A/N: Whew this has been a crazy week already. I started spring semester classes at my college and I'm already kicking and screaming about it. LOL. The price we pay for a degree. Ugh. Why am I writing about this? You aren't reading the author's notes anyway. Are you? Nope.
Anyway, as a recap Minako just had a brief encounter with Anubis that ended in her fleeing from the temple. She attempted to comfort the warlord but bolted before she knew what his reaction was.
Go ahead and read on and see what happens next! =) Thanks again to Abbykat for beta-ing for me!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. LOL. Does that work well enough?
Also! I have a piece of Loyalty and Love fic-art drawn by yours truly! Go take a look at my deviantart account to see!
Chapter 6: Coming to Terms
Anubis found himself staring at his reflection in a koi pond that stood on the temple's property. A wooden foot bridge granted access to the other side of the pond but Anubis was content standing in the center of it leaning over the hand carved railing and staring into the water. The colorful fish darted all around the small habitat and for a brief moment that was the focus of the crimson haired warrior. His blue eyes darted around with the movement of the small creatures before he caught sight of his own reflection in the pool.
It was odd to see himself in such a way. The white and gray robes of a temple boy hung from his form and reached all the way down to knees. His feet were covered in traditional Japanese Tabi socks and sandals. He felt silly to be wearing what he was currently garbed in; his sub armor would have felt much more comfortable to him about now. But his armor had been taken from him; a notion he was still rather sore about. The Monk had his reasons. Whether or not the Warlord agreed with the man's agenda or not he had to do as he was directed in order to get his armor back. He would certainly not be welcomed back to the Dynasty without the armor of cruelty.
Anubis turned his attention to the Ancient when he noticed the white haired man's refection appear alongside of his own. The older man looked down into the water, taking his turn to watch the fish flit around in their home.
The younger man did not know why he was keeping his cool and walking with the Ancient as he was now. He should attack him full tilt until he either got his armor back or died trying. Something was allowing him to remain patient, a trait that was not common to him, and he did not know what it was. He decided it would be best to just go along with whatever he had to do at the moment. Anubis remained silent until the Ancient chose to break the silence.
"What do you wish to know about the Sailor Soldier?" The Ancient's voice asked softly, the rings on his golden staff tinkling in the breeze.
Anubis studied the railing for a moment before replying, "Anything you wish to grant me. I need to know about her."
The Ancient turned to him, only his lips visible as he spoke. "Why do you want to know about her? What edge would you gain upon knowing the girl's history? An advantage over her if and when you manage to get your armor back from me?" The man said blankly.
Anubis narrowed his eyes but did not fly off at him as he normally would. The ache in his head reminded him that violence with the monk was not a very intelligent idea at this point in time.
"Talpa has no need for that girl or her friends. I only wish to know about her. Tell me what you can. Please." He responded. He could not explain why he wanted to know about the soldier with the red bow in her hair. He honestly did not understand himself why he needed to know. The wind was cold against his face and body but the samurai repressed a shudder. It was weak to appear affected by one's surroundings.
The Ancient regarded him for a moment and then turned his attention back to the pond.
"Sailor Venus is the leader of the Sailor Senshi of the solar system. There is a Senshi to each of the planets and she has led them to victory against many evil realms that have come up against them. She lives to protect the Earth in the name of her home planet of Venus and to guard the Moon Princess with her very life."
Anubis looked to him in puzzlement. "Venus is not an earthling?" He asked.
The Ancient shook his head before continuing. "Not originally. None of the Senshi are. Sailor Venus was killed in a battle over a thousand years ago on the Moon during an age long ago forgotten known as the Silver Millennium. The Moon Kingdom was destroyed by a being known as Queen Beryl in her tyrannical quest for power. She destroyed the Senshi as they fought to protect Queen Serenity and her only daughter. The Queen possessed a powerful talisman called the ginzuishou that Beryl wanted for her own lust for dominion and power. The Queen locked everyone on the Moon within her ginzuishou and sent them to Earth in hopes of their lives continuing on there."
Anubis soaked in the explanation before turning his eyes to the monk.
