ZK Chromedragozoid: I was inspired to write this once I finished watching Ai Yori Aoshi. I just couldn't help myself. Pls, enjoy this preview. Once I rewatch the series I can make a better version, OK?

The young man was in his early twenties, probably a college student, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Standing before him was a creature. Its body was covered in chains and metal balls. It had muscles that looked like they were either dead flesh or metal plated. Its face was covered in an obsidian black mask that had white teeth and beady yellow eyes. Chains came from the mask and were bolted into the skin of the head. Unafraid, the young man took out a strange dagger and it was revealed that he was wearing a strange belt with a circular buckle and a crescent moon on it.

With a cry of, "Henshin!" the young man slid the blade of the ceremonial dagger into a slot on the right side of the buckle, causing the crescent moon to glow and release a brilliant shine.

The image of the young man could be seen, but it was all black. Around the white orb, silver sections of armor appeared in the air. All the pieces looked like they belonged on the body of a samurai. Even more brilliant, the pieces appeared to be made of silver that was almost reflective, but as bright as the moon. As the light began to die down, the armor began attaching to the figure in the orb.

As the light cleared, the true form of the figure could be seen. He was covered by a black bodysuit which left no flesh to be seen. The torso was covered with silver armor that had wolf designs on the sides. His shoulders were covered with silver wolf heads while his forearms were covered with silver gauntlets which covered his hands. Around his waist was his belt which he had been wearing before. His legs were covered with silver boots that depicted crescent moons near the knees. His face was shielded by a helmet that had a samurai design to it. His eye pieces were perfectly rounded and a deep sapphire blue. His mouthplate was plain, but looked like it had wolf fangs etched on the sides.

The strange creature growled angrily as it eyed the new form of its opponent. It felt an ancient power coming from this human. A power that it did not like at all.

"I am the outcast who wields the blade of the moon and shall cut down all evil," the man spoke. "Ore wa Ronin! Kenzan!"

AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN

"Aoi-chan! Aoi-chan!" Kaoru cried, watching as the pretty young woman slowly came to consciousness. "Aoi-chan! Are you okay?"

"Kaoru…sama?" Aoi breathed as she slowly began to get up. As she got to her feet, her eyes widened and she gasped in fear. "Kaoru-sama! Where is that monster? How did you change into that armor? What is going on?!"

"Aoi-chan, calm down!" Kaoru spoke, silencing his hopeful fiancée. "It's okay. There's no monster and I didn't change into armor. Are you sure it wasn't a dream?"

"No!" Aoi cried. "I know it wasn't a dream! I know what I saw!"

"Aoi…" Kaoru grimaced. How was he going to get out of this? He was sure that he was in the clear when Aoi fainted. That way he could claim that all she had seen was a simple dream. She obviously wasn't buying it.

"Kaoru-sama!" Aoi cried out. She was getting more hysterical. "What was that monster? How were you able to defeat it?" Tears were beginning to leak into her eyes.

"Uh…that's…a long story," Kaoru sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Looking back at the ashes which used to be a Spirit, he then looked back at Aoi. "Could we talk about this back in the apartment?"

"Of course," Aoi nodded. "But I wish to know what is going on!"

"And I'll tell you!" Kaotu insisted. "I promise!"

Relocating back to Kaoru's room, Aoi sat at his table with a cup of green tea in front of her. She was visibly shaking, but trying very hard not to let what she saw get to her. She wanted to get answers and going into hysteria probably wouldn't help her get them.

"It…happened three months ago," Kaoru began.

-FLASHBACK-

Kaoru was heading back home after his classes at school ended for the day. He had to stay behind to ask some questions of the teacher, but he didn't think he was running too late. Still, he had forgotten that the days were shorter this time of year. The sun was already setting and he wanted to get back quickly.

"Man," he sighed. "It's getting cold way too fast."

Little did he know that the cold was soon to be the last thing on his mind.

BOOM!

"Wagh!" Kaoru cried as the wall ahead of him seemed to explode.

Dashing away from the explosion site, Kaoru looked to see just what the heck had happened. What he saw was a dirty metallic figure rising from an indent in the wall opposite of the one that had somehow blown up.

The figure was donned in a black bodysuit which had silver armor on it with a wolf motif. He had dust covering his body, indicating that he indeed had been the one who that had been sent hurling through the wall in the first place.

"Hhhssssssss!" a downright evil noise hissed from the hole in the wall.

