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The Lights of Infinity

Chapter One: Never-ending Lights Still Shine

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In a small café, we meet two girls talking excitedly over hot drinks. Of course, who could blame them when they're in downtown Tokyo, Juban district? Only miles away from the famous Tokyo Tower, this place is infamous for many strange and awesome happenings in various anime storylines. Amanda and Katie could be nothing less than ecstatic.

"This is SO cool!!" Sparks Katie. "I'm mega-psyched!! We're actually here!!" "I know," Amanda giggled in reply. "It is something awesome that we're here," she said as she sipped her drink through a straw. "A miracle!" She said, making a funny. Katie laughed. "There's nothing like foreign food," Katie remarked. "Especially when it's good!" Amanda added. They both laughed at that one, then paused to take in the sights outside the window and gaze. "Anyways," Katie continued, "I never really got a chance to tell you about Linda and Moira!" "Hm?" Amanda glanced back toward her friend. "Just drifting back into reality so, who's Linda?" She put a hand to her face waited for Katie to start her story. "Well," Katie started, "she's pretty skinny, but she's really super strong! She's got to be, to swing that Mega-ton hammer around." "True, true," commented Amanda. "That's pretty cool." "Thanks," Katie smiled. "Linda usually wears pastels and she's always trying to think of the just thing to do, no matter what the concequences." "Hm, sounds good to me," Amanda said, leaning forward. "And the other one?" "Moira, who holds the Armor of Soul-" Katie was about to pull out one of her pictures when a voice interrupted. "Excuse me," said a girl with long, flowing red hair and a freckled face that deemed herself worthy to stop their conversation- looked at them. "but I couldn't help but overhearing your conversation." The girl smiled at them. "Oh?" Katie inquired with a raised eyebrow. "What was it about our conversation that caught your ear?" asked Amanda pleasantly. "If I may," the stranger made a deft motion with her hand, "have a seat?" Katie smiled. "Well, I don't see why not," She shifted over to make room for the red haired girl.

"You see, I couldn't help but hear that you were talking about virtues earlier," the girl said as she neatly folded her hands on the table. "And quite lively too, I might add!" she beamed. "Uh, well, yes! We- uh- do that sometimes," Katie confessed with nervous laughter. "More than sometimes, Katie" Amanda thought to her. "Well, anyways, my friend over there and I," the red head said, jerking a thumb, "also like the concept of certian virtues." "Oh," said Amanda. "Linda and I, that's my friend over there," explained the stranger, "know of a special shrine where these blessed virtue charms are made." The stranger continued to explain her story with hand gestures. "We accidentally picked up the wrong ones!" The stranger laughed nervously to her two new acquaintances. "Well, when we went back to get the proper charms, the old guy just smiled and gave us the right ones. When Linda inquired about the first two we picked up, he just shook his head and smiled, then gave us the right charms." The stranger paused. "I guess what he meant to say was that we'd whoever they were made for." Katie and Amanda looked at each other. "You mean," Katie smiled, "you think they were made for us?!" "Well, by the way you were talking about guesses for your own virtues, yes!" The stranger beamed again at them. "I thought that you would like to have them," the red head commented. "Wow! You're serious?!" Katie blurted out loud. "Yes," the stranger smiled. "How much would you like for them?" Amanda asked, pulling out her purse. "NO!!" The stranger yelled, and slapped the necklaces on the table. Amanda and Katie jumped in their seats. "You're money's no good." "What?" Asked Amanda. "You're serious" said Katie, making a weird face. "Yes, I'm entirely serious. The man who made these said that they would take care of their proper owners when they're found. So, you're not supposed to pay." The stranger said matter-of-factly. "Oh," Katie said. "Thank-you very much!" Amanda replied. "But are you sure about this?" asked Katie. "Positive," the stranger said, winking at them. "Uh thank-you!" Katie called as the red head walked away. "No problem," she replied.

