The Armor of the Soul

By Dixxy

Chapter Eighteen: The Power of Hardrock

(Kento)

So Keisha and I were staring down Shinshu. I was on the ground, sure, but I was preparing a spell to throw at her. A metal manipulating spell I'd been working hard on. If I could get the spell to hit her scythe, I could change it into a heavy metal, like lead or something so she couldn't lift it. Or, maybe I could try and rust it.

Keisha gave out a cry and drew her nunchaku, spinning them expertly. Shinshu gave out her own call and tried to slice Keisha in half. She leapt out of the way and I rolled to avoid the blade. The weapon was stuck in the ground and I cast the spell. Shinshu now had a lovely lead killer scythe.

"Stupid piece of junk," she said, unable to pull it from the ground.

"EAT THIS!"

Keisha really shouldn't have let Shinshu know she was going to attack, since she got out of the way before either of the nunchaku could reach her skull. I cringed. "Nice try," I said. I tested my leg. It was getting healed all right, just not quick enough. "Hold her off for a few minutes and I should be able to help you!"

"Easier said than- oh man, she got another one!" said Keisha, backflipping away from Shinshu's new scythe. I blinked. Where did she get it? "I really hope that the girls and Anubis finish the Warlords soon and back us up!"

I gulped and I tried to concentrate on healing. I hated not being able to fight. Part of my responsibilities as a Ronin Warrior lied with protecting Keisha, not letting her fight while I sat back and watched her get her butt kicked. This wasn't how I was supposed to do it! I should've been out there beating the living snot out of Shinshu!

"Ancient, help me," I asked. I closed my eyes and felt my hurt leg begin to feel tingly. Then, it didn't hurt. I stood up, my leg good as new. "Thank you, Ancient One," I said, smiling. I picked up my own naginata and charged Shinshu, slicing her arm.

Keisha smiled. "Impressive," she said.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," I said. "Already, Shinshu, two against one, you don't have much of a chance!"

Shinshu laughed. "Let's bring this battle up a notch to magic!" she said. She cackled as she prepared another energy attack. Keisha and I yelped before leaping out of the way of the spell. I responded with a tremor spell. She yelped but avoided the spell fairly well.

"Any ideas?" asked Keisha.

"If I had one I'd tell you," I said. Think, think . . . duh! I smiled. "Got one!"

"What?" asked Keisha.

"Let's give her a taste of the Armor of the Hardrock and Hardrock of the Senshi! Armor up!" I said. "Armor of the Hardrock, DAO GI!"

I heard Keisha call her own armor up as I was greeted by the familiar silks and cherry blossoms. I grinned as I felt the familiar armor piece together on me. I looked over and saw Keisha in the mirror image of my armor. She was ready to fight, determination in her eyes. "Well?"

"Think about it. IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" I cried, performing my sure kill.

"IRON ROCK CRUSHA!"

Hmm, this could be interesting.

I watched as huge chunks of earth flew out of the ground, battering Shinshu in the process. She screamed in agony, not at all pleased with her situation. I heard a sickening pop and once the attack cleared, saw a blue goo on the ground where she once stood.

"Oh sick," said Keisha. She pulled her helmet off and walked over to me. "Is she dead?"

"I don't know," I said. "She must be doing that to fool us."

"It's bubbling," said Keisha. "What does that mean?"

"Either she's really dead or REALLY mad," I said. "Let's hope for the former."

"I agree," said Keisha. Then, she grimaced. "Crap, it's the latter!" The bubbling puddle began to slowly grow, turning into a giant blob of blue goo.

I gulped. "This stinks!" I said. "How do we defeat a blob of goo- wait! I got an idea, but I need your help."

"How?" asked Keisha.

"If we concentrate, we could try to crystallize the goo, then break it apart or something," I said. I placed my hands in a prayer position and began to concentrate. "Follow my lead and concentrate."

I could feel my powers begin to crystallize Shinshu, who was now making a weird howl, almost a cat was gargling. "It's working," said Keisha. I smiled. I could almost feel the goo turn into spiky, lifeless crystal. Shinshu wasn't happy, but this way, she wouldn't ever be able to hurt anyone ever again.

"Concentrate harder," I urged. "We can do this!"

Finally, I heard a creaking sound and opened my eyes to see a big, spiky blue thing that was obviously Shinshu. Keisha was looking at it, wide eyed. "Cool," she said. "What kind of crystal is it?"

"I don't know, nor do I care. Probably some sort of a mineral, I'd guess," I said. "Looks like sapphire."

"It's kind of. . . pretty," said Keisha. "Maybe we could just give it to a museum."

"If it breaks free of the spell. . ." I started. Keisha bit her lip, indicating she realized what I was getting at. A deafening moment of silence passed between us.

"So, how do we get rid of it?" she finally asked.

"I'll take care of it," I said. I lifted my staff and let loose a moderately strong attack, shattering the crystal to a fine, blue sand. Keisha whooped with excitement, already armored down. I followed suit until I was back in my T-shirt and shorts, smiling as the powder blew away with the wind.

"She's gone!" said Keisha. She started to jump up and down excitedly. "We did it! Yippee!"

I laughed. "Yeah, we sure did."

Keisha calmed down and looked at me. "So, um, exactly how did you get here in the first place?"

I sighed heavily. "It's kind of a long story. . ." I started.

~

I told Keisha everything. About the nightmares, the camping trip, the gargoyles, the spells, Kaze, everything. My partner in arms just listened sympathetically as I poured my heart and soul out to her. She placed her hand on my cheek. I turned to her to see her large, brown eyes looking at me.

"You're going to be just fine, Kento," she said. "You seem like a really sweet guy and I'm sure everything will work itself out."

"Oh," I said. "I don't know what to do with myself, now."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't really have much of a place to go. I can't go back to Japan, it would be weird. I'll probably never see my parents or any of my old friends again. Madame Shinshu tried to kill me. I don't even known if I'm a Ronin Warrior anymore," I said, looking at the ground.

"What, because you can use magic?" asked Keisha. I nodded. "So? You're still a Ronin Warrior, and the barrier being broken doesn't make you any less of one. It makes you even more of one."

I blinked. "You think so?" I asked.

"Yes! Your powers, as they are, make you about halfway between a Ronin Warrior and a Ronin Senshi, but you're more Warrior, if you ask me. Don't be so hard on yourself," said Keisha. She laid her head on my shoulder and looked up at me. "Maybe Mike and Anubis will let you stay with them."

"Hmm?" I asked, looking down at her.

"Some people take in runaway teenagers or teens who've been kicked out of their homes. It won't seem so out of place if you do," said Keisha. "My aunt does that out in California."

"I, I'm touched," I said, smiling back at her. She was being so nice to me, even though she hardly knew me. It just. . . moved me. "You know, we'd better go help out your friends and Anubis."

"Not necessary, we got it all taken care of." The two of us turned to see Ria and Sara standing behind us. "Anubis is on his way. I'm sure he'll talk to Mike about giving you a room," said Ria.

"How long have you two been standing there?" asked Keisha.

"Long enough to know that he's got no where to go right now," said Sara. "If you have no where to go, stay with Mike."

"Mike has way more than enough room in that house of his. His family's loaded," said Keisha. "You'll fit in just fine. Just help us figure out where the heck Rona and Sam ran off to."

I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on the remaining Senshi. I opened my eyes, shaking my head. "I still think it's too the north," I said. "I still don't know how far to the north or how far eats or west in addition to that, but hey, don't go south. I'll see what I can do about looking into it even further."

"I like this guy," said Sara. "I'd say he's a keeper!"