Chapter Twenty-Five:
"The Raw Truth"
They were immortal…That's what Kayura had announced to them all, having finished a long discussion with the elders. Angry as to what was happening to her charges the Lady Ancient had taken it upon herself to get some sort of answers to this mess which would soon turn into a catastrophe if something wasn't done.
That was true; after Sailor Universe's startling revelation, Kayura had gone to the elders demanding information on everything the Scout had told them (without implicating the warrior in anyway). This way when Kayura was asked where the information came from, she could answer honestly…It would not look too good if the Lady Ancient was caught outright lying, the Scouts might take it as an act of hostility or something bizarre like that.
Ryo let out a sigh, Kayura had also told them who and what the Great Council was, and why it had been disbanded, though several of its members still existed. Though she had been unable to find out how many there were and who they were. He gave her credit for trying though, and that's all he could do at this point being far too tired to do anything else.
For some reason he felt his chest tighten and anger course through his veins whenever the term 'Great Council' was used, and even with the brief overview the Lady Ancient gave them…Well he couldn't help but question why he was reacting this way.
The Great Council was comprised of maybe hundreds of beings, including the elders…Some were human, others only partly, and the rest were something different altogether.
It was the Great Council's job to make laws, and to prevent any of those gifted by the elements, planets, and/or seasons from gaining too much power. It was also their job to ensure great evils would not threaten to overtake this galaxy.
From what the warriors could figure, Akemliek had thrown a rather large wrench in that plan, causing the members of the council to look to the chosen ones (or the Elders as they were now called) to solve the problem. When they couldn't, the responsibility fell to their descendants…Ryo let out a sigh closing his eyes slightly; maybe that's what was bothering him, the fact that they hadn't really had much of a choice in the matter.
Wildfire's bearer snorted he knew better than that, that wasn't the reason for his anger. It was due to the fact that, not only had he and the others failed to destroy Akemliek twice prior, the Great Council had done nothing to aide them. The Council had been so worried about the negative affects the powers of the planets and armors could have on this galaxy, that they instituted so many rules preventing the warriors from ever having a chance at winning.
He couldn't figure out why or how he knew that, Ryo just knew. He also knew that was part of their reason for disbanding, that and the fact someone had called their erroneous ways into question.
He let out a low moan, as he was struck with another headache. It was getting worse; they were coming more frequently and ended up lasting for quite a long time now. Ryo was unsure just how much more of this he could handle before he caved into the pressure being exerted upon his mind and body.
Wildfire's bearer tried to keep his thoughts clear as they were becoming severely muddled, he needed something to focus on…Time, he needed to keep track of the time perhaps that would help some.
How long had it been? Two days since the attack on Kento, yes that was right…And Kayura had visited the elders last night. Ryo closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing, he just needed to calm down that was all. Right now the house was mostly empty; most of the warriors were at work, or out goofing off.
He was in what was dubbed the 'Ronin room' currently, having tried to read something to get his mind off his current worries and fears; he had given up when the headache had hit him full force. He had made his way onto the porch, before the pain hit him again, and he leaned heavily against the door frame.
The Wildfire Ronin tried to tell himself to stay calm, to keep his breathing in check that this pain would too subside…But, the intervals between these 'fits' he'd been having were getting shorter, and there was no denying it.
When he opened his eyes, he was unable to focus and it felt as though the room was spinning around him…Then everything went completely and utterly dark.
She wasn't quite sure why she was here now, maybe because she knew the vast majority of the house's occupants were out, and there was less of a chance she'd get into a confrontation with someone.
Elayne paused, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, as of late all she seemed to be able to do was argue with the Sailor Scouts…On everything. She was tired of their treating her like a porcelain doll, she may be no warrior but she knew how to take care of herself, and was not appreciating their constant poking and prodding.
To be honest, the girl wasn't that happy with the Ronin Warriors either; instead of defending her they went along with the Senshi's plans without much thought. Then again they probably did so just to shut the women up, even Elayne knew how annoying the fickle females could be at times. Still and all, it would be nice if someone took her side on things.
She rolled her hazel-violet eyes, in that case she might as well keep dreaming…The girl doubted very much anyone was going to stand up for her anytime soon. In her own opinion, she could be a bother and a nuisance; and she knew her sarcasm was often imperious…But even with all of that, couldn't someone at least recognize the fact she was her own individual person and that she could be of some help?
