Disclaimer: Caspian has taken the mic from Rogue Ronin's more sensible hands to say "Wouldn't it be funny if we said we DID own Ronin Warriors in one of these? Just once?" Well, anyway, we don't. If you happen to own them, we are interested in taking them off your hands. Send them as follows: Kento and Ronins go to Rogue Ronin at cokeacola_75@hotmail.com; Ancient and Warlords go to me at caspian_scholar@hotmail.com. Enjoy!
==================================================================================================================================
Chapter 2
The Dynasty. All was silent and peaceful in the old battlefields by the marsh. The ruins of the Nine Towers slowly crumbled to stone and dust nearby, and the desolation around them was gradually turning to Netherworld vegetation -- thin golden grass and silvery shrubs began to take root in the former wasteland.
In the center of the area sat a slender, young-looking woman, a girl really, with a thick curtain of dark hair. Kayura's breathing was deep and even as she meditated, sending herself into a trance.
It was a task that she had set for herself to check the energy fields of the former Dynasty, to make sure that they were healing back into their ancient patterns. Talpa's power had twisted and distorted them, even ripping the energy in places where he had tried to meld it with the Mortal World.
Tears, rips and distortions in the energy had resulted in strange things going on in the Netherworld. Spirits stalked the marshes again, after centuries of banishment. The three Warlords and Kayura had strange, fragmented dreams, like broken radio transmissions haunting them at night. Their kanjis would glow suddenly, as if one of them was hurt or in need, but when they checked to see what was wrong, none of the Warlords were injured. The Ancient's staff, which Kayura kept with her at all times, would glow sometimes with a fierce and raging light; at other times it was almost impossible to use.
The four demon horses that they had kept from the old Dynasty were restless, fidgety and wild -- strange behavior in those creatures. Gates appeared without being summoned. Of course, Gates always lead somewhere, so Earth animals crossed over from them -- flocks of Earth birds suddenly found themselves in a completely different world, a pack of flamingos had taken up residence in the marshes, a giraffe had somehow wandered in and was now grazing the stunted trees. It had been very disconcerting for Cale when he had gone to use the bathroom and found an ocelot in the shower. Most disturbing of all was when Kayura went spirit-walking, as she was doing now.
Feeling at complete peace, she reached out to feel the lifelines of the world all around her. At first, all seemed normal. The Dynasty was healing over.
Then she felt the rip. Echoes of strange energy sounded within her head, but Kayura fought away the fear, knowing that her own panic was more dangerous than anything in the energy fields. What was going on? Blue light seared across her vision and she screamed out in pain, falling back into her own body with a jolt.
The next thing she knew, Kayura was on her bed in her room, with four faces looking down at her -- three men and an ocelot. The ocelot looked... pale.
"Why is Kokoro white?" was the first thing she asked.
Cale rolled his dark blue eyes, "Don't ask."
Dais looked smug. "Because Sekhmet tried to bleach him."
The green-haired Warlord scowled at him. "He was dirty."
"That's not dirt, Sekh, that's his natural coloring. I already told you that!" Cale said defensively.
"I notice you waited until after he bleached him to tell him," Dais sighed.
"And miss seeing the look on your face?"
The ocelot, which Kayura had named Kokoro, or "spirit," sat on Kayura's chest and sulked. He did look very... white.
"Why am I here?" was the second thing Kayura asked.
"We found you on the marsh when we were chasing Kokoro. He didn't like being bleached."
"What happened to me?" Kayura tried to sit up, then decided not to. "Ow. Headache." She lay back down.
"You have a hangover?" Cale offered unhelpfully. Dais hit him. "Ittai!"
"There's something wrong out there, isn't there," Sekhmet said over the sounds of the other two fighting.
"I... think so," Kayura said, trying to sit up again. Not surprisingly, she couldn't do it this time, either. "It seemed like the energy fields were healing over normally. Well, as normally as we could expect. But when I went out to check them today..." she winced, "Something was wrong... Dais, could you get the Ancient's staff?"
"Right here." He handed her the artifact, which looked dark and ordinary. "What happened to it?" Kayura wondered. It felt cold to the touch.
"Who knows. The same thing that's been happening across the Netherworld."
"What could be causing this?" Kayura whispered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
When we last left off at the Ronin House...
"But how are we suppose to find her? I mean it's not like she's just going to show up out of nowhere and say 'here I am,'" Kento said.
