Kaosu surveyed sourly a number of unknowing candidates. Perfect
Virtue ceased to exist. They displayed a wide variety of all the other
virtues, but not perfect, complete virtue. Wildfire needed a bearer soon
or else the new threat would win. Unexpectedly, he sensed something wrong
with the armor and turned towards its location. The sounds of nature muted
as he concentrated on learning more about what was happening. Being their
creator, he had a special bond with the armors and what he sensed made him
seethe with anger. A person who was less than favorable now controlled
wildfire.
Instantly, he ran towards his home where the armors were kept. Hopefully, he could catch the thief before the person got too far away.
Idoju was in a foul mood. He should have protected his lord better. He disgraced everyone his family and he came close to dishonoring the Ronin Warriors. He nearly armored up and slaughtered Hariel thoughtlessly. Shiro was correct, saying that "Ronin Warriors dun't fight in taverns with their armor. We're sapposed to protect everyone, not make a ruckus." Ronin Warriors do not get into common bar fights.
The overwhelming sensation of his armor's virtue threw him out of his reverie. Something was wrong. He was not in danger; were his comrades in danger? He ran towards the town and saw Shiro and Toshiten. The kanji for wisdom and loyalty were on their foreheads. They were not in danger, but they were obviously alarmed. Their home! Without a word, the three ran to the Ancient's temple and the huts surrounding it.
When they neared the foliage directly facing the huts, Idoju slowed them down. He approached the plants carefully and carefully separated the branches of the trees and bushes to reveal several layers of the powder used in fireworks. If they ran into that, their feet would be burned. He helped Shiro and Toshiten jump across without setting the trap. Then, they entered the clearing.
The remaining five Ronin Warriors, looking lost and confused, simply stood in the clearing. The area was silent. Where was the danger?
"Hey! What happened?" Shiro shouted.
Hitomaro raised his hands to cover his ears, getting a headache. "I know nothing. I just woke up."
Ashura added, "All of us just woke up."
"So what was the kanji display for?"
Just then, the Ancient One zoomed into his temple.
"I didn't know he was nearby," Shiro muttered, following him and the others.
The Ancient One stood in front of an open closet. He breathed deeply as though to restrain himself. Then, he turned to the Ronin Warriors. Somberly, he said, "The Armor of Wildfire has been stolen. You were here when this occurred. Do you know who is responsible?"
Although full of shock and disbelief, Jiguro sounded strangely calm, "We were asleep when it happened. Shiro, Toshiten, and Idoju were at the tavern."
"A sleeping potion," Hitomaro said with confidence in his words. "We fell asleep at the same time. We were drugged."
"So, whoever did this knew we were here," Shiro added.
Kaosu noticed White Blaze enter with his tail between his legs. No one who knew their location would steal Wildfire. "I did not sense any Youja here. Only Keiko and Yuki know about this place. Maybe Yuki told someone. We must ask her."
"I was always with you," Yuki said sadly when they told her about the theft of Wildfire. She knew something bad was happening and worse things would happen. She did not want worse things to happen, but bad things always happen to the people who she cared about. "When I wasn't with you, I was with Keiko. So I couldn't've told anyone."
She was telling the truth... so who? Who knew they were Ronin Warriors and who knew their location?
"Hariel," Idoju announced finally. His rival was the only likely suspect.
"Hariel? No surname?" Kaosu inquired.
"Some people call him Sanada Hariel. He's a ninja, but he's not a Sanada. He just had some affairs with the women of the Sanada ninja clan. No one knows his real surname."
Shiro added, "Yeah, we saw him earlier today."
Hitomaro said, "If he knew of our location, he would certainly attempt what has already happened."
Toshiten suggested, "This would be great experience for us. The thief shouldn't be too far away and we'd just split up and search for him."
"Yeah!" The bearer of Halo was enthusiastic. "Dun't worry about anythun, Ancient. You jus relax and find someone to really wear Wildfire. We, the Ronin Warriors, will find Hariel and take back the armor. Eight armors against one. Stealing back, er, getting back the armor'll be too easy!"
Kaosu thought about the idea. Aside from Shiro's strange choice of words like 'stealing back the armor,' the idea was perfect. "Very well. I will divide you into four groups. Shiro and Nazaka, you will travel together. Ashura and Toshiten. Hitomaro and Jiguro. Idoju and Morhiko."
