Time
By Quiet Chaos
Chapter One
A/N: Look! I'm back! I'm so sorry to the people who were attached to the first version of this story, "Into the Beginning of the End," but I had to take a break from it. After dragging myself out from under a pile of college-sized homework mounds, I revisited the story and was appalled at what I had written. So, here is the revised version. I hope it's better than before.
Last time the italics didn't work, but I'm trying them again anyway. Italics, and/or words inside single quotation marks are thoughts.
Disclaimer: Everyone does these, and everyone knows that we poor fans can only dream about owning the Ronin Warriors. Sweet dreams all!
The house lay mere minutes away from the bustle of the city, but it felt like another world. The mountain and lake cradled it in the soft night, and if it weren't for the empty trees, they would have smothered it.
She sat on the guardrail of the lone road that overlooked the secret house. 'More like a mansion,' she thought. The scent of fall drifted through the night, its stench tainting the relaxing warmth of the summer's late hours. She breathed it deeply and pulled back the few strands of hair that it had misplaced.
'Such a quiet night. If I could feel sorrow, then I'm sure I'd be sorry to be breaking it.' She dropped her gaze at this thought. Perhaps she could feel a little pity, if only for herself. She quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts; then she lifted a folder into the moonlight where tiger-blue eyes and shaggy black hair gleamed back at her from behind the gloss of a photo. Mixed in with the top photograph were a few other images, informational sheets, and blue prints. She skimmed it all one last time before setting it ablaze with a match.
Another breeze arose to carry away the ashes of evidence. She took one last free breath before tying a silver mask over her face, and then she set off into the woods.
It was eerily silent around the Koji mansion, like the calm before a storm. But its residents ignored the smell of change in the predawn hours. Locked in deep slumber, no one could sense what lurked in the night.
Nothing stirred as she swept by, getting steadily and silently closer to the house. She moved like a wisp of smoke on a night breeze: graceful, invisible, but present to any who cared to smell.
Noiselessly picking the locked front door, she entered the house. She paused, getting her bearings and sensing where the manor's seven occupants slept unaware. Then she moved on, ascending the stairs leading to the vulnerable bedrooms.
The first room she passed held the snoozing Mia Koji. Her informants knew that this woman was the owner of the home and worked at the local university research center. Her specialty dealt with ancient armor.
The next room had Sage Date and Rowen Hashiba. 'Son of a dojo master and the school's top science student.' The one after that contained Cye Mouri and Kento Lei Fan, whose roaring snores would've concealed any sounds the intruder might have made. 'Ocean-lover and food-lover.' The last door was the one she sought.
She quietly watched her quarry. His black hair was matted and tangled on the pillow; his body lay twisted in sweat-soaked covers. Only his dream-wandering eyes and rhythmic gasps for breath moved in the still night.
Her sword hissed against its sheathe like a snake before the strike. But Ryo did not awaken to its hum of death. He was lost in a dream, oblivious to the danger hovering over him. The noise instead set off a most unexpected alarm.
A blur of white and black and a howl of rage sent her staggering a few steps back. A tiger was now perched atop the bed, protectively standing above the now awake, but decidedly disgruntled, Ryo.
"White Blaze, get off!" He pushed the tiger down, but even from the floor, the big cat kept itself firmly planted between his charge and the intruder.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Ryo pulled free from the tangle of bead sheets and now gripped his armor orb tightly, ready to summon it in an instant. He was so focused on his opponent that he didn't notice the orb was glowing.
The attacker just continued to stand and stare at him from behind her mask. In the faint moonlight Ryo recognized the traditional uniform of a ninja; black robe top tied at the waist with a sash, sleeves and pant legs were bunched at the joints by forearm and shin guards.
'This is a human assassin?' It didn't make sense, but the black blade of her sword was a trademark of a traditional murderer. Everything about her attire pointed towards tradition, everything but her mask. It was silver, polished to a high mirror shine. Ryo could see his reflection in that empty death mask.
The standoff ended the instant White Blaze pounced. She nimbly flipped over him and charged Ryo. There was a flash of light and his subarmor enveloped him just as her blade seared through the air on a course for his chest.
