Yoroiden Samurai Troopers: Another Story Chapter One: Part One It was an unforgettable evening for Nasuti. She was sitting over by the living room window, with her knees drawn to her chest, watching as the sun began to set into the mountain horizons and beyond. Reddish-gold rays from the sun beamed through the window which enchanted Nasuti and simply mesmerized her. Nearby they created sparkles along the lake's surface. Gentle waves moved within the body of water, the cool winds tossing them back and forth, almost like a child's game. Nasuti remembered watching both the sunrise and sunset when she was just a little girl. It helped comfort her, helped forget all about her troubles, and for a while, forget who she truly was. Alas, moments like these only lasted for a minute, if not a second. Finally, it was all over with. The sun vanished behind the mountains and trees, taking with it is warm rays of light. The surface of the lake had lost its beauty and the playful rays have now quieted down, becoming calm and serene for the evening. The skies, once the color of sugar pink, was slowly turning into a light shade of violet. It wouldn't be long before darkness would settle and the skies would be blanketed with millions of twinkling stars, standing out before its soon to be black background. Someone lightly tapped Nasuti on the shoulder. Without turning around, she greeted them. "Hey, Ryo. What's wrong?" Ryo stood over by her side and shoved his hands into his pocket. "Nothing. Just wondering why you were all alone over here. You like looking at the sun?" Nasuti nodded. "Yeah, it's really something. I just wish I had more time to see it." "Well, join the club," Ryo said with a silly grin. "Anyway, Shin's in the kitchen preparing snacks and Touma's setting the table with Shu's help." "That's good." Nasuti turned to him and said, "Thanks again for coming over for dinner. It's been a while since we all got together like this." Ryo chuckled, "Yeah, I know. Seems like only yesterday when we were all living together. Hey, when is Seiji going to get here?" He looked about the area and scratched his head. "He's going to be--" "Fashionably late," a voice spoke from the front door. Seiji entered the mansion, holding his jacket behind him with one finger, wearing a tired expression on his face. "Sorry, but I had a few things to take care of at home." "Oh? Is everything all right?" Nasuti asked as she went over to take his jacket. Seiji flashed her a smile that could melt an iceberg. "Of course. Nothing to worry about." He eyed her for a few moments and purred, "Nice outfit, Nasuti. Makes you look outstanding." Nasuti felt her cheeks burn a bright shade of red. Indeed, the outfit she wore was something that she wouldn't normally wear: a soft white blouse and a black skirt that fell short a few inches above her knees. She wore black satin ankle-length boots on her feet and gold earrings. "Seiji, I... thank you. You look nice yourself..." Over by the table, Shu make some gagging noises. "Oh, please! I think I'm gonna loose my dinner before I had any of it to eat!" Then in a lower voice, he mumbled to himself, "Thought he didn't like talking to girls..." Everyone laughed at this. It was good to see and feel joy among friends again, Nasuti thought to herself as she went over and placed Seiji's jacket in the closet. "Get ready for snacks!" Shin announced from the kitchen. Touma placed the napkins down and said, "I'll help you out there, Shin." "W-Wait!" Shu hollered. "Lemme help out in the kitchen!" "Oh no you don't," said Seiji as he and Ryo took their seats over by the couches. "We want to eat too, you know." Shu made a face at them then proceeded to follow Touma to the kitchen. Nasuti was over at the table for a quick inspection. Byakuen was sleeping over by the stairway, snoozing away soundly with his tail thumping up and down on the floor. Yes, everything seemed to be back to normal. Just the way they liked it. No more fighting, no more worries, no more yoroi. *** Ripping. Tearing. Burning. Screaming. Pleading. Images crash, thoughts race, reality perceptions twisting slowly, slowly into place. Blood dripped down the walls like a waterfall in slow motion, flooding the entire floor in crimson waters, and crawling up her body like a parasite. She could no longer see anything. Her world was crashing down before her, an apocalypse raining down upon her. However, she was enjoying every minute of it in a sick, warped sort of way. Suddenly, she blinks and she finds herself in her throne room. It was dark and gloomy with a hint of light penetrating through the glass ceiling. Her vision was a bit hazy but there was no blood on any of the walls nor anywhere