Daring to look, Kaoru fought down the urge to wet himself. He was looking at a monster! It looked like it had a humanoid form, but it also looked like it was a living cache of firearms! Its torso was a black color, but the bronze pullets that were poking out made it look dangerous. Its arms weren't actually arms, but a sick mesh between flesh and assault rifle. Its legs were robotic looking, but there was the odd bit of flesh poking out. Its feet were pure metal with only two toes a foot. Its face was the oddest. It was covered by a mask with holes for a mouth and a yellow slit for eyes. It looked like it had survived a gun fight since there were dents and black scorch marks all over it.

"Ugh," the silver warrior groaned as he pulled himself out of the wall "It will take more than that to get rid of me!"

"Hraaaaahh!" the monster shrieked before it aimed its arms at the warrior.

Kaoru covered his ears as the gun arms unleaded their salvo at the silver target. Amazingly, the silver warrior managed to dash to the side, avoiding the damage. Racing closer to the creature, the silver warrior reached to his belt and grabbed what looked like a dagger's hilt. Yanking it, there was a bright flash before the warrior held up a gorgeously polished katana that was as silver as his armor.

"HIYAAHHH!" the man roared as he slashed at the monster.

A wet slicing noise echoed in the air before the monster roared in pain. Kaoru's face went pale as the arm of the monster went flying through the air. Black fluid oozed like tar from the wound as the monster backpedaled into the street. The silver warrior came to a stop as he stared at the creature.

"You die today, beast," the silver warrior spoke as he raised his sword again.

The monster shuddered as it tried to keep away from the silver warrior. It seemed to be looking around for some kind of escape, anything to save its life. Kaoru thought his heart stopped when its visor landed on him.

"Skreee!" the monster screeched as it took aim at him.

"AHHHH!!" Kaoru cried in terror.

"NO!" the silver warrior roared.

RATTA-TATTA-TATTA

Kaoru closed his eyes, expecting to be dead. He could hear the sound of bullets firing and the sensation of warm blood falling on his body. Strangely, he couldn't feel any pain of the bullets entering his body. Daring to look, he found that he was indeed covered in blood, but none of it was his. Looking up, his eyes widened as he saw the blood was running out of the holes in the silver warrior's armour.

"Huh?!" Kaoru gasped.

"So…this is…my last fight," the silver warrior groaned. "In that case…Tsukuyomi…would you…fight by my side…one last time?"

A silver light sparkled in his free hand. It shone for a moment before a round white gemstone appeared in his hand. It looked to be made of crystal and had a kanji for 'Moon' in the very centre.

Bringing the stone to the hilt of his sword, the silver warrior opened a chamber in the hilt. He then popped the stone inside before shutting it again. The blade of the sword began to glow brightly before it flashed. The blade had vanished, but in its place was a large blade which wouldn't be out of place in Final Fantasy 7. The blade had deep grooves carved in it, but those quickly filled with white light.

Taking his enlarged blade, the silver warrior spun it counter-clockwise in a large circle. A light shone from the tip of the blade, making the circle appear in the air. The silver warrior then gripped his blade in both hands as his blue eyepieces began to glow white. Positioning himself to strike, his armor began to glow like his eyes.

"TSUKUYOMI!"

The silver warrior became a blur of silver light as he dashed forward. His sword was raised high and ready to strike. The monster fired more rounds at the warrior, but the projectiles were being steered away from the incoming strike. Kaoru could only blink before the silver warrior had moved past and swiped downward with his blade.

"RAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the monster shrieked. A straight line of white energy split it right down the middle. Before Kaoru's shocked and terrified eyes, the monster exploded in a haze of white light. For a moment, Kaoru couldn't see, but the white light quickly compacted itself into the kanji for 'Seal' before fading from sight.

"Woah," Kaoru gaped before his eyes landed on the silver warrior, who was laying in a pool of blood on the ground. "Hey! Are you okay?"

He dashed over to the silver warrior and lifted him up, despite the blood coating his hands.

"Hey! Wake up!" Kaoru shouted. "You gotta get up!"

"I won't be making another step," the silver warrior wheezed. "Those bullets shot my torso into pulp. I'm not going to live."

"No!" Kaoru cried. "You can't die! You saved my life! I have to repay you somehow!"

The silver warrior turned his gaze into Kaoru's eyes. His breathing was becoming even shallower. Gripping his katana, he raised it up. Kaoru gasped as he reached up to the handle of the blade.

