Chapter 20

The door was locked again as it poured. She hated the rain, her mother always kept her in the rain when she was late from school. It was because she stopped to see Rowen, but her Mother was so unreasonable about the boy she loved. She shivered as the cold rain hit her and she sunk to her knees and watched the clouds pass above which dumped buckets of rain on her small fragile body. She was gonna freeze to death one day and that would show her mom. What a terrible a woman she was to have for a mom and her loving father was blind to her actions because he loved her. She lowered her head as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Don't cry little one."

She looked up and saw a man wearing an old monk's outfit. He must have been from the rural areas because he wore geta and a farmer's hat too. He carried a beautiful staff in his hand and knelt down to her, and said, "the rain is only water."

She wiper her tears on her wet clothes and looked at the old man, "it's not the water, sir. My mom left me out here."

"I see, does she mean you ill?"

She nodded, "she hates me."

"No mother could hate such a beautiful girl," he said as he knelt down to her. She couldn't see his face, but something in her heart told her not to fear him. He pushed the hair out of her face, "what beautiful blue eyes."

"Thank you," she mumbled, "who are you?"

"Just a wanderer," he said as his staff jingled. "Can I tell you a poem child? It may help you in the future."

She nodded as the rain began to slow down, "sure, mister."

"Torch of spirit, sought through Five,

Drinking strength through immortal five,

Darkness prison sheds the light,

Churning beneath a sea of salt,

Burning within a throne of rock,

Floating among the eyes of the ages,

Unmoored in the stream of the sky."

She perked her head to one side as the sun came out and a small bird chirped in a treed, "that's an interesting poem."

"Hm. Glad you thought so," he smiled ever so slightly as the sky turned blue. She could see a blue haired boy running down the block with a young dark haired boy in toe. "Are those your friends?"

"That's Ro and Big Faun."

"Hold onto them, child. They may be more important you than you ever know."

She watched him stand up, she looked at the two boys running two her and she heard a loud chine. She looked back and the old man was gone. Rowen and Kento smothered her in a hug and she laughed as she pulled away from them, her clothes were soaked.

Kento grabbed her hand, "come on, Mama has some clothes for you laid out. She wants you to come to dinner."

Rowen pushed her after him, and whispered in her ear, "did she hurt you this time?"

She shook her head and held Rowen's hand in hers as Kento pulled them along. They always knew when she was in pain, or when her mother would cause her pain. She loved them both.

'HOSHI!'

she groaned at the voice that interrupted her thoughts and was looking up at Mia and White Blaze. The tiger licked her cheek and she mumbled, "what..."

Kayura beamed, "she's alright!"

Hoshi starred at the girl and sat up. The city had gotten dark and she could see how empty it was. There was a dark gate ahead of them and she realized that the Nether Realm had somehow been summoned. She could see Meep sitting on an empty cop car and she complained, "why is that the metal heads always take the normies!"

"They feed off their energy," kale hissed and she stuck out her tongue.

Hoshi rubbed her head, the sounds of bullets seemed distant now but she wasn't so sure that it was the sounds that left her rattled. She rubbed her head and looked at Mia who asked, "your PTSD gets in the way a lot."

"MOM," she said she got to her feet but she noticed that the Mansion was just a crater. She gasped and turned back, "what the hell happened?"

"Why you were catching your beauty sleep the whole world went to hell," said Kale. He looked in the distance and saw a shimmer and smiled, "well, at least Dais and Sekh are here."

"Where are the ronins," she asked as she turned to Mia.

Mia sighed, "probably returned to their places of power."

"Yamano-kun?"

"He vanished as well," Kayura said as she looked up at the gate. "I don't see a castle. I wonder who is on the other side."

Mia saw movement in the crater and saw it was Shark. She got on her feet immediately and as White Blaze growled. Howhi saw Kale and Kayura head towards Dais and Sekh in the opposite direction and Meep jumped to hold her hand as the woman in blue fatigues sat up. Her helmet cracked and dark hair cascaded free. Mia gasped as she saw the young woman's face, "Ru...Runa?"

Hoshi frowned, "you know her?"

Mia ignored her and ran for the girl, "Runa?"

The woman looked at her suspiciously, "how...do you know my real name?"

Mia hugged her immediately and saw that woman honestly didn't recognize her. "You don't remember anything do you?"

The woman shook her head, "I don't remember much before Hare."

Mia looked at the girl whose hair had been cut to anward shaven cut on one side. "Why were you working for her?"

Runa rubbed her head, "she's the only who ever cared for me."

Hoshi snorted, "my mom, cared?"

Runa looked at the girl and was amazed at how unsimilar her daughter looked. She squinted and said, "she saved me from my death, and took care of me til I was well again."

"Great, the biggest assassin out there was made by my mom," she sighed as she rubbed her temple. She looked down at Meep, "by the way, how are you alive?"

"Miracle," Meep beamed and Hoshi nodded.

Seiza asked, 'do you believe in miracles.'

'No,' she replied quietly as she knelt down to the rabbit girl. She hugged her tightly, "I'm glad you're okay."

Meep wrapped her arms around the girls neck and whispered, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled as she held her head. She really wasn't and Seiza called her out, 'you're lying again.'

'Rowen just shot my Mom. What do you expect?'

'Get over it.'

Hoshi saw Dais and Sekh approaching with the other two warlords and she groaned, she hated dealing with them together. Kayura looked at the rabbit child and said, "good thing you're alive, Kannon."