else. The room consisted of dusty black marble, perfected so that the walls were smooth and clean--no blood, much to her disappointment. Her pupil-less eyes sparkled with hatred. She sat up from her black, majestic throne and her vision adjusted until she could see clearly once more. She drew her knees to her chest and a pair of smooth, muscular arms wrap around them. Moments later, another pair of arms wrapped around her wrapped around her knees, on top of the first pair. Then another pair of arms did the same, placing themselves on top of the first pair. So six arms held her knees as she stared outward into the nothingness. Stringy white hair fell from her large, silver helmet and onto her shoulders. Ruby red lips curled from a frown into a feral smile. "Hee hee hee, looks like I'm still here," she whispered to herself. "Trapped... forever and ever and ever... no way to get out. HE showed me the way but I don't know how to get out..." "Sachiriku-sama." A mysterious robed figure materialized before the throne, wearing a strange golden mask. He bowed graciously, strands of black hair falling in front of his mask. "My lady, we have located five of the nine wearers of the mystical armors." Sachiriku narrowed her eyes. "I will kill him, Kaijin. The yoroi I must have, yes. Once I get all nine, I will kill him. Slowly. Painfully. With the powers he had bestowed upon me, I... will... kill him. Hee hee hee...!" "Does my lady forget that Arago has been dead for quite some time now?" Kaijin sighed and shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no!" Sachiriku unraveled all six of her arms from her knees and slammed them onto the armstands of her throne. The entire area seemed to shake and then all was silent. "Arago IS alive!" she protested. "He haunts me, teases me, he is everywhere! Don't you see him, Kaijin-san?! Oh, look! He's right behind you!" Sachiriku lunged out of her seat and dove past Kaijin, who didn't bother moving from his spot. Instead, Kaijin stood and listened to the sound of rock being shattered. Behind him, Sachiriku was clawing ferociously at one of the marble pillars with two pairs of her arms while the last pair, which wielded samurai swords, was slashing away at its base. "Die, die, die--!" she shrieked. Kaijin shook his head in commiseration. Turning around, he suggested, "Perhaps I should prepare the Shadowlings for our journey to the--" "N-No, wait!" Sachiriku lowered her arms and dropped her swords onto the ground. They clattered onto the smooth marble floor before vanishing into thin air. She fell to her knees and leaned her head against the pillar, which suffered quite a bit of structural damage. A trail of tears streamed down her cheeks and she coughed violently. "Wh--What's wrong with me, Kaijin-san?" Sachiriku wept, her face twisted in anguish. She felt a pair of hands gently rest on her shoulders. Kaijin squeezed them and said to her gently, "My lady, may I suggest you get some rest in your room? I will deal with the armors." "No, not the armors, Arago!" Sachiriku objected. She shook her head and groaned. "Go on... leave me be. Alone. Alone in the throne room. Without anyone to talk to..." A dark cloud swirled around her body and soon Sachiriku had vanished, leaving Kaijin alone. He turned around and floated over until he stood in the middle of the throne room. Raising a fist into the air, he growled, "Curse you, Arago. It is because of you that my lady has gone insane. True, she was a fool to ask for power but it was wrong of you to do what you did. Maybe I owe those Troopers for destroying you but I will please my lady in gathering your old armor if it will help gain her sanity back." Kaijin raised his arms into the air and a crackle of energy swirled about his body. Closing his eyes and lowering his head, he began to concentrate. *** Most of the Troopers were settled in the living room, spending some time catching up on what each of them was doing. Shin and Nasuti had served them drinks and was also busying making sure that dinner would be fully prepared by the time their other guests would arrive. Ryo took a sip of his drink and sighed. "Man, it feels to relax for once, huh?" "You said it," Touma mumbled lazily as he leaned back into the couch. