"Ronin Warriors: The Final Victor"
By Onikage
Scroll Five: It's Been Awhile
Kaos yawned as he pulled up in front of their destination. Pulling the van to a stop and cutting the engine, he turned to the four slumbering girls. He sighed heavily and looked into each one of their sleeping, innocent faces as the same feeling of remorse swept over him as it did almost a decade ago. Forgive me, all of you, for dragging you into this war... but I grieve that no other way remains. "Girls? Wake up, were here," he announced, shaking each one of them gently. Domo stirred in the passenger's seat beside Kaos. "Huh? Wah?... Mmm, oh we... made it," she yawned and stepped out of the van. "Man, what a trip... I'm never going through that again." Sakura opened the sliding door and hopped out. "Whoo! Finally made it! Ah!... Smell that fresh, woodsy air! Sure beats that city crap we've been breathing, doesn't it?" Domo raised her eyebrow at her nature-loving companion. Someone had too much sugar on the trip.
"Come on Megami! It's time too unload the van! And get 'Sake up too while you're at it!" Sakura ordered as she looked for the car keys in the front. "Hey... Where did Masaki-san go?" Megami yawned and shrugged her shoulders.
"I dunno..."
"Oh you're a big help!" Megami yawned and relaxed back in her seat.
"I know..." Domo rolled her eyes and pulled her friend out of the van with a hard jerk. Megami came stumbling out and landed on her rear. "OW! What the hell!?"
"Sorry... Sitting on yer ass all day and watching me and Sakura unload the van by all myself really must exhaust you! Be careful you don't work too hard now, Meg'!" Megami just glared up at her blonde friend.
"Nasake, Nasake! Wake up!" Sakura shook her sleeping friend's shoulder. She received an angry growl from the blue haired girl. Nasake looked like she could sleep through an earthquake. "Hnnn..."
"Don't make me get the cold water now!"
"Hnnn, lemme... lemme 'lone," Nasake moaned and turned away from her. Sakura frowned and reached for her shoulder. She snapped her hand back in a flash when Nasake nearly chomped down on it. "Hey! You almost bit me!"
"Mmhf... Yer quick... go 'way." Sakura's face darkened and with one swift motion, she yanked Nasake out of the van. "Whoa!" She nearly fell on her face. Sakura smirked,
Very quick in fact! Now help me unload the van..."
"Whadya do that for?! I was getting up!"
"No you weren't Sleeping Beauty..." Nasake glared up at the ebony haired girl and fumed.
"You rushed me..." she growled and stood up, running a hand through her hair in an agitated manner. Megami stretched, "Oi... How long were we on the road?" Domo stifled a small yawn, "... Twelve hours, I think... With all the stops we had to make it took us three hours longer. I won't say any names.... Sakura!"
"Hey, when ya gotta pee, ya gotta pee..."
"Dude..." Megami suddenly gasped. "Now that is a big house!"
The others turned to see what was so amazing. Before them stood a gigantic three-story house. The roof, shutters, and door were painted a sandy, desert red. The house itself was white along with the furniture on the veranda. The veranda was screened in and it surrounded the entire back of the house and partially the front. The second and third stories were hidden among the branches of the ancient oaks surrounding the mansion. It was beautiful compared to the townhouses and apartments in Tokyo.
There jaws promptly hit the ground.
"Sweet! We're staying here?!" Megami queried excitedly. "Wow, these houses are like the kind you see that celebrities live in!" The smile etched onto her face grew wider the longer she looked upon it. "Yeah..." Sakura and Megami murmured. Domo rolled her eyes,
"It's just a house..."
"Hello there!" They turned their heads toward the front door and saw five very handsome young men coming toward them. Megami turned to her best friend and grinned, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" she whispered excitedly. Sakura nodded,
"Yep... Stop drooling or I'll put you on a leash..." Megami pouted,
"Boo, yer no fun..."
"Wow, I bet you guys had quite a trip! All the way from Tokyo!" the raven-haired boy said with a smile. Sakura nodded, "Yeah... It was... uhh-"
"Name's Sanada Ryo. The tall one's Sai, Sage is next to him on the left. Rowen was here a second ago and-"
"Yo Ryo! Check out the wheels!" the louder boy with the heavy build had begun to circle the van with anticipation. Ryo laughed, "- that's Kento... He's a little loud, but you learn to tune him out."