"Boy," he wheezed. "What you saw was called a Spirit. A beast born of an evil soul compiled with negative emotions. They live to kill everything in their path. It was my duty to destroy them wherever I find them."

"But…but what do you want me to do?" Kaoru asked, incredibly confused.

"I want you…to take my place," the warrior gasped.

"Huh?!" Kaoru gaped. Was this guy serious? Kaoru was no way a fighter. He was just a college student with practically no family who was struggling to live. There was no way he could fight monsters!

"You are the…only one I can ask," the man breathed, his breath getting shallower.

"I," Kaoru gulped before he took the sword. "I accept."

"Thank…you," the silver warrior gasped before he slumped back.

Kaoru shivered at the sight of the newly dead body. Gently placing the man on the ground again, he gasped when the armor began to glow. Stepping back, he watched as the body became pure white energy. Kaoru watched, mesmerized, as the white energy rose into the air and flew off into the night, guided by the bright moon.

"I will do this," Kaoru spoke. "I swear."

-END FLASHBACK-

"And that is how it began," Kaoru sighed. "Ever since then I've been fighting Spirits. I just never realized how many of them there are."

"Kaoru-sama," Aoi breathed softly. The story sounded both tragic and amazing. "So…your predecessor entrusted you with this duty?"

"It didn't look like he had much of a choice," Kaoru confessed. "It's my fault he died so it was the least I could do."

"Kaoru-sama…" She felt sympathetic for him. He blamed himself for the warrior's death.

"It wasn't easy when I first started out since I only had the dagger," Kaoru said and then he showed the blade to Aoi. "I didn't have anybody to guide me so I learnt with every fight since then." He chuckled but there was no humour in it. "By all means I should be dead by now." He felt her hands on his. "Aoi-chan?"

"Kaoru-sama, you've been suffering a lot, haven't you?" she asked him. "You've fought these Spirits and managed to survive. Despite the dangers, you never give up in order to protect people."

"The one who gave me this power gave his life to protect me," Kaoru said logically. "It's the honorable thing to do."

More and more, Aoi was falling even more deeply in love with the boy in front of her. So what if he wasn't a member of the Hanabishi clan anymore? It didn't matter to her. She would love him even if he was just a commoner.

"So, tell me about your first battle and victory," she requested. "I wish to learn more about you as you learn about me."

For some reason, Kaoru couldn't refuse. "Alright…"

"But, let me tend to your injuries," she offered.

"Injuries?" Kaoru blinked. Aoi pointed at his shoulder where the Chain Spirit had struck him as he took a blow aimed at Aoi. A spot of blood was visible and it was slowly getting bigger. "Oh, gomen. Sometimes I don't even notice that I got hurt until a while after I finish a fight."

"It still looks serious, Kaoru-sama!" Aoi cried. "Get this shirt off so I can treat it!"

Kaoru gulped, but before he could protest, Aoi already had his shirt off and thrown to the side. She had dashed to the cupboards and was searching for some first aid. As she was doing so, Kaoru looked at the wound. It looked like it went in a fair distance, but not too deep to be deadly.

"Found it!" Aoi called as she turned with a smile. As she took in Kaoru's shirtless form, she paled and gasped. "Kaoru-sama!"

Kaoru knew what Aoi was so shocked about. Besides the wound on his shoulder, there were round and jagged scars on his torso. They were pale, but visible. These scars didn't bother Kaoru. He was proud to have them. They were his badges of honor as he overcame the evil Spirits and saved lives. His shame was the scars on his back.

"I've gotten into a few scrapes, Aoi-chan," he told her. "These scars are proof of the battles I've been in."

"Oh," she nodded and then knelt down to tend to his most recent injury. "This may sting a little."

"I have a large tolerance for pain," he told her. She started to clean the wound and he winced a little.

"Gomen," she apologized.

"It's ok," he told her. "Just keep going."

As she continued, she asked, "So…how many Spirits have you defeated?"

"In the last three months? I've lost count, really. But I will always remember my first battle."

"What was that like?" she asked as she applied some antiseptic.

"It was a week after I got the dagger and well I wasn't sure what to do with it…"

FLASHBACK…

Kaoru was feeling depressed for most of the week since his amazing experience. He was awake for a whole night wondering if what he had experienced was real. His memories said it was, and the sword he kept said the same, even if it changed into a small silver dagger for some reason. Still, none of that was driven home until the news the next morning said that there was some kind of incident in the area last night and police believed a murder was involved. When Kaoru saw the battle area on the television, he thought his heart had stopped.

