"Ronin Warriors: The Final Victor"
By Onikage
Scroll Eight: Good Morning, Shinjuku!
Tori stood in an empty clearing of forest; the wind whipping her long auburn hair about her body gently. "Where on earth am I?" she asked aloud, looking around in disbelief at the tall trees with leaves and branches of pure gold, diamond, and silver. The wildflowers at her feet sparkled in the golden light that seeped through the trees. She gasped and kneeled down to the ground, touching a small, crystal like flower that resembled a daisy. "Is this really a flower? Diamond petals? Topaz center?" she murmured in wonder. She picked the daisy and buried her nose into it. "Smells like a flower and it feels like a flower..."
"Then 'tis a flower, yes?" Tori gasped and leapt to her feet. She whirled around, her eyes falling on the snow-white haired warrior, Fou-Lu. There was something different about him; his clothes were different than before and his eyes weren't the cold hard teal she had seen earlier. Instead they were a warm, soft color that glittered in the sunlight. Tori swallowed hard. "You... What do you want?" she demanded softly. Fou-Lu smiled warmly at her.
"Nothing... Thou need not be frightened. I will not harm thee..." He bent down and picked up the daisy she dropped in her haste. "Where... where are we?" she asked. The ancient man looked up at her and smiled again. "The Dark Realm... We art far from the castle. No soldiers, no demons, nothing here to bother thee," he replied. She whimpered as he advanced forward. She remembered Anubis' warning from earlier and backed away quickly, tripping over a root and crumpling to the ground. He kneeled next to her and chuckled. "Thou mustn't be so careless!" She stiffened as he reached up and tucked the daisy into her hair behind her ear. "Did thou hurt thyself?" he asked in a whisper as he extended his hand. He stared into her bronze eyes; Tori felt her hear tbeat quicken and her cheeks burn. She nodded shyly and took his warm hand. "Thank you, umm..." The warlord smiled,
"Fou-Lu... Mine name." He pulled her to her feet and caught her as she stumbled forward, unaware of his great strength. She looked up at his teal blue eyes and felt her nose graze his, flushing lightly as his arms folded around her. He is in league with the Dynasty... but I sense a strong kindness from him... He can't be as evil as Anubis says, she thought. Fou-Lu reached up and touched the strands of coppery hair, twirling it in his long, clawed fingers. "... Thou art afraid of me still, are ye not?" he whispered. Tori felt herself slowly nod,
"... Y-yes..."
He touched her cheek with his fingertips, then slid it behind her neck pulling her face closer. She gasped softly when she felt his warm breath upon her lips and his forehead resting against hers. She felt a flutter in her stomach as a strange and sudden emotion swept over her. The breath upon her lips made her yearn for them to press gently against hers and quench her sudden thirst for his admiration"... Ye need not be. I shall be thy ally... despite what Loyalty may tell ye. I shall see thee again... Stay alive... Little Bird..." Tori swallowed hard and closed her eyes as she felt his lips close over hers for a brief second before something tugged at her on the inside.
She opened her eyes again to see that the warlord had vanished, his arms being replaced by another's that were even stronger, clothed in a red colored silk. Her body felt suddenly very calm and relaxed. Shakujo rings chimed in her ears; their rings signaling a warning. The chiming soon began to slow and finally taper off, leaving only its echoes in her ears. Tori looked up at the man holding her tightly. His face was so clear, so familiar, yet she could not figure out whose it was that smiled down upon her. "Where... am I?"
"... A dream..."
"Dream?" The man nodded and leaned down, planting a soft kiss upon her forehead. Tori's heart began to pound. A mere graze of his fingertips upon her cheeks and neck made her shiver with pleasure and she brought herself closer to him. "... If this is a dream... I don't want to wake up..." she thought aloud. These feelings, however alien to her, she let them take over her thoughts and actions, not caring what would happen in the next five minutes or ten years and just living a moment that she believed that she would only have in her dreams. "... Beware of the masked demon. Protect the seal and the man in white." Tori looked up at the man in crimson.
"What?"
"The seal will shatter upon the destruction of the six runes and the man cloaked in white light..."
