Ryo rain a hand through his black hair and slumped into a chair, letting out his breath in a rush of air. "Well, he seems to be doing better now. Though to tell the truth, I don't know whether that's a good thing, or a bad thing."
The Ronins were gathered in Mia's living room, in the ubiquitous scene of discussing-the-ramifications-of-previous-fights-and-contemplating-the-future that always pops up after events of this nature. Rowen leaned forwards, his usually good-natured features set into a grim frown. "He tried to kill me. I think we can safely scratch him off the 'good guy' list."
"Yeah, but he saved me," Kento exclaimed. "And even if he was a jerk in the park-" ("-Which he wasn't-" Mia inserted) "-he didn't exactly fall into the 'Ronins, I shall slay thee' role either. Why not go after us then?"
"He didn't know yet?" Cye speculated. "Or he was waiting for his lady friend- enemy. Whatever."
Mia stared into the distance, remembering. "There was something very odd between those two. Something- sad. "
"You've been pretty quiet. What do you think, Sage?" Ryo asked. He had learned to rely on his friend's insights- as often products of a discerning mind as of a tie to the Armor of Halo.
Sage tipped his head back. "I don't think he has a side- I think he's involved in this for his own, personal reasons. So far he has attacked only in defense of himself, or of the other fighter- Sayuri. And I agree with Mia- that woman is the key to this mystery."
"Truly spoken." As one, the Ronins turned to discover the source of the tired voice supporting himself against the door frame. The blond young man managed half a smile as they all got to their feet. "I think you'll find that's not necessary. I have neither the desire nor the energy to attack. And… I believe I owe you all an explanation."
"You might say that," Rowen muttered darkly.
The young man looked over at him, his blue eyes intense. "And you an apology as well." He bowed formally. "I am deeply sorry to have involved you, and for the harm I caused you."
Rowen shifted awkwardly, perturbed by the apparent sincerity of the man's words. Mia took the opportunity to pull a chair over for the still convalescing stranger, who was beginning to sway slightly. He took a seat gratefully.
"My thanks. I won't expect you to condone the choices I have made- but, perhaps you will- understand." He hesitated, searching their faces." My name is Isuri Yoanoke. The woman who attacked you is Sayuri Yoanoke. My twin sister."
A ripple of surprise went through the Ronins, and Isuri paused again.
"… the two armors forged from a single piece," Mia murmured.
Isuri turned his piercing gaze on her. "Yes- that is correct. Sayuri and I are of a part." His gaze unfocused slightly, and he seemed to settle back into the mode of his tale. "We were raised by one of the last remaining members of the clan of the Ancient One, a man named Clestine. As long as we could remember, the Dynasty had been after us, for the powers we did not yet know we had. Clestine told us they had slain our parents in their first attempt to take us. That was when he found us. Our childhood we spent in hiding, always running. Clestine taught us, and cheered us- but he was growing old. Eventually the Dyansty cornered us."
The blades gleamed around them like the fangs of a great beast, set to devour them as soon as the energy wall collapsed. Clestine's white robe showed red in the moonlight, and he leaned heavily on his staff. His gentle voice was rough with pain and exhaustion.
"We won't leave you!" His sister, face pale and taut with fear, standing her ground. Green eyes blazed with helpless fury.
Heart trembling, he clenched his fists. "Clestine-sama, please hold on!"
"It is already done. Sayuri, Isuri, go!"
"When Clestine was killed, we ran alone." Isuri fell silent a moment. "Soon after we began to discover the powers of our armors. Mine, the Armor of Truth, and Sayuri's, the Armor of Empathy. There was no one to teach us or guide us; we learned to depend on each other. Whenever the forces of dark found us we fought them side by side. Sayuri fought them for vengeance, but I fought because I didn't want to run anymore."
He looked around at them. "We knew a little about you then. We knew you existed, and when you defeated Talpa. But-that wasn't the end. Another enemy sought us out now, and this time we decided to make a stand." Isuri pressed his fist into his forehead, brow creased.
"Tenebras. That was the lord's name. He set a trap for us, lured deep within the nether realm when we thought we were winning. We were fools! We'd never even seen him, knew nothing about him, and we thought we could defeat him so easily. We… I-" Isuri broke off, his face tight with pain.
"You don't have to tell this," Mia said softly.
"No! I do. You have to understand." Isuri took an uncertain breath, and look straight ahead, his eyes burning into nothing. "Tenebras had a new weapon-one that gave him enough power to finally conquer the nether realm. It was called the Red Death, but the effect was worse than death. It entered the body, and dwelt there. At will, Tenebras could call upon it to attack the victims' very souls, and render them his slaves."
Understanding lit in Kento's eyes.
"Tenebras' armed his soldiers with it. The pain of the Red Death's first striking is bad enough, but we had no idea the danger we were in until… it was too late. Far too late."
His trident swung. The last soldier fell. Sayuri leaned on her knees, catching her breath. Her feral grin glinted up at him. They were going to make it!
At the corridor's end, a figure appeared. Black shadows clung and obscured all details. One hand raised, and a soft chuckle echoed about them.
Pain!
He moaned, curled up, body twisting. The pain ebbed; he looked for his sister, made out a small crumpled form.
"Isu… Isuri!" Her eyes were fire. She staggered to her feet, lunged down the hallway trying to reach the back-shadow figure. The hand moved.
Pain struck again.
Agony. Minutes, hours, seconds. He couldn't tell. Distantly, he heard his sister screaming. Heard another voice, too, as he tried to reach her. His voice. His pain. His world. Something deep within whispered, Listen. Serve. Obey.
And needling through all the sounds, laughter stabbed his ears.
"My armor. Truth…" Isuri spoke very softly, almost to himself, but his words were clear in the silence. "To control, the Red Death forces victims to deceive themselves. Self-preservation. But my armor does not allow me to be deceived. I-could not submit." His voice was sad… almost wistful. "I couldn't. But Sayuri… she had no choice. In the end, it turned her." He paused again, and when he continued spoke in a dull, empty voice.
"Eventually, Tenebras left me for dead. I was almost dead, more dead then alive at that point. But despite its name, its power, its pain- the Red Death cannot kill of itself. A spark of life remained in me, enough to force me to drag myself out of sight, then to water and food, then to safety, of as kind. As I healed, awareness returned.
He met their eyes suddenly, looking around fiercely as if daring them to contradict his words. "I don't know how to defeat Tenebras or reverse the Red Death's effects. But Sayuri is my sister. I will get her back, or die. Until then I won't allow anyone to hurt her."
His blue eyes fell; his voice faltered and grew quiet. "And- I will do my best to keep her from hurting anyone else." His whole body slumped, as tears shone in his eyes, but did not fall. "Saya would never forgive herself."
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Sorry, short chapter! But I wanted to get SOMETHING up. I been halfway through chapters on about 6 different stories for months. I'll write more soon! ^_^
-Li Cat