Eventually, looking for some kind of sign on what he should do, Kaoru journeyed to the local shrine, hoping some divine guidance could help him. It was really the only way he could ask for help. It wasn't like there were any experts out there who knew what was going on.

Ascending the stone stairs, Kaoru stepped up to the shrine. It was about midday so no one was at the shrine at the moment. Not even the temple keepers, which was a little odd, but Kaoru disregarded it. His problem needed some attention. Tossing some change into the offering box, Kaoru rang the bell and placed his hands together.

"Kami-sama," Kaoru spoke. "I wish for…guidance I suppose. I have been placed in a situation I see no clear way of getting out of. I wish I knew what to do."

Taking his hands apart, he suddenly remembered something and placed them back together, "Oh, and I hope the silver warrior can find peace in the next life for the valiant deeds he did in this one."

Satisfied with what he had come to do, Kaoru slipped his hands into his pockets and began to head away from the shrine. He had made his plea to the gods and hopefully, he would get an answer.

"Help me!" a voice cried in terror.

Stopping suddenly and turning to the source of the sound, Kaoru saw one of the two groundskeepers running from where the memorials were placed with his shirt torn and blood leaking from his shoulder.

"Hey!" Kaoru cried as he ran up to the man. "What's going on? What happened?"

"A monster!" the man cried in hysteria. "A monster came out of the ground! It just came up and started attacking me! I'm lucky to be alive!"

A loud shriek came from the memorial stones, causing the man to scream and run away. Looking to the stones, Kaoru's jaw dropped when he saw the monster in question.

It had a humanoid appearance, but that was all it had on common with humans. Its body looked like it was covered with a layer of dirt and was nothing but skin and bones. Its hands were missing and instead it had large rusted shovel heads for hands. Roots and dead leaves hung from its back while a chipped memorial stone was in the centre of its chest. Its feet were covered in dirty rock that scraped across the cobblestone. While he wasn't sure, Kaoru could swear he saw shovel heads running down its back like a stegosaurus would with plates. Its face was odd. It was covered with a blood red mask that had black tears running down from the black eyeholes. Its mouth looked like it was on a hinge and could open up at any moment.

"Not another one!" Kaoru cried out. "RUN AWAY!!"

"HROOOO!" the Shovel Spirit groaned before it rolled into a ball. Suddenly spinning, the Spirit rolled right past Kaoru and stopped in front of him before unrolling himself. Turning to face the terrified young man the Shovel Spirit reached up and made a slitting motion near its neck before pointing at Kaoru.

"Oh man," Kaoru gulped. There was no mistaking its intentions. It wanted to kill him!

Backing away from the Shovel Spirit, Kaoru felt something in his pocket grow hot. Fumbling in his pocket in the hopes that the hot object would help him, Kaoru pulled out the silver dagger.

"What is this?" he gasped.

The blade of the dagger began to glow brightly and Kaoru felt something happening. An orb of light floated from the dagger and rested on the middle of his waist. To his surprise, the orb changed into an oddly decorated buckle with a slit in the right side. Kaoru blinked in confusion at what happened, but cried out in shock when a black belt wrapped around his waist, securing the object.

"What…what?" Kaoru gaped, growing even more terrified.

As if it had a mind of its own, the dagger jerked from Kaoru's hand and hovered in the air. A cold sweat broke out on his face as he eyed the point which was aimed right at him. He screamed loudly when the hovering weapon lunged at him. However, instead of digging into his flesh, the dagger slipped into the slot on the right side of the belt.

Kaoru felt himself engulfed in a large orb of light. He could feel something covering his body before orbs of light surrounded the largest orb. To his surprise, the orbs turned out to be pieces of silver armor. Armor that he recalled the silver warrior to had worn. The armor flew towards his body and placed itself on him appropriately before the orb surrounding him finally vanished.

"What…what happened to me?" Kaoru gasped as he grabbed his head, feeling the helmet covering it. "Why am I wearing this?"

The Shovel Spirit tilted its head to the side, curious and confused, before it let loose a roar and lunged at the newly armored Kaoru. The young man rolled out of the way, still perplexed as to why he had the armor when he recalled the silver warrior's last words.

"He wanted me to take his place…" Kaoru remembered. He was alive to continue the man's work and he was going to do it…even if he wasn't sure what exactly he had to do.