"I heard that, man! ... Cool, there's black lights underneath!" he mumbled. Domo smirked,
"This is Tori's van... She won't get a new car for a while..." Sakura smiled,
"Well then, pleased to meet you all. I'm Sakura, that's Megami, the quiet one's Nasake, we call her 'Sake, and over there's Domo."
"Hey..."
"Hi there!"
"H-hi..."
Suddenly a loud vulgarity and a thump emitted from inside the van where Rowen had gone. Kento's eyes widened as the cursing continued. "Geez, Ro! Was that a threat or a promise?!" Kento's comment sent Ryo and Sage into fits of laughter. Rowen poked his head out of the van, an infuriated look upon his slightly reddened face. He shot his friends a dark glare and they immediately shut up, but still had a few tingles of amusement escaping from their closed mouths. Slowly, Rowen pulled himself back into the van, muttering something about how perverse his so-called friends were being. Kento thought he heard him use the word dendrofiliac, but shoved the thought aside as just another weird word that Rowen would use.
"So what's Tokyo like?" Sai asked. Sakura pursed her lips in thought,
"Big... Big, loud, crowded, and dangerous." Megami folded her arms behind her head and smiled sweetly. "But we love it anyway!" she sang.
"Sounds a lot like Toyama..." Kento murmured as he leaned on the hood of the van. He turned his head to Ryo, "Yo Ryo. Think we should check out Tokyo after this all blows over?" Ryo shrugged. "Sure, I guess... But there's really nothing there that you haven't all ready seen. I used to live in Tokyo at one time. I think Rowen's been there once too," Ryo replied, joining his friend. "Yeah! It's just like any other city, pretty much, only bigger, more cars, and parking problems! I hate it!" Rowen announced from inside the van. There was another thump and loud vulgarity that rang from the interior of the van, sending everyone into another round of snickers and giggles. "Hey Rowen, are you all right?" Sai asked trying so very hard not to laugh. Rowen poked his head out of the van again and glared at the Ronin of Trust. "Yeah Sai! I just have to get everyone's bags out of the van all by myself!" he snapped sarcastically. He ducked back into the van. Sai smirked, "Oh, all right! Great then! We'll just leave you to it, then." He winked at the girls, which resulted in a very girlie giggle form Sakura and Megami. Nasake flushed and Domo shook her head. "HEY! Will you dolts stop flirting?!?! Now get your asses over here, and help me!!!"
"Uhh... Don't mind Rowen. He's a little upset, he didn't get to sleep past noon like he usually does, so he's a little cranky," Sage murmured.
"Sage!" Rowen snapped.
"Ah, put a sock in it. We're helping, sheesh!" Kento retorted. Sage sighed,
"Kaos told us to tell you to go on ahead inside... Don't worry about your stuff... I'll make sure Kento doesn't snoop through anything..."
"I do not!!" Sage rolled his eyes,
"You do too! Kayura caught you in her room the other day looking at, what you call, her 'Exciting Underwear Collection'!" A frown appeared on the Ronin of Justice's blushing face.
"Yeah, what would you call a drawer full of see-through lingerie with the booby tassels and all that stuff?!" he retorted. Sai sighed heavily and hung his head,
"Ohh, can we please talk about Kayura's underwear some other time?"
Domo raised an eyebrow and said nothing as she started over toward the house. Nasake moved to catch up with her, "Hey Domo! Where are you going?"
"Away," she replied not looking back at her friend. Nasake stopped and frowned. What's her problem?
" 'Sake, where's Domo heading?" Megami asked as she followed her friend with Sakura behind her. Nasake shrugged, "I dunno. She said 'away' and that was it. I think she went for a walk."
Kento was the first to pile in. "Hey cool, there's a T.V. in here! Oh! Oh! Where's the Magic-Hidden-Cupholder-Thingy?!" he exclaimed as he looked around frantically for it. "OW!... Found it..." He rubbed his shin and flushed as laughter met his ears.
"Careful now, Kento..." Ryo warned playfully, "Don't wet yourself with excitement, now!" Kento glared at him,
"Hush yer trap, Ryo!.... Hey a nickel! Two of 'em!" Sage hopped in the back where Rowen... should have been. "Rowen? Rowen? Hey guys, do you know where Rowen went?" he asked. Sai looked up, "No... I thought he was back there with you."
