Dimensional Lockers
Co-written by Jou-chan and Cye's girl



Disclaimer:

We don't own the Ronins, but we wish we did. That would be pretty sweet. But we do own Circe and Reya so if you want to use either or both of them you have to ask!



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In a dark, shadowed hallway, three figures stood, waiting. The room had an unnatural glow to it, and it was cold. An ornate throne stood before them, with golden twists and symbolic sketches decorating it. A person sat in it, silent and brooding.

After a few minutes, she stood up. "So the Siren and the Kitsune have met up with the other powers."

"Yes Nelone-sama. We believe the Ronin Warriors have encountered them." Said a male voice, slightly husky.

"We have not yet found their location. However, the evidence we have has pinpointed their whereabouts to be somewhere in the Japanese city of Toyama." A female added, her voice clear and velvety.

"Good. Iara, I'm going to put you in charge of the next assault. I expect results." Nelone said, clasping her hands behind her back.

Iara smiled smugly. "Yes, Nelone-sama."

The three subordinates got up and began to leave.

"Drake. I have a job for you." Nelone announced. "While Iara and Seth plan the attack on the Ronins, I want you to infiltrate the inside."

Drake, who had been quiet up until now, gave a curt nod. "I understand."



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"Good night, Circe." Reya murmured sleepily, turning over on her futon.

Circe closed her eyes, her hands behind her head. "Hn."

Reya yawned, and pulled her new, light-blue comforter up higher.

Circe, however, had a little more trouble getting to sleep. She sat up and beat her pillow into submission, then settled back down.

Reya shivered slightly, her lips trembling. "Circe… I'm freezing… did you open a window?" She asked drowsily.

Circe, also beginning to feel chilled, shook her head. "No… It's probably just cold outside…" She mused.

Reya sighed, bringing her blanket up to her chin. "If you say so…"

Circe pulled her green and brown comforter tighter as well, hoping to warm herself up.



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Cye sipped his tea, flipping through his surf magazine while Kento ate his breakfast loudly. Rowen was still sleeping, and Sage had already eaten, then left to meditate, something he did every morning.

Ryo stifled his yawn, wandering in. "Hey guys…"

"Morning, sunshine." Cye said, flipping the page.

"Yeah…" Ryo poured himself some coffee, then sat at the table with the others. "Are the girls up yet?"

"Yuppers…" Reya mumbled, stumbling in the kitchen.

"Sleep well?" Cye asked, glancing up at her.

"Mmmm… no." She sighed, dropping into a chair

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "No? Why not?" He asked.

Reya shrugged halfheartedly. "I had a weird dream. There was a lot of water, and singing. And blood." She murmured, putting her chin on her hand.

Ryo nearly spit out his coffee, and Cye's cup stopped half way to his mouth.

Kento blinked. "Blood?"

Reya nodded. "Yeah… is that tea I smell?" She asked curiously, sniffing the air.

Cye managed to nod, and got up to get her a cup.

"So you dreamt of water, singing, and blood??" Ryo repeated, a bit dumbfounded.

Reya smiled at Cye, taking the cup from him, then nodded. "Yeah… I think maybe I had just a little too much excitement, huh?"

Kento grinned, almost relieved. "Yeah, I could understand that." He agreed, winking at her.

Cye nodded, smiling. "You're probably right. It's definitely conceivable." He added.

Just then, they all heard the front door slam, and Circe entered the kitchen not a minute later, furious.

Ryo smiled nervously at her. "Uh… goodmorni-"

"That JERK!! I can't believe… the nerve…" She slammed her Gom Do Che on the table, making the mugs and plates jump, as well as everyone else seated there.

"Uh… Circe, are you okay?" Reya asked, now wide-awake.

