It was Wednesday morning, yet another school day. Sage and Sandra were waiting at their street corner for their friends. Sage was leaning against the signpost, and Sandra was reading a book. “Hey, guys!” they heard Ryo shout to them. Sandra put her book in her backpack and Sage stood up as Ryo, Cye, Kento, Clara, Rita, and Kim joined them. “Hey, where’s Rowen?” Kento asked as he took a quick look down their street. “You couldn’t wake him up this time?” “No, that’s not it,” Sage replied. “The problem was Rowen wasn’t there to begin with,” Sandra added. “What are you saying?” an astonished Cye asked. “You’re not gonna believe this...but Rowen already left for school,” Sandra explained.Ryo, Cye, and Kento were in shock. “No way!” Kento blurted out. “Afraid so, Kento,” Sage replied as they all started down the main road to Han`a High. “I don’t get it,” Kim muttered out loud. “What’s the big deal?” “Kim, we have known Rowen for a few years,” Cye explained, referring to Ryo, Sage, Kento, and himself. “He has this annoying little habit of forgetting to set his alarm clock. He always ends up being late for school. Since Sage lives on the same street, he’s like Rowen’s backup. If Rowen was not awake, Sage would go to his house and wake him up, which is almost every day. This was a bit of a surprise for us today. Rowen never wakes up early for school, or on time for that matter.”
“Rowen used to make up all of these stupid excuses,” Kento added. “Like, ‘I was up late studying,’ or ‘My alarm clock’s broken,’ but we knew he was lying about it. Rowen always forgets to set his alarm.” “Well, he obviously didn’t forget to last night,” Kim pointed out. “Yeah, that’s true,” Kento muttered. “Something must be going on at school, something important.” “We’ll find out soon enough, Kento,” Ryo interrupted. “We’re almost at the school now.” As Han`a High School came into view, Clara exclaimed, “Look! There he is!” She pointed at a wooden bench near the front entrance. There was Rowen, looking a bit nervous about something as he looked down at the concrete pathway.
To everyone’s surprise, particularly the guys, Rowen wasn’t wearing his typical wardrobe, which normally consisted of blue jeans and a bright blue shirt with the raised lime green collar. He was dressed very conservatively today. Rowen was wearing a nice pair of pale blue stonewashed jeans, a cobalt blue dress shirt, and a pale blue stonewashed denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “Good morning, Rowen,” Rita greeted him. Startled by the unexpected greeting, Rowen jumped up like a nervous rabbit. “Oh, umm...hi, guys,” he stuttered as he attempted to compose himself. He noticed that Ryo, Sage, Kento, and Cye were looking at him strangely. “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?” Rowen asked curiously.
“Rowen, can we talk to you, privately?” Sage asked. “Sure, I guess,” Rowen replied. Sage, along with Ryo, Kento, and Cye, entered the school, with Rowen following behind. Sage was looking around the halls when he found what he was looking for: a wooden door marked MEN’S ROOM. “Right in here,” he announced as he entered the bathroom, followed by the others. Rowen closed the door behind him and looked at his friends. “What’s going on?” he asked as he stood next to Sage. “You’re all behaving rather strangely.” “We’re acting strange, Rowen?” Sage exclaimed. “What about you? You actually remembered to set your alarm, you leave for school early, and you’re dressed up like we’re having a school dance or something.”
“So? What’s wrong with dressing up a bit?” Rowen defended himself. “Nothing,” Sage admitted. “It’s just that you never dress up for anything, not even for the yearbook photos.” Kento suddenly approached the window and opened it up as wide as he could. “Come on, Kento,” Cye retorted. “It doesn’t smell that bad in here.” Kento turned to Sage and retorted, “Next time, could you ease up on the cologne? It reeks!” “I’m not wearing any, Kento,” Sage replied. All eyes fell on Rowen, who was just standing there with his hands in his pockets. When he noticed the accusing stares, he smiled nervously and turned on the water at the sink. “You’re wearing cologne, Rowen?” Kento blurted out as Rowen washed his face.
“Yeah, so?” he replied as he grabbed a paper towel and dried his face. “Okay, that does it!” Kento exclaimed. “Who are you, and what have you done with our friend?” Rowen chuckled a bit at his friend’s antics. “Kento, it’s really me,” he assured him. “I’m the one and only Rowen Hashiba.” “There’s gotta be a reason why you’re dressed up, and you’re not leaving until we find out!” Kento declared loudly. “Well, you’re going to have to make an educated guess about it, because I don’t plan on telling you,” Rowen proclaimed with his arms crossed. Kento was obviously thinking long and hard about it. A big smirk came to his face as he looked up at Rowen. “Okay,” he muttered as he approached Rowen. “You’re gonna challenge Sage for the title of ‘Flirting King!’ ”
Everyone, including Rowen, laughed at Kento’s suggestion. “Yeah, right, Kento,” Rowen managed to get out in between laughing. “Are they having the yearbook photos done earlier this year?” Cye asked. “No way, Cye,” Ryo replied. “Yearbook pictures are always in mid-October, and everyone would have known if they changed the date. Besides, Rowen never dressed up for that.” “You got any better ideas, Ryo?” Kento retorted. Ryo thought about it for a moment. “Do you...have a crush on a teacher?” he asked uncertainly. Rowen laughed abruptly. “I don’t think so,” he replied. “I only have two female teachers. One’s married, and both are well over twice my age.” Ryo groaned out of frustration. “Your turn,” he told Sage, who was leaning against the pale blue tile-covered windowsill.
