Disclaimer: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers and all characters in the proceeding story from the television and Original Animated Video (OAV) series, (GaiDen, The Legend of Kikoutei, Message) are the property of Sunrise Animation/Nagoya TV/Sony Entertainment. This story is for entertainment purposes only. However, storyline and other characters, unless otherwise noted, are the property of (Crazy) Cookie. Do not copy or plagiarize.
A/N: First thing's first. Just a few words of appreciation to Maryd and Oreana Hashiba. Many thanks to you guys for posting such nice reviews, especially since this is my first ficcie!
Glossary – to keep in track of the players – YST (surname first, given name follows)/Ronin Warriors:
yoroi / (mystical) armor
Date Seiji / Sage
Hashiba Touma / Rowen
Mouri Shin / Cye
Rei Fuan Shu / Kento
Sanada Ryo / Ryo (duh!)
Yagiyu Nasutei / Mia
Yamano Jun / Yuli
Arago / Talpa
Mukara & Naria: from Legend of Kikoutei
Suzunagi: from Message
Shikaisen: from Gaiden
Luna: from Gaiden (of course)
TIGER MOON
Chapter Four: Wedding Bells
by: DK Cook (Crazy Cookie)
animecookie@attbi.com
"Two against one? Sheesh! Is this all I get?" laughed Shu over the whirling of the bo that ripped through the air. He twirled the deadly 'staff of justice' high above his head like an iron windmill, shifting and gliding its two hundred-pound heft between his palms with deceptively graceful ease.
"Don't worry," Touma snapped back with a smirk. "We'll turn your 'Hard Rock' into mud. And the loser -- oh, by the way, that's going to be you, Shu -- has to pay for eats and drinks for everyone tonight".
"Hey, just because I'm heir of the famous Rei Fuan family restaurant dynasty of both delicious northern and southern-style Chinese cuisine, don't think you guys can take advantage of me", Shu countered. Then with rock-hard emphasis, he whirled the battle staff to an abrupt halt and pinned it securely between the power of his inner arm and upper torso, making it a part of him. "It's also a good thing I brought my appetite, 'cause when I get through giving you two the spankings you deserve, you guys can show what good losers you are and treat me to a beer or three."
"And with your appetite, it's a good thing there are the two of us," grinned Shin. With a quick back-and-forth snapping of his wrist, the shaft of his trident did a sharp clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation while the single-bladed tip twisted into the ground. The sun's rays dazzled between the tripled-mirrored razor blades that slashed the air, creating a small rush of wind and a piercing bell pitch that rung off their razor-sharp edges. "But that doesn't matter because we're not gonna loose. So Shu, what's good on the menu tonight?"
"I'm gonna serve the both of you up as my 'seafood and chicken special'".
Suiko. Tenku. Kongo. The noonday sun was beating hot through the clear and blue summer skies, but when they each summoned up their ki, the very air that touched them darkened and warped in a surreal moment of time and space. Outfitted in their new yoroi, Suzunagi's parting gifts, they remained motionless in their battle stances wide. The boosting of their elemental powers continued to whistle through their bodies and whine through their armament and gather into air. Then with a powerful surge, the forces of their virtues blasted wide open, streaming and igniting the blackened air around them. And it was from that manifestation of their inner spirits that they broke through the boundaries of the mundane and crossed over into the realm of the supernatural, as three of the five elementals became gods in their own right, encircled in his own personal sphere of light.
The pain, the thrill, the sadness and the glory of battle -- it all came rushing back to him like old times, causing Shu to chuckle once more. "Prepare yourselves, my friends!"
And in less than a thought, a vortex of shifting sands roared from a blinding white light, snaring up both Suiko and Tenku within its grip. Already smothering inside the localized sandstorm, their forms dissolved into a blur, as the cyclic force of dirt and gravel blinded their eyes and began to clog their breathing passages.
Not bad, Shu. But I'm not buying dinner tonight! Touma gleamed with a sparkle of admiration that flashed through his thoughts and across the crystal blue of his squinted eyes as tiny particles of golden energy began to draw and crackle in the form of a shaft between his fingertips. Faster than any of the mortal senses can follow, Tenku hauled back his bow in one smooth movement -- and a flying arrow of light is his retort. Ripping apart the sand trap from within, the mystical shaft of energy disappeared straight into the strata, drawing unto itself the surrounding atmosphere. Completing its transformation, a funnel of air smashed back down to earth and dispersed the rest of the sandstorm, while forming a protective barrier around both him and Suiko and sweeping them out of harm's way. Just barely, as a wall of seismic shock waves form to smash them as it ruptured up from the floor of the earth.
A tower of stone and gravel then rumbled up from the ground and gave chase, with Kongo riding the top of its platform, elevating him skyward into the heavens.
"Hah! Don't think you two can get away from me that easily!"
"We're not going anywhere", smiled Shin. "But you are. Can you 'wave' good-bye? Here, let me help you!"