"No, I'm not okay!! I've just crossed dimensions into a place where no one understands me except for a group of guys who all happen to live together with some kid, a rich lady, and a huge cat and one of them happens to be the most incredibly chauvinistic, stuck-up, arrogant pretty-boy I've ever met in my whole entire life!! And now, to top it all off, I get some sadistic dream that totally screws all my chances of a good night sleep with some freaky looking fox thing, too many bright lights and blood everywhere!!" Glaring like there was no tomorrow, Circe leaned forward, gripping the table, growling. "Now ask me that damn question again!"

Reya blinked, clutching her cup to her chest involuntarily. "… Uh…"

Ryo got up, carefully taking the Gom Do Che out of her reach. "Would you like some coffee, maybe? Something to eat?"

The front door was heard again, and Reya and Cye exchanged looks.

Kento clasped his hands together gently. "I sense on-coming trouble."

Circe balled her fists, seething quietly, as Sage stalked into the room.

He glared at her, his usually calm eyes flashing with rage. "You…"

Ryo glanced nervously at the gleaming sword he gripped tightly.

Normally, a calm Sage with a sword was quite a sight.

Now, an angry Sage with a sword scared the pants off him.

"Uh… Sage, why don't you take a seat…" Cye offered, pulling out a chair for him.

Sage ignored Cye, walking around the table slowly towards Circe. "You… I'm wet… because of you…" He growled.

Circe narrowed her eyes, watching him. "Good. You deserved it."

"What?!" Sage started towards her, only to be stopped by Cye and Kento.

"Whoa, boy, calm down there." Kento said, pulling him back some.

Sage looked at him fiercely, glaring like he wanted him to burn on the spot. "Calm down?! Do you know what she did?!?"

Reya calmly peeled his fingers off the hilt of the sword, having done this many different times before. When you were best friends with Circe, it was hard to avoid.

"Uh… no… what did she do?" Cye asked, glancing at the others. Kento was holding Sage off pretty well by himself, so he stood in the middle and tried to act as mediator.

Circe rolled her eyes disdainfully, careful not to make eye contact with Reya, whom she expected was giving her a very stern look just about now.

"She threw… my sword… in the lake…" He muttered, through clenched teeth.

Kento snorted, and Ryo tried not to smile, as he was in Sage's line of fire.

Cye nodded slowly, taking in the abnormality of the situation, then turned to Circe. "Okay… Circe, why'd you feel the need to chuck his sword in the water?" He asked calmly.

Circe glared at Sage, crossing her arms. "Because he's an insulting bastard."

At this, Sage made another attempt at her, but Kento held strong.

"You… bitch!" Sage cried angrily, much to the surprise of the other Ronins.

Ryo blinked at him, and Cye stood aghast for a second or two. "Uh… alright…"

Circe raised an eyebrow, her eyes still glinting dangerously. "Flattery will get you nowhere." She muttered.

Reya cleared her throat, getting the dark haired girl's attention. "Circe, knowing you, you must have done something to provoke him." She challenged, watching her friend firmly.

Circe scowled.

Cye smiled at Reya, then looked back to Circe. "I think perhaps you should explain what happened?" He suggested.

"All I did was touch his stupid sword and he started spazzing out." She muttered, glaring at something on the wall.

Sage snorted, clearly disagreeing with her side of the story. "You didn't even ask! You're the one who went ballistic after I told you to give it back!" He growled.

Circe glared at him. "I did *not* go ballistic!" She hissed back, taking a step toward him.

Ryo intercepted her, holding her back. "Come on, you two, chill out. It sounds to me like you're both just being stubborn." He said, glancing at her, and then to Sage.

Circe looked away, scowling, and Sage shook Kento off his arms, giving Ryo a dirty look.

Reya smiled at Sage, hoping to get him in a better mood. "Can I trust you if I give this back?" She asked.

He twitched slightly, took the sword, and with on last glare at Circe, stalked out of the room.

Just then, Rowen entered the room, and ran a hand through his hair. "Hey guys, what's Sage's problem?"

Kento scratched his head, grinning, and Cye sighed. Reya smiled slightly. "Circe."

Circe, upon hearing her name, gave Reya a slight look, then stormed out of the kitchen.

