Chapter Ten: The Hunt Begins

  Scarbna and Talpa sat down and looked over their five fighters. Talpa's head moved to the left as he asked,

   "What happened to their armor?"

   "Oh, you mean the girls? I sent them off to where they were made. It will take the Ronins a long time to track down all five, considering where they are," said Scarbna. Talpa looked at her again.

   "Where are they, exactly?" he asked.

   "One is in the Volcano from which Ryo was awakened. Another is under the Toyama City Bridge. The third is embedded inside the mountain side where the Throne of The Gods used to stand. The fourth is floating out in space. The fifth is at the top of the steepest, coldest mountain," said Scarbna. Talpa sighed and turned toward his fighters.

   "Sun Devil, go guard the armor of Volcano. Make sure no one gets near it. Saranbo, go make sure they do not find the armor of Tidal Force. Dala, do not let the Ronins find the Cavern armor. Gash, make sure the armor of Comet stays in space. Saber Strike, keep the Psyche armor on that mountain. I will not accept failure. Understand?" commanded Talpa.

   "Yes, master," said the five in unison. They disappeared.

  "Was that necessary?" asked Scarbna.

   "I will not take any chances this time," said Talpa.

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  Selene reached shore before the rest of us and walked up the grass shivering. Night had fallen and she was tired. She was dressed in a light blue one piece bathing suit. Her golden hair stuck to her face as she waited for the others. Lita pulled herself out with help from Selene. She was bundled up in about three layers of clothes. Her red ski boots sank slightly in the moist ground. Seeing that Selene might catch cold, she took off her outer coat and pants and handed them to her. Now Lita was wearing red sweat pants and a red turtleneck. Amy stood out of the water and pulled seaweed off her. She was dressed in a midnight blue sun dress and dark blue slide on shoes. Her dress was ruined, but she didn't mind. Rose pulled herself out and moved her soggy brown hair off her face. She was wearing orange flannels and a grey sweatshirt. I got out easily and stood up. My black skirt stuck to my legs and I pulled my cover-up tight around me as a cold wind blew across the lake.

   The guys finally made it over to the lake and stopped dead in their tracks. Dais, Sekhmet, Kale, and Kayura nearly bumped into them as they skidded to a stop.

  "Thanks Kayura," I said, breaking the silence. Ryo was the first to speak.

  "What happened to your armor?"

  "Scarbna took it, what else," I said.

  "What were you guys doing anyway?" asked Kento.

  "I was at the beach practicing for swim meet tryouts," said Selene.

   "I was about to go skiing," said Lita.

  "I was at my best friend's sister's party," said Amy.

  "I was going to bed," said Rose.

   "I was at work, remember? I woke you guys up," I said.

  "What should we do now?" asked Sai.

  "You should look for your armors," said Kale.

  "True, because we'll need them in the fight against Talpa and Scarbna," said Dais.

   "We should split up," said Kayura.

  "I think that each of us should go with the Ronin that is least affected by our attacks," said Sekhmet.

  "Good idea. But where exactly are the armors?" asked Lita. Everyone pondered this question.

  "Could they be near the same places our armors were formed?" asked Rowen.

   "That would make sense, considering that Scarbna made our armors to be equal in element to yours," said Amy.

   "Ok, then. Lita and I will head to the volcano alone," said Ryo.

  "Why?" asked Kayura.

  "Because none of the warlords or yourself can stand the heat," said Ryo.

   "Good point. Then I should go with Sai and Selene," said Sekhmet.

  "Perfect. Your venom can't harm us when we're in the water," said Sai.

   "I'll go with Rowen and Amy," said Dais.

   "Great idea," said Amy.

  "That leaves me and Kale. Kale, you go with Kento and Rose. I'll go with Sage and Crystal," finished Kayura. Kale nodded and said,

  "Ok. But let's get some sleep first." Selene, Amy, Rose, Lita, and I got up and walked over to the other side of the hill.

   "Where are you going?" asked Sage.

   "Unlike you guys, we don't believe in sleeping in the same area with guys, especially strangers," I responded back.

   "Oh, shut up. We're harmless," said Sai.

   "Better to be safe then sorry," said Kayura using a tone that meant for the guys to quit it. They took the hint. We organized ourselves in a circle, the dirt getting wet from our clothes.

   "I think we should sit on those rocks till we dry off," said Selene. We agreed and walked over. Sitting down, Rose asked us,

  "So, what do you guys think about the arrangement? Or should I say the guys?"

