Author's Notes:

Review by Surfrost:

"Tell you the truth I still don't believe Ron was just making Kim a Kimono.
Another 2 good chapters. Been an interesting story so far. I still have no clue if Ron is a good guy or not. Maybe Fiske is really the hero. Maybe Load-san is the real villan and Ron is just a helpless lackie for him. So many possiblities."

That is exactly what I am going for. Ambiguity.

Review by Chefjet:

"I meant to read the last few chapters here but I have been rather busy lately. I really like where your going with this both in exploring Ron and Kim in depth by continuing to show him in many different lights. I was a little confused about rons trip to Fiske in chapter two, was this a flashback or after his marriage to kim. Also will Wade Load play a larger part in the upcoming battle as in will he appear, also is there a possiblity of other villians fighting with Fiske ie. Shego, etc. Great job with the development of all three main characters though and glad to be of service."

The trip to train with Fiske was more than 10 years prior to the current events. More will be revealed about it soon. As for the rest, I am saying nothing.

This chapter did not get as far as I expected. My estimate to the length of this story may have been a little short.

One thought ran through Ron's head that night, no concerns about Fiske or the coming battle, just the words "Boo-Yah!" He slept well. for the first time since their marriage, Kim was holding onto him. He was disappointed when the sun rose; it meant she would be waking up soon. She was truly beautiful as she slept. Her breathing quickened and she began to stir. Time to start the day right. His kiss met with no resistance. He smiled as she snuggled closer to him. He kissed her again, wondering how many times it would take before she woke up. He eyes opened and Ron quickly found himself on the other side of the tent.

"Oww, what was that for?" He asked. She opened her mouth to answer, but as the memories of the night's events returned to her, she realized that she had no answer. She had let him kiss her before; nothing had really changed.

"Sorry." She said, "Old habit."

Ron grinned. "S'alright, Ron-san can't be broken that easily." Yori chose this moment to barge into the tent.

"My apologises Ron-san," she said, "but there is a monkey here to see you." She turned and a monkey in a black ninja suit leapt off her back and landed in front of Ron. It produced a folded piece of paper, which Ron opened and read.

"Sincerest apologies… matters of state… return home…" Ron frowned. "This is going to be harder than I thought." Kim was already dressing in her present.

"It is okay." She attached a pair of neko-te to her hands, "I like things hard."

"Are you certain?"

"oh-oo-eee-eah-eah"

"It will be mah pleasure to take a swing at ye little problem Monkey-domo."

"What is up with you and Fiske anyway?" Kim asked, helping him to strap on what seemed to be a partial set of red armour, which included a pair of shoulder guards, thigh guards and a partial chest plate with the unmistakeable mark of the Saru emblazoned on it in gold.

"When I was ten," Ron began, "I was a klutz. I was clumsy, and oafish. I couldn't swing a sword without losing my pants."

"Was?"

"That's not the point!" Ron responded indignantly, "I was useless in battle, or even training exercises except as a distraction. Yori was the only person in my level that actually liked me. She thought my antics were funny, the rest thought I was just stupid." Kim twitched at the mention of Yori liking him but said nothing.

"Ron, we can not allow this to go on any longer. You are seen as a joke and a nitwit. You will never earn the respect you need to be the Lord of Yamanuchi if you do not improve. I have decided that you will have to go away to train, with someone who has had excellent results with untrainable students."

"Come on, dad!" Ron complained, "It's not that bad, Ron-san can take any one of those losers in his class. See." As if to demonstrate, he began to leap around the room performing an impressive array of kicks and punches. One of this managed to hit a suit of ceremonial armor that was decoratively displayed. Its axe-wielding arm fell to the ground, taking young Ron's clothes with it. "He-he… It seems to be a little drafty in here." He wrapped his arms around himself and blushed.

"I see all too clearly." His father said glaring at him. "You will travel to Lord Fiske's home in the jungle. You will present yourself to him. You will beg him to allow you to train with him and you will work hard until you are no longer a disgrace to those with whom you battle."

"I did as I was told. Fiske trained me until one day he decided that it was too dangerous for me to learn any more."

"Why would training you be dangerous?" Kim asked, concerned that this might be something that she should know about.

"It is time to go." He replied, ignoring her question. He left the tent before she could protest. He was hiding something from her. She was sure of it. What secret could be so terrible, so dangerous, that it could scare Fiske and make Ron want to hide it from her? She sat cross-legged on the floor of the tent and meditated on Ron's actions. She had begun to trust him, was that a mistake. The day before she would have been sure that it was, but now she did not know. He had not done anything to her since he had married her that might be considered all that bad, he had done everything in his power to make her happy. Was it a trap? She sighed. She could second-guess Ron's motives all day and still not find an answer.