Meep nodded as she hid behind Hoshi as Sekh starred her down. Hoshi scolded, "stop scarring her, Snake."

He only grinned, "bunny's are great snacks for snakes."

Meep squeeked and hid behind Hoshi as she rubbed her brow, "look we don't have time for nonsense like this."

"Indeed," Dais said looking up at the newly formed Nether gate. "I am assuming that the ronins are resting?"

"I guess so," Hoshi shrugged. "I don't even know what that means."

Kayura said lightly, "they have returned to the places the Ancient One tied their armors too, it happens in great moments of peril. It recharges them."

"Like batteries," Hoshi interpreted only to get a snort from Seiza mentally.

Kale rolled his eyes as he saw Mia helping Shark over to them, White Blaze happily circling their feet and almost tripping them. Sekh asked, "it's that assassin you were talking about?"

Hoshi nodded and crossed her arms, "yeah..."

Hoshi sighed, it had been a long weekend. Presumably even longer now that the nether realm was invading reality again. She had never really dealt with the Nether realm other than Seiza and Kayura. So she wasn't sure what to expect other than Kento's stories of bucket brains like the one that had interrupted her class that fateful day. It all made her head hurt.

Meep tugged on her hand, "miss hoshi. "

She looked down at the child who pointed up at the clouds with a tiny delicate finger. The rest of the warlords came to her side and seiza hissed, 'talpa's castle.'

Hoshi knew no good would come of having it return to existence. Dais touched her shoulder lightly and she flinched. She had enough of people touching her for one day and he made her skin crawl. She could never tell if he was on her side or was trying to kill her. He always was so hard to read. She looked at him with weary eyes, "look obviously you're not a one man army."

He nodded at her realization, "that, i am not. "

"I cant guarantee she guarantee can make you all new armors. "

Kayura asked with hope in her voice, "wait. The izanagi chose a new bearer. How?".

"I guess owari couldn't digest it," she said and seiza grumble at the jest.

Sekh snickered at her comment with a hiss of joy in his voice and added, "good. Then i can really hunt those wolves. "

Meep hugged her leg as Shark and Mia approached, she was far from the holy entity that she first met. Hoshi snickered, "good of you to join us, shark. "

The woman was expressionless with dark eyes as she said, "good thing i stopped Falcone, isn't it, kitten?"

"You didn't have to kill him," hoshi complained. "He was off his meds. "

"Your mom did that, I was just following orders. I assume you know what it is to do that still?"

Hoshi's eyes narrowed at the thought, and turned away so she wouldn't strangle the woman and decided to focus on the subject at hand. "Mia, the izanagi has chosen a new owner. I think it would be best to make them some armors just in case. "

Kayura smiled lightly in annoyance, "since I can't trust the ancient ones staff reliably. "

Mis rubbed her temple, "is it Raleigh Smith?"

"Yeah and we're gonna have to talk about this digging into my past thing later," she huffed as she looked back at Shark. "You're still on my shit list for Pakistan."

"But we never crossed paths?"

"No, but your actions cause a lot of shit."

"Oh," she paused with a smirk. Mia looking at her with worry, this wasn't the sweet but overzealous Runa she once knew. "And Tabul didn't, Kitten?"

Hoshi took Meep's hand and lifted her on to White Blaze's back as she ignored her further. She knelt to the tiger and whispered, "you keep her safe."

"Shall we be on our way ," asked Dais impatiently.

She watched the group start walking into the desolate city together and she felt a chill on her neck. She looked up the castle and felt someone watching her but no one was within her sight. Seiza said, 'you're feeling Ameno. '

Hoshi quietly replied as she followed the group, 'Ameno wants my armor doesn't he?'

'I suppose he wants all armors. '

'Well he's got a group of bad asses to deal with.'

'Hm. Somehow i think you're a lot more dangerous than i was when i was alive. '

'A lot more angry too. '

The group was walking far ahead of her now and she was fine with that, although strategically she knew it was dumb. She needed a private moment with Seiza who said, 'I'm sorry, by the way. Both of our lives were at risk. If we die then there's full out war.'

'I understand but it's not that. '

'Then?'

'I really do love both of them.'

Seiza was quiet but then asked, 'then why did you choose hardrock?'

'I felt i had to choose one then because of all we went through.'

'And?'

Hoshi physically sighed, 'and I felt that you were more likely to be okay with him, considering Rowen.'

'You mean the Yomi thing,' Seiza asked and she could feel Hoshi silently agree. 'Geez, that's what you've been conflicted with. Your bosses really taught you how to conceal your emotions and feelings didn't they.'

'It was in case I was captured, they could torture information out of me.'

'That's macabre.'

She only snorted at the woman's comment as she quickened her pace. "What I wouldn't give for a machine gun."

There was a large zap of lightning between her in the group and she was already cursing her decision of walking slower than they were. The smoke cleared and she saw a particularly bizarre armor. It was Ameno alright, only he could make armors other than Izanagi and this one felt of energy and she could feel her hands shake as Owari stirred. The armor looked old, and was built like a dark green tank. The armor had thick helmet with a sharp gnarly face with a long whip like whip attached to the side of the armor. Around the neck of the armor was thick strand of a hundred beads in a deep crimson, and on the back of the shell like back there was a crest that read 'North'.

The warrior snickered in a deep garbled voice as course as the debris surrounding the as the gate opened with a swift waft of wind, "welcome to the void."