Kitty-chan: Yay! At least this one was easier to post than the last one. Sorry about the shortness of it. I can't remember why I made this chappy so short. But, whatever. I'm glad this one was... sorta on time. The last one was really late. Anywhosit, thanks for the reviews! I know the last chapter was a bit of a rollercoaster, but this one's a lot easier to read. lol. Oh! I don't own any of the Samurai Troopers characters. They are property of Sunrise Inc. But, I do own Takai, Kuri, and Lai. Love ya all! Name translations really fast!

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
Byakuen: White Blaze
Yamano Jun: Yuli Yamano

Armor Names
Rekka: Wildfire
Tenku: Heavens/ Strata
Korin: Nimbus/ Halo
Suiko: Torrent
Kongo: Stone/ Hardrock
Kikoutei: Inferno
Go Retsu Ken: Soul Swords of Fervor

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

"Ohayo, Shin. Sleep well?" Naste asked quietly as the man sleepily entered the kitchen. Toma and Seiji were already at the table.

Shin shrugged a bit and seated himself next to Seiji, putting his head down on the table. "You alright, Shin? You look like you haven't slept a wink." Toma pointed out. Shin thought of pointing out that Toma actually looked half-alive before noon, but he dismissed the idea. He wasn't in the mood, and after yesterday's happenings, he doubted Toma was either.

The truth was, Shin had, not once, drifted to sleep. He had mde up his mind. He couldn't sleep. Not until Takai was destroyed. When Takai had left him to enter Shu, he had not completely vacated Shin's mind. He left a small spot of darkness in a corner of Shin's mind, tucking it away to be out of his reach. Even now, it was impossible for Shin to totally banish the remainder of Takai's spirit.

"Is it Shu?" Seiji inquired, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Partly." Shin whispered, his voice muffled by his arms, which pillowed his head against the tabletop.

"What's wrong?" Naste requested, standing and walking over to stand behind him.

"Takai… he gave me nightmares. He replayed my past to me. He replayed the night my father left the family over and over again right before my eyes. He stripped my mind of all its secrets, and then locked me away. I don't want to sleep until he's destroyed. I won't sleep. I know he can't take control any more, but I can still feel him. He's still here… in my head." Shin's head shook slowly back and forth, and the heel of his bandaged right hand pressed against his temple. Naste's hands were felt on his shoulders.

"It's alright, Shin. We're here for you, now. We won't let Takai hurt you anymore. I promise." She said gently. There were murmurs of ascent between Seiji and Toma.

Shin smiled faintly. "Thanks everyone." Shin mutteres, though, he did not move.

"Where's Ryo, by the way?" Toma asked suddenly. "Has he even gotten out of bed yet?" Shin shrugged. Toma looked up at Naste, who nodded and headed upstairs.

"Seiji, I've been meaning to ask you about yesterday." Shin mentioned, finally looking up. "How'd you know all that stuff about Kikoutei? About how it affected Ryo?"

Seiji shrugged. "It wasn't too hard. As you said, the human psyche and its analysis is my specialty amongst us five. "I began montitoring Ryo's mental state the minute he put the armor on. Simply put; I don't trust the armor. Immediately after he pulled out the bow and arrow, I could feel Ryo's will begin to change. He now saw Shu as an enemy like any other. It kind of all caqme together at that point. It was especially obvious when he went after Toma for trying to stop him from hurting Shu."

"That armor's dangerous." Toma stated simply. "Maybe even evil."

"Evil?" Shin inquired, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is Suzanagi's hate that strong in them?"

Toma anodded. "When I was holding him off, I got a look at the part of his face that's visible. His eyes were so cold. There was a hate in them that scred me. Hate for me. He hated me and he hated everyone in that room. It's just this side of posession. But it's even scarier than posession, because the hate he's aiming at me is not the armor's hate, but his own."

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

"Ryo?" Naste whispered, slowly entering the room. "Ryo, are you awake?"

The figure in the bed rolled over to face away from her, and Naste quietly entered, closing the door behind her. She approached the bed and sat down on the edge. His back was to her, but she could tell he was awake. Next to Seiji, Ryo was usually the first one up. He never slept in like this. "If you're awake, why don't you come downstairs and get something to eat?"

