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Seiji and Touma stood on top
of a mountain, looking at the landscape
down below admiringly.
"It's so nice and quiet
and peaceful, you'd have no idea that the world
is actually in danger again." Touma sighed.
His friend snuffed: "Tell
me about it. With all these things going on, I
wonder when will I ever be able to live a normal live."
"I wonder when will I be able to go on a date…" Touma muttered.
Seiji looked at him and grinned: "You have someone on mind, Touma?"
"Nay… It's just, well,
looking at Nasuti and Shuten makes me a little envious,
ya know?" Tenku no Touma gazed into the horizon with a dreamy
look in his eyes,
"I wonder if I'm ever gonna find a love like that. When those
two are together,
it just seems… sweet and nice, know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, I sure do. There's
that air around them." Korin no Seiji replied
quietly, "But, I don't think true love comes easy. Look at
Nasuti, she's happy
now, but how much did she suffer? You remember, she got so depressed
when
Shuten died."
"Yeah. If there's one thing
good about this Muma guy invading earth, it's
Shuten's revival. But, even if he never came back, I don't think
Nasuti
would've regretted falling love with him."
"No, she wouldn't." Seiji agreed.
"I don't know why I'm getting
so… sentimental all of the sudden, but… I
really want to know how love like that feels like. To love another
soul so
much and have just as much in return… should be wonderful."
Touma sighed.
Seiji laughed quietly: "Maybe
some day you will find it, maybe sooner than
you think. But first…" he slapped his friend on the
back gently and grinned,
"We have some shadow butts to kick."
****************************************************
When they almost reached their
destination, Calais took them into the woods
and reverted back to her human form. She then walked to the shore
with Shin
and Naza on either side.
Once they got there, Shin stepped
into the water and called on his full armor.
It gives him the ability to breath under water and he was soon
nowhere to be
seen. Naza remained on the shore, closed his eyes and offered
a silently
apology, and a prayer to the lives he took almost a year ago.
When he opened his eyes again,
he sensed Calais' presence by his side. He
didn't turn to look at her, but after a moment, he spoke in a
very quiet
voice:
"As you know, I was once
under Arago's command. I did a lot of horrible things
back then."
"Like?"
"Destroying, killing…
I was the one responsible for the death of Nasuti's
grandfather."
Calais stared at him in surprise.
She would never guessed… But, seeing the
pain written all over his face, no words of accusation came to
her mind. She
remarked softly: "Nasuti seems to forgive you."
"I don't know if she truly
forgave me, but she is generous enough to let me
stay in her house. She has a big heart." He has no idea why
he is telling her
all this, but he can't seem to shut himself up. Maybe it's because
she is so
friendly and understanding, and he haven't told anyone about what's
inside his
heart, but… he just wanted to tell her all these things,
for reasons unknown
to even himself.
Naza glanced over the water
surface, sighing: "I fought Shin here, once, and
it was that time I released my poison into the water." He
paused for a moment
and rubbed his temple, "Shin assured me that the poison had
been cleared,
but… Those lives I took can not be brought back."
"Life always comes back,
in a cycle." Calais said gently, tossing back a
strand of hair that has been blown to her face by the wind. She
looked at
him and offered a compassionate smile: "You are feeling guilty
for what you've
done, that's good, but don't let that guilt eat you alive. From
what I see from
Nasuti, she has forgiven you, so now it's time to forgive yourself."
He nodded: "That's why
I'm here helping the Troopers, to atone for my sins…
Sorry to bring on such a boring subject Calais, but it feels good
to finally
tell someone about it. Thanks for being patient with me."
"No problem. But now, you
need to lighten your mood a bit." She suddenly
grinned and grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the water, "C'mon,
let's
have a party."
Naza was so surprised by the
sudden contact that he didn't even resist.
Wordlessly he stepped into the water with her, walking until the
water is
up to his waist. Calais stopped there, seeing no one else is around,
she
let go of him, put her hands flat on the water surface and closed
her eyes.
Naza was about to ask her what
she's doing, when he saw fishes started to swim
to the surface and toward them.
"You called them?" He asked in amazement.
"Yeah. But I think part
of it is because Shin is here. I just asked them to
come over and they did. I never seen such trusting fishes in my
life." Calais
smiled in delight and stirred the water playfully, "Touch
them Naza, it's fun,
and they are not gonna be afraid of you."
