Armor of the Cherry Blossom
By: Keila Tenshi
Part Ten: Capture
Kento lost all feeling of direction as his world went topsy-turvy on him. It became solid again as he slammed into the ground. *iThat's it,/i* he thought, *iI'm never underestimating girls again./i*
Margo rushed to his side. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed in Japanese, one of the few terms she knew. In Chinese she said, [I didn't mean to kick you so hard!]
[That's okay,] he said rubbing his jaw. [It was a very good kick.]
Margo grinned and placed her hands on his face relieving his pain somewhat. [I told you I have a black belt in kickboxing,] she said.
Kento caught her hands in his and kept them on his face. He looked deep into her eyes.
It had been two days since they had arrived in their world and is was obvious those two were falling in love.
Without another word Kento leaned in and kissed her.
Kim couldn't help the sly grin that spread over her face as she watched the two from the safety of the trees nearby. She tensed when she heard a step behind her, but relaxed when her Evil Sense told her it wasn't evil. "I was wondering when that would happen," she told Sage softly.
"It was inevitable," Sage said. He took a glance at her. Ever since she had come he had changed dramatically, his flirting for one had almost disappeared, and everyone (besides the three newbies) were surprised.
Kim looked over at him and winked. "Follow my lead," she said, then walked out into the open, clearing her throat.
Sage followed.
Margo and Kento jerked apart looking guilty and getting to their feet.
"So Sage how much do you owe me? $20? I did win the bet you know," Kim asked seriously.
Sage sighed. "Yeah the bet was $20 that they would fall in love," he said morosely.
"What!" Kento asked.
Margo looked clueless. [Okay I got none of that,] she said in English.
[The boys and I had a bet about you two falling in love. I won $20 from each,] Kim said slyly.
[What!] Margo exclaimed.
Both looked mad.
"We're kidding!" the both exclaimed.
"Good!" Kento said.
[Actually I was angry you two didn't bet a kiss,] Margo told Kim in French.
[What!] Kim yelled in French. She blushed brightly then grew angry at Margo's smug look.
"Huh?" Sage said. Both he and Kento looked confused.
"Oh nothing," Kim said grinning nervously. [I'm going to hurt you,] she told Margo in French.
Margo grinned innocently at her.
"Lunch is ready," Kim told them in Japanese and English rolling her eyes.
Sage immediately realized her mistake and pulled her against him as the two eaters bolted towards the house nearly running her over. "You've got to watch out for that when you say food around Kento," Sage told her.
"I know," Kim said shyly. "Margo too." She realized how close he was holding her and pulled away quickly.
Sage reluctantly let her go.
"Come on! I'll race you back to the mansion!" Kim said before she bolted off.
"Hey no fair!" Sage yelled after her before giving chase.
*iLaugh,/i* a sinister voice thought from his vantage point, *ibecause you will both be screaming in pain soon./i* Tor jumped from the tree he was in and teleported to his chambers half way down. He'd learned from his observations of their previous battle with the Ronins and Warlords that Cherry Blossom's Evil Sense could only sense a certain level of evil, tone that down (keep your evil thoughts in the back of your head) and she wouldn't be able to sense you without trying (hence why she was able to walk around in the city without freaking out all the time). And that's what he did. As long as the Ronin's were distracted and not 'looking' for him, he could get past them.
~So what have you discovered Tor?~ Rhon asked him telepathically.
~Hardrock and the one Boeg likes are in love,~ Tor sent.
~Hmmmm.... Foolish mortals! We can use this information greatly to our advantage,~ Rhon announced. ~Tor, Releian, Boeg, Matarhal! Come to me!~
A few moments later the four Shadow Knights had appeared and were kneeling before their master.
"You called Master?" Releian purred.
"Yes, I have a mission for you and Matarhal," Rhon said.
"My lord?" Matarhal asked.
"Boeg and Tor will lead an attack upon Toyama, gathering souls and creating general chaos while Releian and Matarhal lead off and capture one of the Ronin scum," Rhon told them. He folded his hands before his hooded face watching while his warriors promised not to fail and disappeared. Rhone smiled.
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Nearly everyone watched with something akin to horror and disgust at Kento and Margo as they ate, swallowing plate after plate full of food.
