ryurei

Lovers craving the sweet caress of your lips as fine sake I approach the door With shinobi like stealth As the latch gives way No sound is heard It is as if a kami Had silenced all in it’s courts I slip through the threshold Like a ghost unseen My breath catches In unexpressed hunger As your form appears You lay lazily with Only a grin covering you To see you now the lotus Would weep in shame of your beauty I slide to your side Avoiding disturbing the covers We lay side by side With touch and taste the ritual begins On old as time And young as the lovers Their souls merging and separating As their bodies move in a sensuous flow Each craving the touch And the end But wanting it to never end Finally when they can take it no more Senses expand encompassing the others feelings With shrieks of ecstasy and joy They collapse onto one another With pants and sweat dripping They lay close and drift off To a sated slumber (if this is in the wrong place, sorry dear elders. Would you mind moving it to an appropriate place, if that should be the case?)

well another long absence and i'm back. its been an eventful time since i wrote last. i am now married to my finance' and am working at my church in various areas. been fired twice and still looking for work. anyway its great to be back here; it still feels like home.

Naru looked at her twin with an angry look, " the hell do we need for a giant, magenta shield?" maki looked innosent as hell in her nurses outfit, "for the spiked, fucia mace coming our way," she said as she moved away from it. "And the plunger?" naru asked as she blocked it. "sneasing on the controler." was the reply as she threw it. falcon dhampire amulet Queen

Requiem for the Nameless First Movement “Who am I?” the thought voiced itself as a flood of responses flowed to the one who asked. “You are Hume, the hero of the ten-day War!” was one, while another insisted, “You are the Undying Master!” “You are a deserter!” accused another. One voice that sounded familiar, gently insisted, “You are yourself and no one else.” “So I am myself, am I?” the asker questioned the gentle voice, “And who is that?” “My beloved, ….” Yue sat up with a start. The same Nightmare had been bothering her since she could remember. In it she was locked in a void of some sort asking questions and something was happening. She could never quite remember what was happening upon waking. She stood and walked half-asleep into the commons area and got herself some milk from a fridge. She walked back down the hall, opened the door and got back into the futon, quickly falling back to sleep. “Yue! Get to your own room! NOW!” Kenshiro was yelling as he yanked the futon out from under her. “Hmm? Oh morning, Kenshiro. Why are you in my room?” Yue asked half asleep. “Your room, my foot! You are in my room, stupid!” Kenshiro shouted. “Oh, so you dragged me in last night? So did we get around to IT yet?” Yue asked as she tried to snuggle with his arm. As he turned bright red, Kenshiro shouted, “Get your mind out of the gutter, you stupid brat!” With this he threw her into the hall and slammed the door shut behind her. “She coulda said it nicer!” Yue pouted as she went next door to her room. “Fighting with Kenshiro again, Yue?” her roommate asked as she rummaged through her piles of clothes to find something to wear. “Yeah, she seems to be in a bad mood today…more so than usual that is,” Yue said gloomily as she also dug out some clean clothes. “So tell me again why you call him a ‘her’,” her roommate said as they headed down the hall to the showers. “Cause it fits her best, Kimiko! Just like your name fits you so well” Yue said as she opened the door to the girls changing room. “Well, whatever floats your boat,” Kimiko said as she went to her locker and pulled out her soap and shampoo before taking her clothes off. “By the way, is he taking you to the Halloween party tonight?” “She refuses to go with me,” Yue said sadly as she put her dirty clothes into the bottom of her locker. “For some reason, she’s seemed so distant since I got this amulet this spring.” “So you’re not going, then?” Kimiko asked as they walked into the wash area and filled wooden tubs to rinse off. “No. I’ll probably go and try to get some extra hours at work,” Yue said as she climbed into the tub. “So why don’t you come to the party that Konako is having? She invited me and said you can come if you don’t have any plans,” Kimiko said as she leaned back in the tub. “Sure, why not? What time is it?” Yue said as she relaxed. “It’s at 8:00 and don’t be late. She wants to try something from some old book she found and is going to lock the door after that,” Kimiko said as she got up to leave. “Ok, see ya there. Oh! What’s the dress code? Costume or no?” Yue asked as she reached over to grab a folded towel and handed it to her. “Just casual,” Kimiko said as she left. Several hours later “I’m back Boss!” Yue shouted as she entered the store. “Can I head out yet?” “You got the dishes done?” asked the man from the office. “Yup and the dough is all put up as well,” Yue said as she entered the room. “Alright let’s get you cash counted up,” he said as he opened a cash box and closed the door. “No bother, 2,895 yen including the extra for my lates,” Yue said as she handed over her bag. The man rose an eyebrow and double checked the count then nodded slightly, “Your right as usual, Yue-san. How can you do that by just the weight?” “I just do sir,” Yue said as she rose to get her time-card. She left the office and punched out, then headed out the door of the store. In minutes she was back at the dorm room and gathering some fresh clothes from her clothes pile. She quickly jumped in the showers and hurried out. Dumping her dirty clothes in the room she hurried out the front of the dorms and walked down the street to her friend Konako’s house. The House was a traditional Japanese building surrounded with the obligatory rock garden and tall, drab fence surrounding it all. As she knocked on the traditional door she felt a wave of nausea pass over her as she heard them moving in the building. Inside she heard a muttered curse and something about someone interrupting a spell. As the door opened a short dishwater-blond stepped out looking upset and reeking of herbs. “Who the hell is….Yue? What are you doing here?? I thought you and Kenshiro would be going out tonight?” The girl asked as she stepped back to let Yue in. “No. She’s being cold again and not talking,” Yue said with a sad sigh as she stepped in. “His loss and my gain!” the girl replied happily as she closed the door behind them. “You know my spells are more effective when you’re around.” “So you claim. But let’s not try that floatation spell tonight,” Yue said with a smile as they entered the main room that had been set up for spell casting. “I don’t feel like sleeping on the ceiling tonight.” “Actually I was hoping to try a few new ones, I found a spell book entitled ‘Power of the Seventh’. It’s entirely in Japanese so I don’t need to translate it,” Konako said as she led Yue into the main hall. As they went into the door that lead into what had been a large dining hall but was now converted into a spell casting chamber. “So you’re using the dining room this time Konako?” Yue asked as she greeted the girls inside the room. “Yes I thought it would work as long as we don’t destroy any walls,” Konako replied as she motioned towards the others.

Requiem for the Nameless Prelude Three weeks after Ryu vanished. Megumi strolled through Heavens Courts to the Towering stone prisons and then down to the cell in which Keiko was being held. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the guards who were standing watch. With a relieved sigh, the Guards quickly moved back down the hall to a table on which a small meal had been set out. Megumi approached the cell door and leaned her back against it as she folded her arms. With a small smile she started, “Anything I have to say is strictly to myself, so pay it no mind. Okay?” Keiko had a quizzical look as he nodded. After looking down the hall to make sure the guards weren’t listening in she continued, “I hear there has appeared a great oriental warrior, equal to a certain Oni, on the plane of Earth.” Keiko’s eyes widened as he sat up with a start. “This warrior fights with two silver Katanas, has silver hair and copper eyes….” Before Megumi could finish, reality warped around her as Keiko’s power started to flow out into the surroundings. Keiko stood, turned and walked through the new opening his power ripped in the back of the cell. That lying jerk! He told me that he was dead and couldn’t return! Then again, he would say something just like that to keep me from following. I need to catch up with him, NOW! Keiko thought as the guards rushed at him. Without a motion or word, Keiko caused a hail of swords to rain from the sky; forcing the guards to pull back as he continued towards the Gate of planes. When Keiko arrived at the gate, he paused for a moment to reflect on his course of action before stepping through the enormous stone portal. As he stepped through the gate, he found himself emerging from a pool into a forest with an infinite number of similar pools at the base of the trees. As he stepped out on to the forest floor, he was instantly dry. A sultry voice came to him from behind a tree, “So you’re going to chase Ryu also??” Reality again warped as Keiko’s power rushed out of the earth to form tentacles of earth that grabbed and ensnared the speaker. “Don’t mess with me now, Mesuinu, I could kill you with but half a thought,” Keiko said as he recognized the silver haired, voluptuous woman who struggled against the tentacles. Mesuinu’s liquid copper eyes flashed as she replied, “No duh! I kinda got that point when you did this. I really don’t want anything to do with you, but I won’t be able to find Ryu without you. I have to call a truce with you if I wish to get anywhere in my search for him.” Keiko thought a moment before replying. “Fine, Princess. I’m the body guard for now. You won’t carry weapons ‘til necessary. Agreed??” Damn! I hoped to try to get the upper hand. Mesuinu thought as she nodded consent. “Good. Then, let’s go,” Keiko said as he had the tentacles drop her into a nearby pool and jumped in after her.

this is the finally of the Sonnet of T'hera. see the next song here.

Bridge It was the final show down. Ragna stood alone having absorbed the essence of Creation, Chaos, Time, and the Seven. Against him stood Dani the possessor and first master of the Ultimate power, and against them all stood Yue the incarnation of the Oni Prince/Lord Kage Ryu Rei, aka The Undying Lord. The three constantly traded blows faster than could be seen for what seemed like an eternity. Finally they jumped back and stood panting fiercely. With movements faster than before, Dani moved over and struck the Blood Ruby in Yue’s amulet. “Go for help,” he whispered to her as the gem formed huge cracks and Dani charged back out to fight. As the gem cracked further Yue found glowing cracks forming on her skin. And then she was falling into herself. She fell through her mind to a glowing platform in her mind. There she found a book made of chains and an old-fashioned quill and inkwell sitting in the middle of the platform. As she approached it she found the book was opened and words were filling the blank pages as if they were only able to be seen by reading the book from first to last. With a sudden calm she turned to the beginning and began reading. The story was of the Oni Lord Kage Ryu born to the then Prince of the ninth hell. As it continued on it told of the blood-strewn path he had made to follow the prophecy that told him how to find ‘the one who could complete him’. When he finally found her she was nearly killed by the Oni Chaos-mage who hunted him. Time marched on as the two started to influence each other as they continued meeting each other on various missions. Finally they began to realize the feelings they held for each other. About the time his fiancé from one of the larger kingdoms of hell arrived to take his hand in marriage. After years of being near ‘the one who could complete him’ his nature had changed; he no longer desired to be used in the politics of hell. He refused the marriage and was subsequently banished from the realms of hell after turning on all their leaders, who had tried to force him into submission. He returned to the mortal plain after killing hundreds of his kin in his escape. About this time the seed of Chaos began to bloom inside him. With this he rewrote his lifesong allowing himself to exist outside of time while still being able to affect it. He also made it possible for him to resist the effects of the Chaos power that had started to ravage him by reaching into the essence of Time and forging a single amulet that limited all the power he wielded to the strength of his enemies. He then sought out his chosen woman and finally found her entering the realm of the heavens. He chased after her to find she was one of the elemental masters of the heavens. They decided to leave together and fled to earth. Many years passed and again tribulation struck them as the Tenchi tracked them down and took them to heaven for sentencing. The court decided to set them against each other in hopes that without their memories of each other they would kill each other outright. Instead they fought as had been planned then vanished from the plains leaving their pursuers cursing their underestimation of their powers. The couple had promptly rebirthed them-selves into bodies she made to hold and control their powers. When the pursuers caught up to them again she was in his body and he had vanished entirely. As she read the book the words started to fill the pages faster and faster till the last page that remained blank. On this page were the glowing words: “the reincarnation sat faced with two possibilities. One was to become one with her power and go berserk. Or she could release the mask that made Yue and bring out the True Kage Ryu Rei.” Without hesitation she grabbed the Quill and jabbed it into her skin. With the blood on the tip she wrote in plain, large print, “She released all the masks she had ever owned and uninhibitedly let out the truth.” Ragna and Dani suddenly froze in mid strike as hands grabbed them and threw them to the floor. They saw and person standing nearly 6 foot tall standing with head bowed between them. His pitch black hair fell to the middle of his back from which two silver wings sprouted. As he raised his face revealing eyes the color of fresh, pure snow that glared at them both he said, “I’m Back.”

