It was a sunny afternoon the day Reia walked home. The first sunny day in a long time. The cool breeze swished the skirt of her school uniform and blew her long, dark blue hair behind her. Reia seemed like any ordinary 16 year old girl, living in the 21st century. On the outside she looked normal. But many of her schoolmates avoided her. She was weird. She put out strange energy vibes. And she could hold her own in any school yard fight, as a few school bullies learned the hard way. Reia lived alone in a big house with her single mother, and rumor had it she had a wild pet. Lion? Wolf? Tiger? Bear? A lot of rumors surrounded Reia's life. A lot of rumors about her family, too. The only ones that bothered her were the ones about her father. The other kids at school learned quickly that you didn't mention Reia's father to her.
Reia turned onto a dirt road, entering a less populated part of town to follow the road up to where her house was. She heard footsteps behind her.
"If that's that jerk Isamu again I'll give him a kicking he'll never forget," She mumbled to herself as she turned around. Five dark figures in armor.
"Can't you Dynasty creeps leave me alone?!" She groaned. "I have a lot of homework tonight!"
Reia jumped backwards, throwing her books at the first Dynasty soldier. She jumped over the head of the next soldier to attack, his spear barely missed her body, but it tore her skirt.
"Darn it!" She screamed, landing in the dirt on her knees. "My mom is going to kill me! All right, you jerks asked for it!"
She quickly climbed to her feet and jumped again to avoid the spears of the soldiers. Her school uniform burst off her body in shreds, replacing itself with a suit of body armor.
More soldiers appeared from the woods around her.
"There are too many," She thought grimly. "I guess I'll just have to level the forest today...
"TO ARMS!" She shouted, jumping back from the soldiers to give herself breathing room.
"ARMOR OF-" She was suddenly cut off by a shock wave that suddenly came across the path. She was knocked to the ground and skidded several yards, dirt flying everywhere. A deep voice was laughing at her. She knew that voice.
"Cayle," She hissed as the Warlord of Corruption loomed over her.
"How's my favorite little Ronin Warrior doing?" He sneered.
"I've been better," She coughed. "You just wait 'til the others show up."
"The others WON'T show up," Cayle laughed. There was a flash of light and Dais appeared behind him. Then a large spider web behind him. Her comrades, the other Ronin Warriors were hanging in the web... looking very lifeless.
"I'll kill you if they're harmed," She hissed, trying to get up. Cayle slashed the air above her with his sword, sending black lightning coursing through her body.
"They're fine, girl," He sneered. "Relatively. You know, for a girl, you sure are troublesome. As obnoxious as the first generation of Ronin Warriors."
"F-FIRST generation?!" Reia exclaimed. "What are you talking about NOW, madman?" "You think you are the first to take arms? The battle has been going on a long time, girl. A long time. It ends, TODAY," Sehkmet laughed from the other side of the web.
"Sir," One of the Dynasty soldiers muttered, holding out Reia's schoolbag.
"What is it, you fool?" Sehkmet snapped, taking the bag. He opened the small pocket and took out a small, black and white snapshot. He smiled.
"Well, well, well. Look at this," He chuckled.
"Who is this handsome young fellow?" Dais snorted, waving the picture in Reia's face.
"Leave that alone," She hissed.
"Tell us, Reia, how is it that you got a picture of him?" Sehkmet asked in a low voice.
"Go to he-" Reia was cut of by another cruel slash of Cayle's sword.
"She does look like him," Dais muttered.
"Could it be that the career of making things difficult for us runs in her family?" Cayle chuckled.
"What are you talking about?!" Reia screamed.
"Is this your father girl? Huh? IS IT?" Sehkmet shouted, pulling her hair.
"What does my father have to do with this?!" She moaned.
"Like father, like daughter," Dais chuckled. "Killing you will be as much fun as killing your father was."
"WHAT?!"
"Your family line of Ronin Warriors ends NOW," Cayle shouted, raising his sword for the killing blow.
"NO!" A woman's voice screamed.
"You!" Dais hissed.
"Mother!" Reia shouted. "Get out of here!"
"Ray, this is beyond you!" Her mother shouted. Reia's mom was a beautiful Japanese woman, long black hair, almost always garbed in traditional Japanese kimonos.
"This is your daughter, traitor?" Sehkmet sneered. "And this Ronin is her father? You were more of a traitor than we thought!"
"I wouldn't expect one with the brains of an adder to understand the particulars of Reia's existence!" The woman spat.
"And what does that mean, exactly?" Dais growled, reaching for his blades.
There was a sudden bright flash of light, Reia saw her mother fall, and heard the clash of weapons against armor. And then she was falling, falling into an abyss of white hot light, screaming soundlessly.
She saw her friends pass by her, they were falling, too. And then... darkness.
"All right, class, we break for lunch, see you all back here at 2:00," The teacher's voice droned.
