A/N: Yay, I'm trying to update more frequently! Go me. =) LOL, just kidding. I hope you all liked the last chapter. Seeing Anubis all flustered is a good and a bad thing. Anyway, without further ado here's the next chapter. Enjoy. I told you it was going to get interesting.

SD

Also, once again I don't own anything from Ronin Warriors or Sailor Moon. I can only wish that I had been that creative.

Chapter 4: The Unimaginable

Minako laughed at herself as she found herself speaking to the stars. Like they would answer her. She always had been a bit loony. That's what Artemis had always told her anyway. She missed that crazy cat. Sure, he could be a pain in the rear end at time (which was more often than not) but she missed his constant company. She was a little jealous of Ryo and White Blaze. It made her miss that dopey and opinionated feline even more.

She propped her chin up on her elbows as she looked into the silent night. Sure, she had told Artemis to stay behind and help Luna keep a look out in case the threat that the four of them had come to investigate managed to reach the future Queen. But now she wished she had told him to come along anyway. Besides, the outer Senshi were guarding her. She was well beyond safe.

'If anyone is in need of a look out, it's probably the nine of us.' She thought to herself.

She smirked as she turned to look in through the kitchen window. Mako and Kento were having an arm wrestling match and everyone else was screaming and cheering on their own personal champion. Ami just giggled as she looked on. They were already making fast friends with this Ronins. If only it had been under better circumstances. Maybe she could bring them to meet the rest of the Senshi someday. They were pretty cool. She allowed herself to laugh when she saw Mako finish Kento off, shoving his right arm into the table. The brunette made a whooping noise and Kento fell back in his chair, embarrassed to have been defeated by a girl. Maybe this situation wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Enjoy the fun while it lasts, for you won't be seeing much more of it."

Minako spun back around with a look of concern on her face. She narrowed her eyes in disdain when she found the source of the interruption.

Anubis stood less than five feet away from her, perching on a tree branch near the porch. Even though most of his face was covered by that demon red face plate, she could make out the anger in his eyes. He was beyond livid. With a growl he jumped onto the porch to face his opponent. He straightened his lean body to his full height, smirking when Minako realized just how much smaller she was then he.

"Welcome back Anubis. Have you come to get some more bruises to go on your fat ego?" Minako spat. Her hands curled into fists and she groped around in her pocket for her talisman. How in the hell did he know where she was? Had he been watching her this whole time?

Anubis eyed her with malice. "You will regret making a fool out of me today you little brat. Mark my words; I'll have you begging for mercy from me." His lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Be forewarned. I am not the type to grant mercy." He whispered. Minako narrowed her eyes at his angry banter. At the sound of Anubis' armor clanking as he landed on the porch, the Ronins and Senshi were alerted and they burst out onto the deck.

"Anubis! You come back for more you stupid tin can?" Rowen shouted, taking a battle stance. Anubis narrowed his eyes at the angry Ronin and their new found companions.

"Stand down Ronin. This is a private affair between me and this mouthy wench." He spat.

Minako laughed out loud. "Who are you calling mouthy you asshole?" She yelled.

"You will watch your tongue with your future master, girl."

The Ronins and Senshi looked up to see that the other three warlords had materialized in the air. Behind them, several dozen Dynasty soldiers floated awaiting orders.

"If you're so eager for a fight Ronin, then you will find one with us." Dais laughed, his arms crossed over his breastplate.

"This could be a trap to get us away from Mina." Ami said as she pulled her talisman from her pocket. Mako grinned.

"Please, she's a big girl. She smoked him once today and she'll do it again now. I'll take Cale again. You take Sehkmet. Michiru, teach Dais another lesson would ya? Ronins, you take the soldiers."

The Ronins leapt from the porch to the ground as the Dynasty soldiers advanced when Cale barked a command. Ryo hit his feet and called his armor to him.

"Armor of the Wildfire! Dao Jin!"

"Armor of the Halo! Dao Chi!"

