"Ronin Warriors: The Final Victor"
By Onikage
Scroll Twenty-Three: A Hate with the Fire of a Thousand Suns
*Okay… There are flashbacks. I know they aren't correct. Gimme a break…*
Megami loaded the last of the grocery bags into the back of the pick-up truck. She felt a sudden and bitter wind against her cheek, and she shivered. Without any thought, she turned and looked back at the darkened store. When they had arrived, it was deserted. The windows and lights had all been smashed, making it known that this store had been looted a while ago. Luckily, the cold weather and the refrigeration had been spared; she and Kento were able to gather most of the items that Sai had requested. They had both completely combed over the entire store for any sign of Dynasty activity, but found none. Yet, for some reason she felt that there was something very wrong then. "Hey, Kento-kun?" she called, not taking her eyes off of the building.
"Yeah? C'mon you damned piece of crap! START!" he snapped at the engine. Megami secured the back latch and slid into the passenger side. "Um… Do you feel anything?" Kento turned the engine again, not really paying attention to what she was saying. "What? Feel anything? I'm pissed that's what I'm feeling! Come on baby, staaart…"
"No! Something doesn't feel right around here…" she said and looked out the window. Kento frowned and folded his arms, glaring at the steering wheel. "Yeah, we're stranded…" Megami frowned and flew out of her side of the car. She went around to his side and opened the door. "Get out…" she ordered.
"What?"
"Are you deaf as well as hardheaded, Hardrock?! Get the fuck out!!" she snapped. Kento quickly obeyed, and he slid into the passenger side Megami got inside and looked down at the gauges on the dashboard. "Gas, full. Oil. Lights, working… Gears in park… Heat, off. Fan, off… Radio, off," she listed out loud to herself. She popped the trunk and stepped out. She looked inside. "Anti-freeze… full. Hmm." She closed the hood carefully, then without warning kicked the side of the engine. Kento paled. "What the hell are you doing?!?!" he demanded. "Are you fucking nuts?!" Megami sighed and stepped into the truck again. She turned the key and the engine turned over easily. She shut the door and smiled. "Yay!" Kento's jaw dropped.
"I love you!"
"Kentoo!" she giggled.
"Seriously!"
*****
Sekhmet gently dusted the snow off of Kaos' grave marker. He sighed heavily and kneeled beside it. "… Keep forgetting that you aren't even buried here. Lady Kayura and Lady Mia did a pleasant job here," he said softly. He sat in front of it. "… Rekka is talking now. She still is very upset that you died. She understands why… but she blames Anubis, you know. Feh, I would too. He never thinks before saying or acting… Zeal paid us a visit, and he didn't even think to tell is about it!" He stopped abruptly, realizing that he was thinking aloud. He picked up a rock and threw it at a branch. "Damn him."
* "Are you feeling well, my love?" Sekhmet asked. He touched the feverish cheek of his empress gently. "I am fine, Naotoki…" Managi replied softly. She pulled away from him. He caught her by the arm.
"No, you are not," he said sternly. "What is wrong?"
"… I… Oh, please don't be upset when I tell you this…"Sekhmet chuckled softly and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in the silken cloth of his tunic and shuddered. "Managi?"
"… It has been three moon cycles and… I'm late."
"'Late'? What do you mean by that?" She looked shyly up at him. A fear in her eyes that was alien to him made him uneasy. What she had to say was frightening her to the very core. She nodded slowly.
"… Y-yes. I am three months with your unborn child. I found out from the castle nurse this morning."*
Sekhmet dug into his pocket and removed the wedding ring. "Gods… I wish I could have at least known if it were a boy or girl…"
"… What would you have named them?" Anubis asked softly from the edge of the path that emptied into the clearing. Sekhmet's head snapped upward. The younger warrior approached him slowly. His demeanor was almost child-like. Dark violet and indigo-flecked eyes glared up at him, and Sekhmet stood, turning his back. How dare he ask?
"I didn't know," Anubis continued softly.
"Even if you did know," Sekhmet began with a pained laugh. He let out an exasperated sigh. "I am just glad that my child wasn't alive to know what kind of beast you are," he spat. "You killed my people, destroyed my home, took from me my wife and unborn child… and you want to know what I would have named it!" he laughed. "You are unbelievable…" Sekhmet turned and saw that Anubis facing to the side, staring out at the woods. Teal eyes watered faintly. He lowered his head. Flashes and images re-entered his mind. All of them random, yet they were so crystal clear, it haunted him.
*"Well, well… Aren't you a pretty little thing?" he purred deeply. A wry smile curled over his mouth. The small maiden shook her head frantically, whimpering helplessly when he snatched her to him. "No, please!"