Arigato to all who read or replied. Just an update for all out there i have finished the hands on training and sprayed today (this morning to be exact). Anyway me and my fiance (who i am trying to convence to make an aperance) are looking for inexpencive living arangments together now and will be out after a few more classes (classes to help us find jobs). anyway good to hear from all you out there and will soon be talking more often to all you. Sincerly, Mai Takekaze

Hey guys! sorry for not talking to you all for so long! I've been at a bording school getting trained for police work. Let me just say The training is fun while sucking horribly at the same time. However in all the chaos out here I have found my soul mate. we're working hard to get complete our classes so that we can finish paying off varrious bills and tie the knot. also have been promoted to a position of leadership twice (two differant positions). Been quite stressed out due to this, however I'm enjoying the time. Ok well I am happy to have the time to post and 'see' you all again. See Ya Soon! Mai Takekaze

“HEY! What did she mean by, ‘The Place with no Bounds’?” Keiko demanded with a look of annoyance. “It’s a myth,” answered a deep, soothing voice from behind her. Keiko whirled around as her ribbon-club transformed into a miniature katana. She paused with the blade at the throat of a tall muscular man. His knee length blond hair was held back in a que by six white ties evenly spaced down the length of his hair, effectively keeping his hair neat. As his grey eyes grew wide with surprise, he raised his hands to reveal the hilts of two sai tucked into the belt of his battle-worn, black hakama. “Who are you?” Keiko asked, as Ryu added his blades to the man’s vital points. “He is Faust in the service of Tsukuyomi. I am the head monk Miroku in the service of the Lord of no Elements,” said an old man as he appeared at Keiko’s side and touched her arm. “These five are my apprentices,” Miroku said as he motioned to the other monks. “Is he a friend of yours, Master Miroku?” Sensei asked as he maneuvered around Sukoshi and the huge battle ax he had strapped, blade down, to his back. “Yes, he comes by from time to time with various bits and pieces we need around here,” the old monk said with a smile. “And please don’t call me master, it’s so formal.” “How about Miroku-Kun?” asked the dual voiced, adult formed Youchi as she released her Sakura blade. “If you must, it will do, miss,” the monk said as he nodded his consent to her. “I’m sorry for the late introductions on our part. I’m Sensei, the man with the silver katanas is Ryu, the girl with the blade at Faust’s throat is Keiko, and the young lady here is Youchi,” he said as he motioned to a normal-looking Youchi as she released the spirit she had been channeling. “The man that the Elementals couldn’t touch is Koun, the young mage is Ryu’s apprentice Kazia, this giant with the ax..” he continued. “Her name is Betty,” Sukoshi corrected as he patted his ax. “Sorry, this giant with ‘Betty’ the ax is Sukoshi, the woman tending to the injured is our doctor Megumi, and the one skulking in the shadows is Kyoshin. And the one who chased after the Elementals is Ken,” Sensei finished with a frown at Sukoshi. “While my apprentices also have names, we all have long since forgotten them. Besides that they have taken a vow of silence until the elementals are finished off, so they won’t be answering any questions.” Miroku said as he motioned for the group to follow him. As Ryu followed Miroku and the others into the ancient stone building, he realized that he was standing at the edge of a huge bundle of free floating magic. “A Jordan?” he asked aloud. “What’s that, Master?” Kazia asked as he stopped with Ryu. “We’re standing next to a Jordan, Boy. Surely you learned about it in your studies?” Ryu asked as he reached out to touch it. “Um… let’s see. I believe it is a natural point on the planet where all the threads of magic converge and form a huge bundle,” Kazia said as he dug through his mind for information on it. “Yes, and what’s more they tend to be areas of high tension that makes it difficult to cast magic around… unless you have at the least mastered an element or two. So what does this tell you about our enemy?” Ryu lectured as they followed the monks into the building. “We have, at the very least, a Master or Mistress fighting against us in an area where magic is readily available.” Kazia started as he examined the walls of the corridor. “And due to the attackers, I would venture to say it’s an air master that is against us. That leaves a total of eight possible suspects.” “Good! And I can narrow the list down to two and possibly one--the Oni mistress of the wind is the one leading the attacks,” Ryu replied as he stared at Keiko, who had started to giggle about something that had been said. “And where she is, her Lady is close behind.” “Master, I’m sure you have noticed this by now, but would the aura the temple seems to be emanating have anything to do with the situation? The aura is not holy but it’s not evil, either.” Kazia said more to himself than Ryu, while Ryu followed Keiko with his eyes. “Very good, Kazia,” Ryu said as he handed Kazia his bag. “Go and find my room, I’ll be right back.” With this Ryu followed Keiko down the hall. What is she doing with that Faust guy? Ryu thought as he walked fast in their direction. “Ryu, are you done with that lesson yet?” Keiko asked as she saw him approach. “Um… yeah, so what are you discussing?” Ryu asked pushing between Keiko and Faust. “Well, Faust was telling me about some of the legends of people trying to get to the Place with no Bounds,” Keiko said as she followed Miroku and the others down to the main hall. “A powerful litch tried to access it by removing everything, magic, essence, dirt, trees, grass, absolutely everything from an area to open a door to it. Supposedly he only removed his immortality, and died from the lack of air and sudden aging.” “Idiot, trying to do it that way,” Ryu said as he frowned at Faust. “Might I ask for a sparring match with you later, Keiko?” Faust said as he tried to get around Ryu. As Ryu and Faust stepped into the hall, Ryu saw that the walls stretched up all the way to the roof. Hanging down from the ceiling were several wooden rings on which were several magically powered lights that illuminated the room. The room had several large cedar tables that were scattered around. In the middle of the far wall was a huge fireplace that lay dormant. In the center of the room was a large circular black stone surrounded by runes that seemed to shimmer ever so slightly. “Please have a seat where ever you like,” Miroku said as he sat at a table near the fireplace. “We are used to many mages and monks training here, so we have plenty of space for them to eat, study and relax in when they aren’t in the library or the training hall.” About this time, Ken stumbled in, leaning on Kyoshin. “Sensei, the elementals have stopped about half a mile out and have set up barricades to prevent any more help from reaching us.” Megumi hurried over to tend his wounds as Ken continued. “They caught me in an ambush on the way back, although it would seem that their main fighting force is a severely diminished.” “Good job, Ken. At least we have an idea of what we’re up against the next time,” Sensei said as the monk’s apprentices came in with food. “Please help yourselves to the food. It’s not much, but I fear we can offer little else on such short notice,” Miroku said as bowls filled with bread and various dried foods were placed in the middle of the large table along with tankards of water to wash it down. After eating, Faust, Keiko, Ryu and one of the apprentices went to the training hall a few doors down the hall. As they entered the huge, hallowed room and took a deep breath of the still air. Kieko and Faust stepped out into the middle of the room where a small ring had been set up and took up simple fighting poses. They launched into a series of simple but effective maneuvers striking at each other and seeming to always miss, ‘til Faust ended it with a halted death blow just above her throat. “I surrender,” Kieko said as she stepped back and bowed. “Thank you for the match.” “My turn,” Ryu said as he stood. He stepped into the middle of the room and the circle with his arms at his sides. “Come and get it, Faust.” Ryu demanded as he spat out the name as if in disgust. Faust charged at Ryu in a rush. With simple movements, Ryu lightly side stepped all of them. Finally, Faust seemed to speed up and almost hit Ryu’s face. Ryu quickly grabbed the fist and frowned as Faust pressed in close. “You haven’t even tasted her yet have you, Oni Lord Kage Ryu?” “Ryu Rei is my name, Faust! And what do you mean by that, Bastard?” Ryu asked as he shoved Faust back and appeared behind him. As Ryu grappled with Faust again, he heard Faust replied, “Sex, of course! Did she taste good or did you only pleasure yourself?” “Don’t you dare talk like that! Of course I haven’t had sex with her!” Ryu said as he was thrown near the edge of the circle. “Oh really?” Faust asked as he grabbed Ryu’s fists tightly. “Then maybe I’ll do her myself, I mean, it’ll be a shame if she dies without being a true woman.” In an instant, Ryu’s eyes glowed red as he quickly removed his fists from Faust’s grip, then single handedly choke-slammed Faust into the far wall and held him up with his feet dangling. “Ryu, don’t you dare kill him!” Ryu heard Keiko shout. Everything went dark as a heavy hand grabbed his arm and tugged, “Hurry your needed Lord,” Ryu heard as he felt a change. As Ryu fell through the darkness he heard the sound of someone crying. He opened his eyes to see a small girl sitting near him. “Don’t worry, Keiko. I’m only sealing some of our memories and your power so the pursuers won’t find us,” he heard himself saying. “But then they will hone in on your power and I can’t back you up,” the girl said as she touched his arm lightly. “My power resides mainly in my memories; so by sealing some of them, there won’t be enough power to track. Besides, I will still have the Seven to guard over us. Anyway, I have hid from the Tenchi for 53,000 years so far with just these Seven. It will be fine,” Ryu said as he reached for the power within himself, and began sealing their memories. As he did so, he felt a sudden rush of power from deep within rush out and force Ryu out of his body. As he looked on at the scene unfolding before him, his body suddenly started laughing manically. His body looked at something near him saying, “Too bad, Kage Ryu!! I am the one to control the power I hid in you! So be gone!” With this and a sudden motion of his hand, a blast of raw chaos struck at the half hidden image floating to his left. Ryu turned to look at the image, and saw an astral form of himself being struck by the energy. The astral body dropped like a rag doll and lay unmoving. Keiko screamed and then passed out from the sudden increase in spirit pressure, as Ryu moved between his body and the astral body. A second blast ripped away from his body and struck him squarely in the chest and was fully absorbed in an instant. The surroundings solidified and his body looked terrified. “What the hell?!? I thought I was the only one who could pass through those borders like that! Who the hell are you, you mother fucker?!?” “I am Ryu Rei and you must be that bastard who has been tormenting me!” Ryu shouted as he cut his chest and drew his blood sword. With a vicious back hand Ryu’s body shouted, “To hell with you and your insolence, boy! I am Ragna--the pure essence of Chaos! Why the hell would I mess with such an insignificant ant like you?!?” Ryu had shifted to the left and the back hand passed through where he had been standing, causing Ragna to lose his balance and start to fall. “The hell?” “Give me my body back! Hikari to kurayami bunri in/on kizuato!” Ryu shouted as he touched his wrists together and a glowing ball shot forth and removed Ragna from the body. In an instant, Ryu’s astral body attacked Ragna before he could do anything else. Ryu felt a light and sensual touch on his arm and found himself lying on his back and hearing a small voice saying, “You did well master. Now you must go to the current fight.” Ryu opened his eyes to see Kieko over him with a raised hand. “You idiot! Wake up! They’re coming!” Keiko shouted as she swung down. “What? What’s going on, Keiko?” Ryu asked as he sat up, dodging the blow. “You’ve been out for a week talking about The One Who Lost and in the mean time the elementals have returned!” Keiko said as she drew both ribbon-club and katanna. “So get off your lazy but and help out, before we get killed!” As she left the room, he heard a Ragna’s voice happily saying, “Not much longer!” Ryu spun around looking for him. Not seeing anyone in the room and not feeling any increase in power, he shrugged and hurried out the door. As he opened the door, he felt a sudden rise in power as if a spell had been used, and saw an inscription on the far wall. “Wake up, Darling!” he heard as a magic arrow pierced his chest from behind. Ryu felt time slow as his body hit the far wall. The wall seemed to suddenly vanish and Ryu found himself standing in the middle of a forest that had pools of water at the base of the trees. The forest stretched as far as the eye could see and had a timeless feel to it. Ryu looked around feeling a strange sense of déjà vu as he took a few steps to what he thought was the north. He stumbled on some thing buried in the fallen leaves and stopped to pick it up. He saw in his hand an ebony, unsheathed katana that seemed to fade into the shadows with ease. “Damn! He found it!” he heard a voice say as a dark haired girl appeared. Ryu recognized her as the one who had attacked Keiko with the shadow kunai, as she still wore her grimy t-shirt, and her hair was still unkempt. “Fine! I will follow you as I promised, Master.” “Who thu hell are you?!? And where am I?!? and for that matter: WHAT THE HELL!” Ryu shouted as he pointed the sword at her. “You haven’t truly forgotten, have you, Master?” the girl asked as she reached for him. “So be it! I am Taura, the True Guardian of the power of Darkness, the Shadows are where my power resides! Seek me there in your time of need!” With this, she shoved him, and he felt himself falling into a pool of water. As he fell, a shining katana appeared and fell towards him. “Remember that we both await the return of your memories, Lord Kage Ryu,” he heard as he grabbed it’s hilt. Suddenly found himself scanning the room where Keiko woke him up just a few minutes earlier. “So this is where you are, Darling!” a voice came from above him. “So will you come away with me, Kage Darling?” Ryu looked up and saw a woman coming through the solid stone above him. With a jump, he spun around into a crouching Iai position and reached for the Ebony Katana that instantly materialized there. The woman sighed, “So this is what it comes to yet again?” She spun around and landed feet first on the bed. She stood a little shorter than Ryu with pure metallic silver hair and liquid copper eyes. Her oriental features beamed as she smiled at Ryu. She wore a sheer low cut t-shirt with form fitting leather jeans. She tried to take a step as her high heels caught in the sheets. “Who the Hell do you think you’re calling ‘Darling’,” Ryu shouted as he started to blush fiercely. “Have you truly forgotten about your fiancé since you started to live in this ‘life’?” she demanded as she reached out and grabbed him from the side in a crushing embrace. As he tried to pull away from her massive breasts, she continued, “You can’t tell me you have forgotten the Daughter of the Oni King, Mesuinu Sora, can you?” Ryu stopped struggling and jabbed his elbow into her gut, effectively breaking her embrace, and lifting the lower half of her body off the bed, into the air. Quickly bringing his hands together, he followed up with a double fisted blow down onto her back which forced her to the floor. “Akuma maku suji kyuju kyu! Kusari tamashii!” Instantly steel grey chains grabbed her and held her down. As the chains constricted, faint glowing bits of red appeared along the links as she tried to escape. “You always did like to tie me up… so what now? Do I get my spanking?” she said with a smile. Ryu vanished from the room as he sought out Keiko. There had been a gnawing feeling that she was in danger since Mesuinu had appeared. *********** Onisama was wading through a rush of elementals that shied away from him. Thu hell is this fuckin Bitch of a general thinking letting me this damn close to her? he thought as he came into the sight of the woman leading the army. She stood clothed in a translucent light blue robe. Her hair was the color of fire and her eyes were like the emeralds on her necklace. “Mmmmm… You’re almost as cute as that man Mesuinu has working for her. Faust, I believe it was,” she said as he approached. “You…Gabriel, I guess? You say Faust is working for Mesuinu?” Onisama asked as he began calling on his Chi. “What’s it to you?” Gabriel asked with a motion as her robes became flying blades that struck at him. He appeared behind her and put his fist through her chest, “I have to protect my Lord’s woman. If Faust is in league with Mesuinu, then I must be moving to defend her,” As he removed his arm from her, he felt Cerubus approaching tentatively. “Are you alright, Musuko?” Cerubus’s deep voice questioned. A sudden wave of raw anger and power passed through them that overwhelmed Onisama. Cerubus grew another 35 feet or so as his other heads grew out. They stood listening to an unheard voice and paled. “No, the master…” Cerubus started as he vanished into thin air. Onisama rushed to where he felt the power explode and saw Keiko’s aura lying prone in front of him. He whirled around as a vaguely familiar aura appeared behind him. “Easy, Musuko, I’m not here for you; I need to tend to Keiko before Ryu’s seal kills her,” Megumi said as she placed a tri-sealed scroll on the bodies chest. “What do you mean ‘before Ryu’s seal kills her’?” Onisama asked. “Ryu messed up yet another spell, resulting in his soul in her body and her soul in his. His body has 21 ultra strong seals restraining his power,” Megumi said as she started to activate the scroll. “The individual seals are equal to a thousand normal seals. Right now, her power is so restrained that she is unable to move or think straight.” As the seals were broken by the power in the scroll, an unearthly, demonic howl came to their ears. Keiko in Ryu’s body stood with eyes closed. The hair on Ryu’s body shimmered as it turned midnight blue, indicating that Keiko’s spirit was truly inhabiting his body. Keiko opened his eyes, revealing the symbols of fire and light in his eyes. “Darling, is it that time already?” she asked as a hole opened in space and time revealing Ryu in Keiko’s body shoving his blood sword into the dirt. “Ano Kodai Nanatsu soshite Mittsu Eien Kenryoku Watashi o tosotsu suru! Nozoku ano Saku aida ni Sekai! Sekai Hitotsu ni Naru/Suru!” Ryu shouted as their surroundings seemed to overlap with many other semi-transparent images. The overlapping images were of other places and times, the people revealed in them seemed oblivious to what was actually happening. “Ken no Ragna Kaeru e/ni watashi anata no Kacho!” as Ryu shouted this incantation, he ripped the sword from the ground revealing that the blade had transformed. The blade was broken off about 8 inches out and it was a color that changed as quickly as they could be named. “NO!” Keiko screamed as Ryu swung the sword and the entirety of everything in a 10 mile area vanished into nothingness. Keiko reached out his hand and twisted with it and instantly the semi-transparent images and the sword vanished. Stepping through the hole, Keiko extended his hand and instantly his ribbon-club materialized. “Give him back, you FUCKING BASTARD!” and with this he slammed the weapon into Ryu’s head. Ryu grabbed the ribbon-club as glowing cracks started to form on her body. “Keiko, it hurts, the power being released is too great to contain. I’m dying, the power is over-powering my…reincarnation abilities…Please…don’t…cry…I’ll…” Ryu said as her body exploded into millions of Chaos filled pieces that scattered into the many dimensions of time and space. As Keiko dropped to her knees sobbing, an adult-formed Yuichi cautiously approached and touched her shoulder. As she did, the area Ryu had just leveled filled with millions of Tenchi who all pointed their weapons at Keiko. “Oni Prince, Lord Kage Ryu. You are hereby, under the authority of Supreme Tenchi Kenzuma, are under arrest and to await trial upon the finding of Fire Mistress Kaji Kieko.”

