"No!" Kasukio shouted, lunging to push Ryo out of the way. One of the knives missed and the other grazed the back of his neck.
"Thanks, man," Ryo groaned, sitting up. "I owe you one."
"Oww... I'm hit," Kasukio mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, his hand came away bloody.
Meanwhile, Osa was trembling with anger. Yormo seemed rather amused and Jiquar looked shocked.
"Kasukio!" Lys cried, running to her fallen boyfriend.
"Lys..." Kasukio mumbled as she fretted over him, "I'm OK..."
"There's more where that came from, Ronin scum!" Osa snarled, pulling out another knife.
"You... you bitch..." Lys hissed. "DAO CHI!!!" Lys's practice garment became her Halo sub armor as she drove her shoulder into Osa's stomach with a speed that surprised everyone in the room.
"So you want to play hard ball?!" Osa grunted in pain, kicking Lys off of her. "Fine. Dark Ronins, TO ARMS!"
Osa held a long knife in each hand. "POWER OF INJUSTICE!!!" She screamed as she slashed the air in front of her, the blades leaving a trail of black energy in their wake. Her white tunic shredded to reveal the skin tight body armor beneath. That armor dissolved as black cherry blossoms floated in the air. It then reformed on her body, but it was glowing slightly, and her white garments over the armor looked slightly grayer. The blades of her knives became red. The scarf in her hair turned black and became hard metal.
Yormo arched his back and released an arrow into the air above him, shouting, "POWER OF REBELLION!!!" The arrow exploded into a shower of black blossoms and sparks rained over the blind Ronin. His orange armor became a rich maroon and gray, and his wooden long bow became obsidian.
Jiquar initiated his transformation the way the other Ronin Warriors did, with arm and hand motions. "POWER OF INDIFFERENCE!!!" He screamed as a purple energy seemed to be absorbed into the leather armor he was wearing. His glasses shattered and became shards of purple glass that attatched themselves to his gauntlets. His eyes became bright purple, as if he had colored contacts in. A short sword appeared at his side, but he made no move to use it.
"Fine, then, we can do that too, right guys?" Ryo shouted.
"Yeah!" Kento shouted.
"You got it!" Sage replied.
"Let's do it, Ryo," Cye yelled.
"Ronins?" Kasukio asked, looking at Lys, Xanthe, and Junichi.
"GO!" The three responded in unison.
"Ronin Warriors... TO ARMS!" Ryo and Kasukio shouted in unison, looking at each other in shock. "ARMOR OF WILDFIRE...DAO JIN!!!"
"ARMOR OF HALO... DAO CHI!!!" Lys and Sage transformed together, like synchronized dancers.
"ARMOR OF HARDROCK... DAO GI!!!" Kento and Xanthe called their armor together.
"ARMOR OF TORRENT... DAO SHIN!!!" Junichi and Cye shouted and substituted their wooden practice spears for their Torrent tridents.
"You guys might as well back off 'cause you're hopelessly outmatched," Kento said, pointing his spear at Osa.
"And we hate to gang up on people," Said Xanthe.
Osa cracked a smile and glared at Kento and Xanthe. "Ronins of Justice... prepare to die!" She said quietly. "BLADES OF INJUSTICE!!!" As Jiquar cast a force field around the other Ronins to keep them immobile, Osa leapt into the air, a brilliant red energy shining around her as she released a cloud of knives at them.
"AUUGGHH!" The orange clad Ronins screamed in pain as they hit the ground, cut in multiple places.
"Let that be a lesson to you, whelps," Osa sneered as the three Dark Ronins vanished.
"Ah, Xanthe!" Junichi gasped as the force field released them.
"Kento!" Cye cried.
"It hurts," Xanthe groaned as his armor faded away to his torn street clothing.
"Hold on, man, you'll be OK," Junichi said, putting Xanthe's head in his lap.
"Hang on, Kento," Cye said. "Can you hear me?"
"We gotta get them back to Mia's place!" Ryo exclaimed.
"There's no time!" Kasukio whispered.
"Lys," Junichi murmured, looking up at the silver haired girl. "Please... help him!"
"J- Junichi... Lys," Xanthe croaked out, blood trickling down his lip.
"KENTO!" Cye shouted when Kento sighed and his eyes closed.
