Disclaimer: Once again, I do NOT own Ronin Warriors or anything relating to it. I do, however, own my characters (Aseku, Sheyna, and Kiyaki) and anything relating to them.
A/N: Ok, not as long of a wait between updates... Yay! Actually, I'll be honest, I have most of this story written up on notebook paper. It's just a matter of typing it lol. I'll get around to it when I have time... Until then... enjoy!
Aseku
Aseku groaned softly, her eyes fluttering open. She was… well… she wasn't quite sure where she was, but it was dark and cold!
"Wake up, little Ronin…" came a low, smooth voice. "You're not dead yet… up you get…" Muscles tensing, the Warrior of Hailstorm pushed herself up from the cold ground she had been laying on. A smirking face loomed up from the darkness, followed by a tall, powerful body sheathed in grayish under-armor.
"Who… are you?" Aseku's tongue felt thick and heavy; her head was spinning.
"Cale…" said the man, kneeling to her eye level. "And you, little ice warrior, what is your name?"
"Aseku," she said, groggily. "Where am I?"
"In Talpa's Dynasty," answered Cale, a hint of pride coloring his voice. "You are a prisoner of Lord Talpa and his faithful Warlords."
"But… I don't want to be a prisoner," protested Aseku, indignantly. "Can't you just let me go? Please?" Cale stared at her blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing. The child was serious!
"Let you go? Why in the world would we do that? No, no, little ice maiden, you're here to stay!" His laughter subsided and he grew serious once again. "Now tell me, child, how did a pretty little girl like you come to acquire a Ronin armor? Surely you would much rather be at home doing whatever it is girls you age like to do instead of fighting a war?"
"I… guess so…" said Aseku, uncertainly.
"Then why not give me your Yoroi crystal?" offered Cale, his voice dripping with greed. "You could go home to your family and friends again and be done with this nasty fighting. In fact, you would never have to think about this war again!" Aseku looked up at him, eyes wide with wonder. Cale shifted, suddenly supremely uneasy as she stared at him.
"Really? I can go home?" Cale looked away as he nodded, unsure what it was about her that made him so very uneasy. "But… what about Sheyna and Kiyaki? What about Ryo and Rowen?"
"What about them?" muttered Cale, still refusing to look at the girl. "What do they matter to you? You'll be safe and happy, isn't that what matters?" He chanced a quick glance and was relieved to find that the child was looking at the ground once again.
"No! They're my friends," exclaimed Aseku, frowning. "I can't just abandon them!"
"Hmph!" snorted Cale, rising in one fluid movement. He shoved Aseku roughly with the toe of his boot. "Stupid girl! You have no idea what you're doing!" Aseku yelped as her head struck the floor, a few tears trickling from her eyes. "You will join your 'friends' in captivity, then!" Lifting the tiny teen easily, Cale carried her from the room to a hallway with a single door set about halfway down it. A small bar of light at the bottom of the door indicated that a light was on within it. Cale opened the door with a slam and poked his head inside. Three teenage boys glared up at him, each in a different color of Ronin under-armor.
"Cale…" one of them hissed, narrowing his grey eyes, "what do you want?"
"Manners, Hardrock," said Cale, smirking at him. "I came to bring you a new friend. Catch!" And he tossed Aseku into the room, watching with amusement as the boys scrambled to catch her. When she had landed safely in the arms of the light-blue and white warrior's arms, all three boys turned to scream at Cale only to find him already gone and the door locked, bolted, and sealed once more.
"What's the big idea?" exclaimed the boy holding Aseku. "She could've been hurt!"
"I think that was the point," said the green and white armored boy. "Who is she?"
"I dunno…" The boy holding Aseku looked down curiously at the girl in his arms. "Hey there, do you have a name?"
"Aseku…" said the girl, sniffling. "Wh-who are you?"
"Cye Mouri," replied the boy, his English accent thick. "That's Sage Date in the green, there, and Kento Rei-Faun in the orange over there." He looked her up and down, then set her on her feet. He was puzzled by her apparently Ronin under-armor. "You're not… a Ronin Warrior… are you?" She looked up at him, her wide eyes capturing his attention immediately.
"Yes, why?" asked Aseku, confused by his confusion. "Is that bad?"