SONETT OF T'HERA: Finale “Get your guard up, boy!” Ryu shouted as he struck Kazia’s left side. Ever since Ryu’s hair and eyes permanently changed colors two days earlier, he and Kazia had been sparring every morning and evening before they did anything else. A sudden furry of blows from Kazia showed his rising rage. In a swift move, Ryu was sitting on Kazia who was pinned to the ground. “Musuko, come here for a moment,” Ryu said getting up. Kazia stood and frowned at Ryu as Onisama approached. “Musuko, spar with Kazia for a bit. I want him to see something,” Ryu said as he sat next to the fire, facing it. Onisama vanished, to appear behind Kazia. As he struck at Kazia’s side, only to find Kazia had in turn vanished. As Onisama felt a burning sensation in his back, Ryu called out, “Thanks, Musuko. Kazia front and center.” Kazia extinguished the flames in his hand and went to Ryu’s side. “Kazia, what was the point I wanted to make?” “You wanted me to see how much I’ve grown in the last two days, right?” Kazia said as he took a seat. “No, what I wanted to show you was how much you depend on magic when you fight. You teleported the instant you saw Musuko move, and then you called on the fire element to power your punch,” Ryu said with a disappointed look on his face. “Well,… since you insist on using magic let’s see you summon Cilpheed to take us the rest of the way to the temple.” Kazia stood and went to the middle of the clearing and drew the necessary magics to himself, “I call to the plain of darkness beyond life and death, to the dwelling place of the spirits that neither live nor die: I ask for Cilpheed, guardian of flight, keeper of Oni and Tenchi wings. Allow flight to me and my companions!” As the power finished its’ crescendo, a sudden flurry of feathers proved that Kazia had failed. “What the hell!” Kazia shouted in a frustrated outburst. “Your mistake was asking Cilpheed,” Ryu said as he grabbed some of the feathers and approaching Kazia’s position. Taking the pointed end he jabbed one into his arm to make his blood come to the surface. Ryu then touched each feather to his blood allowing a bit of it to smear on it. Throwing them into the ground to form a dotted summoning circle, a rush of raw magic came to Ryu’s gentle tug. Magic has come so easy recently and I can see the treads of magic floating free rather than just feeling them… What’s happening to me? Ryu thought for a moment as the power swelled around him. “Guardian of Flight; Show yourself to me from the darkness beyond life and death. Reveal yourself now, Cilpheed!” As the power that had gathered instantly vanished, a semitransparent image appeared within the circle. The image was dressed in a soldier’s uniform of a long forgotten race. The image had six wings two of which covered his feet; another pair was folded behind him. The last pair flapped seeming to try to break him free from the collar and chain that kept it firmly bound to the earth. The chain that held the image down seemed to be anchored deep in the ground. An ethereal voice echoed out as it turned to face Ryu, “What does the Lord Kageryu demand of me?” “Grant flight to my companions,” Ryu shouted as he drew on a second swell of magic. “As you command,” the image said as it bowed low. Everyone with the exception of Kyon sprouted wings as the image vanished. “Wings of the heart, become the wings of my flesh, Spirit Materialization,” Ryu cast as a black wing and a white wing grew from his back. He reached down and picked up a rope attached to a large stone bowl Keiko had made moments before, “You ready to go, Kyon?” “If I must be,” Kyon said with a frown. “I still think we should walk the rest of the way.” “Keiko’s future sight is never wrong!” Ryu replied angrily as he took to the air. “If we don’t get there today we won’t make it in time.” The next ten to fifteen minutes of the flight were silent, until they came into sight of the temple. They saw thousands of elementals approaching the walls. With a burst of speed, Ryu crossed the last of the distance to find seven monks standing in a circle from which they were casting a shielding spell. “Get ready to protect those people, Kyon!” Ryu called down as he flew close to the monks and released the rope. “Damn you, jerk!” Kyon shouted as he jumped towards the middle of the circle of men. Keiko, Sensei, and the others arrived and started to fight the elementals. Ryu dived into a mess of elementals that had penetrated the walls. As he landed, his blood sword was instantly out and slashing through several nearby elementals. Feeling a swell of familiar elemental power nearby, Ryu rushed in the direction of the swell shouting, “Cilpheed!” The elementals drew back as Cilpheed appeared before Ryu. He still wore his uniform but his collar and chain were missing. “Yes, Master?” he asked in a mocking tone. “Or should I say Traitor?” Ryu’s sword vanished as his right hand grabbed Cilpheed around the throat and held him off the ground. “What are you doing here?!? Obviously I haven’t summoned you here, so who has?” “L…Lady G..Gabriel,” Cilpheed gasped as he tried to breath. “Gabriel! Is SHE here as well??” Ryu demanded as he loosened his grip. “Why should I tell you, you who have been condemned to Die!” Cilpheed said with a portion of his previous arrogance. “Let’s see,” Ryu started in a razor edged voice. “I would think the fact your life is in my hand would be reason enough.” And with this Ryu’s grip tightened again. “I…do not…know,” Cilpheed strained to say as he grasped at Ryu’s hand. “Hmm… If that is so, and I don’t believe you, then you are truly useless. So the only remaining problem is your insolence towards me, your rightful master,” Ryu started as his eyes started to glow and magic poured into him. “Gates of the second element; hear my voice and open for me! Take this traitor and hold him for a time!” As Ryu cast the spell a ball of magic gathered in his left hand. He dropped the ball to the ground and it seemed to spread into a foot and a half black smear. From the smear came a small, gravelly voice, “Something must be held until the time is up.” “Hold my arm till he is released!” Ryu shouted as he released Cilpheed into the smear. As he did so his right arm turned to stone. “You Idiot!” Keiko shouted as she ran up. “I forbid you to use that spell!” as she shouted she drew her ribbon club and swung it at his head. As she did a sudden wave of darkness rose in between the two and held her club. The darkness changed in form to reveal a small girl dressed in an off white t-shirt that hung down around her knees was holding the club still. Her skin was pale as if from a lack of sun and Keiko could see her finger nails were torn and had been recently bleeding. The girls black hair hung down to her waist and her bangs mostly covered coal black globes that served for her eyes. As she glared angrily at Keiko, a voice that seemed to come from the depths of the abyss intoned, “You attacked the Master and will pay for this with your life! Watashi Taura, Kanshisha no Yami, chikau sore!” As she shouted this, shadows solidified and formed kunai that shot unaided at Keiko. They got within an inch of her when Ryu’s scar glowed and the dark kunai dissolved. The Girl saw this and became even paler and turned to bow low before Ryu. “Forgive me, Master! I did not recognize your Mistress!” The fear in her voice was plain to hear as she continued to apologize. “Who the hell are you?!?” Ryu demanded as he prepared to fight if necessary. “Master, surely you haven’t forgot your servant? Unless…you’re not him….but your spirit is identical…and you have the mark….I don’t get it.” The girl started and then stopped and sat down cross-legged on the ground. She folded her arms and seemed to be contemplating the situation. The monks and the others approached as she stood and pointed at Ryu, “If you are truly my master then find my sword in the Place with no Bounds! It should be easy enough for you the Lord of No Element!” With this she sank into the shadows and vanished.

Final Interlude Mai made it to the Battle dome, to relax after she dodged cleaning duties. Damn but that Dani-sensei is fast!, she thought as the crowd started to cheer loudly. Turning to see who they were cheering for she saw a one of her ‘classmates’ step out to fight with the arena champ Mathew ‘the Crusher’ Ripley. The young girl looked only to be six or seven years old but she carried herself like an experienced adult. I wonder if she’s got a growth problem like mine? Mai absently thought. As the girl stood there seemingly trying to find a way out of the ring, the bell rang and The Crusher was on her. The girl was slammed into the wall with enough force that everyone believed she was done for. As she lay there everyone thought the match was over. And then a sound emanated throughout the arena. Soft lights filled the building as the girl stood up abruptly. The champ turned and charged at her while a dark disc appeared before her. From the darkness appeared a being wrapped tightly in strips of cloth like a mummy. He wore two swords on his right and left hips with another two over his right shoulder. A seventh sword could be seen over his left shoulder as he drew it revealing the blade was missing. “Command me, Mistress,” the mummy man said in a voice that reverberated throughout the building. “My powers are at your disposal!” “Stop that man!” the girl shouted pointing at the champ. “As you command!” the mummy said as he pointed the bladeless hilt at the now still champ. “Damned!” the mummy intoned as magic forces shot forth in the form of multi-colored orbs that hit the champ’s legs and instantly dissolved them. “Mercy!” begged the man as he lay bleeding from the waist where his legs had once been connected. Suddenly the girl passed out, and starting to fall as the mummy sheathed his sword and caught her. In a flash they vanished from the coliseum. “Find her and get a contract from her, Musuko!” Mai commanded as she spun around. “I need her to fight for me!” Why didn’t I remember her name! If nothing else I could get a contract tomorrow morning at class. But I can’t wait to get it, Mai thought as she left her seat and rushed out into the night looking for the girl. The next day Yue sat up with a start. She was in a strange room that was filled with shelves covered in books and half filled bottles. As she quietly got up to leave she realized she was wearing a nightgown. The next realization to occur to her was she had a splitting headache. “Naru it seems our guest is awake now,” said a friendly sounding voice from behind her. “Ok! I’ll get some tea going..unless she would like some coffee. Check for me would you, Maki?” a second voice called in as Yue spun around to see a woman of twenty or so standing in the door way. The woman wore a light blue tee shirt and faded blue jeans. Her blond hair was pulled up into a bun and Yue could feel the woman’s ice blue eyes bore deep into her soul. “Do you want coffee or tea?” the woman asked after looking into Yue’s soul for a moment longer. “Um…do you have some sake I could have instead?” Yue asked hesitantly. With a huge grin the woman turned to call down the hall, “Scratch both! Get the pearl sake out of the cellar.” “She’s more like Him than we thought, huh?” came the reply. “Um…can I have my clothes back?” Yue asked as she sat on the edge of the bed. Pointing to an overlooked night table the woman said, “They are in there. And I’m Maki, pleased to meet you.” Yue got dressed and came out into the hall to see it was filled with more bookcases and various bits of furniture making it barely navigable. When she got to the end of the hall it opened up into a large room filled with even more furniture and various barrels filled with various pickled foods. There was a shelf filled with various nick-knacks and to Yue’s left was an old antique liquor bar at which Maki and another woman now sat. “Thank you for letting me stay the night,” Yue said as she bowed low in front of them. “Don’t mention it,” said the second woman as she adjusted her glasses as if unaccustomed to them. She wore her red hair in a pony tail, with a white oversized sweater and blue jeans. “We couldn’t exactly let you sleep on the sidewalk; you’d probably be carted off to jail.” “So what were you doing here, anyway?” Maki asked as she downed a shot glass of Saki. “I don’t know! I didn’t do anything!” Yue shouted as the memories started to dislodge and swirl through her mind. As the memories awoke, Yue’s power started to stir within her. Feeling a touch on her shoulder everything returned to normal. “Relax, Yue,” the girl wearing the sweat shirt said. “Here, take this Amulet. It’ll help control the enormous power I sense within you.” She held out an arm bracer that had a large, dark red gem set into it. Yue looked at the amulet with a look of confusion. “That… I’ve dreamt of that thing for years.” “Naru was holding on to it till It’s master returned,” Maki said as she clamped it on Yue’s arm. Before Yue could say a word, she was escorted out the front door. Yue spun around to find a brick wall where she had just come from. When she got to school, she found Dani-sensei and Mai-san also had similar amulets on their arms.

