Yorodien Samurai Troopers:
Another Story

Byakuen shook his head. He felt his heart beating rapidly. Wasn't Kokuen-Oh suppose to be inside of him? Well, things had been quite hectic for he and his friends ever since the armors were destroyed in Africa... afterwards, nothing really made sense anymore.

"The Troopers and Sachiriku," Byakuen began quietly and calmly. "They battled in some kind of twisted dimension and a woman named Kiy--argh!"

Kokuen-Oh had lunged forth from his position and threw himself over at Byakuen. The two fell back and crashed onto the coffee table, crushing it underneath them and snapping it half. Kokuen-Oh had his hands wrapped tightly around Byakuen's throat, trying to choke him. Byakuen tried to pry his hands off from him but found he didn't have the strength to do so.

He's stronger than me! he thought in horror. I can't get him off of me! He wants to kill me! But I thought we were supposed to be equal in strength!

His vision started to grow hazy and his breaths were getting raspy. Kokuen-Oh smiled maliciously down at him and he whispered, "I will enjoy doing this to you, Byakuen... say good-night!"

Just then, Anubis and Naza appeared from behind and yanked Kokuen-Oh away from Byakuen. Rajura helped him off from the coffee table. Nasuti and the Chibi Troopers were standing over by the table, with each of the boys holding an ice-cream cone.

"Yaku-chan, what happened?" Chibi Ryo asked in a trembling voice. A dribble of ice-cream slipped down his chin but the boy wiped it away with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, who's that mean-looking guy?" Chibi Shu asked as he swallowed a scoop of vanilla ice-cream down his throat.

"Minna... this is Kokuen-Oh," Byakuen said hoarsely. He coughed a bit before saying, "Apparently, Kiyemon's spell affected him too." He felt lightly around his neck and winced as he felt a slight pain. Everyone threw Kokuen-Oh a puzzled look. Kokuen-Oh, on his part, sneered at them, but didn't say anything. Anubis and Naza held him back tightly, making sure that he wouldn't try anything funny.

Great, this is all we need, Anubis thought. First we end up in some kind of Time Paradox place to find the Troopers, Sachiriku comes back and critically injuries the Troopers and Byakuen, then Kiyemon uses her powers to alter their bodies, we find out they're slowly dying, and now this!

Nasuti nodded. "That's right. Byakuen and Kokuen-Oh were once whole, but now that they aren't in their original forms..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at Anubis and Naza, who were having trouble holding Kokuen-Oh back.

"Stop moving around!" Anubis snapped. "Why did you attack Byakuen?"

Kokuen-Oh retorted, "I did not wish to be turned into this ridiculous form in the first place! Change me back now! I hate this form, and why are those children running about the table!"

The group exclaimed, "Nani??" Nasuti and the Masho turned to find the Chibi Troopers chasing each other on top of and around the table. Their ice-cream was falling off from the cone and spilling onto the floor and table top.

Nasuti shrieked, "Oh no! Get off of there before you get hurt!" She rushed over and scooped Chibi Touma and Chibi Shin off of the top. Meanwhile Byakuen helped out by grabbing Chibi Ryo, Chibi Shu, and Chibi Seiji all at once.

"Got 'em!" Byakuen muffled as he held a squirming Chibi Shu by the back of his shirt using his teeth.

Naza threw Anubis a tired glance and said, "This is going to be a VERY long adventure."

"And one I doubt we'll ever forget," Anubis added. "Hey! What the--?!"

Kokuen-Oh suddenly lifted the two Masho off from the ground with incredible strength and threw them over towards the table. Nasuti and Byakuen quickly dashed out of the way with the kids safely in their hands. Anubis and Naza crashed onto the table, knocking it over.

Byakuen placed the Troopers he had onto the ground. "Stop it right now, Kokuen-Oh!" he cried. "We mean you no harm! We're much confused about this as you are!"

"You and your little Troopers have done plenty enough to me in the past years!" Kokuen-Oh barked. "Whatever happens from here on out, I blame you all for--?!"

The electricity suddenly went out, leaving everyone in a darkened room. The full moon was the only thing that provided a source of light. "Waaahhh!!!" Chibi Seiji wailed. He wrapped his arms around Nasuti's leg and buried his face into the bottom of her shirt.