"'No, please'!" he mocked. "… Scream for me…"*
*Anubis rode up to the side of one of his captains. The screams young women and children pierced the heavy, smoked filled air. "… Did you find the monk as ordered?" he asked.
"… No, my lord, the villagers claim that he has not been seen for many days…"
"And the Line?"
"… Dead… Except for a young girl…" The warlord's eyes narrowed slightly as a smile fell onto his lips. "… Excellent…"Anubis pulled on the reins of his horse and turned. "Set fire to the arrows."
"My lord?"
"… Burn this pitiful little hamlet. I want to see and hear nothing but ash crumbling by dawn," he ordered.
"… Everything?" Anubis unsheathed his sword and cleaved the captain's head clear off of his shoulders. He wiped the blood clean from his blade and sheathed it. He turned to another soldier. "… Tsumura!" he called.
"Y-yes sir!"
"You've just been promoted." He raised his arm. "Light!!" Upon lowering it, the sounds of arrows whistled through the air before being swallowed by the screams of agony. *
Anubis swallowed hard and shut out the memories. "It… was just a question, Sekhmet. I meant no ill will or-"
"No. You never mean to anything!" he interrupted angrily. He advanced upon him. "You don't have any idea of what you've done, and what I have be subjected to every day I have to set eyes on you! The second in command, the Ancient's apprentice, the hero that saved the last line of Ancients…" Anubis felt Sekhmet's hand grip his forearm. His claws sunk into it. A low hiss left the angry man's lips before he continued. "To me…you are… and always will be… that… thing that raped girls, killed children, and destroyed whole towns. You are the monster that makes my blood burn and run cold at the same time…" he finished in a low whisper. Sekhmet stepped even closer to him. Anubis felt the heat of his breath against his ear and shuddered. "And do you know what really sickens me the most?" Sekhmet continued in a low tone. He pulled back and moved to the other side of the nearly trembling warrior. Sekhmet's fangs glistened in the sunlight. "I am fighting the wrong demon. Talpa… didn't kill those children. Talpa didn't destroy my home and people. Talpa didn't kill my child… No. He sat back and barked out orders: "Capture the Serpent Emperor". Everything else… was just to… kill time… because you wanted to." Sekhmet pulled away and turned his back to him. He stared down at Kaos' grave marker. "If he knew half of what you were… he would have let Hardrock kill you on the spot. Kaos is unselfish enough to forgive even the worst of sins… I envy him so much… Gods…"
"… What's stopping you then? If you hate me so much, then why don't you kill me and take your revenge?" Anubis asked. His voice was barely audible. Sekhmet turned. He glared.
"You would love that, wouldn't you!?" He approached him again. "You want to know why?! Because killing you would only make me feel better for a little while. Killing you won't give me back what I've lost! Believe me, if it could, you'd be dead where you stand!" He stepped back and smirked darkly. "Maybe I should kill Zeal. Then we'd be at least even…" Anubis' head snapped upward.
"If you touch her-"
"You'll what?! Kill me?!" There was murder in the ancient warrior's eyes. Anubis felt his anger returning slowly from earlier that morning. Something in the older man suddenly changed. Sekhmet's eyes began to water faintly. Anubis stepped back slightly upon seeing this. "Gods! Don't mock me like that!" Sekhmet exclaimed through a choked cry. "Don't propose the one thing that could rid me of you and… and… Gods, I'd give anything not to have to see you again!!! I wish you had remained a corpse!" He snatched Anubis by the neck and shoved him against the tree. Anubis grimaced as his claws dug into his neck, holding it in a crushing grip. Tears coursed down Sekhmet's face as he pinned him to the tree. "Why the gods spare you and not them?!" he cried. "Damn you!! By the gods, help me!!!"
*****
Tori held herself up from the ground with one hand. "Boy this is hard…" she gritted out. "'Balance is the key to everything'." She tried to remember the rest of what Kaos had taught her, but found herself remembering the last talk she had with Dais.
*Have you talked to him recently?" Tori shook her head.
"… N-no. I-I can't."
"Why?"
"He reminds me too much of 'Jiisan and Anubis. I can't help but feel angry at him." Dais laid a hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't Anubis' fault. If you're going to be angry, then you should hate all four of us. We all were there…" She didn't reply. Dais smiled softly. "He went down fighting, Rekka."*
Tori promptly fell to the mat and groaned. "All right, all right! I'll do it!!" she yelled aloud. Dais happened to be passing by the miniature dojo when he heard her. He poked his head inside. "Rekka? Whom are you screaming at?" Tori dusted herself off and frowned. "No one, Dais. I'm going crazy… Have you seen Anubis?" she asked.
"Not since the meeting this morning. The last I saw… he was headed out the back. He may be at Kaos' grave meditating or paying his respects," he answered.
"Thanks…" She rubbed her shoulder as she passed him.
"Tori?" She stopped, but did not turn.