"No, of course not!" said Sage, quickly. Aseku turned towards him, her intriguing eyes fixed upon his lavender pair. "We just didn't know that there were any Ronins besides ourselves and… the Warlords…" He trailed off, confused and captivated at the same time.
"Oh… Who are the Warlords?" Aseku's question took the three quite by surprise, snapping Sage out of his little trance.
"You don't… know?" asked Kento, staring at her.
"Nope," replied Aseku, turning to look at him instead. "Who are they?"
"Evil Ronin Warriors who work for Talpa," said Kento, looking down at her with wonder. Those eyes… they were so weird! "You do know who Talpa is, don't you?"
Cye punched his friend in the arm with a reproachful glare. "The man who threw you in here, Cale, was one of the Warlords."
"Oh…" Aseku frowned. "He was really mean to me! He threw me on the ground and everything!"
"Be thankful that's all he did to you," said Sage, bitterly. "He could have done much worse."
"Like what?" Aseku's suddenly hushed voice was timid and fearful, her astounding eyes wide and scared. Sage looked down at her, realizing for the first time how very young she was.
"Don't worry about it…" The nineteen year old shook his blond hair out of his eyes and leaned back against the wall, wishing fervently that he had a cigarette. No, scratch that, Sage wished he had a whole pack of cigarettes. He was so stressed right now…
"How old are you, Aseku?" She turned her attention back to Kento.
"Fifteen, how old are you?"
"Fifteen?! Geez, you're only a kid! Sage, can you believe this?" Sage cracked open an eye tiredly.
"Yeah, she looks about fifteen or so… That is pretty young, though."
"Pretty young?! My little cousin is about her age! The little one!" Kento was pacing back and forth, gesturing emphatically with his hands. "She's still just a child!"
"Aw, pipe down, Kento. You're only eighteen yourself!" Cye had unexpectedly broken his silence, looking up from the corner he had settled in.
"Oh… sorry, Cye," said Kento, grinning apologetically. "But hey, even you're older than her, right? Aren't you almost seventeen?"
"I'll be seventeen in a few months," said Cye, shrugging. "Why's her age so important anyway?" Kento shrugged, plopping down next to the Warrior of Torrent.
"I dunno,… It's just… She's a girl, and she's so young, and she's so tiny!"
"She can hear you, y'know." Kento looked up and saw Aseku staring at Cye and himself. She had settled across the room once it had become clear that she was being ignored, and was now seated on the floor, her back resting against the wall. She looked so sad and lonely with her knees pulled up to her chest like that; Kento felt a pang of pity wrench through his chest.
"Aw… poor kid." He kept his voice soft so that it wouldn't carry. "She looks so lonely…"
"Well, she's locked in a room in her enemy's fortress with three guys she doesn't know. Can you blame her?" Cye was studying her closely, concerned. It didn't look like captivity was suiting Aseku very well at all.
Then, unexpectedly, Cye saw Sage push himself away from the wall he'd been leaning against and head towards Aseku. She looked up at him as he approached.
"Hey…" Sage smiled, sinking down next to her. "What's up?"
"Nothin," she replied, glumly. "I wanna go home…" she added, her voice barely above a whisper. Sage scooted closer, flashing her a smile that would have made most girls melt. When she returned the smile half-heartedly, he slipped an arm around her shoulders with a practiced ease.
"You'll get home, I promise."
"Really?"
"Really." Silence fell between the two for a moment. Then, "Mr. Date?" Sage flinched.
"Just Sage, please. Mr. Date is my father. I'm just plain old Sage."
"Oh, sorry…" Aseku looked down. "… Sage?"
"Yes?"
"What are they going to do to us?" Sage froze, caught off-guard by the question that had been posed so innocently. It sounded like nothing more than simple curiosity, and yet…
"I… don't know," he said finally, not entirely lying. "They're probably going to do a number of things to us…"
"Bad things?" Aseku's face radiated innocence and apprehension. Sage felt trapped. He didn't want to lie to her, but to tell the truth to a face like that…
"Yes, Aseku…" he whispered, finally. "Bad thing…"
"But… why?"
"I don't know why," said Sage, looking down. "I suppose they're just extremely sadistic…" A wave of utter loathing swept through him, and Sage's lavender eyes narrowed. Seeming to sense something, Aseku looked over at him curiously.