"They really are made for each other," Rowen whispered to Cye.
Cye nodded and then looked to the person sitting next to him. Uneasily he scooted farther away from Joanie. It wasn't that he didn't like her, just that the glaring contest she was having with Sekhmet might turn violent and he didn't want to be close by if that happened.
"So how far have you gotten on translating Joanie?" Kim asked hoping to avert World War III.
"Finished with the Gaelic, working on the Phohecian," Joanie said sharply without looking away from Sekhmet.
[Joanie would you relax!] Kim exclaimed at her in Greek.
[Not until Snake-boy does!] Joanie answered in German.
Kim sighed. *iTime to resort to drastic measures!/i* she thought. [Idiot,] she said in Korean.
Margo stopped eating and looked at Kim. "Uh-oh," she breathed, and then cringed. She'd seen them do this so many times she knew what they were saying.
[Idiot!] Joanie yelled in Korean. [What do you mean idiot?!] She glared darkly at Kim.
[Exactly what I said stupid!] Kim yelled back, only in Vietnamese.
Joanie growled.
Kim glared.
The battle began.
Insults began flying between the two in all the languages they both knew. Everyone stared, catching only one or two that flew by in Japanese, English, French, Chinese, or Spanish (Margo also knew Spanish).
"QUIET!" Ryo yelled, finally fed up.
Joanie and Kim went quiet and began glaring at Ryo.
Ryo glared back.
Suddenly Kim gasped and sat up straight, her eyes wide.
[What's wrong?] Margo asked in English.
"Evil," Sage said his visible eye narrowed.
Kim cried out and clutched her head in her hands as the evil feeling became painful.
"Kim!" the others yelled.
Margo got to her feet and rushed over to Kim placing her hands on her shoulders and concentrating.
The pain stopped and Kim relaxed. "The city is under attack," she told them.
"Joanie, Margo, stay here!" Ryo told them.
By his gestures and tone of voice Margo knew what he was saying.
"I'm going," Joanie said.
[Joanie! I know you said you're going, but listen to him and stay here!] Margo said. [We need you to translate that piece of text, not to get in the way.]
Joanie growled. "Fine then!" she exclaimed. "I'll stay."
"Thank you," Rowen said, to both girls.
"Let's go!" Kento yelled. He called up his subarmor and headed for his van while Kim got Mia's keys. Soon they were on their way to Toyama, White Blaze and White Gold in tow.
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"You'd think they'd be here quicker if they truly defended these pathetic weaklings...." Boeg commented watching as citizens ran from the Shadow Soldiers screaming in terror.
"This quick enough for ya?" Kento asked him from behind.
Boeg turned to find Kento's fist quickly filling his field of vision.
"Let's let the two big boys duke it out while we handle the tin cans," Ryo said watching Boeg fly 50 feet before landing.
"Remind me to never mess with Margo if Kento is going to punch that hard...." Dais idly commented.
"Where are the others? I can sense them somewhere here," Kim said to Ryo and Sage as Cye, Rowen, Sekhmet, Dais, and Cale leaped at the nearest Shadow Soldiers harassing a group of school girls.
"We'll find them soon enough," Ryo said. "Right now though it's the people we need to save."
Kim nodded and followed the two into battle.
Working as a team, the four Ronins and Warlords and the new one fought against the threat to Toyama, while Kento had his fun with Boeg, both of them making it personal.
"HELP!!! HELP US!!!"
Kim looked up as she heard the scream and saw a Shadow Soldier attacking a woman who held a baby in her arms. She looked over at the others and saw that they were too busy to notice. Narrowing her eyes she ran for the woman and baby.
The Shadow Soldier saw her and pushed the woman against the wall of the alley they were in. Her grip on the baby loosened and the Shadow Soldier snatched it up. "My baby!" the woman screamed reaching after the Shadow Soldier from the ground.
Kim ran past the woman and grabbed the Soldier by the arm spinning him around and punching him in the face. His grip loosened on the baby and Kim snatched the screaming child into her arms. She leaped up and kicked the Soldier in the chest knocking him onto his back and turned to hand the woman her child and shove her out of the alley before the Soldier got back to his feet and grabbed Kim around the neck, squeezing. Kim winced a bit as the hinges in his armor pinched the flesh of her neck, but she had Armor strength on her side as she dragged him forward towards the nearest wall. She placed her feet up on the wall and walked up it, causing his grip to break. She flipped over him and kicked him in the back, slamming him into the wall, before whipping out her sword and slicing him through. Kim grinned in triumph as she rubbed her sore neck.