"You are a sweet girl," he smiled. Tori sighed.
"Yeah, yeah… Sugary sweet… Thanks, Dais…"
Tori shivered as she trudged through the snow towards the grave marker. It was then she realized that she hadn't even been to his grave since he died.
"Hey, Rekka?" she called and stopped on the path.
"Yes, my lady?" he appeared behind her in his chosen human form. Crimson robes stood out brightly on the white snow. Her heart jumped when she noticed an immediate attraction to him. She blushed and cleared her throat. "Um…" He approached her. "We have not talked, you and I in a good while."
"I… I know… I was…"
"Angry." He smiled gently as she nodded. "It's quite all right. I know how you felt about the Ancient and what happened between you and Anubis. It was not his fault that Kaos died… It was fate. The gods' are finally coming to terms with the severity of my brother's rebellion."
"… I felt a little better blaming someone though, but now I feel terrible. After seeing what it did to him, I… All I want…" She frowned. "I don't know! I don't want anyone else to die! I just want to go home!" she exclaimed. Rekka lowered his eyes.
"… This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. There will be a point in time when you are going to feel so alone that you cannot stand it… and that time will be very soon." Tori clenched her fists and let out a pained groan.
"What's gonna happen?"
"I cannot say-"
"Bullshit, Rekka! If you can tell me, then I can stop it from happening!"
"You can never sever the chains of fate that bind you. Even I cannot do that… I am sorry." Tori wiped her eyes angrily.
"Yeah, me too!" She started down the path again. Rekka followed closely.
"I can tell you that… in the end… you will not regret anything that has happened. You will be more at peace with yourself. Questions you've had will all be answered, and most of all, you-" he stopped and turned his head. Tori felt his instant concern.
"What is it?"
"… Danger."
"By the gods, help me!!!" Sekhmet's voice cried. In the same instant she caught a sharp breath, Rekka's holy armor replaced her clothing. She raced towards the outburst, not prepared for what she would see.
*****
Anubis clawed at Sekhmet's forearms as he felt the need for air. His senses were dulling, and before he knew it, he was on the ground. Angry eyes bore into his hatefully and sadly. Sekhmet's mouth moved through clenched teeth, yet no sounds seemed to come. Anubis' movements were becoming frantic as his vision began to darken.
"Sekhmet!!!" A frightened cry pierced through the darkening world as he blacked out.
Tori tackled Sekhmet out of instinct. She was barely able to knock him off of Anubis. A loud hiss met her ears as she scrambled to her feet. Sekhmet lay in the snow on his stomach glaring dangerously at her. Tori felt her skin crawl. "Sekhmet! It's me!! It's Tori!" Another hiss followed before his eyes flashed. His fangs began to lengthen. A long purple tongue flickered angrily at her. He lunged at her with the speed and accuracy of an angry cobra. "Sekkie!!" she cried as he pinned her. Venom dripped from his fangs slowly. Drops fell onto her breastplate and sizzled. She kicked him free of her and rolled away from him. As soon as she was on all fours, he lunged at her again. "Wake up!!" She shot a burst of flames at him, knocking him back and into a painful daze. He didn't get up. She stood on weary legs and slowly approached Sekhmet. He was breathing and not quite aware. "Ow…" However, before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she noticed that Anubis was not breathing. "Shit, Red!!"
Dark bruises were forming around his throat. Quickly she tipped his head back and blew air into him. "God, breathe!" She repeated it over and over. Sekhmet sat up with a groan and clutched his head. "… What… ow…"
"Come on…" Tori pleaded. Sekhmet paled when he remembered what happened, more so when Tori became more and more frantic. "Breathe, damn you!!" she cried.
"R-Rekka-"
"Go get Sage or somebody!!" she lashed out angrily. Sekhmet scrambled to his feet. "God, I killed him!" he breathed.
"Shut up!!" Tori drew another breath and gave Anubis another. "Breathe! Please!!" She punched his chest angrily. "Dammit! You coward! Don't you dare leave me before I apologize!" She hit him again. "Wake up, goddamn you!!" She slammed her fist once more before collapsing into sobs. Anubis suddenly drew breath and began to cough heavily. Tori backed away, completely shocked. Sekhmet was the same. Anubis turned over on all fours and spat blood before finally catching his breath. "Oh… g-gods… Gods…" he gasped, tearing open the front of his jacket. He looked up at Tori then at Sekhmet. He stood slowly. Sekhmet's eyes were as wide as they have ever been. Tears of shame and confusion began to peek out of the corners of his eyes. Anubis approached him slowly, but Sekhmet turned and ran back to the house. … I'm sorry, Sekhmet. Anubis turned back to Tori, where a fist promptly greeted him in the eye.
"OW!! Dammit! What the hell?!"