Ryumise: out-of-the-shop day. Welcome to Ryumise! In this shop dreams take flight and live, Legends and wishes can be made real, And anything can be found for the right price. But take care, For nightmares are also dreams, Wishes do not always bring happiness, And sometimes. . .the price is simply too high. Unless the store is closed….. It was a hot summer day; Maki was sitting in the front of the store, wearing her blue jean cutoffs and a white tee shirt. Naru was in the back, changing into an Arabian princess costume. “Tell me again why we needed to move the pickled food barrels,” Maki asked. “They were spoiling,” Naru called back. “So why did we take them through the store?” Maki questioned, sounding irritated. “Because the trash guys won’t pick it up,” Naru said as she changed her hair color to a dishwater blond. “And who was it that insisted on carrying the barrel that spilled that putrid liquid on the AC?” Maki pressed yet again. “Ok it’s my fault I spilled the brine on the AC and killed it! Happy now?!?” Naru said as she came in, looking angry. “Well, the repair man should be here soon. Let’s lock up the magics for now,” Maki said as she stood and drew some stray magic to herself. “All that resonates with this I touch vanish to the plane of old, sealed till we call again,” the girls chanted, as all the magic items in the room vanished from sight, leaving the room suddenly half empty. The door chimed as a gruff, “Hello?” called out. “Over here!” Naru called as she headed to the door. The repair man’s jaw dropped as he saw Naru running up to him. “Um, I’m here to fix an AC unit,” he said eyes glued to Naru. “It’s back here,” Naru said with a grin as she led the man to the AC unit in the back of the store. “Phew, what happened?” the man said as he held his nose. “Well, we had a mishap with a barrel of rotten, pickled daikons,” Maki said as she walked up. “It spilled and we need the unit replaced ASAP. Otherwise our business will take a hit.” “Alright, I’ll have this replaced by this evening, although I will have to charge overtime for the rush,” the man said as he looked it over. “Okay that’s fine,” Maki turned and looked at Naru. “So, what do we do in the meantime? If we stay here, you’re going to distract him from his job.” “I know! Let’s go see the twins and Kaname!” Naru said with an excited grin. “We haven’t been over since the statue incident.” “You know Kaname will probably find a way to make us pay for that,” Maki said as she headed to the front of the store. “So? At least there will be AC!” Naru said with a wistful look on her face. “Alright, let’s go then,” Maki said as she grabbed some sun-block and put some on. “Mister Repairman, we’ll be back this evening. Leave the bill on the bar if you get done early, or if we’re late and we’ll take care of it tomorrow,” Naru said as she too put on some sun-block. The girls went to a deserted street and touched an open doorway, opening a portal. They stepped into the portal and were instantly whisked into an abandoned building just outside of Chinatown. They walked about two blocks into Chinatown and stopped in front of a building with a weathered sign hanging over the door stating “Antique Shop of Dreams.” As they entered, Satsuki and Nadeshiko turned and cried out “Hey, guys!!” as they waved cheerfully. Kaname was seated in front of the air-conditioner, dressed in her tank top and cut-offs. She looked like she had just come in from the heat recently as sweat was still clinging to her forehead. Satsuki was dressed in a yukata decorated with Chinese dragons, and Nadeshiko’s yukata was decorated with birds. A wind chime could be heard from somewhere near the AC. “What are you doing here, Naru, Maki?” Kaname asked, turning to look at them with an extremely annoyed look. “Our air-conditioning broke,” Maki said as she stepped closer to the AC. “So we hoped to hang out here until it’s replaced. The repairman said it would be done this evening.” Naru and the twins sat in the corner, complimenting each other on their outfits while the cat dozed on the counter. “So why should I let you stay here again?” Kaname asked, slowly standing up. “Last time you were here, you broke a statue.” “Yeah, about that. . .” Maki started, as she reached into her pocket. “And that statue had a demon, who wanted to destroy Earth, sealed in it, and two of the Guardians had to come here to help with it. And it still took three hours for all of us to seal him away again. You still haven’t repaid me for that,” Kaname went on, staring at the two visitors, as if she hadn’t heard them. “We said we were sorry, and we even tried to help,” Naru said, sounding irritated with the conversation. “It’s not our fault the Oni feed off of chaos magic.” “Hey, Kaname! Calm down!” Satsuki said. “How about we play a game of Rich Man, Poor Man?” Nadeshiko said, hastily. Ten minutes later, Kaname was the King, Nadeshiko and Satsuki were the Noble (Wo)Men, and Naru and Maki were the Poor (Wo)Men. “Yay!! We won!!” Nadeshiko and Satsuki jumped up and down happily. “So what’s the penalty game?” Maki asked, looking disappointed. “You’ll be running a delivery for me,” Kaname said suddenly, in a voice that left no room for argument. “I need you to go to Subaras to deliver something to Alexis for me.” “What are we delivering?” Naru asked. “Come upstairs and you’ll see.” Kaname replied with a grin that made Maki and Naru’s hearts sink a little. The procession filed upstairs and into the Portal Room. The portal flipped through several places before stopping on a door made of black metal. Kaname touched it and it rippled, as if it was a pool of water. Her hand went in, and withdrew with a small flat, round package. She handed it to Maki and said, “That’s what you’re delivering. And I’ll be keeping an eye on you, so don’t you dare try to look at it. And this might help a little.” She handed Naru a small item, which looked like a rolled up carpet, hanging from a short chain. “Where’s Subaras, and who’s Alexis?” Naru asked. “Alexis is one of the Guardians. I would suggest that you stay on his good side. And Subaras is. . .” Kaname said as she circled around behind Maki and Naru. When she got behind them, she suddenly shoved them through the portal, just as it showed a desert. As the girls tumbled through the portal, they suddenly felt heat radiating at them. As they landed in a sea of sand, Maki said something unintelligible, quickly casting a small spell that caused ice to appear below her and Naru. “That jerk Kaname! Leaving us in the middle of a desert without any directions as to where we’re going!” Naru complained. “And no wind to cool us!” “Perfect,” Maki said as she reached down and grabbed a handful of sand. Tugging on the magic in the area, she chanted. “Which way will we find Alexis? Will you tell me sands?” She let the sand trickle through her fingers and it started to look as if a wind was blowing, even though there was none. “Let’s hurry, so we can get into the AC,” Naru moaned as they headed in the direction the sand indicated. “Hey, what about the item Kaname sent with us?” she asked after several minutes. “We’re not going to use it. She’d probably charge us a rental fee for the use of it,” Maki said as she took it from her. After several hours, they found a small oasis that they stopped at and cooled off. After another few hours, they found a small hut sitting in the middle of the desert. They approached it to find that it was built in front of an oasis, and housed camels to trade for tired camels of the travelers in a hurry. As they approached the building, they saw a camel approaching at a fast clip. They knocked on the door as the camel slowed to a stop. A tall, gloomy sort of guy wearing jeans, worn boots and a large light colored cloak over it climbed off the camel. His black hair was pulled into a short ponytail, and his black eyes seemed to glare at them. He had a jagged scar on his right cheek from cheekbone to jaw line and the large, worn sword strapped on his back seemed to show he was capable of dealing with anything that came his way. “Who are you two? You don’t work here, do you?” the man said coldly. “No, we’re just looking for someone,” Maki said with a sigh. “You wouldn’t know someone named Alexis, would you?” The man sighed and glared at Naru who was trying to cool off in the oasis, “Well, you found him.” He turned and took the package Maki offered while he muttered something about never seeing Kaname anymore. He turned and got on the camel and left. “Naru, I’m leaving now. Are you coming?” Instantly Naru was over next to Maki, helping with a portal to go back to the shop. Naru and Maki came jumping through the portal, looking very haggard and tired. Sweat and sand was plastered to them as they glared at Kaname. “Kaname, you jerk!! You sent us to a desert!!” Maki complained. “Why did you do that to us!? It totally ruined my look!” Naru demanded as she motioned to her tattered outfit. Kaname didn’t bother to look up from the newspaper she was reading. “1: you’ve sufficiently repaid me for breaking that statue. 2: none of the rest of us wanted to go to the desert, so you were kind enough to go. Right?” she asked with a pointed glance. “And 3: the girls and I are going to a summer festival this evening over in Japan. Do you want to come?” Naru and Maki sank to the floor exhausted, while Satsuki and Nadeshiko got them some iced tea. Yue was on the counter still dozing away, seemingly indifferent to the visitors. FIN  

Ryumise side story: the birthday Welcome to Ryumise! In this shop dreams take flight and live, Legends and wishes can be made real, And anything can be found for the right price. But take care, For nightmares are also dreams, Wishes do not always bring happiness, And sometimes. . .the price is simply too high. “Hey, Naru! What are you doing in there??” asked a tall woman as she carried a small grandfather clock through a nearly hidden path through the mess in the storeroom. She wore a black t-shirt with a pair of faded blue jeans. As her ice blue eyes glanced around the area for any unknown obstacle, the calendar captured her attention. The calendar announced with bold print and big letters: August 12. Next to the date was a small drawing of a cake. “I’m making some toast and goat cheese sandwiches. You want one, Maki??” asked a girl as she popped her head around the corner, revealing an identical face. This woman wore a ‘sailor scout’ school uniform, her dark red hair was pulled back into pigtails. “Never mind that! We’re late! Today is his birthday!” Maki said as she dropped the clock, rushed further back in the storage area and started to frantically dig through things looking for something. Naru rushed to the door and switched the sign to say ‘Closed’. Then she hurriedly locked the door and rushed back to start digging through things, trying to find something. “How about the ‘Unending cup of tea’?” Naru asked as she pulled a large plastic gas station mug up. “No, we had that last year. How about this one? A ticket to the Country Stampede?” Maki asked as she held up a piece of paper. “When would he go??” Naru asked as she caught sight of a large recliner sitting in the back of the area. Pointing to it she asked, “How about the Lazy-man supreme comfort chair?” “Then when would we see him?” Maki said with an exasperated look. “Seriously, we only see him once a year as it is.” “Sorry! If someone had kept a closer eye on the date, this wouldn’t be happening in the first place.” Naru said as she cleared off a trunk and started to dig through it. “How about this pocket watch?” “He’s turning 3,242 years old! You think he wants a reminder of how much time has passed?” Maki asked as she continued searching, ignoring her sister’s complaints. “How about the Ghost Rider’s motorcycle??” “Like we’d even be able to track him down, let alone get him to part with it. How about the endless gas can?” Naru asked, growing more and more frustrated. “No, it’ll run out. The enchantment wore out after the latest price hike, remember?” Maki said as she turned to catch a glimpse of the perfect gift. “You don’t think…” she started as she touched Naru’s shoulder. “You’re right! It’s perfect!” Naru said as she saw what Maki was indicating. “Then let’s go!” Maki said as she grabbed it. She stepped over to a chest of drawers, opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of rings. They put them on and instantly their surroundings vanished and they reappeared in front of a large abandoned castle. The countryside was covered with blackened grass and there were dried and dead vines and bushes surrounding the walls. Naru came up to the gates and with a touch they swung inward. The inside was as dead and desolate as the outside. The once beautiful rose bushes and ivy that grew up the walls were dead and faded, only a single delicate pink blossom clung to a branch of the Sakura tree in the main courtyard. “It seems he’s not forgotten after all these years,” Maki said as they approached the main entrance. “Of course not. She’d never let him live it down,” Naru said as they opened this door with the same amount of ease as last time. As they approached the audience chamber, they slowed slightly, making sure to avoid the traps set to discourage intruders. When they arrived at the doors, they stopped and set their hands against the huge splintery doors. With a small tug on the magic in the room they said in unison, “I ask for passage through these unsettled mists to the palace of our fathers and to pay our respects there.” With a small sigh and groan, the doors opened to reveal an elaborate throne room filled with every color imaginable. As they stepped through the yawning gates and into the room, a ripple flowed out, instantly rejuvenating everything in the area. The throne was a simple ‘Spartan’ like affair--two blocks of solid granite with a small indentation for the comfort of who ever sat there. As they approached the throne, they could see tables set out with their gifts from previous years for all to see. They drew nearer and nearer as a semi-transparent image started to take form on the throne. “Happy birthday, Father,” the women said as they handed the box they had hastily put the present into to the figure on the throne. “Thank you my ‘daughters’,” the man said as he took the box and opened it. With a chuckle, he took out the book they had packaged and opened the cover. “A photo album with pictures of me and her. Thank you for the gift, Naru and Maki.” He began fading as they stood there smiling at each other. “It seems that Yue is waking. I must go now, but enjoy the sake and stay as long as you like.” “Sure thing, Dad!” Maki said with an energetic smile. As he vanished with a wisp of smoke, the castle was once again in its desolate and empty shape. “Too bad he had to leave,” Maki said with a sigh. “Don’t expect him to remember that he is the life-blood of the palace. After all he turned 3,242 years old today,” Naru said as they made their way out and back to the shop via the rings. “I know, let’s go to a restaurant and celebrate for him!” As they left the building, they caught sight of a young girl approaching. She wore a pair of cut off shorts and a red shirt bearing the logo of a local pizza chain. In her hand was a large pizza bag and she moved very quickly as if to make up for lost time. Her black hair was pulled back into a braid that went down to the middle of her back. “Excuse me, is the intersection of Ichi and Kage near here?” she asked in flawless Japanese as she looked at them through her copper colored eyes. “Sorry, it’s about twenty blocks that way,” Maki answered, pointing down the street. “Okay, thanks,” the girl said as she took off. “Happy birthday, Father,” the girls muttered as they watched her speed off. OOC: a birthday present that turned out better than intended.

