Hi, all!
Here's Ronin Summer part 2 : Wildfire and Ice!
An extra special thanks to Reispirit, who pointed out that Talpa should be
named Arago. From now on, any reference to Talpa will use the name Arago, so
please don't get confused.
For continuity buffs, this story is placed roughly after both the Yoroiden
Samurai Troopers / Ronin Warriors television series, and the Sailor Moon
television series, but before the Outer Senshi arrived, and before the
Yoroiden battled the Black Inferno and changed their
armour.
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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: ronin-summer2.txt
LEGAL DISCLAIMER : None of the characters here belong to me. Sailor
Moon belongs to DIC, and Saban currently owns the Yoroiden in North
America. Don't sue me : I'm a student, and too broke to be worth it.
SAILOR MOON / YOROIDEN SAMURAI TROOPERS X-OVER
RONIN SUMMER
by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@hotmail.com)
PART 2 : WILDFIRE AND ICE
A dark figure sat slumped over in a cave. It was quite a large
cave, but the immense size of the figure in it made it seem much
smaller. He was more shadow than man, and more monster than either.
His eyes were thin slits of crimson, and his sharp white teeth nearly
glowed as he ground them in frustration.
"Seer." he snarled, and the smaller, cloaked figure floating
nearby responded by lifting its cowled head.
"What do you require, my lord and master?"
"Throw your bones, seer. Tell me why I have been cursed by
these... these... RONIN!"
"It is the gods, oh Dark One. They seek to hinder your progress
against the Sailor Senshi."
"Bah! That the gods had a single heart I could eat and be done
with!" he cracked his knuckles, with a sound of skulls being crushed
under boots. "I wish them the best of luck, seer. I truly do."
"In other news, oh lord and master, another of the Senshi has
reached her time of crisis."
"Which?"
"Sailor Mercury, my lord."
"Is she conveniently guarded by one of these Yoroiden?"
"No, my lord. She is sick with the flu... at home in bed, with
nobody to protect her."
"Good! Send Cirkuit for the kill."
**********
The monster youma known as Cirkuit slowly oozed along the
sewers, working his way through the electrical cables into a rather
nondescript house. It was here his prey awaited, he knew : here that
Sailor Mercury would die.
The house was empty. Cirkuit checked. TWICE. There was no sign
of anybody anywhere. The doorbell rang, and he flowed into a power
outlet. Somebody rapped on the door, then peered through the window.
"Ami! It's me! I heard you were sick, so I brought some
chicken noodle soup... and chocolate... and mangas..."
Cirkuit gurgled to himself. Usagi... the annoying brat called
Sailor Moon. Perhaps this day was not a total waste after all... he
could kill her! But her time of crisis was not now, and the Dark One
did not appreciate initiative in his soldiers. It was Mercury he had
to kill... assuming he could find the wench.
**********
"Hey, Ami! Are you okay?" the young man with the shoulder
length black hair looked over at his woozy deskmate.
"Of... of course, Ryo. Thank you for your concern." Ami wiped
the sweat off of her brow and shivered. "It's just a little bug..."
"...Nothing I would let keep me away from school."
**********
Ami tried to remain pleasant, despite the fact she felt awful.
After all, it was hardly Ryo Sanada's fault that he couldn't program
worth a damn. That was why she had agreed to help teach this remedial
computing course, so that people like Ryo could learn how to handle
computers.
He did have a surprising knack for problem solving, she
noticed. She almost wondered how he would handle a youma attack : he
could hardly do worse than Usagi. She noticed her mind was wandering,
and blamed it on the influenza.
Ryo looked over at Ami. Fine, she said. Yeah, RIGHT. His yoroi
hadn't gone off like this since the forest fire, when he first got it.
There was something wrong with Ami Mizuno, and Ryo wasn't going to
rest until he found out what.
**********
Rei looked up as two familiar figures entered the temple. One
was a leggy, blond haired girl and the other was a large white cat with
a moon-shaped mark on its forehead.
"Hello, Minako! Hi, Artemis! What's up?"
The cat answered. "Minako was attacked by a youma last night!"
Rei gasped. "Oh, Minako! Are you all right? I should have gone
with you : then we would've shown that Negatrash a thing or two!"
"Actually, she did just fine, thanks to me." Artemis tried not
to be too boastful : but after all, he HAD been instrumental in the
battle...
"Right, Artemis. That Yoroiden didn't do ANYTHING..."
"YOROIDEN?" Rei looked very pale. "My grandfather used to tell
me legends about the Yoroiden! They can't possibly exist!"
**********
Seiji Date, the Yoroiden who couldn't possibly exist, was at
that very moment entering a trendy Italian restaurant. After several
desperate seconds of searching, he saw who he was looking for.
Straightening his blazer self-consciously, the blond man walked over
and sat down.