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the cool evening breezes which flowed from the opened windows. Shin came out from the kitchen and joined his fellow friends in the living room. Taking a seat next to Seiji, he smiled jauntily at the others. "I'm telling you guys, the food Nasuti and I have ready in there is enough to feed an army!" With that comment, the guys glanced over in Shu's direction. Shu, who was finishing off his fifth glass, caught everyone's eye and yelled, "WHAT!?" "Oh, nothing," Touma murmured, running a hand through his blue hair. "You'd just better contain yourself until Kayura and the others get here." Shu snorted. "Yeah, well, if they don't get here soon enough, I'll just have to eat their portion of the dinner. Can't let it go to waste after poor Shin and Nasuti practically slaved all day fixing it up for me--um, I mean for us." "Shu, it only took us a few hours," Shin pointed out. "Stop trying to give yourself sympathy points because it's not working." Nasuti walked towards the guys and placing her hands on her hips she announced, "Everything's fixed and now all we have to do is wait. Say, how are Kayura, Anubis, Naza, and Rajura going to get here?" "I think Kayura mentioned something about Anubis driving them here," Seiji replied with a hint of laughter in his voice. The rest of the group groaned. They remember when the former demon generals wanted their help in learning about the modern world. Anubis especially wanted to learn how to drive an automobile so Nasuti and Seiji offered to help him out. Unfortunately it ended up disastrous when they borrowed a car that belonged to one of Nasuti's friends and drove around Tokyo (Anubis was driving, Nasuti was in the passenger seat, and Seiji was in the back seat). Upon taking it out of the driveway, Anubis backed up into a couple of garbage cans. Then out on the road, he made a sharp turn left turn on a right turn only street, nearly slamming into the people on the sidewalk. Seiji and Nasuti were screaming out instructions while Anubis tried to listen and avoid crashing into other cars. At the end of the day, the three of them looked like nervous wrecks. Seiji shuttered at the memory. "Well, at least he, Naza, and Rajura went to a professional driving school; hopefully that did the trick." The group chuckled. Ryo sat back comfortably in his seat when he felt a twitch of pain in his head. He sighed and began to rub his temples, hoping to get rid of the tension before dinner. Seconds later, he started to feel hot all over. Shin noticed Ryo's discomfort so he went over and took a seat next to him. "Hey, are you okay, Ryo?" he asked. "I-I don't know," Ryo muttered through clenched teeth. His eyes were now squeezed shut as he lowered his head moaning. "S-Something's wrong... with... m-me... argh!" "Ryo! What's the ma--ugh!" Shin held his head in his hands as he felt a surge of pain electrocute throughout his body. "Wha... What is this pain!?" Touma, Shu, Seiji, and Nasuti immediately rushed over to aid their two friends. Seiji placed his arm around Ryo to try to steady him. "What's wrong with them? Why are they acting like this?" "How the heck are we suppose to know!" Shu snapped as he held Shin by the shoulders. He tried to look into his eyes but they were squeezed shut like Ryo's. Touma and Nasuti looked at each other with worried expressions. Nasuti stood up, swallowing dryly. "I'll go get some aspirin and maybe that'll..." Her voice trailed off and she turned around and quickly rushed into the kitchen. Touma knelt beside Seiji and tried to talk to Ryo and Shin. "Guys, hold on. Nasuti's gonna-- argh!" All of a sudden, Touma gasped in pain and fell onto his side onto the floor. Shu and Seiji cried out to him when they too felt extreme pain and fell down onto the ground. Now all five were feeling the pain running throughout their bodies, with no idea what was causing this. In the kitchen, Nasuti was rummaging through the cabinets looking for the aspirins when she heard screams from the living room. She scrambled out of the room and dashed towards her friends. "Guys! What's hap-- aaahhh!" Nasuti was bounced back by some invisible force field that enclosed the Troopers and her living room. She was thrown back by an incredible power, slammed against the back wall *hard* and fell to her hands and knees. Lifting her head weakly, she watched helplessly as Ryo, Touma, Shu, Shin, and Seiji fade in and out, one by one until they completely disappeared. A wisp of reddish-brown hair fell in front of her face. Nasuti's face was contorted in agony. "Ryo... Seiji... what... happened...?" Her vision failed and she collapsed onto the floor, unconscious. Ryo groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He got to his knees and held his head in his hands, feeling as though it was about to blow apart. Surrounding him was a world filled with twisted, distorted colors. It was not a room but not exactly a "place" either; there was no sky, no wall, nor a ground. It was like he was in a strange, twisted plane. "What... What's going on...?" he mumbled. "Where am I?" "Ryo?" Lifting his head, Ryo found Touma staggering towards him, holding the side of his head. "Hey, Ryo, you okay?" Ryo nodded stiffly. "Kinda. Head hurts, though." Touma helped him to his feet and were soon joined by Shu, Shin, and Seiji. "Would somebody mind explaining to me what's going on?" Shu asked with a touch of annoyance in his voice. "Gladly," a voice boomed from behind. The Troopers turned around to discover a robed figure wearing a gold mask standing there. Eerie winds blew by, ruffling his short black hair and red robe. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience--it seems as though you humans cannot handle the teleportation used by my people." "Your people?" Seiji interjected. "Just who are you and why did you bring us here?" "My name is Kaijin. I have brought you here to the Paradox so that we may speak privately." Ryo glared at him. "What do you mean?" Kaijin shook his head. "I know you are all filled with questions. I promise to make this short: give me your armors and I will grant you a quick and painless death." Shin winced at the tone of Kaijin's voice. Quickly regaining his composure, he shouted, "We don't have any armors to give you! Why can't you demons just leave us alone! All we want to be is normal human beings!" Ryo, Touma, Shu, and Seiji were all taken back by Shin's outburst. They were aware of the fact that Shin did not like to fight and had plainly stated that during their adventures in Africa, battling Mukara and Kuroi Kikoutei. "You make a mistake lying to me, Suiko no Shin-san," Kaijin said, his voice carrying an edge of indignation. "First of all, you all realize that you were never normal human beings and you never will be. Second of all, I can feel the essence of the armors' powers within each of you. Perhaps you do not realize it, but I do. Allow me to demonstrate." With that, Kaijin raised his arms into the air and instantly, the Troopers found themselves wearing their armors and bearing their weapons. Ryo, Touma, Shu, Shin, and Seiji contained looks of shock--the armors were here but weren't they suppose to be destroyed?! But suddenly the armors and weapons vanished in a puff of smoke. Kaijin lowered his arms, his eyes narrowed with contempt. "Now then," he said. "Shall we continue? As I was saying before, I must have your armors. I need to have the armor wearers to do this so if you will come with me..." "No, this isn't what we want," Shu whispered, tears forming in his eyes. "We thought the nightmare would be over once we got rid of the yoroi." "Listen up, Kaijin," said Ryo in a defiant voice. "You're tricking us because we no longer have any armors to give you so I suggest you take us back or--" "Or what? Beat me senseless?" Kaijin teased lightly. "I think not. You humans may have gained power from the armors but you will not have any luck going up against a warrior of the Youjakai." Ryo and the others took fighting stances while Kaijin levitated a few inches off the ground. Waving a hand in the air, a couple of shadow creatures slipped from the ground and without warning, grabbed hold of each Trooper. Their strength was incredible and not even Shu could break free from their grasp. "What are these things?" Touma gasped, his eyes widen with alarm. "They are called Shadowlings, not 'things'," Kaijin explained in a dull voice. "Now, shall we be... leaving...?" A giant portal appeared before Kaijin. Stepping out from the portal was a strange looking woman who had six arms. The portal closed behind her and she made her way past Kaijin to take at the captives. Ryo gave a start of surprise. "Check it out!" Kaijin cleared his throat and announced, "May I introduce to you, Troopers... the lovely Sachiriku. My mistress." Sachiriku narrowed her eyes at the five boys. "What's the matter?" she asked, giving the Troopers a look of uneasy puzzlement. "Never seen a person with six arms before... well, of course you haven't, have you? Silly humans always expect a fellow friend to have just a pair of arms but no! Not me! Thanks to HIM, I've now got three pairs of them that get in my way all the time! Ha ha ha ha ha heh! Ack! Ahem..." Ryo, Touma, Shu, Shin, and Seiji exchanged riot looks with one another. They quickly turned their attention back to Sachiriku, who had reached out and grabbed one of the Shadowlings by the neck. With one squeeze, she snapped its neck. A horrible screech was heard and then Shadowling fell to the ground, releasing Shin from its grasp. It fell to the floor like a piece of paper and then disappeared. Kaijin was startled by this and took a few steps back. Meanwhile, Shin quickly got to his feet to help his friends when suddenly, Sachiriku grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him high