Thanks for the great reviews everyone and thanks for just reading this in general. I've made a schedule to try to update twice a week at least since my classes have been boring which means more time to write! Now here's the information about this story and the future others. I've decided to split this story and the sequel into four parts. The first strory, which is this one, will be the Nene arc. The second story after this will be the Kai arc, the third story after that will be the Rikaru and Zola adventure arc and the last story after that one will be the Dark Visions of Fate arc. So now that all that has been covered, enjoy chapter two!
"Are you two okay?" Zola asked and the two young girls nodded.
"Thanks to Rikaru." Kluke said and Rikaru shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "Oh Rikaru, this is Shu, Jiro, Marumaro and Zola."
"He has a shadow too." Bouquet said and Rikaru growled slightly. It sounded like she was introducing a new pet and Jiro looked at him suspiciously. "Can he come with us?"
"Bouquet, we can't just take anyone along with us. We don't even know if he's strong enough to help us beat Nene." Jiro said and Rikaru narrowed his eyes.
"What makes you think that I'm weak? I highly doubt your shadow can even land one hit on mine." Jiro glared at him and Rikaru raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Fine. We'll see who's shadow is stronger." Shu raced over to them.
"I wanna see how strong he is too." Shu said and Kluke facepalmed.
"Boys." Kluke said shaking her head in annoyance.
"Why are you two trying to pick a fight?" Bouquet asked.
"That's Jiro and Shu for ya maro." Marumaro said and Rikaru smirked.
"Very well then." Rikaru said and he summoned his shadow, Winter Wolf. Jiro summoned Minotaur and Shu summoned Blue Dragon.
"Is this okay Zola?" Kluke asked and Zola sighed.
"Shu and Jiro are both very stubborn. Plus we're not really in a hurry." Zola said and Rikaru folded his arms.
"I'll gladly take both of you on at the same time." Rikaru said and Minotaur looked at Jiro.
"So, why are we fighting this guy again?" Minotaur asked and Blue Dragon snorted.
"Who cares why. I get to fight a strong opponent." Blue Dragon said while cracking his knuckles.
"Sir, your orders?" Winter Wolf asked.
"Don't hurt their shadows too much. Think of this as part one of their 'training'." Rikaru said and Winter Wolf nodded.
"Waves of Rage!" Jiro shouted and Minotaur unleashed his attack. Winter Wolf turned his left arm into a large block of ice and blocked all of Minotaur's swift punches.
"Ice huh, then we'll do this Blue Dragon. Fire Crisis!" Blue Dragon shot his attack at Winter Wolf. The wolf shadow's right arm turned into the same block of ice as his left and he blocked the stream of blue flames. When both Minotaur and Blue Dragon stopped their attacks they saw the left ice block had small cracks on it while the right ice block had a bit of a melted look. Rikaru gave Winter Wolf a bit more power and both ice blocks regenerated.
"I thought at least Blue Dragon's Fire Crisis attack would've been strong enough to completely destroy that block of ice maro." Marumaro said.
"Since elemental rules still apply then it should've but his shadow's ability to command ice must be resilient enough to withstand it." Zola said. "Rikaru's shadow is indeed strong."
"Not bad you two. Your shadows were strong enough to damage Winter Wolf's ice which is very uncommon. Now, I shall display Winter Wolf's attack power." Rikaru said and Winter Wolf's arms returned to normal.
"We're not done yet! Crushing Nail!" Blue Dragon's hands turned into long glowing light blue blades. Winter Wolf lunged forward with great speed and grabbed Blue Dragon's wrists.
"Oh no you don't." Jiro said and Minotaur raced towards Winter Wolf.
"I'll reverse that saying right back at you. Arctic Breath!" Rikaru said and thick icy steam started pouring out of Winter Wolf's mouth, even though it was closed. He turned his head towards Minotaur and opened his mouth. A large blast of snow and frost shot towards Minotaur and hit him. When the fog cleared, Minotaur was frozen solid and everyone looked at the frozen shadow shocked.
"You're next Blue Dragon." Winter Wolf said and he opened his mouth to shoot the same attack at him. Before the attack finished charging, Killer Bat appeared and placed his sword between the other two shadows.
"That's enough." Zola said and Winter Wolf glanced at her.
"Alright Winter Wolf, we're done here so unfreeze Minotaur." Rikaru said and Winter Wolf nodded. He let go of Blue Dragon's wrists and moved over to the frozen Minotaur. He placed is paw on his head and the ice melted away.
"We're not doing that again." Minotaur said and all four shadows disappeared.
"So can Rikaru join us now?" Bouquet asked and everyone looked at Zola.
"It's fine with me if Rikaru's okay with it." Zola said and Rikaru shrugged.
"I'm not on any missions right now so I'm okay with it." Shu walked over to Rikaru.
"That was awesome! Can you train with us?" Shu asked with an excited look in his eyes. Rikaru stared at him for a moment before sighing.
"Sure Shu, whatever you want." Rikaru said and Shu pumped his fist in the air in happiness. The werewolf took a deep breath to calm himself when he saw Zola walk over to him.