The Shovel Spirit slammed its shovel hands down on Kaoru and he leapt into the air. He'd jumped higher than any normal human so he guessed that the armor gave him more than just protection. He decided to see if it increased his strength.

WHAM!

Kaoru drove a kick right into the Shovel Spirit's masked face and sent it skidding backwards with incredible force. He landed in a crouch, feeling a little winded but also excited.

The Shovel Spirit got back to its feet and lunged at Kaoru, striking at him with its shark shovel hands. He dodged each of the strikes fluidly and without breaking a sweat. He grew cocky and hurled a punch at its chest but it blocked him with one of the shovels and then swung upwards, slashing him in the chest. Sparks flew as Kaoru flew threw the air and slammed against a tree. He groaned and placed a hand where the shovel had struck.

"Shit…" he cursed. He'd gotten cocky and nearly paid for it with his life. "I need a weapon."

Remembering the dagger in his belt, he grabbed the handle as he stood up, "A dagger is better than nothing at all."

Pulling on the handle, he felt the blade come out as swiftly as it had gone in. What happened differently was that the blade had begun to shine as it was pulled out. When Kaoru had finally gotten it free, it wasn't a dagger anymore. It was full-length katana!

"Woah!" Kaoru gasped.

"Hyooooo!" the Shovel Spirit moaned, catching Kaoru's attention again.

Gripping the sword tightly, Kaoru charged at the Shovel Spirit with his weapon raised for a strike. As he got closer, the Shovel Spirit began attacking with its shovel hands again. Kaoru kept back a little, since he didn't want to get hit again. The problem was that he couldn't see much of an opening for an attack. If the Shovel Spirit kept going, he was going to back Kaoru into a corner.

"Come on, come on!" Kaoru grimaced as he gripped his sword. "Come on!"

Almost as in answer to his prayers, the Shovel Spirit raised its arm for an overhead strike, leaving its torso open for an attack. Lunging forward, Kaoru stabbed his sword forward, letting the metal dig into the Shovel Spirit's flesh.

"HYREEEEEE!!" the wounded Spirit screeched.

Kaoru was pretty sure he got it in the heart, but the way it was trill thrashing and screeching made him doubt that. Pushing forward, the Shovel Spirit stumbled backwards to avoid having the sword burrow deeper into its flesh. Kaoru kept the pressure on, hoping to run it through and end it.

Both warriors finally stopped when Kaoru finally pushed the Shovel Spirit up against a tree. There was a squelching noise before Kaoru stumbled forward, his blade being buried up to the hilt in the Spirit's body. The Spirit in question shrieked and bellowed in pain. It hadn't even considering attacking Kaoru because of the pain.

Kaoru was breathing heavily, but he knew he had a job to finish. Gripping the handle of his sword, he pulled it out of the Spirit, much to its painful chagrin. The black blood didn't even seem to stick to the blade as it dripped off. The Shovel Spirit attempted to stem the bleeding, but Kaoru was already planning his attack.

"Just go AWAY!" Kaoru cried as he unleashed a horizontal slash which cut into the Spirit's midsection.

Ashe finished the arc of his slash, the Shovel Spirit stopped moving. At first Kaoru thought he had missed, but a creaking noise alerted him otherwise. Looking up, his eyes bulged as the moderately sized tree which the spirit had been pressed against fell to the ground in a large crash. After another moment, the Shovel Spirit began to unleash a line of silver light from its midsection. As the top half of the Spirit began to finally fall off, it exploded in a haze of white light. The light then converged on itself to make the kanji for 'Seal' and then faded away. There was no trace of the Spirit left behind.

Stumbling backwards, Kaoru dropped to his knees and dropped his sword. As it came to a rest on the ground, it flashed white and became a dagger again. The same happened to his armor, letting Kaoru return to normal. However, there was a line of red appearing on his shirt, indicating an injury.

"Oh man," Kaoru groaned tiredly.

-END FLASHBACK-

"And that was my first battle," Kaoru sighed before he winced from another tug at his tight bandages.

"Gomen," Aoi apologized, seeing the discomfort she was causing her love.

"Don't be," Kaoru smiled. "You're helping me heal."

Aoi smiled happily with a small flush on her face, "Still, that was very brave of you Kaoru-sama. Not everyone would face such a monster."

