Standard disclaimer as always. I own nothing, but I DO own Hajime, Electra, Jade and Rachel. Thank you very much! ;)

Nature's Fury

Chapter 2

Rowen gasped as he ran to the tree, kneeling down on the ground to get a better look at the figure lying there. The figure lay on its stomach, arms outstretched as if still pushing him out of harms way. The torso and abdomen of the figure disappeared beneath the oaks' bulk, and the figure didn't move. Standing back, Rowen armored up and pulled his bow from his back.

"Arrow Shock Wave!" He cried, releasing his sure kill upon the offending tree, his aim true and accurate as the attack blew the tree off the figure lying beneath it without harming the wounded person on the ground.

Rowen rushed to the figure and had to hold back the bile rising in his throat. The figures' back was completely smashed, blood ran in rivulets across the ground where rocks and stone had punctured the skin. Brushing the tears from his eyes, Rowen turned the body over, gasping.

Rowen stared down into the face of a young girl, no older than he. Her hair cascading down around her shoulders, light brown at the roots, and getting darker and darker as it neared the ends until it was almost black where it danced about her shoulders.

Her eyes were closed, and blood tricked out of her mouth. Her clothes were simple, a maroon halter-top and black pants that stopped abruptly half way down her calves.

Rowen's eyes grew wide as he examined her hands: her fingernails were black. Not painted black, just black. Her toes nails were the same.

A simple tattoo adorned her shoulder, a black, leafless vine, reaching down towards her elbow with another vine towards her breast and another up the curve of her neck to her jaw line. Shifting her body slightly, Rowen saw that there was two symmetrical tattoos on her back, both like crescent moons with the same twisting-black vine design as the tattoos on her shoulder.

Resting her gently in his arms, Rowen stared down at the strange girl who had given her life for him. Tears streamed unchecked down his face as he wept for her. He didn't even know her name.

Watching her through his tear stained eyes, he almost jumped in surprise when her eyelids twitched. He watched her closely as it happened again, his excitement mounting. She wasn't dead! It was a miracle!

'How could she have possibly survived that?' Rowen wondered, checking her pulse.

It was faint and erratic, but it was there, none-the-less.

Cradling her broken body as gently as possible, he picked her up and leapt into the air, forming his armor's bubble around them as he flew her swiftly towards the mansion. He could see her eyelids twitch occasionally, and hope sprung up in his heart that she might survive. Clutching her gently to his chest he sped up, hoping to reach home before it was too late.

"Sage! Guys! Help, quick!" Rowen shouted as he ran into the house, the mysterious girl still cradled in his arms.

Cye ran out from the kitchen, gasping in surprise at the unconscious form in Rowen's arms. Rushing over to Rowen, he gaped at the blood dripping from the girl and running off Rowen's armor.

"What the hell, happened!?" He cried.

Suddenly, Ryo, Kento and Sage flew into the room, panic written all over their faces at Rowen's desperate cry.

"Who is that?!" Ryo asked, coming up to Rowen who still stood in the doorway, clutching the broken body of the girl to his chest.

"There's no time to explain, Sage, she's hurt really bad, can you heal her?" Rowen asked, walking towards the warrior of Halo with an expression of pleading on his face.

Sage blinked at him for a moment before nodding numbly and pointing towards the couch in the living room. Sitting gently on the couch, Rowen cradled the girl in his arms as Sage knelt down and placed his hands on the woman, his eyes closed as a soft green light enveloped them. Rowen concentrated, adding his own armor's power to Sage's, giving him more strength.

A few moments, later, Sage opened his eyes weakly. He had put almost all of his energy into healing the girl, leaving him tired and weary. Kento supported his shoulders from behind as he began falling backwards, helping him up and into a large armchair.

"Rowen, what's going on? Who is she?" Ryo asked gently.

Rowen looked up from where he was staring down at the girl in his arms, tears in his eyes.

"She saved my life."

The others blinked in surprise.

Rowen told them about the earthquake and how she had pushed him out of the way. How she had been crushed under the tree, but was still alive and how he had brought her here in hopes of saving her.

"Sage." Rowen turned to the exhausted warrior. "Thank you for healing her. Will she be all right?"

