Nazaka froze as the pure sensation of his armor's virtue flowed
through his body. The sensation was sharp like a beacon of light. Worry
and fear came into his mind. Whether instinctively or consciously, his
armor was telling him that the other Ronin warriors were in danger. Nazaka
glanced at Shiro. The brown-haired Ronin was filled with awe as the kanji
for Wisdom glowed on his forehead.
Then, determination gripped them and they ran to where the armors were telling them to go. Nazaka held his two closest swords tightly. The flow of his virtue pulsed in rhythm to his beating heart and quickened, forcing his heart to beat harder and forcing him to run faster. He thought he would pass out, but the armor supplied the extra strength that he needed. What creature could be of so much that danger that would cause the armors to scream for haste? Wildfire was the ultimate and most powerful of the nine Ronin armors, but Hariel was not that strong or fit to wield it!
Then they saw the destruction. An entire forest was uprooted! Half of the forest trees were cleanly pulled out of the ground, but the other half was snapped and sliced. The Ancient One, standing amidst the second half of the destroyed forest focused his power into his glowing staff. As Nazaka and Shiro neared him, they saw Ashura and Toshiten sprawled across the rubble. Although the Ronins of Justice and Loyalty were being healed, several cuts and dents in their armors were still visible.
Nazaka saw White Blaze sitting next to the Ancient One and behind the tiger was another with dark gray fur and stripes of the deepest black. Nazaka noticed a hideous youja near the Ancient One. The Ronin warrior of Piety instantly unsheathed two of his swords. The youja looked at him with blank, empty eyes.
"Nazaka, put your swords away," Jiguro called out. The remaining four Ronins were arriving to the scene of the battle. "He is an ally."
The youja spoke up, "My name is Lord Saberstryke and I am, indeed, an ally although I am also a youja."
"Sorry," humiliated, Nazaka sheathed his swords. "Talpa is a youja and you fit the description of a youja and I. I'm sorry."
Morhiko wondered aloud, "You thought that he was Talpa and that 'Talpa' and the Ancient One would stand calmly together?"
Hitomaro laughed nervously.
Idoju scowled. This was not the appropriate time for jokes. Ashura and Toshiten were almost killed!
The Ancient One was sweaty after using most of his strength and skill with the staff to heal the two injured Ronins. Solemnly, he faced his group. "Whatever attacked Ashura of Hardrock and Toshiten of the Spring is certainly the threat that I sensed. I know nothing about it except that it is more powerful than Talpa."
"Look at their eyes," Shiro pointed to the two tigers, "I think they know sum'thin. They look like they recognize this dest'uction and they're remembering who did it."
Hitomaro gazed into the tigers' eyes and shuddered at the strange supernatural intelligence that the tigers possessed. Everyone stared at each other in concern. The only ones with all the answers to their questions were mute to human tongues.
The dream haunted him, the dream cursed him, and the dream tortured him. "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY!!!" the dream said. In the dream, Hariel felt the pain and suffering of those two Ronins as though he was personally wounded. When he looked at his reflection in the river and saw the kanji for Perfect Virtue burning like a red demon on his forehead, he realized the dream was real. The dream was Wildfire.
His entire head shook in agony. "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY," Wildfire intoned in his head.
"You're not really speaking to me, are you?" Hariel asked aloud. "You're just sending me feelings. You want me to think that I'm insignificant."
"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY."
"Damn you!" Hariel shouted, staring at the kanji in his reflection. "I don't want that!" Trembling, he searched through the river until he found a sharp stone. Then, he tried to cut off the kanji that Wildfire put on his skin. Blood poured over the kanji, but the wound healed immediately and the kanji still shone brightly.
Wildfire continued to chant in his head, "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY," and Hariel still acutely felt the pain of the two Ronin warriors.
"Damn you," Hariel repeated, "You freed me and hurt those two Ronins so that you can torture me with their pain! You would never kill them though. They are important to you. How would you feel if I forced you to kill, hm?" The ninja smirked. "Then, you will be under my control."
The sun was ready to set when Ashura and Toshiten awoke, feeling weak and light. Toshiten recounted that their unseen enemy used a wooden bo which was unfortunately never found. The group pondered over their situation at the battle site.
"So, what'll Hariel do now?" Morhiko wondered.