"And I am assuming that these soldiers were reborn?" He asked.
The Ancient nodded. "The Sailor Senshi were reborn seventeen years ago to normal human families with no recollection of their previous existence. They each lived separate and peaceful lives until the age of fourteen. Queen Beryl had risen from her slumber and sought to attack the Moon Princess and steal the ginzuishou away from her. The Senshi were then awakened to find their princess and protect her at all costs. The Princess of Venus was the first to awaken her Senshi powers."
Anubis stared at him blankly for a moment. "Venus is a princess?" He asked.
The Ancient motioned for him to follow as he made his way down the other side of the bridge and back onto the path.
"Yes, she is a princess; born not to rule, but to train to become a warrior. Her people served her as their princess, but all loyalties were pledged to the Moon Queen and her daughter. Venus possesses the power of love and light which is why she has always been called the Senshi of love. She is here to ensure that her Princess will remain safe from Dynasty attacks." The Ancient explained as they walked back to the temple. His staff made light clinking noises as it struck the stones beneath their feet. Anubis pondered on the information that he had been given a long while before speaking again.
"So these girls all protect this reincarnated Princess because she owns this ginzuishou?" He asked, trying to reinforce the idea in his brain.
The Ancient nodded. "They guard the Moon Princess because of her ginzuishou and because she is the most powerful Senshi among them all. In this life, the Princess awakened as Sailor Moon and has fought just as valiantly as her soldiers have. She has saved this planet numerous times without its people even batting an eye."
They had reached the temple stairs and the Ancient climbed them to go inside. Anubis assumed that this meant that their discussion was over. He went out on a limb and tried to ask the monk one more question.
"Why was Venus able to penetrate my armor Ancient? Why did her hands go through it so effortlessly? What is this power?" He pleaded.
The Ancient shook his head. "That is something that I cannot tell you. You must discover this for yourself master of cruelty." He said simply as he went inside.
"Wait! At least tell me what her name is!" Anubis shouted, running up the stairs and into the room. The Ancient was seated before the fire once more and had his hands folded together.
Anubis balled his hands into fists in frustration. His every instinct screamed at him to attack the older man until he got the information that he wanted. But that would not do. He could not use brute strength against this man. He would not win. So he waited. He stood silent as he prayed that he would receive an answer. He did not understand why he had to know this simple fact, but it would plague him until he knew.
The Ancient removed his hat from his head and turned to the waiting man. Anubis was startled by the older man's silver eyes that looked at him so intently.
"Her name is Minako Aino. Come and sit beside me Shuten. You have much to learn." He spoke softly.
Anubis' heart stopped and confusion racked his brain. Shuten. No one had called him that in over four hundred years. How did he know? No one knew! Only his master knew! Before he could ask his question, the Ancient turned back to the fire.
"I have much to tell you young man. Please sit."
~*~
Minako had remained silent about her encounter with Anubis and the Ancient that day. When she had arrived back she received a rather harsh scolding from the Ronins that had woken up to find their new comrade missing. She had quickly lied and said she was in a tire swing near the edge of the mansions' property and lost track of time. Fortunately, the Ronins bought it but she could tell from the look in Makoto's eyes that her Senshi of Thunder did not.
"Spill." Mako said as she followed her leader up to her bedroom after dinner that night and shut the door behind her.
Minako turned around, startled that Makoto had followed her to her room without her detection. 'Man I must really be slipping today.' She thought to herself.
"What are you talking about?" Minako asked, trying to pretend like nothing was afoot.
She knew she would not win this battle with Makoto. She was very perceptive to her leader's moods and Minako knew she knew she really had no choice but to tell her what was going on. She could at least try to throw her off though couldn't she? It was worth a shot.
"Don't play that dumb crap with me Mina. You were as white as a ghost when you came back here this morning. The Ronins are bunch of boys that don't see through that innocent front you put on but I certainly do. Now spill." Mako said, placing her hands on her hips.
Minako sighed. Yeah, dumb idea to try and throw off Makoto when she had something already in her head. Defeated, the blonde girl flopped down on her bed and pulled a pillow over her face.
"I saw Anubis this morning." She mumbled.