Curious, Naza dipped his hand
into the water. To his surprise a few fishes
came over to him immediately. They sniffed his fingers and swam
around his
hand in circles, brushing his skin lightly. Naza couldn't help
but smiled.
Calais is right, it's a strange and wonderful feeling to see the
small
creatures so trusting of him. He turned to speak to Calais but
found she's not
there anymore.
"Calais?"
~I'm right here.~ She answered, ~Guess which one is me?~
Naza looked at all the fishes
around him and shook his head helplessly: "How
on earth am I suppose to know?"
~Humph, and I thought I'm special.
Well, take a guess Doku Masho. If you catch
me, I'll treat you with my special chicken teriyaki. You have
five minutes.~
He laughed: "Alright, it's a deal."
Moments later Shin emerged from
the depth of the river and looked at his
formal nemesis in surprise: "What are you doing Naza?"
"Shin! Come over and help
me!" The green hair man turned to him and grinned:
"One of these sneaky little creatures is Calais. If we catch
her, she'll
cook for us!"
"Cool! I'm coming!"
Shin laughed and ran over to join Naza.
**********************************************************
Shuten and Nasuti walked down the streets, holding hands like
any other
ordinary couple. Nasuti smiled to herself. It feels good to relax
for a
change, to spend time with him and just for a short while, forget
about
the huge battle that awaits them.
Shuten spotted a huge park in
the distance. His eyes brightened as an idea
suddenly occurred to him. He took Nasuti by her arm: "Come,
I want to show you
something."
"Huh?" Nasuti looked
at him curiously and let him take her into the park.
They walked deeper into the woods. Because it was a weekday, no
one else was
around. Shuten stopped and smiled down at Nasuti: "Now, call
on your sub-armor."
"Huh? Why?"
"Trust me, just call on it." He changed into his sub-armor.
"Alright…" Nasuti
looked a little confused but she did as she was told. In a
second she was in her silver and royal purple sub-armor. "Now
what?"
"Now…" He grinned
mischievously, "We run!" Without warning, he darted
forward
at full speed, still holding Nasuti's hand in his.
"Whoa…!" Nasuti
cried in surprise as she stumbled forward, closing her eyes
in fright. But seconds later she opened them again, and found
to her utter
surprise that her legs are carrying her at a speed she never imagined
possible
for her to achieve. She was able to catch up with Shuten's incredible
speed
with no problem.
"Wow! I… I can run!"
She cried in amazement, her voice barely audible in the
wind.
Shuten turned to her and smiled:
"Did you really think I'd do anything that
might injure you, darling? It's the power of your armor, it allows
you to run
at a speed five times your normal."
"This feels so good, I
love it!" Nasuti laughed in delight as Shuten let go
of her hand, and they both ran at a speed even faster. Wind rushed
past her
face and Nasuti loved that feeling. She felt so strong, so free,
almost as if
she could fly…
Suddenly a playful idea occurred
to her. She called to her lover: "Shuten!
Stop for a while!"
He stopped gracefully in his tracks and turned to her: "What is it Nasuti?"
She smiled sweetly and walked up to him: "Well, I wanna try something…"
"Try what?"
Nasuti's smile widened. She
stood by his side: "You'll see, close your eyes
first."
Shuten did as he was told. Suddenly
he felt himself being pulled back
forcefully, unprepared, he took a few steps back to steady himself.
Nasuti used that initial to
dash forward as she laughed: "Race you to the
field, oh mighty Oni Masho!"
Shuten wasn't confused for long.
He laughed too as he chased after her: "Just
wait 'til I catch you, you little cheater!"
Nasuti was athletic and when
in her armor, she was amazingly fast. But still
not as agile as Shuten. He caught up with her about a minute later.
He tagged
her and she lost balance, but she caught his legs and dragged
him down with
her. They rolled together on the grassy field and when they finally
came to
a stop, both were breathless and had dirt smudges on their face.
Shuten pinned Nasuti on the
ground with his arms and legs. He laughed down at
her softly: "Looks like you lost the race, Tenshi no Nasuti."
"And you are really a cruel
man Oni Masho, humiliating a lady like this." She
retorted.
