Shin was sitting up, worried. He knew that Ryo could take care of himself, but he had been having an uneasy feeling. He felt that Ryo was different. He knew that people's personalities changed from time to time, but this felt...different. This was not a simple shift in Ryo...this was almost like...a revolution. He was changing. Drifting away from his friends. Ryo, who usually was close with everyone. Shin sighed and rubbed his temples.

'This is not good...' Shin eventually stood, looked at the clock and gave up trying to stay awake. He went upstairs to his room and collapsed on his bed.

Ryo slowly opened his eyes, mildly confused. It wasn't the ceiling of his room. And shouldn't Shu have been here earlier? It felt late.

"It's almost noon," said the voice that he both craved and feared to hear. He slowly sat up, and was relieved to find himself clothed. He looked around, and approved. The room was tasteful, and some of the things in it he knew had to be very old. He stood and almost fell over. The warrior caught him, and Ryo leaned against him.

"You shouldn't try to move so quickly."

"Why?" Ryo closed his eyes, not caring about the answer. He hadn't noticed how good the warrior smelled before...

"Because you're tired from the transport from Earth to my home."

"Your home..." Ryo frowned. He remembered something. This room seemed to strike a cord of remembrance, but he couldn't place how or why he would have come here. Another thought dawned on Ryo.

"I can't keep on calling you 'the warrior'. What's your name?"

There was a long silence before he answered, "Kisu no Shintenshi."

Ryo turned the name over in his mind, then gasped. "Kiss of the Deathangel?"

"Indeed," Kisu purred as he pushed Ryo back onto the bed. Ryo stared up at him, but was quickly lost in the deep, soothing energy he felt wash through him.

"Wha...?"

"Sleep, my firebug."

Ryo wanted to protest, but the suggestion in his voice and the magic and his own body's needs let him drift into unconsciousness.

Kisu smiled faintly and tucked the blankets around the sleeping man.

"You're mine now," he whispered and brushed Ryo's bangs. When the symbol for "righteousness" glowed on Ryo's forehead, he voiced a soft snarl. "You're not a Ronin Warrior anymore, my flame. You're mine. You're my Darkfire." He pondered his own words, then smiled. He kissed Ryo's forehead, and whispered something. The glow of "righteousness" faded to be replaced with a new one that glowed the deep crimson of dried blood. "Malice." Kisu smirked and looked over at Ryo's armor ball that was resting on a nearby table. It too glowed a steady deep crimson. He chuckled nothing "good" in that melodious sound at all.

"You're no longer Ronin Warrior of the Wildfire and Inferno. You're the Warlord of Darkfire, and all of humanity will bow before you." He gently stroked Ryo's cheek, and grew thoughtful.

"You deserve a new name for a new life." He thought for a moment before smiling malignly. "Kage. Your name is now Kage."