"What was that?" Makoto prodded. "I can't understand you through a pillow you know."
Minako pulled the pillow off her face and glared.
"I said I saw Anubis this morning!" She said in a frantic whisper.
Mako reacted as she thought she might. The taller girl's brow creased and she commenced cracking her knuckles.
"What the hell? Where?! I'll kill him. It's on." Mako said as she reached for the door knob.
"No wait!" Minako shouted as she got up off of her bed and flew to the door to stand in front of it.
Makoto looked at Minako for a moment like she was crazy at the rate that the woman had gone from being on her bed to being firmly stationed between her and the door now. She placed her hands on her hips again.
"And why pray tell should I? The guy tried to kill you yesterday or have you already forgotten?" Makoto shouted. Minako reached up and clamped her hand over the girl's mouth.
"Shut up would you? They're going to hear you if you don't cool it! I'll tell you if you promise not to go off the deep end!" Minako whispered, putting her ear to the door to make sure no one had heard them and had come to check on them.
Makoto narrowed her eyes and effortlessly removed Minako's hand from her face.
"I'll try. Now talk or I'm going to go find myself a Warlord punching bag."
~*~
After a brief discussion, Minako had managed to keep Makoto from going to the temple and making mince meat out of the Warlord of Cruelty. When she had finished telling her every detail, from seeing him fall to her fleeing when he woke up, she slumped back against her pillows. Mako's arms were crossed over her chest as she pondered what her leader had said to her. She was silent for a few moments and her green eyes were shut. Minako was growing restless and was eager to know what her strongest Senshi thought about the situation.
"Well? Would you quit with the silent treatment? You're making me nervous." Minako huffed.
At that, Makoto opened her eyes and gave Minako a dirty look.
"I don't like this Mina. I really don't. But I trust you and that Ancient guy seems pretty reliable as well. I'll back you up on this, but if that guy so much as looks at you the wrong way, I don't care if he's destined to fight on our side one bit. Me and the red head will rumble and I'll leave him in worse shape than that old guy did." Makoto said stiffly.
Minako visibly relaxed upon her friend's answer. At least she had Makoto's help on this.
"Thanks Mako."
The brunette waved her off. "Yeah yeah, you're welcome. But you're telling the Ronins. I'm not helping, and I'm not holding them back when they go ballistic."
Minako made a face, but nodded in agreement. She knew she had to tell them. They were her allies after all. They would more than likely be pissed and go all he-men like and start summoning armor and weapons, but they would have to put it past them. It was their friend the Ancient whom had asked her to help after all!
"I know. I need to go down there and get the guys all together. I need to at least tell them about Anubis' whereabouts."
"That would be the best place to start." Makoto stated.
Minako sighed and looked at her friend with a wearied expression.
"This is going to be a long night."
Makoto nodded and gestured towards the door. Before Minako could even climb off of her bed, the pair heard a commotion downstairs. Minako gave Makoto a concerned look and then jumped up to open the door. She could hear the Ronins shouting about something, and it did not sound like a basketball game. Minako ran down the stairs with Makoto close behind her. When they reached the landing, Makoto looked at the very tense situation before them and snickered. She slapped Minako on the back and grinned.
"Good luck with this one V."
Minako groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead. Anubis was standing in Mia's living room with five angry Ronin Warriors surrounding him. Ami and Michiru were trying to stay out of the way, but Ami had her super computer out, more than likely scanning him for weapons. It was as she feared. They went postal, and Ryo's Wildfire katanas were pressed against Anubis' throat.
"How the hell did you find your way back here Warlord? What have you done with the Ancient One?" Rowen growled.
Anubis narrowed his eyes. He had rarely seen the Ronins unarmed before and even more rarely without their helmets, but he was good with vocal recognition.
"I have no business with you Strata." He spat.
"Your business reasons don't matter to us Anubis. We don't negotiate with traitors to mankind, and you can tell your master that." Sage shouted while donning his sub armor.
"Somebody hold this creep while I finish what I started." He added, his green eyes flashing with anger.
