar are you to facing weapons such as these?" Kenshin asked.
"Not very," Skywalker admitted. "We're more used to blasters, vibroblades on occasion, and of course lightsabers. We've faced our share of grenades and heavier weapons as well, but we haven't come across very many weapons like this."
"Then, we should certainly practice with these," Kenshin remarked, holding up the whip in his right hand and gesturing at the wall behind him with his left.
They agreed, and soon Anakin was facing Kenshin on the floor. His saber was held ready, though the blade was disengaged.
"All you have to do is disarm me," Kenshin said as he readied himself.
Standing next to Aoshi, Kenobi uttered what sounded like a weary sigh. "Do not worry about your apprentice. Kenshin is as skilled with the whip as he is with the sword. He will not allow Skywalker to be injured." He didn't add that the shielding around the whip's many blades would do little more than shock the padawan.
Kenobi only sighed again as they watched the scene unfolding on the floor. Kenshin lashed out at the young Jedi, who brought his lightsaber around to intercept, igniting the blade as he swung. He caught the whip and yanked on it at the same time Kenshin pulled on his end. The result was that both weapons went flying at the same time.
"Not bad," Kenshin called out as the whip's handle flew back into his hand. "Next time though, you'll want to keep a hold on your saber."
"Noted," Anakin replied as his handle smacked into his hand. Bringing it back up to bear, he called, "Ready?"
Kenshin didn't answer except to swing the whip around once before lashing it out again.
Aoshi watched as Skywalker tried repeatedly to disarm the other man with little success. For several long minutes the only sounds in the vast chamber were of the two facing off on the floor. Not surprisingly, Kenobi decided to take advantage of the situation by asking another question.
"What is that picture on the wall?"
The question itself surprised him, but he quickly buried the emotion. Instead, he turned to the Jedi, making sure to keep calm as he did so. He rapidly decided how much was safe to tell the man before answering.
"Leika's main cover is an artist. That is one of her works."
Kenobi's eyebrows shot up. "Why would she do such an ominous picture? It hardly seems appropriate."
Aoshi felt his expression cooling further. He knew that this would just give the Jedi further justification to not trust Leika, but he feared the truth would just damage things further. He answered with the only thing he could.
"You'd have to ask her that yourself."
Luckily, Anakin chose that instant to give up. He hadn't had much luck against the whip, having lost his blade several times in a row without dislodging Kenshin's weapon more than half that. Walking over, he returned his master's smirk with one of his own.
"Only for now," he remarked. "Let's see how well you do."
As Kenobi went to take his place, Anakin sat beside Aoshi. "What other weapons do you use?"
He gestured towards the wall. "See the pair over there with the long center spike and two shorter spikes with the curved ends?" Anakin nodded. "They are called sai, and are my other choice."
"Will we train against those as well?"
"Yes, this afternoon I think."
He returned his attention for a moment to the floor, where Kenobi was faring only slightly better than his apprentice had. "I would like to speak to you later, to get your opinion on what strategy we should employ," he said after a moment. "I will let you know when."
Skywalker seemed momentarily taken aback by the request, but recovered swiftly. "I would be honored," he replied. Then he asked, "What is that picture over there?" He pointed at the wall by the door.
He wasn't surprised by the question this time. He decided that the apprentice might understand better than the master would, and told him slightly more.
"That is one of Leika's paintings, of the legendary Gaiscioch Dorcha."
"The what?" Then he looked confused. "I though that was the name of these mountains, the Gaiscioch Dorcha Nagre?"
Aoshi nodded at him with a trace of amusement lighting his face. "You are correct on that. The mountains are named for the legend. We have some files on them, it you would like to look them up later. Or if you have a chance, you might want to ask Leika. She is quite familiar with the stories."
He looked over at the painting again. "She did that? That's some talent," he added in appreciation.
"Yes," he replied quietly. "That is one of her covers."
"An artist? How does that help gather information?"
Aoshi had to smile at that. He was convinced now that his observations on the young man were accurate. "You'd be surprised at what an artist, especially one who is on the fringes of acceptable society, can discover."
He was surprised to discover that while Skywalker had as many questions as his master, answering them didn't bother him as they did with the other. It was the type of questions, he thought, and the manner in which they were asked.
"Kind of creepy though," Anakin remarked.
"So is the legend." Studying the younger man, Aoshi added, "Your master didn't seem to like it at all."
Giving a feeble grin, he simply shrugged. "I didn't figure he would."