"Good to have you on the team." Zola said and they shook hands. Rikaru frowned when he felt a very slight tingling sensation shoot up his arm and spread throughout his body. It felt like a very small jolt of electricity and Rikaru pulled his hand away. Zola noticed that his hands have sharp claws and she watched him put his hands in his leather hoodie pockets.
"Where are you guys headed?"
"We're going to the Flame Phoenix ruins and Homeron is looking for the Extra Seven for us." Shu said.
"Yeah Homeron would be the best choice to find something like the Extra Seven." Rikaru said.
"You know Homeron?" Kluke asked and Rikaru shook his head.
"I've never met the guy but a friend of mine knows him. He owns a large flying ship that's also a store and Homeron goes to him for the latest gadgets."
"So where's this friend of yours maro?" Rikaru shrugged.
"Who knows. He doesn't stay in one place for long so I have no idea where he is."
"Well, let's move out everyone." Zola said and they all started walking.
Meanwhile...
"Lord Nene, we've received word about Rikaru and his mission." a soldier said.
"Has he joined up with Zola's group?" Nene asked and the soldier nodded.
"Yes sir. They're currently headed to the Phoenix ruins." Nene smirked.
"I wonder what they're trying to do."
"Wonder! Wonder!" Deathroy mimicked.
"Sir, are you not concerned with what they're trying to do?" the soldier asked and Nene shook his head.
"Not really. Rikaru will send word on what they're up to so nothing they do will be a surprise to me."
Back with the others...
"Here we are." Zola said as they approached the Phoenix ruins.
"Wow." Bouquet said and they started to walk inside, except Rikaru.
"Aren't you coming?" Kluke asked and Rikaru shook his head.
"I'll stand guard out here." Rikaru said and the others looked at him.
"Why? Are you afraid of the dark?" Shu asked grinning and Rikaru snorted.
"Please, the darkness isn't something to be afraid of." Rikaru looked away. "Let's just say that I have my reason."
"Okay maro." Marumaro said shrugging and the others walked inside.
'A werewolf in my situation has no right to enter a sacred place like those ruins.' Rikaru thought as he gazed up at the clouds. His werewolf ears appeared under his hood and twitched. He looked over to where the sound was coming from and he narrowed his eyes.
Inside the ruins...
"Hey Zola, does Rikaru seem to act a bit odd to you?" Kluke asked and Zola looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Zola asked.
"Well, I just get the feeling that he's hiding something from us." Zola nodded.
"That's because he is." Kluke looked up at Zola surprised.
"He is?" Zola folded her arms.
"I suspect that he's hiding his true race."
"So that means..."
"Yes, Rikaru's hiding the fact that he's not human." Kluke looked at Zola shocked.
"How did you figure that out?"
"When I shook his hand earlier today, I noticed that he has claws." Zola said. "Now what human do you know have claws?"
"So if he's not human then...what is he?"
"I'm not sure but I do plan on finding out." Zola unfolded her arms. "For now let's just take a look around."
"Alright." Kluke said and she started walking around.
Outside...
"Hurry and get inside!" Rikaru shouted and the Jibral soldiers ran towards the ice shelter that Winter Wolf made.
"Sir, there are a lot of them." Winter Wolf said and Rikaru smirked.
"Really Winter Wolf? After all the training we went through with Lord Nene, you're seriously going to complain about their numbers?" Rikaru asked and Winter Wolf remained silent. "No matter how many there are, they're still weak. Compared to the battles we've been through together, these guys don't even come within an inch of being a threat."
"You're right." Winter Wolf cracked his knuckles. Then Shu and the others hurried over.
"What's going on Rikaru?" Shu asked.
"Oh nothing much. Just some Gran Kingdom soldiers and their fake shadows harrassing some leftover Jibral soldiers." Rikaru said shrugging.
"You make it sound like they're not a threat." Zola said amused.
"They were a small bit when it was just Winter Wolf and I but now that you guys have shown up, their threat level instantly just flew out the window." Kluke giggled and Rikaru looked at her. He noticed that she was wearing a new necklace with a crystal in the shape of a feather. "I'm guessing those ruins were for you Kluke?"
"Yep." Kluke said fingering her necklace.
"Now let's help these soldiers." Shu said as he, Zola, Jiro and Marumaro summoned their shadows. The Jibral soldiers looked on in awe as the shadow wielders took down the Gran Kingdom soldiers. Then a giant robot started heading towards them with large arm cannons.
"Wow, something that may be an actual challenge." Rikaru said and Kluke held out her hand in front of him.
"I'll take care of this." Kluke said. Rikaru saw the determined look in her eyes and sighed.
"Fine with me." Kluke stood in front of the ice cave where the Jibral soldiers were and she summoned her shadow, Phoenix. The twin beams that the robot shot out suddenly hit a large barrier that Phoenix put up.
"Now Shu!" Kluke shouted.
"Fire Crisis!" Blue Dragon shot his attack and it destroyed the giant robot.
"You know what? I take that comment back." Rikaru said and Shu, Bouquet and Marumaro laughed. The ice cave melted away and they waved the Jibral soldiers off.
"I'm glad they're all safe." Bouquet said.
"Yeah." Rikaru said and Zola looked at him. She narrowed her eyes as he continued talking to Bouquet, Kluke and Shu.
'What exactly are you?'
Well there's chapter two everyone so now I'm off to play City of Heroes. Read and Review!