A monstrous serpent of water spiraled wildly around the column of stone and swallowed it up -- pulverizing the column into bits of rock as it shifted its form into a superflash flood. But before the huge waves could crash down over Shu and sweep him off the top of his crumbled pedestal, a barricade of rock shoots up between him and the moving wall of water, allowing Kongo to somersault harmless out of the way. Just as Touma was about to follow up with another power stoke, a familiar, and oh, maybe just "slightly peeved" voice blared from a bullhorn from the inside of a SUV, cutting into the rural air of the Yagiyu estate:
"WHAT IN HEAVEN ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?! ALL RIGHT, THAT DOES IT!! THAT'S ENOUGH! NO MORE TEARING UP MY LANDSCAPE!!!"
Moments later, Nasutei's spanking new SUV drove its four occupants down the paved main road. The air was filled with the gentle chirping of small birds and the whining wings of summer beetles, flying and buzzing between the rows of willow, maple and birch trees and the meadow groves that gave the massive Yagiyu suburban grounds its provincial charm. Transformed back into their civilian clothes, Shin sat in the front passenger's seat, while Shu and Touma sat in the back seats and dived into the chilled canned drinks that were stashed in a cooler of ice.
They had just completed the first year of their university studies and now they had come together once again, this time, to attend the wedding of Mukara and Naria. The invitation was presented weeks before in the person of an African messenger, a dark and stately looking woman, dressed in regal emissary robes of the Tarangi people. Nasutei witnessed the emissary magically emerged from the distant trees of the Yagiyu estate, while sipping tea from her terrace and enjoying the smell of morning dew air.
"Like the new set of wheels. Much more roomier than the Samurai, although I'm sad to see it go. We've made a lot of history riding around in that old buggy. But, I've always said our Big Sister has a lot of taste."
"Trying to change the subject on me, Shu?"
"Um, sorry Nasutei. We'll take care of the mess", Shu offered from the twinge of guilt, as he popped open the top of the aluminum can.
"Don't worry about it Shu..." Nasutei began. But then her thoughts were distracted by a small, multifaceted twinkle that bounced its hypnotic light off the SUV's rear-view mirror. It was a tiny, diamond rock stud that Shu sported in his pierced ear lobe, a small trophy he picked up from his first year at university. "I'll...um, hire someone take care of it and explain it off as some... weird weather damage..."
Nasutei eyes now began to unconsciously study the outlines of Shu's rugged features. A warm breeze swept through the SUV and caressed the thick, single lock that that curled down the base of his neck. It continued to stroke its fingers through the rest of Shu's cropped indigo hair that not only enhanced the dark blue in his eyes, but the blue-white brilliance of the diamond stud in his ear even more so. He still kept handy that ready smile that spread across his strong jawline. Her eyes drifted along his broad neck and shoulders and continued down and across the barrel of his chest that was so snuggly framed by a light jersey T-shirt. She could felt the warmth of his skin tone express the forthrightness of his robust, but good-natured personality. All this, her eyes secretly drunk in through the discretion of the rear-view mirror. Then, to her surprise, a reminder from last night's lusting returned to haunt her as she felt a hot jolt snake a path through her body and flicked a wet forked-tongue over the throb between her thighs. "But you know Shu, your Uncle Chin was right", Nasutei squirmed nervously over the leather of the driver's seat to clear her thoughts. "You do wear some crazy stuff. Yet, it... fits you."
"Heh, heh, I'm glad you like it, but I'll just bet you couldn't stop yourself from staring, eh... 'Big Sister'!"
Blindsided by Shu's remark, embarrassment streaked through Nasutei's cheeks. Feeling like a Peeping Tomasina who was openly discovered and dragged out into the village center and exposed in the middle of broad daylight, Nasutei darted her eyes away from the mirror, praying that none of them saw the her foolish face. But when she managed to regain her composure, she now noticed both Shu's and Touma's reflections grinning back at her. She didn't dare look at Shin, who was breaking up and loosing control in the passenger's set next to her.
"Well, um, I really can't believe how much you guys have changed, that's all. I mean, um, your powers... of course. Its been a couple of years since the yoroi vanished with both Kikoutei, yet all of you seemed to have retained all of their mystical powers, maybe even more so."
He had better not have said anything...! If that Shu even mentioned just ONE WORD to any of them about what happened last night..., Nasutei fumed.
"Even so, ever since our struggle with Suzunagi, we've haven't had a real chance to explore them. So when we all got together, I guess we got a little bit carried away", explained Shin between gulps of cola and fits of giggles.
"Mmm. Individually, we've all tried to keep our powers focused and sharp," Touma pointed out. "But of course we also had to finish up high school and then attend university. And now, these days... Shu, you're starting to get more involved in the operations of your family's chain of restaurants, right?"
"Yeah, that why I'm getting my university certificate in business management. After all, there's more to running a restaurant than cooking and serving' food and drinks."
"And thought I still have quite a ways to go, I'm steering my studies towards a doctorate in marine biology," Shin interjected.
"Oh, and Seiji." Nasutei wasn't conscious of the smile that curled across her face. "He said he was driving. He should be arriving any time now, but I'm sure we'll get back before he arrives."
Quietly Shin, Shu and Touma shot each other quick, knowing glances as Nasutei continued reminiscing.
"So Nasutei... Seiji's change too... but I'm sure you've been keeping track of that too, mmm?" Shin just couldn't resist. Both Shu and Touma were cracking up on the backseats, trying not to choke on their drinks.