After the stranger had sat back down at her own table, Katie went ballistic. "Wow! That's so cool! It's almost like the story, y'know?" She played with the little charm. "She never did tell us what they meant," Amanda pointed out. "I wonder," she mused as she flipped her kanji over and looked at the other side. Then she laughed. "Of course!" Said Amanda. "Duh!" She laughed to herself. "Have a look at the other side of your charm, Katie." "Oh? Does it say what it is?" "Yup," Amanda confirmed. "Mine says 'Honor'." "Ha!" Katie burst out laughing as she slapped the table. "I knew it!" She flipped her kanji over. "Patience," she spoke in a rushed whisper. Katie beamed at Amanda. "Just like the story!" She commented as she clasped the charm around her neck. "Well, if it's true, then that means-" her sentence was cut off by screams outside. Immediately the two friends cast their glance towards the window. "Get down!!" Katie yelled as she and Amanda ducked under the table. Linda and her friend two tables down did the same as the glass broke and scattered everywhere. Amanda and Katie looked at each other, unsure of what was going on. All they could hear were heavy footsteps and the noisy din of hard armor.

"What're we gonna do?!" Katie nearly panicked. "You're asking me?!" Amanda shot back. "You said you're a strategist!" Katie told her. They both wrinkled their brows. Amanda took a look around the battered café from under the table. "I think," she paused, "we need a-" her plan was cut off by an "oof!" "Ack!" Katie peeked out from under the table. "Hey! That Linda chick's hurt!" She looked worried. The red head got out from under the table. "What we need is a distraction." Amanda told Katie. "Alright, I think I could whip up something," Katie mused. "Hurry up and get going!!" Amanda urged her. Katie rolled out from under the table and landed at the feet of a dynasty soldier. Its eyes glowed at the sight of her. "Hi there" she said. It bent down to pick her up but she rolled out of the way and yelled, "Hey you walking tin can! Over here!!" It made some kind of primal noise and came towards her. "Eeeep!" Katie thought. Then, another soldier upended the table that Amanda was using for cover. It grabbed her by the shoulders. "Oh!!" Amanda's necklace slipped from her fingers! "Agh! Amanda!" Katie yelled at her friend. "Watch-" Amanda tried to warn Katie, but she was too late. Both girls were picked up single handedly by the neck. The patience kanji that dangled from Katie's neck glowed and surrounded her with a green and pink flecked shield; it blew both her and the dynasty soldier away! Katie landed against the farthest wall. The soldier was smoldering on the sidewalk.

Unbeknownst to the four girls, Shuten, under the guise of Lady Kayura's family had shown up to try and help expedite the clean up of this mess. Mia, Saya, Sanya, Rinoa and Katrina were on their way to downtown Tokyo to try and take care of this themselves.

Katie landed against the wall, but her body never connected. Shuten decided to take his chances and snuck over to her as fast as he could. "Listen," he said, "that necklace you've got is something special." "What?" Katie whipped her head towards the voice beside her. "You're-! Shuten?!" She nearly freaked out. "Yes, now you've got to listen to me." He looked at her with all seriousness. "Fine." Katie replied and looked at him the same way. "That kanji you wear protected you. There is also another-" his words stopped as the red-head girl was slammed against the same wall that Katie was in front of, and landed only a few meters away. "Muh-!" Katie whimpered. Amanda glanced to the side of her as best she could. "Moira!!" A swift right hook to the soldier's throat had it reeling. Amanda poked its eyes and it dropped her. "Moira!" She shouted and scrambled over to her. Linda was already on her way from the cashier's counter.

"Listen!" Shuten hissed and spun Katie around to face him by her shoulders. "Inside of you is a sleeping power, an armor, and you've got to call it!" "I do?" Asked Katie and pointed to herself. "Yes, you do. Now don't play stupid!" Urgency hurried his words. "Now call for it!!" Katie was a little shocked. "But how?" "You're asking me?" Shuten said to her sharply. "You're the one with patience, you tell me!" Katie looked at him, a bit exasperated. "Look, I can't tell you how to do everything," he replied. Katie stood up and grabbed her kanji. "I've got no clue where to start," she thought. As she held her kanji she began to focus, using patience as her mantra. "Keep going," Shuten thought as he kept his watch on her. Another soldier walked up to her and the green and pink flecked shield unleashed itself again. When Katie let her gaze shift to the soldier, she put out her hands before her and yelled, "Armor of Patience! Come to me now! I call for you!" Her shield brought itself into her hands and the energy flowed inward through her body, and lifted something up from the deepest part of her soul. Katie gasped as the armor donned itself upon her.