"It's not like bringing them all together was my idea," Elayne commented to herself, as she slowly walked up the stairs.
The elders had approached her, after exhausting every avenue available to them, she hadn't been that happy to be used as a last resort. However, she had still offered her services, and after completing the job she barely got a thank-you for it, not to mention she was cast aside like yesterday's newspaper.
Maybe that's why she liked the Seasonals so much, while she was mortal and far weaker than them, they treated her fairly. They did not doubt her ability to take care of herself, and were not afraid to share information with her.
It was sort of amusing to Elayne, the former bad guys trusted her more than those who had been fighting on the side of good from the get-go…Did that make sense to anyone? Or was she the only one lost on the matter?
The girl let out a sigh, having made it to the second floor landing, and then stopped moving all together, as the crystal began to violently chime.
She looked at the ancient treasure in alarm, "What is it, what's wrong?"
It only reacted like that when one of the warriors was in some form of trouble, but who could be in any danger at this time of the day? Kali and Thanos had made it so that most of the fights were at night, when the darkness and cold were to their advantage.
An image briefly flashed in her head, and she momentarily froze trying to clear her mind to identify what it had been. A look of confusion crossed her face as she inquired aloud, "Ryo?"
The crystal gave a louder chime as if to answer her, and Elayne shook off her momentary shock and walked straight to the Ronins room. She knocked only to be polite, and then threw the door open.
"Hey! Ryo, are you even here? Or is this stupid ornament…." Hazel-eyes scanned the room, settling on the limp figure leaning against the door frame.
"What on earth!" She gasped out rushing over, quickly putting her hands on his shoulders in order to shake him awake.
When she got no response, a scowl formed on her face as she checked his forehead, "He has a fever and an exceptionally high one at that…This can't be a good sign."
As she made move to check his pulse to see if it was in anyway abnormal, he opened his eyes and let out a low moan.
"Ryo?" She inquired in a low voice, assuming that he had a headache, "Can you see me, correctly?"
"Huh," He blinked a few times totally lost as to what she meant.
"Dummy, I'm asking you if your vision is off. Is it fuzzy, are you seeing doubles, what?"
The Ronin leader took a deep breath, "My vision is fine, but I get dizzy when I move at all…Guess I'm just light-headed."
Elayne shut her mouth with a snap; she could have so made a comment on that one, but seeing that he was sick she decided it was unfair to pick on him.
At that point White Blaze came bolting into the room, having been out on a walk when he felt his master's distress, and gave a small whine as he nudged Ryo's hand with his nose.
"Hey buddy," Wildfire's bearer acknowledged, as he leaned more heavily against the door and closed his eyes trying to fight off the pain in his head.
The girl frowned after a few minutes of silence passed, then broke it; "It's the armors causing this, isn't it? It's because of the others being how they are."
Ryo let out a sigh, and gave a slight nod, "Dais thinks it's because of the Inferno. Since that armor had no sole guiding virtue, but relied on all five together…The other four virtues probably left some sort of impression on mine. With the guys being out of commission, their virtues are relying on me. Because if anything happens to the guys, the virtues will be lost…Possibly forever, unless they somehow find new bearers."
Elayne bit her lip, "There's got to be a way to keep the virtues from overdoing it, Ryo they'll end up killing you! You have to convince them to knock it off."
"How do you propose I do that?" the Wildfire Ronin demanded in annoyance, though he kept his voice low so as to not aggravate his headache any further.
"Look you managed to convince the armors that either they followed the virtues, or they needed to hit the road; have the armors convince the virtues to stay in line," The girl stated, asking, "If it worked one way, why won't it work the other?"
"They told you about Mukara and the Black Inferno?" He asked in minor amusement.
She shrugged, "I told ya before they told me everything; I became their person to lean on, just because I was 'outside' of the issue but knew very well the subject was real. While anyone and everyone else they told thought it was a joke aside from their families, I knew it wasn't…And while the guys needed to have people to joke around with, they needed someone who could be serious about it too. Plus any idiot would assume there was another armor; there's a yin and a yang to everything…Two parts to the same coin, there can't be balance if there's only one."
Ryo shook his head and suppressed a chuckle, "You think too much. I'll be fine; I doubt I could 'convince' the armors or the virtues if I could even talk to them."