"He'll do whatever he planned to accomplish in the first place," Idoju replied glumly.
Hitomaro commented ruefully, "He is far away from us now and we must travel in groups larger than two. Finding him will be more difficult."
Shiro suggested they eat and rest since it was almost night and finding the rouge ninja would be impossible instead of simply difficult in total darkness. They agreed, got some fish from a nearby river, and fumbled with the ironic cooking fire. Everyone tried not to comment about Shiro's cooking. The tigers were given the spines and head bones which they thankfully never fought over. Then, Saberstryke and his tiger, Black Blaze, left to continue their own search.
"I guess he doesn't like big groups," Shiro commented to himself after the youja left. He said to the others, "Ya know, you're the first people who never said a thing about my cookin'." Then he realized Idoju, Hitomaro and Ashura were reminiscing about royal festivals and feasts. The Ronin warrior of Wisdom sighed. They did not like his cooking anyway.
Suddenly the Ancient One jumped onto his feet. He held his staff tightly. "Hariel is using the armor. He was farther away than I expected and he is almost completely behind us now so I didn't notice him until he was close by." He searched for the thief intently with his mind as the Ronin warriors stood up. Abruptly, he shouted, "Hariel's heading towards the village! Jiguro, Ashura, Morhiko, Shiro, take the path straight to the village. Nazaka, Idoju, Hitomaro, Toshiten, we will go directly after Hariel."
Without needing any more orders, they ran off.
All of Japan seemed to be ablaze. Their armors protected them from the ravenous fire but the heat remained intense. Toshiten understood and approved of the Ancient One's decision to make Jiguro take the short cut away from the fire. The Ronin warrior of Serenity would be enraged with fear and worry if he saw the threat to his family.
Hariel spun around. The Ronin warriors were coming. In their haste, they did not attempt to soften their footsteps. The power of Wildfire was exalting unlike anything he previously experienced. He felt as though he could continue his rampage forever, but he knew he needed to conserve his strength. He did not know exactly how strong he was in the armor and he did not want to find out in a life or death situation.
Wildfire was finally calm yet Hariel could not retreat. The Ronin warriors would catch him if he did, but the Ronin warriors would also catch him if he continued towards the village.
"Don't worry about them," a voice that was thoughts instead of words called out to him. "Go ahead to where you want to go and do what you wish to do. You are the most important person in the world. You will be protected."
"Who are you?" Hariel inquired of the new presence although he was unworried about the strange appearance. What it was did not matter though. He knew instinctively that it was telling the truth and that their goals were the same. Smiling confidently, he ran towards the village.
The door slammed closed and the house was dead again, devoid of any sounds. Jiguro listened intently, but only heard his own breath. He saw the fire just outside the village. He had to act soon. Were his wife and adopted daughter kidnapped? Was Hariel waiting in the darkness for the chance to strike?
"Keiko!" he shouted and held his breath. There was a faint rustling sound in the hallway and his wife soon appeared.
"What happened?" Keiko asked groggily, tired.
Jiguro exhaled, but before he could speak, Yuki's voice rang out, "Shiro!" and the little child ran into the arms of the Ronin warrior of Wisdom.
"Hey there, little sister," Shiro said softly and held her tight. Then he said bluntly to the others, "We need to leave. Now."
Jiguro nodded and informed Keiko, "Hariel is setting the entire village on fire. Where is the Jewel?"
His wife left instantly and returned with a pink glowing Jewel. "Where are the others?" she asked.
"Ashura and Morhiko are evacuating the village. The others are going directly after Hariel."
People streamed out of the village. The rouge ninja smiled at so many easy targets. He snuck closer and jumped on a nearby roof for an easier view. The people were still unaware of his close by presence. Perfect. He unsheathed his swords again and set them in formation for his surekill. Suddenly his edge of the roof shook slightly as something unseen hit it. The roof crumbled away before Hariel could jump onto safer ground. He crashed into the dirt.
He was dizzy but not for long. Wildfire softened the blow so there were no pains to disorient him. He jumped up quickly and saw Hitomaro of Strata poised and ready with his bow and arrow.
Hitomaro released his arrow at the rouge ninja. Hariel dodged and started to flee. Scowling, Hitomaro set up another arrow. A wooden bo slammed into his arms forcefully, causing him to drop his weapon as pain echoed throughout his shattered limbs.