The style was classic, with wood upon metal based shoulder gards. A traditional style cloth- green with pink flower petals- surrounded her top half of her body with a lighter weight pink under coat. The loose sleeves of the over coat ended shortly after her elbows, with metal-based forearm guards. She was also wearing a pink sash, which held a quiver full of arrows, and a gently curved golden bow was slung over the same right hand shoulder. Covering her waist were the same type of gards, kept in place by a pink chord. The metal skirt was similar to that of the She Ronins, only two lengths. Also in place between the top space of the hammered skirt was a short pink striped cloth. Underneath were loose green pants that ended a little after the knees, followed by dark shinguards and boots. The armor was topped off with a full helmet with a short edge on the top.
After looking at herself in wonder and awe, Katie, now Patience, remembered what Amanda said. "We need a distraction!" She remembered as Amanda's face flashed in her mind. "Hey tin cans! Over here!" Patience stuck her thumbs in her ears and stuck out her tongue. "You wanna' piece of me?" All of the soldiers turned to face her. "What what are you doing?" Shuten yelled at her. "You're crazy!" Linda shouted as she looked over her shoulder. Patience merely smirked and tapped an index finger to her head. "C'mon, metal heads!" She teased as she ran out the door.

"One down, three to go," Shuten thought as he looked to his left, where the three other girls were huddled in the corner. He shook his head and sighed. "Hey you," he said. "Huh?" "What?" "Nani?" All three girls looked at him, then looked at each other. Then they said in unison, "Which one of us are you talking to?" "You," he said impatiently, pointing to Amanda. "Where's your necklace?" "My necklace?" she spoke. "It fell when the soldier tried to strangle the life out of me!" She replied. "Go find it," he ordered. "You'll need it." Amanda gave him a bit of a dirty look. She didn't like being ordered around, yet she knew what her necklace was worth. Amanda set off to search for her necklace while Shuten continued with his mission and explained to the other two girls the significance of their kanji necklaces to them.

Outside the café, Patience was running down the street, trying to think of how she'd get these soldiers off her back. She pulled off her bow. "Aw, man" she grumbled to herself. "I was hoping for a sword," reaching for an arrow, she thought, "at least I could get some accuracy with that." Grabbing four arrows instead of one, she turned around and launched a barrage at the soldiers following her. It triggered a chain reaction of explosions. Patience launched more arrows, letting them fly as far as the café was behind her. They were hit and miss, but they got the job done nonetheless.

Meanwhile, back at the café, Amanda noted the explosions and flicked some of the broken glass away from her necklace and picked it up. "Got it!" She smiled to herself. "Did you find it?" Shuten asked. "Of course," she shot back at him. "It's right here." She held it up as proof. Amanda didn't need Shuten to tell her that she was the proper owner. The power of Honor already ran though her veins- and she could feel it. "Good." Shuten replied. "Now let me explain-" "I know what I'm doing, Shuten." Amanda said as she stood up and clasped the necklace around her neck. More explosions ransacked the soldiers on the street as Amanda turned her back on him to look outside. He frowned and looked perturbed in general. "Let her go," insisted Moira. "She said she knows what she's doing. Believe her." Shuten just watched her.

Pulling her arms out in front of her, Amanda called for her armor. "Armor of Honor, I ask for you! Don yourself!" A dark blue shield flecked with bright green surrounded her and pulled itself towards her hands. The power of honor that flowed though her gently lifted up the essence of her soul- and created her armor. Like Katie's armor, Amanda's Armor of Honor was classic. She wore dark blue shoulder guards. Her cloth was also of a traditional style, dark midnight blue with spring green petals. A sash of bright green held two katanas. At her waist was the wooden guards, held in place by a green chord. The Armor of Honor also had the same hammered metal skirt and center cloth piece. It also had the loose pants, shinguards and boots. Her helmet had a small spike at the top. Taking a quick look over her armor and her weapons, Honor ran out the door and went to find Patience.

