"Onii-san!"

A boy of eight looked up to see his little sister running towards him, she sat down on a chair besides his bed, "Kotono…What happened? Why are you crying?"

Kotono, who was six, wiped away her tears stain and shook her head, "It's nothing! Can Onii-san play for me?"

Takeo nodded as he picked up his bamboo flute and began to play, the soft melody flow around the room. It soothed his little sister to sleep.

"Chiisai-Tono! That's far enough!" Kotono woke up with a start, to find Sakutaro, their mentor and guardian, preventing Takeo from touching the brush.

"Jii! Just one character!" Takeo pushed his guardian away and attempted to write 'Rock' in the on the paper. Nothing…

Takeo looked like he was about to cry, Sakutaro quickly gathered the boy in his arm, whispering comforting words as he tries to calm his lord.

"Come along, Kotono…" The young girl looked up, "Sensei!"

"You shouldn't see this… Come, we have to finish your training…" Kotono's sensei led her away from her brother's room.

Kotono took one last look at her brother, who gave a weak smile. She returned the smile and quickly followed her sensei.

During the training, Kotono's sensei stated, "Kotono… We will now begin with aikido."

"Sensei, why didn't a rock come out of the paper?" Kotono asked innocently, curiously of why her brother cried. The young girl picked up a brush, she kept with her at all times, wrote the character 'Rock'. A rock appeared, it dropped down on the grass, glowing red. The young child touched it, "It's hot!"

Her sensei sighed as she examined her student, "Kotono, what is a Mojikara?"

Kotono paused, trying to remember what her brother told her, "The power of character…"

"It is the meaning of the characters," Kotono's sensei continued, "In order to battle the Gedoushu, what is the character you inherited?"

"Earth!" Kotono smiled, "Just like Kenta-niisan!"

Her sensei shook her head, "Your Earth Mojikara is sealed but you now have Fire Mojikara… That's why your rock is hot… The Fire Mojikara in you, made the Rock hot…"

Kotono nodded in understanding, her sensei continued, "We must combat them with Mojikara… When we use them, it is the meaning behind the characters that gives us power…"

"I know sensei!" Kotono nodded, "But shouldn't Onii-san have them?" She then heard a coughing. Her sensei brought her back to Takeo's room. Kotono sees her brother coughing and looking a lot paler.

Sakutaro put Takeo back to his bed, "Chiisai-Tono! Please… Do not force yourself!"

Takeo waved away his guardian's hands, "I have no Mojikara…"

Kotono looked at her sensei who stated, "You see… Why didn't a rock come out of the paper when Takeo wrote the character?"

The young child nodded, her sensei squatted down so she is in the same level as the child, "You, Kotono will have to fight for your brother… He cannot fight because he is sick…Go now… comfort him!"

The gentle order made Kotono slowly slid the door to Takeo's bedroom and went to her brother. Takeo sat up in his bed, "I'm sorry… It's Onii-san's fault… that you may have to fight…"

Takeo enveloped his little sister into a hug, "Kotono… Onii-san wants to protect you but I can't!"

Kotono woke up, recalling her past. She was so young back there, not fully understanding the whole meaning but now she knew what her sensei meant… She saw a Kuroko walking by and remembering her sensei's words: Just like your Onii-san, Kuroko have no Mojikara…

The same Kuroko was carrying a vase, he tripped and fell, breaking the vase. The incident made the kuroko feel useless. So this is what it's like when Onii-san has no Mojikara…

Kotono walked over to him and took out her Sodophone to write the character Repair. It immediately brought all the broken pieces back together and it looked as good as new. The Kuroko thanked her before going back doing his chores.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!"

The young samurai quickly went to the main hall but hid in the corner to find Kenta and Chokichi towering over Takeru.

"You told her that it is fine to go and battle Leiko alone?" Chokichi asked with his hands on his hips.

Tanba quickly went in front of Takeru, "You two! You are so disrespectful to Honorable Head!"

Kenta and Chokichi pushed Tanba away, "You have no idea what Leiko is like!" Kenta stated as looked at Takeru in the eyes, "Why?" He grabbed Takeru by the shoulders, "Why did you tell my cousin that it is fine to battle Leiko?"

"I…I…" Takeru was unsure of how to begin because he was stunned, he was used to ordering people around and not being ordered.

Mamosuke grabbed Kenta while Raiko grabbed Chokichi and stated gently, "Calm down! Stop interrogating Tono-sama!"

"WE OBJECT TO THIS BATTLE!" Chokichi and Kenta declared loudly.