"Guess what, here I am." Tigermoon replied as she stood on top of the banister looking down at them.
There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone looked up at her. Then Rowen leapt to his feet, hands balled into fists. "You're that girl, aren't you! What are you doing here?"
"Standing on the banister, Master of the Obvious." Her answer dripped sarcasm and self-confidence. Then she lost her balance and fell. Into Ryo's lap.
"Ack!" Tigermoon scrambled off him and landed on her rear in the middle of the floor. Five Ronins, Mia and Kaye looked down at her. Not openly hostile, yet, but not all that friendly either. "Heh."
Two strong hands landed on her shoulders and she was heaved to her feet. "What did you do to Kaye?" Kento's voice was not welcoming as he spun the wiry girl around to face him.
Despite herself, she cringed. "You."
"Me," he agreed, scowling.
"Her," Tigermoon agreed, pointing to Kaye on the couch.
"Me," Kaye answered dryly.
"I just wanted to see if she was all right." Tigermoon looked up at him with wide green eyes. Her hands were wrapped into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She wasn't going to lose it again, not when she was so badly outnumbered. Just try to stay calm, explain yourself, don't hurt anybody. The man who had her by the shoulders was intimidating physically, plus he had that distrubing aura of power. Sheer, unbending iron strength. She felt very small. Tigermoon took a deep breath and started to babble, despite herself. "I'm sorry, I guess. I'm not used to people. This girl was just coming after me. And, and, she wouldn't go away, and it was really annoying, and--"
"Yeah, Kaye can be like that," Sage put in from his corner. The aforementioned woman gave him a look and he just grinned.
"And I didn't mean to hurt her that badly, and... you're hurting my shoulder..."
"Kento, let go of her," Mia ordered. Tigermoon stepped back with a sigh of relief. "I... guess I'll go away now."
"No, you won't." Ryo grabbed her firmly by the arm. "We saw what you did to Kaye--"
"--Jeez, Ryo, it isn't that bad," Kaye put in.
"-- and we aren't just letting you go. Who are you? Where did you come from?"
"And why did you run away?" Kaye finished. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"
The girl's thin shoulders slumped. "Even if I told you where I was from, you wouldn't believe me," she stated, and vanished.
Almost instantly, the air where she had been blurred and seemed to twist. With a thud, Tigermoon reappeared, landing ungracefully on the floor. "What is with these energy fields?" she spat. "I swear, it's as bad here as it is in the Dynasty!"
==================================================================================================================================
Chapter 2
The Dynasty. All was silent and peaceful in the old battlefields by the marsh. The ruins of the Nine Towers slowly crumbled to stone and dust nearby, and the desolation around them was gradually turning to Netherworld vegetation -- thin golden grass and silvery shrubs began to take root in the former wasteland.
In the center of the area sat a slender, young-looking woman, a girl really, with a thick curtain of dark hair. Kayura's breathing was deep and even as she meditated, sending herself into a trance.
It was a task that she had set for herself to check the energy fields of the former Dynasty, to make sure that they were healing back into their ancient patterns. Talpa's power had twisted and distorted them, even ripping the energy in places where he had tried to meld it with the Mortal World.
Tears, rips and distortions in the energy had resulted in strange things going on in the Netherworld. Spirits stalked the marshes again, after centuries of banishment. The three Warlords and Kayura had strange, fragmented dreams, like broken radio transmissions haunting them at night. Their kanjis would glow suddenly, as if one of them was hurt or in need, but when they checked to see what was wrong, none of the Warlords were injured. The Ancient's staff, which Kayura kept with her at all times, would glow sometimes with a fierce and raging light; at other times it was almost impossible to use.
The four demon horses that they had kept from the old Dynasty were restless, fidgety and wild -- strange behavior in those creatures. Gates appeared without being summoned. Of course, Gates always lead somewhere, so Earth animals crossed over from them -- flocks of Earth birds suddenly found themselves in a completely different world, a pack of flamingos had taken up residence in the marshes, a giraffe had somehow wandered in and was now grazing the stunted trees. It had been very disconcerting for Cale when he had gone to use the bathroom and found an ocelot in the shower. Most disturbing of all was when Kayura went spirit-walking, as she was doing now.
Feeling at complete peace, she reached out to feel the lifelines of the world all around her. At first, all seemed normal. The Dynasty was healing over.