"I think we get the gist of what to do now, Shuten," Moira smiled. "Indeed." Agreed Linda. "Um, Ladies" Shuten said, trying to interfere. "Don't worry," Moira said, patting him on the head, "We'll be fine!" He gave her a disgruntled look. "Moira" Linda called. "We'd better get out there." "Okay." Linda and Moira put their hands out in front of them. "Armor of Ethics!" "Armor of Soul!" Their shields were absorbed into their hands. "I call for you! Don yourself now!!" Linda finished her phrase. Her armor was the same traditional style as Amanda and Katie's. Her color was amber, with red petals on her top half. She wore a strong red sash, which held a heavy hammer. Her pants were also amber and she had all the guards and boots. Her helmet had a rim of rivets and a small fin at the top.

"I ask for you! Release yourself!!" Moira finished her phrase, and donned her armor. Her color, light violet with a black petals. She also wore a sash, black, which held two very elongated sais. Her pants were also light violet, and she had all the trimmings. Her helmet had a ring of the wooden armor around it. "Let's go!" Motioned Linda, now Ethics. She and Moira, now Soul, ran out the door. Shuten just stood, watching.

As soon as the blue body stopped in the street, Patience's watchful eye held her fire. "Amanda?!" She smiled. "Hey!!" She waved her hand, full of arrows. "'Maaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnda-chan!!" Honor took a quick look up to see the wildly waving figurine. "Katie!!" Amanda beamed. "I'll take these guys out, you take those ones!" Honor yelled. "Alright!!" Patience yelled back. At these words, the girls were surrounded by all of the remaining soldiers. Honor pulled out her katanas. "Get ready to rock," she mumbled under her breath. Patience loaded her fist full of arrows back into place. Honor took the first swing and got some soldiers smoking. Then her swords started vibrating. "Ack!" she thought. "They're gonna kill us all!" She took a few more swings, nonetheless.


Patience let more of her stash fly. "If only I didn't have to go so quick," she thought between grabs for arrows. "I'd get more hits!" She made a disgruntled face. Then, two other people caught her eye. One in amber, the other in violet.

Ethics pulled out her big hammer and swung it around in a circle. "Violent Spiral!" She yelled as she took out a dozen soldiers. Soul ran fast away from her partner, pulling out her sais. She booted in the face of a soldier, then jumped off it. "Siren Sais!" She commanded as her attack took out a chunk of soldiers in front of Patience. As she bent down to pull out her embedded sais from the pavement, a bunch of soldiers threatened to squish her flat. Patience drew back an arrow slowly, which started to hum. "Fatal flash!" She said, more to herself than to anyone else, and let the arrow fly. It exploded into a thousand tiny pieces and blew up the soldiers in mid-air. "Yes!" Patience said as she made a fist. "I did it!" "And just in time," Soul sighed gratefully. "Thanks," she said. "Uh-huh! Sure!" Patience replied.

At the other end of the street, Ethic's Violent Spiral and Honors sword swinging skills was doing a pretty good job. Still, Honor's katanas were vibrating, and she couldn't figure out why. "I know there's a reason," she thought as she took a hard swing, killing another soldier. "Could it be my sure kill?" Honor looked at her swords wonderingly. "It's got to be," she decided as she made a face. "What's wrong?" Ethics yelled as she finished. "I-" Honor stopped. "I can't think of the words!" She said as she lowered her swords. Ethics walked up and slapped a hand on her shoulder. "Words don't matter now. Only do what you feel is right. The other stuff will come later." "Alright," Honor said with a frown. "Hey," Ethics smiled at her. "I told you not to worry. You'll get it when the time is right." "Thanks," Honor replied. "Yet I still just keep swinging away," she thought. "What the hell is my sure kill?" Her brain drained for words, she yelled, "Final Rest!" Crossing, then uncrossing her swords, a huge flash was emitted from her actions and wiped out all of the soldiers in front of her. "Wow," Ethics beamed. "You're good." This time it was Ethics who said thanks.

Having learned their first sure kills, the girls easily wiped out all the soldiers and the skies started to lighten. The She-Ronins arrived just as the four girls finished off the rest of the soldiers. "What happened here?" Mia yelled as she spotted Shuten. "Huh? Mia Koji?" The five girls ran up to him as the other four regrouped. "Looks like we've got company," Soul commented to the group as they met. "I noticed," Patience said. "Didja see, Amanda? It's Mia!" "Mia?!" Honor whirled around to face her. "Really?!" "Uh-huh! Look!" Patience said as she pointed a finger. "Wow, it really is her!!" Honor went into hyper-happy mode. Ethics raised an eyebrow. "Who's Mia?" she asked. "Only Amanda's favorite character," Patience said as she placed an arm over her friend's shoulder. "C'mon," Soul motioned. "Let's go see if we've shocked Mr. Shuten over there any." With that, the four girls walked over to him and the She-Ronins.

