A New Beginning

By Mirror and Image

Part One

It was a beautiful day in Toyama. Two teenage twin girls walked down the street. Their conversation was quiet and serious. They walked along unnoticed and they liked it that way. Until they got some massive questions answered, and talked a lot of things out, they preferred being alone at the moment. Suddenly they felt a very strong feeling. They didn’t quite know what to make of it except that it felt comforting, welcoming, and something like friendship but more. As they continued down the street, the feeling got stronger. They noticed a pair of teenage boys walking towards them and the feeling seemed to emanate from them as they drew nearer. As the boys walked past, their heads turned and all four noticed each other. The two teens continued walking in silence, as a testimony of the kinship they felt towards the boys and each other.

"Did you feel that?" said the black haired boy to his companion.

"Oh, yeah. It seemed to come from those two girls," said the blond haired boy. "What could it mean?"

"I don’t know, I just get the feeling that something is going to happen."

"Ryo, do you think it could be the Dynasty?"

"I sincerely hope not Sage. I sincerely hope not." They continued to walk in silence, not knowing what to expect, especially considering the weird feeling they had just had.

Much later, Ryo and Sage found themselves in front of the food court, buying an exuberant amount of groceries for a bottomless pit they knew. They started to load up the jeep when they started to get a strange feeling. This one however, was not as unexplained as the one they felt earlier. It was the Dynasty. They quickly locked up the jeep and went into an alley. There the donned their sub-armor and when up to the roof. They started to run in the direction of the loud explosion they soon heard. They ended up looking down to a battle that was unlike anything they had ever seen. Yeah, there was the typical Dynasty goon squad, but the three armored figures is what made it so extraordinary. Down below them, were three sets of armors that they had never seen before. The one that appeared to be on the Dynasty was in a pink armor. The other two were in a gray armor and a purple armor. The thing that made the gray armored figure so unique was a... shawl... for lack of a better word, that wrapped from the back around the front and over an arm. Though these new armored individuals were unknown to Ryo and Sage, it was obvious that the Dynasty was winning. That had to be stopped.

They put on their armor and leapt into battle. The Dynasty soldiers, for the most part, were easy to beat. There were a series of slashes and thrusts, and the goons were vanishing or already gone. The guy in pink disappeared quickly afterward, not even muttering a word. The only ones left were the purple and gray figures.

Ryo and Sage quickly banished their armor, leaving their sub. The other two did the same, shocking the Ronins. The sub-armor that they wore was similar to what Ryo and Sage had on, only where the Ronins had white, they had black. It was the two teens they had seen earlier that day. The twin girls. Ryo’s eyes had grown to half the size of his face and poor Sage’s mouth was on the ground somewhere.

"What, you’ve never seen girls before?" asked one of them. She had green-blue eyes and red hair with natural blond streaks. Kinda like strawberry blond. The hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and some whisps of the hair fell across the left side of her pale face. It looked like bangs, but only on the side. She was tall, about five seven (taller than her sister) and a nice figure.

"Hey, relax," said the sister. She had the same color eyes and hair as her sister (obviously), and was maybe a half inch shorter. Her hair was in a low ponytail and she had a full set of bangs falling just above her eyebrows.

"Uh... no,... we’ve seen girls.... but... uh... um..." stuttered Ryo.

"But none quiet as beautiful as you," interjected Sage, taking the opportunity for a date.

"Flattery will get you nowhere. And that’s a literal statement," retorted the one with bangs.

"Uh, who are you?" asked Ryo, regaining his composure.

"Mirror and Image of the Second Sight," they answered in unison.

"Which beauty is which?" asked Sage.

"I’m Mirror," said the one with bangs.

"I’m Image," said the one with the high ponytail.

"Are those really your names??" Ryo asked confused.

"That depends," said Image. "Who are you?"

"Sage of the Halo, at your service," Sage said, bowing. It was obvious which one was his favorite.

"Uh, I’m Ryo of the Wildfire. We’re of the Ronin Warriors," Ryo answered more modestly.

"Hmm, how many of these Ronins are there?" Image asked.

"Five, why?"

"Then you’re supposed to train us in how to use our armor and defeat the bad guys." said Mirror.

"Of which, how can you both be of the same armor?" Ryo asked.

"We just are. Don’t ask us. As far as we know, you know more then we do," said Mirror.

"I think you should meet the others," Ryo stated.