Nasuti knelt down and scooped the frighten child into her arms, trying to comfort him. "It'll be okay, Seiji-kun. It's probably just a short circut," Nasuti whispered softly.

Rajura frowned. "I don't think so. Look."

Pointing towards the open window, the entire group watched as a tall, dark shadow slowly rose before the full moon. It looked like the outline of a ninja but its eyes were glowing a bright shade of red. It gave off a wicked laughter before slipping onto the ground.

"What is that?" Chibi Shin cried, taking a few steps back.

Chibi Ryo tried to put on a tough face, but failed as he watched the shadow appear once more, only this time it was inside of the house.

Byakuen grabbed Kokuen-Oh roughly by his shoulders and asked, "Did you bring the Shadowlings here!?"

"Shadowlings?" Kokuen-Oh gave Byakune a harsh glare. "I hate to disappoint you, Byaku, but I didn't bring them here, but if we don't act fast, they'll be surrounding this place like parasites."

Byakuen sighed in defeat. "You... are right."

Anubis recovered from his fall and stared ruefully at Kokuen-Oh. "Get out of the way. We're going to teach these creatures a lesson on crashing into people's homes uninvited."

Naza stood beside him also wearing a dark expression. "Afterwards, perhaps we should give you a go as well."

Chibi Shu looked at them and then over at Rajura; the former Gen Masho drew his fists back, ready to attack at any moment. "Cool," he whispered in awe. "They're gonna fight!"

"They're gonna fight!" Chibi Touma echoed from behind. "I wanna watch!"

The Shadowling made a low hissing sound, and suddenly the group was surrounded by more Shadowlings, each looking just like the other. Nasuti gasped in fright. She felt Chibi Seiji's hand tighten around hers and it reminded her of when she would watch over Jun when he was younger.

The Masho, Byakuen, and Kokuen-Oh made a protective circle around Nasuti and the Chibi Troopers. Chibi Shu looked a little peeved, seeing as how he couldn't see a thing with all of these tall people in his way. He tried to wriggle past them, but Kokuen-Oh shoved him back.

"Stay there, baka. This isn't a game."

Chibi Shu fell onto his knees and shouted, "You can't tell me what to do, kisama!"

"Shu!" Nasuti reprimanded. She gently placed Chibi Seiji onto the ground and narrowed her eyes at the young boy like a stern mother.

"Gomen nasai, Nasuti-san..." Chibi Shu flushed in embarassment.

Anubis balled up his fists and said in a hushed voice, "This is getting ugly..."

The Shadowlings continued to make the strange giggling sounds as they stood there, glowing eyes focused upon their prey which they were surrounding. There were at least ten of them, each bearing what looked like a kusari-gama.

"Get ready," said Naza as he eyed the Shadowling which stood in front of him critically. He drew back his fist and was going to be the first one to strike--until Kokuen-Oh had grabbed his hand and held it back.

"That would be a fatal mistake, Doku Masho."

"Shimatta! Kokuen-Oh no baka!"

Before Naza could curse some more, one of the Shadowlings unleashed its weapon out. However, before it could strike any of them, an invisible barrier bounced the blade back to its sender. It ripped across the Shadowling's chest before it could regain control. The Shadow made a horrible screeching noise before falling to the ground and vanishing.

"What... happened?" Nasuti wondered, asking the same question everyone had in their minds.

Chibi Ryo, along with the other four Chibi Troopers, were found holding up their kanji orbs, each of them glowing in their respective colors: Ryo--red, Touma--dark blue, Shu--orange, Shin--light blue, and Seiji--green.

"Chibi Troopers!" Chibi Ryo shouted, still holding up his orb. "We have to protect our friends! No bad guys are gonna trash this house!"

"Hai!" the other four cried, their eyes focused upon their orbs. All of a sudden, the five little boys took a stance and announced words that nobody would ever think they would hear from them.

"Buso Chibi Rekka!"

"Buso Chibi Tenku!"

"Buso Chibi Korin!"

"Buso Chibi Kongo!"

"Buso Chibi Suiko!"

They went through the same motions as they would do in their original forms in order to receive their mystical yorois. Seconds later, all five boys were garbed their yorois with weapons and all. Besides him, the other four boys called upon their armors and were soon ready to fight.