OOC: this story was written as a chalenge to myself to write in a more limited scope than what my T'hera story has. it was inspired by Ran yoko's antique shop of dreams. i hope you all enjoy it. Ryumise first visit: love potions. Welcome to Ryumise! In this shop dreams take flight and live, Legends and wishes can be made real, And anything can be found for the right price. But take care, For nightmares are also dreams, Wishes do not always bring happiness, And sometimes. . .the price is simply too high. “Hey, Yumiko! Wait up, I’ll walk you home!” called a boy wearing an un-tucked St. Michaels’ high school uniform. His hair was cut short and bleached out so it looked orange-ish. He had several piercings in his ears and lip. He approached a girl wearing the girl’s version of the same uniform. She had her light brown hair pulled back into a neat braid. Hikaru, go away!, thought Yumiko desperately as she ignored him. Now I know what they meant by be careful what you wish for. She added gloomily as she hurried down the street. A week ago Hikaru wouldn’t speak to me; let alone follow me everywhere. And now I can’t tell him the truth. If only I had never stepped into that shop I would never would have this mess. Yumiko continued as she thought back to that day. Twenty-nine days earlier “ I heard that there is a new store opening in the outskirts of Chiba. It’s called the Ryumise, and they have the cutest shopkeepers ever!” Yumiko over heard her classmate saying as she nibbled on a onigiri. The boy was surrounded by his friends as they discussed where to find hot girls in town. “So what do they sell there? Be nice to know what to say I’m looking for,” asked one of the guys at the table. “Well, from what I hear what they sell depends on who goes in…” the first started with a strange look. “Supposedly, an ugly chick went in and came out hotter than that star from America. A guy went in nearsighted, and came out with 20/20 vision. Another person went in to get advice on how to get a girl and the next day he had a girlfriend.” “Wow! That’s a different kind a store,” said another guy with a look of surprise. “Are you guys talking about Ryumise?” asked an average-looking girl as she walked over to the table. “Ah… Kaname-chan! Hi… what are you doing here?” asked the first boy as color rose in his cheeks. “I though I heard you describing the store and came over. Do you have a problem with me being here in my own class room, Mako-kun?” Kaname responded with an irritated look. “Er… Ah… no, there’s nothing wrong, but you just don’t normally come over during lunch. So, you kinda threw me, sorry,” Mako replied as his cheeks turned deeper red. “Um... well, I wanted to… um… I mean… ,” Kaname said as she suddenly left blushing fiercely. After school was over, Yumiko found herself being dragged down the street by Kaname. “Why do I have to go again? You know I want to go see Kaoru’s game.” “I don’t want to go alone… you know how I feel around good-looking people, Yumiko,” Kaname said as she continued to pull. “Alright, I’ll go with you if you stop pulling. You’ll tear my uniform,” Yumiko said with a look of defeat. “Besides, what are friends for?” “Oh, thank you so much! I’ll pay you back for this sometime!” Kaname said with a huge smile as she let go. “Maybe we can find something to get you and Kaoru together!” The train ride to Chiba was for the most part was as uninteresting as every other trip she had taken. The two girls quickly found the store near the station. When they entered the store, Yumiko stopped just a few steps inside the door in amazement of the messy appearance of everything. There were shelves haphazardly filled with books and bottles of strange looking liquid. There were vases, end tables, chairs, and various antiques scattered in no discernable order in the room. In the back of the room she could see what looked like a liquor bar on which sat an antique cash register. As she stood there, a mirror caught her eye and drew her in. She took a few steps over to it, passing no fewer than three different barrels filled with what looked like pickled foods. She stopped in front of the mirror, only to see, on closer inspection, it was actually a picture of a princess or wealthy lady from the Heian period in Japan. Yumiko stood transfixed till a voice near her shoulder made her jump. “Can I help you with something, miss?” asked the voice. “Huh? Um… no I’m just browsing.” Yumiko replied as she spun around. “Are you sure? You seem to have been left behind,” said a tall woman wearing a white tee shirt and jeans. Her blond hair was pulled into a pony-tail and her ice blue eyes seemed to peer deep into her soul. “What do you mean by that?” Yumiko asked as she looked around for Kaname. “The girl you came in with left already,” the clerk said as she motioned Yumiko to a chair. “She left already?!?!” Yumiko said with a look of surprise as she sat. “By the way, I’m Maki. Pleased to meet you, Miss……? ”the clerk said as she sat in a chair across from her. “Oh! I’m Yumiko,” she said as she looked around her. “Sorry for coming in the wrong door, I didn’t mean to get into the store room.” “Store room? No, no this is the front of the store. Would you like some tea or coffee?” asked an identical voice from behind a nearby book shelf. “Uh… sure. I’ll have some tea if it’s no trouble. But this is the show room?” Yumiko replied as she turned to look at the speaker. She did a double take as she saw an identical face making the tea. This clerk wore a traditional shrine maidens costume with a set of light blue prayer beads around her neck. Her black hair was shoulder length, and her ice blue eyes also seemed to see right through to one’s soul. “Let me introduce my twin sister, Naru. And, Naru, this is one of our customers Yumiko,” Maki said as she stood up. “Would you make me some chai tea while you’re at it, Naru?” “Sure, if you go get the cups from the sink. I forgot them,” Naru said with a smile. “And as for your question, Yumiko, I got the idea for the store’s layout from a friend’s store. So was there anything in particular you were looking for?” “Well, I came with a friend to see what you sold here,” Yumiko answered as she looked over a selection of books. “Legend of the Loup-Garou….History of the Vanhellsings, Magic for dummies, Time Travel Made Easy, Thousand leagues under the sea, The basics of Lifesong,” Yumiko said as she read some of the titles aloud. “The life and times of Lord Kageryu….Who’s this Kageryu guy?” “Oh, he was a great daemon lord who ruled over the elements and thousands of devils till he gave it all up for his one true love. His love happened to be one of his greatest enemies for several years till they meet off the battle field,” Maki said as she handed Naru three clean cups. “But that’s just the overview of it. You’ll have to read the rest your self,” Maki added with a mischievous wink. “Sounds like an interesting book,” Yumiko said as she moved to look at a bookshelf with many bottles half full of liquid on it. “So what are these exactly?” Yumiko asked as she started to examine the labels. “Just a few home brewed placebos and magic potions,” Maki answered as she turned in her direction. “Be careful not to mix them up, though. Despite the appearance, we have them in a specific order.” “Ok,” Yumiko said as she pulled her hand back. “Hey, are these really magic potions? Like the kind witches make?” “As real as the floor beneath you, if you believe it in your heart of hearts,” Naru said as she handed a cup of tea to Yumiko. “Do you happen to have a potion to give courage to someone who can’t seem to have enough to tell a guy she likes him?” Yumiko asked as she blew on the tea. “Well, let’s see what we have,” Maki said as she started to look through the bottles. “You sound like you need a Love Potion Placebo. But you need to be careful with it. Even though it’s a placebo, this can make your dreams come true, if you truly want it in your heart of hearts. And of course as with anything we sell it comes with a reminder: be careful what you wish for.” “Ok, I’ll take one then. How much for the tea, this book, and the potion?” Yumiko asked as she reached for her purse. “Let’s see it’ll be 1500 yen for the book and potion and a smile for the tea,” Naru said as she moved towards the register. “Are you sure it’s only 1500 yen??” Yumiko questioned as she dug out the money. “Yup! You’re our sixth customer so far, so tell all your friends if you’re satisfied with your purchase.” Naru said as Maki handed Yumiko the bottle of potion. It was shaped like a fruit drink bottle and the liquid had a reddish color to it. “The directions are on the potion; if you have trouble, give us a call.” Yumiko put her purchases in her bag, left the store, and hurried home. When she arrived at home she hurriedly kicked off her shoes and went in her room. She took out her home work and briefly skimmed over it to make sure she hadn’t missed any problems. “Yumiko! Dinner’s ready!” her mom called out as Yumiko finished skimming through her papers. “Alright I’m coming!” Yumiko shouted as she opened her door and went in to eat. After dinner she washed the dishes and then went to her room. She sat on her bed and remembered about the potion. She grabbed her bag and then took out her purchases. On the potion bottle was a tag. Yumiko pulled it off and read the directions printed on it. “Do not open bottle till your ready to use it. Can be added to any drink or food, however this will dilute the effects. Effects last up to one month when used straight, one week if diluted. If you capture the heart of the one who consumes it by the end of that time, they will be yours forever.” After reading the directions she lay back and plotted how to get it to Kaoru. She promptly fell asleep planning what she would do at his next practice. The next morning she started the day like any other: she got up, packed her homework that she had done during her free study period. She showered and then, went in to get breakfast. After finishing it she went into the entryway and got her shoes on and left for school. “Yumiko! Sorry for leaving you yesterday. I had to see Mako about something.” Kaname said as she caught up with her. “It’s ok, Kaname. I had to have a talk myself,” Yumiko said as she suddenly remembered she had gone in with Kaname. “So what did you and Mako talk about?” “Um… well…” Kaname started as she started to blush. “Did you finally tell him how you felt?” Yumiko asked excitedly. “Or did he tell you?” “Well… we’re going on a date this Saturday. We are thinking of going with another couple if they are together by then,” Kaname said with a meaningful look. With a sudden blush Yumiko replied, “I think I’ll ask him today. If you could run some interference for me that is…” “Sure thing! I owe you for yesterday anyway,” Kaname said as the bell started ringing. Later that afternoon Kaname and Yumiko were at the soccer field watching the practice. As all the players came back to the bench for a drink, Yumiko hurried over to Kaoru with the potion in hand. “Hey, thanks! Just what I needed!” said a voice as the bottle was taken from her. “That’s not for you!” She shouted as she whirled to look at the person only to see he had drained the whole bottle. “Wow, you’re beautiful! My name is Hikaru. You wanna go out?” The boy said as he looked at her. As Yumiko suddenly burst into tears, Kaname hurried over and led her away giving Hikaru an angry look. “Hm, stupid girl….bawling cause someone drank her drink,” Yumiko heard Kaoru say. “Shut up, stupid! I should’a asked before just drinking it!” she heard Hikaru say as she then ran into the building. After going to the rest room to calm down, she stepped out to see Kaname