Don't own Ronin Warriors and OCs are mine.

Chapter 6

"We're cousins, not sisters?" Kayura asked, staring wide eyed at Tiffany. After Kayura had warned the Ronins to be on the lookout, Tiffany asked Kayura to go on a walk with her and they walked through the forest as Tiffany explained the events that yesterday.

"Yeah," Tiffany answered, not looking at her but her head raised when Kayura laid a hand on her shoulder. Kayura smiled at Tiffany. "That doesn't matter. You're still my sister, even if we're not."

Tiffany smiled back at her then hugged Kayura. "Hey, why don't you spend the night and then we can go visit Hayate and Mizuki."

"I would like that."

As they started making their way back to the house, a bolt of lightning struck the ground before them and, from the lightning, Malice stood in front of them, smiling evilly at them.

"Who are you?" demanded Kayura. "And where is Anubis?"

"Anubis is gone, sweetheart," Malice answered, "but I'm not here for you." He pointed his sickle at Tiffany. "I'm here for you. My master wants you."

"Tell your master I'm not going anywhere," Tiffany said. "Come, Armor of Spirits!" Her purple and silver armor appeared on her while Kayura transformed into her silver and red armor.

"I see I have two priestesses in front of me, but I only need the one." Malice swung his chain at the two and they dodged it, the chain digging into the ground and it split open. Tiffany fired her arrows at Malice but he deflected them with his sickle and then side-stepped to avoid Kayura's attack. Tiffany pulled an arrow back, focusing her energy on Malice. "Heaven's Fury!" She released the arrow and the energy flew towards Malice, striking him in the chest. The attack sent him back a few feet, his feet dragging in the dirt. When the attack faded, Malice still stood, smiling at the two. He slowly walked towards the two as he spun his chain slowly and menacingly, laughing at their shocked expressions.

"I'm stronger than this Anubis who originally wore this armor and I'll prove it." Malice swung his chain. "Scattering Vengeance!" He threw his sure-kill at them and the chain separated into many different chains, striking the girls. They screamed in pain, falling onto the ground.

Tiffany struggled to get up but a hand reached out, encasing around her throat and lifting her up. She was face to face with Malice. "It's time to go now." Tiffany scratched his hand in an attempt to let her go but he wouldn't loosen his grip around her neck. Her struggles became weak as she fought to stay conscious.

A roar cut through the air and Kalana jumped out of the trees, tackling Malice to the ground, which released his hold on Tiffany. Kalana swiped her claw at him, knocking off his helmet. Malice screamed in anger then threw Kalana off him. Kalana in front of Tiffany and Kayura as she growled at Malice.

The Ronins came out then in their sub-armor and stood next to the girls. Ryo helped Tiffany up as Rowen helped Kayura up. "Are you ok?" Ryo asked Tiffany and she nodded, rubbing her neck. Ryo looked at Malice and glared at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm not going to explain myself to you nor am I concerned with you," explained Malice. "I'm only here by my master to get the Priestess."

"Oh yeah?" Kento exclaimed, taking a step closer. "And why does your master want Tiffany?"

"None of your business." Malice glanced around at his opponents, making a decision. "I think I'll leave for now but I'll be back so keep your eyes peeled." He set his sights on Tiffany. "Especially you, my dear." He smiled and then disappeared from view.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know but I'm pretty sure it was the disturbance I was feeling earlier," explained Kayura.

"If they got Anubis, I'm pretty sure they got the others as well," Tiffany stated, looking at her. Kayura nodded, her eyes casting downward. "Don't. I know what you're thinking and it's not your fault. You couldn't have known this enemy could have gone after them."

"You're more than welcome to stay with us," invited Ryo.

"Thank you, Ryo, but I think I'll head over to my parents' place." Kayura turned to Tiffany. "Since there's a new enemy, I'd rather go to the village to warn and protect them."

Tiffany nodded. "I understand. Be safe and let them know I'm ok."

"I will, and you let me know if you need any help."

"Of course." The two hugged and then Kayura held up the staff. It glowed and surrounded Kayura in light, transporting her away to the village.

Ryo placed his hands on Tiffany's shoulders. "You sure you're ok?"

"Yes." Tiffany faced the guys. "I don't know what this new enemy wants with me but I'm sure it has something to do with what my mother told me. We're going to have to keep our eyes open for any new threats and make sure they don't attack the city."

"We might have to do patrols again," Sage stated.

Cye sighed. "I thought we would be done with all the fighting."

"We're Ronin Warriors, Cye," said Rowen, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's what we have to do."

"I know, but it was just nice not to have to worry about fighting or protecting the world from evil."

"It's been a while since we've had action, though" Kento said with a big smile on his face.

"Of course you would be happy about this."

"Let's go inside," said Ryo, ending any chance of Cye and Kento arguing. "We're going to need to rest and prepare ourselves for tomorrow in case this enemy tries anything tomorrow." They all agreed and walked back into the house.

"My daughter has allies?" Sephiran asked after hearing Malice's explanation of why Tiffany wasn't with him.

"Yes," confirmed Malice. "They were five men with the same armor as us."