Then without warning, the five Chibi Troopers leapt high over their circle of friends, landed right behind the Shadowlings, and dashed out of the opened window. The Shadowlings were quick to give chase and went after them. This left the Masho and the others in a state of confusion.

"What the hell?" Anubis commented.

"We can't just stand here!" Nasuti cried. "We have to help them! They're just kids now!"

Byakuen nodded. "Yes, but how in the world could they have called upon their armors like that? I thought they wouldn't remember... oh, never mind. Let's go after them!"

Turning to Nasuti, Rajura said, "It's too dangerous for you to stay here. Better come with us."

Before she could say anything, he grabbed her gently by the wrist and led everyone out to the back area. Over out on the balcony, they all gathered there in search of their friends. Each of them stood over the railing and searched the area.

Moments later, Byakuen shouted, "Over there! By the lake!" He pointed and the group discovered some movement over by the huge body of water which resided behind the house. There were some flashes of light and some wild cries.

"Move out!" Anubis shouted, taking charge.

Kokuen-Oh shook his head in disapprovment. "Shouldn't do that, Yami Masho. You'll only be getting in the way."

Anubis snarled, "What is THAT suppose to mean, Kokuen-Oh?"

"I'm saying you and the others are weak, unlike Byakuen and myself. We can take care of those Shadowlings."

Byakuen blinked in confusion. "W-We can? But Kokuen-Oh--"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Rajura hissed. "We have been around for quite a long time and I think we know what we're doing. We're warriors, unlike YOU, who's been around the centuries as a black tiger. You don't know how to fight, do you?"

"You'll only get killed," Kokuen-Oh replied calmly. "Those Shadowlings aren't like the youja-soldiers."

"We know that!" Naza snapped.

Kokuen-Oh narrowed his eyes at the three Masho. "They are only going to see you as fresh meat."

"You son of a--"

"Stop it!" Everyone turned to Nasuti, whose face was flushed in anger. She pointed down at the forest and cried, "This fighting is getting us nowhere! While you're all arguing, the Troopers are down there fighting for their lives! They have no idea that this is not a game!"

The men all lowered their heads in shame. "You're right, Nasuti," said Byakuen. "We're sorry." Facing the others, he said, "We will discuss all of this later. Right now, Ryo and the others need our help."

Kokuen-Oh nodded grimly. "Yes. Byaku, let's get going. Follow me!" With that, the black-haired man jumped onto the railing and then leapt down into the forest region below.

Byakuen hesitated but took a deep breath and followed the same motions as Kokuen-Oh. He was surprised at how easy it was to jump. He felt much lighter, lighter than he had ever felt in his entire life. It was probably all of that heavy weight he had been carrying around as a tiger...

After Byakuen vanished down below, Anubis cursed in frustration. "How dare he tell us what to do..."

Nasuti said, "Never mind. Can you guys follow them without your armors?" Anubis, Naza, and Rajura nodded. "Good, then I'll meet you guys down there. I'm going to take my jeep."

Everyone was in agreement and as Nasuti left the balcony area, the Masho followed the two man-tigers by jumping into the forest below.

"Yahoo!" Chibi Kongo no Shu shouted as he smacked one of the Shadowlings on its back. "This is fun! I like playing war games!"

Chibi Rekka no Ryo hollered, "Let's hurry up so we can go back and get more ice-cream, 'kay?"

The Chibi Troopers nodded. Chibi Korin no Seiji ducked as a Shadowling swung its kursari gama at him. The blade ripped right through a tree, splitting it in half like scissors cutting paper. After the tree had crashed down, he and Chibi Tenku no Touma head-butted the Shadowling, sending it flying back into the lake. So far, they hadn't destroyed any of them, but were rather tossing them back and forth a bit.

"This is so cool!" Chibi Korin hollered as he jumped over a Shadowling with incredible agility, and once behind it, he slammed into its backside and sent it sprawling to the ground. "This is more fun that doing that stupid bonzai thing my Grandpa does!"

Over by the dock of the lake, Chibi Suiko no Shin stood and watched everybody play. He witnessed as Chibi Rekka had a Shadowling chase him around a tree over and over and over again. The Shadowling grew dizzy and stumbled around a bit before collapsing onto the ground, groaning.