standing there waiting for her holding a sports drink bottle full of red liquid. “Hikaru went to the convenience store and bought this for you,” she said as she handed the bottle to Yumiko. “He said to tell you he’s sorry to have not asked for a drink before downing it. He seems nicer than Kaoru, considering how they reacted to your crying. Why not give him a try?” “Why would I give that guy a chance? He’s probably nothing more than a street punk. Just look at him!” Yumiko said as she tried to keep from crying. “The only reason he got that is because he thought it would get him some!”She added trying to convince herself. That night she made a detour to the Ryumise only to find that the shop was closed for family matters. The next day, Yumiko was sitting in her seat during break when she was called to the door of the class room. There stood Hikaru with a bottle of sports drink and a red rose. She promptly told him to go away and sat back down at her desk. Hikaru brought her another bottle of sports drinks and a rose trying to ask her out again for the next ten days until Yumiko finally gave in and agreed to go on one date as long as it was a double date with Kaname and Mako. They went to see the newest of the ‘Love story for two’ series. They sat through the movie till Yumiko couldn’t stand it anymore. She turned to see Kaname and Mako sitting there seeming to enjoy the movie. Hikaru kept shifting in the seat and seemed to be trying to keep awake. Yumiko leaned over to him and whispered, “Are you as bored as I am??” “You too?” he whispered back. “Do you want to find another movie?” “Sure--anything but this one,” she whispered back as they got up to leave. For a moment she wondered about telling Kaname where they were going, only to decide not to after seeing how into the movie they were. When they got out into the lobby they looked at the listings on the walls. Their options were the movie they just left, the Werewolves Revenge (a comedy), Strike force omega, the witches curse (a horror), Living with Shina (another comedy). After strenuous negotiation Yumiko convinced Hikaru to go and see ‘The witches curse’ with her. Yumiko was enjoying herself as she watched the movie till they got to a point in the movie. The witch was supposed to have been killed and the heroine approached the body. At this point the witch suddenly jumped up and tore off the girls arm. Hikaru suddenly jumped and grabbed at her in fright. Yumiko promptly forgot the movie and asked, “Are you ok, Hikaru?” “Y..Yes I think so,” he said as he tried to hide his fright. “Oh… Ok then,” she said as she tried to finish watching the movie. About ten minutes later she finally gave up on finishing the movie, and took Hikaru by the hand and left the theater. They spent the next 6 hours walking through the mall talking to each other and looking at the goods. At first Yumiko only stayed because she felt bad about making him watch the horror movie with her. However, she found herself enjoying his company more and more as the day went on. She found out that she and Hiraru had the same taste in music and books. She also found out that Hikaru, although he dressed wildly, preferred a more conservative look. “The conservative look just doesn’t work for me,” he lamented as they passed several racks of clothes. After some prodding she got him to try on some things for her. “That looks good on you,” she said as he came out of the dressing room wearing a simple t-shirt and blue jeans. “You sure?” he asked as he looked at himself in a mirror. “Yeah you should buy it to wear out sometime,” Yumiko said with a smile. Instantly, an image of the two of them hanging out passed through her mind making her smile gently to herself. Like I would ever be caught dead hanging with him on a regular basis, she thought as she shook her head. Hikaru had ducked back into the dressing room and stepped out this time wearing a different outfit which, for some reason unknown to her, made her jaw drop in amazement as she stared at him. “Who’s the hottie?” asked a sales girl to another as they too stared at Hikaru. “You should get that outfit,” Yumiko said as she tried to stop staring. “Sure thing, if you like it, that is,” he said as he leaned close to her, making her heart skip a beat. “Yeah, it looks great on you,” she said as she turned away from him. He insisted on walking her home that evening. The next fifteen days, she went out with Hikaru each day and found herself falling for him. On the sixteenth day she went with Kaname to the Ryumise to pick up a rare book. “Good day, Yumiko!’ Naru greeted her with a smile as they entered. Today she wore an outfit that made her look like Lina Inverse from the Slayers series. “Nice to see you again, Naru,” Yumiko said as she went to a book case in the back that was covered in miscellaneous trinkets and knickknacks. She looked at them as Kaname stood talking with Maki. She heard someone else come in the store and turned to see Hikaru stroll in. With a gasp she ducked down and tried to hide, which wasn’t hard considering the state the showroom was in. She heard two sets of feet walking towards her. “I want to thank you for the service,” she heard Hikaru saying. “Not a problem. We do these kinds of things all the time. Connecting people is one of my hobbies,” Naru said as she stepped around the Dresser that Yumiko was hiding behind. Without a thought Yumiko rushed out of the shop crying. Kaname followed her, only barely managing to keep up with her when she boarded the train home. “What happened?” Kaname asked after they had sat down on the train. “They all used me!” Yumiko bawled as she hugged Kaname. Thankfully there weren’t many people on the train as Yumiko told Kaname the whole story. “I got a love potion from the store and tried to give it to Kaoru but Hikaru got in the way. And then after that time in the mall I had started to fall for Hikaru. And now I find out that he was toying with me all this time! He got those girls to make a way to meet me.” “I’m so sorry,” Kaname said after she listened to the story. “Perhaps you should go and tell Kaoru how you feel after school tomorrow,” she suggested with a helpless look. “if you’re sure that you don’t like Hikaru, that is.” “You’re right! Since I don’t actually love Hikaru it’s no problem! Right,” Yumiko said with a thoughtful look on her face. During lunch the next day, she went to see Kaoru. She got him to talk to her privately and she told him she loved him. “Sorry, I hate girls,” he said bluntly and walked away from her. At the end of the day, she saw Hikaru waiting at the gate for her. “Hey, Yumiko! Wait up, I’ll walk you home!” he called when he caught sight of her. Hikaru, go away!, thought Yumiko desperately as she ignored him. Now I know what they meant by be careful what you wish for. She added gloomily as she hurried down the street. A month ago Hikaru wouldn’t speak to me; let alone follow me everywhere. And now I can’t tell him the truth. If only I had never stepped into that shop I would never would have this mess. Yumiko thought angrily as she continued down the street. Hikaru wouldn’t stop and followed her all the way to her house. Ignoring him completely, she shut the door in his face and went to bed early. When she left for school the next day, she found him asleep on the door step. “Damn you! Are you really going to this length to make fun of me, you jerk?” she shouted as she knocked him over and stormed off to school. Yumiko refused to have anything to do with him for the rest of the day, thinking that she only had to ignore him and she’d be rid of him for good. That night, she managed to avoid being followed by Hikaru and went to see the twins to confront them. After hearing what she had to say, Naru stood and sighed. “I probably have no right to say this, but did you know that Hikaru’s first time in this building was a week ago?” she said as she led Yumiko to an empty chair. “A week ago?” Yumiko repeated, setting down. “And he asked us if we could recommend a good carver,” Maki said as she fixed a cup of tea for Yumiko. “He wanted to get some carving lessons so he could make something for you.” “For me? And I’ve been so awful to him these last few days,” Yumiko said as she looked dumbfounded. “So what about you?” Naru asked Yumiko staring into her eyes with her ice blue eyes. “How do you feel about Hikaru?” “Well I… I…” now that it came down to it, how did she truly feel about Hikaru? “You have till midnight to tell him,” Maki said, looking at a book she picked up. “You did say that you had given it to him twenty nine days ago. And at the beginning of the thirtieth day, the spell ends.” With this Yumiko stood and rushed out of the store. That means Hikaru might still be mine. She suddenly stopped, realizing she had never seen where Hikaru lived at. She ran home hoping to find him there. He wasn’t there and as she rushed around looking for him, she grew more and more desperate in her searching. “Hey, sweet thing, you wanna go have a drink?” a drunk asked her as she searched. She paused to see she was alone in a seedy part of town. “No thank you,” she said as she backed away. “Come on, missy. I don’t bite,” he said as he reached for her. “There you are, Yumiko!” said Hikaru as he appeared from nowhere. “You gave me a start when you were late.” He added as he took her hand and led her away from the drunk. “Hikaru, I’m so sorry for how I acted recently,” Yumiko said once they were safely away. She proceeded to tell him the whole truth and how she truly felt about him. After hearing her whole story, he turned to her and asked, “So you got a placebo love potion to give it to Kaoru and I drank it instead, right?” “Yes, and that’s why you fell in love with me. Because I believed that was a real potion,” Yumiko said as she sniffed. “And I had to tell you before midnight.” “Do you have the time?”Hikaru asked as they started toward the train station. “Um.. it’s 2:00 am. Why?” Yumiko asked, looking at him. “Well, your father called about midnight asking where I had taken you this time and threatened me if I had let harm come to you. So I came looking for you,” Hikaru said as he put his arm around her. “And if I may point out a few things to you?” Yumiko nodded as she softly sniffed. “First of all, you used a placebo. This means it had no magical properties. Besides all that, I fell in love with you on the first day of school, silly. But you only had eyes for that creep Kaoru. I hoped you would fall for me some day, so I purposely started to dress in a way to stand out and took up the same sports and such as Kaoru.” As Yumiko digested this, Kaoru reached into his pocket and pulled out a roughly hewn wooden pendant. “I’ve been trying to carve this so I could give my heart to you.” Yumiko looked at the pendent and noticed it was vaguely heart shaped. She broke down crying as she looked at Hikaru, “Could you forgive me for my foolishness?” “If you say yes to becoming my girlfriend,” Hikaru said with a mischievous look on his face. “Oh, yes!” she said as she stopped and hugged him tight. Back at the store, Maki and Naru sat looking at the events that had unfolded in a small mirror that sat on the table. “Do you think she would have realized her feelings sooner?” Maki asked as she took a sip of tea. “Probably not. Although it’s not impossible,” Naru said picking up the mirror to put it up. “Maybe we should have let her know that the potion would be attracted to her true love… even if she didn’t realize who he was yet,” Maki said taking their supper dishes to be washed. “Perhaps we’ll tell the next one that?” Naru said with a thoughtful look. “No, it’s more enjoyable this way,” Maki said with a mischievous grin. Fin.