"I've also noticed that the three of you have very healthy legs as well as healthy wits." Nasutei's voice now became sharp and filled with irritation. "So if you don't knock it off, I'm going to stop the SUV and let the three of you walk the rest of the way back. And you better NOT use your powers and mess up the rest of my home."
"Nasutei, we didn't mean any harm, right Shin?"
"Yes, Nasutei, Shu's right. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, isn't that right Touma?"
"Don't pay attention to them, Nasutei. Despite attending university, they still don't know any better."
"Backstabber-suck-up-dog-of-the-female-persuasion."
"That's not your usual vocabulary, Shu. Amazing. I am truly impressed. But still, that's why I've got the brains", a smug Touma smiled in triumphant.
"Maybe if you'd stop sitting on them, then we'd all be impressed", grumbled Shin.
"Now I know where Jun gets it from", Nasutei sighed sarcastically.
But I'm sure, at least I HOPE that Shu didn't say a thing to the others. Yes. He won't say anything, I'm sure of it. Nasutei continued reassuring herself about Shu over the previous night's incident. She had to believe it in order to hold up her head while facing the others. He'll be a real gentleman and say nothing of what happened. But still...it would have been best if he had never caught me doing THAT in the first place. Nasutei could feel her cheeks broiled hot again from intense embarrassment. And again she bemoaned the fact that she had been caught secretly masturbating by, of all people, Shu:
Oh-ooo!...But I REALLY should have been more careful! Nasutei began chastising herself all over again for her major indiscretion. Heaven help me, but what was I thinking?! But...after all, I AM a twenty-two year old, red-blooded, healthy young woman -- and its NOT like I'm having sex all over the place! But then that's the problem, isn't it? I don't have ANY relationships that involve sex at all. But who am I kidding, what with taking over all of grandfather's research and fieldwork at the university. Thank goodness I was already working under him as his assistant. And my invitation and speech at the UN council was also a real plus in establishing my credentials as far as the world of academia is concerned. And since I just earned my doctorates, I was accepted as a full-time professor on the staff of grandfather's university without too much resistance about my age. But because of it, the pressure's always on to continue validating myself, especially to some of my much older colleagues. And since there is so much work that needs to be done...
With so many exhaustive concerns rattling through her head, Nasutei let out another plaintive sigh, and continued her worries about last night:
Earlier that afternoon, Shu had been the first of the group to arrive at the Yagiyu mansion and had already settled down into his temporary quarters, just a few rooms down the hall from her own bedroom -- still enough distance, or so Nasutei thought. Nasutei had expected the others to arrive the next day, which would have allowed her perhaps just a little more time for herself, which she also believed.
So before retiring, Nasutei had emerged from a steamy bathroom doorway from the shower she just took and entered directly into the spacious master bedroom where she slept. Wearing just a light and simple silk bathrobe, she strolled barefoot across her bedroom towards a set of double-window doors that led out to her bedroom terrace. The long ends of her auburn hair had been pulled up and pinned high on top of her head, however there were a few wet strands that coiled sensually down the nap of her neck. Her body lingered with the scent of citrus, while her skin, already stimulated by the shower with a glowing undertone of pink, was complemented more so by the seafoam green of the robe. Despite being half Nipponese, Nasutei's French ancestry appeared to express itself as the more dominant strain through the fairness of her skin tone.
That night however, Nasutei didn't bother to finish dressing into her usual nightgowns, nor did she even bothered slipping on a bra or into a fresh pair of panties. Instead, she took instant pleasure from the way the robe draped loosely on her body, because, in her anticipation, her imagination was set on fire by provocative thoughts involving a certain blond kendo practitioner, who had a pair of the most intense lavender eyes she had ever seen.
At first she had resisted the thought. They had known each other for some time now, but in the beginning, she only saw him as just "one of the guys", after all, he was three years her junior and at the time she was just seventeen. But now she was twenty-two, a young woman in every sense of the word, and over the past five years she saw the teenage boy transform into a young man, full of maturity and depth that far exceeded his nineteen years. Those three years that once meant a world of difference between a man and a boy were becoming more and more insignificant with the passing of time.
With each subtle movement, Nasutei appreciated the robe's silkiness as it skimmed against her nipples and down along her thighs and over the firmness of her buttocks, thus coaxing her body into a liquid semi-aroused state. Responding from the lack of sexually activity in her life, Nasutei's body had become increasingly sensitive in other ways as well. Such as the erotic feelings she derived from the way her feet sunk deeply into the plushiness of the bedroom's wall-to-wall carpeting, its soft fibers tickling between her toes with her every step. This further encouraged Nasutei into performing an even riskier behavior, something that her common sensibilities would not otherwise have allowed.
Arriving at the terrace, Nasutei flung open the twin glass doors wide and was immediately buffeted by a strong nighttime breeze. Her bathrobe was flapping all around her from the warm winds that gently restrained her body, as invisible fingers untied the robe's loosely held sash. Although she didn't completely loose her robe, it easily slid off the curves of her shoulders, completely exposing the blush of her white breasts; the robe rolled away over the swell of her hips, displaying her hidden red-brown tuft of pubic hair. Closing her eyes, Nasutei pretended that it was his lips that were responsible for the series of blowing caresses that undid her hair and traced its hot breath all over her eyelids, her cheeks, her mouth and down the hollow of her throat.