"Armor of the Torrent! Dao Shin!"

"Armor of the Hardrock! Dao Gi!"

"Armor of the Strata! Dao Inochi!"

In a flash of cherry blossoms and scrolls, the Ronins stood gleaming in their armor and began picking off the Dynasty soldiers.

"C'mon bucket head!" Kento laughed as he smashed through a soldier's middle with his naginata.

The other three Senshi had leapt from the porch too after calling their henshin. The warlords broke off to face their enemies near the tree line. Only Minako and Anubis remained on the porch. Anubis laughed at her. "You will regret your decision to investigate the Dynasty little girl." He said, preparing to spring.

Minako was too fast for him and jumped up on the edge of the roof. "Not likely." She called. Before he could react, she called her henshin.

"Venus Crystal Power! Make-Up!"

Within seconds, the orange suited soldier leapt from the roof and delivered a swift kick to Anubis' head, causing it to snap back and he stumbled backward. She took this opportunity to release one of her attacks.

"Venus Wink Chain Sword!"

The energy engulfed Anubis and racked his body and he growled in pain, refusing to cry out loud and bruise his pride any further. Through the pain he staggered to his feet and charged at the Senshi of love. Venus was taken by surprise at Anubis' perseverance through her attack and he slammed into her unprotected body, breaking the railing on the porch and sending her hurtling into the grass below.

She hit hard and winced as the breath was knocked from her body. If she had been in her civilian form, the fall would have crushed her spine or broken her back. Thankfully, the transformation did allow her to take much more of a beating than her normal human form did.

Still, it really hurt to be body slammed by an angry warlord in heavy armor. Before she could get to her feet, Anubis had jumped down and had his right knee pressed into her stomach, pressing the air from her further. She cried out as the heavy metal bruised her skin beneath her thin fuku. His other knee straddled her hips, pinning her. His large hands held her arms to the ground on either side of her, keeping her from attacking him.

Jupiter heard Venus' cry as she toppled off of the porch and she watched with horrified eyes as she hit the ground and Anubis leapt on top of her.

"VENUS!" She bellowed. She lost her concentration, and Cale delivered a slice to her shoulder with his sword. She cried out in pain, gripping her wounded shoulder and returned her full attention to her attacker.

Cale laughed as he held the sword out at arms' length. "Don't you dare take your mind off of this fight. It will cost you your life." He laughed as he prepared to strike again.

Neptune and Mercury weren't doing so well either. Neptune and Dais were locked in a sparring match of who could launch the stronger attack. She had been successfully deflecting them with her Aqua Mirror, but when her leader toppled off of the porch, she faltered and a Web of Deception hit her full on.

She was trapped and had no way to get to Venus.

Mercury was pinned against a large oak tree, the sides of her fuku pierced through by Sehkmet's swords and holding her their like some part of a circus side show act. Had the warlords really caught onto them that fast? Mercury closed her eyes as Sehkmet laughed and prepared another Snake Fang Strike.

Venus looked up into the eyes of her attacker as he held her small form down in the grass. She had not been able to see Anubis this close up before and she prepared herself to see his demon eyes in their sockets glaring red down at her.

She was surprised to find a pair of icy blue eyes glaring down at her from behind his face plate. No demon could have a pair of eyes that were that…beautiful. She hid her reaction to this information from her attacker, not wanting him to know that she was eyeing him too closely. Her arms ached where he held her in place with his armored hands. She tried to struggle against him to no avail.

Anubis grinned as the small blonde tried to escape him. There would be no running. She would not be the victor of this battle, he would see to that. She had cost him much of his pride and he would gain it back with her death.

"You are stubborn, and you don't give up. I'll have to commend you for that girl." He said coolly as he pressed his knee a little harder into her stomach, watching her wince with the pressure. Venus squeezed her eyes shut, as she fought the anguished cry that wanted to come from her body at his weight on top of her.

"I am a Sailor Senshi. I don't give up. It isn't in me." She said through clenched teeth. Anubis laughed.