Not wasting another precious moment, Sage dashed to Kento and put his hands on either side of his head. A pale green aura surrounded him and his fallen comrade as he used his Halo powers to heal Kento, and Lys did the same for Xanthe. Suddenly the aura vanished; Sage groaned and collapsed forward onto Kento as Lys heaved a great sigh and dropped backwards. Kasukio jumped to catch her.
"Are they gonna be OK?" Ryo asked.
"Sage is exhausted, Kento's wounds were bad," Cye replied, sounding worried.
"Man, where am I?" Kento groaned, sitting up. "The last thing I remember was that red head throwing knives at me... What happened to him?" He gasped when he saw Ryo supporting Sage.
"He exhausted himself healing you.... Are you OK?" Cye asked.
"Talk to me, Xanthe..." Junichi muttered, hitting Xanthe lightly on the face.
"Stop hitting me or I'll throw you across the room," Xanthe muttered as his hazel eyes opened.
"Thank God," Junichi muttered, closing his eyes.
"Junichi... were you crying?" Xanthe asked, half in amusement and half in utter bewilderment.
"Don't be a moron," Junichi gasped, turning away to wipe the tears from his eyes.
"Did we save them?" Lys asked groggily.
"You were great," Kasukio murmured, leaning forward to kiss her.
"Ugh, someone make them stop," Xanthe groaned. "I just got better don't make me ill again!" Lys smiled shyly and Kasukio glared at him.
"My dad is gonna have a fit when he sees what we did to the dojo," Sage groaned as he regained consciousness. There were scorch marks all over the walls, floors, and ceiling. "It was really rude of them to attack us here, they could have at least waited 'till we were outside."
Junichi had tacitly separated himself from the group, silently disarming and turning his back on everything.
"Junichi?" Xanthe asked, concern in his voice.
"We should get back," He said, heading for the dojo exit.
"I guess I'll be back here tomorrow to try and correct this damage before my parents get back from the States," Sage sighed as he locked the doors.
"Hey, wait up!" Xanthe shouted, running to catch up to Junichi. They walked far ahead of the rest of them, heads down, talking quietly.
"Hey, uh, Lys," Ryo whispered, nudging her elbow.
"What is it, Ryo?" She said, her copper eyes staring into his soul.
"Those two, they're awful close... are they, uh, I mean, well... just how close are they...?" Ryo asked nervously, not quite sure how to word his question. Lys stiffened when she figured out what Ryo was trying to ask.
"Xanthe and Junichi are not lovers," She said bluntly. "I think it was rather rude of you to ask," She added. Her eyes seemed more of a dark orange now rather than a shining copper.
"I didn't mean it- Ah," Ryo sighed, feeling it was better to let the issue drop than to let a debate start.
"They're brothers," Lys blurted out.
"Really?" Kento asked. "You wouldn't be able to tell..."
"Not biological brothers," Kasukio explained. "Foster brothers. Xanthe's family took Junichi in and Xanthe says his parents are into the paperwork to officially adopt him."
"I see," Cye breathed. "I had no idea..."
"Xanthe is practically all Junichi has in this world," Lys said solemnly. "I mean, he has us, we're all his friends and we do anything we can to help him, but..." She trailed off. "I shouldn't talk about it."
"So he's an orphan?" Ryo asked, the touch of sadness in his voice not escaping her.
"Yeah," Kasukio said, shaking his head. "The Dynasty killed his family when he was nine."
"Oh..." Ryo's eyes opened wide with shock.
"Let's not talk about it anymore, please..." Lys groaned. Kasukio put his arm around her reassuringly and whispered something in her ear.
Kento and Cye exchanged worried glances over Ryo, who was now deep in thought.
Osa cursed as she took off her tunic and slowly peeled the black armor from her body, pulling it down to her waist. There was a large black and blue mark on her stomach, just below her breasts.
~ That Halo bimbo really nailed me hard, ~ She thought. ~ It went right through my armor... ~
She stared at her half nude body in the mirror, tenderly rubbing the bruise. ~ Mother always said I was too pretty to be a mercenary, much less an assassin, ~ Osa pulled her clothing off the rest of the way and sank into the bath she had prepared. She knew the other warriors all had a hand servant or two to do things like that for them, and in the male warriors' cases, they probably used the serving wenches for more than drawing baths.
