Introduction/Disclaimer: Good day to you, and thank you for your interest in this tale. I myself do not claim credit or ownership for the Troopers, or the story told of them by Sunrise. I do however, claim credit for all original characters, as well as the story line. If any wish to borrow any of these from me, please ask me, though this is unlikely. Please don't steal these from me.
Things in this story are pretty much the same as in the series, with some differences. The event's in the OAV's never happened.
Arigato and ja ne!
*One final note, this takes place about two weeks before Chapter One. Also, this starts about two years after the final defeat of Arago.
Prologue: And Thus It Begins…
By Valandra
Shu and Shin were going in and out the front door of the mansion, carrying luggage outside to the jeep and coming back for more.
~Just how much stuff does she need? She's not going to be gone that long!~
~Oh, quit complaining Shu. It's not that bad.~
~I can feel that smile on your face, Shin. You better wipe it off before I do it for you.~
~Ooo. I'm scared.~
~You better be!~
****
Touma and Seiji were up in their room, Touma having just gotten out of the shower, and Seiji sitting on his bed, nursing the battered nose he got from waking Touma up.
"Is it broken?" Touma asked as he got dressed.
"Ah don' tink so." Seiji answered, holding a home made ice pack, zip-lock baggy with ice cubes, wrapped up in two paper towels, to his very tender nose. "Jus' feels like i'."
Chuckling and dressed in a pair of well-worn blue jeans, Touma turned and walked toward his roommate. "I would hove thought that you of all people would have seen it coming. Why didn't you block it?"
"…Ah guess Ah didn' see i' coming."
Touma looks at Seiji with a thoughtful expression, taking in the ice pack that had a tint of red to it. He didn't miss how the skin under his eyes were slightly darker than the rest of his friends' untanned skin; nor did he miss the slightly bloodshot eyes above said dark skin.
"Did you sleep well?" asked as he sat facing Seiji on his own bed, his back to the door. He didn't take his eyes off the blond sitting across from him, wanting to see what kind of reaction the blond had to his question. He wasn't disappointed. He was both pleased and even more worried when Seiji winced quit visibly.
"Very well."
"Right." Dripping with sarcasm and preceded by a snort. "Don't lie to me Seiji. And I know you are."
Raising an eyebrow at his best friend, Seiji asked calmly, "What do you mean?"
Sigh, "I was awake last night when you shot up in bed, gasping for breath. Unless you went back to sleep after I feel to sleep, then your nightmare kept you up all night. I also know that this in not the first time this has happened. Something is disturbing you in your sleep, and it's bad enough to wake you up in the middle of the night, gasping for breath, and looking like you've been scared out of your mind. I don't think I've never seen that expression on your face before. What is it?"
"It's nothing you need to worry about Touma."
"Seiji, don't be so damn stubborn!"
"It's just a dream. I've only seen it a few times, and for between at that. If it were important than I would have already told you. It was just a nightmare. Everybody gets them once in a while."
"Fine. I'll accept that it's just a nightmare. For now. But if it keeps recurring, then will you tell me about it? That is one way to get rid of them." Touma quickly added the last part when he saw Seiji's visible eye twitch.
"If it continues, then I'll tell you. As long as you don't tell the other's about it. They don't need to worry about something like a few nightmares."
"I won't tell them."
They both got up and started to head downstairs, Touma grabbing a worn-out sapphire sweat-shirt with the sleeves cut off on the way out.
As they got to the stairs, Seiji casually said, "And don't bring it up again." Though Touma could hear the threat implied. He just nodded his head response.
****
Ryo and Nasuti were in the backyard watching the clouds and talking.
"They still haven't told you how long you'll be gone?"
"Nope. They're still saying it could be anywhere from two weeks to a month. But the convention is something I've been looking forward to for months now, so I don't really mind."
"I know. Still, it would be nice to know when you were getting back."
"Why? Are you going to miss me that much?" innocently asked, and Nasuti tried not to laugh at the blush that graced Ryo's tanned cheeks.
Then Ryo got a sly smile on his face, having come to a decision, and with only the trace of the former blush he wore earlier, turned to Nasuti and looked her in the eye.
Nasuti's silent laughter froze in her throat upon seeing Ryo's eyes. I've seen that look before, when he went into battle, or was protecting Yulie and me. He gets it whenever he's determined to do something, and won't let anything stop him. I hope I didn't hurt him by laughing at him.
"Um…Ryo, I-" Nasuti was cut off by Shu hollering at her that if she didn't leave now she would miss her train.
"I'm coming! I guess I should go now."
"Wait." Ryo grabbed Nasuti's wrist before she could finish her mad dash to and through the kitchen door. He caught her on the deck. He spun her around so she was facing him.
"Ryo, I'm going to be late." She said, getting a little mad at him. "This had better be important."
"Maybe."
"Ryo." Threatening, with an edge, and he could see a small fire burning and growing in Nasuti's eye's, showing that she was getting madder and more impatient by the second.
"I just wanted to give you a gift."
"A gift?" total shock and loss of fire.
"Yes. Something to remember me by."
"Ryo, I'm not going to be gone that long. A month at the most."
"True." Ryo leans in close to her and whispers, "But you never know what might happen." And kissed her before she could respond.
Please let me be doing the right thing, Ryo thought, praying that Nasuti wouldn't hate him. Maybe even return his feelings. After her shock faded, Nasuti responded to the kiss, and wrapped her arms around Ryo's neck, tangling her fingers in his silken hair. Ryo wrapped his arms around Nasuti's waist and they both pulled each other closer at the same moment, both savoring the kiss, both lost in it.
Reluntlently, Ryo broke the kiss, some part of him knowing that no matter how much she liked it, Nasuti would kill him if she missed her train because of him.
Nasuti, still in a daze, understood about half of what Ryo said as he gently guided her into the kitchen.
"Something to remember me by, since you never know what may happen, or when next we shall meet."
The two had been so involved with each other that neither saw the pair of radiant yellow eyes glaring at them from the woods. It had one thought in its mind: Perfect.
A couple hours later, Nasuti was on a train taking her to some convention on ancient myths and mystical creatures, and the guy's were all in the living room in the mansion, watching some old horror flic that Shu had picked up on the way back from the train station.
The eyes were gone, having never been seen.