falling down, wings are clipped, the chains bind, thoughts in chaos, can't see you anymore. the sun; it burns, clouds bring no rain, time is stills, the path twists, when lost to life. in darkness always, without breath, in silence waiting, till time resumes. OOC: make of it what you will.

As he gazed at her he felt a change in his life-song that rippled through him and caused the illusion to shatter. At this point he became keenly aware of three kunai flying in his direction. With a flick of his arm he redirected the daggers into the floor only to find her flying towards him with a drawn katana in hand. In a flash he had grabbed her wrist and pinned the sword to the floor with his foot. The woman shifted her weight and tried to deliver a kick to his head. Quickly Ryu grabbed her foot in his free hand. She smiled as she punched at his mid section only to find herself suddenly unrestrained as Ryu had moved over to the corner faster than could be seen. Ryu watched as ten of the townspeople tried to restrain her. One man ran to get the elder as some women hurried the children out of the room. The woman stopped struggling and allowed herself to be restrained till the elder came in. “Why do you allow an Oni to walk free in this town?!?” she shouted as she caught sight of the elder. “There is no Oni here unless you wish to categorize our friend here as such. And you had best have good reason for doing so if you’re going to make any accusations,” the elder said as he stepped in between her and Ryu. “He uses techniques that are only used by Oni for capturing unsuspecting prey; his aura is identical to an Oni’s; and he consorts with an Oni who is known to be a violent killer of humans. And you’re going to tell me that he’s not an Oni?!?” the woman screamed, obviously enraged at the sight of Ryu. “While he may seem to carry an Oni’s aura he is not like them. He has saved countless lives in the time he has spent in the village. It is true that he is incredibly long-lived since he has been here for the past twenty to thirty generations, but that doesn’t mean that he is an Oni. And every ten years we add another seal to his strength. Show them to her, Rei-kun,” the elder explained as he gestured to Ryu. “That which I touch, reveal yourself in the light! Illusion fade!” Ryu chanted a spell as he held his hand over his chest. As he finished the spell, a ripple seemed to spread from his hand, and covered his body, leaving countless red and green symbols in its wake. “The letters of this bind me and my power at this time,” Ryu said as he turned to leave, and as he did so, the letters again faded from sight. “I don’t trust you Oni!” the woman shouted as she stormed up the stairs. “At least she is open about her distrust,” Ryu commented as he headed for the door. After a silent moment as the villagers looked from one to another, the elder turned and said, “Are you off then, Rei-kun?” “There seems to be a job for me,” Ryu said as he paused. “The water Oni?” the elder asked pointedly. “Since when do you care who I’m after,” Ryu replied as he walked through the door and left. I guess the natives are a bit restless after that. It’s not like I would attack such a cute girl. Ryu thought as he hurried to the last known spot the Oni had been seen. After several fruitless hours searching and not finding hide nor hair of the Oni, Ryu sat down and thought a moment. “Let’s see… I’m looking in the water for a water Oni, yet all of the Oni I’ve seen haven’t seen the one I need all week. According to what I’ve heard, he’s not one to stray far from mortal settlements. I received the order in Onishitokai, meaning the Oni is somewhere near there.” Ryu thought aloud, trying to put the information he had together. “None of the nearby villages had his stench…so most likely, he’s after Onishitokai… and if he sticks to past habits, he will be in the nearby pond. Damn, I hope nobody went to bathe, or this will be messy,” Ryu finished as he charged to the pond. When he got within hearing range of the pond, he could hear water splashing. Ryu touched his amulet and drew his silver katana. As he started to attack, he saw he was rushing head-long into the woman from the bar. With a flash of light from the curse marks, Ryu was suddenly thrust into the mud on the bottom of the pond. Quickly he sent the katana back into the amulet and surfaced. Instantly he was slapped as the woman tried to cover herself. Loud laughter made both quickly take defensive positions as they searched for the source. On the shore a figure appeared and said haughtily, “I see the son of our strongest general is laid low by a mortal’s spell, and a slap happy woman. No wonder your father and the king are seeking your blood!” “Hurry back to the village,” Ryu whispered to the woman as he pulled his katana from his amulet and started towards the shore. As he walked toward the Oni, Ryu looked him over. The Oni was a little taller and had silver hair. His eyes were in the palms of his hands and he had horns coming out of his eye-sockets. His skin was scaly and a sickly green. Beyond this, he looked human. Ryu glanced back to see that the woman was no longer in sight. “I see you don’t even bother to hide your true self in public anymore.” “At least I’m not on the king’s slaughter block, Kage!” the Oni said as he tapped an amulet hanging from around his neck. “He handed me this personally to make sure my mission succeeded.” “I’m afraid you have the situation wrong, Mizusenso. You have been so sloppy lately, you have arrived at your own funeral. I mean, seriously…look at your last assassination! You were seen by the whole town killing the prime minister! And the one before that you were caught and imprisoned by mortals for disorderly conduct when you were supposed to be killing a king! I had to finish that one since you were such a failure!” Ryu said as he pointed to the Oni. “And surely you know that that amulet is a Chaos resonator that makes any hit to you from me an almost instant death strike?” Mizusenso quickly ripped the amulet off and stared at it in horror. “But then why was I told to kill you???” the Oni said as he snapped his wrist back and a knifelike bone began to protrude from his wrist. “Probably so you wouldn’t run when you saw me coming for you,” Ryu stated throwing the sword at him. It pierced through the Oni’s neck and he started to disintegrate. “It doesn’t matter though. Unlike you I never fail.” Suddenly the curse marks started to glow and spin around him. “Bearer of the curse, run and never return!” the marks shouted at him as he rushed back to the village. When he arrived he saw many of the houses were burning and one of the men was fighting off the most of the villagers bare handed. “I sent you a message to leave, Rei-kun. The man has been possessed and we can’t stop him!” the elder exclaimed as he saw Ryu. “So what I can take him easy,” Ryu said with a grin as he started to draw his inner magic to the surface. “What could you possibly…” the elder started as Ryu extended his hand to the glowing symbols. “Hammers of life, destruction, and fate! I call on your power to free me of the curse I illustrate now!” Ryu cast as three glowing hammers appeared above the marks and hit them. Instantly the curse marks fractured, broke up, and shot of in every direction; vanishing as they did so. The possessed villager stopped fighting and vanished from sight as Ryu began casting a second spell, “I call to the seventh, reveal to me all that exists in all that is! Omni-sight!” Ryu’s eyes became blood red as his pupils formed the symbol of the seventh element in his eyes. The possessed man appeared behind Ryu with a sword in hand. He swung the sword at Ryu’s neck only to find thin air. From behind him Ryu reappeared casting yet another spell. “Seisakusha bind the plains and bar all travel! I ask of you: give me a Dimension Lock!” With a grin the man looked at Ryu and said, “You’re not half bad, boy! I’ll give you the honor of my name as you die! I am Muchitsujo.” The man drew great amounts of magic to himself as he stared intently at Ryu. “I call to the essence of chaos! I ask for your power and sins to pile on this enemy that stands against me! Their blood burn and boil as flesh turns to ash! May they learn the full extent of my wrath! Destruction Wave!” a wave of strong chaos rose and covered Ryu only to pass him and hit someone behind him. Ryu turned to see who had been hit and stopped short when he saw it was the woman from the bar. The woman writhed on the ground in pain as Ryu walked over to her. Reaching down Ryu grabbed the magic from the spell that had struck her and absorbed it. Instantly she relaxed and started to sleep deeply. “You really should learn who you fight before haphazardly casting spells, idiot!” Ryu said as he turned his attention back to the man. Ryu opened his mouth and began singing. There was no voice, words, or melody; yet all fell silent and still as the sound flowed through them. Soft lights started to float around the village passing through things and people. As time seemed to slow and stop the song seemed to be many songs sang with the same voice at the same time. The fires on the houses suddenly seemed to run out of fuel and vanish into the night. The damage to the buildings, slowly at first but rapidly gaining momentum, was reversed. The possessed man suddenly slumped to the ground as the Oni was forced out of him, when the songs abruptly stopped. The Oni hovered having no solid appearance and looked more like a cloud of concentrated evil than a living being. The song began anew and clearly was different from the first. While the first songs had brought peace to all, this song was only heard by the Oni and seemed to bring great suffering to it. The Oni screamed in pain as it’s form twisted and began to take on a physical body. This flesh form was crudely fashioned to look like a man and as the song continued the form looked more and more human-like. Suddenly the form ripped apart leaving only a small fluffy white bunny sitting there looking very confused. Ryu stopped singing as the lights vanished and time began to flow correctly again. Damn I was trying to make him human. Oh well, I guess a rabbit is good enough. As long as a hungry carnivore is near. “Too bad you suck at making things, Kage. Although I’ve never seen a cuter bunny,” a voice said. Ryu suddenly struck to his left only to have the fist blocked by an arm. Into the arm was cut the Oni word for eternity. “Whoever said you were invited to this party, Renegade Manesuru?” Ryu asked as he turned to face the man. He had silver hair that reflected the moonlight and Golden eyes that glowed fiercely. “Impressive as always! Failing a Lifesong casting usually leaves one unable to move and mindless. Anyway, back to business: Your father requests your presence,” the man said, bowing before putting his hands into the pockets of his faded blue jeans. Well built muscles rippled beneath his white T-shirt with each movement he made. “So the old man hired you this time, huh?” Ryu said as he took a defensive stance. “Well, I have no intention of going with you. So tell the old geezer to shove it.” “And I can’t leave without you, so tell him yourself,” Manesuru said as he took an identical pose. Ryu sat up with a start. He turned to see Keiko sleeping nearby. As he got up he bent over and kissed her forehead. As he left the tent, a large group of mages approached him and warily eyed him. One of the older mages stepped forward and, as everyone in the camp approached him, asked, “How did you do that earlier? No mortal can come back from the dead like that and how did you change your appearance like that?!?” “What do you mean?” Ryu asked with a look of confusion written plainly on his face. The man started to explain what he meant as Megumi pushed through the crowd. “He’s obviously the descendant of the Lord of no Element,” Megumi said as they looked on. “Because of this he can channel the Lord’s magic and abilities.” “But, what about the girl? Surely you aren’t going to tell us that she is also a descendant,” the elderly mage asked seeming to have a hard time believing the tale. “Surely you remember the tale well enough? The Lord granted a portion of his power to his love so they may both be reincarnated in a future age,” Megumi said with a look that said the matter was settled. “Very well, I have but one more question: Who are your parents, boy?” the mage said as he frowned at Ryu. “Honestly, I don’t know, old man. Now I have one for you: why pester me this way?” Ryu asked. “It’s not natural for mortals to do that. And 70% of the time when an immortal is found, it’s an Oni that will kill you as soon as look at you. I only wish to live a little longer. That is all.” And with this, most of the crowd left to attend their duties. The remaining people were low level mages who crowded around him, asking him to teach them his magic. “Sorry guys I’m no good as a teacher. The lowest level spells I can use are level 4. I’ve never been able to cast anything less powerful,” Ryu said as he scratched his head. “Anyway, I’m leaving today, and don’t have time for it.” A young mage approached Ryu with a look in his eyes that said “I’m afraid of you but I will fight you.” Ryu looked the boy over well. The boy wore a typical mages robe that had a stain down the entire front of it. His ice blue eyes flashed as he started to draw magic unto himself. His hair was black with the exception of two bunches that hung on either side of his face. One bunch was blue and one was red. He stood just a head shorter than Ryu and wore many talismans and magic amplifiers. “Spirits of the deepest hells and power of you the guardian of hell come to me and manifest your flames under my control! FIREBALL!” the boy shouted. As the flames appeared between his hands he suddenly turned a pale green and had to turn as he spilled his just eaten lunch on the ground. The flame rapidly vanished into thin air as he continued heaving. “A fire master, and a Lady of ice, huh,” Ryu started as his eyes briefly glowed red and he touched the boy’s back. “Your heritage prevents you from casting in the usual manner, doesn’t it?” Ryu said as he withdrew his hand. “So chaotic,” a voice was heard from somewhere. Ryu half turned to see who had said it when the boy grabbed Ryu’s hand. “Teach me how to cast in a new manner, please!” the boy practically shouted as he wiped his mouth. Ryu felt Youchi’s chill as she passed by. “Idiot!” she said as she saw the boy doubled over from yet another spasm. “Please!” the boy pleaded as he turned bright red from embarrassment. “Very well, I will make an exception for you, but it will be hard since I’ve never taught someone how to use magic before. Keep in mind you will lose as many abilities as you gain,” Ryu warned him as he took a quill and parchment and began writing. “This spell will begin your apprenticeship. But if you fail to cast it correctly, your soul will merge with the seventh element. Are you willing to take the risk?” Ryu asked the boy as he finished writing. The boy took the scroll and looked at it for a moment. With a sideways glance at Youichi, he began drawing on magic that was just outside his control, “Watashi shoshu ano sichi! Watashi seiyaku watashijishin ni fuyasu chikara no tame ni watashi no riyu yoni sansei suru ni yotte arata!” At first, the spell didn’t seem to do anything the boy stood there with a confused look on his face and looked at Ryu. “Here it comes, boy. Get ready.” Ryu said as the boy suddenly doubled over and grabbed his sides. The sudden force of the power caused small dust devils to spring up around the edges of a magic circle that appeared around him. “Take control of the power! Don’t bend to it!” Ryu commanded as the boy struggled to maintain consciousness. A wind seemed to spring up, blowing away from the circle. The boy managed to keep standing as his eyes became white orbs while the symbols of the seven elements flashed across his eyes. He reached out and with a motion, pulled the wind back in and absorbed it. The sky darkened as the light started to draw nigh to the boy. The shadows also drew close to him and he absorbed them too. The ground beneath him turned to sand, and the sand seemed to come to life as it formed itself into a body and hit at the boy, then changed into a baseball bat and swung at him, then other various forms, all striking at him before changing again. All of the attacks the boy dodged for dear life. “So you’re a coward afraid of getting hurt, huh?” Ryu mocked him as he stood watching him dance around within the confines of the circle. “This is a test of your character, boy!” The boy stopped and glared at the sand as it hit at him like a ton of bricks. Unlike before, he stood his ground and grabbed the sand in his hand. As he watched the sand absorb into himself he realized he was standing on the air over a deep pit where the earth once was. The crowd that had gathered stared in amazement as the symbols of each element the boy absorbed appeared in his left eye. “Good going, boy! Only three left.” Ryu called out as water appeared from thin air and formed a huge hand that grabbed the boy’s head, face first. At first the boy stood in shock as if the water had been a trusted friend until now. Quickly he called on the wind element he had absorbed to draw air into his lungs as he thought about how best to deal with this new threat. With a grin, he used the sand he had absorbed to absorb the water as he dropped to a knee. For the first time Ryu looked worried as the boy knelt there while a fire spirit rose from the earth to face him. The boy started to again look a bit pale as the spirit took a step in his direction. “Look at its’ flow of magic and find a way to bend it to your will!” Ryu shouted as the boy seemed to be fending off unconsciousness. With a look of sheer determination on his face, the boy reached out with the water and earth elements he had absorbed and lashed out at the fire. It shrieked out loud as its essence was absorbed by the boy. As the last of the fire vanished, so did the magic circle. As time froze around the two, an elemental of the seventh element appeared and frowned at the boy. “This boy is still lacking. Are you sure he can follow you?” An ethereal voice asked as the elemental looked at Ryu expectantly. With a frown. Ryu blankly stated, “Kare watashi no deshi ni shitagau kare o/ni.” “Very well,” the ethereal voice said again as the elemental was absorbed by the boy. Time resumed as the boy bowed low before Ryu. “I am Kazia Miahara. From this day forth I am in you care, Master,” the boy said introducing himself. “Hurry up and pack your things and mine, Boy. Your training begins this evening, so you’re coming with me,” Ryu said with a small smile. As Ryu watched Kazia hurry off to get his things packed, Onisama silently approached Ryu from behind. When Onisama punched at Ryu with his right fist, Ryu lightly stepped to the side letting Onisama stumble face first into the ground. “Musuko, you really need to work harder on hiding your Chi.” “Really, and what’s your name again?” Onisama said as he started to feel for his shades. “I told you yesterday,” Ryu said in a confused tone of voice. “I’m Ryu Rei.” “Oh, are you now?” asked an incredibly familiar voice. Ryu whirled around to see a man standing as tall as him wearing a hooded cloak that changed colors as fast as you could name them. The hood was pulled up leaving the face in shadows. Only the silver hair that spilled out of the sides of the hood and the eerie blood red eyes could be seen under the hood. “I want out of this prison to again be myself: Ragna the essence of Chaotic Destruction!” the man shouted as he grabbed Ryu’s face and forced it towards the sky. As the man’s grip tightened, Megumi came up reached for his shoulder. “What are you staring at, Kage?” she asked not seeming to see the man holding him. Ryu felt a burst of Chi mixed with strong Magic suddenly flow into him. Megumi was forced to the ground as Ryu’s spirit pressure violently multiplied several times. With the increased spirit pressure also came violent, bloody, and overwhelming memories rushed through him. As Ryu sensed Keiko approaching, the man looked visibly shaken. As she grew closer the man suddenly vanished into thin air saying, “I’ll be back and I’ll find a way out next time.” As the man vanished, Ryu dropped to the ground in a heap. “What are you doing, Stupid?” Keiko asked as she reached to help him up. Ryu’s spirit pressure returned to normal levels as he sat up in a daze. “What happened to my hair?” he asked as he realized it had turned a metallic silver color. “That’s not all,” Keiko said with a look of confusion as she touched the ground and pulled it up to form a mirror. Ryu toppled over into unconsciousness as he saw that his eyes had turned blood red. edited september 7 2007 for changes.

....*Curls up in a ball and purrs* ok enough nonsence and down to buisness: my first reaction after reading this story was to wonder how it would continue and if they might be our own Kikuyu and Degorram (sadly found the post about 4:00 am and read/reread till 6:00) I loved it so much because of the warm fuzzy feelings it left me with. i believe that as patrick pointed out that it could use a bit more notice to the characters feelings (bad guys to). i would love to see the story continue and see the girls get back together. also i would like to know just how Osma truely feels about the girls (does he see them as his children, a favorite rival, women, beloved aprinteses, or something else entirely?). all in all a great story!

Ryu stumbles into the room several weeks later only to knock over a pile of old pen keep news papers. as he starts to pick them up an artical in one catches his eye. it reads: 'The Paw that Holds the Quill is black! today the title of quill bearer was given to one of our most stelthy members here in the keep: Kikuyu Black Paws. "What thu hey i gotta find her a congraduate her!" ryu exclaims as he rushes out knocking over another stack.

not waiting for wyverns reply Ryu started to browsed the shelves looking to see if there was anything to liven up his wait for kieko now that the ninja's were gone. maybe an enchanted board game like that jumanji thing would help. Ryu thought as wyvern stood there sheepishly mumbling some excuse for breaking the item, something along the lines of being an necessity at the moment. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. an evil looking grin appeared on his face as he looked at wyvern. "Hey wyv could we have a martial arts competition at the pen?? just think of all the cash you could make by having some food stalls, spectator tickets, hell even some competitor tickets.. not to mention souvenirs??" Ryu paused as the thought seemed to run around in Wyverns head.

the booming voice replies to Kieko, "I AM Muchitsujo, And i am in control of this place!" at this point minta notices that whoever brought this zombie to life was quite careless and left several 'strings' of magic attached to the vital points. after following them a bit she finds they lead to the forest and seemingly into a huge pine tree. OOC: sorry for the delays guys, I’ve been short on time and energy lately. I am planning on trying to make up for it tho, so please be patient with me

