Right, next bit. I'm on a roll with this fic at the moment. I'll probably get writer's bock for the next ten chapters.

Chapter 2

The Warlords relaxed visibly when Karala left. Kayura especially looked extremely worried.

"Did any of you sense something...different about her?" she asked.

"I noticed that trying to talk to Ryo around her is like shouting down a well!" Kento laughed. "She's only been here an hour, and you've already got it bad for her! Sage, you've got competition!"

Everyone laughed, except Ryo, who looked a bit disconcerted at being rumbled. When they had all calmed down, Kayura continued:

"No, I meant that I got an unusual power reading from her, but she was hiding most of it, so I couldn't tell exactly how much. I would be willing to bet anything that her power exceeds anything we've seen previously."

Anubis looked thoughtful.

"The most disturbing bit about that is that she knows how to hide it, because I didn't feel anything. If she knows how to hide her power, then she knows how to use all the other aspects of it. If she's our enemy, then we're in trouble."

"Look, I think you're all jumping to conclusions a bit too quickly." Cye put in. "She might be a new ally, which would be useful if we do have a new enemy."

"Plus she is seriously cute!" Sage grinned wickedly. "Looks like it's a race between me and you, Ryo!"

"Oh, shut up!"

Karala soared over a wisp of cloud. She loved flying, it was one of the things that made her glad that she had this armour. Her thoughts turned to her new housemates. She could tell that they didn't trust her.

'Guess that makes us quits, then, because I don't trust them either. They don't have to trust me, although that might work against me if they're who I think they are. If they're the Ronin Warriors, then they probably think that I'm their enemy.'

She decided to stop worrying, and just enjoy her flight. She might not get many more opportunities.

A week later...

"Hey, Kal, we're going into Toyama to get our school stuff. Wanna come?" Kento yelled from where Mia was getting her jeep going.

"Give me a minute, I'm coming!" Karala yelled back, running up to her room to get her purse. She ran out the front door.

"Jeez, what took you so long?" Rowen teased as she got in.

"Trying to stall so I would have an excuse for not going back to school!" Karala replied dryly. She had got used to the boys' teasing. Her brothers had never left her alone for a second.

"Not looking forward to going back to school, then, Kal?" Cye asked. She had asked very early on that they all call her Kal, Karala was just too much of a mouthful. Her little sister had given her that name, and it had sort of stuck. She preferred it to her full name, which her parents had only used when they were cross about something, or they had to have a talk with her (you know the kind).

"I don't mind school in itself, it's the detentions that come with it that I don't like."

"You any good at it?" Rowen asked casually.

Karala gave him a look.

"I've got an IQ of 156." She said calmly, ignoring the amazement on Rowen's face. "Most of it is languages, though. I speak English, French, German and Italian fluently, although my English and French are better than the other two."

Everyone else was trying to hold back their laughter. Not even Rowen was that good at languages, and it was obvious that if she was telling the truth, then Rowen was going to lose his reputation as the smartest kid in the school.

They rounded a end in the road, and were shocked to see a familiar darkness over Toyama. Ryo and the others jumped out of the jeep, looking horrified to see it. As if that was a signal, hundreds of Tin Cans appeared in front of them.

"Oh, great! Just wonderful!" Ryo said sarcastically. "Mia, get back to the house, get the others."

As Mia turned to obey Ryo, Karala got out of the jeep.

"What are you doing? This is dangerous!" Sage practically screamed at her.

Karala looked at him coolly. "This is as much my fight as yours, Sage of Halo."

The others gaped at her. She ignored them and took stock of the soldiers surrounding them, before saying:

"Are you lot going to stand there forever, or are you going to pull your act together and fight these guys?"

She started to glow, the glow started at her forehead , before spreading to the rest of her body. Suddenly the light flashed, and she was left standing in subarmour. A pure white subarmour, the only colour her armour took in it's natural form. She looked around, then suddenly six people in armour appeared in front of the Warriors.

"Good to see you again, Karala." said the one in grey and black armour.

Ooh, cliff-hanger. Sometimes I'm so evil I surprise even myself! So, who do you think he is? Come on, it's a no-brainer!

Carline