"I don't understand... Who are you?" Tori felt him pull away and disappear in a flash of ruby light. As the light subsided, in his place a giant bird the color of rubies sat perched in front of her. "Fire Guardian, Rekka?" The bird nodded slowly. Tori stepped toward it and reached out to touch its glittering feathered crown. The phoenix leaned into her hand and sung softly, making her smile. "... Call upon me when you need my help," a voice said from behind her. The man in crimson again stood before her. Rekka flew to his shoulder obediently. "Who are you?" Tori asked.
"I am Rekka."
"But-" Rekka chuckled and stroked the phoenix's head.
"... I find it much more easy to come to you in this familiar form..." Tori felt herself blush. "... What do you want?" she asked.
"I am here to protect this world from my brother, Kurai, through you... Korin has all ready summoned your friend and as for the others, they are as we speak."
"... Why... why us?" Rekka fell silent and stepped toward her slowly before answering her.
"... Why the Ronins? Why former warlords of the Dynasty?... They were chosen by the armors because they reflects its essence in the purest form... You and your friends are the same. Each of you are very similar to the element you command. Have you ever noticed why you have never been burned by the sun or by fire even at close range? It is the same with them... You were all born with the mark of the gods... Look."
Tori glanced down at the back of her hand. A pulsing red light began to emit from beneath the skin. Rekka took her hand and held it gently. "... You are now the keeper of my rune and you have been given the power of the gods... Use them well. You will need all the power you can acquire to protect the ones you love and will love." She felt Rekka enclose his arms around her again. At the same time she latched onto him, suddenly scared. Scared that this feeling of security would never come to her again. Something tugged at her heart gently. "... Don't let me wake up... Please?" she begged.
"... You must... Wake up, Tori... Wake up..."
"But I don' wanna wake up... I wanna stay with you..." Tori murmured in a half daze. She sunk into something warm and firm, wrapping her arms tightly around it. "... Well, you can't... Wake up you little dreamer." She blinked sleepily and looked up. Her eyes focused on a pair of gentle teal colored eyes staring down at hers. "... Darling?" For a moment she thought she was still asleep, until she heard the voice snap her back into reality. "That's so sweet of you," grumbled the voice, "I never knew you cared, Little One." Tori's eyes went wide.
AIIEEE! IMP! IMP!" she yelped and scrambled underneath her covers. Anubis frowned and ripped the blankets off of her. "Very funny. It's me you fool..." Tori peeked out from her pillow and blinked innocently, pausing. "... EVEN WORSE!! 'JIISAN!!"
"SHH! You'll wake the whole house!" he scolded in a harsh whisper covering her mouth with his hand. Tori flushed, "... Sorry. You scared me... and woke me up from a very nice dream..." She sat up and yawned with a stretch. "What d'ja wake me up for- EEP!" she backed up to her headboard away from the foot of her bed where a very large ruby colored bird perched. Anubis turned his head and stumbled backward beside Tori in shock. "Dear gods! What, what-"
"Rekka?" The phoenix nodded slowly. He was much bigger now, almost the size of Yuli. Anubis blinked several times. "You- you know that thing?!" Tori crawled over to Rekka and touched his feathered crown gently. She smiled, "... I thought it was all a dream."
Dreams, they say, are slivers of the future. Every dream contains some vision of what will be... Do not forget that, he said into their minds.
"He talked..."
Why do you looked so shocked, Loyalty? Surely you must deal with this sort of thing daily, especially for a man such as yourself! he laughed. Anubis' jaw dropped several times, trying to say something, anything that was intelligent. Tori sat on her hind legs, "Why didn't you just come to me like you are now?"
Would you really have stayed in the room long enough to listen to a talking animal? Especially if it hasn't existed for thousands of years? She bit her lip,
"... Probably not."
"Wh-what are you doing here, Lord Rekka?" Anubis stuttered, finally managing a half decent sentence. Rekka hopped off of the bedpost and toward Anubis. He peered at him closely, cocking his head to one side, then if he could have, he would have grinned. ... She's right... You do look somewhat like an imp. Anubis remained silent and a little frightened of the mystical creature sitting in his lap making idle comments about his appearance, which Tori found rather amusing. Rekka's eyes twinkled briefly, Ah, just as I thought. You have the same white light within you as well...