Movement 3: I hour later Ryu awoke and rolled over to see Keiko lying nearby. Upon seeing her with grass stains, torn clothes and the scratches on her face Ryu leaped up. Ryu shouted with a voice holding endless amounts of menace, "Who the hell did this????" "If you don't quiet down she'll wake," Megumi said as she entered the tent. As Ryu grabbed her collar in his left hand, he gathered a massive amount of condensed Chi in his right palm. While preparing to strike her his eyes turned blood red and his hair turned so silver it was metallic. Ryu then asked in a voice so calm that his rage was undetectable, "Who the hell did this?" As her face turned white from fear she replied, "Youchi" in a quavering voice. Ryu threw her to the side flattening the row of tents in the process. With a dark flash a pair of wings covered in jet black feathers sprouted from his back as he vanished into the skies. Megumi untangled herself from the mess of tents and in a voice full of fear said, "Is the Reincarnation reborn?" Cerubus suddenly grew to 20 ft high and his other heads became visible. He turned to Megumi and in a voice of utmost irritation said "it seams I shall require Thine assistance, Child of the High One. Take this scroll and study, it is the only thing we weaklings can do to stop him now." with this Cerubus vanished as a tri-sealed scroll fell at her feet. "That mutt needs MY help??? That can't be good" Megumi muttered as she began breaking the seals. "And who's the weakling?" Across the camp Youchi was headed to an empty clearing as Ryu landed in front of her. Unfazed, Youchi stated as if to someone near her, "Mai Taze Jouishi, it would seem you know this opponent well." "You will be repaid bruise for bruise, scrape for scrape, tear for tear, Youchi," Ryu shouted as his wings faded in a flurry of feathers. Onisama, who had been following Youchi, jumped between them and shouted, "Stop!!! I'm the only one allowed to fight you now that your power is complete!" "Out of the way, Musuko!" Ryu said as he violently backhanded Onisama into a nearby tree. "She must pay!" Youchi removed her beads and held them in front of her as she closed her eyes. As she released them, they hung in the air as if suspended by invisible hands. She clasped her hands in front of her with her elbows straight out and index and thumbs pointing up as she started chanting, "I call to the darkness of death to those who have come before: Mai Taichikaze Jouishi! I offer you Hanshogi in my body till my enemies are defeated in exchange for your knowledge and power!" The beads suddenly glowed fire white as Youchi suddenly aged to adulthood in seconds. Her clothes were no longer lose-n-baggy but tight fitting with the exception of the sleeves. As she touched the beads, her voice changed to sound like two different voices speaking as one. One was the monotone Youchi usually spoke with, while the other was full of emotion and smug. Together they said, "Sword of the Sakura We call to thee, Come!" the beads vanished as a sword with sword blades on either side of the handle appeared. Half of the handle was covered with engravings of sakura blossoms and the other half had sakura leaves engraved in it. As Youchi opened her eyes, Ryu could see that her eyes now held one half of a yin-yang symbol in the middle of her eyes surrounded by the opposite color. "Ready?" the voices asked as Youchi crouched down, then extended her right arm back with the sword. With a small grin Ryu held his left arm in front of him and touched the amulet with the middle and index fingers, Saying, "Sosen ken oriru to nitatsu!" Youchi's eyes went wide as the silver around the gem leapt to Ryu's hands and formed twin Katanas. She rushed forward and stabbed the sword into the ground a few feet away from Ryu and used it as a pole to launch a double kick at Ryu's knees. Ryu countered with one Katana in front of her aim and struck at her with the other. In a flurry of movement, Youchi reversed direction and landed on the other side of her sword feet first. "Incantations, huh? Ok, I'll adapt to that! Sword of Sakura, return!" As she said this, the sword turned back into the beads with a rush of Sakura petals. Youchi extended her arm at Ryu and began rapidly chanting, "Hikari to kurayami bunri in/on kizuato!" As she finished, a blast of light shot off her hand at Ryu. Ryu merely extended his own hand and caught the blast as it turned into a ball. Ryu carefully studied the ball and then looked at a shocked Youchi as he chuckled, "Interesting, an exorcist spell. Maybe you should try it on your self? Henkyaku! " Ryu watched as the spell shot back at Youchi in ball form. Youchi simply reached down and grabbed the earth and, just as Keiko had done previously with the river bed, Youchi formed a defensive barrier that the spell shattered on. "Are you related to Keiko?" Ryu shouted as the dirt crumbled when Youchi released it. "Of course not! I copied it from our fight!" the voices said in unison. "Shall we get serious now, Kage?" the smug voice said with a grin on Youchi's face. Ryu's face darkened from renewed rage as he sprouted skeletal wings. He started to chant as he swung the swords around him in a defensive pattern, "RYU TSME MAI SATSUJIN HAN'NIN!" Immediately, everything not nailed down started to be drawn toward Ryu's deadly swinging blades. Just before being hit by the blades Youchi shouted, "Hakobu agate!" while pointing at the calm above Ryu's head. She was instantly transported above Ryu and cast another incantation, "Ryu ikari ken!" with the last syllable the magic in the area was drawn into her hands and formed a black scaled sword. Ryu paused as the sword in his left vanished along with his wings. He was struck by The Spell-sword Youchi wielded. The sword sliced Ryu from his right shoulder across his torso to an inch from the outer edge of his left side before the blade vanished. Ryu fell to the ground Dead. Across the planet the elemental sprits vanished. Everyone watched helplessly as the winds stilled to the point of nonexistence and all water suddenly became stale and stagnant. Fire ceased to provide heat or light and boulders fell from their timeless perches. The sun, stars, and moon dimmed and all shadows nearly vanished. In an instant everything seemed to have plunged into an infinite and timeless void as the powers that ruled seemingly vanished. Not even the seemingly almighty Masters and lords of the elements were spared the 'void' as some went temporarily insane as their powers vanished. All who were finely attuned to the magic of the planet and sane felt the power flowing to one point and condensing. One of Megumi's assistants rushed towards Ryu's body, only to be thrown back as a bolt of lightning hit the body from a clear, cloudless sky. All shadows suddenly were drawn towards Ryu as his body started to shine brighter than the sun ever had. The earth below the body pushed it into a standing position as raindrops started to fall, appearing to almost be caressing him. Suddenly, a fire ring surrounded Ryu as all returned to normal and Ryu's wounds vanished. An instant later Ryu's skin darkened and turned scaly and silver hair grew out of his large joints. His fingers became claws and as he opened his eyes, everyone shrank back in fear as the copper color in his eyes drained down his cheeks. When the color finished draining, the symbols of the six elements appeared in his left eye and the symbol of the seventh untouchable element appeared in the right. "KEIKO!" he shouted as horns sprouted from his head. "Die!!!" Youchi shouted as she threw several kunai at him. About a foot away the daggers freeze in midair. "Akurei tamashii no mokode watashi no shihai tsuku sotoni to tatakau, Musuko!" Ryu chanted as Onisama's earring shot off and stuck to a nearby tree. The symbol in Ryu's right eye appeared on Onisama's forehead. Instantly Onisama became stiff and ridged. "Kill her, Musuko!" Ryu shouted as Onisama moved stiffly like a zombie towards Youchi. Onisama stopped ten feet away as the symbol started to fade. "No, I don't want to kill anymore," he said in a flat emotionless voice. Without warning Keiko appeared behind Ryu. She was glowing softly as she reached out and embraced him from behind. She rested her hands on his belly as she lay her head on his back while saying, "My darling, stop before you hurt the ones you love." "You know there is only one I love," Ryu replied as he brought her right hand to his lips and kissed it. "And it would hurt me to see my friends harmed" she replied as she looked over his shoulder. "Let us sleep a bit longer dear, they are not ready for this." "Very well, if only for a bit more. 'He' is growing more powerful" Ryu said as he, Keiko, and Onisama suddenly collapsed unconscious. Ryu remembered sitting across from the old gnarled fortune teller nearly a millennia ago. "I can say no more that this:," the demonic hag said in her raspy voice, "follow the crimson path that lies before you, at its end is that which completes you. Now my payment, and quickly before I am again enslaved by your father." "Very well, hag here is your payment and I shall keep the heart!" he shouted as he thrust his hand through her chest. Damn I wish I had made her tell me more before I killed her. Almost a thousand years and nothing to complete me, Ryu thought as he downed his fiftieth bottle of sake. Shit I hope that idiot Baka shows up soon. I can't stand waiting. An old man reeking of cheap liquor stumbled into the room and weaved through begging for a drink from every one he saw. As he asked Ryu for a drink the drunk clapped him on the back making Ryu spill sake on his shirt and pants. As the locals threw out the man Ryu reached up and, making it look like he was scratching his back, retrieved the note that the drunk had left under his vest. With a small smile Ryu put it in his pocket, Truly a Baka, entering an oni hunter village with only cheep booze as a cover. Suddenly the doors exploded opened as the towns children rushed in shouting "Rei-kun is back!" One ran up and handed him a hand-made flute begging, "Play a bit for us before you leave!" With a bemused smile Ryu asked, "Which?" The children squealed with delight as they chanted, "Oni song of spring!" "Are you sure? You always ask for that one," Ryu questioned as he raised the flute to his lips. "It's our favorite!" they shout as Ryu started to softly play. As he began increasing the volume he mentally reached out and weaved magic in the room with the melody. An illusion began to form on the floor as tulips and daisies suddenly could be seen by all. The tables and chairs became mounds of earth and the bar a fallen log. The piano in the back suddenly vanished as did the unused fireplace. The walls seemed to fade and the ceilings vanish as the notes drifted away. The floor was entirely covered in grass and flowers when Ryu allowed the music to control the magic and vice-versa as he watched the children play in the flowers and chase butterflies that appeared from thin air. On a mound, about where the window ledge used to be, sat a woman with midnight blue hair and equally blue eyes frowning at him.

Interlude: Tokyo battle school, Sensoogakkoo Around noon Yue sighed deeply. She had a great weekend, she had found a part time job delivering for a local pizza chain, and had found a way to move into the room next to Kenshiro's. But despite the good weekend she only had one class with him and it was at the end of the day….four hours away. This is going to be hell!, Yue thought as she lay her ear on the cool surface of the desk. Suddenly a ball of paper hit her in the back of the head breaking her thought process. She looked around to see who had thrown it as the teacher entered the room. "Stand, Bow," The class president called out. Every one in the room was surprised when they realized it was the vice principal who came in and not the teacher. "Every one sit down. Over the break Siechiro sensei quit and moved out. His replacement just arrived on school grounds a few minutes ago and will be here shortly…" The man began as a rock hit the window. He walked over and opened it to shout down at the offender, only to jump back as the person appeared in the opened space. She was a young girl wearing denim overalls and a white unbuttoned mans dress shirt. "Taihen Gomen, Hiroki sensei. I didn't think I was this late," A young woman looking to be in her teens said in a non-apologetic voice. She pulled her silver hair back into a make shift ponytail as casually moved to sit in the desk ahead of Yue. About this time at the door entered a tall person wearing a long tan leather coat at concealed most of their body. A small black and white monkey sat on their shoulders playing with the waist length silver hair that spilled out from under the black baseball cap as it held its perch. The person approached the teacher's desk and placed an armful of books on it. "Thank you for informing the class of the new developments, Hiroki sensei. I will report to the office to explain my absence after this class is over." The person said as they removed their coat and hat. The person could have been male or female a sex could not be determined from their aperance. As they turned to write on the chalk board, the vice principal turned several different shades of red as he turned and stormed out of the room. "Ok class, you will call me Dani, I am your Battle Tactics/Homeroom instructor for the rest of the semester..." Without warning the window climber stood and shouted, "OH! Is there a Yue in this class???" In a flash Dani was in the face of the student. "This is my class and you are my student Ms. Rei and I appreciate not being interrupted when lecturing. So if you don't mind, do like most students and pass a note around to find her." "Screw you, jerk!" she said as she extended her middle finger. "I may be your student but I also pay your frickin' salary so deal with it or else!" "Thank you for volunteering to do the cleaning duties for the whole school for the next month," Dani retorted as she turned back to her desk. "Damn you! you may not like me and you may even hate me but I will be respected," Ms. Rei shouted as she punched at the teacher. Suddenly her punch was stopped by the monkey who grabbed her hand. The monkeys eyes had become blood red and it seemed larger. "The same goes for me," Dani replied as Yue's power started its rampage. Later that day After school Yue had a thoughtful look on her face as she left school clinging to Kenshiro and toying with a new amulet around her neck. What the hell happened at noon?? She thought as Kenshiro tried to push her off. I remember Dani-sensei and Rei-san fighting then something happened and the room was all warped out of shape….but what was it that happened? "Will you get OFF!!!!" Kenshiro shouted as he suddenly stopped. "OH CRAP! What time is it??" Yue shouted as she started digging in her pockets for a watch. "Fifteen till five," Kenshiro said as he pointed at a clock on a nearby bank. "See ya around 8:00," Yue shouted as she took off to her job. Yue moved so fast that those around her only saw a brief flash as she sped down the streets. She soon arrived at the local pizza shop she had gotten the job at and saw the boss standing there waiting. "Your fifteen minutes late, kid," the fat balding man said with a look at her. "I didn't make this place a world-wide chain by being late ya know!" "Sorry I had detention for something I can't remember doing, sir," she said as she gave him the 'puppy dog eyes'. Sighing heavily he muttered, "Damn those eyes." He frowned at her as he grabbed some dough and started to stretch it, "Just be on time next time!" "Sure thing, sir," she said as she started to look at the orders on the out rack. "Hey where's this Battle dome place??" "That's the big warehouse on the other side of Chiba. Can you get it there in ten??" The man said as he started to sauce the new crust. "And watch out for muggers in the area." "Consider it there!" she said as she grabbed the warmer bag and placed the pizza in it. As she stepped out the door, she grabbed a money bank for the change and rushed off to the destination. When she arrived five minutes later, she stared at the building she checked the address and in deed this was the place. This rundown appearance has to be a front to hide something less than legal. She thought as she knocked at the small wooden door. "What business do you have?" Asked a male voice from the other side as a pair of golden eyes peered out a peephole. "Pizza from Pizza Time, for a… Mai Rei?" Yue replied as she looked at the slip again. "Oh so you're the 'delivery'. Come right this way," the man said as he opened the door. "Mistress Rei has been waiting for you." The man wore a red sleeveless long coat with a black tee shirt under it. His hands were covered with stained half-gloves that he wiped on his blue jeans when ever he touched anything. After leading her down several corridors he stopped at a door and opened it for her. "wait in here for a few and enter when the other door opens." He said as he closed the door behind her. "Ok sure," Yue mumbled as she stood in the dimly lit room. It was small and smelled of blood and medicines. Before long she could hear shouts and cheers from the other room. Suddenly the door opened and she stepped out to an unbearably loud cheer. She soon saw the reason why: she stood in a fighting ring enclosed on all sides by thick steel bars. Across from her stood a strong and enraged man who looked to be ready to kill at the slightest provocation.  

hey guys how ya doin been in a slump lately and desided to try my hand at something new....it turned out horibly:( but being the perfectionist i am (or so says anyone i personaly know) i won't stop till it sound correct. i've already ade several corrections and it sounds better...but it somehow sounds like its starting off wrong any sugestions?? or am i just crazy?? If you all can help i would so apreciate the assitance. in advance: thank you much.