But she liked drawing her own bath, putting her own spices in the water. ~ There's nothing like the smell of ginger and rose petals to ease the mind, ~ She thought as she took to bindings out of her long red hair and shook it loose.
"Ma'am?" One of Arcane's slaves appeared at the doorway to Osa's bathing chamber.
~ What's her name again?... ~ Osa thought, and then decided it wasn't worth wondering about. "Yes?"
"I bring you a new tunic," She explained, setting the white bundle on a chair. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, that's fine," She said, waving her hand.
She could hear ruckus laughter coming from a nearby room in the fortress. The other warriors were probably celebrating their trouncing of the Ronins.
~ Not that they did anything to assist the cause. It was me that delivered the sure kill on the Hardrocks. ~
She lifted herself out of the tub and rolled her hair into a large bun, tying her scarf over it. She put on an orange and blue kimono and went into the assembly room. Sure enough, she was greeted by a scene that reminded her of her days in the merc camps.
~ Only these aren't my fellow mercenaries, my friends, ~ She thought bitterly.
Several serving wenches were running around bringing drinks to the seated warriors. Jiquar was seated in a far corner, absently sipping at a goblet. Trox was bared to the waist in another far corner, a mug of beer in each hand and a serving girl on each arm, both in equal states of undress. Fiian was sitting on a bench by the fire, with a flask in one hand and Celtia in his lap, who was giggling and drinking from a large goblet, some potent looking black stuff Osa figured even a male merc wouldn't touch. ~ Well, I'm pretty sure one of their beds will remain cold tonight, and the other quite warm. ~ Yormo was no where in sight, neither was Kaori. Balin, Persephone, and Jessira were also missing.
~ Odd birds, these other Dark Ronins, ~ She thought as she took a swig of the wine that a serving girl had handed her almost immediately.
"They're drunk. How repulsive," Kaori's scornful voice came behind Osa. The masked brunette was looking at Fiian and Celtia.
"They'll regret this tomorrow morning," Osa agreed, as she absently picked her teeth with a knife.
Jiquar eyed Osa from across the room, but she seemed a tad blurry. Groaning and rubbing his eyes, he swallowed the last of his wine and tossed his goblet on the floor, leaving a small purple trail illustrating the path of the goblet on the fire hearth.
~ She's sweet, ~ He thought, staring at the her while her back was turned to him, but not thinking about her personality so much as her figure. ~ Wish she didn't feel compelled to wear so many lairs... ~
"Listen up, you scum," Balin's loud voice carried across the room. "Lord Arcane is very pleased with the way things went on the field expedition. Now he has another assignment for some of us. I need Yormo, Jiquar, Fiian and Celtia to report to my chambers at sun rise... apparently he wants you to retrieve a few traitors..."
"Cayle..." Yormo muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Sekhmet," Jiquar said to himself.
"Hmm... Dais," Celtia chuckled to herself dreamily.
"Lady Kayura, here I come," Fiian whispered, a grin spreading across his face as his slugged down the last of his wine.
"Why can't we go now, Balin?" Jiquar shouted impatiently.
"Because you're all too drunk to spell your own names, let alone beat the former warlords," Balin sneered. "Tomorrow morning. Sun rise."
With that, the Ronin of Sin was gone.
"It ain't fair," Trox grunted. "Blind boy and four eyes have already been on a mission."
"Hold your tongue, pig!" Kaori snapped, reaching for her staff.
"Who's gonna make me, baby?" Trox countered, standing and reaching for his staff.
"Leave her out of this, Trox," Yormo hissed, grabbing his bow.
"ENOUGH!" A raspy voice screeched as a wave of frigid air knocked the belligerent warriors over.
"Kaori," Persephone cooed, helping her up. "Since you haven't been drinking, your father wants us to go on a little mission..."
"Yes, I've been waiting to get out there," Kaori said.
:: Can I count on seeing you when you return, luv? :: Kaori was momentarily startled by the voice in the back of her mind. It always did startle her.
~ I'll come to your chambers if I'm not too tired, ~ She thought, knowing Yormo would pick her thoughts up. Although he wasn't looking at her, she knew the smile that appeared on his lips were for her.