Minako's heart stopped when she realized that Sage was about to summon the armor of Halo and use his Thunder Bolt Cut to finish Anubis. The man may have caused them some undue trials, but he didn't deserve to die!
"Woah! Hold up now Sage! Everyone needs to calm down!" Minako shouted, breaking her silent vigil from the stairs.
All eyes flew to the Sailor Senshi and she instantly felt about an inch tall to them all. She would not yield to them though, no, not when a man's life was in danger.
"We're about to toast this guy Minako!" Cye stated, looking at her in wonder.
"I can see that Cye. Can't you see that he's not even armed? What's the matter with all of you? You don't just go around offing unarmed people!" She said angrily as she made her way over to where the Ronins had backed the Warlord into a corner.
Ryo's eyes grew wide as he realized that Minako was genuinely pissed.
"But Venus, this guy tried to kill you yesterday!" He shouted.
Anubis was good at not showing any form of emotion. This was a trait that had always given him an advantage while serving Talpa. So it was safe to say that he was honestly shocked to be standing there listening to the woman he had tried to eliminate stand there and defend his life. His shock was visible on his face. He hand to hand it to her, she had spirit.
"So how are you any better than Talpa is if you kill this man when he's not even trying to harm you? Is that the true way of the Ronin Warriors? If it is then I want no part of this alliance we've formed." Minako shouted.
She watched as each man visibly deflated. They knew that she was right.
"Let go of him Ryo."
Minako turned to find the source of the new voice in the room. The Ancient stood close to her, his lips drawn into a thin line. His staff hit the wooden floor with a sharp rap that called all of them to attention. Ryo took another bewildered look at Minako and then at Anubis before reluctantly removing his katanas from his throat. Anubis straightened and adjusted his robes, his glossy eyebrows furrowing as he did so.
"Ancient, explain this to us. Why are you defending Anubis?" Cye asked.
"And better yet, why are you defending this jerk?" Kento asked Minako, crossing his arms over his chest.
Minako sighed and waited to let the Ancient explain the situation. They would understand her reasoning better that way. The man swept further into the room and in between Anubis and the rest of the Ronins.
"Anubis comes to you unarmed and without access to his powers. I have stripped him of the armor of Cruelty and therefore he is not a threat to you. You must listen to what I have to say and you must trust me." The Ancient said softly, bowing his head to the floor.
Ryo frowned. "Alright, he's unarmed. Big deal. Why did you bring him here in the first place? Why did you save him even though he tried to kill one of our allies?"
The Ancient lifted his head enough to where the Ronin leader could make out his silver eyes beneath his wide hat.
"Because Ryo of Wildfire, he bears armor that has been split from your own. The Warlord armor is the same as the Ronin armor." He said simply.
A hush came over the room, along with a few gasps from the shocked Ronins. Rowen was the first to get his voice back.
"You can't be serious." Rowen said, confusion written all over his face.
"Ancient, how is this possible? How could our armor be associated with anyone or anything that serves Talpa?" Cye asked.
The Ancient held his arms out in front of him. "Sit. I will explain everything to you."
~*~
When the Ronins finally listened to the Ancient's command and quieted enough to sit around him and listen to his tale, they were shocked to say the least. In ancient Japan, Talpa had come onto the Earth with a massive army in order to bring disarray and death to the world. He was in his body as well, appearing before many people in his full, deadly armor. He destroyed many villages and humans in his effort to take the world as his own. The Ancient had battled him with his staff, turning the golden talisman into a sword and slicing through his back, revealing that he was not human but an evil spirit that was possessing the powerful armor.
When Talpa fell before him, the Ancient took his soul-less body with him to a temple and prayed over it for many hours. He was able to complete a ritual that split the demon armor into nine separate armors to keep Talpa from returning from the Netherworld and regaining his armor. The armors were infused with a different virtue to keep the armor pure and away from Talpa's grasp.
"You are each meant to represent a different Virtue, Ronins. Wildfire is of perfect virtue. Halo is of wisdom. Torrent is of trust. Hardrock is of justice. Strata is of life. And whether or not you wish to believe it, the armors of the Warlords do as well. The Armor of Venom is of piety. The Armor of Illusion is of serenity. The Armor of Darkness is of obedience."