Rowen sighed and collected his books. He brushed his dark blue hair back and casually glanced out the window. Sure enough, Mia's red jeep was parked down at the curb. He could hear the horn honking, meaning that Kento was probably behind the wheel, impatient to pick him up and get to lunch ASAP.
"How are the classes treating you?" Auburn-haired Cye asked with a polite smile as Rowen heaved his books into the back seat and crawled into the car.
"All right, I guess," Rowen said with a shrug.
"Let's just get something to eat, I'm starving," Kento whined, rolling down the window to let the breeze roll into the car.
"Mia, Sage, and Ryo are waiting at the restaurant," Cye said in his soft, accented voice as Rowen idly hung his arm out at window and Kento pushed the speed limit.
"What's with you, man?" Kento finally asked as they stopped at a red light. "You look penciled, no, penecill- Um..." Kento paused in search of the right word.
"Pensive?" Cye put in.
"Yeah, pensive. Thoughtful. What's eating you, Rowen?"
"I don't know," Rowen replied, rubbing his temples. "Things are just too quiet. Too perfect."
Kento sighed. "I think about the Dynasty a lot, too. But we killed Talpa, remember? Everything's fine..."
"Maybe," Cye mumbled as the jeep jolted forward once more.
"Here we are, finally," Kento exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot of the Chinese restaurant. "Man I love Chinese food!"
"You love this place because you eat free," Cye muttered.
"Can I help it if my parents own the place?" Kento replied with a grin.
Cye and Kento were different as night and day; Kento was loud, boisterous, and loved to eat. Cye was the quietest of the group, the "cute" one who seemed almost delicate at first glance, although in a battle he was every bit as fierce as Kento. Perhaps Cye's cooking ability was one of the things Kento liked about him.
"Hey!" Mia called with a cheerful smile, waving at the three guys as they entered to restaurant, which was not very crowded. She and Ryo scooted down to make room for Rowen on their side of the booth, Kento and Cye took a spot on the other side next to Sage.
"How are your extra college courses going?" Sage asked, nodding at Rowen while pushing his blond hair away from his right eye, only to have it flop back into place.
"Fine, I guess," Rowen grunted in response.
"What's your problem?" Ryo asked, touching Rowen's shoulder lightly. Rowen turned to look at Ryo, who had long black hair and blue eyes, his closest friend in the group.
"He's got bad vibes," Kento said. "Where is the waitress?" He muttered, looking around.
"Wish a day could go by without one of us getting like that," Sage muttered.
Just then, a tall, slender girl wearing a clingy red silk Chinese dress appeared at the table. Her hair was dark blue, tied up into two buns on the side of her head, the excess hair hanging in braids that fell just beyond her shoulders.
"Nihao," She said quietly. "I am Reia. I will be your waitress this afternoon."
"Finally," Kento grunted. Sage sat up quickly and smoothed his hair back; Sage was well known for being the flirt of the group, and one of his goals was to charm any girl he put his mind to.
Everyone ordered something. Sage winked at Reia as he handed her his menu, she tried to keep herself from blushing. Then she noticed Rowen.
"F- For you, sir?" She asked. Rowen looked up, their eyes met. She stifled a gasp. His handsome face reminded her of a male version of her own, although it was not noticeable at the moment due to all the makeup she was wearing. His blue eyes were like reflections of her own.
"I... ah, nothing for me," He muttered. "Just tea..."
"I'll get your orders out here soon," She said, hurriedly grabbing the remaining menus and going off at a pace just slow enough not to qualify as a mad dash.
"Hey, Rowen," Sage said with a big grin, reaching across the table to snap his fingers at Rowen. "She was pretty cute."
"Huh?" Rowen grunted, as if he suddenly remembered where he was.
"That waitress. She checked you OUT!" Sage exclaimed, Rowen looked down. "Couldn't help but notice how she looked at me, too," Sage added with a bigger grin.
"You OK?" Ryo asked. "Hey, Rowen?"
"It's love," Mia chuckled.
"Ask for her number or something when she comes back," Cye chided.
"Yeah, brainiac, you can't be hitting the books all the time!" Kento added.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Rowen muttered. "Something about her..."
"Oh come on, Rowen we all saw how you guys reacted! Just admit it, you're infatuated! You think I, of all people, would miss the signs?" Sage snapped.
"I feel something about her," Rowen said, looking toward the kitchen where the girl had disappeared to. "Some kind of affection..."
"I knew it," Sage whispered.
"But a different kind," Rowen continued. "Like, different from what Sage feels for every other female walking down the street."
"That is so not true," Sage laughed. "Your loss, Rowen, I'M going to ask that waitress to see me on her break."
"You know, Rowen," Cye said, casting a weird glance at Sage. "She looked kind of like you."