"Ex-excuse me?"
"... 'White light'? Do you mean Hariel's Inferno?" Tori asked.
... Not quite. His heart is pure, just like Wildfire's... although... it's... tainted... Sadness perhaps?... Loneliness, yes... that's it. No matter; it will fade with time.
"What is so interesting about me that you have to speak to us in riddles?" Anubis asked, a slight frown on his face. Tori shrugged, "He's a god... They work in mysterious ways, remember? But yeah, what's up with Red here? Is he in danger? Is some sort of evil thing spawning inside of him?" Tori lifted a lock of his hair to look inside his ear. "Hey! Wow... Very interesting."
"What are you doing? What's so interesting?" he asked.
"... There's... nothing in there!!" she laughed.
"Hey!" Tori dodged his arm and laughed. Rekka flapped his wings gently and nestled down into Tori's lap. Not yet, but soon.
"We have to buy you ear plugs then, Red."
No, no, no... He is in grave danger. Loyalty, you must take caution and plan your actions carefully. Do not be fooled by past memories. Things are different now...
"I... do not understand, Lord Rekka." Rekka lifted his head and looked up at him.
Your fate is quite hazy now... but you will be tempted by Kurai's darkness... It is... strange though. I see a future of one of light and... darkness.
Anubis' face darkened. There was not a chance in hell that he would even think about relinquishing his soul to evil again. Tori touched Rekka's neck gently, "Rekka?... When you say Kurai, you mean Talpa, right?"
... It is hard to say. Talpa may very well be Kurai himself, or merely a manifestation created by him. Either way, Talpa is apart of Kurai... As is the Dynasty and all who come from it. Tori saw Anubis stiffen.
"What of the demon warlord Fou-Lu?" he asked, taking a stab at a hunch he had been thinking about. It is still unclear to me as how he was "born", but... they say that he was the very plague that Kurai sent to the Mortal World eons ago before his damnation. He is, in theory, the very essence of hate, greed, pestilence, hunger, and war... He is almost as powerful as Kurai himself, however no one knows for sure, not even my Creators. Kurai works under a shadow of complete darkness. Nothing can get through, not even with the combined powers of the remaining five Guardians... and utilizing our power to its fullest could result in the collapse of the worlds: Mortal, Heaven, Hell, and the Nether Realm.
Tori bit her lip, "Is it really that bad?"
Let us just say that all four worlds will cease to be... The Apocalypse if you wish to give it a name. This is precisely why it is better to use the seal of a thousand years; we do not know what may happen if we use our full power.
Anubis sighed heavily, "... Aye. The Ancient One used that seal on Talpa a thousand years ago." Rekka nodded in agreement. "But what I do not understand is the need for these girls," Anubis continued. Tori frowned.
"Hey-"
... Kaos at one time had possession of all six runes. Which enabled him to seal Talpa. However, he lost the Darkness rune when he created the nine armors... It was stolen from him by Talpa's last bit of energy. Because we do not have the Darkness rune, we must use the life energy of humans to make up for that loss. This has been so since the Beginning. The Darkness rune has a habit of disappearing on its own, something I have yet to solve.
"'Ri-san, 'Ri-san,. 'Ri-san!" Kiku sang as she came down the hallway from Yuli's room. Tori had forgotten all bout her little sister. Kiku toddled into her room, still in her pajamas. "Good morning!" she smiled. Tori and Anubis panicked.
"Oh shit! It's my sister! Quick hide!"
No need to worry... The child is also a large part of our destiny. Kiku stopped at the foot of Tori's bed and stared at the glittering bird in her sister's lap. "... Ohh, pretty... pretty bird..." she whispered. Rekka flew down beside the child, the room falling silent. Kiku stared at Rekka wide eyed and with a small smile on her cheerful face. She reached out and touched Rekka's sparkling feathers of ruby, speckled with sapphire and emerald stones upon his tail feathers and breast. Hello, little priestess... I am Rekka, your sister's guardian, he said gently to her. Kiku gasped. "He talked without moving his mouth, 'Ri-san," she gasped. The phoenix sang softly with amusing delight. Yes. I can do many things, little priestess. You are going to be very important very soon...
