Yorioden Samurai Troopers:
Another Story

Sachiriku smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Should teach her in wanting to challenge the dark forces of my army." She had her elbow propped on one arm of her seat in which her chin rested in the palm of her hand. Two of her five unoccupied arms were twirling strands of loose hair which had fallen from her helmet. Her pupil-less eyes were off staring into the utter darkness of the throne room. An eerie smile had curled upon her lips.

Kaijin took note of this and swallowed nervously. Lately he was unable to detect when Sachiriku would lose her sanity. Ever since he had returned from the battle he endured with the Samurai Troopers, he was incapable of keeping his senses intact. He was could not focus as well as he used to. And the mask he wore would give off such a strange aura. He did not know what to make of it and could not turn to anybody for help; it was Sachiriku who gave him the mask, but at her present state, she could not tell him anything about it.

"Kaijin-san," Sachiriku spoke, breaking the silence of the room.

He lifted his head. "Yes, mistress?"

Sitting up in her seat and lifting her chin from her hand, Sachiriku smiled maliciously. "Let's give our little opponents a message."

"A message, Sachiriku-sama?"

"Yes... allow me to explain."

*****

Byakuen was alone in Ryo's room. He was sitting on top of Ryo's bed and gazing out of the window. From there he could see a wonderful view of the forest which surrounded the Yagyu household. The sun was still shining bright in the blue skies and a cool breeze could eventually be felt once in a while. Outside he could hear the sounds of children's laughter.

The Chibi Troopers were playing out beside the house. Nasuti was inside making lunch for the children. Alongside her was the puzzling woman only known as Seoul. Anubisu, Naaza, and Rajura had left the house to practice their skills and armors' powers. Kayura had returned to the Youjakai, bound by her duties.

Days had passed since Seoul's arrival. She was quite curious about things. She would constantly follow everyone around asking what certain things did or what they said meant. Byakuen then remembered the story she told of how Sachiriku first became a whole person. He closed his eyes and was able to hear Seoul's tale replay in his mind.

Seoul and Sachiriku are two souls. When bind into one, they create another soul named Lelani. Lelani was a poor woman who lived centuries ago in a small village just south-east of Edo. She was rather frail, and always seemed to be in poor health. But she was very wise. She was aware of the fact that our world was soon to be plagued by the youja in a dream she had not long ago. Lelani tried to warn others about the youja but nobody listened to her because they had their own problems. Her village was plagued with pestilence and people were dying nearly every day. Even the warriors who protected the village were stricken ill and could not prepare for the attack.

The demon ruler, Arago, appeared along with his evil youja army. He was in search of some certain treasure... the Jewel of Life I believe it was called... But Arago was disappointed when it was not there, so he ordered his army to exterminate all life in the village. So the slaughter began, and it wasn't that long before nearly everyone was killed.

Lelani, who had been watching from afar, discovered that Arago was the demon who haunted her dreams and she tried to escape. However, before she could she was captured by a youja soldier and presented before Arago. Seoul can remember the words he had said to Lelani:

"You are the one," he said, his voice filled with such ice.

The youja shoved Lelani in front and caused her to fall to her knees before Arago. She tried to get up but Arago grabbed her hair and hauled her off of the ground until they were about face to face. Lelani cried out at the pain she felt. She was very frightened. She never imagined herself to ever confront the demon lord himself. She had heard many horrible tales about Arago and his thirst for conquest.

"The rule of the Ankoku spirits is right," Arago said, his eyes glowing red as he stared at Lelani's pale, white face. "You are the one with the Dark Soul, yes?"

"D-Dark Soul?" Lelani inquired in a shaky voice. "I-I have no idea what you are talking--agh!"

"Do not lie to me," Arago hissed as he squeezed his fingers around her hair, pulling harder. Lelani closed her eyes and bit her lower lip to fight off the excruciating discomfort she was feeling at the moment. Arago unexpectedly released her hair and took a step back.

Lelani cried as she fell onto her hands and knees. Arago shook his head while the other youja-soldiers all turned to gaze at him.

"Master?" one of them asked.

Arago said, "This is the one. She does not realize the power she has within her. It is trapped inside that sickly body of hers. Ankoku Priests, come forth!"

At Arago's command, spirits magically appeared and quickly took their places, surrounding Lelani...

"The Ankoku Priests used their dark powers to draw out the Dark Soul," Byakuen reminded himself. He had propped himself on the window sill, his knees draw to his chest. "The Dark Soul turned out to be Sachiriku," he told himself, "Arago took her out of Lelani's body--or what was left of it. That part turned out to be Seoul, the 'good' side of Lelani. Arago thought of her as too weak of a force to bother with so he left Seoul to die in the ruined village. Sachiriku became one of Arago's top soldiers in his evil army."

Byakuen lifted a hand to brush away strands of silky white hair from his mahogany eyes. "But something happened. Why does Sachiriku want to kill Arago? Doesn't she know that he's gone?"

*****

Wild, happy laughter came from Chibi Shin as he scrambled into a huge puddle of water. He dove in head first and ended up drenching not only himself but Chibi Ryo and Chibi Shu as well. The two laughed as they got wet. Chibi Shu had carefully covered his donut, making sure it didn't get wet; he took it back out and continued to munch on it blissfully.

Meanwhile, Chibi Ryo quickly dried himself off then went over and started playing with a soccer ball. He dribbled the ball all over the place, even managing to go around Chibi Seiji who was standing on top of a rock, trying to balance himself. Nearby, Chibi Touma was coloring in a coloring book, humming a little tune that had Moonlight Densetsu in it.