Elayne glowered at him, "I bet if someone other than me had suggested it, you'd actually take the advice."
"Oh no wait it's not that," Ryo began to protest, but she ignored him saying haughtily, "I doubt anyone else would have a problem dealing with this. The virtues are stepping over the line, and need to stop!"
The crystal flashed for a moment, the red embers within it glowing brightly, before it stopped chiming and went silent.
The Wildfire Ronin had felt a strange warmth flow through him, and the minute the humming jewel quieted, the pain was gone.
He opened his eyes and stared at the girl, "Elayne! What did you do?"
"I…" Her face was slightly pale, and she swallowed nervously, "Have no clue and don't think I want to know anyway."
White Blaze let out another whimper, this time rubbing against the girl, brown eyes inquiring as to whether she was all right.
"Fine boy," She answered affectionately scratching the tiger behind his ear, "I guess the crystal took me seriously. 'Bout time somebody did." Elayne got to her feet, offering Ryo her hand.
The young man grasped it, allowing her to help him get to his feet; once standing Ryo went back to leaning against the door, finding his body still ached.
The girl leaned forward, so that she was on her tip-toes, and reached up placing her hand against his forehead; she frowned a little, "Still have a fever, oh well guess the jewelry can't cure illness…"
Ryo quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, glaring at her, "Don't even think about continuing that sentence."
'You're such an old man,' She commented mentally, 'You're no fun anymore!'
He narrowed his blue-eyes at her in annoyance, and sighed heavily through his nose, "Thanks for whatever you did, but what are you doing here?"
She glowered at him once more, having removed his hand and stated icily, "It's my house, I shouldn't need an invitation."
"Hey calm down," The Wildfire Ronin soothed gently, "What happened to ruffle your feathers?"
"Oh my darling cousin that's what," Elayne nearly hissed out, "I hate her, she's such an obnoxious pig. Telling me what I can and can't do, that I shouldn't be here or there. OH! I'd rather deal with Yayoi than put up with her!"
Ryo snorted back a laugh at how the girl made reference to Sage's elder sister, who at times could be very exasperating; "Don't let her get to you."
"That's kind of hard to do when she pulls these arguments in front of the other Scouts, and they take her side!" The girl spat, roughly brushing past him to go out on the porch.
The Ronin leader blinked, and exchanged a look with White Blaze…Ryo had almost forgotten that Elayne's temper was about as bad as his; he was just starting to remember now.
"Hey," He let out a sigh; leave it to her to choose to be emotionally distressed when he wasn't feeling well, "You want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, staring out at the forest; "Forget about it, okay? You have more important things on your mind; the guys are your main concern right now. My problems are my own to deal with, and they're really small compared to what you have to put up with."
"Look the guys are my family, but you were once too," Ryo stated calmly, "As far as I am concerned you still are. And if there's anything I can do…"
She smiled a little, and turned around murmuring, "Well, there is one thing."
"And that is?" He raised an eyebrow, and waited for her to answer.
"Be careful," Elayne murmured quietly, and looked up, "I have this feeling that whatever is wrong with the guys is going to come to a head and soon. I don't know how I know…Maybe it's the crystal…All I know is when it does happen it won't be pretty. I'm worried for you Ryo, I really am."
"I'll be fine," the Wildfire Ronin wasn't as confident as he sounded, but he had to act that way for her sake; if she was worried there was a good reason for it, "Don't stress yourself out over it, all right? We'll figure out what's wrong with them and fix it, I promise."
She gave him a quick hug, momentarily throwing him off-guard, "Thanks, but don't over-due it. If anything happens to you I don't know how the guys will take it, I'm not sure they'd be able to hold together."
"How would you manage?" He teased her with a smirk.
When he said that, she reached up and checked his temperature again, "Yup, you're definitely better now. I'd find someone else to annoy in your place."
She quickly ruffled his hair, and then shot out the door, calling over her shoulder, "Later boys!"
Ryo and White Blaze stared after her, and then exchanged somewhat bewildered looks.
"I forgot she was that moody," Wildfire's bearer sheepishly commented; the majestic tiger merely rolled his eyes in response.
"Tadaima!" Rini cheerfully called bursting through the door, a pre-occupied Elayne a step or two behind her.
The small child paused, a frown on her face, "Another fight?"