into the air. "Shin--NO!" Shu cried frantically. "Leave him alone, witch!" Suddenly from out of no where, Byakuen appeared and lunged at Sachiriku. He scratched at the arm which held Shin but a wound did not produce nor did blood come gushing out. Instead, the white tiger was thrown back as the amazon backhanded him as if he was a fly. He landed on all fours near Ryo, regarding his opponent with a scorching look. Just as he was about to attack once again, a Shadowling slipped from behind and wrapped its arms around him, keeping him captive. Sachiriku started laughing hysterically. "The power, Kaijin, the POWER! It is in them! Arago, you stubborn fool, now you will die!" "My lady, wait a moment!" Kaijin exclaimed. He flew over to the amazon's side and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He was greeted by an elbow to the gut, sending him sprawling across the ground. Sachiriku squeezed Shin's neck, causing him to gasp and for him to try and pry her fingers off. Ryo thought in horror. While holding Shin with one arm, Sachiriku drew out three of her other arms at aimed them over towards the Troopers. A blast of dark energy was hurled from them. Ryo, Touma, Shu, and Seiji tried to move out of the way but the Shadowlings' grips were fasten tight around them like iron. To their surprise, the blast was not meant for them but for the Shadowlings. Once hit, they had quickly released the Troopers and Byakuen. They fell to the ground like their former comrade, dead. As fast as quicksilver, Touma and Seiji got to their feet, teamed-up and rammed themselves into Sachiriku's stomach. Sachiriku cried out and she let go of Shin and stumbled back a bit, her six arms flailing about. Ryo and Shu swiftly went to the aid of their fallen friend with Byakuen at their side. "Shin! You okay?" Ryo asked as he helped Shin to his feet. Byakuen licked the side of his face, hoping to help him recover. Shin nodded, his voice a bit shaky. "I-I think so... Ryo, that Sachiriku woman... is radiating incredible power. When she touched me, it f-felt as though my very life was being drained out of my body!" Touma and Seiji stepped back to join their friends, ready to attack once again when Sachiriku staggered to her feet and growled at them, bearing pearl-white fangs. Her red lips were turning into an uncanny, vicious smile. "Hee hee hee... that was good... very good, boys. Arago's doing, ne?" "What are you talking about?" said Touma, his eyes never leaving Sachiriku's. "Arago was destroyed a long time ago. What do you want with us, anyway? That Kaijin guy said it was for our armors--which we don't have--and clearly, you have other intentions, like killing Arago." Sachiriku recoiled at the statement, as though she had been physically slapped across the face. Biting her lower lip, she murmured, "You don't say... but... but I need those armors... so if you will stop your lying and give them to me..." "We told you already!" Seiji snapped. "We don't have any armors! Leave us alone!" "Fine. So be it." The woman's eyes were glaring at the Troopers, her arms clasped firmly behind her back. The Troopers immediately felt a wave of uneasiness wash over them. Byakuen gave a low growl, his fur starting to rise. Kaijin had gotten to his feet and was slowly drifting towards the group. "Sachiriku- sama, do not listen to them... they are merely trying to trick you--" "Shut up," Sachiriku hissed. "I know, I know. Arago told them to lie so he can run away like a frighten little kitten. Not today, though. Today, he will DIE!" Before anyone could blink, Sachiriku had extended her six arms out and magically, six samurai swords appeared in each. The blades were nearly five feet in length, not to mention razor sharp and neatly polished. She waved them about wildly as though they were merely toys. "So, go on," Sachiriku taunted, "keep on lying! I will eventually get the truth out of out--by ripping your bodies into little itty bitty pieces! Hee hee hee!" "N-No way! This lady is totally off her rocker!" Shu wailed. Ryo nodded. "We're telling you guys the truth! We don't have any armor! They were destroyed in Africa!" Shin added, "You must believe us!" Normally, the five wouldn't be afraid but now that they have no armor or weapons, they wouldn't stand a chance--especially against a woman who would kill her own soldiers to get what she wanted (and the six arms didn't help either). Sachiriku swung her swords and asked in a hysterical voice, "Do you want to see how sharp these things are? They can slice through your body like a piece of paper! Tee hee hee ha! You know, I like to cut nice, soft creatures... bunnies, horses, humans--the usual." Kaijin folded his arms across his