dis-claim'er, noun: a denial or disavowal of legal claim: relinquishment of or formal refusal to accept an interest or estate; b: a writing that embodies a legal disclaimer; c: a statement made to save one's on ass.
Chapter 3: Mia
Mia sat in her private study in the home she and Ryo shared in Odawara. The silence accompanied with the ticking of the large grandfather clock helped her think. She was at a loss and didn't know what to do. With every passing day she found it to be a tremendous chore keeping her vow to Rekino and the others.
The girls had arrived in Japan in January. She had thought that her meeting the guys had been rough, but finding out she was a Guardian along with the arrival of her comrades was far worse than anything she had experienced in life so far. Having to keep everything a secret was causing her more stress than that.
She mused that her life had been almost perfect before she discovered the secret of Lady Strata. Last year, she graduated with a M.A. in Ancient Literature and a B.A. in History. She had told the guys not to make a big deal out of it, but they had. They had brought flowers and balloons. Kento was shouting in front of everyone in attendance. She remembered turning around in embarrassment to see something that still takes her breath away to this day.
Ryo had been on his knees with a ring in his hand. She initially didn't know how to respond. They had been casually dating for almost two years, but she didn't expect him to ask her like this. She noticed the crowd had been waiting anxiously for her to respond. Nervously, she nodded her head. The gymnasium was filled with exciting and congratulating cheers.
All the guys had started moving out one-by-one until all was left were her and Ryo. The house had been entirely too quiet since. After all the moving and rearranging had been done, Mia was studying some of her grandfather's research when she noticed a reference to something she had never seen before. Two hours later, she found herself driving to Ama no Hashidate. At the edge of the shore where the sky and ocean seemed to meet is where she found the armor.
She threw herself into old file archives after reading the email until she found what she was looking for. Her grandfather had it heavily coded. It took her hours to decipher, but once she did the information was unreal. Female armors. Counterparts to the nine armors created from a piece of the original. They were meant to never be used unless the world was in dire jeopardy. That was when she got an email from Hana Utano.
And her life was turned upside down.
The other Lady Ronin Guardians had entered her life like a whirlwind. She had gotten a mysterious email from Hana a week after she had found the armor. The two exchanged emails for months before all but one of the Guardians arrived.
Hana was elegant and walked like a beauty queen, of which she had the looks to match. She was "all legs" as Kento would say. Her milky white skin made her seem like she was a porcelain doll. She couldn't quite decipher the accent, but the other Guardian explained she had lived all over the world due to her father and brother being in the military.
She had been most excited to meet Amaya since the two shared French blood. She was a petite, robust brunette with light brown eyes. Her skin was a nice warm tone, but not too brown. The one thing that stood out the most about her was the rosary she wore around her neck. They held a small introductory conversation in French.
There was certainly no mistaking the kinship of Josephine Rei Faun. She was exceptionally tall for someone of Chinese descent, but her blue hair and granite eyes gave away her familial ties to Kento. She was built muscular, but it was hard to tell unless she flexed to show them off. Her messy, crop top hairstyle was constantly moving in the breeze.
The girls had gotten to know one another over the course of several weeks. Mia had shown them a house that would be big enough to accommodate the wants and needs of four young women and a small cat.
It wasn't until a month later that she had gotten to meet the final Guardian. Hana explained that the girl was from the United States and had to graduate high school before she could move. The Halo Guardian had been the one to go get her. Hana arrived back in Japan four days later with the new Guardian. Mia had waited until the next day to go meet her, and the revelation she received punched at the glass protecting the picture of her perfect life and future.
Rekino Sanada. It was like looking at Ryo with the exception of her stature and shining amethyst eyes. This had taken her by complete surprise. She was told that the last Guardian lived in America. That was when Kayura had shown up out of thin air and called the first "official" meeting of the Lady Ronin Guardians.
"Train, be vigilant, and work together. Keep your identities a secret until the right time."
That was pretty much the summary of the meeting. So they had been doing just that. She had been amazed at watching the other Guardians train together for the first time.
Mia had sat off to the side as she watched her comrades in arms spar. As the only female of the group who didn't know a martial art, she was instructed to watch and learn.
"Holy hell!" Hana said in between breaths.
The mistress of the guardian armor of fire was bearing down on Josephine. Even though the bearer of the Lady Hardrock armor almost had a full foot on the other, Rekino wasn't letting up. She moved quickly and deadly, delivering repetitive punches to her opponent.