Sage nodded. "I think so, most of the bones in her abdomen and torso were broken and she had quiet a lot of internal bleeding. I managed to heal most of her injuries, but there was just too much damage for me to do everything. I can try again later, once I've rested."

Rowen nodded, thoughtfully.

"Sage, why don't you go upstairs and rest, we'll wake you if anything more happens." Ryo said, gently placing a hand on Sage's shoulder.

Sage nodded, rising slowly and stumbling towards the stairs. Kento caught the exhausted warrior again and helped him up to his room.

Silence descended upon the warriors as they watched Kento help Sage up the stairs. Turning their eyes then towards the girl in Rowen's arms, no one spoke as Rowen gently laid the girl down on the couch, covering her up with a blanket and fussing over a pillow.

Sighing, Rowen stood up again, cracking his back and turning to his remaining comrades.

"Well, what now?" Rowen asked.

"She'll stay here."

The Ronins turned to Mia in surprise.

"But, Mia, we don't even know who she is." Ryo exclaimed.

"True, but she saved Rowen's life, and I think that merits a little trust." Mia explained.

"Well, alright." Ryo gave in, sullenly. It wasn't that he didn't want the girl to stay, it was just that he wasn't expecting Mia to welcome her in with open arms when she didn't even know her name.

"That settled it, then. I'll go prepare a guest room." Mia said, turning and ascending the stairs, just as Kento was returning back down.

"What'd I miss?" He asked, taking a seat next to Cye on the loveseat.

"She's staying with us for a while." Cye explained.

Kento nodded.

Suddenly, a low moan echoed from the room. The Ronin's turned towards the girl lying on the couch as she stirred.

Rowen moved closer as she moved a bit, slowly opening her eyes.

Jumping back a bit in alarm, Rowen gasped. The girl's eyes weren't the eyes of a human, but rather, they were golden with black, vertical irises.

'Like a hawks' eyes.' Rowen thought, amazed.

She blinked up at him briefly, watching as Cye, Kento and Ryo moved closer.

"Hello, my name is Rowen. These are Cye, Kento and Ryo. What's your name, miss?" Rowen asked, moving slowly closer to the girl.

She watched as Rowen moved closer, allowing him to sit on the edge of the couch where she lay. However, when Cye, Kento and Ryo moved closer, she pulled her lips back and snarled, showing off a set of long, sharp canines.

"Okay, bad idea." Ryo said, backing up a bit.

"How come she let's Rowen be close to her?" Kento said, a little annoyed.

Cye and Ryo shrugged as they backed off and watched Rowen interact with the mysterious girl.

"What's your name?" Rowen asked again gently.

He was mildly surprised that he felt so comfortable around this mysterious girl, a minute ago she had just growled a threat at his friends, yet he felt like he had known her all his life. He trusted her.

Eyeing the other Ronin's briefly, she turned back to Rowen.

"Electra." She said, quietly.

Rowen was surprised at how gentle her voice seemed, a moment ago she had seemed fierce and unapproachable.

Rowen smiled. "That's a beautiful name. So, Electra, where are you from?" He asked.

"Around." She answered him vaguely, her head swiveling around to look at the mansion.

"Around where?" Rowen prodded.

"Here and there." She answered, distractedly, still looking around curiously.

"Okay...so, what were you doing in the woods?" Rowen asked. He knew that there were no other people living in the mountains where Mia's home was, so he was interested to know what she had been doing there.

"Watching you." She responded.

Rowen blinked at the bluntness of her answer, scratching his nose absently in confusion.

"Why were you watching me?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"........"

Rowen sighed. He wasn't going to get a straight answer out of this girl.

"Okay, well, I wanted to thank you for saving my life back there." Rowen said sincerely.

Turning to him, Electra, shrugged.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, concerned.

"Been better, been worse." She responded softly.

"Can I do anything for you?" Rowen asked.

"Nope. Thanks for your attentions, now if you'll excuse me, I must leave." She said, abruptly sitting up.

Rowen reached out to steady her as she winced, gasping.

"Be careful! You're still very badly injured, please lay back down." Rowen said, gently pushing her back down on the couch.

Electra allowed herself to be pushed back onto the couch, looking down at herself and her blood-stained clothes. Prodding her abdomen and torso, she proceeded to examine herself, presumably for her injuries.