Kaoru gulped when he saw the way she was looking at him. She'd been love struck before but now it had gone up a level after he'd told her about one of his past exploits. A blush crept onto his cheeks as he gazed into her eyes. "Aoi-chan…"

"Kaoru-sama," Aoi sighed.

Both young adults gazed into each others' eyes with various emotions. For Aoi, it was her love already growing deeper at learning so much about the man she intended to marry. For Kaoru, it was shock at how much this woman seemed to care about him. The shock was mixed with some fear, never having a girl care about him like this before.

"Aoi-chan," Kaoru gulped. "I…I…"

Attempting to get up, Kaoru knew he needed to get some air or else he might end up actually kissing Aoi on the first night they met. While the thought itself wasn't anywhere near undesirable, he didn't want to take advantage of the love struck girl. Unfortunately, he forgot that she was still holding the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulder. Sadly, Aoi in her love-struck daze, forgot that she was holding onto said bandages.

"OOOOOWW!" Kaoru cried as the bandages stuck to his wound were suddenly tugged free. Quickly losing his balance to pain, he began to fall forward.

"Oh!" Aoi gasped before her fiancé's heavy weight came crashing down on her.

Kaoru groaned as he felt the tabbing pain in his shoulder return. It seemed like his luck was always on a roller coaster like this. His only consolation wad that he had landed on something soft.

'What did I land on?' Kaoru pondered as he placed his hands on either side of his head and pressed slightly.

MOOSH, MOOSH

Lifting himself up, Kaoru thought his heart stopped again. He found himself looking at Aoi's crimson face while his hands were planted firmly on her breast. Naturally, she began to have a reaction at the sudden invasion of her personal space.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Aoi screamed. All of a sudden, the door was thrown open and a mauve haired woman entered with a panicked expression on her face.

"AOI-SAMA!" she shouted as she looked all around the room before she gawked at the spectacle happening in the centre of the room. A shirtless man was on top of her Aoi-sama and molesting her. The woman's face instantly transformed into a portrait of feminine fury. "YOU BEAST!"

"Chotto! Chotto!" Kaoru exclaimed, trying to explain himself, but he was kicked right across the room.

"Aoi-sama!" the woman cried as she helped Aoi up. "Are you alright?"

Kaoru groaned as he rubbed his head fro where it had hit the wall. As if he hadn't been injured enough in one night? First a Spirit and now some gung-ho woman who came out of no where wanted a piece of him. Some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed. Granted though, it did look like he was doing something inappropriate to Aoi. What kind of real woman wouldn't react to that?

-A WEEK LATER-

"So, this is where he lives?" the man said as he looked at the Sakuraba Mansion. He sensed movement and looked through the corner of his eye. It was a Spirit coming at him. "Cheh, damned Spirits."

Suddenly, the Spirit froze. All the while, the man had his hand on his sword's hilt. It didn't look like he'd moved. With a click, it was fully sheathed. The Spirit was suddenly cut in half and collapsed before it faded away, making a symbol of 'Seal' before vanishing completely.

"Kaoru Hanabishi…"

Ronin was sent skidding across the street on his back when he suddenly stopped at someone's feet. He looked up to see a man with brown hair pulled into a ponytail, a scar on his cheek and piercing blue eyes. "Cheh," the man said disdainfully, "Are you really supposed to be my brother's successor?"

"Huh?" Ronin responded, confused. The man then walked past Ronin and towards the Spirit. "Wait, it's dangerous!"

"Don't presume I am weak, you outsider!" the man snapped as he reached to the sword at his hip. The Spirit came charging but was sent backwards by a single swipe of the man's katana. "Let me show you how you fight Spirits!" He took out a dagger that was similar to Ronin's and a soon a bright light surrounded his waist to create belt like Ronin's as well, but with a sun on it instead. "Henshin!" He slid the blade of the dagger into a slot on the left of the buckle.

A golden sphere circled the man, leaving a black image of himself. Energy rippled off the sphere like fire. Large licks of the fire flew from the sphere, but quickly solidified into pieces of gold armor which had light reflecting like miniature suns themselves. The gold pieces of armor flew back into the sphere and attached themselves to his body. As the orb vanished, the new figure was revealed.

He was donned in a black bodysuit. His torso was gold with a samurai-esque image that had a sun depicted on them. The shoulder plates looked like lion heads, roaring loudly. His forearms depicted fire and gold gauntlets covered his hands. His legs were covered with golden boots that had suns on the knees. The helmet itself had a samurai look with red circular eyes. Fangs were etched on the smooth mouthplate, but a gold mane was depicted near the back of the helmet.