Rowen scratched his head, glancing around curiously. "Okay… so what's for breakfast?"



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Reya stretched languidly, digging her toes in the soft, white sand as Circe went through her movements in front of her, trying to calm herself down.

"You know, you're getting pretty good at that." Reya complimented Circe as she watched her, while blocking the sun from her eyes with her hand.

Circe smirked, and thrusted the jitte forward, then stood up and bowed. "Thank you." With a small chuckle, she tossed the jitte in the air and caught it, and added, "It looks like maybe you're getting a tan out here."

Reya shrugged, grinning. "If I'm lucky. So what'da ya think, Circe?" She asked, leaning back on her elbows.

Circe glanced at her, running a finger along the edge of the blade gently. "About what?" She murmured.

Reya smiled, shaking her head. "Come on, we know each other too well. You know what I'm talking about."

Circe kicked sand at her playfully, then tossed the jitte down and looked around. "Yeah yeah." She sighed, "I guess it's not too bad. Even if Sage is an ass, everyone else has been pretty good natured."

Reya smiled mischievously. "I thought you guys were gonna get along really well. I'm a little surprised at your behavior."

Circe raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you know… you sat on him in the car, then you hit his ass… And then that whole flirting episode in the store… It looked like things were going along great until this morning." Reya teased.

Circe gave her a dirty look. "Ooooh, you little bitch…"

Reya laughed, and ran down the shore side of the lake. "Come on, let's do some exploring!" She cried.

Circe rolled her eyes, and then glanced down at the weapon gleaming in the sand. It lay next to the book Reya brought out, something she had meant to read but never did. Scolding herself internally, Circe shook her head. //It'll be fine…// And so she ran after her tawny haired friend.



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"Hey, Ro, wanna go join the girls down by the lake?" Ryo asked, leaning over the back of the couch.

Rowen looked up and grinned. "Yeah, sure, just let me beat Sage here, and I'll be right with ya." He said.

Ryo grinned at the annoyed look on Sage's face at that comment. "Well make it quick, okay buddy?"

"Yeah, no problem." Rowen agreed, and earned another glare from the blond haired one.

Cye shook his head. "Hey, I think I'll join you guys. The weather outside is great."

Kento nodded. "Yeah, we'll do some bonding. It'll be great."

Ryo grinned, then looked at Sage. "Come on, what do you say, man?" He prodded playfully, batting his eyes at him in a very *friendly* way.

Sage rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever." He replied, and then finally moved his rook.

Rowen grinned, and took it with his queen. "Check mate."



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Reya waded into the cool water, peering towards the bottom. "Hey Circe, come check this out. Look at these shells." She yelled.

Circe brushed her bangs out of her eyes, shifting uneasily. "Uh… okay…" Slowly, nervously, she made her way out to where Reya was.

Reya smiled, giving her friend a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry, it's not even deep. It's only up to your hip, see? Now look." She pointed to some shiny shells on the bottom of the lake floor.

Circe nodded. "Very nice. I think I'll go back up now." She murmured, and went to head to the shore.

Reya raised an eyebrow as Circe stopped. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Circe blinked, and tried to lift her foot up again. "I… I'm stuck… I… can't…"

Reya sighed, and tried to help her friend by pulling her towards the shallow end. Circe didn't budge.

She looked up, the fear beginning to show in her eyes. "Reya…"

Reya frowned. "Circe, it's alright. I'm sure you've just got your foot tangled up in something." She stated calmly.

Circe shook her head, gulping. "N… no… there's noth-" But something suddenly jerked her foot and she barely got out a scream before she was pulled back through the water.

Reya tried to grab her but whatever was pulling her was fast. "CIRCE!!"



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The guys just finished laughing at Kento's joke when Reya's scream pierced the air. They all exchanged quick looks before they broke into a sprint, down towards the beach, where the sound came from. As they broke through the trees, they saw Reya out in the water, up to her stomach, yelling Circe's name frantically.