The air currents continued stroking up and down the length of Nasutei's body, causing her nipples to stiffen and tingle more warmly, while the rest of her skin flushed from excitement. Under nature's further manipulations, she then opened her legs slightly apart; as she allowed another seasonal blast to nuzzle softly, this time between her inner thighs, she felt a rush of desire lick quickly across her vaginal lips. Instinctively she reached down between her thighs and with a whispering moan, fondled lightly the inner petals to her sex. She finally opened her heavy-lidded eyes and examined her fingertips; they were glistening wet, soaked by the heat of her lust.
This was the foreplay combination of wind, silk and illicit imagination that prepared Nasutei's body for the self-gratification it was about to receive. She felt like the proverbial angel who was about to fall from Heaven's grace...
...And it felt so delicious.
Nasutei left the window doors opened, but slowly drifted away from the terrace towards her bed. Still hanging loosely from her body, she let the bathrobe slide off her arms and gather onto the floor with a light rustle. Sitting along the mattress' edge, naked and feeling utterly helpless, Nasutei hugged herself tightly and squeezed her knees together, stranded between the conflict of her carnal appetites and lustful frustrations. "Help me, I feel so...vulgar. Oh-uh...dammit...I HATE it when I get like this," she cursed herself. Nasutei always took a certain pride and confidence in the discipline behind her academic acumen, which in turn won the attention of her beloved grandfather. And the love that they both shared of Japanese folklore made her the perfect candidate of becoming his assistant. But no scholarly dissertation could argue away the want that ached between her loins. She was in terrible heat; she knew that she would never be able to get to sleep from this point on. Should she seek relief by taking another shower? No. Not that way. She wanted to let her own fingers finish off what the summer breezes had begun.
Now lying fully on top of the bed sheets along her back, she fell into a false sense of security within the generous size of her huge bed that could have easily supported the bodies of two. She shut her eyes once more and opened her legs wide, bending them at the knees. Leisurely, one of her hands crept across her chest. She could feel the heat from her fingers tracing with deliberate slowness around the swelling of her nipples, while her other hand roamed below her abdomen and settled between her thighs, savoring the heat that radiated from her inner lips. Now this time with more certainty, she inserted a middle finger all the way up to its center knuckle, parting the inner lips that led into the steamy passage of her swelling slit. Deeply sliding her finger in and out, again and again, her inner muscles contracted with pleasure around the single digit. Then she withdrew her finger, and using tiny circular motions, she rotated the edge of her finger around, spreading her juices to help stimulate the pink sensitive tip her clit. This was the part that she loved. It always amazed her at how slick she could become just from using her fingers and her imagination, causing her to wonder just how wet he could really make her during the actual act of penetration. To have Seiji do that to me, to actually... Dare she? Would her reluctance allow her to say it, let alone dare to think it? "Yes...to have dear Seiji...
...fuck me..."
The hand that had earlier teased her erect nipples now moved down to join with the other between her opened thighs. With one hand, she was plunging two fingers deep into her throbbing hole, while grinding her clit hotly with her other hand. Barely able to breathe, she heard herself gasping in short quick breaths, her breasts rising and falling as she tried to pull as much air as she could into her lungs through the small opening of her mouth. Then, her whole body began climaxing out of control. Rocking her head from side to side, Nasutei had whipped herself up into such frenzy that her moans grew louder, almost audible screams, completely forgetting that she had a guest in her home.
Two doors down from her room, Shu was still awake. The darkness was filled with the sounds of metal mattress springs groaning under the weight of his restless tossing around. "If I don't get any sleep soon, I'll just be too tired to see the guys when they arrive. Maybe a glass of warm milk might do the trick. Mmm...and maybe some of those tasty little petit fours Nasutei brought from that French pastry shop that just opened..."
Putting on a dark brown bathrobe over his orange-striped pajamas and sticking his feet into a pair of floppy bedroom slippers, Shu intended to shuffle his way down the long upper floor hallway down to the first floor kitchen. But as soon as he stepped out of his guestroom and into the hall, he was stunned to hear what sounded like muffled screams filtering out of Nasutei's room and immediately thought the worse:
"Oh no! Nasutei's being attacked! Hold on Nasutei! Hold on, I'm coming!!!"
Shu always thought of Nasutei as more than just a friend but likened her to an angelic older sister who was always there providing support and guidance when the world was in danger. So it never even occurred to him that her loud moans might have been indicative of something other than a force of evil.
Strong as it was, the door to Nasutei's bedroom was no match against Shu's broad shoulders, as he barreled down the hallway then crashed through the entrance like a battering ram, smashing the solid door into splintering bits. Not even caring that it might be unlocked, Shu nevertheless wanted to use the element of surprise to at least scare the bastard culprit away. Or attempt to use the advantage to gain the initiative and catch whoever would have the balls to break into the home of his dear 'older sister' and commit whatever unspeakable acts against her person:
"Huh? OH MY GOD!! SHU!!" Nasutei screeched.
"Heheh! Alright damn you! Whoever the hell you are, you're gonna –-
HOLY SHIT!! BY THE GODS GREAT AND SMALL!! N-NASUTEI?!!
