Mia lay awake, leaning against a tree and looking up at the midnight blue sky and starring at the stars. She sighed and tried her best to hold back tears. She looked over at the sleeping Ronins and smiled to herself.
They all looked so defenseless and innocent when they were sleeping.

She closed her eyes, thinking of her lost love. She didn't hear the soft footsteps approach her, or the quiet clanking of subarmor coming her way. She jumped up as she felt the cold touch of metal against her arm. She gasped as she saw that it wasn't one of the Ronins, or anyone she knew for that matter.

Another hand reached towards her and grabbed her other arm. The touch of the armor against her skin
made her shiver. She looked up and saw an evil grin on the man's face. This genuinly freaked her out,
so she naturally screamed.

At the sound of Mia's scream, all five Ronin warriors jumped wide awake and turned to see a dark warrior in subarmor holding onto Mia. Her eyes showed fear and uncertainty as she looked over at the Ronins.

"Let her go!" Sage yelled at Mia's assailant. As if on cue, all of the Ronin Warriors suited up in their subarmor.

"Back off you creep!" Ryo warned the tall, young man.

His dark blue eyes never left Mia's. He spoke in a young, strong, but also evil voice.

"So I've finally met you Mia. There's been a lot of talk about you in the Dynasty lately." He grinned menacingly
and as Mia tried to push away, he only gripped her tighter.

Kento shook a fist at the man.

"This dude is starting to get on my nerves!" The man towering above Mia only laughed at this comment. Mia's eyes shot from the Ronins' to the man's, searching for some explaination or a way out of his grasp.

"What do you want from me?" She asked in a shaky and frightened voice. The man smiled at her and ignored the Ronins.

"I am Lord Taitou, the new leader of the Dynasty." He chuckled to himself. "And you Mia, are coming with me." Before he or the Ronins could make a move a figure jumped from the shadows and landed a kick right in Taitou's jaw. He quickly let go of Mia and she sprawled to the Ronins, whom surrounded her protectively.

The man who had saved Mia hovered over Taitou.

"Touch her again and I'll personally see to it that you have a long, horrible death." His eyes narrowed as Mia's
lit up. Taitou pushed himself up and crossed his arms.

"And who might you be?" He asked, glaring at the figure with evil eyes.

"That isn't your concern." It responded.

"Very well then. You can keep the girl for now, but only for now." He vanished in a portal of black mist and Mia
stepped out from the Ronins. Her eyes were brimmed with tears and her hand, quivering and shaking, reached out to the figure.

"Anubis?" She asked quietly and unsteadily. She felt a warm hand take a hold of her's. The figure stepped into
the light and proved to be Anubis in his subarmor. He smiled softly at her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Yes Mia...." He looked lovingly at her and she returned the caring glance. As tears slowly spilled over Mia's cheeks, Anubis pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She put her head on his shoulder and the Ronins were left with puzzled and confused looks on their faces.

* * * * * * * *

"So, the Ancient sent you back to warn us of that guy?" Cye asked, trying to get what Anubis had been telling them.

"Right. I was given my life back in order to help protect this world." Everyone nodded their heads in understanding. The sun was just above the trees and everyone was in their subarmor, except Mia, who was in blue jeans and a light blue shirt which made her look outstanding. She was sitting across from Anubis,
White Blaze laying beside her. She watched him, so happy that he was finally back. Anubis stared back at her, mesmerized by her beauty. Kento rolled his eyes.

"Will you two love birds save this for later? The Dynasty is back in case you didn't notice!" Mia gave him a sharp
glare which made Kento cringe. Anubis shrugged.

"No big deal. This Taitou guy is all talk and no action. He shouldn't be too hard to get rid of." He sighed, not
believing that he was actually back in the mortal world.

Mia put her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees and looked down at the ground. Rowen noticed her discomfort and frowned.

"Mia, what's wrong?" Mia looked up at him. She shook her head.

"I don't know. it just kinda freaked me out, the way he said there'd been talk about me in the Dynasty. I wonder
what he meant by that." She fixed her gaze back on the ground and chewed her lip uneasily. Ryo looked over at Anubis.

"Yeah, what did he mean?" He asked, concern showing clearly on his face. Anubis shook his head.

"I'm not really sure ." He frowned, not knowing if he should be concerned about that. Sage stood up.

"Well Mia, I guess we could start your lesson for today."

Mia nodded as she and Sage walked to the clearing beside the campsite, followed by Anubis and the others who were all interested in her progress and eager to offer help.