While the young man lapsed into silence, he turned his attention to the floor, where Kenobi was asking Kenshin something. Though their voices were too low to hear, by the gestures the two were making he could guess what it was about.
Facing off again, Kenobi tried the new tactic, managing to pull the whip free of Kenshin's hands while keeping hold of his saber. As he walked triumphantly back to the bench, Anakin jumped up.
"No fair! That's cheating!"
Obi-Wan smiled. "It's not cheating to ask advice. It's good strategy."
Laughing along with the Jedi, Kenshin offered to show him the trick later. "After we have eaten," he told the sour-faced youngster.
At the mention of food, his face perked back up. "Good. I'm starving!"
Aoshi caught Kenobi rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "Why am I not surprised?"
~shards~
Leika slept, unaware of what was going on in the compound around her. She didn't know how important the chip she had given Aoshi was, nor of the training the men now engaged in. She was equally unaware of the plan formulating in her leader's mind. To see her dreams, though, one would think she knew what was coming.
A battle among festivities, a strange ryuu nearby. Death closing in around her. Fire, a sickening stench filling the air. Isolation. Chaos laughing in the distance.
She whimpered in her sleep as the images assaulted her, her distress traveling the link with Lestath. The ryuu sent her rider images of the ocean that they so loved to visit in the hopes of calming the distressed mind of her partner.
Slowly, it worked, and the woman soon slipped into the deep sleep that was beyond dreams.
On the hidden cliff above the compound where the ryuus dozed in the sunlight, Armanth caught Lestath's distress.
"What is wrong?" he asked.
"She is having bad thoughts as she sleeps. I have helped to calm her."
"Does it have to do with what worries our humans?"
"I do not know. It was images, bad images. But I don't know what they mean."
"If she is calm now, that is what matters." He stretched and settled himself down into a more comfortable position.
"I suppose." She also resettled herself before drifting back into a doze, the sunlight warming her body.
~shards~
The remainder of the day comprised of more training, with Aoshi demonstrating the sai and Anakin finally disarming Kenshin's whip. By the time they finished their evening meal the Jedi were sore from the different types of training they had done. All four were exhausted from the long day.
Obi-Wan asked Anakin to join him again in the training room, this time to talk. He wanted to be away from the others for a short time in any case, and thought that the others might feel the same.
"You still don't trust them, do you?" Anakin asked as soon as they were alone.
"They really haven't given me reason to."
"Haven't they answered our questions? Now they are helping us to be prepared against weapons that we might not have otherwise been able to defeat. How can you say they've given no reason to trust them?"
"Mind your feelings padawan. Their intentions seem to be honorable, but keep in mind the secrets that they keep. Every time we turn around, there's something else that we discover they've been hiding."
He didn't answer, knowing the truth of these words. But didn't they keep secrets as well? Everyone kept secrets at some level, how was this any different?
Finally, he found the words to voice his thoughts. "Master, how is this different from any other mission, where we go in and discover a whole slew of things as we go?"
He must have hit something within his master for him to fall silent as he did. It was a long time before his answer came.
"It's different because we're dealing with trained Force users who are not Jedi. I feel a darkness on this planet, and I'm concerned that this group is closer to it than perhaps even they realize. I fear that Shinju may be at the heart of it."
Anakin couldn't deny the sense of darkness that he'd felt since before their arrival, but he disagreed with his mentor's assessment that the group was part of it. He felt no deceit from either of the men. Leika was another matter, simply because he hadn't spent any time with her since the meeting yesterday.
No, he believed that it came from that group that they weren't even sure existed. There was something big going on here; that much he had gathered from his probing into the Force. What it was, he still had little clue.
"I understand what you're saying master," he began, trying to organize his jumbled thoughts on the matter. "Though I must admit that I am curious about this group, and their beliefs. I just don't understand why you are so determined to prove them untrustworthy."
His mentor sighed. "Anakin, this entire situation has put me on edge. The exact nature of why this has happened is something that I haven't been able to pinpoint yet, and that also has me concerned. You are right that there is something big going on here, on that I'm sure everyone here can agree." He gave another weary sigh as he rubbed the heel of his right hand against his forehead. "I think I'm going to meditate on all this, see if any of it will start to make sense. What are you planning to do?"
"Shinomori had asked me earlier to discuss strategy with him. I think I'll see if now is a good time."
They stood and walked back up the tunnel, stopping at the door to the elder Jedi's room. "Just try to stay out of trouble," he warned with a smile.
"I will. Sleep well."
"You do the same." With a last look at his padawan, he went inside.