"Hahahaha! You're funny!" Chibi Rekka giggled as he leaned over it with a silly grin.

"That looked like it'd hurt," Chibi Suiko mumbled to himself. He stared at his feet and said, "I think I'm just gonna play by myself... ahhh!" All of a suddenly, a Shadowling had appeared looming before him, its eyes glowing and making eerie giggling noises. Chibi Suiko held up his little yari and with shaky arms, pointing its tip at the creature. "D-D-Don't hurt me...!" he stammered nervously. "I... I-I w-warming you!"

The Shadowling gave off a harsh laughter and drew its weapon back. It lashed out at Suiko but somehow missed him, and ended up falling into the lake. The boy gasped as he found Chibi Kongo standing at the foot of the dock, grinning triumphantly.

"C'mon, Shin! You're missing out on all the fun!"

Chibi Suiko shook his head. "N-No, that's okay. I don't wanna fight. How about I make us something to eat instead? 'Member how a good cooker I am?"

Chibi Kongo stared at him momentarily before nodded. "Awright. Here." He knelt down and gathered a huge glop of mud near the shore of the lake. Handling it over to Suiko, he said, "I guess we need a chef or something to cook us stuff when we're done playing. You can start off by making us a chocolate pie, 'kay?"

"Hai!" Chibi Suiko smiled in delight. "It'll be ready for you guys when you have a time out!"

***

"Amazing," Kiyemon whispered to herself.

Kayura lifted her head from her prayer. "What is?"

"A portion of the Troopers' strength still remains with them. Strange that they do not realize what is going on and yet they still have the desire to fight those who hurt their friends."

"Wha... what do you mean? Are you saying that they're being attacked?"

Kiyemon nodded. "Yes."

A moment of silence passed between the two women. Kayura bit her lower lip as she stared at Kiyemon. She seemed calm and still as stone. Her back was turned to her as she gazed into her crystal ball. How could she be so cold yet understanding at the same time? A guardian of the Demon's Gate, Kayura thought to herself. She must be very wise for one who has been around for a millennium or two. I wish she could just help out the Troopers by changing them back, but...

"Kayura-san."

Kayura shook her head, her thoughts drifting back into reality. "Y-Yes?"

Kiyemon turned around and gave the blue-haired woman what could be detected as a slight smile. "Do not worry about your friends. I have a strong feeling that something good will come out from all of this."

"I'm not too sure," Kayura moaned. She lowered her eyes and stared at the floor, suddenly finding it interesting. "I wish I could be there to help them out..."

"You ARE helping them out," Kiyemon pointed out. "By using Kaos-sama's shakujo, you are able to locate where Sachiriku is. Just concentrate like I have instructed you to and everything will be fine."

Suddenly, Kayura held her head high and demanded, "How can you be so calm about all of this! My friends are dying and you are telling me that everything will be fine?!"

Another moment of silence passed between the two. Kiyemon simply turned around and focused her attention back to her crystal ball. Kayura lifted a hand and opened her mouth to apologize for her outburst but she lowered it and turned away. Kneeling before the floating staff once more, Kayura resumed her position and began to pray once more.

***

"This cannot be happening," Kaijin muttered in disgust. He watched from the air as the Shadowlings he had sent to search for the Chibi Troopers were being toyed with. "They seem much stronger than when we first met in that Paradox, or should I say, Demon's Gate? How interesting."

The golden mask Kaijin wore started glowing. He folded his arms across his chest and continued to watch the actions going on through the Mirror. "I didn't realize it would be this way, but they will be sorry. I will get those armors for Sachiriku-sama soon enough."

***

"Ouch!" Chibi Korin gazed down at his finger as he felt it throbbing with pain. He had accidently slammed it against a rock as he tried to tag one of the Shadowlings. Dropping his tiny nodatchi onto the ground, he wailed, "Time out!"

Chibi Rekka and Chibi Tenku immediately went to their friend. Kneeling next to him at each of his side, Korin held up his index finger and allowed Rekka to examine it.

"Hmm, maybe its broken," Chibi Rekka concluded with a questionable look on his face.

"Hey, I know!" Chibi Tenku yelled aloud. "Seiji, how 'bout we take you to Nasuti-san and she can kiss it and make it better?"