Mamosuke whacked the two of them with the back of his katana, "Kotono can fight! You guys seriously need to stop being over-protective over Kotono!"

Kenta noticed his cousin in a corner, he dragged her into the main hall, "So what is your plan?"

"Erm…" Kotono did not really have a plan in mind.

"You don't have a plan?" Chokichi asked, feeling freaked out.

"Here's the deal, we kill Kotono… Make it look like it was an accident! That way, we can make Kotono avoid the battle with Leiko!" Kenta suggested.

"You guys want to kill me?" Kotono pointed at herself.

Chokichi hit her head, "No silly! Of course we won't kill you! We want to give Leiko the impression that you are dead…"

"But you're not! We will make you a boy and call you Koko! Do you have cash with you, Chokichi?" Kenta asked.

Chokichi nodded, "We'll take money off our family bank account, bribed the police to change the documents and our identification…"

"Leave Japan for Paris and begin a whole new life!" Kenta stated.

Mamosuke and Raiko hit the two of them with the back of the katana, "You two and your wild imagination!"

Chokichi and Kenta rubbed the part where they were hit, "It was a good plan though!" Chokichi defended.

"But you want to leave your life just like that?" Kotono asked.

Kenta and Chokichi realized what Kotono was saying but did not choose to reply. Kotono continued, "So is it far for us to leave Mamosuke and Raiko to fight the Gedoushu alone?"

"That is true…" Chokichi answered.

"Kenta-niisan, don't you want to be the top French chef in Tokyo? Chokichi, don't you want to study computer graphics?" Kotono asked.

The both of them nodded but they stubbornly stated, "BUT WE STILL OBJECT!"

"Kenta-niisan… Chokichi… I'm grateful that you guys are my best friends… and we always do stuff together: train, cook, play games and fight the Gedoushu… but battling Leiko is something I need to do on my own!" Kotono stated.

"You are going to get killed! Leiko comes from a samurai family!" Kenta said.

"She says she is going to kill people if I don't show up…" Kotono spoke.

"That's a good point…" Chokichi stated.

"That's why… Is it okay for those people to be killed by Leiko? Especially those people who are civilians, people who are unprotected and people we don't know…" Kotono asked.

Kenta sighed as he looked at his cousin, "Why do you want to battle Leiko alone so much?"

"Because I don't want to live in fear, knowing that Leiko wants to kill my mum… If I can face this fear and get over it, I will know that I can protect her!" Kotono reasoned.

"What if you really get killed…" Chokichi asked.

"You're invited to my funeral?" Kotono asked.

Kenta shook his head while Chokichi tapped Kotono's head, he grabbed her shoulders and said, "Remember… when she strikes, make sure that she does not attack you every single time… You will end up defending yourself and will not have a chance to attack back."

"I know…" Kotono nodded when Chokichi gave his approval, he turned to look at Kenta, who was sulking, "I still do not like this… but…" He took out his bandana from his pocket and wrapped it around Kotono's left wrist.

"Your lucky bandana?" Chokichi asked.

Kenta stated, "Works all the time! Remember… Move according to your situation in the battle!"

"Hai! Arigatou!" Kotono bowed.

Mamosuke and Raiko smiled. "Kotono… it's time!" Hikoma stated.

Kotono nodded and made her way out of the exit. The Shinkengers and Samurais sat down in the main hall, "Would she survive the battle?" Raiko asked her brother.

"All we can do… is wait and believe." Mamosuke said, giving his younger sister a reassuring smile.

~*~*~*~*~*
The clear turquoise ocean is peaceful, with waves gently coming in and splashing on the shore. Leiko stood there, allowing the calm waves to wash her feet and taking in the scenery of mountainous landscape. She heard footsteps and smirked, "At last…"

She turned and saw Kotono, "Let's begin, shall we?"

"Before we start, I want to say if I win this battle, you will leave my mother alone." Kotono took out her Sodophone.

Leiko took out her katana from her shamisen as purple fire emitted off her body, transforming to her Gedou form, "Of course, but if you lose… you will never see the daylight ever again!"

Accepting death is the key to become a true samurai… Kotono recalled her sensei's words. "IPPITSU SOUJOU!" Kotono wrote the character Fire, allowing to henshin.

She drew her Shinkenmaru and walked closer to her opponent, both stood in their stance. Leiko gripped her katana more firmly as she pointed the blade towards Kotono. The waves splashed, washing over the sediments on the shore.

Kotono took the first move by striking and the battle began. They both exchanged strikes, Leiko lunged forward to deliver a heavy strike but Kotono deflected as she turns around, causing the two of them to face backwards, "Why do you have a grudge against my mother?" Kotono asked.

