Revenance
By S. Arallion
Based on "Ronin Warriors"
(the English version of the anime series "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers")
Disclaimer: All characters in this story are owned by their respective copyright holders—namely, not myself. Anything you don't recognize is my fault. I make absolutely no profit from my use of these characters. ~~Arallion
Part 1: Rain~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another grey, watery day.
The despondent thought floated out into the mist, given shape and substance by the rain-laden air. In the somewhat dubious shelter of a gnarled cherry tree, a wavering human outline appeared. It was clothed in the style of a Shinto monk, one long-fingered hand clasped securely around a strangely wrought staff, or shakujo.
The wide, cone-shaped hat of the monk tilted back for a moment, revealing sharply pointed features and a pair of vivid blue-green eyes, narrowed slightly in irritation. The monk's lips curved in a wry grimace before the hat tilted back down to obscure his face.
One would think, the thought continued, with a slightly acidic tone, that these hats were designed to keep out the rain. But what is the point of wearing it when the rain goes right through one's entire body anyway?
The ghostly monk sighed. Rain was not really a problem. The lack of sun actually helped his form seem more substantial. It was just that they would not be coming out to the tree in such inhospitable weather… and he missed them.
Leaning back cautiously against the tree trunk, the monk stared out across the drizzly meadow. The long stems of grass caught droplets of water and bowed beneath their weight, catching more and more as if anxious to prove their strength—then springing back upright suddenly as the enormous drops fell off their tips to the ground. Above the patter of rain, a sharp chirrup rang out, to be answered faintly by a call from across the meadow. The call-and-response continued, slightly plaintive on one side, insistent on the other. The monk chuckled softly. Henpecked, he thought with a rare flash of humor.
Why do I remain here? he asked himself, as the feeling of loneliness swept over him again. I should return to the Ancient One. It takes far too much energy to remain on the mortal plane… but even as the thoughts came to him, his mind dismissed them.
A final chirp rang out and the bird on the monk's side of the meadow gave up. He launched out into the rain, instantly soaked, and flapped across the open space to his mate.
The blue-green eyes watched, then brightened suddenly.
Why shouldn't I go to them?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thump!
Rattle rattle rattle rattle….thump!
The distinctive sound of sparring rose to Mia's window, over the soothing sound of raindrops. She looked up from her computer and stacks of manuscripts—leftover work from her grandfather's projects—and watched two of her young friends catapult themselves through the air, landing neatly on the edge of the fountain in the courtyard. They raced along the retaining wall, catching a low-hanging branch and somersaulting through the air to yet another wall. Then it was over a bench, around a hedge and back the way they came.
"I'm going to beat you in a race one of these days, Sage!" yelled one of the boys, dark-haired and burlier than the other. Blond hair fluttering madly in the wind, the other boy merely let out a shout of laughter and poured on the speed.
With a grimace of mock anger, the darker boy lunged forward, leaping onto the tree branch and attempting to launch himself clear past the fountain's edge to the finish line. He landed awkwardly on the stone wall, skidded on the rain-slick surface—and suddenly found himself on his rump on the cobbled ground.
"Hey, Kento! Are you all right?" The blond boy trotted back to his friend worriedly.
Kento stood up slowly, rubbing the affected area. "Ouch," he admitted. Then, he took off at a sprint past Sage to the finish line. Sage stood dumbfounded for a moment, then howled in outrage and raced after him.
Mia flipped her long, auburn hair back over her shoulders, smiling softly. They were all so amazing. The things that her five new companions had done so far in their young lives could only be considered miraculous—and yet, sometimes they still behaved like they didn't have a care in the world.
This, of course, could be both a good thing and a bad thing.
She looked at the work she had done so far this morning. It was probably time to get lunch, she decided, finding her fingers stiff and cramped and the work at a good stopping point. Saving the files quickly, she pushed in her grandfather's chair and went downstairs.
"Cheater!" Sage was chanting, scrubbing his knuckles through Kento's unruly mop of hair in what was commonly known as a 'noogie'.
Kento just grinned up at Mia innocently, putting up with the treatment even though he could have held his friend off fairly easily. "I won," he smirked.
"I saw," she smiled. "Tell me, did you really slip, or was that part of your master plan?"
Sage looked at her, silver-blue eyes shining in disbelief. "Kento? Plan?"
Kento looked mischievous for a moment, but then dropped the act. "Nah, I really did slip. You know me. I just took my opportunity, that's all."
Sage glowered at him darkly.
"Well, it's not my fault you didn't finish the race before turning around," the stockier boy pointed out innocently.
As Sage appeared to be readying a worse fate for Kento than the knuckle-scrubbing, Mia tactfully changed the subject. "Anyone for lunch?"
"Lunch?" Kento brightened like a starving Labrador retriever.
One slender finger raised in front of the boys' noses. "Get changed out of your wet clothes and dry off. Then we'll have lunch, okay?"
"Okay," Kento grumbled, squelching his way up the stairs.