"They must be the Ronin Warriors," affirmed Kai. "Now, we don't have to go searching for them for they are already with the Priestess."

"My Lord, why isn't your daughter already here?" Naga asked then set his sights on Asami. "I thought she would have been convinced to come here."

"She was determined not to come home," answered Asami. "She said she wasn't leaving her friends or her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Sephiran turned to her. "Our daughter is dating one of the Ronins?"

"Apparently. I briefly met him and his name is Ryo."

"Interesting."

"What should we do, Master?" wondered Fuzen.

Sephiran thought for a moment. If what Malice and Asami were telling him was true, then it might be even more difficult to get Tiffany here. They would be more cautious and make sure Tiffany was all right unless…

"That's it," he whispered.

"My Lord?" Kai asked, looking down at him.

Sephiran stood up from his throne. "I'm going to be gone for a few days. Kai, I put you in charge while I'm away."

Kai bowed. "Yes, my Lord."

"My generals, while I'm away, do not attack the Ronins or my daughter. There will be a day for that but as of now, prepare yourselves for an attack in the future."

The generals bowed. "Yes, my Lord."

Sephiran turned to Asami and laid a hand on her cheek. Asami flinched at the touch and refused to look at him. "As for you, my dear, don't try anything. Would hate to have anything happen to your dear sister." He slid his hand down her face to her chin, his thumb grazing over her lips. "If only I had my body," he whispered and Asami snapped her gaze to him but the moment she looked at him, he turned away and walked down the hall. Asami watched him go, wondering what he meant.

Tiffany was sitting on the bed, putting lotion on her legs and feet. "You're going into work tomorrow?" Ryo asked, stepping out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, I think I'll be ok." Tiffany glanced up at him. "Plus, I'm not going to stay at home where I'm going to be paranoid all day. I'd rather be doing something and being surrounded by co-workers makes me a little bit safe."

Ryo nodded, saying nothing. Tiffany glanced up from him as she proceeded to put lotion on her other foot. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"You're too quiet and I know quiet means something's on your mind." Tiffany straightened up, putting the lotion on the nightstand. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I'm just worried. It's been two years and everything's fine. Now, this new enemy appears and he says his master wants you." Ryo sighed. "I kind of agree with Cye on this. I thought we would be able to live a normal life after the battle with Talpa and not worry about this anymore."

Tiffany gave him a small smile then scooted over, patting the spot on the bed beside her. Ryo walked over and sat down and Tiffany laid her head on Ryo's shoulder, grabbing one of his hands. "I know it's tough, believe me; I thought this was all over too. But it's our job to protect the world." Tiffany glanced up at him. "Everything's going to be fine. We'll get through this just as we got through with the battle with Talpa." Ryo looked down at her, smiling. He pressed his lips onto hers, lifting his other hand to caress her cheek. Tiffany parted the kiss, smiled at him, then gave him another quick kiss and a kiss on the forehead. "Let's go to bed." Tiffany turned around but Ryo's hands stopped her. She was about to ask what he was doing when he started massaging her shoulders.

"I did promise you a massage tonight," he told her as his thumbs dug into her shoulder blades, easing out the tension in them. Tiffany closed her eyes, sighing in content as she let Ryo work his magic on her shoulders. She felt his hand on her back, gently pushing it to signal her to lie down on her stomach and she did. Ryo's hands rubbed up and down her back, finding the areas with a lot of tension and working them out. Tiffany felt herself slowly start to relax and her eyelids grew heavy. After fighting to stay awake, she lost the battle and closed her eyes, succumbing to sleep.

Ryo continued to massage Tiffany until he heard her breathing even out. He stopped and smiled when he saw Tiffany had fallen asleep. He laid down beside her and slowly turned her over so she wasn't lying on her stomach then pulled the covers over them. Ryo kissed her cheek then whispered, "I love you." before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Sephiran waited outside the house for all the lights to go out. When the last light went out, he shifted out of his armor and floated over to the house. He slipped in through one of the open windows and floated around the house, trying to find the room his daughter was in. He slipped under the cracks of each door to find the right room till he came to the room Ryo and Tiffany were sleeping in. He observed the couple, watching them sleep encased in each other's arms. He floated over top of the couple then entered Ryo's mind, searching through his memories, watching the battle with Talpa to his earliest memories of his family. Sephiran was trying to find something to use against the two, something that would cause them to fight.

One memory in particular stood out and Sephiran watched over it. A young woman with long black hair was there during the first battle with Talpa. Sephiran watched as the two met and the experiences they had up until she died at Talpa's hand. This might be useful to me, Sephiran thought. He gained the woman's name just in time as he heard hissing from the corner of the room.

Kalana stood at the entrance of the room, the hair on her back raising as she looked at the dark cloud hovering over Ryo. She continued to hiss as the cloud slowly backed away then floated over to the window. Kalana ran towards it, jumping up at it as it seeped through the cracks of the window. She hissed as the shadow retreated into the open air then jumped onto the bed, watching the cloud disappear into the forest. Kalana stared at the window for a few minutes before heading over to the couple, nuzzling them until she heard responses from them to go away. Satisfied that they were all right, Kalana curled up in a ball and went to asleep.

More to come. Please review.