Alarmed from being totally caught off-guard, Nasutei sprang up in a panic, grabbing at anything to cover herself, while trying to regain control of the situation and pretend that what Shu thought he saw was not what he thought, although it was exactly what he thought and saw. However, still distressed and disoriented, Nasutei kept shifting back and forth across her bed like a small animal, unwittingly caught in a trap of her own making. This in turn caused her to accidentally roll off the bed's edge and hit the floor with a loud thud in a trail of bed sheets that followed behind her.
"B-B-B-BIG SISTER!! I-I'M SO SORRY!! I-I THOUGHT --!
Her hair completely mussed up with stray hairs running criss-cross her face and over her shoulders, Nasutei slowly peeked her eyes above the height of the bed but had risen no further, and called out in a meek, shamed-filled voice. "I-Its alright Shu. I'm okay."
"A-are you sure? I mean, I didn't mean to –-"
"Yes Shu, I'm sure. It's okay, really. I'm fine...honestly."
"Really? Do you need any help? I mean, the way you hit the floor..."
"No, Shu. I'm not hurt. I'm okay."
"Well, um, okay..."
"Okay..."
"Okay. Alright. Good. Everything's alright. Um...can I ask --"
"Goodnight, Shu."
"But I'd just like to know –-"
"GOODNIGHT SHU!"
"But how -–"
"Shu, even though you're really not, I still think of you and the others as the brothers I never had, and you think of me as your older sister, right?"
"Of course, Nasutei. You know that's true."
"THEN DON'T PUSH IT, LITTLE BROTHER!"
"Right. Um, Goodnight Nasutei. Sorry about your door."
Several minutes had passed before Nasutei could get over the horror of being caught red-handed and finally drag herself off the floor. Wrapped in a confusion of sheets, she crawled back into her bed, then stretched her arm over to turn out the light of her nightstand. Still stewing from humiliation, she lambasted herself. How could I have been SO stupid! Please, don't let Shu say ANY of this to anyone. Especially Seiji! The thought of loosing Seiji's respect made Nasutei pull the free corners of the sheets that still wrapped around the rest of her body over her head to cover her face. Nasutei's eyes then began to water as she sniffled quietly in the dark. Finally, she drifted off to sleep.
Totally forgetting the reason why he got out of bed in the first place, Shu headed back towards his guestroom with the most conflicted look on his face, asking himself if what he saw was, indeed, what he saw. The initial shock of catching Nasutei naked as a blue jay and getting herself off with her hands between her legs was wearing off and had mutated into astonishment, and then into wonderment, causing him now to chuckle in amusement:
Our Nasutei...wow...never would I have thought that she was such a babe. But...oh man, she must've have felt terrible getting caught like that by me. Of course she'll always be our 'older sister'. But... she'll never be able to face the others again if they knew, and she doesn't deserve that. In a way, Seiji would be just as embarrassed hearing about it. Man, those two dumb bunnies, thinking that nobody can see what's happening. He's just as bad as her, pretending that his life is just too busy for anything else. Is it the 'age-thing'? Seiji's nineteen and she's twenty-two, so what? Well, whatever the problem is, those two had better make a decision soon. Especially after tonight.
Settling back beneath the covers, Shu nested the back of his head within the support of the bed pillow and casually folded his hands over his chest while staring into the darkness. Just as sleep was about to overtake his lids, a curious thought popped into Shu's head:
Hmm...but if Seiji doesn't do anything, then maybe I could...naahhh.
With that cleared up in his mind, Shu rolled over onto his side, pulled the bed covers up over his shoulders and snored off to sleep.
...Come on Nasutei, snap out of it and keep you mind on the road and into the present. However, her thoughts became more solemn, the moment she reminded herself what the true meaning of her life was:
We were all brought together by fate for the purpose of protecting humankind. My poor, dear Grandfather...you knew, and understood and died believing that. Just like all those people from the past -- and their graves that appeared before the Troopers, and Suzunagi – to help them, especially Suzunagi, to understand that they were not the only ones who have suffered hardships and sacrifices.
They were all outnumbered when they lost their lives. And they died horrible, brutal deaths. Yet because of their sacrifice, the yoroi were protected against the overwhelming forces of darkness. They had no special powers – they were just plain, ordinary folk who made a difference. They knew that they weren't worthy to wear the yoroi. But they also knew that some day, the chosen ones would come and would need the mystical armors to fight in the great battle, against the demon lord Arago's return to walk the earth once more. They knew the armors must be kept safe, for their use in a future that these people would never see. And despite the power and the dark potential of the armors themselves, those people from the past fully understood that they couldn't let the armors fall into the wrong hands because there was more than just their lives at stake. It was about the survival of their world, and for the billions of lives from future generations yet to be born – our world that we know today. They couldn't let evil succeed and have the armors. They couldn't let evil win. So, as the protectors of the mystical armors, they all gave the ultimate for the greater good, for something bigger than their own precious lives. And in doing so, those plain folk died with more honor than the noblest samurai in the land could ever hope for. Because, without their past sacrifices -- there would have been no Samurai Troopers to defeat Arago in our world today. I mustn't ever forget that. So don't worry, Grandfather. I'll continue with your life's work, and stand in your place. And I'll make you proud. And, that means...I'm just going to have to put Seiji out of my mind, and somehow, keep my distance. I can't afford any more 'mistakes' like that.