Leiko laughed, "It's because of you!" She turned to thrust her katana at Kotono but the blade was stopped by her Shinkenmaru, Leiko glared at her with a look of pure hatred, "Because of you…I lost the most precious thing to me!"

Both of them exchanged more strikes, "What is the most precious thing you lost?" Kotono asked, defending Leiko's hits.

Leiko continued, "Love…I lost him to her! Your mother had to give birth to you!" She swiftly swung her katana but Kotono caught the blade with her Shinkenmaru.

"I could have been a mother to Takeo…" Leiko smirked. Kotono was astonished by the statement as her grip on her Shinkenmaru loosened a bit, "If your mother had not come into the picture!" The Gedou pushed up her katana, so she was free and began to strike more.

"I would have been a great mother…That's what he told me! He would leave me for her!" Leiko stated. Kotono did not believe this declaration.

Their weapons collided once more and Kotono muttered, "For him to make a person like you believe that you are capable of being a mother, it must be a frightening love…"

Leiko rushed forward which caused Kotono to run backwards to the sea, Kotono traded more slashes from Leiko who tripped her, causing her to fall. Kotono rolled over as Leiko tried to stab her but misses.

As Kotono got up, Leiko used this opportunity to slice Kotono's eye but her helmet protected her, the cut caught Kotono off-guard, I could had lost if I did not henshin. She moved backward, trying to shake off her insecurities and Leiko stated, "Yes… My love is great enough to be frightening…"

"So frightening to a point that you fell to a Gedou?" Kotono asked as she gripped her Shinkenmaru. Leiko paused.

Kotono delivered more strikes, stating, "If you loved him, you should have treated him as the most precious thing in the world! You falling to a Gedou means that you had abandoned everything in life!"

This made the Gedou put more strength in her sword work, "I LOVE HIM!" she declared angrily.

Suddenly Kotono had a plan forming in her mind as she continued, "I can't believe when a person like you, speaks of love… That is not love!"

"Your mother said the very same thing!" Leiko said with her voice, pure of venom. She swung her katana with more force, "HE LOVES ME! We have an eternal love!"

"If he loves you, he would have married you the moment he divorce my mother!" Kotono stated the fact, and it made Leiko angrier, "Shut up!" Leiko swung her katana several times and was about to slice again but Kotono turned and squatted with her Shinkenmaru laid flatly against her back. Leiko's katana ended up sliding across Kotono's Shinkenmaru, making Leiko go in front of Kotono.

"So everything was a lie, he didn't love you, did he?" Kotono asked as she stood to her full height. Leiko turned around, insisting "He loves me! Unlike your mother, who marries him because he is the Shiba Head! You mother must be a gold-digger then!"

The new accusation surprised her, "That's not true! My mother is not like that!"

"Yes she is!" Leiko accused.

Here's my chance… Kotono thought, she swung her Shinkenmaru upwards but Leiko shoved her katana, piercing through Kotono's right shoulder.

~*~*~*~*~*
Kenta looked up from the book he's reading, with shock. Everyone noticed his sudden movement.

"Kenta-san, Daijoubu?" Kotoha asked.

Wordlessly, Kenta took out the laptop and was beginning to type furiously, "Daigoyou! Search the co-ordinates for Kotono…"

The screen released a beam of light, producing an image of Daigoyou, "Searching for Kotono…"

"EH?" The real Daigoyou asked as he flew and stopped besides Kenta. "It's okay… This is the computerized version of you." Mako stated kindly.

Chokichi came from the bathroom and saw Kenta programming the search, he went up to him, "What's wrong?"

Kenta looked at his best friend, "I got a bad feeling that Kotono is hurt…"

"No way!" Raiko stood up. Mamosuke tapped his chin lightly while thinking, "Should we go and search for her then?"

"Let's go!" Kenta said once the computerized version of Daigoyou revealed Kotono's location.

"kannanmisaki?" Takeru asked, the Samurais turned and looked at him, "I know that place!"

"Tono! Please lead us there!" Mamosuke asked politely. Takeru nodded. Everyone made their way to that location, with Takeru leading the way.

I hope we're not too late Kotoha thought.

They reached the destination but they saw no one in sight. Raiko bent down to pick up something from the shore. "Kenta-san, is this your bandana?"

Kenta took his lucky bandana which is now wet. Chokichi asked, "She couldn't have lost… could she?"


Hey! Sorry for the late update~ I promise you that Kotono's story will make sense in the upcoming chapters~
Hope you enjoyed it! :D