Kaosu saw the bo bounce off towards another roof and he vaguely saw someone concealed in the darkness grab it and run up the roof. Determined to learn more about the threat, Kaosu followed the stranger.
Then, determination gripped them and they ran to where the armors were telling them to go. Nazaka held his two closest swords tightly. The flow of his virtue pulsed in rhythm to his beating heart and quickened, forcing his heart to beat harder and forcing him to run faster. He thought he would pass out, but the armor supplied the extra strength that he needed. What creature could be of so much that danger that would cause the armors to scream for haste? Wildfire was the ultimate and most powerful of the nine Ronin armors, but Hariel was not that strong or fit to wield it!
Then they saw the destruction. An entire forest was uprooted! Half of the forest trees were cleanly pulled out of the ground, but the other half was snapped and sliced. The Ancient One, standing amidst the second half of the destroyed forest focused his power into his glowing staff. As Nazaka and Shiro neared him, they saw Ashura and Toshiten sprawled across the rubble. Although the Ronins of Justice and Loyalty were being healed, several cuts and dents in their armors were still visible.
Nazaka saw White Blaze sitting next to the Ancient One and behind the tiger was another with dark gray fur and stripes of the deepest black. Nazaka noticed a hideous youja near the Ancient One. The Ronin warrior of Piety instantly unsheathed two of his swords. The youja looked at him with blank, empty eyes.
"Nazaka, put your swords away," Jiguro called out. The remaining four Ronins were arriving to the scene of the battle. "He is an ally."
The youja spoke up, "My name is Lord Saberstryke and I am, indeed, an ally although I am also a youja."
"Sorry," humiliated, Nazaka sheathed his swords. "Talpa is a youja and you fit the description of a youja and I. I'm sorry."
Morhiko wondered aloud, "You thought that he was Talpa and that 'Talpa' and the Ancient One would stand calmly together?"
Hitomaro laughed nervously.
Idoju scowled. This was not the appropriate time for jokes. Ashura and Toshiten were almost killed!
The Ancient One was sweaty after using most of his strength and skill with the staff to heal the two injured Ronins. Solemnly, he faced his group. "Whatever attacked Ashura of Hardrock and Toshiten of the Spring is certainly the threat that I sensed. I know nothing about it except that it is more powerful than Talpa."
"Look at their eyes," Shiro pointed to the two tigers, "I think they know sum'thin. They look like they recognize this dest'uction and they're remembering who did it."
Hitomaro gazed into the tigers' eyes and shuddered at the strange supernatural intelligence that the tigers possessed. Everyone stared at each other in concern. The only ones with all the answers to their questions were mute to human tongues.
The dream haunted him, the dream cursed him, and the dream tortured him. "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY!!!" the dream said. In the dream, Hariel felt the pain and suffering of those two Ronins as though he was personally wounded. When he looked at his reflection in the river and saw the kanji for Perfect Virtue burning like a red demon on his forehead, he realized the dream was real. The dream was Wildfire.
His entire head shook in agony. "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY," Wildfire intoned in his head.
"You're not really speaking to me, are you?" Hariel asked aloud. "You're just sending me feelings. You want me to think that I'm insignificant."
"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY."
"Damn you!" Hariel shouted, staring at the kanji in his reflection. "I don't want that!" Trembling, he searched through the river until he found a sharp stone. Then, he tried to cut off the kanji that Wildfire put on his skin. Blood poured over the kanji, but the wound healed immediately and the kanji still shone brightly.
Wildfire continued to chant in his head, "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY," and Hariel still acutely felt the pain of the two Ronin warriors.
"Damn you," Hariel repeated, "You freed me and hurt those two Ronins so that you can torture me with their pain! You would never kill them though. They are important to you. How would you feel if I forced you to kill, hm?" The ninja smirked. "Then, you will be under my control."
The sun was ready to set when Ashura and Toshiten awoke, feeling weak and light. Toshiten recounted that their unseen enemy used a wooden bo which was unfortunately never found. The group pondered over their situation at the battle site.
"So, what'll Hariel do now?" Morhiko wondered.
"He'll do whatever he planned to accomplish in the first place," Idoju replied glumly.
Hitomaro commented ruefully, "He is far away from us now and we must travel in groups larger than two. Finding him will be more difficult."