Still...what I do privately behind closed doors is none of anybody's business! That is, if certain people will stop crashing through my doors...
"Well, anyway, as I was saying", Nasutei cleared her thoughts and her throat and continued. "Besides his studies in philosophy, Seiji also plans to take on more of his grandfather's shrine duties and run the kendo school with his mother -- now that his grandfather is retiring soon."
"Wha... that old warrior slowing down? Shu exclaimed. I don't believe it."
"Yeah, that's what Seiji told me as well," added Touma. But the extra responsibilities have really cut into Seiji's car racing activities.
"Wow. Seiji's getting too serious. I know how much he loved his cars and his racing", Shin reflected.
As for myself, I'm going for a double major in math and computer science, as well as helping my dad, the "crazy scientist". Of course I'll continue towards a doctorate as well." Touma reached down between the melting ice of the chess cooler and helped himself to another canned drink.
"Yes. And its your talents with computer programming and mathematics that I'd like to discuss further with you," Nasutei suddenly mentioned, as their conversation reminded her to approach Touma about her "special" need. "Particularly in application to your interest in the specialty of encryption and security information."
"You know Touma... you're going to hurt yourself one day with that big brain of yours", cautioned Shin.
"I'm certainly hurting my personal life, if you know what I mean, so I guess I should be the last one to make jokes. Even my mother is beginning to ask about meeting her future daughter-in-law. And she's the last person on earth I ever thought would be asking –- I didn't think she'd want to be a grandmother this soon! I tell her in the end, it'll all be worth it, and that everyone will be proud. Even my future wife, whoever that will be."
"So Nasutei, has Ryo returned yet?" Shin asked, realizing too late, that a tender spot had been pricked, but still tried to change the focus from Touma. Samurai Troopers or not, a successful and complete life is not an easy thing to have, harder to keep.
"Well, he should've wrapped up his photography presentation finals by now, so I expect him any moment now."
"Who would've thought," pondered Touma. "Ryo, a photographer... like his father".
"Frankly," Nasutei began, "I couldn't imagine him tied down as a 'salaryman', working, heaven knows, how many hours in a stuffy company cubicle, breathing air-conditioned air, and grabbing ready-to-go ramen for a bite to eat, while catching up on his sleep in between train rides to and from work. And despite his move to the city, he's lived pretty much on his own in all that wide-opened mountain air. He also said something about wanting to see a bit more of the world, so once he graduates with an art degree in photography, he's looking to go abroad on an assignment as an assistant."
"Yep, that's our Ryo," Shin acknowledged.
"It's so funny... when I look back on the first time when we all met. The mortal world was in a crisis and could only by saved by five who were chosen to wear the mystical armors, but you all were only fourteen at the time, except you Shin, you were fifteen."
"And Nasutei, you were only seventeen at the time. But now, we get to officially call you Professor Nasutei," Shin began to tease again.
"You know, you're just as bad as Jun. He must've hung around you guys just a little too much. Remember how he used to call you all 'big brother this' and 'big brother that' and me 'big sister'? Now he likes to occasionally tease me with 'Professor'. I don't know. Maybe its because he's already begun his extra cramming to enter high school and needs to let off a little steam."
"Jun must be going on thirteen by now," noted Touma.
"Huh!" Shu smiled. "Little no more!"
"That's right," Shin concurred. "We weren't much older when we first had to tackle one of Arago's demon-soldier grunts in downtown Shinjuku."
One story had spun into another as they recounted all the good times and bad they had shared as bearers of the yoroi and brothers-in-arms. The impressive Yagiyu country residence finally loomed into sight as they cracked open one more round of drinks.
Remember a few years ago when we were sixteen?" Shu reminisced. "It was around this time. How one moment, we're celebrating Ryo's sixteenth birthday. The next moment, we're flying to America to rescue Seiji and then we run into Luna..."
The warmth in the suburban air had suddenly vanished. Their abrupt moodswing, from merriment to melancholia, caused the sounds of summer to deafen into cold silence.
"I-I guess... actually watching a friend die... is something you never quite get over..."
* * * *
"I-I know someone's there." Her voice, at least what seemed like her voice, rung hollow into the endless abyss of her subconscious as she struggled to form the correct sounds.
"Tell me...where am I?" There. She could feel him -- the strange entity that had burrowed deep within the folds of her enigma. She felt his silence prickling her isolation everywhere.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" impatiently she demanded.
But the only response Luna heard was the sound of her own heart, beating against an infinity of suffocating black, so wide, so dense, that she couldn't tell the difference between up and down, left and right, or front and back. Yet, the tension she heard pounding through her breast was the only thing that confirmed her suspicions of her own existence. She didn't know who she was. She didn't know where she was. But she knew that she was lost. And she knew she wasn't alone. Strangely, she could feel herself swallow down a bitter nervousness that soured in her mouth:
"Whoever you are...ANSWER ME!"
The entity's reply hurdled Luna's psyche back through eons past within an excruciating shock of light. Her mind reeled in pain as she crashed through the surge of centuries that rolled over the oceans of time. Then, another searing brilliance of white slammed into her already battered and incoherent thoughts, further rattling her to a heart-dropping stop. Yet, when the dizziness and red cloud that pounded her vision had lifted, the reality from antiquity that now surrounded her had floated into focus. Unprotected, her senses recoiled at the sick gurgles of death, as she now witnessed the gruesome scene of the human slaughterhouse that played out before her discorporeal eyes.