"Is that good?" Kiku smiled when the bird nodded. "I wanna fly like a bird! Can you fly, Rekka?"
Aye, I can. And I shall teach you many secrets... but first you must promise me something, he said in a whisper.
"What?"
... You must always, always remember to love. That love is what will make you soar higher than I! Love will protect you if you remember to do so, always...
"Okay... Hey 'Ri-san, Rekka is a nice birdie!" she smiled. Tori kneeled down in front of Rekka, a slight frown on her face. It quickly vanished and she hugged her little sister. She glanced over at the heavenly creature with worried eyes. She did not like the way Rekka spoke just then. His words seemed very ominous and almost frightening.
"Tori? Is something wrong?" Anubis asked gently. She looked up and set Kiku on her bed. "No. I'm fine... I was just wondering if the other girls had-"
"EEEEEEEEE!! MASAKI-SAN!!" Sakura's screams could be heard from down the hall. "THERE'S A GIANT DRAGON-EEEE!"
"Wha's wrong Sakur-AAAAAA!!! M-M-M-MINOTAUR!!!" Megami's soon followed. Rekka hopped onto Anubis' shoulder as he and Tori ran to the girls' room. Anubis looked up at him, "... You have wings don't you?"
Yes. But my wingspan is too great for these narrow halls and I fear that I may hurt your girlfriend with my talons, Rekka replied only to him.
"She is not my girlfriend, your Lordship," he murmured with a frown. Rekka's eyes sparkled for a moment. I can't imagine why.
"... You don't know her very well, do you?" Tori looked back at Anubis as they turned the corner. "Are you talkin' to yourself again, Red?" Anubis frowned, remaining silent.
*****
"... Mia's gonna shit bricks when she wakes up," Kento gulped. He eyed the white tiger, who had let himself be known as Tenku, with great respect to his teeth and claws. He sat curled up on the couch, eyes closed and tail swishing back and forth slowly.
Whiteblaze stared at the other tiger while he sat sulking on the floor. The couch was his spot, even though he was never supposed to be on it. A deep feral snarl emanated from his throat. Ryo slipped his hand behind his tiger's ears and scratched them, "Hey, don't worry, boy... He's not bad..." Whiteblaze's growl became deeper, then he got up and padded slowly around the couch toward Tenku. He leaned forward and sniffed the ancient guardian's silvery fur and snorted before flouncing out of the room. Tenku opened one ice blue eye. Territorial, isn't he? he chuckled. Ryo laughed and just shook his head. Tenku's eyes rolled sleepily over at his new keeper, Nasake. She yawned and stiffened when she caught his eyes on her. The large tiger bounded off the couch and over to her. She pulled her feet up against her chest and etched away from him. You need not be afraid. I'm not going to eat you.
"That's not it... It's just I... I..." The girls lunged forward quickly,
"Look out!"
"Ah-CHOO!" all over Tenku. "Ugh... Sorry. I'm allergic to cats." Ryo's face fell,
"You're kidding..."
"Looks like Whiteblaze is going to have to stay out on the porch for a while..." Rowen suggested.
Domo let out an agitated sigh, "What are we waiting on? Everyone is here aren't they?" Megami squeaked as the Earth Guardian, Kongo, hefted her over his shoulder. "Put me dooownn! I hate heights!! Help me!!" She waved her arms as the minotaur carried her outside.
You have much to learn, little summoner. Are you coming, Korin? The wolf and Domo followed behind them. Kento and Sai stared after them. "... How the hell's he gonna fit through th' door? He's like... a walkin' boulder." Kongo stopped at the sliding glass door, then he diminished, with Megami, into a glittering dust that passed right through the door. "DUDE!!"
"A-a-a-a-a-ah... that felt weeeeird!!" Megami squealed, still thrashing about. Sai smirked,
"... Well that problem's solved. Let's go outside."
*****
Domo tossed the green rune in her hand several times as she looked at her four girl friends. "Okay then. This isn't really all that hard. You just need to clear your mind and think only about whatever your element is, got it?"
"Sure."
"Yep!"
"Uh huh." Megami looked up from her rune,
"Huh?... What are we doing again?" Kongo unfolded his arms,
This is not a time for sport! His voice inside her head was angry and she flinched.