The force of the blow threw him across the room and into the opposing wall. He groaned as he felt a bump forming on the back of his head and stars swam before his eyes. As soon as his vision cleared, he took a quick glance at his chest. A large slash now scarred his breastplate.
Furious, White Blaze charged again, snarling and roaring as his claws collided with her arm guard, but his momentum and weight proved too much, and both assassin and beast went crashing through the window.
Gathering his wits, Ryo hurried after them. On the balcony he saw White Blaze laying unconscious on the lawn below while the assassin clung to the edge.
As soon as she saw him, she hoisted herself up and attacked once more. Ryo found himself pushed to the balcony's edge by her ceaseless slashes and kicks. 'I need more room.' Ryo jumped over the ledge, narrowly avoiding another blow aimed at his neck. There was no hesitation as the assassin followed Ryo down the twenty-foot drop.
On the ground, White Blaze had recovered from the fall and now stood by Ryo, ready for the next round.
Sage had woken to White Blaze's first roar, but had passed it off as unimportant. Falling back to into sleep, he dreamily remembered the time that Ryo had fallen on the sleeping tiger, evoking a roar that shook the house and made everyone run to see where the Dynasty soldier was, only to stumble upon the most awkward and cutest scenes in the history of the Koji mansion. Ryo and White Blaze were tangled together in bed sheets; the big cat's paws were pressed against the disoriented boy's face as the tiger struggled to get free. 'A missed Kodak moment,' Sage sleepily thought.
Suddenly he was jolted awake. It wasn't just White Blaze's second roar that'd ripped him away from sleep, but also the wave of fire, pain, and sounds of shattering glass that drove him into a frenzy to wake his roommate.
"Rowen, get up!"
"'s not time…go away..." came the mumbled response.
"Get up!" He ripped the blankets off the blue-haired boy, who, now fully awake from the rush of cold, glared at him. "Didn't you hear White Blaze? Something's not right."
"Fine," Rowen spat. "We'll check. But if it's nothing, I get to dye your hair flamingo pink." At this Strata got his blankets thrown into his face.
"We'll see." Sage was already knocking on Ryo's door by the time Rowen had stumbled out of the room. "He's not answering."
"'Cause he's probably still asleep. If you're so worried, just open the door."
There was a tense silence as the two friends glared at one another before entering the room. "Ryo? Sorry if we woke…"
"Rowen, the window!" Sage cut him off. Halo's eyes could already see the broken glass, disheveled bed, and dented wall. They ran through the shattered window, hoping to find their leader still in one piece.
"What?" The two Ronins were now audience to a deadly dance beneath the balcony. Ryo, White Blaze, and the assassin were weaving in and out and between one another, dodging, thrusting, slashing, kicking, and punching. It was almost mesmerizing, the way that each warrior moved to counter the other, but the two spectators didn't stay for long.
"Sage, let's go! We gotta help him!"
The three fighters broke off from one another at the same moment. The last round had drained them all, and the aches of cuts and bruises were beginning to show in their sluggish movements. White Blaze bled from scratches on his nose and shoulder, and he favored his back leg where the assassin had managed to land a hard kick.
Expert warrior or not, she too was wounded, though none of the scars were visible. Ryo had managed to bruise her ribs and arm, though he had been aiming for the vitals, but she had twisted just in time to receive less severe wounds. White Blaze had torn through some of her clothing, only to reveal heavy armor guards.
Ryo's wounds ached. He bled from a cut on his cheek, and several dents and long slashes decorated his subarmor. He panted heavily and squinted in the dark. His vision was clouding over, again, and he rapidly blinked to clear it. Several times during the fight he knew he had momentarily blacked out, and it was during those times that he had been hit hardest, but they were also the times he had managed to return the attack, but he couldn't fully recall those moments.
His breathing had steadied. How long had they just been standing there? In the night silence, he heard the assassin take a deep, shuddering breath before posing for another strike, but before she had the chance to charge, the house lights ripped through the dark. Voices and heavy footsteps followed, and White Blaze let out a welcoming roar to his allies as each appeared in their subarmors. Relieved, Ryo momentarily dropped his guard. 'Mistake,' he realized too late.