Blood -- its stink hung heavy in the air. It splattered violently across rich silk tapestries and ran thickly down tiled mosaic walls. It bled red across gleaming white marbled floors and soaked deeply into the naps of sumptuously woven oriental rugs. All these things, including the lives of those butchered in the name of sacrifice, belonged to the master of this hidden fortress from a Persia that existed millennia ago.
They wailed and screamed, as they were herded, dragged and bound like any other livestock. All their feverish prayers for forgiveness from their master for whatever unknown transgressions they might have done had fallen on ears made tone-deaf. Even as their jugulars were slashed and stretch opened by crescent ritual blades. Yet their bodies remain warm with just enough life for the melodic incantations to be spoken, before death could arrive to stiffen them cold. Without remorse, and with the assistance from what was left of his original army of disciples, the Grand Wizard personally carried out the mass killings of his eleven wives and forty of his own children. These were not enemies or strangers, but fifty-one souls that were suppose to be the dearest to him, but were instead offered as payment for the return of his demonic powers and former stature.
But before Luna could finish forming the question within her subconscious, the entity responded, aware of her disgust and repulsion:
"T'is true. I was human once..."
...A former master of a remote province, he was a man of immense power and cunning who emerged to his ruthless prominence during a pre-Islamic orient. But his true talents laid in the unholy arts. He used his superior intellect to house the vast knowledge of the near-forgotten desert rituals -- arcane rites that were old as the sands themselves. He also mastered the secret rites such as the ritualistic gutting of a screaming victim who was still conscious and struggling while his entrails were being examined to gain a small glimpse of the future. Or a spell that required the capturing of an enemy warrior's spirit to do his bidding by pounding and cracking open the chest walls of a live victim, and rip out the still beating heart from the trunk. Whatever hideous gesture applied, in order for the magic to be successful, it was all important that the sacrifice be kept alive for as long as possible, in order to tap into that victim's suffering and agony before death. This required great skill and dexterity, for the victims never lasted very long. And there were more than enough victims, each dying slow gruesome deaths from his 'trial and errors' performed secretly within his dark lair.
From these dark powers and atrocities his reputation grew. Some say he collaborated with the Djinn, supernatural spirits of smoke and air, who could be benevolent towards man -- or malicious to the extreme. Other rumors accused him of actually being an Efrit, one of the most powerful and feared of the Djinn, who stalked the lands in the guise of man. But the Caliph observed the Wizard's cruel ambitions and the fear that they inspired; he had to be stopped before his unearthly wisdom could topple even the gods from their heavenly thrones. A powerplay was inevitable. But even then, it was only with the combined magical forces of his brothers from the neighboring desert kingdoms that the Caliph was able to crush the Grand Wizard and vanquish him forever from their lands.
With his power smashed, he became steeped in a rancid bitterness from a defeat that he could never accept, and continued to spiral in his downfall. He sought revenge against a humanity that he felt had robbed him of his place amongst the heavens. But to obtain it, he knew that there would be an unknown and terrible price, one, that up to this point, he was not willing to pay. But now, the Wizard's blind arrogance made him care not what the consequences may bring. So with everything in place, the Wizard summoned up the last vestige of his once-considerable magic, and performed the most depraved of rituals and sung the most dangerous of lyrics, to make his contract with a Marid, the most diabolical of all the Djinn, for power over all. But instead of going before the Wizard in a cloud of smoke, as was customary of most Djinn, this Marid arrogantly snatched the Wizard's lair, down to its stone foundations, and summoned the Wizard into his realm.
" 'Grand' Wizard'!" mocked the Marid. "Though thou hast summon me, my time is of the utmost import, and thy time, nay, is but short. So quickly, speak! What is thy wish?" The omnipresent voice bellowed from the infinite clouds that overwhelmed the Wizard's mighty fortress, making it look small.
"I crave for that power -- to scorch the heavens above the heads of my most hated enemies and to lay waste to the earth beneath their feet."
"Hah! Thou asketh for so much, yet offer so little."
"I give you all that I have, oh Great Amongst the Mighty. And this is not just one sacrifice but of many."
"Yet, what thou doth ask for is, in truth, the destruction of all nations and the subjugation of their populations to sate thy corrupt vanity -- not just a puny enemy here or an insignificant army over there. Thou covet the secret of the five cosmic elements that encompass all of creation, that which maketh -- and can unmaketh -- the universe. Even I do not possess that power, or the right, to bestow."
"Then favor me with immortality, that I may spend the millennia regaining, yea, indeed, surpassing my former glory." And perhaps learn the secret to that power that can do and undo all, the Wizard schemed.
"Favors nay, but caution be unto thee to contemplate very, very carefully for what thoust seek!"
"Yes! Yes! This is what I wish!"
"So! Shall it be done! Now, go forth with thy well-deserved persona...and truly slay the ladies. HaHaHaHaHaHaa!"