"Hey, Shin!" The brown haired young man sitting at the table
raised his head and smiled in greeting. Like Seiji, Shin Mouri was
dressed up in a suit and tie.
"Hello, Seiji. Long time no see."
Seiji shrugged self-consciously. "Yeah, well, after that last
time we saved existence I got a little busy..." the two men laughed at
their shared joke. "What happened to the rest of the guys? I thought
this was going to be our first big 'the universe isn't in peril and we
still get to hang out' dinner."
"Ryo has some kind of remedial computers class. I'm not sure
why he signed up..."
"Probably has a cute teacher."
Shin nodded agreement. "And Shuu decided to help out his
parents at their Chinese restaurant. They're promising free food in
exchange for help, so Touma tagged along. You know those two love to
eat."
"Speaking of eating, I'm starved. How's the calamari?"
Noticing the downfallen look on his friend's face, Seiji sighed.
"Sorry. I know : don't eat any of your little swimming buddies."
The Yoroi of the Torrent smiled in appreciation. It was good
to have such considerate friends. Which reminded him... "So, Seiji,
how was that party you were dragged to last night? I'm sorry I
couldn't... how did you put it? For the love of Kami save you?"
"Ah... it's just as well you didn't, actually. I met a girl..."
"Sounds interesting." Shin took a sip of his water. "Tell me
all the details!"
"Well... do you remember those girls in the sailor fuku we
saw on television last month?"
"The Sailor Senshi, yes. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus and...
who was that last one? The one with the odd hairstyle..."
Seiji groaned. "Sailor Moon. Anyway, it turned out this girl
was one of the Senshi, Venus I assume. At least, that's what her
attacks were named. Some monster showed up, and we beat it down."
"Monster? Was it one of the Dynasty's yaujas?"
"I'm not sure. Minako seemed to think it was a youma."
"What's a youma, and who is Minako?"
**********
Minako kneeled by the sacred fire and tried not to notice that
her leg was falling asleep. Rei had been staring into the flames for
hours now, and still nobody had bothered telling HER anything. Why
were these Yoroiden such a big deal, anyway? Well, the one she met HAD
been kind of kawaii...
"Hey, Artemis," she whispered discreetly, "what's the big deal
with these Yoroiden?"
"The Yoroiden were a legend even during the time of the Moon
Kingdom. Queen Serenity once even tried to summon them from their
hiding place to battle the Negaverse, but failed." Artemis looked
over at Rei, who seemed to be oblivious to everything but the fire.
"Legend has it that a mighty demon lord named Arago once
tried to enter Earth realm and conquer it. He was defeated by one lone
warrior, and his spirit was returned to the Dynasty, but his armor
remained. So powerful was this armor, that it gave Arago a gateway
back to Earth. The warrior broke up the armor, and used it to forge
nine suits of mystical samurai armor."
"The Yoroi?"
"Yes! One for each element, and each principle of Bushido. I
know of only five Yoroiden : Halo, the armor of light and wisdom,
Torrent, the armor of water and truth, Hardroc, the armor of earth
and justice, Strata, the armor of heaven and chi, and Wildfire, the
armor of flame and virtue. If these five Yoroi have been activated,
they could prove powerful allies!"
Rei finally looked over her shoulder. "Do you two MIND? I'm
trying to commune with the sacred fire, here! Go talk outside!"
Minako opened her mouth to apologize, and tasted spaghetti.
A handsome young man with brown hair looked across the table at her.
"Something wrong with the pasta, Seiji?"
**********
Seiji blinked. A beautiful young woman was staring angrily
at him. What happened to the restaurant, and why was his leg asleep?
"Well, Minako? Are you going to be quiet, or not?"
**********
Ryo sighed and banged his head on the keyboard. "Control, Alt,
and Delete! WHY must you taunt me?" Ami looked up from where she had
been resting her head for just a second, and walked over.
"What seems to be your problem, Ryo?"
"I don't have a problem! This stupid piece of junk has the
problem!" Ryo reared back a fist. "NOBODY messes with Ryo Sanada! Not
even a stupid crummy piece of..."
Ami caught the man's fist inches from the computer screen.
"RYO! Remember what I said this morning? Computers are like children :
they just need a little compassion and patience."
"I've been compassion-ing and patience-ing all morning, and
this thing still gives me error messages!" Grabbing the monitor, Ryo
began to shake it. "You want a critical error? I'LL GIVE YOU A
CRITICAL ERROR!"
**********
Cirkuit paused as he drifted through the Internet. There! A
sense of power he had never felt before... it HAD to be Mercury!
**********
The monitor exploded : there was no other way to describe it.
A tidal wave of circuits and wires blasted out of the screen and sent
Ryo flying across the room. Ami gasped as the various pieces of
circuitry began to writhe like a nest of snakes. The rest of class,
being less accustomed to such things, began screaming hysterically.