As the four entered the Ronin Manor, Ryo called out to the others, "We’re back and we found some new... new... allies!" Kento came charging downstairs, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the two lovely ladies standing before him.

"I always did ask for twins!!!" he cried.

Cye came in from the kitchen with a chefs hat on. He, too, stopped dead in his tracks. "Ryo, is this another Mia and Yuli we have here?"

"Not quite," he answered. "Meet Mirror and Image of the Second Sight."

"As in armor??"

"Of course," Image said. "What’d you expect? Damsels in distress? No thank you."

"Well then, I’m Cye of the Torrent."

"Kento of the Hardrock."

A voice filtered from the basement saying, "Rowan of the Strata!" The voice was answered by Ryo. "You might want to get up here!!" Some steps were heard coming up the stairs. The basement door opened. Rowan was looking down at his dirty hands trying to clean them.

"BLUE HAIR????!!!!" squeaked Mirror.

"Can we say, ‘fashion statement’?" said Image.

Rowan looked up to see the twins. "These are allies?!"

"Why is everyone shocked that we’re good guys?" asked Mirror.

"Where are you from? You sound American," asked Cye.

"That’s a good question. We have no idea," said Mirror.

"That’s not accurate. We are from America, more specifically New England, maybe Connecticut, but we’re not sure," corrected Image.

"I thought Massachusetts," said Mirror.

"So, what, did you get hit in the battle?" asked Ryo, as everyone migrated into the living room.

"No, it’s been like that since we woke up this morning here. Of which, where is here?" asked Mirror.

"Toyama."

"Why don’t you remember who you are?" asked Rowan.

"Oh, we remember who we are. It’s just a matter of knowing small details like our real names and family names or even what state we grew up in," explained Image with a hint of sarcasm. During the whole conversation, Sage kept sliding closer and closer to Image. This did not go unnoticed by everyone else, except the intended victim. Ryo was in the meantime doing everything he could not to stare at Mirror.

"We’ve been doing all the talking. Who are you guys?" asked Mirror.

"Yeah, we know your names, but we know squat about you as people. Do you have lives, or have you been mind-wiped like us?" asked Image.

"Okay, as far as detached from families go, I’d say we’re all in the same boat. But we do have our memories. I’m Sage, as you know. I grew up with one sister. My parents own a dojo, and I spent a lots of time with my grandfather."

"I’m Cye, I have one sister as well. My mother runs a pottery business and I can cook."

"I’m Kento, oldest of five, son of restaurant owners, and very available."

"I’m Rowan, my parents are divorced and my dad is an astronomer."

"I’m Ryo, and I’m an only child."

"What about your parents, Ryo?" asked Mirror cautiously.

"What parents? I’m an orphan." Ryo got up from the couch and walked upstairs darkly.

"Maybe I should talk to him alone," said Mirror, regretting her question.

"I... have to get supper ready," said Cye awkwardly. Everyone mumbled something and separated. Rowan went back to the basement and Kento plopped on the couch. Sage lead Image upstairs to what would be their new room.

Ryo was in his room, sitting on the window seat, staring out the window. Being reminded of his parents was painful, and as a rule, he liked being alone. The sun was still high in the sky, about three o’clock. He heard the door open quietly, but ignored it, knowing it was probably Sage or Cye. When Mirror sat down next to him he started a little, and tried to put a smile on his face unsuccessfully.

"So."

"So."

"So, I’m a lousy conversation starter."

"That’s okay, Ryo." Ryo went back to staring out the window, thinking desperately of something to say. After an awkward pause, he turned to say something and found Mirror staring at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Listening to you," she answered.

"Huh? How? I haven’t said anything. And what I was about to say was stupid."

"That’s okay. Sometimes the best things are left unsaid. Like just now, I learned a lot about you."

"Like what?" asked Ryo, interested.

"Like, you’re under a lot of pressure. You’re the leader I assume, and you strive to perform. Kinda like me and my sister. She always has me make the decisions. I don’t mind usually, but it can be annoying if it’s something you really don’t want to do."

"Been there."

"I’d also say you’re bitter. If your an orphan, I’d guess it was from a pretty early age. Five or six maybe? Anyway, I like to read people that way. It’s easy to do with my sister. All I have to do is glance at her and I know almost immediately what she’s feeling."

