Chapter 44
He always knew where to find her.
Shin crested the small hill behind Nasuti's house and paused there to take in Rei Hino.
Three weeks since they'd reached out to Kayura again. Eight weeks since they'd brought the Senshi back.
Physically, Rei had mostly recovered. She still moved stiffly at times, but clearly her Senshi abilities had gifted her with enhanced healing, and Shin was grateful for that.
Mentally, he was worried. He'd thought at first that giving the Senshi space and time to deal with their trauma was the right thing to do, but lately he'd been wondering if too much unstructured time and space had merely given them the ability to shove their emotions away instead of dealing with them so they could heal.
The fact that Kayura was planning to pay them a visit this evening didn't really help his anxiety much. He tucked his hands in his pockets as he made his way slowly down the bank, trying to give her plenty of time to hear him coming so he didn't startle her.
It wasn't really necessary. Rei had an uncanny ability to know when he was around. It had thrown him at first. They were still coming to terms with their connection, their affection for each other. But he couldn't say he minded it. She was fierce. She was passionate. She was strong.
He adored her.
There were a great many difficulties and oddities that he easily made peace with. Because those things all made up Rei. And these feelings only made him more determined to help her heal – all of her.
He approached quietly and sank down beside her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and Shin kept himself quiet and still, loathe to interrupt her.
"…Hello Shin. How was class?" she asked softly after a moment, startling him. He looked over at her again to see her eyes opened, studying him with a sharpness that made him feel naked. He shrugged, trying to make himself feel calm again.
"Normal day I suppose. Caught two freshmen trying to cheat. I don't get these kids. Why put an opportunity like this at risk?" Seriously. Shin had worked hard to get through his advanced degrees, knew the sacrifices his family had made to support him, so the kids that came in with an attitude like they didn't care if they lost their education baffled him.
And irritated him, if he was honest.
Rei huffed a soft laugh. "You sound like you're fifty," she said, grinning at him. Shin scowled at her.
"I'll show you who's fifty," he growled playfully, leaning over to shove at her playfully. Rei swayed dramatically, giggling, lifting his mood, and they settled again, lapsing into a comfortable silence.
"Are you worried about Kayura?" she finally asked into the stillness. Shin blinked at her, sitting forward and leaning his arms on his knees. He was very worried about Kayura – all the Troopers were, but they didn't want to alarm the Senshi. Not yet.
"Uh, what makes you ask that?" he tried, hoping to deflect. If she asked him point blank, he certainly wasn't going to lie.
Rei smirked at him. "We're not stupid you know. Even Usagi can tell. Every time you guys talk about her, you're all tense and your faces go suspiciously neutral." Shin sighed, rubbing at his face in agitation for a moment. He stared moodily into the fire.
"She's not my favorite, no," he finally admitted. Rei nodded.
"I thought as much. I'm guessing you were enemies first. Honestly you still seem a bit like enemies now, so I'm wondering why we're all working together," she said quietly, her gaze now also focused on the fire. There wasn't a single hint of judgment in her tone, and Shin took a moment to bemoan the fact that the woman he'd fixed his affections on was going to see right through him. On everything.
Well. He was the Yoroiden of Honesty, right? He sighed.
"Kayura is now empress of a realm called the Youjakai," he began. Rei nodded.
"I remember you mentioning that when we first met," she encouraged him. Shin nodded back.
"Yeah. When the Troopers all first connected, it was when we were teens. There was this Demon Lord – Arago –" and even saying his name sent a shiver running down Shin's spine. A warm hand tangled in one of his own, and Shin realized that Rei had scooted herself next to him and was holding his hand supportively.
It meant more to him than he realized to have someone who might not know the specific details of his past, of the struggles he'd endured, but could understand how that past still affected him. He squeezed her delicate fingers in gratitude and forced himself to continue.
"Arago was ruler of this realm called the Youjakai. Basically, it was this dark place where all the negative human emotions went. I was never clear if they were trapped there, or if they created it. Either way, that's…primarily what existed there." Rei nodded against his shoulder, and Shin pressed on.
"Arago had this…powerful armor, that was capable of infinite and total destruction. So this…uh…monk?" Shin had never really been clear on what Kaosu was. He was ancient. Not really immortal but not really mortal. Kind of like a spirit but also very solid. And very powerful.
"Kaosu was able to get the armor away from Arago, and he broke it up into nine armors, then searched for the right master of each armor," he paused, waiting to see if Rei had questions. She nodded against him again.
"Go on," she encouraged him quietly.
And he was hit a second time by the joy and relief of having someone just take his wild-sounding stories at face value. Instead of questioning him or acting like these details were impossible, Rei simply took them in stride, as if this were a totally normal thing for them to be discussing. He squeezed her fingers again, gently.
"Five of those armors came to us – the Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. We didn't really know each other well – some of us not at all – at first, and the first time we actually came together as warriors was when Arago had already laid siege to the mortal realm. The other four armors went to warriors that Arago had pulled to his own side in order to seize control of their armors in an attempt to gather his power back."
"Hmmm," Rei said thoughtfully. "So they were brainwashed, or had those armors always fallen back into his control? Did this Arago recruit human men and give them the power of the armors in exchange for servitude, or were they wearing the armors and fell into darkness instead?" she asked.
It seemed like the answer might be important to her, so Shin thought carefully.
"I was never really certain, but I think it was that they went to Arago's side first, and were given the armors. But I'm not really clear on how Arago got his hands on those armors in the first place," he said apologetically.
Rei shrugged, but her casualness seemed forced. "I can understand the burden of dealing with…people who fall into darkness," she said quietly. Shin stared down at the top of her head, wondering about the comment, but when she didn't say anything else, he pushed on.
"During the war against Arago, he'd managed to find a descendant of Kaosu – Kayura – and brainwashed her into doing his bidding. She was incredibly powerful, and eventually it became clear that keeping her brainwashed was a challenge. There was also Shuten, one of the warlords, who broke free from Arago's hold and came to our side.
"To make a very, very long story short, eventually, after a great deal of struggling, we were able to overcome Arago. I can't say we destroyed him, because our armors came from him. Though we did get new armors later, but that is a completely different story.
"During the battle, Shuten gave Kayura his armor – Rikki – so that she would live and break Arago's hold over her. His plan worked, but he lost his life. Once she bore the armor, Kayura was able to help us defeat Arago, and now rules the Youjakai, with the help of the three remaining warlords."
Shin blew out a breath. Talking about all of this was still incredibly difficult, despite the time and distance from the battle. His armor had come from that demon, and it was difficult sometimes not to relive those nightmarish moments from his life whenever he even thought about Suiko.
"So you parted ways as allies, but not friends," Rei said succinctly. Shin nodded. Rei pursed her lips for a moment, thoughtful. Finally she shifted, and Shin looked down in time to catch that intense violet gaze again.
"You don't always have to be best friends with someone to cooperate with them. But if you feel strongly that you don't trust them, we'll find another way. We don't have to involve them," she said calmly, her eyes steady on his own. In them he could see her empathy, and realized she understood his hesitance, and his struggle.
He was unable to stop himself from pulling her into a hug. She returned the embrace, rubbing a hand along his back soothingly.
And cementing his adoration for her.
Reluctantly, he pulled back, but kept their fingers joined. "I don't…not…trust them. But I'm not comfortable with them either," he admitted, hoping that made sense to Rei. She hummed in her throat in agreement.
"That's ok. Our guard is up. We'll see what comes Shin. Together," she replied, giving him a small smile.