"Maybe you've got a long lost sister," Kento laughed.
Reia leaned against the wall of the bathroom, breathing heavily, heart pounding. She felt around her bag until she found, it, the faded black and white picture. She nearly fainted when she looked at it. The man in the picture was the same one sitting out there. Rowen of Strata, the one she had been searching for. The others must have been the other Ronin Warriors.
"Now what?" She whispered, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.
Reia turned onto a dirt road, entering a less populated part of town to follow the road up to where her house was. She heard footsteps behind her.
"If that's that jerk Isamu again I'll give him a kicking he'll never forget," She mumbled to herself as she turned around. Five dark figures in armor.
"Can't you Dynasty creeps leave me alone?!" She groaned. "I have a lot of homework tonight!"
Reia jumped backwards, throwing her books at the first Dynasty soldier. She jumped over the head of the next soldier to attack, his spear barely missed her body, but it tore her skirt.
"Darn it!" She screamed, landing in the dirt on her knees. "My mom is going to kill me! All right, you jerks asked for it!"
She quickly climbed to her feet and jumped again to avoid the spears of the soldiers. Her school uniform burst off her body in shreds, replacing itself with a suit of body armor.
More soldiers appeared from the woods around her.
"There are too many," She thought grimly. "I guess I'll just have to level the forest today...
"TO ARMS!" She shouted, jumping back from the soldiers to give herself breathing room.
"ARMOR OF-" She was suddenly cut off by a shock wave that suddenly came across the path. She was knocked to the ground and skidded several yards, dirt flying everywhere. A deep voice was laughing at her. She knew that voice.
"Cayle," She hissed as the Warlord of Corruption loomed over her.
"How's my favorite little Ronin Warrior doing?" He sneered.
"I've been better," She coughed. "You just wait 'til the others show up."
"The others WON'T show up," Cayle laughed. There was a flash of light and Dais appeared behind him. Then a large spider web behind him. Her comrades, the other Ronin Warriors were hanging in the web... looking very lifeless.
"I'll kill you if they're harmed," She hissed, trying to get up. Cayle slashed the air above her with his sword, sending black lightning coursing through her body.
"They're fine, girl," He sneered. "Relatively. You know, for a girl, you sure are troublesome. As obnoxious as the first generation of Ronin Warriors."
"F-FIRST generation?!" Reia exclaimed. "What are you talking about NOW, madman?" "You think you are the first to take arms? The battle has been going on a long time, girl. A long time. It ends, TODAY," Sehkmet laughed from the other side of the web.
"Sir," One of the Dynasty soldiers muttered, holding out Reia's schoolbag.
"What is it, you fool?" Sehkmet snapped, taking the bag. He opened the small pocket and took out a small, black and white snapshot. He smiled.
"Well, well, well. Look at this," He chuckled.
"Who is this handsome young fellow?" Dais snorted, waving the picture in Reia's face.
"Leave that alone," She hissed.
"Tell us, Reia, how is it that you got a picture of him?" Sehkmet asked in a low voice.
"Go to he-" Reia was cut of by another cruel slash of Cayle's sword.
"She does look like him," Dais muttered.
"Could it be that the career of making things difficult for us runs in her family?" Cayle chuckled.
"What are you talking about?!" Reia screamed.
"Is this your father girl? Huh? IS IT?" Sehkmet shouted, pulling her hair.
"What does my father have to do with this?!" She moaned.
"Like father, like daughter," Dais chuckled. "Killing you will be as much fun as killing your father was."
"WHAT?!"
"Your family line of Ronin Warriors ends NOW," Cayle shouted, raising his sword for the killing blow.
"NO!" A woman's voice screamed.
"You!" Dais hissed.
"Mother!" Reia shouted. "Get out of here!"
"Ray, this is beyond you!" Her mother shouted. Reia's mom was a beautiful Japanese woman, long black hair, almost always garbed in traditional Japanese kimonos.
"This is your daughter, traitor?" Sehkmet sneered. "And this Ronin is her father? You were more of a traitor than we thought!"
"I wouldn't expect one with the brains of an adder to understand the particulars of Reia's existence!" The woman spat.
"And what does that mean, exactly?" Dais growled, reaching for his blades.
There was a sudden bright flash of light, Reia saw her mother fall, and heard the clash of weapons against armor. And then she was falling, falling into an abyss of white hot light, screaming soundlessly.
She saw her friends pass by her, they were falling, too. And then... darkness.
"All right, class, we break for lunch, see you all back here at 2:00," The teacher's voice droned.
Rowen sighed and collected his books. He brushed his dark blue hair back and casually glanced out the window. Sure enough, Mia's red jeep was parked down at the curb. He could hear the horn honking, meaning that Kento was probably behind the wheel, impatient to pick him up and get to lunch ASAP.