The warriors were all spread out in the living room, some being bandaged others just idly sitting there, but each looked up and nodded.
Elayne focused on those around her and she let out a whistle, "Geez, you all are pretty popular, huh? This makes it the fourth night in a row without a break."
Kayura shook her head in amusement, "I don't think it's because we are popular."
Elayne shrugged her shoulders lightly in response, but immediately turned her head in the direction of the five Ronin Warriors.
The Lady Ancient saw this and frowned, with the way the girl had whipped her head…It was almost as though she had sensed something that she didn't like.
Elayne was close to scowling, the feeling she had caught unnerved her to say the least…She wasn't at all comfortable with it, nor with what she had learned no more than a few hours ago. But here, well it was possible she was over-reacting slightly…Her mind had not been at ease since August, when she began seeing things once more.
She had thought she understood why this was happening, had blamed it on the crystal being with Universe for so long…Elayne had figured it was inadvertently allowing her to see the woman's memories. She was starting to see more and more of the fight, but she would always wake-up at the point where Universe shouted 'no.' But now, now with what she had overheard the elders say…She didn't know what to think anymore.
The girl closed her eyes for a moment, and let out a shaky breath willing herself to calm down…There was also the added fact that she was catching more glimpses of the future and for longer periods. What she was seeing was terrifying her, and there was no one she could go to.
Elayne crossed her arms in front of her chest took a deep breath, and stared directly at the Halo Ronin as she inquired, "Why?"
Sage gave a slight shake of his head, coming out of his thoughts to shoot a glare at her, " 'Why' what?"
Elayne quickly bristled, the images playing over in her mind, "Don't play an idiot with me Date, I know you better than that."
The Torrent Ronin gave a low snort, but the girl caught it and turned her gaze to him.
"Same goes for you," she kept her gaze steady, eyes unblinking, "Minna-san! Why are you doing this? Why are you hesitating, do you want the enemy to kill you?"
Rowen shot her a nasty look, "You were watching us?"
"No, but it doesn't mean I haven't seen it," she tossed back at him, hearing the tone of annoyance in his voice.
"It's no concern of yours," the Ronin of Halo finally answered, looking up at her with a scowl on his face.
"Why can't you just say what's wrong?" The girl demanded, changing her tactic slightly, "You're letting this eat you alive, Sage! You all are!"
The four young men had already started walking up the stairs, obviously not enjoying being confronted with this situation…But the girl was not going to let them off the hook so easily.
"Wait!" She shouted at them, emotion tinged throughout her voice, "Why won't you answer? What has gotten you so frightened? Tell me!"
Rowen paused a brief moment, the look in his eyes conveying, 'you wouldn't understand, even if I did tell you.'
Elayne clenched her fists at her sides, and snapped (her temper at its breaking-point), "Samurai Troopers! Stop running away, I demand an answer from you!"
"Mei mei," Kento warned trying to make her see she needed to let the matter drop.
The blonde swordsman glared at the stubborn girl, icily stating, "The reason we won't answer you, is because you don't belong here. This matter doesn't pertain to you."
Elayne stood stock still, the words cutting far deeper than Sage had originally intended…If he only knew. The shock and hurt upon hearing the dreaded words caught her, but she would not let him have the last word…Not with what she had seen, she couldn't let that be the end of it.
"How pathetic, the great and mighty Ronin Warriors, now nothing more than a couple of measly cowards. What a waste."
All she heard was the door to their room slamming shut, for she had ducked down her head to blink back the oncoming tears.
"Wait, they didn't…" Rei began, she had known the girl a while and never before had she seen Elayne so...torn.
The girl held up her hand taking in a trembling breath, "Don't even try it; you don't want me here, either," she walked over to the door and slipped back on her shoes.
"Elayne," Ryo began, having been trying to think of something to say during the previous conversation but coming up blank, "Look you know…"
"Remember what I told you earlier today?" She turned to him, and he could see fear and worry present in her eyes, "It'll happen soon…The foul energy is stronger now. There's no need to try and wave off what was said, they're right."
She walked over to the door and opened it saying with a sigh, "I don't belong here I never did. Meeting some of you was chance; the rest was either an accident or the crystal's doing. I already played the small part I had, but I can't help but feel I should be doing more. But none of you want me around anyway so there's no point in trying, ne?"
The door shut behind her with a soft click, and she paused a moment before walking off the porch into the soft rain that had started to fall.