Amaya removed herself from the sparring match and stood by her other comrades and watched the show. The two girls were so engrossed in their match that they didn't notice what was going on around them.
Suddenly, without notice, Rekino stepped towards Josephine and stopped a punch with both of her fists. She grabbed Jo by the forearm and spun her body around almost like water around a rock. She took the bigger girl to the ground in an instant. When the bearer of the guardian armor of earth tried to get up, Rekino jumped on her back and used both of her elbows and applied pressure at Jo's neck.
She tapped out.
The smaller girl rolled off her friend to the ground, panting heavily.
"That was…awesome!" Jo exclaimed loudly. She pushed herself up and sat up Indian style. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Rekino propped herself up on her elbows. She started laughing, "I'm a ninja, baby. It's what I do."
Mia, Hana, and Amaya walked over and helped the two girls up. They made their way to the patio and all sat down for a drink.
"I've never seen a fight like that," Mia said as she sipped on her water.
"I hafta tell ya," Rekino flicked Jo on her subarmored bicep, "if we hadn't been wearing this get up and I would've taken a full punch from you, it would have fucked me up."
"Language!"
"Sorry, 'Mya," Lady Rekka gave her a wink. "I've never fought anyone who practices Iron Body Kung Fu."
Hana sat her glass down, "Remind me to never make either of you mad."
Josephine literally inhaled her water. She looked at Mia, "You ready to learn some fightin' stuff?!"
It had taken her several weeks of studying and researching what martial art she would choose to learn. Ryo and the others had taught her basic defense skills in hand-to-hand combat as well as learning to use a naginata. She knew Ryo would be against it wholeheartedly, but she wanted to be prepared. Watching the other four fight so vigorously ignited something within her to better herself.
The grandfather clock chimed loudly signally that it was five o'clock. Ryo would be home soon from his internship at the zoo. The guardian of the armor of air quickly put away her student's papers and closed her laptop. She wanted to have dinner prepared for her lover so that she would be able to discuss her "training".
"I've been doing some thinking," Mia blurted out at dinner.
Ryo looked up from his plate with his eyebrow raised in curiosity, "About?"
"I want to learn how to fight."
The bearer of the Armor of Wildfire didn't know if he heard his fiancée correctly. He carefully swallowed his food. He cleared his throat.
"You want to learn to fight?"
Mia took a sip of her wine before speaking, "Yes. I want to learn to fight. To defend myself."
"But you have me to protect you. Not to mention the guys."
"Ryo," Mia reached across the table and took his hand, "you aren't always around. You're trying to get into vet school. The rest of the guys have lives of their own. What if there comes a time where I'm in danger and you aren't there?"
He was trying to understand her plight. It pained him to think of his beautiful future wife covered in bruises that he caused, but a memory flashed through his mind. He came to a conclusion that he wouldn't lose anyone else he loved.
"Fine," he returned her grip, "but I want to oversee your training. You have to take it slow at first. You can't overwork your muscles or body."
The older woman's green eyes sparkled, "I know. I've been doing some research on several martial arts and training regiments. I think I've found one I would like to study."
"Oh?"
"Ba Gua."
"I can teach you basic defense," Ryo looked confused, "but I don't know Ba Gua. I study ninjutsu."
"Yes, and I don't think that would suit me. It's too…intense."
The twenty-year-old looked at his future wife with curiosity all over his face. If he had been in a cartoon a question mark would be floating above his head. Mia was trying hard not to laugh at her lover.
"I, uh, I have a friend who uses ninjutsu. I've seen her fight. According to her, I couldn't be a kunoichi and I have to agree. I want to learn how to defend myself not cause my opponent crippling and deadly pain."
"This friend of yours sounds interesting," Ryo resumed eating. He said between bites, "I wouldn't mind meeting her. It's been a long time since I've met someone else who is part of the Bujinkan dojo."
Later that night while Ryo was in the shower, Mia put on her bluetooth headset to call her friends and proceed to tell them what happened. Rekino, of course, lost her mind.
"Really? You told him about me?"
"It's not like I gave anything away."
It was almost like she could see her friend running a hand down her face in aggravation. She heard Hana speak.
"At least he agreed to let you learn. That's the positive point of this conversation."
"I told him I wanted to study Ba Gua."