Jiguro assured Keiko that he would return soon safely and they left shortly afterwards. Their situation required tremendous haste. After the Ronin Warriors left, Kaosu said to White Blaze, "We need to watch over them. Just in case something unexpected happens."
White Blaze trotted ahead of Kaosu. Although the Ancient One trusted the Ronin warriors, he was paranoid that something terrible would happen and with the arrival of the Inferno, something disastrous certainly would happen. All of the Ronins were in hearing and running distance yet were also unaware of their protectors. Shiro was chattering constantly to silent Nazaka about this and that.
Nazaka finally replied, "Your children are gonna be cursed with muteness."
"Nah, they'll jus talk ecessenty 'bout whatever inter'sts them. And I'm inter'sted in ever'thin." Shiro eventually shut up because Nazaka was the opposite of interesting.
White Blaze briefly glimpsed Ashura and Toshiten. Toshiten swung his kusari-gama carefully while Ashura moved a safe distance away.
Hitomaro and Jiguro were sharing a most interesting conversation.
"Being a monk is not a terrible profession, is it?" asked Hitomaro nervously. "Well, being a monk must be a good profession because monks are good people, but," the wearer of Strata sighed, "I have horrible trouble with my finances and if my debt increases, I must become a monk in order to save my life. I know I can trust you because you are similar to a monk."
"You would rather trust me than Morhiko of Torrent, the Ronin Warrior of Trust?" Jiguro was amused.
Hitomaro sighed, "Yes. I know commoners are good people. They certainly deserve to live, but. Shiro tried to kill me when he learned I was a lord!"
Jiguro stifled a laugh and remembered one of Shiro's stories about lord Mitoma Hitomaro. "Did you really sell your own wife?"
"No! Just one of my father's wives. My late father's first wife wanted to kill my mother because I was crowned instead of her son! I had to get rid of my father's first wife or else my mother would either be killed or become a nun and my mother truly deserves a luxurious lifestyle."
"You will be a cockroach in your next life," Jiguro muttered.
"Well, that's all fine because cockroaches have no memory of their past lives and they are born used to the fetid lifestyle. I was born to be a lord so I must remain living in a luxurious lifestyle until I die."
Meanwhile Idoju and Morhiko were busy chatting about the joys and hardships of peasant life.
White Blaze smiled contentedly in the way that only a tiger could smile. Despite the current predicament, he enjoyed the little adventure, surrounded by the first wearers of the Ronin armor. Some of the warriors were already battle-hardened but there was a renewal of innocence in them because for once they were working completely on the side of good. The sweet breeze, the gentle sun, and the cool air reminded him of an old, elegant Chinese poem. He knew they would find Hariel today. Then, White Blaze heard the approach of his 'twin.'
Scowling, he turned to face Black Blaze's smug expression. The other tiger kept pace. At their last encounter, dark tiger arrived with a youja, Saberstryke. White Blaze listened intently in Kaosu's direction. Saberstryke was there, talking to the monk. The youja did not seem threatening.
"We meet again, Rekka who is now known as White Blaze the Guardian of Virtue," Black Blaze spoke up.
"Tell me how you know my human name!" White Blaze demanded an answer. The other tiger was familiar somehow, but who was he? That familiarity infuriated White Blaze.
"You know my human name too. You simply have no idea who I am."
White Blaze frowned thoughtfully. They first met when they were in their human forms. A vague image was coming to mind, but he could not quite grasp it.
The other tiger continued, "I was a member of the Tauragi tribe in Africa. I once said to you and your comrades, 'you will never destroy the Inferno. You will lose and the Inferno will destroy your greatest warriors.'"
White Blaze glared at him, remembering finally, "You're that little brat! You're Tier Monnik!"
The other tiger winced, "I am a prophet, not a brat."
When his name was still Rekka, he met a little boy from Tauragi tribe named Tier Monnik who worshipped the two Inferno armors zealously and claimed to prophesize things about the armors.
"You also have visions, correct?" Black Blaze who was once known as Tier Monnik asked abruptly.
White Blaze scowled and was quiet. His stubborn silence merely confirmed the other's words. He always disliked Tier Monnik.