"So, Shuten," Saya asked, "Who are they?" "And why was the green one pointing at me?" asked Mia. "Maybe she wasn't pointing at you, Miss Koji." The four ladies shared a few laughs as they walked up to Shuten and co. "I see you found me," Shuten smirked. Patience's eyebrows lifted two feet off her head. And then she laughed. "You?" This was followed by more laughter from Honor and Patience. And then some more. "I don't get it" Soul mumbled. "Neither do I," Shuten said, crossing his arms. Patience giggled. "It's quite the story," she said, smiling at Honor. "Well, in any case," Mia decided, "what are you doing here, Shuten? It's obviously got something to do with those four." She stated. "I wouldn't mind knowing myself," Rinoa commented. Shuten smirked again. "I've just released the four most powerful women in the universe!" (Insert maniacal laughter here.) "Huh?" Honor, Patience, Soul and Ethics said in unison. They all traded each other shocked looks. "Us?" Patience thumbed at herself. "You can't be serious," Ethics commented. "There's no possible way it could be us," Honor motioned. Soul stared at Shuten. "I think" she paused, "he's serious!" Soul whipped her head around. "No way," Ethics argued. The she looked at Soul. "You're serious!" "Oh my God! She, I mean he, means it!" Honor said. "Wow!" Patience jumped up. "You really mean he means us?" she asked. This continued as the ladies confirmed it all with each other and made a big commotion in general. Mia and company crossed their arms.

"Are you sure about this?" Sanya inquired. "Absolutely," Shuten confirmed. At his word, the traditional clothes of the Ancient One vanished. He now stood in the Demon Armor, where it properly belonged. "Whoa," Patience commented. "Wha..?" Mia trailed off. "I've finally finished carrying out the will of the Ancient One." Shuten said. The entire hullabaloo the four ladies were making stopped. "Now," Shuten smiled, "I can be my true self." He got a round of stares from all nine women. "What??" he asked. "Your true self?" Patience asked. "Yes," he replied. "What's that supposed to mean?" whispered Patience to Honor. "Um he well, maybe he doesn't have to follow anyone's orders any more." Honor guessed. "Hmmmmmm" they said together and stared at Shuten. "What?!" he asked again, clearly exasperated. "I think what we want to know, is what does this mean for you?" Ethics asked. "What it means for me is that my life is now mine to live." "Oh," said Soul, who seemed to be the only one who understood what he meant. "Does this mean that you won't be helping out the Troopers any more?" Mia asked him. "Not necessarily," he replied. There are three groups that I could possibly help out," he said. "and then I've got my own." He smiled to himself. Mia's mouth gaped. "You're not talking about the other three Warlords, are you?" "Of course," Shuten replied. "Since the defeat of Talpa and Lady Miranda, we have no need to be going out hunting to cause pain." He justified. Everyone was just a little bit shocked. "But-" Mia stammered. "But what if-" Shuten turned his back on her. "Hey!!" Katrina roared. "Mi's talking to you, creep!" "I've already informed all of you that nothing bad will come of this," he said as he walked away and disappeared. Katrina crossed her arms and made a frowning face. "Well how do 'ya like that?" she said. "Guy's got no manners." She stated.

"What do we do now?" Patience shrugged her shoulders to Honor, Soul and Ethics. "Well," said Soul as she placed a finger to her cheek, "how about we really get to know each other?" she smiled. "I think it's a good idea," said Honor. "Yup!" added Patience. "So, it's settled." Ethics decided. "Now, where are we going to go and eat?" "Awww," Patience grumbled. "Not another café!" Ethics and everyone else laughed. "No, no," she said as she waved her hands. "I know of a fine restaurant called the Rain Tree. They have excellent food." "Okay," Patience agreed. "Just don't sit us by another window!" More laughter followed as the ladies unarmed themselves.