Chibi Korin blushed heavily. "Aw, shut up, Tenku-chan!"

"But you DO like her!" Chibi Rekka teased. He giggled as Korin yanked his hand back.

"Shut up! Both of you!"

Just then, Chibi Kongo and Chibi Suiko (who was holding a messy caked-shaped object in his arms) rushed over to them. Chibi Suiko dropped his mud cake onto the ground and asked, "Why aren'tcha fighting?"

"Korin-chan got hurt," said Chibi Tenku. "We're on time out."

A flash of warning entered the Chibi Troopers' minds. Looking about them, they discovered the Shadowlings surrounding them, forming a tight circle around them.

"Uh-oh," said Chibi Rekka. "Looks like they caught us."

Chibi Suiko glanced over at the shadows and told them, "We're on time out, okay? No more fighting until Korin-chan gets a band-aid."

The Shadowlings giggled as they slowly crept towards them, eyes glowing like wildfire. Chibi Rekka stood up and shouted, "We said we're on time out! That means you guys can't tag us until we say time in! Hey!"

The Chibi Troopers all huddled together, trembling in fright, as they realized that these things we not going to do what they say. The shadow creatures were starting to loom over them and it was suddenly starting to get darker than the night. Chibi Suiko yelped and covered his eyes.

"S-Stop!" Chibi Tenku cried as he lifted his bow and arrow, aiming it at the nearest Shadowling. "Leave us alone! We were just suppose to be playing! We weren't gonna hurt'cha!"

Chibi Kongo growled, "I'll stop 'em!" Twirling his mini tetsubo in the air, the boy shouted, "GAN TESSAI!" Thrusting the weapon onto the ground, Chibi Kongo concentrated on his attack power. Magically, fist shaped rocks broke free from the earth and slammed into Shadowlings which stood in front of the little Trooper. The rocks knocked a few shadows on the head, forcing them to stumble back at bit but they regained their stance.

Chibi Kongo winced and muttered, "Uh-oh. Um, somebody else attack! Mine didn't work!"

"I'll go!" Chibi Tenku volunteered.

Chibi Korin got up and announced, "Me too!"

Together, the two Chibi Troopers shouted their attack powers.

"SHIN KU HA!"

"RAI KO ZAN!"

Their combined attack power slammed into one of the bigger Shadowlings. It flew back quite a ways and splashed into the lake. The Chibi Troopers all shouted in triumph but that quickly faded as the remaining Shadowlings came up to them.

"Oh no!" Chibi Rekka cried. "SO EN ZAN!"

Chibi Suiko held up his yari and hesitated before calling out, "CHO RYU HA!"

Another combined attack sent another Shadowling flying into the lake, but that didn't stop the rest of them from obtaining their victims. Each of the Chibi Troopers were being held by the back of their arms, the Shadowlings pinning them from behind. Chibi Tenku cried out as the Shadowling which held him roughly pushed him onto the ground. Tenku-chan got to his hands and knees and started crying.

"You jerk!" Chibi Suiko shouted. Soon he too was shoved onto the ground. He received a cut on his cheek when he landed and started crying as well.

One of the Shadowlings hissed, "Shut up! We must take you back to our leader!"

"We ain't going nowhere!" Chibi Korin objected, his face twisted in anquish. "Stop bugging us!"

Chibi Rekka struggled from the Shadowling's gasp. "Yeah, you booger! Leave us alone!"

The Shadowlings laughed manically. Moments later, the other three Troopers had been tossed back onto the ground with their other two friends. Rekka, Korin, and Kongo stood protectively in front of Tenku and Suiko, who were still weeping.

One of the Shadowlings drew its fist back, which had now transformed into a claw, and was prepared to strike. Chibi Rekka held Rekka Ken with trembling hands, but he grit his teeth and swallowed a lump in his throat. Chibi Kongo was holding out his tetsubo, sweat trickling down his face. Chibi Korin was waving his no-dachi as if challenging the dark creatures to make a move.

"Prepare to die!" the head Shadowling roared.

The three Chibi Troopers, frightened by the tone of voice, dropped their weapons and hugged each other. Closing their eyes, they started screaming as the claw was swiftly drawn back further and lashed it out at them.

***end of chapter three

Chapter Four