"Oh, man," groaned Ryo as he rubbed the back of his head, "I
am REALLY starting to hate technology."
The writhing nest of wires and diodes slowly formed into a
vaguely humanoid shape. Energy glowed from what would have been the
mouth and eyes on a person, and its entire body was constantly
shifting. "I am Cirkuit," the youma rasped, "and I have come for the
one known as Mercury! Where are you hiding that coward?"
Ami looked from left to right, then slowly backed out of the
room. That monster hadn't seemed to have noticed her, yet : she'd would
have to change that! The wand slipped easily into her hand as she
raised it to the sky.
"MERCURY... STAR... POWER!"
**********
Cirkuit howled in frustration. His arms grew and reformed,
turning into clubs, blades, tentacles, and other instruments of
destruction. "Where is she? Where is that wretch hiding?"
"Right behind you!"
Everybody turned and looked, where a tall, dark haired girl
in a white sailor fuku with blue bow and skirt stood with her hands
on her hips. A golden tiara rested on her brow, and a tinted blue
visor covered her eyes. "I am Sailor Mercury, defender of truth and
justice, and in the name of Planet Mercury, I will... OOMPH!"
A club made of circuitry caught Ami in the stomach and knocked
her backwards. Glass broke, and she flew out the window screaming. This
was the fifth floor, she calculated : it would probably take her at
least a minute to die...
There was a flash of red, and suddenly Ami was flying through
the air in the arms of a man in crimson samurai armor. Gleaming steel
blades extended from either side of his helmet, and a pair of
katana swords were sheathed on his back.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, "Ryo Sanada. Yoroi of
the Rekka, Ronin of Wildfire." There was a loud crunch as they both
landed on the roof of a nearby building. Ami gulped. Ryo had just
jumped clear across the parking lot! "And who might you be?" he asked
calmly.
"I'm, uh, Sailor Mercury. I fight evil and right wrongs in
the name of the Planet Mercury."
Ryo smiled and looked at her appraisingly. "Nice skirt."
**********
Ami placed her hands to her temples. She had a splitting
headache, and even though transforming had helped a little, she still
felt like she was going to be sick, especially after her little ride
across the street. With visible effort, she managed to make it back
to her feet.
"No offense, Mercury, but I'm betting you've looked better."
Ryo looked over at the queasy girl as he drew his twin swords, the
Rekka Ken. "Why don't you just sit this one out and let me handle it?"
"No... it's my fight..." Mercury breathed deeply a few times.
"Just... give me a second..."
Ryo sighed. "Women!" he moaned, and looked over at the
building he had so recently vacated. All those innocent people in
there... Before she could stop him, he vaulted off of the rooftop and
back through the broken window she had fallen out of.
"Hey, yauja! If you're done picking on little girls, why not
try ME on for size?"
Cirkuit glared at the gleaming armored figure. "I have no
wish to destroy you, Yoroiden. We have no quarrel with you."
"Well, that's nice." Ryo sneered as he lifted his swords. "Too
bad I have a problem with YOU!" And he charged.
This, as any of his teammates could have told Ami, was typical
Ryo. He really wasn't long on planning, but he made up for it with
skill. The youma flowed and swayed as he slashed at it again and
again, driving it back towards the window. Cirkuit's body seemed to
sprout dozens of tendrils which grasped the edge of the window, and
tried to hold itself in.
Ryo lowered his head and charged like a bull. The youma
screeched as the bladed horns on his helmet hit something important,
and the two forms fell to the ground below. Ami flinched in
sympathy as they landed with a sickening crash. Moments later, a
somewhat dizzy Ryo stood up and wobbled a few steps away from the
crash site before sitting down abruptly.
As Ryo was busy holding his head and wishing for an Aspirin the
size of a small town, Ami saw something he didn't : Cirkuit was rising
behind him.
"Ryo, LOOK OUT!" Leaping off of the building, Ami launched
herself across the street and landed next to the dazed Ronin. Cirkuit
glared down at her from the top of a rising pile of wires and
circuits.
"MERCURY BUBBLES... BLAST!"
"Mercury... BUBBLES?" Ryo stared at Ami in amazement. "What
kind of stupid attack is that? You MADE A FOG! This was hard enough
when I could see what he was doing!"
A club of wires swung out of the swirling mists and caught
Ryo in the head, sending his helmet spinning off into the distance.
A trickle of blood flowed from his freshly split lip as he
snarled.
Ami tried not to stare at him. According to her visor, his
power levels were spiking well in excess of even the generals of the
Negaverse, and his body temperature was already at three hundred
degrees Celsius, and rising!
"Now," he growled, "I'm mad." Bringing his swords together, he
somehow connected the handles so that his two swords formed an
impromptu spear. The fog created by Ami's bubbles was quickly turning
into steam as it touched his armor, and boiled away.