"Niiiiiice," Josephine said lazily. "It's called the 'Eight Palm Change'. Very cool, girl."
"So," Mia clapped her hands, "who wants to be my teacher?"
That dark haired man sat atop the tallest building in Tokyo watching as the lights flashed in an array of colors he had never seen. Interesting these people were with their technology and lifestyle. Blending in with this race wasn't a problem, but studying their behavior was entirely different.
Hiding here with these "humans" is useless. Those people cannot save you.
"My lord."
A twinkly of light to his right signaled his comrade had appeared. He pivoted his body to let her know she had heard him.
"We still cannot find him," she said sternly. Her prismatic white hair seemed to shine in the blackness of the night, "but we have located all of the armor bearers."
"Mm," he sucked on his teeth in disgust, "keep searching for The Power stone, but do not let up on your search meet; especially those two. If what you have foreseen is correct then we must stop it at all costs."
"Sir," she bowed and was gone in the blink of an eye.
Next chapter: Hana
Name: Hana Marie Utano
Age: 19
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 135lbs
Hair Color: Golden Blonde, wavy and past shoulder blades.
Eye color: Midnight Blue
Ethnicity: ½ Japanese, ¼ American, ¼ Cherokee Indian
Birthdate: September 29
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany (Army base)
Astrological sign: Libra
Blood Type: A
Favorite Sport: Fencing, kendo
Martial Art: Tai Chi
Interests: Men, reading, math
Dislikes: Liars, people with no honor
Language: English, German, Spanish, Japanese
Armor: Lady Korin/Lady Halo
Virtue: Grace
Weapon: No-datchi with a shuriken at its hilt, Korin Ken
Family:
Thomas: Father. Sergeant Major in the Army
Ami: Mother. Died in a car crash when Hana was 12
Brandon: Older brother. Staff Sergeant in the Army
Hana's father is a Japanese-American/Native American Sergeant Major in the United States Army. He was deployed to Germany and that is where he met Ami, Hana's mother, who was a secretary for the Army. Hana was born in Germany and moved to Japan when she was six. She moved back to Germany when she was ten. She was given the task by The Balance to gather all of the Guardian's together. It took her several years, but while traveling with her father for his duties to the U.S. Army, she was able to meet each of the destined heroines.
She has an innate ability to calm other's when she speaks.
Hana was the first to receive her armor. She was thirteen and living in Germany with her father and brother. Hana was bullied by a classmate relentlessly for years. She, however, never reported the other girl for harassment. During one school year, the girl was diagnosed with kidney failure. One evening, Hana snuck away to test to see if her blood type was compatible with her classmate and it was. With permission from her father, Hana donated her kidney to the girl. This act caused the spirit of "REI", Grace, to awaken in her heart.
Hana's green yoroi is Korin, Halo, and draws power from any light source. She has a no-dachi with a shuriken at its hilt, Korin Ken, that can be hung on her back. Her special attack is called "Sunspot Fury". She concentrates a focal point of lightning on the target that burns anything in that area by light.
Armor of the Lady Halo: Hana can heal wounds by drawing power from the light of the sun or a full moon. The extent of the healing can be draining. She can self heal, but at the cost of not being able to heal others. During a lighting storm, she can channel energy and throw it at an enemy.
Hana's Closet: Her favorite color is any shade of Forest Green, but she really loves all colors. Hana has dubbed herself the "Fashionistia" of the group. She is always up to date with the latest fashion. At home, she lounges in fuzzy pants and t-shirts. When she is out, she always dresses casual chic with fancy shoes to match. If she goes out, Hana can be found in a skin tight, shimmery dress with stiletto heels or form fitting top and pants also with heels. When training, Hana usually wears loose fitting clothes. From heels to flats to tennis shoes, Hana has shoe's that will go with anything.
Notable facts:
1. Never leaves the house without makeup on.
2. Always accessorizes her outfits.
3. Hates carrots.
4. She has an IQ of 150 and was valedictorian of her class.
5. Has severe OCD and cleans when her emotions are high.
6. Wakes up at 5am every morning regardless due to being raised in a military house.
7. Her hair is super thick due to Indian heritage.
8. She has quite a large savings due to being responsible with money.
9. She has her personal bubble and doesn't like some people to get close.
10. She is a natural seductress, but hasn't had as many lovers as people think.
11. She has been in choir since she was six years old and her voice, if concentrated, could crack glass.