And so the Marid accepted this unholy payment in blood -- but took one more thing. The Wizard screamed wildly in agony, as the smoky fingers of the ancient trickster stabbed deep into his chest and ripped away the last of the Wizard's virulent soul. This was the final seal to their evil pact, by severing the Wizard's last connection to his humanity and the limitations imposed by the mortal world. The Grand Wizard felt the anguish of his physical body dying, as if his insides were being eaten alive by thousands of maggots from within. This was his true and putrid nature revealing itself, destroying bone and muscle in the process, causing the Wizard to shrivel into a ghoulish, decaying thing. So it was upon this blood-soaked stage of the innocent that the necromancer was born and set into motion his eternal lust for domination that can only be satisfied through malevolent acts of death.
An iciness froze the core of her being as Luna once again felt herself crashing within the seas of time, to fall into one of the many shadowy backstreets of recent-day New York after dark. The small alleyway was dripping red from the fresh killing of a small local gang. She didn't know why, but for some unknown reason the body of one particular member who tried to protect his girlfriend in vain, caught her terror-filled attention. He was dead, lying face-down in the gutter and in a pool of his own bloody squalor. She couldn't help herself, but to her surprise, a strange sorrow began to flood her eyes and a mournful feeling wretched within her chest. She felt a deep bond with this young man, and with his death, she too, felt that she had died.
"No... I-I... why do I feel...? His face...I want to see his face," she cried. But she still couldn't understand exactly what he was to her. Oddly, she wiped away the wetness that ran against what felt like her cheeks.
"It was this one's death that brought you to me," cackled the bodiless voice, like old dry bones rattling in the darkness. But do not worry -- he and his comrades were nothing but common street filth, urban trash that nobody in this world cared about or will miss. Much like yourself."
"SHUT UP!" Unsure of who he was, but still moved by how he made her feel, Luna responded with a tiny, whimpering, "I care". Suddenly, something flickered across her memory. "You... it was you?!? You were responsible! YOU killed him...AND I WANTED YOUR LIFE!"
"That, I have already forfeit, along with my wives, my heirs and my humanity, all those thousands of years ago. The name of my ancestors' ruling house -- and even my name, my true name, I no longer remember. Still... you do not understand, do you? Your hand –- observe it!" the voice commanded.
"Wha...?" It was a strange sensation to actually see and feel; that she not only had a real limb, but that she felt connected and whole. Her shoulders were once again covered by a hooded jacket and a pair of cuffed jeans that rubbed above her knees, while her feet were snug in a pair of sloppy socks and street high-tops. They felt so familiar, yet, somehow, out of sorts, as if they belonged to someone else in a different life. She could even feel the wisps of her bangs and her long braid as it tussled along the length of her back in the windy alley. Slowly and thoroughly, she examined her right hand and its five fingers, both front and back, marveling at its discovery. She was like a baby who saw her own hand for the first time and made that wondrous connection that 'this is me'. But what caught her attention the most was that dark scar that ran deep along her palm and the small, annoying tickle that wiggled within it. Her curiosity quickly changed to confusion, as the tickle became an itch.
"My hand! W-What's wrong with my hand?" Luna screamed.
Then the itch writhed painfully into a sizzling burn. Her confusion turned into pain and shock when the burning in her hand burst into a crawling mass of flesh-eating maggots that swarmed over her fingertips and up along her forearm:
"OH NOO!! IT HURTS!! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?
AAHHHH!!!"
Then the necromancer's filaments of evil charged out at her from every filthy hole and crevice in the alley. So fast they struck, Luna barely had time to put up her arms in protection against the razor-sharp slashes. Easily they shred her clothing to ribbons and viciously sliced into her tender flesh. And like her hand, each cut burned and swelled until a fester of worms burst forth from every wound on her body, causing her shrieks of pain and horror to echo throughout the void:
"LET ME GO!! STOP IT!!! STOP!!! UHHNNGGRRLLL!!!"
The image of a deformed evil spirit, who reviled in death and fear, branded itself onto her brain. Now she knew, too late, that it was he -- the one who now called himself Shikaisen. Luna continued her vain struggling against the tentacles that now bound her up tightly into the air and against her will, but she knew she had already lost. Her braid was the last thing showing from her body, for the maggots had completely swarmed over her and ripped her insides apart, to begin feasting on her soul. She was strangling from the inside-out, gagging on the parasites that wretched through the openings of her mouth, and from her ears and nostrils. Her tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes; no longer was she able to endure the agony of her violation.
"Can't you just savor the sweetness of it all? I show you these things because we are going to be together for a very, very, very long time." Worse than the worms was his laughter that bore through her torment and scraped her to the marrow. "Heheheheh. The one called Rekka...Wildfire...I saw. In his most deepest of hearts, he burned for you. But too late he was...cackle! I even witnessed his tears for you, yes I did! Hah! Too bad for him, and even worse for you! And know you this, you -- you who was nothing more than the garbage in those underground sewers that you played in! You, who's interference cost me the ultimate prize of a thousand generations! And for that, I rage at the thought it was not in my putrid arms that you died -- so I could gorge on the final agony of your passing! But I -- I still have much to do. I, who art immortal, am not finished with this herd of sacrificial cows called humanity. Therefore, consider this, my eternal vow: as I take you now, I'll NEVER give up my vengeance on this world...
...My wife, my bitch... MY SLAVE!"
"LOVE -- ISN'T IT GRAND? NYAHAHAHAHAHAAAH!!"
To Be Continued...