"You have eight broken ribs, a punctured liver and kidney, two cracked vertebrae and several torn mussels. I was able to heal everything else and remove the danger of you dying, but you must rest and stay still until I can heal you completely." Sage said, coming down the stairs sleepily.

"Sage! You should be in bed, resting!" Cye scolded.

Sage rolled his eyes. "I can't sleep with you guys yelling and talking down here, now can I?" He said, taking a seat in a large armchair.

Cye pouted, crossing his arms.

"So, what'd I miss?" Sage asked.

Ryo filled him in, briefly while Rowen continued to fuss over the girl.

"No, you must stay here." He was saying, his hand on her arms, trying to keep her stationary.

"I must go. I do not belong here." She answered, swiping his hands away and trying, once more, to sit up.

Rowen was about to push her back down to the couch when there was a knock at the door.

Wondering who would be knocking on their door at this time of day, Kento went over to answer it. Opening the door, he let out a gasp and backed up, staring at the two women in the doorway.

The first was a tall girl with short, brunette hair. Her eyes were the deepest forest green and her ears were pointed. Most intriguing about this girl was the color of her skin. It was a deep, rich red, like the color of cherry wood. Her lips and eyes seemed to be outlined in black, making her features even more striking. Her clothes were simple, a green tank top and brown pants which stopped abruptly after her knees. Kento gasped as he looked at the girl's feet: from her knees down, her skin grew darker and darker until it turned black around her ankles, making her feet a deep, pitch black.

Stepping forward, Sage examined the other girl. Unlike the red woman, this girl was short, only coming up to his shoulder. Her skin was the palest white he had ever seen, and seemed to shimmer and shine when she moved. Her hair was stark white, coming down around her shoulders and flowing to her waist. But her eyes were most striking of all. They were silver, shining in the dim light of the early evening. She seemed to almost glow, like crystal. Her clothes were white as well, also stopping just before her knees. Her finger and toe nails also were silver, shining in the darkness.

"Greetings." The white girl said, smiling gently and showing off a row of perfect teeth, silver as her eyes and nails.

"Uh...hi." Ryo stammered.

"Took you long enough."

Everyone turned to the girl on the couch as she spoke, glaring slightly at the two in the doorframe.

"Well, it's not like you were in any danger. Besides, you know Crystal, she had to remind us of a few things." The girl in white rolled her eyes.

"Um, won't you come in?" Cye asked, suddenly becoming conscious of the fact that the girls were still standing in the doorway.

"Sure, we just came to get our friend. Then we'll be on our way." The red girl said, walking into the living room. "By the way, my name is Jade."

"I'm Rachel." The white girl said, walking over to where Electra lay on the couch, Rowen still sitting next to her.

"Uh, I'm Rowen, and this is Cye, Sage, Ryo and Kento." Rowen introduced the group as he stood, giving Rachel space as she approached Electra.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Jade said, winking at Kento.

Kento blushed and looked away. Something about that girl was different. Well, besides her appearance. Whenever she looked at Kento, it was like she was looking right through him. The feeling unnerved him, and yet, he wasn't afraid, or even particularly nervous. Just intrigued and slightly confused.

Rachel was talking quietly to Electra, while Jade stood nearby, watching the Ronins with an amused grin on her face.

"So, who are you?" Sage asked, bluntly.

"We just told you. I'm Jade, and that's Rachel. Oh, and if she didn't introduce herself, that's Electra." Jade answered rolling her eyes. "Sometimes, Electra can be a little absent minded."

"Hey!"

"No, I mean, where did you come from?" Sage asked patiently.

"No where." Jade answered calmly.

"Oh, come on! You can't expect us to take that as an answer!" Ryo shouted, standing.

Jade blinked at him. "Why not?"

Ryo was practically shaking with rage. This was all just too much. "First of all, Rowen comes flying in here with this mysterious girl in his arms, saying she saved his life. Then she won't tell us where she's from or who she is, only that she was "watching" Rowen. Then, to make matters worse, we get a knock at the door and it's you two, come to confuse us with more riddles and scant answers to our questions!" Ryo cried, chest heaving.

"Ryo, calm down." Cye said, gently.

"CALM!? I AM CALM!" Ryo shouted.

Rachel turned from where she had been examining Electra's injuries to face the enraged young man.