"Sorry..." Domo sat on the ground in front of them as they each closed their eyes as she instructed.
Cale stared at the five girls and the large Guardians from a fair distance away so that they would not disturb them as they talked. "Is anybody else getting a bad vibe about all of this?" he asked and turned back to the other Ronins. Sekhmet rolled his eyes, "Oh gods, not another one... Are you sure it isn't something you ate this morning?" he asked in an annoyed tone. Sai looked up, "Hey! What are you implying-"
"No! I mean it this time and besides I was drunk the last time that happened. And something bad did happen Mia passed out and fell down the stairs! She almost broke her neck, you idiot!" Dais frowned,
"When did that happen? More importantly, why were you drunk?!"
"It happened a few weeks ago. You were out with Anubis and Ryo scouting again. Mia was taking her dirty laundry downstairs when she just passed out. She was lucky that Halo was there at the time when I found her. And I wasn't that drunk... I was tipsy," Cale sniffed and folded his arms. Dais raised an eyebrow and looked back at the house. He saw her in the kitchen feeding Kiku and Yuli. She looked up and waved, then Kiku splattered her with the food. He chuckled to himself and turned back to the others. "Wildfire... How long did you say about Talpa and the gates?" Anubis asked.
"... Uh, two or three days, but I was hoping by then that they would know how to use all that fire and stuff like Kaos said over the phone. He said that it wouldn't take 'em that long..." he replied. The soccer ball he was balancing on the bridge of his nose was knocked away by Kento. "Hey!"
"I say we just bust in there as soon as they can transform. We didn't have any time ta train or whatever when Talpa came. They're fast learners. Look at that Domo-chick over there. She knows what she's doin'..." Rowen frowned,
"That's because she's had some training all ready... And it's not a good idea because we'll be too busy saving them to save our own asses!" Sekhmet's eyes flashed at the two boys,
"Don't start..."
"Ahh!! No don't throw me in the-" There was a giant splash and loud laughter. Sakura's head bobbed up out of the water, her eyes promising the next person to laugh would die a painful death. "When I said I was having trouble feeling the 'essence of my element', the help I wanted was NOT THROWING ME INTO THE LAKE!!" she shrieked and began to swim her way to shore. The water suddenly bubbled around her. "Whoa! It's like a jet stream!! Eek, that's cold water!!" Korin leapt upon a rock for a better look at the lake. She looked around,
Suiko's missing... Kongo and Rekka shook their heads when they saw their comrade was playing games again. That Suiko... Always the one to go off and play... Rekka said. The next thing that met their ears was Sakura's screams as she was shot up out of the water by a giant geyser from the water serpent's mouth. The stream stopped suddenly and she fell back into the water with another huge splash. Wow!! Did you see how far I made her go!? I haven't had this much fun since that time when I took that one guy Odysseus on a free trip around the Mediterranean!
Suiko! This is no time for play! Did you know that it took that poor human years to find his way home?! And that damned Cyclops wouldn't stop complaining that he let a human get the best of him! Tenku snarled. The giant dragon lowered her head as the tiger continued his rant, 'My eye' this and 'that damned human' that! Gods, I didn't get the proper sleep the last thousand years! You need to learn to act your age! Suiko's tail splashed the water clumsily.
Stupid old bag of wind... She huffed a breath of hot steam.
What was that?!
I'm sorry! Suiko submerged and lift Sakura out of the water upon her nose. Forgive me lady summoner... I don't know what got into me. Sakura wrung her shirt out and sighed,
"S'okay..." she lowered her voice, "At least you're not as uptight as the rest of these guys," she whispered with a grin. Suiko would have smiled if she could have.
"Are we almost finished? My head's starting to hurt..." Tori frowned. Rekka sat upon her shoulder. We are far from it. Now concentrate or we are all how do you humans say: Dead meat? An agitated groan left the girls' mouths when they continued.
"Ha... They remind me of us when we were first learning to call the armors. At least I had a difficult time. I don't know about the rest of you," Sage said.
