Kitty-chan: Dang! I don't think I've ever gone this fast on a story before! Okay, things are starting to speed up, but things will really be moving in the next two chapters (plotline-wise, anyway). This one, I think, is a bit longer than the last two and they just keep getting bigger. lol. Anyway, enjoy! Oh! Yeah! I dun own Samurai Troopers, they're copyright of Sunrise inc. The only characters in this story I own are Takai, Lai and Kuri, whom you will soon meet. Alright! Lastly, Name Translations!

Character Names
Sanada Ryo: Ryo Sanada (Duh)
Hashiba Toma: Rowen Hashiba
Date Seiji: Sage Date
Mouri Shin: Cye Mouri
Rei Faun Shu: Kento Lei Faun
Yagyu Naste: Mia Koji

Armor Names
Rekka: Wildfire
Tenku: Heavens/ Strata
Korin: Nimbus/ Halo
Suiko: Torrent
Kongo: Stone/ Hardrock

Enjoy! The stuffwith () next to it is translated at the end of the chapter.

Seiji yawned and squinted in the bright light of the kitchen. He headed over and put a kettle of tea on as his lavender eye caught a note one the table. "Eh?" He picked it up and began to read the hastily scribbled message.

Ryo-tachi,

I'll be home around 7:00 tonight. If you need anything, call me on my cell. Love ya!

Yagyu Naste

The Samurai smiled and started the coffee-maker for when Toma came down. As soon as that was started, he settled into a seat of the kitchen table and began to peruse the paper, waiting for the kettle to finish his tea.

"Ohayo, Seiji." Ryo yawned, entering and plopping into a chair at the table.

"Ohayo." Seiji greeted, standing and walking over to hover by the tea kettle. "Tea?" he offered, pointing at the kettle.

Ryo nodded and layed his head down, cushioning it on his arms. As soon as the kettle whistled, Seiji poured out two cups for himself and Ryo before placing them on the table. Ryo sipped quietly and Seiji continued to read through the paper. For a long while there was quiet in the kitchen, broken only by the crackle of the coffee-maker.

THUD!

Ryo and Seiji turned to look at the doorway of the kitchen, and nearly fell out of their seats. Toma stood in the doorway, looking around as if he had never seen the kitchen before. "Toma!" Seiji cried, nearly dropping his mug. "What are you doing up before noon, without having someone drag you out of bed, I might add?"

Toma shook his head a bit and sent a confused look at Seiji. He then muttered a few uncomprehensible things under his breath and continued to look around. Ryo blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"

"Ania." Toma stated seriously. "Where's Ania?"

"Isn't Ania his mother's name?" Ryo whispered to Seiji.

Seiji shrugged and stood. "Are you drunk?"

"He sounds like it, but Naste doesn't drink. Where'd he get the sake, or whatever?" Ryo looked around.

"Dihydrogen oxide and… pixie stix." Toma mumbled.

"Water and pixie stix? What's wrong with you?" Seiji walked up and put a hand on Toma's shoulder.

Toma roughly slapped Seiji away. "My pixie stix!" he cried defensively.

"Dude, you don't have any pixie stix." Ryo nearly giggled. What on earth had Toma gotten high on?

"Yeah, I do." Toma answered, looking at his hands.

I don't smell and alcohol or drugs on his breath. What the heck has posessed him? Seiji's mind cried.

"Hey, what's all the… commotion? What's going on?" He froze as he caught sight of Toma. "What's he doing up?"

"We dunno. That's what we're trying to find out. We think he's drunk." Seiji informed him.

Shu raised and eyebrow. "Are you serious? Toma doesn't drink!"

Toma motioned to Shu. "That old guy sold them to me." Shu nearly fell down the stairs laughing as he acessed the situation. Seiji cocked his head. Toma suddely grabbed Seiji's shoulders and began to roughly shake him back and forth. "You helping me." He slurred.

"What the hell, Shu!" Seiji cried. He could tell that Shu was trying to say something, but he was laughing hard enough that no comprehensible words could be made out.

"My pixie stix… must find. You helping me." Toma continued to shake his victim. Seiji was starting to get a headache.

"Seiji!" Shu managed at last.

"What the hell, Shu!" Seiji repeated annoyedly.

"Toma's a sleepwalker!" Shu cried, pointing at the blue-haired warrior.

"He's asleep? But his eyes are wide open!" Seiji managed to point out from moving back and forth in front of Toma's face.

"Doesn't matter. Toma's dead asleep. Believe me, my older sister sleepwalks and sleeptalks."

"Well, what do we do about it?" Ryo asked, cocking his head at Toma.

"Well, we could leave him asleep for a while and have some fun, or we could wake him up." Shu shrugged and gave a mischiefous grin. "I think we should let the tired boy sleep."