"But unlike mine you only dream of who you must guard. Events are unimportant. The time of his coming is kept a secret."
"Yes," the Guardian of Virtue admitted stiffly, "I do dream about the rightful wearer of Wildfire. I see him perfectly in my dreams."
"What is his appearance?"
"His eyes are blue like a baby tiger's yet he is Japanese and comes from a famous ninja clan. His hair is long and wild-"
"Does the description fit any ninjas that you currently know of?"
White Blaze gaped, "Sanada Hariel?"
Black Blaze grinned smugly and again abruptly changed the topic, "Do you want to know what images of the future come into my mind? I see the destruction of the Ronin warriors. They will worship what you hate most. 'Summon the Inferno,' cry out the Ronin Warriors! They will beg for its power until it destroys them and then the Ronin warriors will cease to exist. Soon, the Inferno will call out for them."
Saberstryke said to Kaosu, "I went to your temple to ask you if you learned about the White Armor of Inferno. This powerful armor might as well be a hoax; I have learned only rumors of its whereabouts."
The Ancient One tensed instinctively at the presence of a youja, but he reminded himself that Saberstryke and he had the same goals - getting rid of Talpa to protect the world. Saberstryke feared that the netherworld would be destroyed if Talpa completed all of his plans for the mortal world. "Unfortunately, I was preoccupied and unable to learn anything about the Inferno armor."
"I also noticed at your temple that all of the Ronin armors are missing. I assume you found people to be the Ronin Warriors."
"I found eight people to wear the armors." Kaosu then admitted painfully, "The ninth armor, Wildfire, was stolen. I truthfully do not know what danger is approaching, but it is closer and more threatening than before Hariel stole Wildfire. Perhaps Hariel is the real and only threat. That is unlikely considering the nature of the armor. The Ronin armors enhance the wearers' perception of the armor's virtue. Wildfire should be very painful to Hariel since he fails to understand the concept of Perfect Virtue and the armor will attempt to enhance and nourish something inside of him that does not exist. It is like watering a plant without realizing you only have dirt; there is no plant to water so you only erode the land."
Suddenly the sound of the their tigers' growling and snarling interrupted their conversation. They ran towards the fight and immediately pulled their tigers out of the brawl. Saberstryke and Kaosu sighed ruefully as their tigers sat down calmly, docile again. Without saying anything, they mutually agreed that the tigers' constant, mysterious quarreling would bring extra, unnecessary stress.
"Perhaps we should lecture them later?" Kaosu sighed, still keeping a firm grip on White Blaze.
"Indeed," Saberstryke also had a grip on his own tiger, "We cannot understand them but they can certainly understand us."
"Stop!" Toshiten whispered to Ashura. "I hear something moving in the trees."
Ashura paused in his step and listened intently. There was the clanging sound of metal against wood, but it was too far up to come from a commoner chopping trees with an axe. Quickly, they moved in the direction of the sound. Then, they saw the rouge ninja. Wildfire's thick spiky helmet and sword sheaths on the back hindered Hariel's movement.
"Perhaps we could also climb up and restrain him," Ashura suggested in a whisper.
Unfortunately, Hariel heard him, glanced at them, and started hurrying through the trees.
Ashura sighed, pulling out his iron bo and aiming it at the ground. "Iron Rock Crusher!" The trees jumped up and fell down like a flimsy stack of cards. Hariel in the Wildfire armor was easily seen clinging to the trees and trying to climb out of the mess.
Toshiten frowned at the loss of a forest, but it was already gone and Hariel still needed to be restrained so he used his own special attack, "Quake with fear." Chains erupted from underneath the trees and firmly pinned Hariel. Hariel's arms and legs were fastened together by the tight chains.
Ashura and Toshiten smiled proudly. The Ronin warrior of Wisdom was correct. Catching Hariel and retrieving the armor was too easy.
"Should we wait for the Ancient One or take the thief to him?" Ashura wondered aloud.
"Let's go ahead and take Hariel to the Ancient One."
They began journeying up the pile of fallen trees.