The Ancient paused before turning to look at Anubis. All eyes followed his gaze to the master of cruelty.
"And the Armor of Cruelty is of loyalty."
The Ronins looked completely dazed at the information that they had just received. Minako too, was shocked at the revelation. The Warlords wore armor that was meant for peace but used it for evil? How could something like this have happened?
"Before the other four armors became tainted they held different names as well. The each stood for a season."
"Well if our armor is meant for goodness now, then how did Anubis and the other Warlords turn to evil?" Kento asked, concerned about the fact that his armor was split from the same whole as the Dynasty generals.
This question was also on the mind of Anubis. He had heard this story earlier in the day but he had yet to find an answer as to why he had been so easily turned to Talpa's side. The Ronins stared at him as he stood near the Ancient, but he refused to feel intimidated by their expression and turn his gaze downward. No, he stared them down just as fiercely.
The only person whose expression did not hold contempt for him was that of Venus, whose name he now knew to be Minako. He watched her out of his peripheral vision. She listened to the Ancient's story with interest and a concerned expression. Every now and then her eyes would flicker to him for a moment before returning to the Ancient.
'Why does she keep looking at me?' He thought. It was a little unnerving.
The Ancient turned to Kento and was silent for a moment before answering.
"The armor chooses its master. If the bearer of the armor has been somehow corrupted before he first bears his armor, it will not matter what virtue it is associated with. The armor will become tainted." He said grimly.
Kento narrowed his eyes at Anubis as he listened to this brief explanation.
"See, then how do we know that this guy is for real? How do we know he won't turn on us? He was corrupt before he gained his armor!" Kento spat.
"Anubis was corrupted by war and strife in his age. He was made to be a hardened man by his many battles and was easily seduced into Talpa's army. He thought he could vanquish his village's enemies by joining up in his ranks. Once he was taken into the Dynasty, he was corrupted completely."
"But why did Talpa choose him in the first place? How did he know that Anubis would wear the Armor of Cruelty?" Cye asked.
The Ancient looked to Anubis with a grim expression.
"To the average onlooker, you simply appear to be mere men when you are in battle. You do not even notice at times that your Ronin virtues shine from your bodies. You are each marked with this symbol and it can be seen upon your foreheads when you do not have your helmets on. Anubis is marked with the kanji of Loyalty and Talpa saw this before I had the chance to reach him." The Ancient stated before closing his silver eyes with a pained expression.
"Sort of like we Senshi, right? The way we discovered each other was when we reached our power peak without being transformed. The symbols of our planets appeared upon our foreheads. You can see Sailor Moon's constantly when she is transformed because she is the Moon Princess. She bears a crescent moon on her forehead where our tiaras lay." Michiru added.
The Ancient nodded to Michiru.
"Exactly. If your Guardians had not found you before the enemy did, you may have been captured and brainwashed to work for Queen Beryl. I failed as a guardian to Anubis."
Anubis was astonished. Talpa did not want him for his skill and cunning. He wanted his armor all along! Talpa knew before he did himself that he was blessed with the Armor of Cruelty! Had he been lied to all of this time? How could have been so stupid?
Minako saw Anubis' expression when he had been told that he had been used. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked so defeated and duped. It was unlikely that Anubis fell for people's schemes. He was too brilliant of a man and too skilled of a fighter.
"So the Warlords are really Ronin Warriors that were captured and corrupted before they discovered their armor?" Rowen asked.
No one breathed in the room when the Monk nodded. Anubis' eyes grew wide. He had been born on this earth to be a Ronin Warrior. And he had served Master Talpa so diligently, thinking that his master had been the one who had blessed him with his armor. It had belonged to him since the Ancient split the armors! It had been his all along! He could not take the eyes that bore into him from all of the shocked and speculative Ronins. This was too much. He felt as if everything he had ever known was crashing around his feet. Trying to keep his dignity, he turned to the Ancient.
"I wish to return to the temple. I need to think. Please." He said quickly. The Ancient nodded before waving his staff and allowing Anubis to disappear from the room.
TBC