He grinned: "But you are
not just any lady, you are my , remember?" He lowered
his body and rested his head on the hallow of her shoulder, breathing
softly
on her neck as he whispered: "Surrender or else…"
She put her hands around his
waist and laughed softly, her eyes twinkled with
anticipation: "You know I never surrender, Oni Masho, so
what's the 'else'
part?"
He snuffed elegantly: "Normally
I'd say 'surrender or die,' but that one would
spoil the moment, don't you think? So…" He found her
lips and teased gently,
"Surrender or be kissed…"
"Hmmm…" She whispered
between their kisses, "I knew… sticking to the…
'Never
surrender' motto… was a good idea…"
Some time later, Nasuti was
laying contently in the warm sun, resting her head
in the curve of Shuten's arm. She snuggled closer to him as a
thought occurred
to her:
I wonder how the guys are doing back at the house? …
***********************************************
Anubis and Dais stared at the dish on the table and gulped nervously.
In the plate was a pile of…
stuff, in three different colors: black, yellowish
brown and white, and it's looking, well, disgusting.
"Hmmm… Lady Kayura? What exactly is this?" Shu asked timidly.
Kayura frowned and looked at
her own cooking, a little doubtful: "Well… It's
scrabble eggs I think… ask Ryo."
The handsome boy with jet-black
hair nodded rather reluctantly and muttered:
"Well, yeah, it was yellow when she poured it into the pan…"
"So, any one wants try some?" Kayura asked hopefully.
The four men stared at each
other. Suddenly Ryo's eyes brightened as he found
another victim. He held the plate to Byakuen: "Here boy,
wanna try some?"
The white tiger sniffed it curiously,
then snorted and turned his head away,
proudly refusing it like a king.
"Fine, be that way!"
Kayura snapped and sighed in defeat, "I don't get it,
how did I manage to screw up a simple dish like that…"
"Cheer up Lady Kayura."
Shu tried to look on the bright side, "Well, at least
we still have frozen pizza and corns…"
Rajura suddenly burst out laughing:
"This is humiliating! We can kick some
serious ass but we can't take care of our own stomach!"
Anubis smirked: "Look at
it this way, we are the DESTRUCTIVE force. So if
Kayura is to cook a feast for Muma and his minions, we won't even
need Rekka's
inferno… Ouch!"
Needless to say the cry of pain was produced thanks to Lady Kayura's effort.
Ryo suddenly snapped his fingers:
"Actually, we could enjoy a decent meal
right now!" He picked up the phone and grinned: "Take-outs,
anyone?"
*************************************************
If only they knew how close
the enemies are, none of them will be so
light-hearted. There's a mountain only thirty miles away from
Nasuti's mansion
and in its dark valley, is the fortress of the King of Shadow
Spirits.
Muma sat on his black marble
throne, tapping his finger lightly as he listened
to his generals reporting the past day's events.
The one speaking is a tall man
with extremely pale skin and claw-like
fingernails. He reported the attack on the Troopers in a plain,
clear voice,
and concluded with no emotions that the attack squad had been
completely wiped
out.
"I see." Muma nodded
his head slightly, "Those pesters do provide somewhat a
challenge then." He turned his attention to his other general,
a woman dressed
in a scarlet robe: "Aizan, tell me about the Armor of Inferno."
"Yes Your Majesty."
The woman bowed deeply, "The Armor of Inferno is summoned
when the five Samurai Troopers combine their power together into
one. So far
it seems that only Rekka no Ryo can wear it, but I have reasons
to believe
that the four people giving him power doesn't necessarily have
to be Korin,
Kongo, Tenku and Suiko. The Mashos would work just fine."
"I see." Muma nodded
thoughtfully, "We'll wait for a few days, and then, I
have a mission for one of you. Who will go to pay them a visit
for me?"
"Allow me the honor, Your
Majesty." The third general, whose face was
concealed in the shadow, spoke in a low voice.
"Very well Hyaku. Bring
as many Shadow Spirits with you as you please. I
want you to keep those pests busy while I restore to my full strength."
"Yes Your Majesty." Hyaku Bowed.
Muma waved his hand: "You are all dismissed."
The three generals bowed in
unison and turned to leave. Was about to exit the
room when Muma suddenly thought something and called: " Hyaku."
"Yes Your Majesty?"
"Be sneaky about your mission.
If you have the chance, kill Rekka and that
healer, Tenshi." Muma ordered.