"Circe! Oh my god, oh please… Circe… Oh shit!" She covered her mouth, breathing rapidly.

Cye, being the best and fastest in the water, got to her first. "Reya, what's wrong? Where's Circe?" He asked, a determined look in his eyes.

Reya could barely answer. "She… oh my god, Cye… she can't swim… she got… got pulled back and… she hasn't surfaced… shit…"

Kento put a comforting arm around her, trying to sooth her quietly.

Cye nodded, then dove into the water.

The five watched carefully for any sign or hint of the other two, the only noise being the soft lapping of the water on the shore.

"Cye's a great swimmer, Reya… he'll get her…" Rowen murmured, his deep blue eyes scanning the surface of the lake.

Reya began hyperventilating, on the verge of tears. "Oh god…" She leaned on Kento for support, her knees shaking underneath her.

Rowen rubbed her back, glancing at the others for support.

Ryo smiled nervously. "Yeah, definitely." But his voice betrayed him.

Suddenly, about thirty yards out, Cye surfaced with a coughing Circe, helping her stay up.

Relief swept through everyone, and Reya sighed, covering her face. "Oh thank god…"

The two soon reached the others, and Cye handed Circe off to Ryo, who put an arm around her, supporting her. "It's alright, come on…"

Circe, able to touch the bottom, knocked him away and stumbled for the shore. "Fucking shit, it's not alright!" Upon reaching the shoreline, she fell to the ground on her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Silent tears spilled down her cheeks as she cursed silently. "Damnit!"

Cye, breathing hard, put an arm around Ryo, who looked slightly hurt. "It's okay, man… She's just upset." He whispered, as the two walked to shore.

Rowen reached Circe first, and crouched down next to her. "Circe, talk to me." He said calmly, rubbing her back.

Kento and Reya sat down near them, joined shortly by the others.

Circe wiped her eyes, pushing her hair out of her face. "Wh… what the hell… was that…?" She asked, her voice quivering slightly.

No one answered. They didn't know how to answer, as they had no idea what happened themselves.

"Circe, what happened?" Sage asked quietly.

She sat back, taking a deep breath. "I… shit… I hate water." She shoved her sopping wet hair back, finally beginning to get back her composure.

Reya, also calming down, shivered slightly. "Well… we were looking at these shells out there, conchs, I think. Circe… wasn't very keen on the idea, so she tried to get back to shore, but she was stuck. I tried to help, but suddenly she got flung back…" Her voice trailed off, and she glanced up at her friend.

Circe's face darkened. "Something was pulling me back and under. And it wasn't seaweed or a current or any other damn water thing." She said, her eyes flashing.

Cye nodded, running a hand through his hair. "There aren't any rip currents in lakes, and there's no way something could have pulled you that far out, or deep." He agreed.

There was a small silence before Ryo spoke up. "So basically, we've got no idea what it was." He muttered.

Rowen scratched his head, trying to piece everything together. "Circe… did you feel anything at all?" he asked.

Circe paused, staring at him. "There was… a kind of pressure… and it was warm, even though the water was cold," She paused again, licking her lips. "It sounds stupid, but it's like there was some kind of force there. Whatever happened, I felt a shock…"

The guys exchanged silent looks. Whatever happened, it definitely wasn't normal.

Sage suddenly crawled over by Circe and gently grabbed her leg.

She narrowed her eyes, but he gave her a slight look.

"You didn't tell us you got cut." He extended her leg, and ran three fingers up the side of her thigh. When he pulled them back, they were covered with blood. No one else had really noticed in all the excitement.

Circe pursed her lips, eyeing him warily.

"We should try and stop that from bleeding anymore." Ryo stated, glancing at the others.

Kento took his bandana off and tossed it to Sage. "Here man, use that for now."

Sage caught it effortlessly and proceeded to press it against her thigh.

Circe retracted slightly, and opened her mouth to say something, but Reya caught her eye and gave her a sharp look.