"How are the classes treating you?" Auburn-haired Cye asked with a polite smile as Rowen heaved his books into the back seat and crawled into the car.
"All right, I guess," Rowen said with a shrug.
"Let's just get something to eat, I'm starving," Kento whined, rolling down the window to let the breeze roll into the car.
"Mia, Sage, and Ryo are waiting at the restaurant," Cye said in his soft, accented voice as Rowen idly hung his arm out at window and Kento pushed the speed limit.
"What's with you, man?" Kento finally asked as they stopped at a red light. "You look penciled, no, penecill- Um..." Kento paused in search of the right word.
"Pensive?" Cye put in.
"Yeah, pensive. Thoughtful. What's eating you, Rowen?"
"I don't know," Rowen replied, rubbing his temples. "Things are just too quiet. Too perfect."
Kento sighed. "I think about the Dynasty a lot, too. But we killed Talpa, remember? Everything's fine..."
"Maybe," Cye mumbled as the jeep jolted forward once more.
"Here we are, finally," Kento exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot of the Chinese restaurant. "Man I love Chinese food!"
"You love this place because you eat free," Cye muttered.
"Can I help it if my parents own the place?" Kento replied with a grin.
Cye and Kento were different as night and day; Kento was loud, boisterous, and loved to eat. Cye was the quietest of the group, the "cute" one who seemed almost delicate at first glance, although in a battle he was every bit as fierce as Kento. Perhaps Cye's cooking ability was one of the things Kento liked about him.
"Hey!" Mia called with a cheerful smile, waving at the three guys as they entered to restaurant, which was not very crowded. She and Ryo scooted down to make room for Rowen on their side of the booth, Kento and Cye took a spot on the other side next to Sage.
"How are your extra college courses going?" Sage asked, nodding at Rowen while pushing his blond hair away from his right eye, only to have it flop back into place.
"Fine, I guess," Rowen grunted in response.
"What's your problem?" Ryo asked, touching Rowen's shoulder lightly. Rowen turned to look at Ryo, who had long black hair and blue eyes, his closest friend in the group.
"He's got bad vibes," Kento said. "Where is the waitress?" He muttered, looking around.
"Wish a day could go by without one of us getting like that," Sage muttered.
Just then, a tall, slender girl wearing a clingy red silk Chinese dress appeared at the table. Her hair was dark blue, tied up into two buns on the side of her head, the excess hair hanging in braids that fell just beyond her shoulders.
"Nihao," She said quietly. "I am Reia. I will be your waitress this afternoon."
"Finally," Kento grunted. Sage sat up quickly and smoothed his hair back; Sage was well known for being the flirt of the group, and one of his goals was to charm any girl he put his mind to.
Everyone ordered something. Sage winked at Reia as he handed her his menu, she tried to keep herself from blushing. Then she noticed Rowen.
"F- For you, sir?" She asked. Rowen looked up, their eyes met. She stifled a gasp. His handsome face reminded her of a male version of her own, although it was not noticeable at the moment due to all the makeup she was wearing. His blue eyes were like reflections of her own.
"I... ah, nothing for me," He muttered. "Just tea..."
"I'll get your orders out here soon," She said, hurriedly grabbing the remaining menus and going off at a pace just slow enough not to qualify as a mad dash.
"Hey, Rowen," Sage said with a big grin, reaching across the table to snap his fingers at Rowen. "She was pretty cute."
"Huh?" Rowen grunted, as if he suddenly remembered where he was.
"That waitress. She checked you OUT!" Sage exclaimed, Rowen looked down. "Couldn't help but notice how she looked at me, too," Sage added with a bigger grin.
"You OK?" Ryo asked. "Hey, Rowen?"
"It's love," Mia chuckled.
"Ask for her number or something when she comes back," Cye chided.
"Yeah, brainiac, you can't be hitting the books all the time!" Kento added.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Rowen muttered. "Something about her..."
"Oh come on, Rowen we all saw how you guys reacted! Just admit it, you're infatuated! You think I, of all people, would miss the signs?" Sage snapped.
"I feel something about her," Rowen said, looking toward the kitchen where the girl had disappeared to. "Some kind of affection..."
"I knew it," Sage whispered.
"But a different kind," Rowen continued. "Like, different from what Sage feels for every other female walking down the street."
"That is so not true," Sage laughed. "Your loss, Rowen, I'M going to ask that waitress to see me on her break."
"You know, Rowen," Cye said, casting a weird glance at Sage. "She looked kind of like you."
"Maybe you've got a long lost sister," Kento laughed.
Reia leaned against the wall of the bathroom, breathing heavily, heart pounding. She felt around her bag until she found, it, the faded black and white picture. She nearly fainted when she looked at it. The man in the picture was the same one sitting out there. Rowen of Strata, the one she had been searching for. The others must have been the other Ronin Warriors.
"Now what?" She whispered, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.