  "Very funny," said Lita. But she sounded just as curious as the rest. We were all curious, so we vowed not to spill any information that was said to the guys or Kayura. Amy was nominated to go first. After making sure none of the guys were in ear shot, she started.

  "Personally, I think Kento gets a little too anxious about fighting and that could cause him to get into trouble. Sai is an excellent chef, as far as I'm concerned, and has an ok attitude. Ryo is very independent and hot tempered, but is a nice guy. Sage needs to lose the hair gel and get a hair cut," said Amy as she was interrupted by Rose,

  "You're supposed to say what you like, not critique them." Amy looked at her through the corner of her eye.

   "As I was saying. Now where was I? Oh yes, Rowen," she said the name in a day dreamy tone as she continued, "I like his hair, being blue and all. I really want to go head to head with him in a contest of smarts. But he is cute and he acts nice. He really isn't noticed, but if you look closely, you see what a great friend and companion he is."

  "Oh, so you like Rowen," said Lita.

  "Since you decided to be blunt, it's your turn, Lita," I said, defending Amy as I saw her checks go red. Lita blushed slightly, but covered it up quickly.

   "I'm going to be quick and say that Rowen is a geek, Kento needs to visit Jenny Craig, Sai should go back to Britain, and Sage needs a reality check, because that hair is so seventies," said Lita. We all were getting steamed at this, but Lita shrugged it off. She continued with,

  "Hey, I'm entitled to my opinion. But Ryo, he's the best. I mean, come on. The hair, the eyes. He looks like a guy from California, without the tan. I like his temper, personally, and he's nice. A little bit insecure at times, like he's afraid to open up, but I think that's cool. He has a right to his space," said Lita. We all smiled evilly, but it was Rose who spoke up.

  "You like Ryo?" she said before bursting out in laughter.

  "Wanna make something of it? I think you should go next," said Lita, on the tip of exploding with anger and embarrassment. Rose stopped laughing, pouted and thought.

  "I like Kento," she said.

   "That's it?" asked Lita.

  "No. I don't think he needs Jenny Craig. But what I do like is what he's not. He's not a genius like Rowen, or flirty like Sage, or from Britain like Sai, or a ‘surfer dude' like Ryo. He's Kento and I like that," said Rose.

  "You like Kento, and you think it's funny that Lita likes Ryo?" inquired Selene.

  "Your turn, Selene," I said. Selene blushed.

   "Well, I, um, kinda, like Sai. I like his accent and his looks. He likes fish, I can tell, and he probably likes Biology. Which means, that we have a lot in common," said Selene.

   "She's insane. The accent bug bit you and now you can't resist a guy with an accent," I said sarcastically. Selene said in response,

  "I guess so, but now, miss silent type, you get to go," said Selene. She got no reaction from me. The others leaned in as I began to speak.

   "I don't like any of them more then friends. But I especially hate Sage. He is just like all those kids from high school that ignored me. They all had beautiful looks and no brain. Trust me, I tried to fit in there, but I wasn't air heady enough to fit in. So I am totally dreading finding my armor tomorrow," I said. The others looked shocked. Amy asked me slyly,

  "Why are you putting Sage down? Do you like him and don't want us to know?" The others caught her drift. My expression did not waver as I said,

   "Because I always put down those higher up on the high school social status ladder. I don't like him and if I did, I'd tell you." I stood off and checked my dress. It was dry. I walked over to my spot to sleep and said to the others,

   "Come on. Our clothes and the ground are dry, let's get some sleep." They grumbled, angry not to know whom I liked or why I hated Sage, but yawned and walked over. I shut my eyes as I curled up to sleep.

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   I awoke to the smell of dew on grass and the morning sun blaring in my eyes. Kayura walked over and said to me,

  "About time. Everyone already left. I let you sleep in because we have a mountain to climb."

   "But I though my armor was near the pinnacles," I said, still half awake.

   "No, Scarbna sent your armor off to rest at the top of a mountain, remember, so that's where it would be," said Kayura. I sat up, put my coverup back on over my shoulders and stretched. From the other side of the hill, Sage asked,

   "Is it safe for me to walk over there now?"

  "Yes, she's decent," said Kayura. I stood and dusted myself off.

   "Thanks for waiting. That's a characteristic I didn't expect from your type," I said.

  "What do you mean, my type?" asked Sage. I started to walk away from him, but he just followed me. Kayura stared at us as we yelled at each other.

  "This is going to be a long hike," she said, rubbing her temples and following us.