"Well, well, well...." a familiar male voice snarled over the sound of applause. "You saved a brat. I bet you feel all warm inside now." Tor stepped out of the shadows and regarded the girl in a defensive position before him.
Kim's eyes narrowed and she watched him warily, backing up out of the alley so the others could see her.
Rowen leaped into the air, firing arrows with deadly accuracy into the multitude of Shadow Soldiers, felling each one that he aimed for. Landing lightly on the balcony of a nearby building he looked down on the fight, finding each of the others and seeing how they were doing.
Sage was easily slashing his way through the armored spirits, moving through them without stopping, his sword a blur, leaving a thick cloud of mist that dissipated quickly behind him.
Ryo and Cale were doing the same, slashing rapidly through the Soldiers, side to side, protecting a family of four who were backed up against a wall.
Sekhmet and Dais were fighting along side Cye.
Kento had disappeared somewhere fighting Boeg.
Kayura was backed up against the wall, surrounded by a half circle of Soldiers. But Rowen wasn't worried. The blade of her kusari-gama was keeping them at bay well enough, if any got to close they were sliced in half.
*iWhere's Kim?/i* Rowen thought looking around. A flash of sun on gold and white caught his attention and he turned to see her backing out of an alley, her sword raised and ready. *iWhat's going on?/i* he thought. "Oh no," he breathed as he saw Tor following her out.
Tor smirked evilly as he slowly drew his sword. "You're very beautiful you know," he said. "Do bad you have to die!" He leapt at her. Rowen's arrow barely missed taking him in the throat and he leapt back looking at the arrow imbedded in the concrete before him. Growling and holding onto the slight cut in his throat he looked up.
Kim wasn't there any more.
He snarled and looked around for her, casting his senses about for her presence, preparing for a surprised attack.
"Hello again Tor."
But Sage had come to take her place.
Tor smiled evilly. "Hello again Halo." He took a step forward and then retreated back a step as the others, except Rowen, joined Sage in facing off against him, the Shadow Soldiers dealt with, and Boeg to distracted fighting Kento to call up more. A flash of blue and gold told him that Strata had 'rescued' Cherry Blossom from him, and the enraged cries that reached his ears told him she wasn't happy with that. Tor stood out of his defensive position and looked haughtily at them, a smirk curling his lip. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a handful of dust which he threw out for the wind to catch. "Shadow Soldier rise!" he yelled. Immediately hundreds of Shadow Soldiers appeared and attacked the Ronins and Warlords. "I'll be seeing you soon!" Tor yelled as the armored ones began battling the armored spirits again. Laughing manically he teleported back to his master.
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Rowen was glad he was wearing armor. But even through the armor the force of Kim's pounding fists on his back hurt. Ungracefully he dropped her to the ground and stood over her with his arms crossed ready to be screamed at.
"What did you do that for! I could have taken him! Not with help I admit, but you didn't need to kidnap me away!" Kim accused getting to her feet.
"Remember you said you didn't fight well with weapons?" Rowen asked calmly.
"Yeah," Kim snapped back. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at Rowen with his same expression. "What of it?"
"It's obvious he's a lot better with swords then you are."
"Obviously, that's why I was backing out of the alley, to signal for help."
"You would have been dead before anyone reached you."
Kim blinked. "And how do you see that?" she asked.
"The others just barely got to him now. He would have broken through your defense and sliced you open by now."
Kim blinked more. "Guess I better thank you now huh?" she said sheepishly.
The sounds of battle reached their ears.
"Thank me later," Rowen said turning to run back to the new melee.
Kim took a step to follow when a feeling of evil assaulted her senses, making her freeze in her tracks. She looked in the direction of another alley and saw Releian standing there.
The woman in green-blue smiled tauntingly at Kim and blew her a kiss.
Kim narrowed her eyes. An explosion from the battle reminded her of the others and her eyes briefly looked that way. She looked back at Releian.