:: Good luck, luv, :: He called to her in her mind as she left with Persephone.
"Thanks, man," Ryo groaned, sitting up. "I owe you one."
"Oww... I'm hit," Kasukio mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, his hand came away bloody.
Meanwhile, Osa was trembling with anger. Yormo seemed rather amused and Jiquar looked shocked.
"Kasukio!" Lys cried, running to her fallen boyfriend.
"Lys..." Kasukio mumbled as she fretted over him, "I'm OK..."
"There's more where that came from, Ronin scum!" Osa snarled, pulling out another knife.
"You... you bitch..." Lys hissed. "DAO CHI!!!" Lys's practice garment became her Halo sub armor as she drove her shoulder into Osa's stomach with a speed that surprised everyone in the room.
"So you want to play hard ball?!" Osa grunted in pain, kicking Lys off of her. "Fine. Dark Ronins, TO ARMS!"
Osa held a long knife in each hand. "POWER OF INJUSTICE!!!" She screamed as she slashed the air in front of her, the blades leaving a trail of black energy in their wake. Her white tunic shredded to reveal the skin tight body armor beneath. That armor dissolved as black cherry blossoms floated in the air. It then reformed on her body, but it was glowing slightly, and her white garments over the armor looked slightly grayer. The blades of her knives became red. The scarf in her hair turned black and became hard metal.
Yormo arched his back and released an arrow into the air above him, shouting, "POWER OF REBELLION!!!" The arrow exploded into a shower of black blossoms and sparks rained over the blind Ronin. His orange armor became a rich maroon and gray, and his wooden long bow became obsidian.
Jiquar initiated his transformation the way the other Ronin Warriors did, with arm and hand motions. "POWER OF INDIFFERENCE!!!" He screamed as a purple energy seemed to be absorbed into the leather armor he was wearing. His glasses shattered and became shards of purple glass that attatched themselves to his gauntlets. His eyes became bright purple, as if he had colored contacts in. A short sword appeared at his side, but he made no move to use it.
"Fine, then, we can do that too, right guys?" Ryo shouted.
"Yeah!" Kento shouted.
"You got it!" Sage replied.
"Let's do it, Ryo," Cye yelled.
"Ronins?" Kasukio asked, looking at Lys, Xanthe, and Junichi.
"GO!" The three responded in unison.
"Ronin Warriors... TO ARMS!" Ryo and Kasukio shouted in unison, looking at each other in shock. "ARMOR OF WILDFIRE...DAO JIN!!!"
"ARMOR OF HALO... DAO CHI!!!" Lys and Sage transformed together, like synchronized dancers.
"ARMOR OF HARDROCK... DAO GI!!!" Kento and Xanthe called their armor together.
"ARMOR OF TORRENT... DAO SHIN!!!" Junichi and Cye shouted and substituted their wooden practice spears for their Torrent tridents.
"You guys might as well back off 'cause you're hopelessly outmatched," Kento said, pointing his spear at Osa.
"And we hate to gang up on people," Said Xanthe.
Osa cracked a smile and glared at Kento and Xanthe. "Ronins of Justice... prepare to die!" She said quietly. "BLADES OF INJUSTICE!!!" As Jiquar cast a force field around the other Ronins to keep them immobile, Osa leapt into the air, a brilliant red energy shining around her as she released a cloud of knives at them.
"AUUGGHH!" The orange clad Ronins screamed in pain as they hit the ground, cut in multiple places.
"Let that be a lesson to you, whelps," Osa sneered as the three Dark Ronins vanished.
"Ah, Xanthe!" Junichi gasped as the force field released them.
"Kento!" Cye cried.
"It hurts," Xanthe groaned as his armor faded away to his torn street clothing.
"Hold on, man, you'll be OK," Junichi said, putting Xanthe's head in his lap.
"Hang on, Kento," Cye said. "Can you hear me?"
"We gotta get them back to Mia's place!" Ryo exclaimed.
"There's no time!" Kasukio whispered.
"Lys," Junichi murmured, looking up at the silver haired girl. "Please... help him!"
"J- Junichi... Lys," Xanthe croaked out, blood trickling down his lip.
"KENTO!" Cye shouted when Kento sighed and his eyes closed.
