The Armor of the Soul

By Dixxy

Chapter Fourteen: Special Customers

(Kento)

News about my talent spread like wildfire-sorry, semi-bad unintended pun- around Boston. Madame Shinshu seemed VERY pleased with my new powers and had me working with the crystal ball and the tarot cards full time now while she was at the desk. I got a wide variety of customers, ranging from business men to high school drop-outs. I even got a few kids my age. Including this one guy that I had to tell pretty early into the reading that I didn't swing his way.
I still got goosed on his way out.

I know what some of you are thinking. Why didn't I break his arm or introduce him to my fist? Since being a captive in the Dynasty for almost a year, I learned a tough lesson about being the tough guy. I've considerably mellowed out. Oh, I can still throw some nasty cracks and I'm still not the brightest crayon in the box, but I'm not going to rush idiotically into battle like I used to. I know where that'll get me now.

I was looking through my tips and wondering how I was going to blow it when I felt a powerful presence enter the studio. My armor reacted, but not in the way I expected it to. Normally it forces me into a fighting stance. But it made me feel calm and at ease.

I looked up and saw two slightly familiar girls sit down across from me. "Hello, ladies," I said. Where THEY what I was feeling? "What can I do for you today, Ria and Sara, is it?"

"He IS good, Ria," said the smaller of the girls. Sara (process of elimination, there) had deep, kind of silky looking blue hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Her eyes were large and a friendly shade of pink, making the rest of her already small and fine facial features look even smaller. But she was still kind of pretty, none the less.

Her friend, Ria, had short red hair with almost unsightly blackened ends. They looked like they'd been burned into her hair. Green eyes with a playful tone to them gave her friend a look as she half smiled. Somehow she reminded me of Ryo.

I decided that I had to figure out what made them so special before I gave them the reading or I might say something I'd regret. For some reason the girl with the blue hair stuck out.

THEN I remembered where I saw her. Uh oh, two of the Ronin Senshi. Great, do I reveal myself and say, "Hi, I'm Kento of the Hardrock, one of the Ronin Warriors, how's it goin', Senshi babes?" or do I keep my mouth shut? I wondered. Sara had been the Senshi I'd seem first and foremost when Cye, Sage and I were watching them to see how they were fairing against Trulpa.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Ria said suddenly.

"Uh, I'm fine," I said.

Sara sighed. "I don't believe you but I won't push it. We're looking for two of our friends."

"Rona and Sam?" I asked. An image of the Strata girl and Sage's female half entered my head.

"Yup, that's them. They kind of got mad at a friend of ours and left town. They've been gone for a few days and we want to find them," said Sara.

I pulled out my crystal ball. MY crystal ball. "Well, let's see what we can do about it, then."

"Hey, what you're name?" asked Ria.

"Ken-"

"Ken, that's a nice name," said Sara, interrupting me before I could finish.

"Actually it's Kento," I said. Oh, nice one, what if they go back and tell Anubis they met a nice, Chinese looking psychic named Kento? I thought miserably. Let's hope not. Shoulda stayed with Ken.

"Kento? That's a weird name," said Sara. "Ah well, nice to meet you, Kento."

"Nice to meet you too," I said, trying to smile.

I began to wave my hands over the crystal ball. "Let's see what we can find here." The image began to swirl and soon I could see an image of a girl on a motorcycle. "I see a girl on a blue motorcycle."

"Driving it?" asked Ria.

"Yes."

"That's Rona, where's Sam?"

I concentrated harder. "I can't seem to find her."

"Well, where would you say Rona is?" asked Sara.

I sighed heavily. "This stupid thing is deciding to be very, very vague today. It said somewhere to the North. For all you know it could be the next town up or Canada."

"Heh, Rona and Sam go Canadian," said Sara.

Ria frowned. "It's not funny. Sam's missing in that picture, and she might be in trouble." She looked up at me. "Sure you don't see her?"
"Positive," I said. "But I do know I have an uneasy feeling about her where she is. I feel there may be trouble, but I'm not sure."

Sara frowned. "Well, thank you for your help. Bye!" she said. Ria laid a ten-dollar bill on the table as they two walked out. I sat at the table, thinking about what had just happened.

One of the Senshi is in danger. But how can I help? I thought to myself. Why am I so nervous to go right out and confront the Senshi, tell them who I am, and offer to help?

Well, there was always the possibility that Anubis might have not told them about his past yet, and I didn't want him in trouble with the girls. Plus, maybe I was still scared of the dependency, although the threat of it happening was way past long gone.

I had to cut my trail of thought when another customer arrived.

~

That night, I was up late in my room. Well, it was a fairly small room with just about nothing more than a bed and a dresser that kept what little I had for clothing, but it was all I needed. Sure it wasn't the big, luxurious suite that Trulpa had given me to try and coax me and my friends into joining the Dynasty, but I felt at ease knowing that I wasn't in the Dynasty. The room got hot easily, so I was wearing a pair of denim shorts and nothing else. The cool breeze felt nice against my skin from the open window. Still, my little room made me feel safe.

On occasion I did feel a hint of danger, but I tried to ignore it. Still, knowing two of the Senshi had run off with at least one of them in possible trouble made me wonder if that was what I was feeling. I sighed heavily and fingered my armor orbe, which was safely in my possession once again. Sometime after Madame Shinshu took me in I discovered it in my pocket, which was a HUGE relief. Now I could fight if I wanted too.

Or would my skills as a mage turn out to be a better choice?

"So what am I know, anyways?" I asked. Warrior? Or a mage? I'd been forced to train as a mage, in a way, but the skills could be useful. The earthquakes I could create were pretty strong and the jewels I'd fashioned would probably be worth thousands for their size and elegant cuts.

I felt a cool hand on my bare shoulder. I turned to see Madame Shinshu in a way that really scared me. "Madame Shinshu?" I asked.

"Come with me, my little fortune teller," she said, her voice taking on an icy demonic tone to it. My armor reacted wildly. I sent a kick to her head and knocked her out. Her form shifted into that of a blue-faced demon with very large fangs and fingernails as long as pencils.

I wasted no time in quickly getting dressed before jumping out the window. I backed away as I saw her followed me. "Oh just great," I said. "Now I've got ANOTHER demon woman after my hide."