A strange whipping sound pierced through the still air. The two Ronins looked up and saw a wooden bo staff flying rapidly towards Hariel. They had no time to prepare themselves. The wooden bo bounced off the chains which snapped easily and flew towards Ashura and Toshiten. The ground exploded. The entire world spun incessantly as the two Ronin warriors were tossed into the trees behind them, which snapped at the moment of impact. Then they crashed into and snapped the trees behind those. They were unconscious long before they landed.
Instantly, he ran towards his home where the armors were kept. Hopefully, he could catch the thief before the person got too far away.
Idoju was in a foul mood. He should have protected his lord better. He disgraced everyone his family and he came close to dishonoring the Ronin Warriors. He nearly armored up and slaughtered Hariel thoughtlessly. Shiro was correct, saying that "Ronin Warriors dun't fight in taverns with their armor. We're sapposed to protect everyone, not make a ruckus." Ronin Warriors do not get into common bar fights.
The overwhelming sensation of his armor's virtue threw him out of his reverie. Something was wrong. He was not in danger; were his comrades in danger? He ran towards the town and saw Shiro and Toshiten. The kanji for wisdom and loyalty were on their foreheads. They were not in danger, but they were obviously alarmed. Their home! Without a word, the three ran to the Ancient's temple and the huts surrounding it.
When they neared the foliage directly facing the huts, Idoju slowed them down. He approached the plants carefully and carefully separated the branches of the trees and bushes to reveal several layers of the powder used in fireworks. If they ran into that, their feet would be burned. He helped Shiro and Toshiten jump across without setting the trap. Then, they entered the clearing.
The remaining five Ronin Warriors, looking lost and confused, simply stood in the clearing. The area was silent. Where was the danger?
"Hey! What happened?" Shiro shouted.
Hitomaro raised his hands to cover his ears, getting a headache. "I know nothing. I just woke up."
Ashura added, "All of us just woke up."
"So what was the kanji display for?"
Just then, the Ancient One zoomed into his temple.
"I didn't know he was nearby," Shiro muttered, following him and the others.
The Ancient One stood in front of an open closet. He breathed deeply as though to restrain himself. Then, he turned to the Ronin Warriors. Somberly, he said, "The Armor of Wildfire has been stolen. You were here when this occurred. Do you know who is responsible?"
Although full of shock and disbelief, Jiguro sounded strangely calm, "We were asleep when it happened. Shiro, Toshiten, and Idoju were at the tavern."
"A sleeping potion," Hitomaro said with confidence in his words. "We fell asleep at the same time. We were drugged."
"So, whoever did this knew we were here," Shiro added.
Kaosu noticed White Blaze enter with his tail between his legs. No one who knew their location would steal Wildfire. "I did not sense any Youja here. Only Keiko and Yuki know about this place. Maybe Yuki told someone. We must ask her."
"I was always with you," Yuki said sadly when they told her about the theft of Wildfire. She knew something bad was happening and worse things would happen. She did not want worse things to happen, but bad things always happen to the people who she cared about. "When I wasn't with you, I was with Keiko. So I couldn't've told anyone."
She was telling the truth... so who? Who knew they were Ronin Warriors and who knew their location?
"Hariel," Idoju announced finally. His rival was the only likely suspect.
"Hariel? No surname?" Kaosu inquired.
"Some people call him Sanada Hariel. He's a ninja, but he's not a Sanada. He just had some affairs with the women of the Sanada ninja clan. No one knows his real surname."
Shiro added, "Yeah, we saw him earlier today."
Hitomaro said, "If he knew of our location, he would certainly attempt what has already happened."
Toshiten suggested, "This would be great experience for us. The thief shouldn't be too far away and we'd just split up and search for him."
"Yeah!" The bearer of Halo was enthusiastic. "Dun't worry about anythun, Ancient. You jus relax and find someone to really wear Wildfire. We, the Ronin Warriors, will find Hariel and take back the armor. Eight armors against one. Stealing back, er, getting back the armor'll be too easy!"
Kaosu thought about the idea. Aside from Shiro's strange choice of words like 'stealing back the armor,' the idea was perfect. "Very well. I will divide you into four groups. Shiro and Nazaka, you will travel together. Ashura and Toshiten. Hitomaro and Jiguro. Idoju and Morhiko."
Jiguro assured Keiko that he would return soon safely and they left shortly afterwards. Their situation required tremendous haste. After the Ronin Warriors left, Kaosu said to White Blaze, "We need to watch over them. Just in case something unexpected happens."