Shiro suggested they eat and rest since it was almost night and finding the rouge ninja would be impossible instead of simply difficult in total darkness. They agreed, got some fish from a nearby river, and fumbled with the ironic cooking fire. Everyone tried not to comment about Shiro's cooking. The tigers were given the spines and head bones which they thankfully never fought over. Then, Saberstryke and his tiger, Black Blaze, left to continue their own search.
"I guess he doesn't like big groups," Shiro commented to himself after the youja left. He said to the others, "Ya know, you're the first people who never said a thing about my cookin'." Then he realized Idoju, Hitomaro and Ashura were reminiscing about royal festivals and feasts. The Ronin warrior of Wisdom sighed. They did not like his cooking anyway.
Suddenly the Ancient One jumped onto his feet. He held his staff tightly. "Hariel is using the armor. He was farther away than I expected and he is almost completely behind us now so I didn't notice him until he was close by." He searched for the thief intently with his mind as the Ronin warriors stood up. Abruptly, he shouted, "Hariel's heading towards the village! Jiguro, Ashura, Morhiko, Shiro, take the path straight to the village. Nazaka, Idoju, Hitomaro, Toshiten, we will go directly after Hariel."
Without needing any more orders, they ran off.
All of Japan seemed to be ablaze. Their armors protected them from the ravenous fire but the heat remained intense. Toshiten understood and approved of the Ancient One's decision to make Jiguro take the short cut away from the fire. The Ronin warrior of Serenity would be enraged with fear and worry if he saw the threat to his family.
Hariel spun around. The Ronin warriors were coming. In their haste, they did not attempt to soften their footsteps. The power of Wildfire was exalting unlike anything he previously experienced. He felt as though he could continue his rampage forever, but he knew he needed to conserve his strength. He did not know exactly how strong he was in the armor and he did not want to find out in a life or death situation.
Wildfire was finally calm yet Hariel could not retreat. The Ronin warriors would catch him if he did, but the Ronin warriors would also catch him if he continued towards the village.
"Don't worry about them," a voice that was thoughts instead of words called out to him. "Go ahead to where you want to go and do what you wish to do. You are the most important person in the world. You will be protected."
"Who are you?" Hariel inquired of the new presence although he was unworried about the strange appearance. What it was did not matter though. He knew instinctively that it was telling the truth and that their goals were the same. Smiling confidently, he ran towards the village.
The door slammed closed and the house was dead again, devoid of any sounds. Jiguro listened intently, but only heard his own breath. He saw the fire just outside the village. He had to act soon. Were his wife and adopted daughter kidnapped? Was Hariel waiting in the darkness for the chance to strike?
"Keiko!" he shouted and held his breath. There was a faint rustling sound in the hallway and his wife soon appeared.
"What happened?" Keiko asked groggily, tired.
Jiguro exhaled, but before he could speak, Yuki's voice rang out, "Shiro!" and the little child ran into the arms of the Ronin warrior of Wisdom.
"Hey there, little sister," Shiro said softly and held her tight. Then he said bluntly to the others, "We need to leave. Now."
Jiguro nodded and informed Keiko, "Hariel is setting the entire village on fire. Where is the Jewel?"
His wife left instantly and returned with a pink glowing Jewel. "Where are the others?" she asked.
"Ashura and Morhiko are evacuating the village. The others are going directly after Hariel."
People streamed out of the village. The rouge ninja smiled at so many easy targets. He snuck closer and jumped on a nearby roof for an easier view. The people were still unaware of his close by presence. Perfect. He unsheathed his swords again and set them in formation for his surekill. Suddenly his edge of the roof shook slightly as something unseen hit it. The roof crumbled away before Hariel could jump onto safer ground. He crashed into the dirt.
He was dizzy but not for long. Wildfire softened the blow so there were no pains to disorient him. He jumped up quickly and saw Hitomaro of Strata poised and ready with his bow and arrow.
Hitomaro released his arrow at the rouge ninja. Hariel dodged and started to flee. Scowling, Hitomaro set up another arrow. A wooden bo slammed into his arms forcefully, causing him to drop his weapon as pain echoed throughout his shattered limbs.
Kaosu saw the bo bounce off towards another roof and he vaguely saw someone concealed in the darkness grab it and run up the roof. Determined to learn more about the threat, Kaosu followed the stranger.