"Oh, and see if you can find Ryo, Cye, Rowan and Yuli, please."
"Okay," Sage smiled, with a little more enthusiasm for drying off.
Mia shook her head and headed for the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, Mia," caroled a familiar voice from the kitchen as she approached.
"Cye?"
"Who else, the rest of 'em are afraid of the kitchen…." Cye's charming, lopsided grin always made her laugh.
"True," she agreed. "You're not getting into the roast I started for dinner, are you?"
"Me? Nah, I was just snooping around. Can I get something else started for you?"
Mia opened the oven and checked the pot roast. It was almost done, and smelled delicious, especially combined with all the vegetables she'd included for Cye's benefit—he wasn't much of a meat-eater. "Well, I was thinking of putting together a rice dish, instead of potatoes—"
Cye grinned. "Hey, I have a great recipe for that. It'll only take a few minutes."
Mia's hands went up in surrender, and she grinned. "Go ahead then. I trust you."
The youngest Ronin began to bustle around the stove, and Mia started setting up the table.
Purrrrrrr… Purrrr…Purr…
A huge, white furred head planted itself on the table next to Mia's hand as she laid out the plates. She giggled. "Hello, White Blaze."
The great white tiger seemed to grin at her, tail twitching in pleasure. Purrr… purrr… purrr…
As the glasses on the table began to clink together from the rumbling noise, Mia gently scratched under the tiger's chin until he lifted his head off of the tabletop. "There's food for you too, big guy," she smiled. Obediently, he sat down and watched as she and Cye finished setting out the meal.
"Hey, it's American food night. Cool." The observation was made in a light tenor voice. Mia looked up to see a dark-haired boy with intensely blue eyes.
"Hello, Ryo," she grinned. "How did you beat Kento to the kitchen?"
He shrugged. "I'm fast, what can I say?"
Kento scrambled into the kitchen with Rowan and the young boy Yuli hot on his heels. "Hey, Ryo, that wasn't fair… hey, food!" A huge smile lit up his face and he sat down at the table with an expectant look. Cye was just setting out the first of the dishes.
Mia looked around the table and held up her hand. "Wait, guys. Where's Sage? We won't start without him." She ignored Kento's crestfallen look.
"He came with Kento to find us," Rowan said thoughtfully. "He was right behind us in the forest. I wonder…" The boys exchanged worried looks.
"He wouldn't be in any trouble," Ryo said uncertainly.
"Maybe we should go look for him," Yuli suggested in his piping voice.
A silence fell, in which Kento looked mournfully at the food on the table. Cye gave him a stern look and picked it up, putting it back in the oven to warm. "Let's go then," the youngest Ronin stated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sage began to run back to the Koji house with the others, but slowed after a moment. It was such a peaceful afternoon, when the gleeful, boisterous shouts of the other boys faded into the distance. The only sound left was the heavy patter of rain on his umbrella and the thick leaves of the surrounding trees. His brisk walk slowed even more, with the hypnotic rhythm of the rain drumming in his ears. After a moment, he stopped.
Everything was so green, beneath the misty grey sky. He looked up at the trees, and around at the forest depths, suddenly noticing where he had stopped. It was the shrine they had made for Anubis, the Dark Warlord of Cruelty, who had rediscovered his true nature as the Ronin Warrior of Loyalty.
The shrine was small, unassuming. A small stone cairn was built in the middle of a clearing, a wiry sapling planted at its heart. Sage sighed to himself as he walked closer. They all had hoped to do more, but Mia had insisted that this would be what their friend had wanted. At any rate, the tree Mia had gotten from one of her grandfather's friends was growing swiftly and well, with lush foliage and strong limbs.
Sage smiled as he touched a leaf, and looked back around the clearing. He froze in shock.
A misty form was watching him, half obscured by trees, nearly blending in with the rain fog. Familiar reddish-brown hair floated from under its peaked hat, and the eyes that widened in surprise at his reaction were the same vibrant blue-green as ever.
"Anubis?"
The form slipped further into the darkness of the forest, and Sage lost sight of it. He gulped in fright, then dashed out of the clearing in a panic, all of his peaceful, harmonic thoughts in a whirl of confusion.
Anubis watched the Ronin leap away like a startled deer, and sighed. Stupid of me to not realize that the shrine they created would bring my spirit to focus, he thought sadly. I should never have tried to follow them back in the first place. He wandered into the clearing finally, alone again.
Clink.
The ghost looked down at the grass beneath his insubstantial feet. The tip of the shakujo had planted itself in the folds of Sage's forgotten umbrella. On an impulse, he concentrated, and his hand appeared to solidify. With a quick, smooth motion, he bent to pick up the umbrella and began to walk.
The energy that kept him on the mortal plane was rapidly becoming depleted, but his ghostly, sandal-shod feet continued to lead him towards the Koji estate without conscious thought. Only when his feet touched the cobbled walk of Mia's driveway did he truly realize what had happened. He looked up at the grand old house doubtfully, experiencing a sudden attack of nerves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~