Scroll Six, Introductions Gone Wrong

Ryo kept his eyes trained to Inuyasha's. The air between the two of them was so thick that a broad sword couldn't cut it. Cye nervously fidgeted from across the room, clearly disturbed by how bad his leader actually hated this half demon.

Miroku frowned. "So…ah…what does he look like?"

Rowen stepped away from the wall he was leaning on and started to circle the room. "Sage is just shy of being six feet tall." He explained, "Short blonde hair and lavender colored eyes."

"Blonde?" Miroku muttered the term in confusion.

Kagome turned to her backpack. "Oh! Wait! I think I have a picture!"

"A picture?" Kento blinked in surprise.

The girl turned from her pack and began to flip through a magazine. "Yeah. Last month's tournament…They did a spot light on Sage's division. There was this awesome photo of him kicking this guy in the waist."

Kento sat there, thinking for a second when he flinched. "Wait a second! That was our match!"

Kagome looked up as she finally found the image. "Oh my god! I forgot you were there." She turned over the magazine and pointed out the people to Miroku and Inuyasha. "That's him right there, blonde means the color of his hair, it's that very bright yellowish—"

"Okay then, we know who we're looking for." Inuyasha growled. "I guess these guys can all leave."

Ryo seemed to bristle over like a angry tiger. "We're not leaving."

Inuyasha glared at him. "Oh? And why not? We might find him faster without the extra baggage!"

Ryo was on his feet. "We're staying until Sage is found!" He growled. "Every Ronin Warrior here is bonded to each other. The armors don't like being separated when in use—"

Kagome looked to the floor. "Sage wasn't wearing his armor when he was taken down the well."

Rowen shook his head. "He could have donned it at any time after. We don't know that. But it would be better safe than sorry if we stayed anyway."

Inuyasha got up to stare Ryo down. "I still don't think we need them!" He snarled.

Miroku sighed in dismay as he closed his eyes. "Growling at each other isn't going to get things done." He informed.

"Stay out of this you pervert!" Inuyasha clocked the monk over the head. "I'll growl at whom ever I want."

Cye stood up and raised his hands in defense. "Come on Ryo, stop this! We need them as much as they need us. If we're going to find Sage before something horrible happens to him, we need to work together on this." The calm and cool Torrent stepped between the two red bearing men and looked at either of them. "We can't do this alone, any of us."

Ryo started to say something when Lea finally moved from the back wall. Inuyasha nearly snapped his fangs at her when she took a step in their direction to dish out some order.

The Ronin Warrior of Virtue shoved Cye out of his way and punched the half breed across the jaw. Inuyasha was knocked back into the far corner of the room, dazed.

Everyone jumped to their feet.

Lea and Cye grabbed Ryo's arms and dragged him back from pressing a fight. Rowen took his leader by the collar of his sub armor and pushed him out into the night. Kagome watched as Kento herded a snarling Whiteblaze away from the door and closed it shut behind him.

Inuyasha dragged himself up from the floor, about to lunge at Hardrock to get outside and beat back his honor from Ryo. He shoved Miroku aside, sending the monk into the small table sitting in the middle of the room.

Kagome started to issue her command—

When Lea took the half demon by the throat and pinned him to the floor.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" She yelled.

Inuyasha beared his teeth. "Let go of me you dirty wretch!" He started to reached for her hands with his clawed fingers.

Kagome saw Lea's jaw tighten as her eyes glinted with a murderous glare. Inuyasha's hands suddenly fell away, as if he had gone limp from the neck down. The teenager was rushing forward to stop the Guardian from snapping the half demon's neck—when Kento held her back.

"Lea isn't going to hurt him." Hardrock assured. "She's using her powers to keep him from moving around."

Kagome gulped, "She isn't saying anything."

"Yeah…Lea is probably cursing the hell out of him in thoughts." Kento looked pass them to Cye as he helped Miroku up. "It's better this way, Ryo doesn't hear them arguing or what ever."