"Are you okay?"
"What?" Sage shook off the hatred and depression that had been bulding inside him. "Yes, I'm fine…"
"Do you miss your parents, too? " The question obviously wasn't intended to hurt Sage, but a pang went through his heart at the mention of his family. He hadn't spoken to them for quite some time; he didn't really have great relations with them. A fairly wealthy family, the Dates were in an elite social circle and constantly in the news. Sage had been taught very rigid discipline at an early age, and had been punished severely for even the slightest transgression.
"No, not really." Aseku's face went blank with shock.
"What? Why not?" Sage shrugged dismissively.
"We really don't get along very well. I haven't talked to them for the past 5 years or so." Aseku's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
"Why?! Nothing's more important than family, NOTHING! Don't you miss them?"
"I've already answered that question; my response has not changed." Sage's tone was harsh, annoyed. He did not like to speak about his family. "And as for there being nothing more important than family, that is a matter of opinion. I happen to believe that saving the world is a tad more important than one's relatives!" Aseku shrank back from this newly revealed side of Sage. With a wide-eyed stare, she got up and moved across the room to huddle in the corner not occupied by Cye.
Sage felt horrible; Aseku looked close to tears!
"Aseku, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just a little stressed right now… Are you mad at me?" Silently, Aseku shook her head. Though concerned that she didn't say anything, Sage didn't push the topic, instead opting to give the girl space to calm down again. Best to just leave well enough alone.
Shooting a worried glance at Sage, Kento scooted over next to Aseku, plastering a wide grin on his boyish face. He was worried about the Warrior of Halo; it wasn't like him to snap like that. But there wasn't much he could do to help. He settled on helping the person he felt he had the best chance of comforting: Aseku.
"Hey, don't mind Sage," he said, patting Aseku's shoulder. "He's just a little bit grouchy right now." Aseku nodded.
"Did I make him mad?"
"What? No, of course not!" Kento offered her another cheerful smile. "He probably just needs some tobacco. He gets real testy when he hasn't had a cigarette in a while."
"Smoking is bad for you." Kento shrugged, glancing over at Sage. The blond had his forearms resting on his knees and his head back against the wall. His visible eye was closed, so Kento assumed that he was resting.
"Ah, well. With Sage it's kind of a 'pick your poison' deal. If he didn't smoke, he'd drink, and if he didn't drink, he'd probably be doing something even worse. He's got some pretty big family problems."
"Why doesn't he like his family?" Aseku's voice was innocently curious again; not even a hint of underlying judgment.
"That's not really for me to say," said Kento, glancing over at his green armored friend once again. "And I'm not sure, anyway. He's never really liked talking about it, so we steer clear of the subject."
"Oh…" Aseku was silent for a minute. "How old is he?"
"Nineteen, I think," replied Kento. "He's older than me 'n Cye at any rate. I don't think he's twenty yet…"
"Oh…" Aseku looked up at Kento, her expression thoughtful. "You don't really know him very well, do you?" Kento shook his head, carefully avoiding full eye contact. He couldn't seem to keep his thoughts straight when he looked her in the eye…
"Nah, not really. I mean, we're friends and all, and I'd gladly give my life for him, but we've never really clicked."
"Oh…" Silence again. "Hey Kento?"
"Yeah?"
"Why's Talpa want to take over the world?" Kento blinked, shocked by her abrupt change of subject. Aseku's mind, he decided, must be a very strange place… Nonetheless, he gave his answer some thought before speaking. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted her to say; there was no appropriate answer as far as he was concerned.
"I dunno, I guess it's a power-hungry thing…"
"Oh…" Silence. "Hey Kento?"
"Now what?" He prepared for another hard question.
"Where's the bathroom?" There was that mind at work again… Kento had to stop himself from laughing.
"It's right over there, but be warned, the toilet paper is low-quality!" He grinned, pointing to a toilet on the other side of the room with collapsible screens surrounding it.
"But… there's not sink," said Aseku, looking around. "Where do I wash my hands?"
"You… don't?" said Kento, hesitantly. What was it about girls and hygiene?
"Ew! That's icky!" squealed Aseku. "I can't just use the bathroom and not wash my hands!"