"No. He's no-"
"...Smf!! Cntbrfth!!"
"Eek!"
Ryo, Kento, and Sai looked back and gave the Halo bearer a strange look.
Sage flushed.
"Gfthoff!!" Sage looked down and removed a bag from the car floor. The muffled voice was under him. "Rowen?" he began, "Now how did you get down there?"
"Dunno. I was trying to lift a bag when a barrage of luggage buried me... Kento!" Hardrock looked up, "What did I do now?!" Rowen pulled himself from the pile of bags and frowned. "Now what's wrong?" Sage asked. Rowen tried pulling a rather heavy duffel bag from the back. He stumbled and fell to the ground, the bag crushing him under its weight. "Girls... have... too... much... stuff!" and shoved the bag off, whimpering slightly. Kento and Sage peered over the seat and down at Rowen. Kento winced, "Ooh... That's gotta hurt...
Ryo sat in the front seat and fell silent, completely blocking out all the commotion behind him. What's the deal here? Where did the Ancient go for three years and then suddenly comeback with four, no five girls? Is he trying to set us up with them?... Yeah right, that's not it.... What's going on?... Talpa couldn't be so powerful that we need outside help now... Damn...
"Oh no, Ryo's thinking again!" Kento leapt over the top of the seat and blinded Ryo with something soft. "Hey! What the hell are ya doin'?! Get off me!" Ryo pulled the thing from his eyes and threw it back at Kento before realizing what it was. It fell onto Sai's head. "What the hell..." He pulled it off his head and flushed. "Lord, put that back in whose ever suitcase you got it from right now!" he bellowed at Kento, throwing the piece of lingerie back at him. "Honestly! Have you no shame?!" Kento held the undergarment up for Rowen's inspection.
"Hey Ro'! Check out the equipment on this babe!" Rowen shook his head,
"Is that all you ever think about?" Kento looked thoughtful,
"Does mud wrestling count?" he asked innocently. Rowen rolled his eyes,
"Put it away before one of them sees you..." Kento sighed heavily and shoved it back into the bag. "You guys are no fun... We've been here without girls for who knows how long, and now when the Ancient drives up with four babes with all the good stuff, you guys wuss out on me... Is there somethin' you guys aren't telling me?" Sai pulled another bag from the van.
"Kento, just shut up and start helping out..."
"... You haven't gone frilly on me, have you?!" Sage and Rowen chucked a bag at him,
"NO!"
"That's a relief..."
*****
Mia leaned on the kitchen counter and stared down at the cookbook. "... One teaspoon of vanilla..." She looked around for it on the counter and frowned. "Now I know I put it out on the counter... Wait, maybe that was the mint..." Yuli looked up from the task that Mia had him tend to, mixing the cookie batter. "What's wrong, Mia? Did ya loose somethin'?" Mia sighed.
"Yes, Yuli...." She looked into the cupboard. "... I've lost my mind," she muttered under her breath. "What?"
"Nothing, Yuli... Have you seen the vanilla anywhere?"
"Did you try the cabinet? On the top shelf?" Mia looked up and stood on her tiptoes.
"Yes... I see it... Now who put you way up there?" She groaned when she failed to reach it. "Ouuu... I need to have a talk with Sai!"
Dais and Cale walked into the kitchen arguing. "No you can't borrow it! The last time I let Sekhmet borrow it, it nearly got torched!" Dais snapped. Cale frowned,
"But I'm not Sekhmet!! Come on, Dais... Plleeaasee?"
"Oh stop it! You sound like Kayura!" Mia groaned,
"Will you both shut up!? I have a headache and it's bad enough that there are no more painkillers in the house! I don't need you two taking my brain and pounding it into the wall of my skull with your ridiculous prattle!!" Yuli's eyes widened.
Gosh... I hope she won't go crazy again, like when the linens got burned.... Dais sat down at the table beside Yuli. "... Torrent rearrange the kitchen again?" he asked in a whisper. Yuli nodded, "Uh huh..." Cale watched Mia with interest as she attempted to reach for the much needed ingredient once again. "Lady Mia, do you need assistance?"
"... Can you break Sai's little fingers so he can't move everything around where I can't find or reach it?" Cale laughed and pulled the little bottle from the shelf,
"Is this what you needed?" Mia took the bottle and sighed heavily,
"Thank you, Cale." She opened it up and went to measure the needed amount.