"Excuse me," Mia interrupted, "but who are you people?" "Us?" Katie asked as she thumbed to herself. "Yes, she means you," Saya pointed out. Linda turned around to face the five She-Ronins and stared at them, pondering. "Why do they need to know who we are?" She asked herself. "It's never a good thing to turn down an ally, though" She also considered this. "Hm," Linda said as she put a hand to her chin. "What?" Sanya asked. "It's not like we're against you or anything, we would just like to know who you are!" She smiled nervously. "It would be best for both of us if we were allies and not enemies." Rinoa offered. "I'll have to agree with you on that," Linda said, nodding her head. "Ladies?" She said as she turned around to face Moira, Amanda and Katie. "What do you think?" "I guess so," sighed Katie. "Okay," agreed Amanda, "Why not?" "You're sure?" Moira asked. Linda nodded her head. "Alright," Moira agreed. They turned around to face Mia, Saya, Sanya, Rinoa and Katrina. Katie, Linda, Amanda and Moira all looked at each other, trying to decide who'd go first. "I'm Linda Kimiko," she said with a short bow, "it's nice to meet you." "Moira Liadan. A pleasure," she said with a smile. "I'm Amanda Johnson," she said making a gesture. "It's good to meet you." "And I'm last," Katie said with a laugh. "My name's Katie Hunt. How do you do?" "Fine, thank you." Mia offered. "I'm Mia Koji," she said and smiled at the four girls in front of her. "Saya Oko." "Sanya Morris." "I'm Rinoa" "And I'm Katrina."

Katie couldn't help but beam at Amanda. Amanda did the same thing. "Okay you two," Moira commented, "the jig is up. What's this with some sort of story?" "Anyways," Linda said, "you and Katie have been laughing like a bunch of little school children ever since we ran into you." She looked at Amanda as she put her hands on her hips. "Perhaps, this would be best discussed over a meal," Amanda smiled. "I'm sure you've got some explaining to do too, Katie," Moira pointed out. "I saw you're quite the artist." Katie went pale, and her eyes got big. She gasped. "My pictures!!" she said to Amanda, making fists in front of her mouth. "Ack! Oh no!" Amanda replied. "That's not fair!!" Katie shouted to no one in particular. "C'mon!" Katie motioned. "I've gotta' go back to the café and try to find them!!" Katie took off like a shot towards the café with Amanda in pursuit. "They'll need help," Moira said. "I guess we can't go eat untill we find what's left of her drawings." Linda replied and frowned deeply. "What is it?" Moira asked. "The soldiers were stomping all over our tables before they flipped them over. Then there was the fight." Linda said. "I don't think she's going to find anything," she finished sadly. "Oh," Moira commented, concerned.


^_^ Patience's Little Comment Section ^_^

If you do not know who Mia, Saya, Sanya, Rinoa and Katrina are, Please read Honor's The Disaster Armors.

Also, if you don't know who Shuten is...

Shuten = Shuten Doji... aka Kaosu ("Aincent"), aka Oni Masho (Demon Warlord), aka Koma Toshitada (Last, First). In RW, his dubbed name is "Anubis".

To find out more about Yoriden Samurai Troopers, I highly suggest that you visit http://www.theria.net/yst/ There is a TON of information there on the Japanese counterpart.(Once again, Yoriden Temple is NOT my site. Repeat, NOT my site. ^_^)

The Mia vs. Nasty Issue!!

Okay, it's been recently brought to my attention that if I use the masho's Japanese names in my story, then why do I use "Mia" instead of "Nasuti"?

Well, the reason for that is due to the fact that it is Mia who is used in The Disaster Armors, and not Nasuti. On another account, I believe that Mia & Nasty are two completly different characters. Mia leans more towards Ryo, and Nasty leans more towards Seiji. After this chapter, Mia & Shuten aren't scheduled to speak to each other again. (Besides, LoI isn't about Mia-tachi, it's about Koma-tachi & Moira-tachi!!)

Oh yeah! And one more thing... since all the Warlords have in RW are their noms de guerre, and no actual real name, I decided to stick with the YST format for them. Why? Well, they've actually have names in YST, and I prefer them to have names, instead of just Rajura, Shuten, Anubis and Naaza. It's nicer that way. ^_^