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For the next few days, everyone was pretty much engaged.
Shuten and Kayura spent most of their time teaching Nasuti
battle skills, who was learning quickly and making pleasing
progress. Shin also gave her a few tips. But he spent most
of his time training and sparring with others. The Troopers
and Mashos all found it a strange experience to spar in a
friendly match, instead of trying to kill one another.
However through sparring they gained respect for their formal
nemesis and their ability to work together in battle
improved.
By the third day Nasuti learned
her special attack,
Sen Fuu Zan (Sacred Breeze). It appears in the form of a
magical breeze that cures allies of their injuries and
attacks enemies. The attack power is relatively weak but the
healing was incredible.
On the fourth day, Shuten, Kayura
and Nasuti joined the
sparring. The revived leader of the Mashos spent most of his
time sparring with the leader of the Troopers. Kayura
sparred most frequently with Touma and Seiji, since those
two are among the few who could match her agility. The rest
of them sparred with Nasuti in turn. All of them, even the
Mashos, were extremely mindful about not injuring her. They
were all gentle and cautious when sparring her, helping her
to gain battle experience more than anything else. Whenever
she makes a mistake or couldn't handle a move, they would
stop immediately and patiently explain things to her. Kayura
and the Troopers were rather amazed by the amount of patience
Anubis and Naza has with Nasuti.
Meanwhile, Nasuti, Touma and
Seiji spent time in the study
every night, looking through the tons of files Nasuti's
grandfather left behind. They did find a couple of entries
on Muma, but most of the stuff they already knew. However
when running a deeper search on the armors, they found that
Korin no Seiji, being the Warrior of Light, was the natural
enemy of the shadow spirits. More interestingly, Anubis,
being the demon lord of darkness, is also one that the
shadow spirits fears, for no trick of darkness could deceive
him easily.
With eleven people and a tiger
all living in the same house,
it is kinda hard for anyone to have some privacy. Shuten and
Nasuti get teased so much by the Troopers that Nasuti had to
threaten to throw them out of the house, in order to finally
get them quit the subject. Naza, Rajura and Anubis all caught
them kissing on several occasions. The three Mashos would
wink and snicker but dared not to say anything. Lady Kayura
strictly ordered them to behave and leave the couple along,
and they obeyed in fear of her wrath.
Nasuti was starting to wonder
when Muma would make his move,
when her answer came in the form of several very unpleasant
guests.
It was late afternoon; the sun
was setting in a distance,
coating the lake with a beautiful reddish-golden color.
Nasuti was sitting in front of the window, enjoying the view
with Shuten right by her side. Cye was in the kitchen cooking
dinner, Shu was upstairs taking a nap, Kayura, Touma and
Seiji are still in the yard training, Ryo was also there,
playing with Byakuen, and the other three Mashos were
watching the "little magic box" which the Troopers called
TV.
"I can stay like this forever."
Nasuti sighed softly,
resting her head on Shuten's shoulder and gazing out the
window, "It's so beautiful."
"Yes it is." Shuten
quickly agreed, whispering into her ears,
"And so are you."
He forgot about the Mashos'
extraordinary hearing senses.
Behind them on the couch Anubis snickered: "Oh for Heaven's
sake Shuten, you are really getting all mushy and disgusting
like that…" He jerked his thumb toward the TV screen,
"that…"
"Soap Opera?" Rajura helpfully offered.
Nasuti laughed but blushed deep
red at the same time. Shuten
groaned: "You two, mind your own business!"
Anubis was about to retort when
he suddenly felt a wave of
chills. He frowned and stood up warily: "What the heck was
that?"
The others felt it too. Shuten
walked over to the window,
while hiding Nasuti behind him protectively. The other three
Mashos and Shin joined them quickly, all in their sub-armors.
In the yard, Kayura, Seiji and
Touma stopped sparring, the
three pressed their backs together and glanced around warily.
Byakuen stood, and growled lowly toward the forest.
Shuten nodded: "Whatever
it is, it's coming from the forest.
Let's go down there to take a look." All others, plus a now
wide-awake Shu, followed him without a word.
They were joined by Ryo, Touma,
Seiji, Kayura and the white
tiger outside.
"What do you think it is?" Shuten asked Kayura quietly.
Kayura frowned and whispered
back: "The sakujou is reacting
violently to it. Whatever it is, it's not good."
Suddenly a black, fussy ball
charged Shin right in his face.
He dodged it and to his shock, found a black rabbit glaring
at him evilly.
"What the…"
Suddenly they were surrounded
by deer, rabbits and squirrels.
All of the animals glared at them with an empty, evil
expression. Behind the animals, on the branches of an oak
tree, stood five ninjas, looking identical to the one who
attacked Nasuti days ago. One of the ninjas raised a hand,
and the animals started attacking.