White Blaze trotted ahead of Kaosu. Although the Ancient One trusted the Ronin warriors, he was paranoid that something terrible would happen and with the arrival of the Inferno, something disastrous certainly would happen. All of the Ronins were in hearing and running distance yet were also unaware of their protectors. Shiro was chattering constantly to silent Nazaka about this and that.
Nazaka finally replied, "Your children are gonna be cursed with muteness."
"Nah, they'll jus talk ecessenty 'bout whatever inter'sts them. And I'm inter'sted in ever'thin." Shiro eventually shut up because Nazaka was the opposite of interesting.
White Blaze briefly glimpsed Ashura and Toshiten. Toshiten swung his kusari-gama carefully while Ashura moved a safe distance away.
Hitomaro and Jiguro were sharing a most interesting conversation.
"Being a monk is not a terrible profession, is it?" asked Hitomaro nervously. "Well, being a monk must be a good profession because monks are good people, but," the wearer of Strata sighed, "I have horrible trouble with my finances and if my debt increases, I must become a monk in order to save my life. I know I can trust you because you are similar to a monk."
"You would rather trust me than Morhiko of Torrent, the Ronin Warrior of Trust?" Jiguro was amused.
Hitomaro sighed, "Yes. I know commoners are good people. They certainly deserve to live, but. Shiro tried to kill me when he learned I was a lord!"
Jiguro stifled a laugh and remembered one of Shiro's stories about lord Mitoma Hitomaro. "Did you really sell your own wife?"
"No! Just one of my father's wives. My late father's first wife wanted to kill my mother because I was crowned instead of her son! I had to get rid of my father's first wife or else my mother would either be killed or become a nun and my mother truly deserves a luxurious lifestyle."
"You will be a cockroach in your next life," Jiguro muttered.
"Well, that's all fine because cockroaches have no memory of their past lives and they are born used to the fetid lifestyle. I was born to be a lord so I must remain living in a luxurious lifestyle until I die."
Meanwhile Idoju and Morhiko were busy chatting about the joys and hardships of peasant life.
White Blaze smiled contentedly in the way that only a tiger could smile. Despite the current predicament, he enjoyed the little adventure, surrounded by the first wearers of the Ronin armor. Some of the warriors were already battle-hardened but there was a renewal of innocence in them because for once they were working completely on the side of good. The sweet breeze, the gentle sun, and the cool air reminded him of an old, elegant Chinese poem. He knew they would find Hariel today. Then, White Blaze heard the approach of his 'twin.'
Scowling, he turned to face Black Blaze's smug expression. The other tiger kept pace. At their last encounter, dark tiger arrived with a youja, Saberstryke. White Blaze listened intently in Kaosu's direction. Saberstryke was there, talking to the monk. The youja did not seem threatening.
"We meet again, Rekka who is now known as White Blaze the Guardian of Virtue," Black Blaze spoke up.
"Tell me how you know my human name!" White Blaze demanded an answer. The other tiger was familiar somehow, but who was he? That familiarity infuriated White Blaze.
"You know my human name too. You simply have no idea who I am."
White Blaze frowned thoughtfully. They first met when they were in their human forms. A vague image was coming to mind, but he could not quite grasp it.
The other tiger continued, "I was a member of the Tauragi tribe in Africa. I once said to you and your comrades, 'you will never destroy the Inferno. You will lose and the Inferno will destroy your greatest warriors.'"
White Blaze glared at him, remembering finally, "You're that little brat! You're Tier Monnik!"
The other tiger winced, "I am a prophet, not a brat."
When his name was still Rekka, he met a little boy from Tauragi tribe named Tier Monnik who worshipped the two Inferno armors zealously and claimed to prophesize things about the armors.
"You also have visions, correct?" Black Blaze who was once known as Tier Monnik asked abruptly.
White Blaze scowled and was quiet. His stubborn silence merely confirmed the other's words. He always disliked Tier Monnik.
"But unlike mine you only dream of who you must guard. Events are unimportant. The time of his coming is kept a secret."
"Yes," the Guardian of Virtue admitted stiffly, "I do dream about the rightful wearer of Wildfire. I see him perfectly in my dreams."