"Sword of the flames that cuts down the darkness! Ore wa Shogun! Kenzan!"

The Spirit roared and lunged at the new arrival. Panicking, Ronin warned, "Watch out!" The golden clad Shogun merely reached to the sword at his hip and unsheathed it before releasing a horizontal arch of energy which flew at the Spirit, ripping it in half. The Spirit froze as a line of white light appeared right down its middle before it exploded, creating the kanji symbol for 'Seal' before it vanished. Ronin was awed by the amount of power the newcomer had displayed. Even he had trouble with the Spirit.

"So, you're supposed to be my brother's replacement?" Shogun said to Ronin.

"Brother?" Ronin's eyes widened under his helmet. "Masaka…You're…Who are you?"

"The one who will take back what you stole from him!" Shogun then took a sudden swipe at Ronin without warning.

"Woah!" Ronin exclaimed as he blocked the blow with his sword, causing sparks to fly as soon as the blade clashed. Ronin then sidestepped another blow aimed for him before he began to retaliate.

"You're untrained!" Shogun sneered as he dodged a strike, "And you have little experience outside of fighting spirits!" he added as he dodged another strike. "Furthermore, you're using that sword wrong!" He then kicked out with his leg and threw Ronin onto his back. The Wolf Warrior of the Moon grunted when the Lion Warrior of the Sun had him pinned down under his foot, the tip of his blade pointed at his throat. "For the sake of my brother's honor, you must die." He took a few steps back and gripped his blade, raising it up to deal the killing blow.

"NO!" Aoi shouted as she threw herself in between Shogun and Ronin. "Don't you dare kill him!"

"Stand aside, woman!" Shogun warned. "This doesn't concern you!"

"Yes it does! Kaoru-sama is fighting to protect others! Your brother would be upset if you did this!"

Shogun growled, "Don't presume that you know my brother, woman."

"I know that he must've been a great man. He was selfless and fought for the protection of others. He would risk his life for others and gave his life to protect Kaoru-sama. To do this would be insulting to his memory."

"Don't you think I know that!? Saito…Saito was my brother. He was the chosen one and was always better than me! When I heard about what happened, I couldn't believe it! This man stole my brother's legacy and I'm taking it back!"

"Please, I beg of you…don't kill Kaoru-sama!" Tears began to flow from her eyes like a river. As Shogun continued to watch, he began to grow uneasy and uncomfortable. Actually, it was more of a weakness. Shogun, despite the fact that he was a serious swordsman, could NEVER stand the sight of a girl crying and he still couldn't get over it.

"Alright! Alright!" Shogun turned away. "Fine, I'll let him live, for now…" the Lion Warrior of the Sun turned away. "But mark my words, woman, that he will one day die for his lack of experience and fighting prowess. I can never let my brother's legacy die just yet." He then walked off, his armor vanishing.

Aoi was relieved and then went to tend to Kaoru once his own armor disappeared.

Kaoru trudged for the dinner table with his body filled with aches. He had a few new wounds to add to his collection and some aches to go with them. He was already regretting getting up, but if he could eat some of Aoi's cooking, then it would be worth it.

Walking into the dining room, Kaoru stopped when he saw everyone at the dinner table. One of them was Aoi, who was finishing setting places. Another was Miyabi, who looked like she was about to snap at someone at any moment. The third, however, who was sitting next to Miyabi, was none other than the man who had added the wounds and aches to him in the first place.

"What are you doing here!?" Kaoru cried.

"Your landlady, Sakuraba-san, came and found me…" Kenshin explained.

-FLASHBACK-

"Please," Aoi begged as she was on her knees and bowing. "Train Kaoru-sama!"

"And why should I do that?" said Kenshin coldly.

"Because it is your brother's legacy. As the one with the most experience now, it is your honor and duty to train your brother's successor."

"There is no way I will train that thief."

"Onegai!" Aoi began to cry, "Please, I don't want him to die! He is the one I care for the most!"

"Alright! Alright! Please, just stop crying."

-END FLASHBACK-

"That is why I'll be staying here from now on. I'm here to train you and make sure you don't get yourself killed." Kenshin's left eyebrow twitched.

Kaoru gulped. Somehow he felt that Kenshin was just going to use the excuse of training to kill him or to try and make him give up. Whichever one comes first.