"Sorry," said Kento," but you're going to have to. Next time a Warlord shows his ugly face, we can ask for something to wash with." Aseku sighed, glancing towards the door.
"Will they be back soon? I kinda need to go…"
"Trust me, you don't want them coming back anytime soon," replied Kento, quickly.
"Aw, Hardrock, you don't like us?" Kento spun to see Dais standing in the doorway. "That hurts. And I was hoping we could be friends!"
"Hey!" said Aseku, hopping up and approaching Dais. "Are you one of those Warlord guys?" The Warlord smirked as she came to a halt before him; she barely reached his chest!
"You must be our newest little captive. My, Cale wasn't exaggerating about how small you are!"
"I'm not small!" protested Aseku, frowning. "You're just really big!" Dais broke into laughter, taking a few minutes before he calmed down again.
"That's cute, girl, very cute." He wiped a few tears from his eyes as his laughter subsided. "perhaps Lord Talpa will let us keep you as a pet or something. You certainly don't pose much of a threat."
"Yeah-huh!" Aseku was frowning; she didn't like being called little and weak. "I do so pose a threat!"
"Child," said Dais, chuckling again, "you pose no more threat than a puppy."
"Do so!" Aseku was indignant now, glaring at the towering man in front of her with her arms crossed stubbornly. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Dais was overcome with a strange sensation; Aseku's gaze just felt… off. He tore his eyes from her angrily.
"You're wearing my patience thin, Hailstorm!" growled Dais, the grin sliding from his face in the blink of an eye. "You will show me respect or I will teach you to show it!"
"Hey! Leave her alone, Dais!" Cye was up and heading towards Aseku and Dais.
"Oh, so Torrent finally speaks!" Dais' attention switched to Cye. "What brought about this change?"
"Leave her alone," Cye growled again. "She's not here for you to make fun of."
"On the contrary, Torrrent," replied Dais, smirking. "She's here for me to do whatever I like with."
"What's that supposed to mean?" spat Cye, fists clenching.
"What do you think it means?" challenged Dais, glancing back at Aseku. His eyes ran the length of her body once and his smirk grew a bit wider. Anger dropped from Cye's face, replaced by a stunned look. Without meaning to, he took a step back, then another, staring at Dais blankly.
"You- you wouldn't!"
"Wouldn't what, Torrent?" The two men stared at one another for a moment, Cye's horrified gaze locked with Dais' cocky stare.
But both men were pulled from their staring contest as Aseku interjected.
"Hey, Dais, or whatever your name is! How am I supposed to wash my hands without a sink?" Dais' attention shifted back to the Warrior of Hailstorm.
"Why in the world would you possibly need to wash your hands?"
"Because you're always supposed to wash your hands after you go to the bathroom, duh!" Aseku's tone made it plain that she expected everyone to know that.
"Well there is no sink in this room. I'm afraid you're going to have to live without your luxuries," said Dais, frowning down at her. Again, their eyes met and he was overcome with that same unfamiliar sensation. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen a look quite like hers… at least not any time recently.
"No way! Besides, it's not a luxury, it's a necessity!"
"Aseku, don't push it," muttered Cye, his eyes fixed on the slowly angering Warlord.
"I need a sink, though!" protested Aseku, brows knitting angrily. Her sulky expression reminded Cye of a child.
"I'm sick of your complaints, girl!" Dais' voice held a tone of barely suppressed anger; his hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides.
"But-" Everything seemed to happen at once. Dais struck out with his fist just as Cye moved in front of Aseku. There was a sharp cracking sound as Dais' fist connected solidly with the under-armor protecting Cye's chest. With a grunt, Cye was thrown backwards, taking Aseku down with him as he fell. Dais looked down at the boy, then delivered a sharp kick to his ribs.
"That'll teach you not to interfere when I'm punishing someone, Torrent. Be grateful Lord Talpa wishes you alive, because I'd have gladly finished the job." With that, he turned and left the room without a backward glance.
Well? Did you like it? Is Aseku annoying as hell? Of course she is, but there is a reason! She is NOT a Mary-Sue, I promise! She is more like a unique character who seems to masquerade as a Mary-Sue... Yeah... If that made sense you're on something. Review!
Aseku