"Don't hurt them!"
Seiji shouted to the rest, "They are just
innocent creatures under mind-control!"
Rajura snatched a squirrel off
his face and throw it to the
ground. The creature screeched in pain but did not flee. A
drop of blood triggered down Rajura's face, he groaned:
"Innocent creatures with sharp claws and teeth! What the
heck do we do? We can't play around like this forever!"
Touma leapt to the side to avoid
a charging deer and stole a
glance over at the ninjas who are the shadow spirits. He
frowned: "Those jerks are waiting for us to be exhausted
so
they can attack! They wouldn't care if these creatures were
harmed or not! We have to think of something, fast."
Everyone considered their options.
They can't get out of the
circle without harming the creatures. Special attacks are
far ranged but too powerful, absolutely out of question too.
"Kayura, can't you use
your sakujou to free them?" Nasuti
shouted.
"I might be able to, but
these creatures won't allow me a
chance to concentrate!" Kayura shouted back to her,
frustrated.
They are starting to feel a
little helpless when Seiji
yelled: "Anubis! Remember the time you mind-controlled a
group of deer and made them attack me?"
The blue hair Masho snatched
two rabbits off his head and
groaned: "You choose the perfect time to pick on old times,
Korin!"
"I'm not holding grudges
against you, you baka! I'm saying
try to control these animals! That'll give Lady Kayura a
chance to use her sakujou!"
Kayura's eyes brightened: "Hey, that might work! Anubis!"
"Alright, I'll try!"
The Yami Masho gathered his power and
mentally shout commands to the animals. The animals suddenly
stopped their attack, looked around confusingly. There are
two commands battling each other in their minds and they are
left unsure of which to obey.
Kayura didn't give them a chance
to decide. She closed her
eyes and brandished her sakujou; a golden light enveloped
the animals.
"Now's our chance!" Ryo shouted, "Buso Rekka!"
Everyone besides Kayura and
Anubis transformed into their
full armors. They ran toward the shadow spirits and started
to attack, Byakuen helped too. More shadow spirits leapt out
from behind the bushes and an all-out battle started.
Shuten stayed close to Nasuti,
fighting enemies while
keeping an eye on her. She was holding herself well,
wielding the staff efficiently. The full armor granted her
extra strength and agility, and she dispatched her enemies
one by one, slowly but surely. Shuten allowed a pleased smile
to turn on the corner of his mouth. Nasuti is a good learner.
She is still not good enough to fight a Trooper or a Masho,
but she can handle the shadow spirits with no problem.
Soon the fight was over. The
warriors looked around warily,
but all was quiet. Byakuen let out a soft noise to indicate
he doesn't sense anything anymore either. They sighed in
relief and reverted to their sub-armors, walking back toward
Kayura and Anubis.
Once the control over those
animals was broken, they fled in
terror. Rajura smirked: "Looks like you two had it easy."
Kayura snorted: "Then you
try to wield this thing, Gen Masho.
It glows and makes pretty noise, but it drains you like
hell!"
Shuten remembered his experience
with the sakujou and nodded
in agreement. By now darkness settled and the sky is
blanketed with twinkling stars. Touma glanced into the
horizon thoughtfully: "I wonder what was that all about?"
Seiji walked over to him: "How
many shadow spirits did we
take care back there?"
It was Naza who answered him:
"thirty something… no more
than forty."
Shuten nodded: "It must
be a… practice run. Muma is testing
our strength."
Nasuti sighed: "Wonderful.
And that reminds me, does Muma
have any… hmm… Mashos?"
"I don't know." He
replied grimly, "but I have a feeling
we'll find out soon enough."
Suddenly Byakuen growled.
"What is it Byakuen?" Ryo asked, kneeling down.
The white tiger didn't answer;
instead it ran into the
corner of the yard. A little creature shoot out of the
shadows, chased by Byakuen. Everyone tensed up for a moment
but immediately relaxed when they saw it was nothing but a
little white rabbit.
Touma turned to Lady Kayura:
"Is this little one still under
mind control?"
Kayura shook her head, and Ryo
answered him: "No. Look,
Byakuen is only playing."
Everyone watched in amusement.
The tiger chased the rabbit
all around the yard. Strangely enough the small creature
doesn't seem to be afraid. It ran in circles, almost as if
daring the huge tiger to catch it.
Finally Nasuti laughed: "Oh
quit picking on the small ones,
Byakuen." She knelt down and opened her arms to the rabbit.
To her surprise, the little creature actually ran toward
her, jumping into her waiting arms.
Nasuti laughed in delight and
stood up, cradling the small
fussy ball in her hands. "You are a cute little one, aren't
you?"
The small creature regarded
her for a moment and nudged her
hand with its nose. It then turned to look down at Byakuen,
who was making noises of complaints at Nasuti's feet.