Then she felt the rip. Echoes of strange energy sounded within her head, but Kayura fought away the fear, knowing that her own panic was more dangerous than anything in the energy fields. What was going on? Blue light seared across her vision and she screamed out in pain, falling back into her own body with a jolt.
The next thing she knew, Kayura was on her bed in her room, with four faces looking down at her -- three men and an ocelot. The ocelot looked... pale.
"Why is Kokoro white?" was the first thing she asked.
Cale rolled his dark blue eyes, "Don't ask."
Dais looked smug. "Because Sekhmet tried to bleach him."
The green-haired Warlord scowled at him. "He was dirty."
"That's not dirt, Sekh, that's his natural coloring. I already told you that!" Cale said defensively.
"I notice you waited until after he bleached him to tell him," Dais sighed.
"And miss seeing the look on your face?"
The ocelot, which Kayura had named Kokoro, or "spirit," sat on Kayura's chest and sulked. He did look very... white.
"Why am I here?" was the second thing Kayura asked.
"We found you on the marsh when we were chasing Kokoro. He didn't like being bleached."
"What happened to me?" Kayura tried to sit up, then decided not to. "Ow. Headache." She lay back down.
"You have a hangover?" Cale offered unhelpfully. Dais hit him. "Ittai!"
"There's something wrong out there, isn't there," Sekhmet said over the sounds of the other two fighting.
"I... think so," Kayura said, trying to sit up again. Not surprisingly, she couldn't do it this time, either. "It seemed like the energy fields were healing over normally. Well, as normally as we could expect. But when I went out to check them today..." she winced, "Something was wrong... Dais, could you get the Ancient's staff?"
"Right here." He handed her the artifact, which looked dark and ordinary. "What happened to it?" Kayura wondered. It felt cold to the touch.
"Who knows. The same thing that's been happening across the Netherworld."
"What could be causing this?" Kayura whispered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
When we last left off at the Ronin House...
"But how are we suppose to find her? I mean it's not like she's just going to show up out of nowhere and say 'here I am,'" Kento said.
"Guess what, here I am." Tigermoon replied as she stood on top of the banister looking down at them.
There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone looked up at her. Then Rowen leapt to his feet, hands balled into fists. "You're that girl, aren't you! What are you doing here?"
"Standing on the banister, Master of the Obvious." Her answer dripped sarcasm and self-confidence. Then she lost her balance and fell. Into Ryo's lap.
"Ack!" Tigermoon scrambled off him and landed on her rear in the middle of the floor. Five Ronins, Mia and Kaye looked down at her. Not openly hostile, yet, but not all that friendly either. "Heh."
Two strong hands landed on her shoulders and she was heaved to her feet. "What did you do to Kaye?" Kento's voice was not welcoming as he spun the wiry girl around to face him.
Despite herself, she cringed. "You."
"Me," he agreed, scowling.
"Her," Tigermoon agreed, pointing to Kaye on the couch.
"Me," Kaye answered dryly.
"I just wanted to see if she was all right." Tigermoon looked up at him with wide green eyes. Her hands were wrapped into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She wasn't going to lose it again, not when she was so badly outnumbered. Just try to stay calm, explain yourself, don't hurt anybody. The man who had her by the shoulders was intimidating physically, plus he had that distrubing aura of power. Sheer, unbending iron strength. She felt very small. Tigermoon took a deep breath and started to babble, despite herself. "I'm sorry, I guess. I'm not used to people. This girl was just coming after me. And, and, she wouldn't go away, and it was really annoying, and--"
"Yeah, Kaye can be like that," Sage put in from his corner. The aforementioned woman gave him a look and he just grinned.
"And I didn't mean to hurt her that badly, and... you're hurting my shoulder..."
"Kento, let go of her," Mia ordered. Tigermoon stepped back with a sigh of relief. "I... guess I'll go away now."
"No, you won't." Ryo grabbed her firmly by the arm. "We saw what you did to Kaye--"
"--Jeez, Ryo, it isn't that bad," Kaye put in.
"-- and we aren't just letting you go. Who are you? Where did you come from?"
"And why did you run away?" Kaye finished. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"
The girl's thin shoulders slumped. "Even if I told you where I was from, you wouldn't believe me," she stated, and vanished.
Almost instantly, the air where she had been blurred and seemed to twist. With a thud, Tigermoon reappeared, landing ungracefully on the floor. "What is with these energy fields?" she spat. "I swear, it's as bad here as it is in the Dynasty!"