Yes, it seemed just like another normal day. Then again... was it?

::Help me::

Chibi Ryo, Chibi Touma, Chibi Shu, Chibi Shin, and Chibi Seiji immediately stopped in their activities and looked up at the clear blue heavens. Each of them were extremely silent as they heard the strange yet strangely harmonious spoke into their minds. It was like nothing they had ever heard in their entire lives.

::Samurai Troopers, please awaken from the nightmare. She will come for you if you do not hurry::

The voice had vanished into the silence, as though it had been drawn away for a reason. Like it wasn't supposed to have spoken to them... but it had. The Chibi Troopers remained in utter stillness for the longest period of time. The voice sounded very familiar as though they had heard it from somewhere before.

After a while, Chibi Ryo took upon his role as leader. Lowering his head from the sky, he touched his forehead gently. "Guys... did you hear that...?"

Chibi Touma nodded, his eyes still focused upon the clouds floating in the atmosphere. "Yeah. Sounded like a lady's voice."

Wordlessly the five boys got into a circle and sat on the ground. Each little boy looked slightly worried. It was Chibi Seiji who spoke up.

"Something's up," Chibi Seiji stated. He lifted a hand to wiped his runny nose before he continued. "I gotta bad feeling..."

Chibi Ryo nodded. He was sitting beside Chibi Seiji and was picking at the grass. Lifting his head he said, "I think it's the bad people. Don'tcha think?"

"Grr, I bet they're the ones who keep coming after us," Chibi Shu growled. He took a huge bite out of his donut and added, "Let's go after 'em! I betcha anything we can teach those guys a lesson!"

Chibi Shin frowned. "But we don't know where the heck to find the bad people. An' even if we did, I don't wanna. They scare me; but especially that crazy lady with the six arms."

"Shin-kun, you can't be scared all the time," Chibi Touma said as he moved over to sit next to the little cinnamon-haired boy. Placing his book down, he placed a tiny hand on his shoulder and said, "You have to face your fears. 'Cause if you don't, you'll always be a scaredy-cat, and you don't wanna be a scaredy-cat all your life, do you?"

Chibi Shin shook his head. "No..." Suddenly, he grinned happily as he stood up. He held up a wee fist and said, "You're right, Touma-kun! I'm not gonna be scared anymore! I'm a Samurai Trooper! A brave warrior! So what do you say, guys? Let's go find the bad guys!"

"YEA!" The other Chibi Troopers shouted in jubilation and briskly got to their feet.

"Hang on!" Chibi Seiji exclaimed just as they were about to armor up and leave.

Turning to the little blonde boy, Chibi Ryo asked, "What's the matter, Seiji-kun?"

"What about Nasuti and the others? Won't they worry?" He was greeted by silence. The Chibi Troopers simply stared wide-eyed at him. "Why're you guys looking at me like that? What'd I say...?"

Chibi Shu pointed his finger at him and said in a giggly voice, "You DO like her very much! I don't believe it!"

"What are you talking about?!"

It was Chibi Touma's turn to poke fun. "You said Nasuti-san's name without a suffix."

Chibi Shin giggled. "You are being familiar with Nasuti-san, ne?"

Chibi Ryo then started making kissing noises. "When's the wedding, Seiji-kun?"

He and the others burst out into wild laughter while Chibi Seiji stood there, his face beet red. His hands were clenched at his sides and shaking somewhat. His teeth were making grinding noises and his violet eyes were narrowed in a mix of anger and discomfiture.

Finally, Chibi Seiji was able to calm himself down. He leaped into the air, changed into his subarmor and landed gracefully on the ground, his back facing his friends. "Hmph, fine!" he burst out. "I don't care what you babies think! While you all waste time goofing off, I'm gonna go look for the six-armed lady and find out more about that voice!"

With that he took off into the forest alone. Chibi Ryo, Chibi Touma, Chibi Shin, and Chibi Shu quickly stopped laughing. Each of them changed into their subarmors and followed Chibi Seiji into the forest. They all cried, "WAIT UP, SEIJI-KUN!!"

All five Chibi Troopers disappeared into the woods, not knowing what dangers laid ahead.

*****

"What's that light?" Byakuen whispered to himself.

During his thinking process, a bright flash of light shined through the window momentarily then eventually faded away. Hastily he moved away from the bed and advanced to the bedroom door when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind. "N-Nani?!"

"Byakuen, you and I must talk," an informal voice implied.

Byakuen whirled around, baring his teeth. "Kokuen-Oh! Now is not the time!"

Kokuen-Oh snickered. He slowly walked around the other as though viewing him for the first time. "Oh... but I believe this is the perfect time, dear friend. You see, as your little baby friends are going off to do some exploring, the Shadowlings will go after them. They will then take them back to Sachiriku's castle where she will do... well, basically, whatever the hell she wants. Of course, she wouldn't have done it if a certain someone hadn't struck a deal with her earlier: I give her the Troopers, she will take you and me to a place where we can finally battle it all out. No interruptions, no interference, no nothing. Just you and me, boyo."

"You..." Byakuen snarled, clenching his fists at his side. He growled deeply and his eyes suddenly glowed with hatred. "Traitor!"

He threw himself at Kokuen-Oh, but before he could even reach him, he and Kokuen-Oh vanished completely from Ryo's room.

~End of Another Story~

Rekka-chan