It matched her mood almost perfectly…She had always liked rain, for some reason it made her feel calmer and slightly better. Elayne bit down on her lip and tried desperately to blink back the oncoming tears, Sage's words echoing in her head.
"You're right Nii-chan," she whispered softly, "I don't belong here."
"So, is this true also then?" Kayura asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Yes," the Ancient answered calmly, "We thought it strange that we actually did find someone to be the link between the warriors."
"At first we blamed it on mere luck, but going over it, how easy it was to put her into the Senshi's lives," Serenity shook her head, "And the fact she knew the Ronins previous to our acquiring our memories…Well, it only makes sense that Elayne is not from this time originally."
Hazel-violet eyes widened in shock, and the girl held her breath as she continued to listen…She had been pacing the forest, it was something she did when she was worried or pre-occupied. She hadn't realized she had gone straight to the clearing where Kaosu and Serenity frequented.
Hearing Kayura talk with the two elders wasn't surprising to her, but the one thing she had heard Serenity say had caused her to stop dead in her tracks…And naturally she wanted to know more. Now, as she listened in, she was starting to regret it.
"We have talked with the little ones, as well as the Time Guardian," the Ancient murmured, "This Elayne was not involved in the past lifetime…She may have existed, but she did not know any of the warriors. However, it is more likely she was transplanted into this time from another one."
"Her purpose here was to fill the large gap breaching the warriors, in order to allow the future a better start. Last time, according to Pluto things were much different, in fact they were worse," Queen Serenity sighed.
"But who would place her here?" Kayura demanded slightly aghast, "Who would do such a thing?"
"The Cimmerian Crystal has been known to act of its own accord before," the Ancient eyed his descendant, "It is very possible it placed her here in order to change what it knew was coming. The crystal might appear an inanimate object but it is as alive as you, it has the knowledge of past, present and future. If it saw a bad end coming, it would change it."
"I thought it was a dark object though?" the Lady Ancient still couldn't understand what she was hearing.
"Though it is dark, it is anything but evil. It has always worked for the good of the universe, not the evil of it," Serenity explained, "If it placed Elayne here, then it did so for a good reason."
"But what now?" Kayura asked softly, "She brought the warriors together, was there for them when they needed her…What will she do now? Will it permit her to live a normal life?"
"That's something we can't answer…"
The girl suddenly shivered as she realized how cold it was outside now, having finished going over what had occurred some six hours before. She inwardly berated herself for leaving her coat in the house…But there was no point in going back for it now.
Elayne's whole life had been made up…Or, at least a good part of it. She had no memory prior to meeting Ryo and his father at the age of three, which meant someone or the crystal, had gone through an awful lot of trouble modifying memories to place her here.
Her ambitions? Were those even real? Somehow she couldn't find an answer to that question, and she wasn't sure she wanted one.
Her friends, rather her older brothers…Those two things she knew were real, even if the crystal had forced her to know them in the first place. But what was killing her, what made everything hurt so much more than it already did? It was the fact that she couldn't help the only family she had in their current predicament; and she hated being completely useless.
If the crystal had thought it so important to make her the link, then why couldn't it have given her the power to do something? She glowered at the jewel for a moment, before staring in alarm and taking another breath.
It hadn't been cold enough for her to see her breath when she had left the house, but now it was. The girl came to a full halt, eyes widening in shock as she realized what was occurring…She could feel the warmth of the jewel around her neck and hear its soft warning, as well as feel a familiar presence.
'Raikken, again,' she thought bitterly having had a run in with them trying to escort Rini back to the property…And then she sensed something she couldn't quite recognize.
'It has to be one of those ice demons,' Elayne swallowed a bit nervously, sliding into a defensive stance, calling, "All right I sense you, come out."
Kali let out a chuckle, materializing in front of the young human a smirk on her face, "Well, what do we have here?" She noticed the way the girl had taken up a ready position, and chuckled.
"What do you want?" Elayne growled low in her throat, eyes hatefully narrowing at the form.
Kali gave a smug grin, "My brother and I are very curious about you. The elders used you as the link, and you seem to possess the rare jewel, the Cimmerian Crystal. Not to mention the fact you deal with the Raikken we send after you."
"So you're behind that?" Elayne scowled, "I thought the clowns were just doing it of their own accord."
