It was not long after Sakura and Sekhmet's failure against Sage did the Ronins located the others and become a full group again. And if Sakura and the warlords thought Talpa was hard enough to obey before, his demands became even worse because of his constant foul mood. Sakura learned to train in silence, never voicing complaint, as did the others. If Talpa heard one single mutter, then that person, along with every else had an extra hour of training, and it wasn't easy either. Talpa was infuriated with their losses against the Ronins and so he insisted on dawn till dusk trainings to make sure they wouldn't fail him again. During one morning, Talpa came to the training room, as he surveyed the pairings. Sakura was paired with Anubis, Cale with Dais, and Sekhmet was perfecting a technique.
Talpa studied the pairings when he spoke.
"Dais, Sakura. I want you two to fight as a team against Anubis and Cale!"
Sakura and Dais looked at each other, shrugged and did as they were ordered. The two faced off against Anubis and Cale and started a battle. Talpa watched for a moment before calling it quits.
"Alright, I see that you two will do fine." He said to Dais and Sakura.
"Fine for what?" Sakura asked hesitantly.
"You two will be attacking the Ronins." Talpa said plainly. Sakura blinked.
"Sir?" she asked again.
Talpa shot her a look. "You heard me, get ready. You two will be leaving at once!" Dais and Sakura rushed to prepare as they made their way to the throne room with the others. Once in the throne room, the two stood in front of Talpa as the others observed the screen.
"Two of the Ronins are alone; I want you two to get rid of them!" Talpa ordered. Sakura took a quick look at their opponents and gave an inward sigh.
It was just Kento and Cye. No Ryo.
"You two better not fail me!" Talpa warned as Dais and Sakura bowed, and left. They two waited in the shadows as Cye and Kento continued their talking, unaware that they were being watched.
"Ready?" Dais whispered as Sakura gave a small nod. With a yell they leapt out of the shadows and attacked. Cye and Kento barely had time to call on their armor as they defended.
"Where did they come from?" Cye shouted to Kento as he brought up his trident against Sakura's sword.
"I was hoping you knew." Kento answered as he dodged a blow from Dais.
"Where are the others when you need them?" Cye muttered.
"Web of Deception!" Dais called as he sent out his familiar scythes. Sakura gracefully maneuvered in and out of the web that Dais had caused as she continued her fight with Cye.
"Tornado Shards!" Sakura called using her sure kill. She quickly swept her sword in a crescent shape as five crescent shaped blasts were hurtled toward Cye. All but one missed as one cut the arm of his armor. Cye growled as he used his own sure kill, "Super Wave Smasher!"
Ryo and the others had heard the fighting and were rushing to help. They had transformed and stopped as they observed the fight.
"That's Dais." Sage said identifying Dais' spider looking armor.
"But who is the other guy?" Ryo asked as he watched the golden armored fighter.
"Looks like Talpa has a new recruit." Rowen said as they rushing in to help. Sakura noticed Ryo out of the corner of her eye as she stopped fighting with Cye and turned her attention to Ryo. The two went sword against sword as each mentally applauded the others skill. Sakura eventually used a quick maneuver that sent Ryo's sword flying out of his hand. Ryo went for it as Sakura attempted to stop him. Suddenly a huge white blur propelled itself into her as White Blaze tackled her. Sakura was pinned beneath his weight. A loud roar came from the forest as Kero pounced on White Blaze.
"Kero!" Sakura yelled, angered that her tiger had disobeyed her order to stay home, and thankful that he had come to help. With White Blaze and Kero now fighting each other Sakura turned her attention back to Ryo right as he performed his flare up technique. The attack hit Sakura square in the chest sending her flying into a nearby tree, and sending up clouds of dust. Everyone stopped for a moment as the watched the dust settle. Sakura shakily stood up, Kero and Dais appearing at her side. The attack had knocked off her helmet as she stood up, her bangs covering her face. She slowly lifted her head, revealing her face as Ryo's heart sank. 'Sakura!' he thought with sadness. Sakura looked at Ryo. 'Now he knows.' She thought.
"You have been a worthy adversary." Sakura called out to him. "You may have won this battle, but the war is far from over." Ryo stood quietly, looking at her.
"I think it is time for us to go, Dais." Sakura whispered to him quietly. Dais agreed as Sakura turned her attention back to Ryo.
"Until we meet again, Wildfire." She said as she, Dais, and Kero disappeared.
The Ronins stood there for a moment, a little stunned.
"I guess that means we won?" Kento said.
"We won." Cye answered as they turned and headed back to where Mia and Yulie were. Ryo slowly followed, his heart heavy. She was one of them, a warlord of Talpa. No, they hadn't won, or at least, he hadn't.