"It's different this time, Naste." Ryo whispered, his voice cracking. She could tell he had been crying.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Kikoutei. It's different. I can't really explain it. I lost myself in its power, and I think that's exactly what it wanted." Ryo gave a heavy sigh. "I can't control it. I wanted to kill Toma, Naste. I wanted to kill him! And right before the armor left, I wanted to kill you for taking it. I wanted to do it. It wasn't the armor that desired to kill, it was me."

"You have to understand that what you did was not your fault." Naste reasoned, laying a hand gently on his shoulder.

"It is, Naste. If my will were stronger, I would have been able to keep from being seduced by Kikoutei. It took no time at all for the armor to meld my will with its own."

"That's only because you didn't know what was coming. You'll be ready next time. Your will is strong, Ryo. You just need to force it on Kikoutei before it forces its on you." Naste consoled.

"It's not that easy, but thank you, Naste." Ryo's hand peeked out of the blankets to rest on hers.

"Anytime, Ryo. Now, come on downstairs for some breakfast. You have a short reprieve, if nothing else." She answered, smiling.

Ryo sat up and sighed, offering his own weak smile. "Alright. Is everyone else up?"

"Mm-hmm. They're hanging out downstairs." Naste answered. "Maybe we can do something fun today. You know, something relaxing. I know it won't be the same without Shu, but you guys need some relaxation. You and Shin look like you didn't sleep at all last night."

"Alright, alright. Now get out of my room so I can get dressed." Ryo laughed, blushing at the fact that he only had jeans on.

"Whatever. Just come down and get something to eat, and we'll work things out from there." Naste suggested. She leaned in and kissed his forehead before exiting. The kiss certainly wasn't sisterly, Ryo could tell that much, but he couldn't tell if it was romantic, either. He shrugged. Such things couldn't trouble his mind. Right now, he was concentrating on Kikoutei's nature.

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

"Would you like an omlette, Ryo?" Naste offered, waving a spatula at him. Naste had done all the cooking of breakfast so far. Not even Shin protested in his state of mind.

"Ive already had one." Ryo answered, smiling and dumping his dishes into the sink.

"Another? More rice? Sausage? Perhaps another omlette?" She offered.

I can see why she's not a waitress. Seiji thought to Toma. Toma laughed quietly.

"Naste, I said I'd eat breakfast, not the entire refridgerator." Ryo muttered, half laughing.

"Yeah, well-!"

DING DONG!

"I'll get it." Toma offered, since he was the closest one to the door. He made his way through the livingroom and over to the front door. He opened it up, and after about a millisecond of pause, three large microphones were shoved into his face, the people behind him ushering themselves into the house.

"Hashiba Toma! You were identified as one of the killers that are becoming known as the Samurai Troopers. Do you have anything to say in your own defense?"

"Hashiba! Could you answer a few questions for us?"

"Who are the remaining identities of the killers?"

"Are you really a killer at all?"

"Toma!" Shin yelled, running to stand in the doorway of the kitchen. He stopped dead in his tracks as the throng of reporters caught sight of him.

"Mouri Shin!" cried a bunch of them, dashing into the kitchen. As they spilled into the kitchen, Seiji spit his coffee out all over the table in surprise and Ryo fell backwards out of his chair. Shin, in the meantime, dashed to the opposite side of the kitchen, plastering himself to the wall. Naste growled as they all rushed in, focusing on Ryo, since he was the closest one.

"You must be one of the remaining two killers. What is your name, and what's the blonde one's name?" They all seemed to cry, the sentences overlapping each other five times over.

Ryo shied away from the cameras and the reporters, not fit to deal with them in his vunerable state. He was soon saved as a body appeared between him and the cameras cold hard stares. "Naste." Ryo breathed gratefully.

Naste shoved her hands into the two nearest cameras and began to physically shove the throng back toward the front door. As soon as she had gotten them most of the way out the door, she leaned back in and smiled at Ryo. "I'll handle this hoarde. You guys save the world, I'll say you guys from the press."

The four heaved a joined sigh of relief and settled back at the table as Seiji quickly cleaned up the coffee he had spit out and poured himself another cup. He sat ack down before noting Ryo's depressed countanance. "Ryo? You alright?"