"What is his appearance?"
"His eyes are blue like a baby tiger's yet he is Japanese and comes from a famous ninja clan. His hair is long and wild-"
"Does the description fit any ninjas that you currently know of?"
White Blaze gaped, "Sanada Hariel?"
Black Blaze grinned smugly and again abruptly changed the topic, "Do you want to know what images of the future come into my mind? I see the destruction of the Ronin warriors. They will worship what you hate most. 'Summon the Inferno,' cry out the Ronin Warriors! They will beg for its power until it destroys them and then the Ronin warriors will cease to exist. Soon, the Inferno will call out for them."
Saberstryke said to Kaosu, "I went to your temple to ask you if you learned about the White Armor of Inferno. This powerful armor might as well be a hoax; I have learned only rumors of its whereabouts."
The Ancient One tensed instinctively at the presence of a youja, but he reminded himself that Saberstryke and he had the same goals - getting rid of Talpa to protect the world. Saberstryke feared that the netherworld would be destroyed if Talpa completed all of his plans for the mortal world. "Unfortunately, I was preoccupied and unable to learn anything about the Inferno armor."
"I also noticed at your temple that all of the Ronin armors are missing. I assume you found people to be the Ronin Warriors."
"I found eight people to wear the armors." Kaosu then admitted painfully, "The ninth armor, Wildfire, was stolen. I truthfully do not know what danger is approaching, but it is closer and more threatening than before Hariel stole Wildfire. Perhaps Hariel is the real and only threat. That is unlikely considering the nature of the armor. The Ronin armors enhance the wearers' perception of the armor's virtue. Wildfire should be very painful to Hariel since he fails to understand the concept of Perfect Virtue and the armor will attempt to enhance and nourish something inside of him that does not exist. It is like watering a plant without realizing you only have dirt; there is no plant to water so you only erode the land."
Suddenly the sound of the their tigers' growling and snarling interrupted their conversation. They ran towards the fight and immediately pulled their tigers out of the brawl. Saberstryke and Kaosu sighed ruefully as their tigers sat down calmly, docile again. Without saying anything, they mutually agreed that the tigers' constant, mysterious quarreling would bring extra, unnecessary stress.
"Perhaps we should lecture them later?" Kaosu sighed, still keeping a firm grip on White Blaze.
"Indeed," Saberstryke also had a grip on his own tiger, "We cannot understand them but they can certainly understand us."
"Stop!" Toshiten whispered to Ashura. "I hear something moving in the trees."
Ashura paused in his step and listened intently. There was the clanging sound of metal against wood, but it was too far up to come from a commoner chopping trees with an axe. Quickly, they moved in the direction of the sound. Then, they saw the rouge ninja. Wildfire's thick spiky helmet and sword sheaths on the back hindered Hariel's movement.
"Perhaps we could also climb up and restrain him," Ashura suggested in a whisper.
Unfortunately, Hariel heard him, glanced at them, and started hurrying through the trees.
Ashura sighed, pulling out his iron bo and aiming it at the ground. "Iron Rock Crusher!" The trees jumped up and fell down like a flimsy stack of cards. Hariel in the Wildfire armor was easily seen clinging to the trees and trying to climb out of the mess.
Toshiten frowned at the loss of a forest, but it was already gone and Hariel still needed to be restrained so he used his own special attack, "Quake with fear." Chains erupted from underneath the trees and firmly pinned Hariel. Hariel's arms and legs were fastened together by the tight chains.
Ashura and Toshiten smiled proudly. The Ronin warrior of Wisdom was correct. Catching Hariel and retrieving the armor was too easy.
"Should we wait for the Ancient One or take the thief to him?" Ashura wondered aloud.
"Let's go ahead and take Hariel to the Ancient One."
They began journeying up the pile of fallen trees.
A strange whipping sound pierced through the still air. The two Ronins looked up and saw a wooden bo staff flying rapidly towards Hariel. They had no time to prepare themselves. The wooden bo bounced off the chains which snapped easily and flew towards Ashura and Toshiten. The ground exploded. The entire world spun incessantly as the two Ronin warriors were tossed into the trees behind them, which snapped at the moment of impact. Then they crashed into and snapped the trees behind those. They were unconscious long before they landed.