Seiji looked back at Toma for a brief moment before slapping him across the face. "No thanks. This is creepy enough."

Toma released him, and jerked his head back front to glare at him. "Seiji! What the… wait… where am I?"

"In the kitchen, Toma."Seiji sighed , exhasperated.

"Eh? How'd I get down here?" Toma demanded, looking around."

"You walked." Ryo answered plainly.

"But you could say that you weren't exactly yourself." Shu chuckled loudly.

"Eh? I don't understand this." Toma gave Seiji a thoroughly confused look.

Seiji waved him off. "Nevermind. Coffee?"

Toma blinked a few times before nodding. "Ah. Thanks."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Was your mission on Saturday successful, Lai?"

"Ho(1)!"

"Good. So the warrior has felt the carress of the blades?"

"Ho!"

"Excellent work, Lai."

"Thank you, my Master." Lai answered, bowing deeply. The Master sat on a large throne in a long hall, while his servant bowed before him on the carpet. This ninja seemed different from the others. He was not dressed in pure black, but rather he sported quite a dark brown with red ties about his waist and head. His long brown hair was held back in a high ponytail and stuck out from the dark brown hood that covered the rest of his head. "How shall we move ahead toward our goal, now?"

"Patience, Lai. The wounded Samurai will serve us well for now. As for the moment, I just want to make Rekka no Ryo suffer."

"So… Rekka no Ryo is our next target? But… Master… you said that he was going to be-!"

"Silence!" The master bellowed. "He is notour target, Lai. I just want to see him writhe in agony for now. Plus, this would be a good chance to test out my new weapon."

"The new weapon? Isn't it a bit early? It's risky." Lai questioned, though he dared not meet his master's gaze.

"Maybe so, but it'll test and see if the blade did it's job." The master rubbed his chin in thought before shouting, "Kuri!" A creature almost identicle to Lai appeared, the only different between the two being the fact that the new creature was female.

"Ho!" She cried, getting on one knee and resting her hand on her bosom.

"Show Lai our plan for today."

"Ho!" The girl stood and took Lai's arm, leading him away.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"This is really good, Shu. Where'd you learn to make this?" Ryo inquired, scooping rice into his mouth.

Shu shrugged. "My dad taught it to me. The miso is what my parents serve at their restaurant, the rice isn't any different then normal, and the Hash browns are actually an American dish I love."

"It's nice." Seiji complimented, taking a sip of his tea.

"Arigitou." Shu smiled and stood as soon as his plate was free of food. He rinsed his dishes then pulled a large bowl from the cabinet.

"Shu? What are you doing?" Toma inquired around a mouthful of hash browns.

"I'm gonna go check on Shin." He filled the bowl with water anf grabbed a rag before disappearing up the stairs.

Silence followed Shu's exit. Finally, Toma spoke, resting his chin on his intertwined fingers. "Seiji, you said you checked on Shin again last night before you went to bed?"

"Ah."

"Sense anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nothing, really. I mean, nothing that the human mind couldn't produce on its own. But he's coming around. He'll wake up soon." Seiji answered, not making eye contact.

Toma bent over to see Seiji's downturned face. "What's the matter?"

"Just… he's having a lot of nightmares. And unusually high amount, to be honest. They've created a black shroud around his mind and are keeping him asleep longer than his body needs. In his current state, I'm worried about what the long term effects could have on him." He answered slowly.

"Will he be alright?" Ryo inquired immediately.

"Yeah. I think he'll be fine. It might just be a different recovery process than we would expect." Seiji sighed before getting up to pour himself more tea.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Shu entered his room and looked to his friend's bed. "Shin!"

The bearer of Suiko was writhing around, clutching agonizingly at the sheets. He moaned, rolling back and forth, then grunting before beginning again. Shu rushed over and set the bowl by his friend's side, pulling the soaked cloth from it and dabbing at Shin's forehead. He then paused as Shin began to mutter something. "What's wrong, Shin?"

"Shu!" Shin cried, his eyes beginning to water. Shu placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What, my friend? What is it?"

"Shu!" He was yelling now.

"What, Shin? I'm here!"

"Takai no…"

"What is it, Shin?"

"Shu… Takai no boku(2)!"

Shu paused as Shin continued to yell and toss and turn fitfully in his sleep. "What? I don't understand, Shin. What do you mean?" Shu urged, though he knew Shin couldn't answer his question.

"Shu!" screamed a voice from outside.

"Ryo." Shu looked at Shin before dashing to the newly fixed window. "Oh crap!" he cried, spotting the youja that littered Naste's backyard. They had completely surrounded the battle-ready Toma, Seiji, and Ryo. He took a backward glance at Shin as he opened the window. "I'm sorry, Shin. I'll be back."