Empty.
"Oh, this just isn't my day, is it?" she threw the bottle into the garbage can with an angry cry. Dais looked up from helping Yuli. "Lady Mia... Why don't you take a break? You have been cooking all morning..." he suggested as he turned her around and untied her apron. He slid it over her head and smiled. Mia sighed, "Yes... that does sound like a good idea... I'll be in the bath tub and I'm not coming out." Cale chuckled as she left the kitchen.
"We'll have Kayura bring you food when you need it!" he called. Cale then looked at the mess in the kitchen. "Looks like we're on our own for dinner..." Dais looked down at the floury apron in his hands. "Cale, do you have any experience in culinary arts?"
"Why?..." he asked carefully upon seeing the innocent look creeping across his face.
*****
Tori was the first to jump out of the portal as it opened in front of Mia's house. "Finally!... That was creepy. I felt like someone was watching us!" She rubbed her arms and shivered. It was cold in that vortex. Kiku ran out ahead of Sekhmet and Anubis, "Cold, cold, cold!" she sang. "'Ri-san, I'm cold!" Tori looked down at the small child.
"We're out of that tunnel now. You'll be all warm in a minute."
"Anubis? Are you sure you're all right? That wound is really deep..." Sekhmet pulled Anubis' good shoulder around his neck to help him walk. "Why, Sekhmet, it sounds like you almost sound worried about me," Anubis mocked. Sekhmet raised his eyebrow,
"Actually, your demise means my head... according to Kayura."
"Is she still threatening everyone?" he asked with an agitated sigh. Sekhmet replied with a nod. "Honestly, I don't know what she sees in you. You're egotistical, stubborn, pig-headed, really there's nothing to like about you at all!" Sekhmet said care freely. Anubis cheeks reddened and frowned. "Uh, you forgot self-centered and rude," Tori added walking along ahead of them. Anubis' face darkened, "Twit..." he muttered under his breath. Sekhmet shook his head,
"At this rate... You'll never get away from Kayura if you keep that up..." Anubis hung his head and groaned. "Don't remind me..."
*****
"Anubis what happened to your poor arm!!" Kayura exclaimed. She rushed over to him and hovered about him like a vulture to road kill. Anubis grimaced when she pulled off the remains of his shirt. "Oh dear... Sekhmet! I thought you were going to go with him to meet Kaos in Tokyo!" she snapped. Sekhmet leaned against the wall calmly,
"Oops... Must have slipped my mind..." Kayura growled, but a groan from Anubis diverted the priestess' attention back to the injured Ronin. Anubis had gotten up from the couch and was heading upstairs. "Anubis! Where are you going?!" she demanded and followed him.
"What was that? His girlfriend?" Tori asked with a stifled laugh. Sekhmet let out a loud chuckle and shook his head. "Heavens no! Anubis can't stand her when she's like that. She's only like that when he gets hurt or goes off alone for a week..." Tori looked up the stairs,
"Sheesh... Hey, umm... What was your name again?"
"Sekhmet."
"Right... Have my friends gotten here yet?" Sekhmet pointed out the window to the front yard. Tori looked out the window and bit her lip to stop from laughing.
"Kento!! Quit screwing around! That doesn't belong to you!" Sage shouted as he chased the Warrior of Strength around her van. Kento stuck his tongue out at Sage and dodged his tackle; Sage landed face first into the dirt. The other Ronins stood around the van laughing as were the girls. "That was graceful Sage!" Ryo laughed and fell over on the grass. Kento tripped over a bag that was still outside and ended up stumbling into a bush.
Sakura lifted her bag onto her shoulder and another one in her hand. "Come on you guys! We gotta get this stuff in before dark! I don't want to spend all night packing!!" Megami rolled her eyes, "With the amount of useless junk that you brought it'll take you a year to unpack anyway!"
"Hey guys! How was the trip?" Everyone looked up and saw Tori leap down the steps of the porch. Megami grinned and set her bag down, "How the hell did you get here? Where's the car?" Tori laughed nervously,
"Uhh, we got lost, and uh, we were attacked by this cat-dude, then S-s-s Sekhmet showed up in the form of a snake, and he made a vortex of some kind and... here I am!"