"We are now having you watched," Kali gave that malicious smile of her's, "You are a person of interest to us. Though right now our main focus is the warriors, don't think we won't deal with you too. You are on our list."
"You came here to threaten me?" The girl was not impressed, "Tell me something, what did you do to my oniichans?"
"Oh I would be more worried about you," The ice demonness smirked, drawing her sword.
'What do I do?' The girl bit her lip, keeping emotion out of her face like she had been trained to do, 'I can't even hope to compete against her. She'll kill me before I can try to make a move.'
'Don't panic, I'll help you,' a voice broke in softly.
Ryo stared at the door for a few minutes, before turning angry eyes to the stairwell…He quickly got up said stairs, and paced down the hall throwing open the door and barging into the room seething.
The Halo Ronin looked up at the sudden intrusion, a mortified expression on his face, "I didn't mean for it to come out that way."
Wildfire's bearer only slightly calmed down, seeing that the man regretted his earlier words; "Why say anything at all then?"
"I don't want her here Ryo," Sage stiffly stated, "By hanging around us she places herself in danger."
Rowen sighed a little, "Ya the enemy might see her and go after her, we can't take that risk."
"You should have told her that then," Ryo stated coolly, "Instead of trouncing on her like that. You really cut into her."
"We know that," Torrent's bearer broke in, "But if we had done it kindly, do you think she would have listened?"
"Probably not," The Wildfire Ronin smiled, "It's Elayne we are talking about, but you should have at least tried. She left here in tears you guys."
The four exchanged anxious glances with one another, obviously they had not intended for it to go that far.
A knock on the door caught their attention, and Rini entered the room slightly out of breath.
Kento looked at the girl and frowned, "What's the matter, kiddo?"
"One of you has to go after Elayne!" She blurted out, standing up straight.
Elayne froze not recognizing the voice at first, but soon she placed it with that of the one from her dreams, 'Universe? You help me, why?'
'Because I could use your help, but that's not important at this moment, ' the warrior responded, 'I am aware of the fact that the crystal gives you access to my memories, therefore you have access to my fighting knowledge. Close your eyes and concentrate.'
The girl did as she was told, feeling an odd sensation roll over her…
Kali chuckled, "Oh you're going to let me kill you? How kind!" She then launched herself forward, and made a swipe with her sword.
"Not a chance, I'm not giving in to you!" Elayne snapped, opening her eyes and jumped to the side, then twisted her body to avoid the follow-up strike. She performed a back hand-spring to put distance between herself and Kali, and let out a shaky breath.
'Good!' Universe praised, 'You definitely have something. Keep your guard up, she'll use any trick to catch you. I'm trying to make someone aware of the fact you're in danger…I'm not having any luck.'
'I can hold out for fifteen minutes at the most,' Elayne told the Scout, asking 'Why do you need my help?'
'You and I are linked through the Cimmerian Crystal, what I've seen and felt, you are able to experience now,' The Sailor commented quietly, 'In the same way I can see what you have. I want you to be my eyes and ears, I can't often keep tabs on the warriors it's too risky, but if I were to do it through someone else…'
'You'd have less risk of being caught,' Elayne finished ducking under Kali's sword, and rolling out of the line of fire.
The girl let out a bitter chuckle, 'Sure why not? If the crystal shoved me into this lifetime, I might as well make the most of it.'
The Scout was silent for a few moments, either she didn't know that fact or she did and knew Elayne wasn't supposed to; 'Thank you, I am in your debt.'
Kali stopped suddenly eyeing the girl, "Well, it's been fun, but I must leave the Raikken to tend with you. My Master awaits me." In moments she was gone, and the Raikken that had been lingering in the shadows came forth.
In her over-exhausted and injured state, Elayne couldn't hope to cope with one Raikken let alone the three that were now advancing on her…She was really beginning to regret getting up that morning.
She tried to keep herself calm, dropping down to her knees snatching the knife she kept hidden in her right boot with her left hand…She quickly charged, jamming the blade up underneath the Raikken's helmet, piercing where a human's throat would've been.
Elayne then pushed off of it to land behind one of the others, and barely managed to catch her breath before finding herself on the defensive. A roar took her slightly off guard, but she was quick to recover it as a bundle of white-and-black striped fur tackled the Raikken in front of her.
The girl was quick to perform a backward somersault to get out of his way, as well as that of the last Raikken.