"Kim-san, it is time to go, unless you do not wish the honour of taking Lord Fiske's life yourself." Kim nodded and followed Yori out of the tent to where the Saruwaruguntai were standing in formation listening to Ron's plan of attack. She scanned the ranks of men. Each one looked different. No two wore the same set of armour, as if each fought in a different way. There armour was red though, blood red. They all seemed to have the mark of the Saru on their armour somewhere, but unlike Ron's that was emblazoned in gold, theirs were in black as if burned on. Despite their lack of congruity, they appeared to be well trained.

Kim glanced up at Ron. He was going on about his plan. Not that there was anything spectacular about it, just surround the castle and use the trees to get over the walls. She knew there was nothing that she had to remember. Ron had told her already that he wanted her to remain with him during the battle. He was going straight for Fiske. Something flashed in the sun. It was small and it was aimed straight at Ron.

"Ron! Look out!" She yelled hurling a shuriken towards him. He ducked and rolled as the shuriken collided with the object which exploded on contact.

"Thanks P-chan" Ron called out ignoring the fact that he had almost been killed. His new generals were not so relaxed about this attack. Several squads of men broke off from the main group and fanned out into the forest. She didn't have time to respond. Yori shoved her out of the way as another of the objects whizzed by her and embedded itself into one of the soldiers and exploded.

"Kim!" The look in Ron's eyes when he saw the explosive almost hit her scared Kim. She had seen him angry. She had seen him mercilessly fight and kill. This was something she had never seen before. He dashed towards the direction the ball had come from, leaping from tree to tree. His movements were fast, and agile like those of a monkey. His eyes were glowing. There was none of that oafish look to him.

When he emerged a minute later, the look was gone and he carried a head. "Killa-clan." He said as he approached. "They come from an area far to the north-west." He came up to Kim and touched her cheek. When his hand came back, there was a streak of blood on in. She had not noticed before, but now it was beginning to hurt. there was a gash two inches long across her cheek from a piece of flying shrapnel. "You feeling okay?" he asked.

"Your e-e-eyes were glowing." She stammered, "That's not normal."

"It's okay." He said, embracing her. She pulled away. She wondered what he was. His movements… His eyes… They weren't human.

Duff Killigan cursed like only a Scotsman could. "Ye failed me ag'in!" he waved a golf club in the air. "It was a wee task of killing jus' one man! How 'ard could it be!" His men were silent. They had lost four men when the Saru had retaliated. The Saru had lost only one.

"The terrain were ag'inst us!" One of them finally replied. "We canna' get a clear shot thro' the trees."

"Ye shall see how clear me shots c'n be, even throu' the trees!" Duff yelled, swinging his club hard enough to remove the man's head from his shoulders. "Now get ye lazy arses back there 'n' kill Ron Stoppable!" After a moment of hesitation of choosing who they would rather face down, they shuffled out of the room cursing under their breath.

The Saru had expanded their watch and delayed their attack. Ron had not expected members of the Killa-Clan to be here. It made things more difficult. He hadn't prepare for this. Worst of all, they had made him reveal the secret that not even Fiske knew about his abilities in his anger. Attacking him was one thing, but attacking Kim was something that he would not allow. He had seen immediately after the confrontation with the Scotsmen that Kim was now afraid of him. He peered down from his perch on a tree at the Killigans who were filing out of Fiske's castle. About forty of them were heading towards the Saru camp. They would never reach their goal Ron thought as he leapt down from the tree and decapitated two of them with a single stroke of the lotus blade.

Kim began to worry about Ron as she heard explosions in the forest. Ron had told her to stay behind, but now she was beginning to think she shouldn't have. She had been happy to at the time; the shock of seeing her husband's unnatural abilities had made her fear him, but she knew that even in the state he had been in he would have never hurt her. It had been in his eyes, the sadness as she had pulled away from him.

"Yori-san, we should go after him." Kim looked to her friend, hoping she would agree.

"That would not be wise Kim-san." Yori replied, "Ron-san is more effective on his own."

Kim berated herself for worrying. Two days ago, she would have rejoiced if he had died. Now she worried about him. "I don't care." She replied, "I want to go, I am sure I can help. I can do anything."

Kim followed the sounds of the explosions until they stopped. Soon she arrived upon a scene of utter devastation. Forty bodies with severed limbs lay in a pile. Their heads were were tied to tree branches creating a path that lead straight towards Monty Fiske's castle, or as it appeared to Kim, a gigantic bamboo fortress. Standing at the gates were Fiske and Ron, speaking to each other as if they were old friends.

"All is according to plan, sensei." Ron bowed to Lord Fiske.

"Excellent." Fiske cackled with maniacal monkey laughter. "As soon as Lode's forces are annihilated in out pincer attack, there will be no one left to stand in our way."