I don't own Ronin Warriors. All OCs are mine.

Chapter 7

White Blaze perked his ears up, hearing Kalana hissing from upstairs. He walked up the stairs towards Ryo and Tiffany's room, peeking his head in. He scanned the room but didn't see anything.

Kalana raised her head from her spot, staring at him. White Blaze stared back at her and then started communicating with her.

Is everything ok?

I saw something over Ryo. I don't know what it was but I chased it away.

White Blaze looked over at Ryo and walked towards him, stopping at the edge of the bed. White Blaze placed his front paws on the bed, lifting himself up so he can stand. He then nudged Ryo's arm and he kept on doing it until he heard Ryo groan. The tiger stopped, waiting to see what Ryo would do, but when Ryo didn't get up, White Blaze continued to nudge Ryo.

Ryo slowly opened his eyes, focusing on the tiger next to his bed. He sat up on the bed and rested his hand on the tiger's head. "What is it?" Ryo groggily asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What's wrong?" asked Tiffany, lifting her head off the pillow.

"I don't know; White Blaze nudged me awake."

White Blaze stared at Ryo, searching for something that would tell him something was wrong, but found nothing wrong. He laid down on the floor, closing his eyes to go to sleep.

Ryo groaned, laying back down on the bed. He placed a hand over his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out. Tiffany shifted closer to him and rested her head on his chest. Tiffany said, "He probably thought something was wrong."

Ryo draped an arm across Tiffany's shoulder as he closed his eyes. "Why do you think that?"

"Kalana did the same thing just…" Tiffany stopped to release a yawn, "…just a moment ago."

Ryo hummed, falling back to sleep along with Tiffany.

Sephiran walked through the Dynasty, searching for the right spot. From what he saw in Ryo's memories, the death occurred somewhere in the courtyard. Sephiran stopped in his tracks when he felt the presence coming from the ground beneath his feet. He knelt, placing a hand over the spot. One of the perks of his body being banished in the other world was that he can sense spirits. As his hand was on the ground, he could feel a spirit from the ground and he smiled. Kai, get over here, Sephiran called. Kai appeared next to him, bowing before Sephiran. "You called, my Lord?"

"I need you to bring this soul with us," ordered Sephiran. "This person will be used in my plan to get my daughter and the rest of the armors."

"Of course, my Lord." Kai focused in on the spirit in the ground and his eyes glowed white, bringing the soul out of the ground. A white orb floated around the area until Kai encased it in a bubble. "What's next?"

"We bring her back to life."

Ryo found himself in a dark area, a thick layer of fog covering the ground. He had no idea where he was or how he got there.

"Help!" someone screamed. "Please, someone help me!"

Ryo knew that voice and his blood ran cold with terror. "Tiffany!" He ran towards the screaming and found Tiffany on the ground with a group of soldiers torturing her. "Leave her alone!" Ryo screamed but when he tried to run over towards Tiffany to help her, Ryo found that he couldn't move. He was frozen in place as he watched these soldiers beat up on Tiffany.

Suddenly, they stopped and parted for a man. The man stared at Ryo, giving him a smirk, before ramming a sword into Tiffany's chest, piercing her heart. Ryo's heart stopped as he stared into Tiffany's eyes, watching them go dull with life. "No," he whispered as the blood run out of her body. "Noooo!"

Ryo shot up in bed, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath as he placed his hand over his chest. Ryo looked over next to him to see Tiffany sleeping peacefully. He lowered himself back on the bed, placing his head on her chest. Hearing her heart beat made him feel better and he slowly relaxed, closing his eyes. He then felt Tiffany stir and her arms wrap around him. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, go back to sleep."

"Ryo." He looked up at Tiffany's face, seeing a worried look plastered on her face. "Don't lie to me. What's wrong?"

"Just a bad dream."

Tiffany gave him a small smile then placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'm fine; we're fine. Everything's all right." Ryo moved so he was eye level with Tiffany and smiled at her, bushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Thank you, I feel better." He placed a kiss on her lips, his hand cupping her face as his tongue ran across her bottom lip. Tiffany moaned and wrapped her arms around him. They parted for air and smiled at each other before Ryo started placing kisses over Tiffany's face, making her giggle. Ryo moved his hands to his waist, encircling his arms around hers. "I love you."

"I love you too." They shared one more kiss then Tiffany placed her head on Ryo's shoulder, closing her eyes to go back to sleep. Ryo stayed awake, watching as Tiffany slowly fell back asleep. His mind went back to the dream he had and he shuddered at the image of Tiffany on the ground, not moving. He ran a hand through Tiffany's hair, staring down at her sleeping face. She's fine, he told himself. She was just up; she's alive. Ryo sighed and then placed a kiss on Tiffany's forehead. He laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, hoping for no more nightmares.