White Blaze quickly slashed at the one he had pinned, then moved and placed himself in-between Elayne and the remaining enemy.
"At least someone still cares about whether I live or die," the girl remarked breathlessly, "Thanks boy."
'You're welcome,' he rumbled out, eyes narrowing venomously at his opponent; he gave another angry roar and then charged. However, this Raikken would not go down so easily…It was of a higher rank, and it would take more than just brute strength to beat it.
As it struck out at him, Blaze dodged and then whirled sending it clattering to the ground with a swift stroke of his paw.
"Rini, the way we handled the situation was harsh," Rowen murmured, "But, we can't have Elayne hanging around, it isn't safe."
"I don't care about that," the child gritted out in annoyance, "No one downstairs would even try to listen to me. Elayne's hurt, someone needs to check on her!"
"What?" The five young men asked in unison.
Rini sighed heavily through her nose silently thankful someone had decided to listen, "On our way back, a Raikken showed up…It caught me off-guard and Elayne ended up shielding me. Her left shoulder took the brunt of the blow, and got completely tore up! We were late in getting here because we stopped by the Estate and she changed her clothes; that's why she's wearing a darker shirt, so none of you would notice incase the wound bled through."
"I don't believe her," Ryo growled low in his throat.
The girl looked at the Wildfire Ronin, confused by the reaction. So she sought further to explain things, "She didn't want you to worry; that's all. Elayne's been dodging the Raikken for a while, so she's used to getting hurt. According to what she told Hotaru and myself…Well, they've been following her since she met up with the Elementals."
The Strata Ronin blinked in confusion, "And all this time she hasn't said anything to anyone of us?"
Rini shrugged her shoulders, "She said it was her job to protect the Cimmerian Crystal since its previous owners were gone, therefore she was willing to deal with anyone that tried coming after it. She didn't think it was fair to involve any one else; especially since you all have had the fate of the world to worry about."
"Plus, it's not like they can kill her…The Cimmerian Crystal will only respond to those that are blood-related to Universe's family. Elayne's the last one left in the blood-line, so if they killed her the crystal would be worthless."
The five young men were quiet for a few minutes trying to digest the new information they had just received.
Many thoughts were running through their heads, but the one thing they could not willingly accept is the fact the girl had never told them she was being hunted; nor could they comprehend the fact that she had been dodging the demons since she was ten-years-old.
"I'll go and check on her," Ryo muttered shaking his head to clear it. Before he could move, he abruptly turned his attention to the window having detected negative energy, "What the…"
With what came next, everyone in the house became alarmed; for a familiar voice screamed out in alarm and panic, "White Blaze!"
So Kali had masked her presence and that of the Raikken, and gone for the single person involved with the warriors that couldn't adequately defend herself; Elayne.
The only one to catch on was the tiger; and now the warriors could only hope that they weren't too late to be of help.
Elayne was breathing hard, having barely managed to avoid having her head chopped off. Kali had formed a beam of dark energy in her palm and then shot it at the tiger…The demonness had only pretended to slip off, she'd been watching and waiting the entire time.
Now that the white tiger was out cold, that left Elayne on her own...Kali had no intentions of killing the girl, and she really didn't enjoy torturing innocent people…But this person was tied to the warriors, meaning if Kali hurt her, she'd hurt them too.
Kali could find no better way to prove how useless those inflected with her spell were, than to have them turn on someone who cared for their well-being and have that someone get injured because of the cold words. She had been waiting for such an altercation to occur between the Ronins and the girl, and now that it had she was very pleased.
'They heard you,' Universe murmured, doing as much as she could…The warrior could only do so much, without directly intervening…At this point, the girl was in need of direct intervention.
'I know, but that's not good enough,' Elayne panted, 'I'm not going to last more than five minutes! It's two against one here with Kali's cheating!'
'You're just going to have to try.'
Suddenly a thought struck her, and Elayne berated herself for not thinking of it before. There was one reason why Kali and the Raikken could not enter the house, or come too close to it…Spells had been laid on the property and the surrounding area centuries ago to ward off demons, and with the jewel around her neck she could all too easily access and use them now.
Elayne's eyes slipped shut and she concentrated, the Cimmerian Crystal easily took over from there. With a violent chime and flash of red light, it activated the power that up until this point had lain dormant and untouched.