"You were attacked??" Ryo asked. Tori nodded. His face matched the expression of the other Ronins. "... Guess they know what we're up to now," Sage muttered. Kento pulled a twig out of his hair from when he landed in the bush, "Shit..."
"Kento!" Sai snapped and elbowed his best friend. Rowen crossed his arms,
"My feelings exactly. We're screwed. No more late nights... Ryo? Think Talpa knows about... them?" he gestured to the women standing behind him. Ryo shrugged,
"Got me... Our best bet is to hope that they don't and go about everything as planned. Of course we'll have to keep alert from now on." He turned to the girls and wiped the concern off his face. "Uhh... You ladies go make yourselves at home. You'll be living here for a while so you might as well take advantage of the peace and quiet now, because later, it's going to be rough from here on out. Me 'n' the guys have got some stuff we gotta take care of, but the others guys inside can help you with anything that you need..."
"Did I miss something??" Tori asked. The solemn expressions on everyone's faces gave her a feeling that she did not like. "Okay, what's going on?" Ryo sighed,
"... It's hard to explain. I think you would understand all of this better if it came from Kaos rather than form me."
"Ryo, we're gonna go scout for any of Talpa's gates. You comin'?" Rowen asked as he pulled something small form his pocket. Wildfire nodded and turned to follow. He looked back at the five women and sighed heavily when he realized that it would mean war once again for him and his friends. He had figured it would have been at least a few more years until Talpa would return. It was fairly obvious that he would return, and now that he thought about it, the last battle wasn't anything to what the former warlords had described. Compared to them, the battle with Talpa and the Inferno was just a duel.
He sighed again and smiled faintly at the girls before disappearing down the path towards the woods. "You guys know what this means, don't you?" he asked. Rowen looked up at the darkening sky, "War... Heh, I thought I could have finished college by now." Kento placed his hands behind his head, "Ah, you could fly through college in a week, man! Me? I gotta work on getting to class on time!" Ryo stopped,
"No guys... I'm serious here. Talpa's back and we don't even know how powerful he really is!"
"We know Ryo. We kind of figured that when Kayura and the others came from the Nether Realm when Talpa attacked. It crumbled within hours!" Sage murmured. Sai pulled out his yoroi crystal from his pocket and stared down at it. The others followed. He rolled it around in his hand and the mark of trust flashed aqua in the setting sun. "I never thought we'd have to use these ever again..."
"Yeah... But to be honest," Ryo began. "-I missed it..." A smile crossed his face when the crystal glowed in his hands. The light was as red and warm as he remembered. Kento grinned, "Me too... It's been a long time since I smashed some heads anyway..."
"Well, there was that one time at that bar we were at in Shinjuku," Sage laughed. Kento frowned, "Hey, was it my fault that the guy ran into my fist? Besides, he was botherin' Mia."
"Right, Kento..." Rowen enclosed his palm around the Strata yoroi crystal and took in a deep breath.
One by one they closed their eyes and felt the orbs disappear from their palms. In a flash of bright light, their street clothes vanished, and the cool mystical metal slid over their hardened bodies like water. Ryo felt the familiar scent of sakura blossoms tickling his nose as he felt the power of fire surge through him once more; he was sure that the others were aware of it too. Ryo opened his eyes and looked down, "Heh, I forgot how naked I felt when I was wearing this."
"Y-yeah," Sage laughed. Sai fell to one knee. Rowen bent down to help him up,
"'Ey? You all right?" Sai stood on wobbly legs and smiled,
"Y-yeah... Power surge'll take a lot out'a ya. I'm fine..."
"YAH!" The boulder that had stood next to the five shattered to pieces. Kento coughed loudly as the dust cleared. "Y-yep!... St-still... Still got it!"
"Come on, Hardhead. We've got patrolling to do..." Rowen called from over his shoulder as he landed on a branch. The rest followed, leaving Kento and his pile of dust behind. "Dammit! Why am I the one always being left behind?!"
"Because all you do is stand around and mouth off!" Sage laughed.
"... I do not!"
Kento of Hardrock took a giant leap and latched onto the branch like a monkey. He watched his friends as they leapt from branch to branch. They were a little out of practice, but just the same they took to their duties as Ronins no matter the obstacle. "Look out Talpa! Hardrock is back!" he shouted and took off into the trees like lightning.