"You asshole!" she yelled with tears in her eyes. "You scared the shit out of me!!" Anubis clutched his eye and glared.
"You didn't have to hit me!" His anger vanished when her tears fell from her eyes. "Here I was going to… and you-" She snarled loudly forgetting her words. Anubis approached her very carefully. "I'm sorry… I…" He went to touch her arm when she slugged him in the shoulder weakly. "Jerk… You never think about others before you go a do something stupid! I thought you were dead!! You know that if you die, we're all screwed, don't you?! Jerk!!" He chuckled softly.
"Well, I'm not thanks to you…" He rubbed his chest. "That really hurt whatever you did…" Tori frowned and wiped her mouth.
"Yeah. Well the-the next time you feel like pissing Sekhmet off, eat some tic-tacs before you decide to stop breathing," she muttered. Anubis frowned.
"I brush my teeth after every meal, thank you!" Anubis saw her eyes well up with tears again. She fell to her knees and just burst into tears. "I-I didn't mean… 'Jiisan…" Anubis kneeled beside her in the snow. She looked up at him sadly as he hesitantly rubbed her back. He was shocked when she buried her face into his jacket and cried. "S-sorry…" she whimpered. Anubis carefully draped his arms around her.
"C'mon… Let's get you out of the snow. Mia will kill you if you get the whole house sick," he said gently. He lifted her to her feet and dried her cheeks with his scarf. She stayed silent and let him lead her back to the house by her hand.
*****
Talpa glanced around the throne room. Raiko was not present among his warlords. "Where is Raiko?" he asked.
"Recovering," Fou-Lu answered. Talpa paced among his warriors silently. He noticed Managi barely responded to his question and Fou-Lu's vague answer. "From what?"
"Aphrodisiac and stamina poisoning…" Managi answered. Talpa let out a chuckle. "Is that so? Maybe I should just cut the damn thing off, and then he wouldn't have to 'recover' from anything." Zeal chuckled to herself among some of the other samurai present. Managi cleared her throat.
"I would not worry about that, sire… I believe I recall him saying that he would never again 'abuse the privilege'," she murmured. "He was moved to tears, sire."
"Oh, really? Well, I don't need him for this mission anyway… Badamon has completed his 'project'. The mortal world will fall before the dawn of the next full moon. Zeal."
"Yes, sire." Talpa walked towards her kneeling form.
"… How did you trip to the mortal world go?"
"… Fruitless, highness," she said softly. "Forgive me…" Talpa knelt beside her and stroked her hair. He leaned close to her ear. "… He does not care about you like I do. It's that girl… Go. You have your orders. I want that ancient dead before we attack," he finished louder as he stood. "Permission to kill as seen fit…"
"Granted." She disappeared in a wisp of blue flames.
"Sire… What are our orders?" Fou-Lu asked.
"Spy and distract them from her… You may not have to though. It's going to take more than the White Armor of Inferno to take him down. Those are your orders." Fou-Lu sank into the floor without another word.
*****
Zeal slammed her chamber door shut. "Disgusting old-"
"Ah, ah, ah, my dear. The walls hath ears," Fou-Lu warned as he appeared out of the shadows. "Ye wouldn't want to utter things that would see thou hanged, hm?" Zeal snarled and flopped onto her bed. "How did he find out that I left?!" she hissed.
"The Master told him," he said and sat beside her. "Do not fret. Only a few more days and we'll be rid of this… chain." Zeal turned over onto her back and sighed. "Something amiss, my lady?" Zeal sat up and pointed to the viewing flame in the center of her room. The flame changed from blue to white.
Anubis presented Tori with a warmed drink. She stared into it silently after taking it. A light blush stained her cheeks when he sat rather close to her. He appeared to say something, though no sound came from the fire.
"I see…" Fou-Lu turned back to her. Zeal sat up slowly.
"… He still cares for me," she murmured. "That mortal… human is more important to him it seems." She banished the flame with a cold wind. "I don't know what to do."
"… Make her suffer," he said. Zeal looked up at him and saw the dark smile on his face. She stood slowly, a seductive smile curling on her lips. "… You always have a way of cheering me up, my lord." Fou-Lu kissed her lips softly with a chuckle.
"Of course…"
"I have… some time to kill before I go…" she purred. Fou-Lu tore his lips away from her. "No. Ye have your orders. Go," he ordered. Zeal sighed. "Later, perhaps. I tend to get… hungry after a good kill," she smiled. Fou-Lu raised an eyebrow.
***********************************************************************
Whoa… Long time since I updated. Sorry about that guys. Lotsa stuff's been going on, and then Christmas happened… Plus I was kinda stuck for a while. Things should pick right up after this. Updates hopefully won't occur in 3-month intervals. Hope everybody had a nice holiday! Happy New Year!