"Well, Senshi, you will find your death on this battlefield today." He said, summoning his kusari-gama from his belt. The broken blade would still release his sure kill, though it may not be as powerful. Still, from this close range, she would be gone within a matter of seconds.

Venus did the only thing she could think of to do without being able to raise her arms much further than halfway. She couldn't get an attack off with him holding her upper arms the way that he was. When he released her left arm to take hold of his weapon, she made a last ditch attempt to shove the stronger man off of her. 'Maybe if I can just get him to lose his balance or something I can blast him with my Crescent Beam.' She thought helplessly.

She placed her hands on his cool breast plate to push at him. Her senses received a shock when she didn't touch cold metal. Her hands touched warm skin. She felt his wild heartbeat thundering in his chest. She opened her eyes to see if he had been attacked and something had managed to damage his armor. It hadn't. It was perfectly intact yet she felt his skin below his armor as if he weren't wearing it. As if he was laid out bare before her. What the hell?

Anubis' eyes grew wide and he stopped breathing when the girl beneath him made to futilely shove him off of her. It felt as though her hands were touching his bare chest. His armor was in perfect condition, and yet it was if he were naked. He felt her left hand barely brushing his nipple and her right hand over his heart. What sort of trickery was this? How in the hell was she doing this? She could feel him beneath his armor! This was impossible!

Venus pulled her hands back as though she had been burned when she felt his heart race beneath her fingertips. 'I don't understand this!' Her mind raced.

Halo looked up from the soldier that he had just destroyed to see Anubis on top of Venus and gripping his kusari-gama. His stomach clenched when he thought of the strong Senshi and new friend being picked off by Anubis. He would not stand for it. Not a chance.

He gripped his no-daitchi between both of his armored hands and raised it high above his head before bellowing his attack at Anubis.

"Thunder Bolt Cut!"

At just that moment, a Dynasty soldier chose to attack the young Ronin and he faltered in his attack. The beam of light shot at an upward angle, nailing Anubis in the head. He was motionless as the thunderbolt crashed into his helmet.

Venus' eyes grew wide as she watched a large crack form in his helmet and face plate. The force of the blow had broken his helmet and she watched as it fell from his head and face to the ground on either side of him. She gasped at what she saw.

Anubis' blue eyes were dazed as his helmet fell from him, unfurling his long red hair from its confines and his dazed face to her view. Blood spilled from his forehead and his eyes rolled back in his head as the blow rendered the Warlord unconscious. The kusari-gama dropped from his hand and he fell lifelessly on top of Venus, his hair spreading out over her like a crimson blanket.

The battlefield grew silent as the Warlord fell on top of the Senshi. They were all dazed at what they saw. No one was more surprised than Venus.

Anubis was a human.

She stared up into the sky, motionless as she tried to shake off the shock of this Warlord being a human, let alone laying unconscious on top of her.

Wildfire was the first to react to the new information. "Venus! Are you okay?!" He yelled, running towards her.

The Warlords faltered and leapt into the air, beginning to de-materialize. Dais quickly shot a beam of energy towards their fallen Warlord to bring him back to the Dynasty with them.

Venus watched as the figure on top of her began to glow and slowly rise up from her. A loud crashing sound was made and the beam of light was broken. She closed her eyes as she prepared herself for the armed man falling on top of her again. But it did not come. Instead she heard curses.

Venus opened her eyes to see a man floating in the air, holding a golden staff in his left hand. He wore the robes of a monk and a straw hat that looked similar to those that were worn in ancient times. His broad hat hid his face, but his mouth was visible. This mouth became a thin line as Anubis' body floated up to him. He caught him effortless in his arms.

Ryo fell to the ground next to Venus.

"Ancient! What are you doing? Where are you taking Anubis?" He cried, helping Venus sit up. She could not take her eyes from the unconscious man in this "Ancient's" arms. How could he have been so corrupt? A human working for the Dynasty? Why was she able to touch him through his armor?