Cye dusted the splinters from the monk's cloak. "You're alright?" he asked in his accented voice.

Miroku nodded and he caught his second wind. "Yes. I'll be fine." He turned in time to see Lea released Inuyasha and back away. He held his staff ready as the demon got up and growled.

"I still hate you." He snarled.

Lea crossed her arm. "Does it honestly look like I care?" She muttered and started for the door.

Inuyasha smiled wickedly. "He likes you, doesn't he."

The silence was deafening as Lea came to a stop. The dog eared demon scoffed. "No wonder. I so must as glare and he'll tear my head off." Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest.

Lea shot a cold glare at him.

"Inuyasha, stop it." Kagome pleaded. "They're important people…shadowed heroes of the future. They need to find their friend. Cye is right, we need their help and they need ours."

Inuyasha growled. "How good are you at fighting demons?" He asked.

Kento shrugged. "We've toasted…three or four…" He looked at Cye, who was trying to count on his fingers.

The dog demon scoffed. "No experience at all." He muttered, looking off at some vacant wall in annoyance.

"Twenty-five."

Kagome blinked in surprise. Inuyasha turned, a skeptical look in his eyes. Lea had turned around, arms at her side and a dark shadow in her face. "Between the five of us, including Sage. And not counting the minor ones in between like Dynasty Soldiers and minions…"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

Lea held up her hand and started naming. "Talpa, Badamon, Saberstike, Sarenbo—"

"Okay! Okay! You've made your point!" Inuyasha growled. "Twenty five dead demons?"

"A few beaten into submission, and the others in between." Lea added.

Kagome started to speak when battle calls from outside filled the air.

"RONINS TO ARMS!"

Kento, Cye, and Lea bolted into the night without another word. Miroku stood at the door, blinking in surprise. "What was that?" He asked.

Kagome picked up her bow and arrows. "Come on! I think that is their call to arms or something." She guessed as she bolted into the night. Villagers and samurai were filing out into the open with weapons. She could only guess that some demon had come to take the Jewel from them again.

Miroku was suddenly beside her. "That came from outside the village…just across the river."

"Looks like Rowen made Ryo walk off his rage." Kagome panted as she kept running. "Where did everyone go? The others took off so fast that I never saw which direction they went!"

The monk shook his head. "They're quick. I've never seen anyone, including a woman take down a full grown man in the speed that Guardian did."

"Oh stop praising the wretch!" Inuyasha snapped as he pounced into view. "She had me at a disadvantage!"

"LOOK OUT!" Cye suddenly shouted, leaping from nowhere in the trees and snatching Kagome clear off the ground. A monster suddenly sprang up out of the ground just in the path that she had been on.

Inuyasha pulled the Tetsigia from it's sheath. "You know what, those damn Ronins might be handy after all!" He grinned wickedly.

Miroku narrowed his eyes in speculation. "Why is that?" He asked in a dark voice, holding up his left hand to pull the prayer beads away.

The monster looming over them snarled as his fangs dripped with sticky saliva. He was an ugly earthy brown and covered generously in spikes and horns. His seven golden eyes blinked erratically, and fur bristled along his arms and legs. The thing was absolutely hideous as is marched on thick fat legs with reversed knees and clawed feet.

"They'll keep Kagome out of the damn way!" Inuyasha lunged forward, just as the Steel Fang transformed. He sliced through the monster, showering the ground black, blue blood.

An ugly mist rose from the cleaved body, filling the area around Miroku and Inuyasha in inky clouds. The air stank of a gut twisting odor…like smoking burnt human flesh, sulfur, and other nasty smells.

Miroku started to pull the prayer beads away when the horrible smell nearly knocked him flat on the ground. He heard Inuyasha gagging only a few feet away over the monster's body.

There was the sound of more monsters rising from the earth. Miroku began to turn, holding his hand ready, but unwilling to draw his arm away from his nose. His eyes began to water up as the smog burned his eyes.