The leader shook his head. "No."

"What's bugging you?" Seiji inquired softly.

"I wanted to do it, Seiji. I wanted to kill. I wanted to kill Toma and I wanted to kill Naste. I can't get that desire for blood out of my mind. The desire isn't there anymore, but I can't forget the feeling."

"Well, the things that drives you was stripped away and warped before being put back in. And having your will taken makes you feel…?" Seiji trailed off, searching for a way to describe how he thought it would feel. Never having felt it before, he didn't really know much about how it affected one, but he was pretty much making an educated guess.

"Naked and epmty." Ryo finished for him, shivering.

"Yeah. And I suppose that's why it's so traumatizing." Toma added.

"I've got to figure this armor out before I lose myself completely." Ryo growled, teeth clenched.

"Calm down, Ryo. You'll get used to it. You got used to the last one, right? It'll just take some practice." Seiji reassured him.

"There's so much more at risk now, though! I could hurt, or even kill, any of you guys! You know the kind of power these armors have!" Ryo gripped his head and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Ryo!" Toma grabbed Ryo's shoulders and shook him a bit. "It's us or Takai at this point! We will take the risk of losing our lives if it means taking Takai down! We have always been ready and willing to saacrifice our lives to take down a Netherworld Emperor." Toma sighed and calmed his voice, releasing Ryo. "You said yourself that the only way we're going to take down Takai is if we use the Kikoutei armor. And if using the Kikoutei armor means sacrificing my life, I'm willing to do it." He looked to Seiji and Shin, who nodded in agreement. Toma suddenly looked off to the side before stomping over to the kitchen doorway. From behind the wall, he pulled a lone reporter, a small digital camera in his hand. "How did you get in here!"

The man grinned sheepishly and pointed at the open back door. Toma tossed him onto the living room couch and pointed at the front door. "Get out!" Toma yelled. The reporter looked like he was about to obey, but instead held up his camera.

"Would you mind answering a few questions first?"

Ryo's rage awoke and he stood, stomping over to where the increasingly terrified reporter was backing up against the foyer wall. "Must we really inform you that we are humans, and not just some specimines for you to examine!" Red light shone in his eyes, and he was almost tempted to pull out a sword. But, he restrained. The restraint he displayed gave him a sort of odd pleasure that was welcomed in his dark mind. He was infuriated at the reporter for acting as if this were some kind of game, but there was no desire whatsoever in his being for bloodshed. "We are not things for you to examine under a microscope! Now get out!" The glow of his eyes and the tone of his voice was enough to send the reporter retreating out the front door to join the rest of the grouping.

"Ryo?" Shin whispered as the man stood there after the reporter had submitted and fled. "Are you alright?"

Though the enraged glow in his eyes was not yet fully dissipated, there was a slight smirk on his face. "I'm fine, Shin. I have proved to myself, that unless I am wearing Kikoutei, it has no lingering effect on me."

"That was a test? And what if it had failed?" Seiji cried from the kitchen doorway.

Ryo shrugged. "One less reporter?"

Toma smiled. At least Ryo had cheered up enough to joke around. Now, all they had to worry about was how the reporters would exploit their findings. Oh, and the missing Shu. Not to mention the trauma of Shin and Ryo.

No pressure, huh?

Kitty-chan: Woo! Scary. The press is kinda persistant, if you ask me, but I must admit to a certain admiration for them. They certainly are persistant. In order to be that persistant, they must really love what they do. Lol. Oh! No translations for this chapter. So, we go straight to the preview!

"That Lai person has to be a demon, or at least posessed by one."
"We have to leave here." Ryo interrupted, standing.
"We're the Rejects. Kinda like you guys. Welcome aboard." A young man, looking to be about fifteen, draped an arm over Ryo's shoulders.
"Shu! Wake up! Please!"
I'm going to tell you one more time... GET OUT OF MY HEAD!
"Slanderous traitor!" Ryo yelled angrily, rushing at Seiji, his fist extended.
"Time is too precious, and watching for Takai's next move is crucial." Shin answered quietly. "I'm sorry."
Yay! The next chapter is insanely long, but I hope to get it up within the next three days. I'm not too sure, though. Bear with me. lol. Love you all! Review!