The Warlords disappeared, angry at their lost Warlord for his carelessness. They would not even think of taking on the Ancient. Talpa was going to be beyond livid.

The Ancient remained in the air with Anubis in his arms.

"All will be revealed."

And with that, he disappeared, taking Anubis with him. After a moment, Venus heard the girls yelling and she turned her head as they ran towards her. The Ronins were not close behind.

Jupiter fell on her right side, opposite of Ryo.

"Oh my God Mina are you alright? Did that creep hurt you? I mean he was on freaking top of you!" The green suited soldier raved. Her leader waved her off.

"I'm sore, but I'm alright. Is everyone okay?" She asked, struggling to get to her feet. Ryo dropped his henshin back to his sub armor and gently helped her up. He did not want to hurt her already bruised body more but brushing against her with more heavy armor. The others followed suit.

"We're all okay. Let's get you in the house." Mia said as she led the way with White Blaze.

"I can't believe Anubis is human. I mean, how could a human fall so low as to serve a low life like Talpa? I just don't get it." Kento raved as he paced back and forth in the living room.

They were all sitting in their previous positions, but this time giving Minako the couch to lie on. She was alright, but pretty banged up. Her stomach was one big black bruise and the rest of her was pretty black and blue as well. Minako had called it "the perils of not wearing armor against an armor bearing psychopath."

The girl had remained quiet again as she tried to get the shock to wear off about Anubis. He was human. She could touch him through his armor. He was injured. An ally carried him away. She didn't know where he was.

'Why do I even care?' Her mind raced. She didn't know why, but a part of her did care. And she felt absolutely horrible for thinking the things that she did. She absent mindedly twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger as she thought about the whole situation. She wasn't sure if it were a good thing that this so called "ally" of their's had taken Anubis away or that she wanted to know where he was. The part of her that wondered where he was and if he was alright was immediately squashed by the reasonable part of her.

'It doesn't matter if he's alright! He tried to kill you for crying out loud.' She thought to herself. If no one else had been in the room, she may have commenced smacking herself to get her head cleared up but all she could do was pretend like she had no comment about the situation.

Another aspect that made Minako furious with herself is that she kept going back to what he looked like before he fell. He was beautiful. Long red hair, stern blue eyes, chiseled features…what in the hell was she thinking? He was not attractive. Even if he was this was no time to be thinking about it. He was the enemy. Plain and simple. The end.

"Hello. Earth to Mina! Come in Mina!"

Minako started when Mako started waving her hand in front of the girl's face. She blinked a few times and looked up at the brunette beside her.

"Wow. I have never seen you phase out that badly before. Are you sure you're okay? We've been talking to you and you haven't been listening."

Minako turned a little red and quickly covered up her error.

"I'm sorry everyone, I just have a lot on my mind. That's all." She said softly. Hey, it wasn't a lie.

She only prayed that they would just stop talking about Anubis. She couldn't think about it right now. She did not even want to imagine what might happen if she told them about her being able touch him through his armor. God knows that there would be an uproar then.

- - -

Being grateful for the early morning, Minako crept out of the Ronin's headquarters. She had barely been able to sleep trying to come up with a reason as to why her hands had gone through the Warlord of Cruelty's armor. Was this some new power that she possessed? No, she would have been able to do the same to Ryo when he helped her up the night before.

Minako made her way out of the mansion grounds and into the deserted city. It was still early and the rest of the Ronins and Senshi were asleep otherwise there would have been no way to get out of the house. Her muscles ached, but it was no matter. She needed some air and she needed to think. She wouldn't go far.

She put her hands inside her coat pockets and walked close to the concrete wall that ran along the sidewalk. She had never been to Toyama though it looked as though it had been a beautiful city before the Dynasty had attacked. Her feet made little noise as she tread along the quiet sidewalk, not really knowing where she was going to. It didn't matter. She would know when she got there.