One of those creatures suddenly appeared in front of him, snarling and gnashing his slimy fangs.

Miroku staggered back in horror. He stumbled over the carcass of the first monster and then Inuyasha, crouched down and trying to breathe. More monsters came through the smog, ready to tear them apart. There was a long, cold second that the monk thought they were really going to 'buy the farm', as Kagome once said.

Screams of dying villagers filled the air.

Damn all these things to hell… Miroku thought.

The moon light off cold steel streaked through the black smoke. Miroku followed it with his blurring vision as monster after monster disappeared. Screams started to become silent as the roars of perishing demons drowned them out.

The streaks of moon light faded away, leaving Miroku, Inuyasha, and who ever was among them alone.

A great gust of wind blew over the area, blowing away the smoke and smog. It lifted harmlessly into the air and away from the village.

Miroku turned in a circle, once his eyes funny flushed the last of the burning fumes away. Standing scattered around the clearing was a warrior, dressed in slick armor of different colors. He finally looked to the lake, where a figure clad in dark blue lowered his arms to his side.

"You alright?" Rowen's calm collected voice asked,

Miroku drew back his arm, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. He looked to Inuyasha. The half breed was sucking in air like a poor man finally finding water in the middle of a desert.

Strata came over, placing his gold bow back on the catch that stuck out from a box on his back. "He's not goin' to die on us, it he?"

The monk shook his head. "No. He just needs a moment. His sense of smell is stronger than ours. Some times we get into some smelly things like this and he has been known to pass out."

Rowen nodded, just as the face plating on his helmet parted back, revealing his face again. He looked over to Cye as he came walking from the river, dripping wet. "Did you search the other bank?"

Torrent nodded. "Ryo got them all." He smiled weakly. "I think I should have stayed in the trees…"

"Were is Kagome?" Inuyasha wheezed.

"With Lea. She'll get Kagome back to the village and into some dry clothes before anyone notices."

Miroku lifted an eye brow with a smirk. "Dry clothes?" He said sweetly. "What did you do? Throw her in the lake?"

Cye sighed a little in dismay. "Hey, I wasn't going to let that horrible stuff get to her."

"You could of drowned her you idiot!" Inuyasha snapped, getting up and balling his fists.

"Stop!" Rowen growled. "Cye's armor gives off a powerful aura that makes a field of clean air around him. He can stand at the bottom of the ocean for days."

Ryo came over to join the group. "About eight are dead." He said quietly. "I'm going to stay out with Kento and help the villagers bury them."

Miroku turned, "I'm coming too." He declared and followed the Ronin leader to the village to say prayers for the dead.

Rowen and Cye looked at each other and suddenly turned to head back to the river. Inuyasha blinked in surprise at his abandonment. "Where are you guys going?!" He demanded.

"To find out who these guys were working for." Cye shouted back.

Lea leaped out of the canopy of trees, dressed in identical armor as Ryo. Inuyasha held his sword tightly as it transformed into the Steel Fang again. The Guardian didn't seem to notice as she ran up to catch the two Ronin Warriors.

Inuyasha snarled a little as he started follow, sheathing his sword unwillingly.

~~~~~~~~

AN--Hello! I'm making good time. I feel I made Inuyasha and Miroku too weak in the battle…sorry for all those Inu fans reading. Trust me, they'll get to kick some major demon rear. Lets hear some more reviews! I want to know what you think! Ask questions!

PS to Ronin Lover: Sage's 'incomplete' attack in the first chapter has a purpose. I think that the last command in the guys' attacks orders the sure kill into their weapons. I made it so that Sage didn't direct the attack into his sword and built the attack into himself to shock the demon clinging too him. Anyone here remember 'Counter Attack'? when Ryo roasted Sekhmet??? He turned himself into the Flare up, and never called out the title of his sure kill.