chest and said in a brisk, business-like tone, "She does not lie, Troopers. Give us the armors now and--" "WE DON'T HAVE ANY ARMORS!" Ryo screamed at the top of his lungs. His eyes stung with tears that threaten his vision. "How many times do we have to tell you that!" "Think these guys need a reality check," Touma murmured underneath his breath as he changed his fighting stance. Sachiriku frowned and she lowered her arms. The six swords fell to the floor and soon so did she. Falling to her knees, Sachiriku was now gasping. "No... no... no! Kaijin-san... you said... you said that... they were the ones..." Suddenly, she lifted her head and had a wicked smile on her face. "I've got it! If they can't give us the armors, I will just--" She produced a giant steel bladed sword that was seven feet tall and held it over her head. "I just have to chop it out of them! Bwahahahahaha! So, who wants to go first?!" "Ahhh, no! It can't be!" Ryo's eyes were wide with fear as he found his body glowing a bright red and a familiar suit of armor began to appear. *** "I think she's coming around..." a feminine voice spoke from the darkness. "Nasuti...?" "Ooohhh, my back..." Nasuti felt a massive headache, not to mention a terrible backache. She slowly lifted her heavy eyelids and the darkness quickly faded. The light broke free and Nasuti found herself staring up at the ceiling. She soon realized that she was lying on her back--more so, she was lying on the couch in the living room. Nasuti stiffly sat up and to her surprise, she found Kayura sitting next to her. Kayura placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulder and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you're okay. How are you feeling?" "Terrible," Nasuti muttered, rubbing her backside. She scowled but then remembered her friends. "Ryo! Touma! Where... where are they all?" "We were hoping you'd answer that question for us," a dark voice spoke out. Nasuti and Kayura turned to find Anubis walking into the room, his expression grim. "You okay, Nasuti? You must've been thrown pretty hard." "H-How did you know?" Nasuti asked. Anubis jerked a thumb behind him and Nasuti's eyes wandered to where he pointed. There was a huge crack plastered on the wall near the table. "We found the front door unlocked and once inside, we found you lying by the wall out cold. Nobody else was around. Something bad must've happened... it's a good thing we arrived in time." Kayura stood strait up and mumbled, "No thanks to your driving." "What was that?" Anubis asked, his brows rising in suspicion. "I can feel a dark presence around here," Kayura continued softly, more to herself. "Who or whatever it is, it has transported the Troopers to some other realm. Kaos' staff was reacting strangely only a few days ago. Perhaps this is what is causing it." By now, Naza and Rajura entered the room, wearing their body armors. They smiled and nodded at Nasuti's direction before turning their attention to Kayura. She was holding the shakujo firmly in her grasp, her fingers wrapped around it until her knuckles turned white. The staff emitted a faint purple glow from its top that lit the entire living room. "What's it doing?" Naza asked as he folded his arms across his chest. Kayura studied the magical object for a few moments before closing her eyes. "I think it knows where the Troopers are located. We should be on our guard from this moment on." A loud silence was exchanged between the group. Nobody would dare speak or move. Everyone's eyes were focused on the staff. Suddenly, a bright flare engulfed them all, sending them falling through an uncanny funnel. The colors were like tie-dye affects swirling around them. Anubis and Nasuti were flailing their arms and Naza was falling head first, unable to move himself right side up. "Impossible!" Rajura yelled, his facial expression calm. "Where is it taking us!?" Kayura was falling beside him, her long blue-hair flowing all around her. She held Kaos' staff close to her body. "I believe it is taking us to the Troopers. Hold on!" There was nothing anybody could do a thing, only hope and pray that Kayura was right and that they would find the Troopers in time. Just as they fell deeper and deeper, a pair of eyes watched them from afar. The eyes narrowed and regarded the group crudely. ::They dare intrude in these tunnels? There are far too many souls coming here. I will get rid of them, all of them. First the six-armed woman and her accomplice, then the mortal boys and their tiger, and now this. Well, neither mortal nor youja can stop me from performing my duties as guardian of these tunnels:: The eyes vanished and a vile laughter could be heard. To Be Continued...