"At least mine didn't throw me in the water," Sai added, still laughing about what had happened earlier. Kento raised an eyebrow at the giant minotaur as the beast looked to be explaining something to Megami. "Yeah... that Kongo... thing... is a real hard ass. I know that they've been locked inside a giant rock of a thousand years, but it's still no reason to be pissy..."
"You, Hardrock, need to listen to your own advice," Dais chuckled.
"I'm different..."
"You sure are..."
"That's righ- HEY!!" Kento tackled the Ronin of Serenity and an all out wrestling contest commenced. Anubis held the bridge of his nose, feeling the presence of yet another migraine, and sighed heavily. "You haad to push his buttons, didn't you Dais?" He and Cale moved to pry the two warriors apart when Kiku and Yuli came running out of the house. The younger one was in tears. She ran straight to Anubis. "Mi-mi-mi-mi-saaan!!" she cried. Yuli was on the verge of tears himself as he explained, "Guys! M-mia's collapsed!! She was in the kitchen talkin' about food when she fell! I-I-I tried to wake her up, but-" Anubis and Cale promptly dropped Dais and Kento in shock, "WHAT?!" Cale took off for the house like lightning. Dais and Sage followed him shortly after, nearly tripping over Hardrock and Whiteblaze in the process. Anubis picked up the crying child and attempted to calm her. "Shh... shh... It'll all right. Mi-san's going to be okay... Shh..."
"Anubis what happened?!" Tori demanded and started toward him. She froze when she saw Kiku in a state of hysteria. "Kiku!"
"Return to your training! Never mind what happened! Everything is fine!" he said sternly. His anger made Kiku's crying more consistent.
"Anubis..." Rowen called. The Ronin of Loyalty turned around and frowned,
"What is it?!" His face darkened as his eyes fell upon three figures clad in dark armor standing battle ready. Behind them, about one hundred gold samurai soldiers. "We've got company..." Rowen finished. Anubis held Kiku closely as his armor formed around him in a flash of light.
"Hello Ronins!! Ooh, there are more girls like her!" Raiko grinned and leapt towards them. He aimed his sights for Domo, but hit a large invisible barrier, created by Korin.
Not today, cat. Ironic, isn't it? Cat versus dog... The wolf bared her teeth at Raiko.
"Feh..." The warlord spat out dark blood and unsheathed his sabre. "... She is yours, I see. No matter... His Majesty wants that rune... All of them. And if I should have fun killing a dog, then so be it."
"Korin! Wait! I can-" Domo began, a ball of green light appearing in her palm.
Stay back, young summoner! This is one battle you all cannot win in your current state. Just keep concentrating! KONGO! Keep that barrier up as long as you can!!
Kento stood up and looked back at the girls. Shit... They are sooo not ready for this now. Looks like the Little Man Behind the Curtain finally got back to Talpa with that brain... "... Well, this is just fucking great! Hey fearless leader! What do we do now?!" he called as his sub armor formed around him. Ryo smirked, "Do what we do best..."
"Sweet... Let's party... HEY SAAAI!!" Kento called as he decapitated a soldier with his foot. Sai looked at him for a second and was slammed in the jaw, knocking him into a large tree. "Aw, you lit'le bugger... What is it Kento!?" Sai catapulted himself into the attacking soldier and proceeded to beat the crap out of it while swearing up a storm in the process. Kento picked up a smaller, scrawnier soldier.
"GO LONG!!" and Kento, showing a finer throwing arm than many professional quarterbacks, hurled the shrieking soldier to a ready Torrent who reduced him to scrap metal in one punch. "AND THE RONINS SCORE THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN IN THE ARMOR BOWL. RONINS 7 POINTS; BUCKETHEADS ZERO!! WHOOOO!!"
"HARDROCK!! QUIT SCREWING AROUND AND FIGHT!!" Anubis roared. Luckily, he had Yuli take Kiku inside before he began to spout phrases that were less than educated about a certain emperor and his "fondness" of certain armors that would be impossible for anything living to do with them for such a "private occasion". Kento frowned and kicked a soldier in the rear. " Tch... Party pooper..."
Yeah, Kento-kun's a party animal... How many guys do you know that can hurl a 2 ton Dynasty soldier 300 feet???? Read some more and you can see what other fun things you can do to a Dynasty soldier to make him cry for his (or her) mommy...