"Well, you seem to know everything I’m feeling." Ryo was impressed. She was a lot like him. He liked her a lot. She was gorgeous too. And whenever she was around, he felt different, less constricted, more like himself, more free....

"Please, no," Mirror said. Ryo hadn’t even realized he was leaning forward for a kiss. He cursed himself for doing it. You don’t even know her, he said to himself. Heck, SHE doesn’t even know her. And it’s WAY too soon. Ryo was about to apologize when he heard a loud slap from the guest room.

"Don’t you ever do that again, you...... you...."

"Here it comes," said Mirror, anticipating the next line. She did more than anticipate, she mouthed every word that he heard next.

"You... stubborn, bullheaded, sex crazed, testosterone-driven, blond-headed Cyclops!!!!!!" Image charged down the hall in front of the open door, and if looks could kill, the two in there would be dead. Mirror quickly got up and ran after her. She finally caught up with Image in the living room. She was rummaging through her backpack, the only thing that either of them had in the way of belongings. In each backpack were some clothes and stuff. In Mirror’s were some journals and Image had sketch books. She grabbed one and headed for the door.

"Image, wait! What happened up there?"

"Nothing good."

"How far did he go?"

"Far enough. I’m outta here." Image slammed the door on the way out. Mirror looked out the window and saw Image walk into the woods. Ryo came down the stairs, obviously concerned.

"What happened?!"

"SAGE, GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!!!!!!!"

Sage came running down the stairs looking very bewildered. On his left cheek there was an imprint of a hand. "What on earth did I do?"

"Oh, you will pay for what you did. We are not ones who get over anger that quickly!"

"What did I do? I have no idea why you are so mad at me!" Sage said helplessly.

"I’m mad because of what you did to Image and she’s mad for the same reason!"

"Wait, you’re not Image?" Sage was very confused.

"When will people learn to tell us apart? We are sick and tired of people switching us around simply because they fail to notice the quantitative but little differences between us!" Mirror was being very cool towards Sage. Ryo was surprised that she wasn’t screaming at Sage. It was obvious that his flirty nature got him in trouble, but how far did he go this time? Ryo was stumped.

"What did I do???" Sage didn’t have a clue as to what was going on.

"Allow me to summarize and then maybe you can figure it out on your own!" It sounded like Mirror was about to give Sage his head. "We are two girls who grew up in a small town in the country. In a small town, people know everyone. Only the popular kids got girlfriends or boyfriends! We were not popular, and there weren’t even any guys in that town that we liked! They were all immature brats like you just proved yourself to be! We have never even been on a date! We were always the girls that never went out on Friday nights or Saturday nights! We also grew up with a strong sense of God in the Roman Catholic religion and we honor his commandments and morals. That includes ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’ which means no in-bed relations before marriage! Have you ever considered that before you go flirting with the girls? Take our point of view for a change. Now, how much respect do you have for a girl?!?!?"

Sage was utterly speechless at the cool treatment he was getting and he had to admit, he never even considered anything Mirror had just said.

Apparently, Sage not having a response pushed Mirror over the edge. "Have you ever heard of Abbot and Costello? Or better yet, one of their famous acts called ‘Slowly I turned’?"

Sage was still speechless.

"Allow me to illustrate. ‘Slooooowwwwly I turned, step by step, inch by inch until I felt the hot breath on my face and I struck’!!!" During the whole time Mirror was saying this weird line, she was performing some sort of turn on one foot with the other for high up in the air. When she came to the word struck, she was right next to Sage. And she struck. Again and again and again. Granted, Sage blocked her every step of the way (they did need training) Ryo was forced to grab Mirror by the waist and pull her away from the almost defenseless Cyclops. Ryo noticed that as soon as he touched Mirror, she instantly calmed down. "Sage, is it? I have one bit of mercy for you. I am giving you a warning. Image is going to be in her slow burn."

"Slow burn? What’s that?" Sage was clueless and if the look on Mirror’s face was any indication, she loved the idea.

"DON’T push your luck with me. I won’t tell you anymore than I already have. I must go now and don’t EITHER of you think of following me." Mirror promptly left the room in a dark mood. Ryo guessed that she was going to talk to Image. That was fine with him. He had a serious talk to give Sage about his flirting. After that, Ryo wondered if he should talk to Sage about what he almost did with Mirror. Nah, Sage doesn’t need any ammunition for teasing me. I have to figure out that feeling I have around Mirror by myself.