Not wasting another precious moment, Sage dashed to Kento and put his hands on either side of his head. A pale green aura surrounded him and his fallen comrade as he used his Halo powers to heal Kento, and Lys did the same for Xanthe. Suddenly the aura vanished; Sage groaned and collapsed forward onto Kento as Lys heaved a great sigh and dropped backwards. Kasukio jumped to catch her.
"Are they gonna be OK?" Ryo asked.
"Sage is exhausted, Kento's wounds were bad," Cye replied, sounding worried.
"Man, where am I?" Kento groaned, sitting up. "The last thing I remember was that red head throwing knives at me... What happened to him?" He gasped when he saw Ryo supporting Sage.
"He exhausted himself healing you.... Are you OK?" Cye asked.
"Talk to me, Xanthe..." Junichi muttered, hitting Xanthe lightly on the face.
"Stop hitting me or I'll throw you across the room," Xanthe muttered as his hazel eyes opened.
"Thank God," Junichi muttered, closing his eyes.
"Junichi... were you crying?" Xanthe asked, half in amusement and half in utter bewilderment.
"Don't be a moron," Junichi gasped, turning away to wipe the tears from his eyes.
"Did we save them?" Lys asked groggily.
"You were great," Kasukio murmured, leaning forward to kiss her.
"Ugh, someone make them stop," Xanthe groaned. "I just got better don't make me ill again!" Lys smiled shyly and Kasukio glared at him.
"My dad is gonna have a fit when he sees what we did to the dojo," Sage groaned as he regained consciousness. There were scorch marks all over the walls, floors, and ceiling. "It was really rude of them to attack us here, they could have at least waited 'till we were outside."
Junichi had tacitly separated himself from the group, silently disarming and turning his back on everything.
"Junichi?" Xanthe asked, concern in his voice.
"We should get back," He said, heading for the dojo exit.
"I guess I'll be back here tomorrow to try and correct this damage before my parents get back from the States," Sage sighed as he locked the doors.
"Hey, wait up!" Xanthe shouted, running to catch up to Junichi. They walked far ahead of the rest of them, heads down, talking quietly.
"Hey, uh, Lys," Ryo whispered, nudging her elbow.
"What is it, Ryo?" She said, her copper eyes staring into his soul.
"Those two, they're awful close... are they, uh, I mean, well... just how close are they...?" Ryo asked nervously, not quite sure how to word his question. Lys stiffened when she figured out what Ryo was trying to ask.
"Xanthe and Junichi are not lovers," She said bluntly. "I think it was rather rude of you to ask," She added. Her eyes seemed more of a dark orange now rather than a shining copper.
"I didn't mean it- Ah," Ryo sighed, feeling it was better to let the issue drop than to let a debate start.
"They're brothers," Lys blurted out.
"Really?" Kento asked. "You wouldn't be able to tell..."
"Not biological brothers," Kasukio explained. "Foster brothers. Xanthe's family took Junichi in and Xanthe says his parents are into the paperwork to officially adopt him."
"I see," Cye breathed. "I had no idea..."
"Xanthe is practically all Junichi has in this world," Lys said solemnly. "I mean, he has us, we're all his friends and we do anything we can to help him, but..." She trailed off. "I shouldn't talk about it."
"So he's an orphan?" Ryo asked, the touch of sadness in his voice not escaping her.
"Yeah," Kasukio said, shaking his head. "The Dynasty killed his family when he was nine."
"Oh..." Ryo's eyes opened wide with shock.
"Let's not talk about it anymore, please..." Lys groaned. Kasukio put his arm around her reassuringly and whispered something in her ear.
Kento and Cye exchanged worried glances over Ryo, who was now deep in thought.
Osa cursed as she took off her tunic and slowly peeled the black armor from her body, pulling it down to her waist. There was a large black and blue mark on her stomach, just below her breasts.
~ That Halo bimbo really nailed me hard, ~ She thought. ~ It went right through my armor... ~
She stared at her half nude body in the mirror, tenderly rubbing the bruise. ~ Mother always said I was too pretty to be a mercenary, much less an assassin, ~ Osa pulled her clothing off the rest of the way and sank into the bath she had prepared. She knew the other warriors all had a hand servant or two to do things like that for them, and in the male warriors' cases, they probably used the serving wenches for more than drawing baths.