Sage's lips thinned in annoyance, and he re-applied pressure to the cut.

Reya stood up. "I've got an idea. I'll take someone with me back up to the house, and we can get her some dry clothes and proper bandages while Sage tries to stop the bleeding. We can stop and get my book and Circe's… thingy, and take it back up to the house, too." She suggested.

Cye nodded, getting up. "That's a good idea. I need to change myself, and we can get Mia to help. Come on."

Kento nodded, joining them. "Yeah, while you guys do that, I'll explain what happened to Mia and Yuli." He added.

Rowen waved as the three headed down around a bend in the shore and soon fell out of sight. "Don't they make a lovely couple." He murmured wryly, settling back in the sand and watching Sage and Circe.

Sage smirked, glancing at him. "Yeah. It's kind of amusing."

Circe raised an eyebrow, looking from one to the other. "Are you talking about Cye and Reya?" She asked.

Rowen grinned. "Maybe. What do you think?"

Circe took the time to squeeze her hair dry, a small smile dancing across her face. "I suppose. Of course, if it really does happen, and he hurts her, I'll kill him."

Rowen chuckled.

Sage pinched her leg. "I think that'll work for now. Let's get back up to the house." He said, getting up.

Circe raised an eyebrow at his gesture, and then started to get to her feet, but Rowen spoke up.

"Wait a minute. If she walks up there, it'll just open the cut again. You have to carry her." He said, his midnight blue eyes twinkling merrily.

Circe narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Sage peered at Rowen, glaring slightly before complying with him and scooping Circe up off the ground.

She gave an indignant squawk, a bit unprepared, and grabbed a handful of his shirt, wrinkling it nicely.

Rowen laughed. "That's funny. Come on, you guys."



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Seth chuckled, carving his dagger into his wooden chair over and over again. "My, that was fun." He murmured.

Iara tossed her thick, shiny hair over her shoulder. "Only you would enjoy such frivolous means." She sniffed.

He shrugged, grinning insanely. "Hey, it worked, didn't it?" He looked over his should at the silver haired boy leaning against the wall and smirked. "That information you got was priceless, Drake. Really came through."

Drake glanced up at him, smirking slightly. "I work on it."

Iara ran a hand through her purple strands, admiring it. "It *was* my idea, if any one remembers." She spoke up.

"Yes Iara, surprisingly clever, I must admit." Drake teased lightly, brushing his hair back from his eyes.

Seth snickered, eyeing Iara keenly. "Every dog must have her day."

Iara snarled at him, narrowing her eyes. "Bite your tongue, you little prick. You've had your five minutes but it's over now so climb off that high horse of yours!"

Seth shook his head, tsking quietly. "Temper, temper. You really should look into those anger management classes those humans talk about." He said innocently.

Drake grinned. "Imagine that. Iara attending a psychological meeting. She'd tear them apart in minutes." He drawled.

Iara stood up, and tossed her hair again. "I can see you boys aren't going to act mature, so I'll just leave and spare myself from the torture." With that, she stuck her nose in the air and stalked out of the room.

Seth grinned at Drake and rolled his eyes. "Women."



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Jou-chan's Notes:

Introducing the bad guys! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter… actual new stuff this time, ne? We're just so giving!

In case any one was interested the name Iara is pronounced "Yara", with a Y, and Nelone (Nel-own-ae).

Also, no damage was done to Sage's sword in anyway or fashion, so rest assured. Decipher that, as you will. ^_^;;

And last but in no way least, REVIEW! For the love of Sake, review!! *sobbing* Reviieeeew!

"Feed me, Seymour!" -Random quote; can you guess from where? Winner gets a mention!



Cye's girl's Notes:

*Glances at Jou-chan, and pats her back reassuringly* Don't worry. They'll review!

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully we'll have more up later. Tell us what you think! What you liked, disliked, just REVIEW!! PLEASE?! *starts crying like Jou-chan* PLEASE!!!