The assassin plunged her blade into the ground and swung before any exchange of words could be made. Dirt, gravel, and wind smothered the field and seared the vision of every unprotected eye, and in the momentary chaos and shouts of the Ronins, she charged Ryo. Her blade rang hard against his armor, hurling him into the dirt and swamping his already impaired vision with more stars and darkness, and drove all breath from his aching body.
The instant his vision had cleared, Kento witnessed the assassin strike Ryo down. He leaped up and threw himself at her. Without thinking, she grabbed hold of his outstretched arm and, using his momentum against him, threw him into a tree. Sage and Cye circled around her before charging from opposite sides, while Rowen flipped over the fight to Ryo's side.
"Ryo, you all right?" Strata pulled him into a sitting position and was about to speak again when Ryo groaned and opened his eyes.
"Do I look all right to you?" Ryo snapped and pushed Rowen off of him as he stood.
Rowen stared at Ryo from the ground. "What'd you do that for? I was only worried about you!" But Ryo wasn't listening; he was staring at the fight between Sage, Cye, and the assassin.
"Ryo…" But Rowen was cut off as the Wildfire armor erupted into existence. With an inarticulate scream Ryo charged the three fighters.
Cye, distracted by the yell, had paused mid-punch to see what was going on, and the assassin rammed her shoulder into his nose, sending him reeling back. Kento, having recovered, caught Cye before he fell.
Sage stepped away. Something wasn't right. White Blaze was backing away, whining and growling at the same time. Out of range from the assassin's blade, Sage watched, horrified as Ryo slammed his katanas down on her sword.
"Ryo, stop!" Rowen was running after Ryo. Already the assassin's sword was smoldering from Wildfire's intense heat, and she had dropped to one knee. "She's not wearing any armor!" Rowen grabbed hold of the red shoulder guard, only to shout in surprise and fall back, clutching his armored hand. Sage ran to him.
"Rowen, what the hell's going on?" Sage grabbed the blue plated gauntlet and stared at the smoking metal.
"I don't know. I just touched his armor and got burned." Cye and Kento were also watching, confused as to whom to help.
Cye finally yelled. "Ryo, stop it! You'll kill her!"
The black blade snapped, and Ryo's swords advanced, but the assassin had shifted her weight. She let Ryo's pressure push her under his legs; from there she slammed a kick into his back, which also served to propel her away from him.
She hit the ground and rolled herself back into a sprint for the woods. Kento jumped to block her way, his arms spread and a sinister smile twisting his face. "You're not getting away!" He reached out to grab her, only to find air. As she descended from her dodging jump, she rammed a foot onto Kento's shoulder; using him like a springboard, she launched herself into the woods while shoving him into the dirt.
Cye reached Kento in time to hear several dirt-muffled obscenities and helped him up. "I'm gonna kill that…" A blur of red flashed by the two warriors, cutting off Kento's empty threat.
"Ryo?" Cye stared into the black forest where the assassin and his leader had just vanished. Sage and Rowen came over. "Sage, Rowen, what's going on?"
"All I know," Sage also glanced into the woods, "is that that girl is -er, was attacking Ryo, and that he needed some help."
"We know that!" Kento rubbed the rest of the dirt off of his face. "That's what you told us when you busted into our room!"
"But what about Ryo?"
"Cye, calm down. There's no need to get too worried." Rowen flexed his hand experimentally. It no longer hurt, thanks to Sage. "No one knows what's going on exactly. For now, we have to catch up with them to make sure neither kills the other."
White Blaze took the moment to roar. It wasn't the battle cry they were used to hearing, more like a woeful lament for the lost leader. When the howl ended, the four warriors shuddered, feeling the last echoes ring through their bodies. Then the big cat laid down, a defeated and saddened expression haunting the striped face.
Sage took a deep breath. Determined to find out what was going on, he looked everyone in the eyes. "All right. Rowen?" The archer stepped up. "Take to the air and get to Ryo as fast as you can. The rest of us will follow on foot."
Cherry blossoms showered the area in a swirl of mystical energy, which was soon replaced by four fully armored warriors. They split off and made for the woods, intent on finding their fifth companion and the assassin who started it all.
A lone mournful howl echoed in the night as the search began.
A/N: I think I'll end it there. Please review! I'm working as fast as I can on revising the next few chapters. I truly wish to finish this story, and hope for the support of those who read the first version. Thanks, and hope to see you in the next chapter!