Shuten's jaw dropped. He could
swear he saw the white rabbit
smirk in triumph at the tiger.
Byakuen groaned and jumped,
pretending he was going to knock
down Nasuti. She didn't even blink because she knew Byakuen
would never actually jump her. But the little creature
didn't know that, it leapt out of her hands… and landed
right on Seiji's face, it struggled a little and successfully
climbed on top of his head, messing up his stylish hair in
the process.
Everyone burst out in laughter.
Ryo, Touma, Shu and Anubis
laughed so hard that they are literally cracking up on the
floor. Even Byakuen made an amused sound.
Touma grabbed his stomach and howled: "Oh man! This is good!"
Seiji looked stunned for a moment,
and then he couldn't help
but laughed along with them. He yanked the fussy ball off
his head and held it by the ears: "Hey little guy, what you
do that for?"
Then, something very unexpected happened.
Everyone stared with wide eyes
as the rabbit in Seiji's hold
slowly expanded and changed shape. Seconds later what Seiji
have in his hand was no longer rabbit ears but a strand of
silky black hair. The rabbit, or what was a rabbit moment
ago, was now a beautiful teenage girl. She took two steps
away from Seiji and her hair slipped from his fingers. She
tossed that strand off her face and looked at him unhappily:
"First of all, I'm not a 'little guy' and second of all,
you
hung me by my ears you baka! Don't you know that it hurts?!"
Ignoring his stunned silence and oblivious to the shocked
gazes of the others as well, she turned her attention to
Byakuen and smirked: "As for you, you are insisting on a
fight aren't you? You big bully… Well now you get one!"
She suddenly changed shape again,
this time into a black
leopard. She jumped on Byakuen and the two started rolling
around the yard, playfully attacking each other.
Everyone stared at the two in
awe. Seiji murmured: "Someone
please tell me who… what she is?"
"I think you have to ask
the lady herself." Touma said. Just
then Byakuen stopped playing. He purred contently and licked
the black leopard's face.
The black leopard changed back
to her human form in an
instant. She giggled and stood up: "Oh you big pussy cat!
You are getting my face all wet!"
Nasuti smiled and took a step toward her: "Who are you?"
The girl turned her attention
toward Nasuti. It looks like
she finally realized how many people are watching her. She
blushed as she dusted herself off. Now they see can see her
clearly. She is a very pretty girl of seventeen or eighteen
years of age. She has very fair skin, long, shiny black hair
and a pair of emerald eyes.
"I'm sorry, I forget my
manners sometimes." She bowed
elegantly to Nasuti, her voice was soft and pleasing, "My
name is Calais, Calais Glenn. I guess you can say I'm a
shape-shifter. I have the ability to change into animals."
Shuten looked her over carefully,
sensing no evil from her,
he asked in a neutral tone: "What are you doing here?"
She raised her hand for them
to see a red mark on it. It was
a small wound; the blood on it already dried. "I was talking
to a small friend when he suddenly bit me, then fled toward
your house. And then I saw more animals following the
example, the thoughts they projected made absolutely no
sense. I followed them here to see what is going on." She
explained, and bowed again, "Forgive me for my intrusion.
I was about to leave quietly when this big guy stopped me
and insisted I play with him." She pointed at Byakuen, who
came over to sniff her hand friendly.
Ryo laughed: "Yeah, Byakuen
is always like that." He looked
at her curiously: "You said you can talk to animals?"
"I'm gifted with a strong
psyche." She replied, "I'm able to
establish mind connection with intelligent creatures easily.
And… Byakuen is not just any white tiger is he? His level
of
comprehension is so much superior than the ordinary tigers."
"Wow! You are really good!"
Shu exclaimed excitedly, "So you
can read minds then?"
She laughed: "No, I can
communicate with minds, that's all.
It works like… a telephone. I call, you have to answer."
Nasuti smiled and thought she'd
like to learn more about
this interesting girl. "Why don't you come into the house
and have some dinner with us, Calais?" She invited the girl.
Calais thought for a moment
and nodded: "Thank you, I would
love that."
Over dinner Calais explained
in more detail how she was able
to establish connection with animals. She spoke to them
through her mind and everyone was amazed.
After dinner they gathered in
the living room to have some
tea. Nasuti and Shuten took the love seat, Touma, Seiji and
Calais on the sofa, Lady Kayura and Ryo on the two single
couches, and the rest sat on the floor.
The guys continued bombarding
Calais with questions. They
learned that she is an orphan who makes a living by selling
herbs. She lives in the mountain by herself and has extensive
knowledge on herbal medicine and animals.
She already knew about their
identify, so they went ahead
and told her about Muma and the shadow spirits. Calais
became thoughtful: "So that's why there's so much disturbance
in the air lately. Damn, those wicked jerks just don't leave
this world alone, do they?"