Sephiran stared at Kai as he chanted a spell over the white soul floating around in the container which laid on top of a pile of clay. The generals and Asami stood off to the side, watching Kai do his work, wondering what they were planning. Kai's eyes glowed white and the soul escaped from the container and floated into the clay. The pile started shaking until a hand pierced out. It grabbed the pile, its fingers digging into the clay as it forced itself out. A young girl with long black hair popped her head out, taking a deep breath of her new life, and then hunched over the pile as she took several deep breaths. The girl looked up at the people staring at her then looked down at herself, widening her eyes when she realized she was naked. She brought her arms to cover her chest and kept her lower half of her body still in the clay. "Who…who are you?" she warily asked.

Sephiran bowed before the girl. "Greetings, I am Sephiran and this is my assistant, Kai. He is the one who brought you back to life." Kai nodded towards her in greeting. "And these are my top generals and my wife, Asami."

The girl scanned each person. "What am I doing here? I thought I died."

"You did. It's been two years since your death and I have brought you back to life to help your friends, the Ronin Warriors."

"Help them? I thought they killed Talpa after I died."

"They did, but a temptress has put them under her spell and is leading them astray. The temptress is trying to bring back Talpa and she's using her powers to distract them into thinking their lives are fine when in reality, she's only trying to destroy the world. The temptress has killed the original Dark Warlords and I equipped four generals to help me in this endeavor. That is why they are wearing the Warlords's armor."

The girl stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "How do I know you're not lying to me? Talpa did the same thing and you look like you can't be trusted."

Kai walked up to the girl, looking into her eyes. "Trust us, my dear," his voice was soothing as his eyes started glowing a soft blue color. "We are only trying to help your friends." The girl's eyes glowed the same color as well until she blinked, the color fading.

"I'm sorry for suspecting you. I've been lied to too many times."

"I understand, my dear." Sephiran gestured to Asami. "My wife will clothe you in proper garments and, when you are clothed, I will give you more information."

Asami walked over to the girl and helped her out of the clay, guiding her out of the throne room. When they were out of ear-shot, Fuzen turned towards Sephiran. "My Lord, why are we getting help from this girl? What can she do that we cannot?"

"This girl has a special connection with one of the warriors and this warrior is the one dating my daughter. If we can separate my daughter from the warriors, it will be easier to capture her and use her powers to unlock the seal to set me free."

"But wouldn't she remember her past?" Malice asked. "She would easily turn on us and tell the warriors of our plans."

"I have taken that into account," inserted Kai. "I have placed an enchantment over her and, if she does try to disobey, I'll increase the enchantment. She won't disobey us as long as that enchantment is over her."

"How do we know that Asami won't cue the girl in on what we are planning?" asked Naga.

"Don't worry; the life of her sister hangs over her head. If she doesn't want anything to happen to her, Asami will do as we say."

A week had passed and the warriors went back to their daily routine. They started training after classes, spending only an hour to polish their fighting skills. Besides, they also had homework to worry about along with this new enemy. Tiffany had gone back to work and was welcomed back by her employees, happy to have her back. Whenever she got off work, Tiffany would come back to the house and start training by herself. She wanted to improve the control she had over the elements as well as strengthen their attacks so she can do more than this summon an elemental shield or weapon. Of course, she would train with the guys but most of the time, Tiffany spent training by herself.

It was halfway through the day and the guys were halfway finished with their classes. They were in the library doing their homework from their earlier classes. It was around lunchtime and Ryo started to leave to meet with Tiffany for their lunch date. He bid his friends goodbye and left the library. One the way out, he noticed a young woman with long black hair walking around campus. She looked so familiar and she almost looked like…No, he thought. It can't be. He hurried over to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. The woman turned around, amber eyes meeting his. "Sorry, I thought you were someone I knew."

The woman smiled at him. "It's all right." Whatever you do, you must not let them know who you are, Sephiran's voice rang through her head. It will jeopardize the mission. "I'm actually new here and I'm trying to find my way around the campus. Could you help me?"

"I can't. I'm meeting my girlfriend for lunch." Ryo thought he saw the woman flinch but didn't say anything about it. "In the library, they have a campus map for new students. If you ask the workers, they can give you one."

"Thank you, um…" Don't let them know you know their names.

"I'm Ryo, and you are."

The woman held out her hand, a kind smile on her face. And most importantly, do not tell them your real name. "I'm Mika." Do not let them know you are their dead friend, Maria.

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