Once the barrier was instated pure light sprang up from the ground causing the Raikken to disintegrate, and Kali to teleport away…From here on in the boundary surrounding both mansion and estate would stay activated, not allowing the Raikken or ice demons close enough to cause innocents harm.
Elayne went crashing to her knees, if she wasn't tired before she was past being spent at this point…As the adrenaline faded it was replaced with the fear that should've overtaken her before…The fear that she could've been killed.
But she was quick to push it aside and bury her face into White Blaze's fur the moment he got over to her, "Thanks."
'Are you all right?' the tiger was worried, it was present in his face when she pulled back to study him.
"I'm not hurt, but I'm not all right either," she offered the cat a wry grin; "It hasn't been a very good day."
'Agreed, I don't think that it has been,' White Blaze chuckled before rubbing against her again.
Elayne was prepared to say something else, but a darkened scowl quickly crossed her features, and she muttered, "Great, the peanut gallery has arrived."
This was in reference to the several people calling out her name in worried tones…She took a deep breath and calmed herself down; she was hurt, angry and exhausted and if she wasn't careful she was going to blow-up at the warriors.
"Are you all right?" Kayura inquired softly, looking around for the enemy even though she could sense nothing.
The girl sighed through her nose, "I'll live this time." Elayne drew herself up slowly, and managed to stand, her breath having finally returned.
Ryo looked at the girl worriedly, "Elayne, what happened?"
"Oh I don't know," she murmured out voice dripping with anger and sarcasm, "Would any of you happen to know a skimpily-dressed ice demonness? And if you do, was that also one of the things you decided I didn't need to know?"
"Elayne…" Cye began in a soft voice.
The girl glared at him heatedly, "Save it! I don't care what you have to say, you've already told me to take a hike. I was in the process of doing so, before that idiot intruded. So if you guys don't mind, I'll get going."
"Hold on," Lita broke in quickly, "Just relax, okay? What did you do to get her to leave?"
"Yes, and there were Raikken too…" Michelle brought up, watching in surprise as the girl picked up a dagger and placed it back in her boot.
"Blaze took care of most of it," Elayne responded, looking back at them from over her shoulder, "All I did was activate the barrier; it's been here for centuries. The only thing is that it extends forty-feet out from the house on all sides; it's a bit more with the estate but not much. You go past that point, and it cannot protect you."
"Rini said you had a clash with Raikken before," Rowen brought in quietly.
Elayne winced and turned completely around to face them; did he really find it necessary to blurt that out in front of everyone?
"Elayne?" Aurora asked slightly in alarm, "Is that true? If it is, if they're coming after you again…"
"Orey! Shut-up," the girl shot her friend a scandalous look, they had discussed this! The Ronins and other Senshi didn't need to know about the issues that she and the Elementals had encountered with the Raikken previously. "Kali admitted to me that while I'm not of great importance right now, I am a person of interest."
Callista frowned deeply, "That's still not good."
"It's better than dealing with the rogue Raikken," Elayne fired back, adding, "I'm not staying here so you all can keep a hawk-eye on me. I'm a big girl and can handle myself; I don't want or need you to baby-sit me."
"What are you being so hostile for?" Rei demanded, the words that were coming out of Elayne's mouth were like pure venom.
The girl let out a sigh dropping the façade she'd been hiding behind, and murmured softly, "Because the last thing you all need is something else to protect. You've enough problems as it is, you don't need me here. I'm nothing more than a nuisance as it is."
"That's not true!" the Ronin of Wildfire protested.
Kayura held up her hand for silence, effectively cutting off any retort Elayne might have had.
"You and I need to talk," the Lady Ancient had thought it strange for the girl to be acting this dejected. Sage's words had been harsh, but it shouldn't have bothered her this much. Not unless she had overheard Kayura's earlier conversation with the elders; and the woman was starting to think the girl had heard everything.
Elayne let out a sigh through her nose, and surrendered if only momentarily, "Fine." The girl rounded on her heel and stiffly walked back to the mansion, White Blaze immediately at her side.
Ryo frowned as he watched this, as an image of a woman with ebony-and-silver hair and a black tiger at her side came to his mind's eye. Yet they were walking away from wherever it was, not towards. He shook his head slightly; closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again…The image was gone.
A memory of the past had brushed across his senses; even though he did not realize it at the time.