After a few minutes of walking, she came to an opening in the concrete wall. Several steps lead up to the entrance of a temple of some sort. It looked much like the one that Rei was a priestess in. Feeling compelled to go inside and pray, Minako made her way up the steps to the temple.

Anubis' head hurt so badly he could barely force his eyes open. He groaned as he placed a weak hand over his throbbing head. His finger tips felt a bandage over his aching skull and his mind went blank.

'When was I injured?' He thought to himself. He finally forced his weary eyes open and found himself to be lying in unfamiliar surroundings. It appeared to be a temple of some sort, and he was lying on the floor beneath a thin blanket. He turned his head to see that he was lying near a sliding door.

Anubis rolled onto his side and forced his way into a sitting position. He winced at the pain in his head and placed his hand over his face. He was startled to come to realize that his bare hand was touching his face.

He panicked and glanced down to see that he wore the thin clothing of a temple boy and sandals on his feet. Where was his armor? Why wasn't he wearing it? What had happened? His mind raced angrily as he fought to get to his feet. He heard a chuckle from beyond the door and groped for the edge to slide it open.

Anubis squinted his eyes at the bright sunlight, placing a hand over them to shield them from the unforgiving rays. Through his briefly hindered vision, he made out the form of the monk that his master so despised. Anubis gritted his teeth and found his way into a fighting position once he recognized who the figure laughing at him was.

The Ancient turned to face the disgruntled warlord with a smug look on what was visible of his visage.

"Calm yourself Anubis. There is no reason for you to be preparing yourself to battle with me. Trust me, at this point I would easily defeat you." He stated, the rings of his staff clinking together as he touched the end of it to the ground.

Anubis did not let his guard down. "Where am I you old fool? Why have you brought me here! Where is my armor?" He barked, clenching his fists.

The Ancient shook his head at Anubis' antics. "For someone who is at my mercy, you sure are being rather belligerent. Isn't your tongue and your prideful ways what landed you in this position anyway? You are lucky that Halo did not hit where he was aiming."

Anubis thought for a moment and then the previous night's events came flooding back to him. The attack on the Ronins and Senshi. Halo attacking him and rendering him unconscious. That girl…Anubis' trail of thought ceased immediately when he remembered the original source for his anger and revenge.

Venus. His mind reeled as he remembered how she had touched him through his armor as though he had been kneeling there naked. It was unnerving and he did not understand why she had been able to do so.

The Ancient turned to face Anubis fully.

"You wish to know why the Sailor Senshi of Venus was able to penetrate your armor so effortlessly I am supposing." He said simply. Anubis glared at the monk.

"How do you know such things? Keep out of my head old man." He shouted. The monk looked at him without flinching.

"You will come to discover that I know much more about your armor than you do yourself, Master of Cruelty. You will come to see that being a child of the Dynasty is the wrong path for you my boy. Until you come to understand this, you will not have use of your armor." He said simply.

This enraged the warlord. Anubis went wild with fury and launched himself at the monk before him. No one made a fool of him. Especially not this stupid old man. The Ancient effortlessly held out his staff before him and the pain in Anubis' head increased ten fold. The man dropped to his knees clutching his throbbing head and cried out in agony.

"You will see the voice of reason Anubis. You will come to realize that Talpa has been using you for your armor. You are destined to wage war against the Dynasty and fight along side the Ronin Warriors." The Ancient spoke evenly.

Anubis clutched his head with both hands, fighting the tears that wanted to form in his eyes at the pain he was feeling. A growl rose from him and he shouted, "I will never betray Master Talpa!"

Once the words left his lips, he fell to the ground, consciousness leaving him once again. Before the blackness consumed him, he made out the image of a familiar blonde female watching in stunned silence several feet away from where he and the Ancient were standing. His senses were lost to him by the time he recognized the red bow in her hair.

TBC

A/N: I hope you guys like this little turn of events. This Anubis will not go so willingly to the side of the Ronins. If he goes at all. =) Stay tuned for the next chapter. Please review! It means so much to me!