"Shu… Takai no boku." Shin called with less force. Shu dropped out the window, his clothes melting into his undergear.

"You know, this is really getting' old." Shu exclaimed as he landed next to Toma. "You'd think Takai would give this idea a rest."

"No, Shu. It's not the same." Seiji shook his blonde head. "It's not the same. I can't sense those knives. They're trying something different!"

"Eh?"

Before any more could be said, the youja raced in on them, attacking from all sides. "This isn't good!" Toma cried, trying to fend off three ninjas at once. The five were each trying to fend off too many youja, since they had attcked from every side imaginable, and so Ryo sent up the call.

"Samurai Troopers! To arms!" He held his hands out and began the transformations. "Busso… Rekka(3)!"

"Busso… Tenku(4)!"

"Busso… Korin(5)!"

"Busso… Kongo!"

The transformations exploded into four colored lights, and the armors responed to their masters. When the lights dimmed, the Troopers that the youja had used the split second transformation time to disappear into the woods. The boys somewhat felt foolish, standing in the center of an empty yard fully armored for an attack. Finally, Shu spoke quietly. "Uhhh… where'd they go?"

Suddenly the circle of black enemies surrounded them again, this time, flaming branches clutched in each gloved hand. They waved them around, attempting to intimidate the Samurai, but Ryo raised an eyebrow, allowing a confident smirk to creep onto his face. "Who do you think you're dealing with, here?"

The youja scattered, running about the yard and circles, dragging the flames along the ground, igniting the grass and the bushes at the edge of the forest. The enemies closed in, bringing the flames with them. The Troopers were forced into a small circle, back to back. Toma looked around to find that the youja had already retreated. He raised an eyebrow. "They came here to ruin Naste's lawn?"

"Nevermind their motive right now, Toma! We have to put out that fire! The house and the forest could go up in smoke!"Seiji pinted out. "Can you conjure a storm or something?"

"I can't control it like that! It could get out of hand and make it worse. Besides, I can't conjure a storm without an incredible amount of wind. That would make it bigger!" Toma shook his head.

"Ryo grunted and sheathed his katanas. "Fine. I'll absorb it." The Rekka armor began to glow intensely and slowly the fire began to retreat. As more time passed, the armor glowed more and more intensely as the grass and bushes were purged of the fire, charred, but still alive. As soon as the fire was gone, six eyes turned to look at Ryo, who was panting heavily, his body shaking, and fire dancing in his eyes.

"Woo! I'm never letting you in the kitchen again." Shu joked, waving his hand. He then paused at the way his body was shaking. "Ryo… dude, you gonna explode or something?"

"No…" Ryo grunted. "I've got too much power… my armor will overload and backfire if I don't release some of it."

"Could you let out an attack on the lake?" Toma suggested.

"Minna…" Seiji suddenly said warningly.

"What, Seiji?" Toma turned his eyes to where Seiji was staring. The water of the lake was floating above the crater in which it usually sat, held in a circle and rippling like some giant water balloon. It hovered for a moment before rushing foreward into their midst.

"What the hell?" Shu cried watching the water surge at them. It was far too large to avoid, so he planted his feet. "Can Takai control the elements, too? Because other than that, only Suiko can do that!"

"Ryo!" Seiji cried as the water dodged himself, Shu and Toma to slamm down on Ryo. Ryo screamed in agony as the power of his gathered fire was roughly and painfully ripped from his body, doused by the water. Once the water had completed its task of soaking Ryo, it retreated to once again sit in the lake, calm as if it had done nothing.

"Ryo! Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Toma asked, running over to kneel by Ryo's still form.

"Eh?" Ryo moaned and managed to open his eyes. "What happened?"

"The lake attacked you." Toma stated bluntly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." He grunted a bit. "But I can't move." Ryo sighed, his armor bursting into red blossoms and dropping him to lie on the ground. Shu quickly ran over and scooped Ryo into his arms as Seiji made a quick diagnosis.

"The shock of having that power pulled from your body just creeped your mind out. You won't be able to move for a while, but you should be fine by tomorrow."

The four retired to the house where Shu quickly deposited Ryo on the couch and then disappeared up the stairs. There's only one person on this earth who could've manipulated the water like that! "Shin!" Shu charged into his own room and his dark blue gaze fell on an empty bed. "Shin?" He looked around, but the warrior was nowhere to be found. Finally, he rounded the bed to find Shin fast asleep on the floor, the blankets coiled about his body. "Whew!" Shu sighed and hauled Shin back into bed, spreading the blankets over him. That was a nightmare he was having. He must've writhed his way off the bed. A cold draft hit his body as his undergear shifted back to his jeans and black t-shirt. He turned around to look at the open window and he rushed to close it. "Jeez. I forgot to close the window on my way out. As if I need to expose Shin to anymore than he already has." He quickly shut the window then headed out. His fingers had bearly touched the doorknob when a quiet and weak voice caused him to stop and turn.