"Relax, Ryo. Everything will be explained in time. There's no need for you to get all worked up. At least you know that we're not a threat to you." Rachel said.

"How do I know you're not a threat to us?" Ryo asked, still a bit peeved, but not blind with rage like he had been before.

"Because I would not have saved Rowen if I was out to get you." Electra answered. "Plus, they're with me." She gestured to Jade and Rachel.

"Oh." Ryo said, sitting down again and resting his head in his hands in frustration. "Well, I'd still like to know what's going on."

"You will. Now, I need all you guys to turn around." Rachel said, standing.

The Ronins blinked at her.

"What?" Cye asked.

"Turn around. And no peeking, either." Rachel replied.

"Uh, okay."

Kento, Rowen and Cye turned around, facing the back wall.

"Why do you want us to turn around?" Sage asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I'm going to heal Electra." Rachel answered.

"How are you going to heal her, I wasn't able to, what makes you think you can?" Sage replied.

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I will. Now please turn around."

"What does this healing involve? Stripping? Is that why you want us to turn around?" Kento suddenly asked, turning back to look at the girls.

Electra glared at him and he squeaked, facing away again.

"Why should we trust you?" Ryo asked.

Jade sighed. "I told you. If we were any threat to you Electra would have let Rowen die back there in the forest. Now, please, she's in a lot of pain and we'd like to heal her so we can be on our way." Jade said, irritably.

Ryo grudgingly turned around. Sage hesitated, however.

"Sage, please. Trust me." Rachel said, looking into his eyes.

Sage stared back a moment before turning his back to the girls. For some unknown reason, he trusted this girl. It wasn't just because of what Jade had said about Electra saving Rowen, it was something more...something he couldn't quiet put his finger on.

A moment after he turned, a bright, white light filled the room. The Ronin's gasped in awe and began to turn, but Jade stopped them.

"Do not turn around!" She yelled.

Grumbling to themselves, the guys fixed their eyes once more on the back wall of the room, watching as the light in the room peeked to an almost unbearable climax and then slowly faded away, leaving spots before their eyes. Turning, they gasped as they watched Electra get up off the couch and stretch, cracking her neck.

"Thanks." She said to Rachel, who was, oddly enough, leaning on Jade for support.

"Anytime." She answered.

The trio made for the door, but Kento stopped them.

"Hang on, you can't go yet." He said

Electra quirked an eyebrow at him but said nothing.

"How were you able to heal her like that!?" Sage asked, gaping at the girl standing before him, who only a few moments before had been seriously injured.

"Uh...it's a secret?" Jade answered.

"You know that's not going to work." Ryo said.

"Yeah, why did we have to turn around?" Rowen asked.

"Well, it's complicated." Jade answered again.

"You know, they do have a right to know what's going on." Rachel said quietly. She had been leaning on Jade for support until now, but looked back at the Ronins in the living room briefly.

"She's right, they do." Electra said.

Jade sighed, and leaned down, picking Rachel up in her arms. "Of, course, and they will understand everything that's going on. Just not today." And with that, she dashed out the door, Rachel in her arms.

Electra laughed a bit and turned back to the Ronin's briefly, bowing slightly.

"Until we meet again." She said, staring at Rowen. Then she was gone.

"What just happened?" Cye asked.

"Quick! After them!" Kento yelled as he and Ryo ran out the door, soon followed by Sage, Rowen and Cye.

After searching the woods near the mansion for nearly 20 minutes without finding any trace of the mysterious girls, they returned to the living room, annoyed and confused.

"I don't get it! How could they just disappear like that?" Rowen asked.

"I have no idea, but what I want to know is how that girl healed Electra, when I couldn't." Sage said.

"Why, Sage, I do believe you're jealous." Kento teased, earning himself a glare from the blond warrior.

"I'm not jealous, just curious." Sage answered, quickly.

"Well, whoever or whatever they were, they're long gone by now." Ryo said, resting his head on his arms and staring at the floor. It was then that he noticed a peculiar pattern in the rug where Rachel had been standing.

"Guys, look." Ryo pointed to the carpet, turning his head to get a better view of the patterns.

"What's that?" Cye asked.

"It looks like...hoof prints?"

End Chapter 2

Authors note: Well, sorry it was so, long, lots of dialogue. Thanks for the reviews, Chapter 3 is coming up soon! Ja ne!