Cirkuit rose above them, almost ten feet tall now, and Ryo
simply smiled. The Yoroi of Rekka leapt into the air, and flames burst
around his body. "FLARE... UP... NOW!!!"
Ami quickly realized what he was doing, and added her own
attack to the mix. "MERCURY ICE STORM... SPLASH!"
Ryo dropped like a comet, his entire body sheathed in flames
and his armor glowing white hot. Cirkuit growled as it was first
pelted with freezing cold, then pierced with a spear of pure flame.
He trembled, and then exploded.
Ryo rose from the pile of debris, smoke pouring off of his
armor and sword blades. For a moment, they thought it was over. For
a moment, they thought they had won.
Then Cirkuit reformed. Ryo spun and cursed loudly as a hail
of blades and tendrils burst from the freshly rebuilt youma, pelting
him and knocking him backwards. Ami grabbed for her communicator. It
was time to call for some reinforcements...
**********
Rei grabbed her communicator as it rang. Ami was on it,
dressed as Sailor Mercury. The picture was shaky, and filled with
static, which was unusual.
"Ami? Are you okay? What's going on?" Minako was still looking
around in confusion, so Rei decided to take charge.
"REI! You have to ... the school immediat... youma
is..." more static, "... Ryo! Need... elp..." the message ended.
"Looks like we have trouble, Minako! Let's go!"
**********
Shin looked over at Seiji. "Woah, where'd you go for a
second there, buddy? You looked a little out of it!"
Seiji grimaced. "I'll explain later, if I ever figure it out
myself! We have to get moving... Ryo and Ami need help!"
Shin frowned as he threw a handful of yen on the table. "Who
is Ami? I thought you said she was called Minako..."
"COME ON!"
**********
Ryo stumbled back, blood pouring from the numerous wounds
now marking his armor. "The Flare Up... it didn't work!"
Ami reached out and caught the Yoroiden as he fell. "Maybe
we need another plan... we just have to wait until my friends get
here... they'll help us!"
Cirkuit loomed over the two teens, his baleful eyes boring
into them. "Uhm, Mercury? I don't think he's going to give us that
much time..." Ryo gripped his swords and gulped as he looked up at the
youma. Yes, he decided, he DEFINITELY hated technology.
"My name is Ami Mizuno." Ryo glanced over at her, and Ami
smiled shyly.
"Well, stay close to me, Ami Mizuno. No matter what, I won't
let him hurt you!"
Cirkuit crashed down around them, and they screamed.
**********
Rei and Minako leapt into the middle of the parking lot,
ready for battle. Rei had drawn one of her wards, and Minako looked
ready to use her Crescent Beam at the first opportunity. The wind
stirred their waist length hair as they crouched... waiting.
The entire parking lot radiated heat, and the cement was
cracked and pitted with large smoking gouges and craters. It looked
more like a war zone than a school parking lot. Minako hissed as she
accidentally brushed one knee against the ground : it was like an oven!
There was nothing else there. Just turned over cars, a katana
blade stuck halfway through a block of cement... and a discarded gold
tiara, glinting in the sun.
Gravel crunched, and the two Sailor Senshi spun around to face
this new menace. Two men stood there, one in green armor and one in
blue. One carried a long sword, and the other a trident, but neither
appeared to be a threat. In fact, they almost looked like they were
going to cry.
"All we could find was his helmet..." Seiji whispered, and
looked down at the red helm in his hands.
"He was our leader... what are we going to do?" asked Shin,
leaning on his trident as if he was about to fall over.
**********
The shadow smiled in satisfaction at a job well done. Cirkuit
had been returned to the realm from which he came, and now there was
only one or two more things to take care of.
The Dark One let his fingers drift against the cool facets of
the crystal. It was a large gem, harder than diamond, and the size of
a small room. Encased in its center, eyes squeezed shut and laying in
each others arms, were Sailor Mercury and Ryo of the Rekka. They did
not move. They did not breathe.
"Perfect stasis," grumbled the shadowy figure in admiration,
"trapped between life and death, sleeping and waking. Like flies in
amber. Cirkuit has served me well, seer."
"He shall do so no more, oh lord and master." The seer,
hunched and misshapen as ever, floated past. "The damage he sustained
was considerable, and he shall need several weeks to regenerate."
"No matter. The plan proceeds regardless. I shall siphon these
two of their energy, increasing my own strength and leaving them..."
the Dark One chuckled dryly. "quite grave, indeed. Then shall I
face the Queen... and the Queen shall face her death. What say your
bones to that, seer?"
"The bones seek to warn you not to underestimate the other
Senshi. Mercury was the weakest of them, and Yoroiden without their
leader are Yoroiden still. The battle is not yet won, my lord and
master."
"It will be, seer." The shadow leaned back and crossed his
arms over his massive chest. "IT WILL BE..."
To Be Continued...