"Shu?"

The boy turned to see Shin's eyes slowly open and focus on him. "Shin!" Shu raced over and helped the Water Lord into a sitting position. "How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

"Ah." Shin blinked and shook his head. In fact, he knew he wasn't alright. He knew there was still something wrong. Something that was coming at them soon. But he couldn't identify it in his current state of mind. He simply looked around the room. "What's going on?"

"You've been asleep for three days!" Shu exclaimed. "Do you remember talking to Naste?"

"Uh…" Shin paused and after a few seconds, his face brightened a bit. "Ah. I remember. The battle with Takai… and he drained me, and then coming in here to talk with Naste, and then… nothing." No… there was a dream. A nightmare of sorts. What happened? I can't remember, but it was important. What happened? And what's going to happen? Those nightmares weren't normal. I don't remember them, but I know they were not normal.

"Good." Shu smiled. "You need anything?"

The nightmares momentarily forgotten, Shin nodded. "I need to get out of this bed, for one. I'm starving, and my legs are asleep. Actually, a bit past that. I think they're dead."

Shu chuckled. "You've been lying still for a while. I guess that's expected. But, I can cook you a big meal if you want."

"What is this, role-reversal?" Shin laughed.

Shu shrugged. "I guess so." He slung Shin's arm over his shoulder and pulled him out of bed. Bearing most of the thin man's meager weight, they made their way down the steps and into the livingroom, where Seiji and Toma were checking over the unconscious Ryo. Their faces brightened visibly when Shu and Shin appeared.

"Shin!" Toma cried. "How are you?"

"Hungry." Shin smiled weakly, but his face turned grave when he caught sight of Ryo. "Hey! What happened?"

Seiji sighed and stood. "Ther was ana ttck about ten minutes ago. They powered Ryo up, then poured all the water of the lake onto him."

"How'd they do that?" Shin demanded, slightly offended at his elements actions.

"We don't know. We can't really say that Takai can control the elements like we can because this is the only time he's ever done it. I assure you that if he had that kind of power he would have used it already." Toma crossed his arms and closed his eyes in concentration.

"I'll analyze the water in the lake with Suiko. Maybe I can get a clue as to how the water was manipulated." Shin suggested, putting his free hand to his chin. He yelped and let the hand drop again. "Ow!"

"What's wrong, Shin?" Seiji requested.

"My shoulder hurts, badly." Shin answered, pointing at the offending joint.

"Let me see." Seiji commanded gently, making his way over to the stairs. He gingerly rolled Shin's sleeve back. "Where'd this come from?" he inquired, motioning to a clean slice in the skin running the width of his shoulder.

Shin craned his neck to see it. "I dunno. It kinda looks like a cut that's been burned. Maybe I got it from one of Takai's tentacles."

"Well, I got hit, and mine doesn't look like that." Seiji commented, pulling down his shirt collar to reveal a red scar looking as if someone had pressed a flaming candle to his chest. "The tentacle pierced my armor and hit my chest here."

Shin shrugged. "Oh well. I probably got it sometime while I was asleep. Like, I hit it on the corner of the dresser or something. But nevermind. I need something to eat."

"You sound suspiciously like Shu." Toma pointed out, chuckling. They all chuckled a bit and retired to the kitchen, except for Seiji. Seiji stood in the same place, contemplating the scar on Shin's shoulder.

That injury is giving off the same type of black energy as the knives those ninjas had the other day. That is no ordinary cut. I suggest we keep an eye on Shin. There's more going on here than any one of us knows.

Fourth chapter done! A slight warning before we get to the translations and preview, the next two chapters are really long, and I need some time to work something out in the chapter, so it might take some time for me to get the next chapter up. Thanks! Now! Translations!

1 Ho: Yes (high respect, I think only used when talking to a man)
2 Takai no boku: My Takai (I know. Doesn't make sense, eh? lol)
3 Busso... Rekka: Armor of... Wildfire
4 Busso... Tenku: Armor of... the Heavens
5 Busso... Korin: Armor of... the Nimbus

Alright! Preview time!

"Are your troops ready to leave?"
"I slid over... and I think a reporter in the sidelines got... I think she got a picture of my face."
"It's Shin! He's having a nightmare and he won't wake up!"
He suddenly felt Shin's mind begin to reject him and push him away like some kind of mental immune system. Just before he was roughly driven out, he grabbed the remainder of the nightmare and pulled it away, then fell into darkness.
"Seiji!"
Kitty-chan: Woo! I hope you like and come back soon! Review!