"Come on Cherry Blossom," Releian taunted waggling her fingers at Kim.
Kim looked back at the battle scene and made up her mind. The others had it under control, and as long as she kept her evil sensing abilities in the off position she would be okay. Kim took a step towards Releian, transforming down into her sub-armor.
Releian smirked and backed into the alley, disappearing into the shadows.
Kim broke into a run towards the alley, wary, senses alert, ready. And she was happy she was ready, as the deadly beauty launched a diving attack from above. Kim's reaction was instantaneous. She leaped back into an aerial attack and kicked Releian twice, sending her flying back to the pavement.
"Witch...." Releian snarled getting to her feet. She held her chest where Kim's second kick had struck and wiped the blood from her mouth where Kim's first kick had connected.
"I've been called worse," Kim stated taking a defensive position.
"I'm not surprised." Releian screamed as she leaped for Kim's throat.
Kim ducked and spun around, her leg arching through the air, aiming for Releian's chest. Releian blocked the kick and threw one of her own, catching Kim in the chest. Cherry Blossom shook it off and renewed her attack, throwing a fast flurry of punches and kicks her opponent could barely block. Then she was on the defense as Releian sprung her own flurry of punches and kicks.
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"LIGHTNING BOLT CUT!"
The last of the Shadow Soldiers disappeared in a flash of lightning.
Sage looked over his work and nodded, proud of the little destruction to the street and surrounding buildings he'd caused.
"Nice job Halo," Sekhmet complimented as the others joined him. Sage nodded in response.
"What of Hardrock and hard head?" Dais asked.
"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"
An explosion from the street next to them told them where the two combatants were.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! MASTER!"
"I think he's done," Ryo said grinning.
Kento appeared a moment later looking mad. "Coward teleported back to his boss on me," he growled.
"That sounds familiar...." Rowen said.
The former Warlords shot him sharp looks.
"Heh.... Did I say that out loud?"
"Wait a minute. Where's Kim?" Kayura asked looking around.
"I thought she was right behind me when I came to join in the second round," Rowen said.
An explosion from above made them all look up at the roofs. Two figures, one in gold and white, one in green-blue, went flying overhead.
Releian spun in mid-air and fired an energy blast at Kim that barely missed her and hit the building behind. The Ronins and Warlords down below ran for cover as large chunks of building came flying down.
"She's insane!" Sage exclaimed as the two fighters landed on another building and disappeared from sight.
"She's learned very quickly," Kayura commented.
Up on the rooftop Kim and Releian traded furious blows. It was obvious Kim was the better fighter, but Releian was quicker and merciless.
Kim shook off another punch to the gut and retaliated with an upper-cut that sent the green-blue woman flying into the air. Releian got to her feet snarling.
"That's it!" she shrieked. "You're mince meat!"
"Mince meat?" Kim repeated in wonder. She paid for her wondering as a screaming Releian tackled her.
The gloves were off, all honor forgotten, fighting styles left in the dirt; their fight became an all out, no-holds-barred, knock down cat fight. Clawing, hair pulling, biting, scratching, wrestling, neither one of them was going to give up.
Kim finally got an advantage and got on top of Releian, pinning her down. "This ends now," she gasped.
Releian grinned evilly. "I think not. Don't you agree Matarhal?"
*iCrap!/i* Kim thought. She moved to turn but was too late. She screamed as her body felt consumed by fire, every nerve of her being ablaze. When the darkness of unconsciousness began to fall, she accepted it, letting it cool the burn.
"Kim!" Sage yelled as he heard the screams.
As one the Ronins and Warlords leaped into the air and used the building as a stepping stone to the roof top.
"No!" Sage yelled when he landed.
Matarhal and Releian stood within a portal, Kim hanging limply from a pair of Matarhal's arms.
"Too late boys and girl," Releian cooed, stroking Kim's hair. "Too late."
The portal closed before the others could reach it.
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Author's Note:
I finished part 10! Now please don't kill me!! Well I *should* have more time to finish this thing since I'm in college now. Should. Bleh.... Anyways.... This summer I went to Japan for two weeks and had a BLAST!!! Now I'm trying to find a job there, and I haven't even graduated college yet.... But I will fulfill my goal of living there at least a year! In time.... Now to start Part 11.... Oy....