But she liked drawing her own bath, putting her own spices in the water. ~ There's nothing like the smell of ginger and rose petals to ease the mind, ~ She thought as she took to bindings out of her long red hair and shook it loose.
"Ma'am?" One of Arcane's slaves appeared at the doorway to Osa's bathing chamber.
~ What's her name again?... ~ Osa thought, and then decided it wasn't worth wondering about. "Yes?"
"I bring you a new tunic," She explained, setting the white bundle on a chair. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, that's fine," She said, waving her hand.
She could hear ruckus laughter coming from a nearby room in the fortress. The other warriors were probably celebrating their trouncing of the Ronins.
~ Not that they did anything to assist the cause. It was me that delivered the sure kill on the Hardrocks. ~
She lifted herself out of the tub and rolled her hair into a large bun, tying her scarf over it. She put on an orange and blue kimono and went into the assembly room. Sure enough, she was greeted by a scene that reminded her of her days in the merc camps.
~ Only these aren't my fellow mercenaries, my friends, ~ She thought bitterly.
Several serving wenches were running around bringing drinks to the seated warriors. Jiquar was seated in a far corner, absently sipping at a goblet. Trox was bared to the waist in another far corner, a mug of beer in each hand and a serving girl on each arm, both in equal states of undress. Fiian was sitting on a bench by the fire, with a flask in one hand and Celtia in his lap, who was giggling and drinking from a large goblet, some potent looking black stuff Osa figured even a male merc wouldn't touch. ~ Well, I'm pretty sure one of their beds will remain cold tonight, and the other quite warm. ~ Yormo was no where in sight, neither was Kaori. Balin, Persephone, and Jessira were also missing.
~ Odd birds, these other Dark Ronins, ~ She thought as she took a swig of the wine that a serving girl had handed her almost immediately.
"They're drunk. How repulsive," Kaori's scornful voice came behind Osa. The masked brunette was looking at Fiian and Celtia.
"They'll regret this tomorrow morning," Osa agreed, as she absently picked her teeth with a knife.
Jiquar eyed Osa from across the room, but she seemed a tad blurry. Groaning and rubbing his eyes, he swallowed the last of his wine and tossed his goblet on the floor, leaving a small purple trail illustrating the path of the goblet on the fire hearth.
~ She's sweet, ~ He thought, staring at the her while her back was turned to him, but not thinking about her personality so much as her figure. ~ Wish she didn't feel compelled to wear so many lairs... ~
"Listen up, you scum," Balin's loud voice carried across the room. "Lord Arcane is very pleased with the way things went on the field expedition. Now he has another assignment for some of us. I need Yormo, Jiquar, Fiian and Celtia to report to my chambers at sun rise... apparently he wants you to retrieve a few traitors..."
"Cayle..." Yormo muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Sekhmet," Jiquar said to himself.
"Hmm... Dais," Celtia chuckled to herself dreamily.
"Lady Kayura, here I come," Fiian whispered, a grin spreading across his face as his slugged down the last of his wine.
"Why can't we go now, Balin?" Jiquar shouted impatiently.
"Because you're all too drunk to spell your own names, let alone beat the former warlords," Balin sneered. "Tomorrow morning. Sun rise."
With that, the Ronin of Sin was gone.
"It ain't fair," Trox grunted. "Blind boy and four eyes have already been on a mission."
"Hold your tongue, pig!" Kaori snapped, reaching for her staff.
"Who's gonna make me, baby?" Trox countered, standing and reaching for his staff.
"Leave her out of this, Trox," Yormo hissed, grabbing his bow.
"ENOUGH!" A raspy voice screeched as a wave of frigid air knocked the belligerent warriors over.
"Kaori," Persephone cooed, helping her up. "Since you haven't been drinking, your father wants us to go on a little mission..."
"Yes, I've been waiting to get out there," Kaori said.
:: Can I count on seeing you when you return, luv? :: Kaori was momentarily startled by the voice in the back of her mind. It always did startle her.
~ I'll come to your chambers if I'm not too tired, ~ She thought, knowing Yormo would pick her thoughts up. Although he wasn't looking at her, she knew the smile that appeared on his lips were for her.
:: Good luck, luv, :: He called to her in her mind as she left with Persephone.