She looked at the warriors: "I would like to help, if I may."
Seiji looked at her doubtfully:
"Thanks for the offer but…
I don't think you can help much in battle."
Calais said nothing. Abruptly
she changed from human to a
tiger to a leopard to a wolf. ~Now do you think I can put up
a fight?~ She projected her thoughts to them.
Everyone exchanged glances and
Nasuti nodded slightly.
Shuten voiced their thoughts: "Thank you for offering your
help Calais, we gladly accept and you may stay with us if
you wish."
~Cool. I won't take up too much
space, I promise.~ She
changed shape again, this time into a robin and flew on
top of Seiji's head.
"Hey!" He complained, "What are you doing?"
~I'm vacating the seat for one
of those people on the floor.~
She answered matter-of-factly.
He glared at his snickering
friends and sighed: "Must you
stay on my head?"
~No, but I want to. It's comfy
and fluffy and makes a
wonderful nest.~ She declared.
Seiji growled in defeat as everyone
else laughed again.
Touma laughed so hard that he slid down to the floor and
joined the Mashos there. "Korin no 'bird nest' Seiji…
Awwww…
that's just too cute!" Touma purred, wiping tears from his
eyes.
"Adorable." Anubis agreed, rubbing his side.
"You people can be such
jerks some time that it amazes me."
Seiji growled dangerously.
"And Calais, get off my
head!" He threatened, but made no
attempt to snatch her off. He is a gentle person at heart,
who won't do anything to hurt the small creatures, even if
the little "bird" is really a girl playing pranks on
him.
Calais seems to realize that
as well, her annoyance toward
him vanished and she decided to giver him a break.
She flew off his head and landed
on the coffee table,
looking at Nasuti: ~I guess I'll sleep in the kitchen
tonight, if you don't mind?~
"Of course I don't mind,
but… I don't think that's a good
idea."
~Huh?~
Anubis pointed to Naza: "He
sleeps on the couch and his
snores can be heard on second floor."
Shin nodded: "Besides,
Shu is known to make trips for
midnight snacks, several times a night."
Naza and Shu looked indignant
and mumbled something under
their breath, Kayura laughed: "Why don't you sleep in the
study with me Calais?"
Nasuti nodded: "That's a good idea. What do you say Calais?"
~Okay.~ She flew to Kayura's
shoulder, ~and don't worry,
I'll be quiet as a cat.~
True to her words, she turned
into a cute looking white cat
with brown stripes, and curled her tail loosely around
Kayura's neck to ensure balance.
Kayura chuckled in delight--
which is something she doesn't
do often. Anubis sighed loudly: "After god knows how long
we
finally have another girl hanging around, and she chooses to
sleep with her! Please, must I endure this misery?"
Everyone laughed as Kayura kicked
Anubis, who is conveniently
sitting on the floor. He winced and whined.
~Should've found yourself a
chair before you make speeches,
Anubis.~
"Calais, do you know how
to please a lady?" Anubis made a
face, "When she wants to kick you, you obediently sit on
the
ground and let her."
Kayura blushed a little and
scolded: "You are turning into
such a flirt, Anubis." Smiling, she got up with Calais still
on her shoulder: "What do you say we call it a night? I for
one had enough excitements for today."
Everyone nodded in agreement and dispersed.
********************************
Finally back to their rooms
and after each took a shower,
Nasuti sat contently in front of the mirror in a pretty night
gown, brushing her hair. "Oh gosh! I haven't had such a good
laugh in days."
"She does seem to be an
interesting person." Shuten remarked
as he walked over to her, resting his warm hands on her
shoulders, "And, I think it's a good idea to have another
girl around the house. That'll give the guys something
better to do than to pick on us all day."
Nasuti looked at him in the
mirror and smiled: "You think by
any chance she would fall in love with one of the guys?"
"It's too early to tell."
Shuten snorted softly: "Besides, I
have other things to think about at the moment…"
"Like?"
"Like this." He picked
her up and walked over to their bed.
He dumped her on it gently and started to kiss her neck:
"You smell so good after a shower…"
"I use the same shampoo
as you do…" She said weakly as her
hands unconsciously traveled on his muscular back.
"Still, you smell better…"
He clicked off the lamp and found
her mouth. It was quiet some time later when the couple
finally fell asleep, in each other's arms and with a
peaceful, content smile on their face. If one was to look at
them at that moment, one would think they already have the
world.
*****************
Here's chapter 5. I hope Calais doesn't seem too annoying. ^^;;;;;
I'm not good at portraying original characters
Next chapter: Our heros decide
to take a break before final
confrontations with Muma. Calais has a talk with Naza, Anubis
pisses Kayura off, and Shuten and Nasuti goes on a date.