Sage’s eyes were closed, as though he was mediating. A small smile formed on his face as he opened his eyes. “I think I know,” Sage announced. “This ought to be good,” Rowen retorted as he looked at Sage. “It has something to do with a girl, right?” Sage asked. Rowen felt his cheeks turning red. He tried to turn away before anyone could see, but it was too late. “Look, he’s blushing!” Sage pointed out. “I knew it! I knew it had to be a girl!” Ryo, Kento, and Cye were shocked beyond belief. “You have a crush on a girl? At this school?” Kento blurted out. “I thought you said a while back, that you’re not interested in someone who had to carry around a dictionary in order to understand you,” Cye reminded him.
“Well, that’s still true,” Rowen admitted, “and it’s not a crush, Kento! We’re just friends.” “Care to tell us about this ‘friend’ of yours?” Sage asked. “Do we know her?” “Well, odds are you don’t know her,” Rowen started. “She lives in Los Angeles.” “And how would you know a girl from L.A.?” Kento asked, slightly confused. “We were pen pals since the second grade,” Rowen explained. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Sage exclaimed. “Tell us about her!” “Well, to start off, her name is Roxanna Rodriguez,” Rowen started. “Her father’s originally from Mexico, and her mother’s American. Surprisingly, Roxanna and I have a lot in common with each other.” “Oh, really?” Ryo asked. “Like what?”
“Oy, there’s so much,” Rowen muttered to himself. “To start off, our parents are divorced. We both live with our mothers and both of our fathers left us. As you know, my dad high-tailed it back to Australia. Her father went back to Mexico. We both excel in school, and we both have remarkably high IQs.” “How smart is she, anyway?” Kento prodded. Rowen hesitated for a moment. He muttered something under his breath, but he said it too quickly for anyone to understand. “What?” Kento asked. “217,” Rowen muttered a little louder. “Did you say 217?” Cye asked. Rowen hesitantly nodded his head. Kento gave a low whistle. “Whoa, that’s high! Isn’t yours, like, forty points higher or something?”
“Thirty-three points higher, to be precise,” Rowen corrected him. “Good thing Roxanna doesn’t go to this school,” Ryo joked. “She’d probably give you a run for your money.” Rowen smiled a bit before replying, “Well, Ryo, things are going to change, starting today.” “Hold on!” Sage interrupted. “Are you saying she’s coming here?” “Yes, she is,” Rowen replied. “In a letter from last week, she wrote that her mother got an executive position at a major business corporation located in Tokyo. Roxanna also mentioned that they already purchased a home right here in Toyama. Plus, her new home is right on my street! She’s even going to our school! Today’s gonna be her first day.” “Well, you’re obviously excited about it,” Sage pointed out.
“Anyway, I’m supposed to meet her outside today, before school starts,” Rowen added. “That’s why I came here earlier than usual.” “So, what does she look like?” Kento asked impatiently. “Honestly, I haven’t the faintest idea,” Rowen admitted. “You don’t even know what she looks like?” Cye asked out of shock. “Don’t you send each other pictures?” “Well, the only pictures we have of each other are from the second grade,” he confessed. “You see, you’re probably not aware of this, but there’s a law here in Japan requiring that all photographs be sent via Federal Express. It was a new law around the time we started writing to each other.” “Do you at least have an idea what she looks like?” Ryo asked. “Roxanna has tan skin, dark frizzy hair, blue eyes...” Rowen started to describe.
“Blue eyes?” Sage repeated. “Hard to believe, but it’s true,” Rowen admitted. “Let’s see,” he muttered to himself. “Her braces should be gone by now...” Just then, the first bell rang. “Oh, no!” Rowen cried out as he ran straight out of the bathroom. By the time Ryo and the others caught up with Rowen, he was frantically searching the crowd of students that entered Han`a High School. He groaned out of frustration when he spotted Rita and Clara walking away. “Rita! Clara!” Rowen shouted as he made his way toward them. Rita stopped and turned around, followed by Clara. “What is it, Rowen?” Rita asked. “Have you seen a girl around your age, tan, dark frizzy hair, blue eyes?” Rowen asked.
“No, I haven’t seen anyone like that,” she replied. “Me, neither, Rowen,” Clara added. “Why do you ask?” Rowen sighed out of disappointment. “Never mind,” he muttered. “Well, if I do see a girl fitting that description, I’ll let you know. Okay?” Rita reassured him. “Fine,” he muttered before Rita left with Ryo. Rowen walked down the hallway to his homeroom, along with Cye and Clara. “Don’t be so sad, Rowen,” Clara told him. “Don’t worry about Roxanna,” Cye assured him. “You’ll see her today. I’m sure of it.” “Why are you so sure, Cye?” Rowen asked. “Well, think about it. If Roxanna is as smart as you say she is, odds are she’ll end up in at least one of your classes.” “Yeah, you’re right,” Rowen agreed cheerfully as they continued down the hall...
Rowen was sitting quietly at his desk for his first period class: Calculus. While he was reading over his notes, everyone else was talking to their friends and goofing off. When the door opened and their teacher, a fifty-year-old woman wearing a white blouse and long navy blue dress pants, entered the room, everyone quickly quieted down and got back to their seats. “Good morning, Mrs. Elberg,” the class chorused. “Good morning everyone,” Mrs. Elberg replied pleasantly as she took her seat and put her portfolio on top of her desk. She opened the portfolio, put on a pair of gold-rimmed reading glasses, and looked through a pile of papers in her portfolio. “Okay,” she muttered quietly as she pulled out a small pile of papers and got up.
“I have your tests from last week,” Mrs. Elberg announced. As she began to pass them out, there were some groans as some students saw their grades. “I’m afraid that some of you will have to study better for the next test.” As she approached Rowen, she added, “However, a few of you have done exceptional on this test.” When Mrs. Elberg handed Rowen his test, she whispered, “Excellent job, Rowen. Keep up the good work.” Rowen looked at the 100 written in red on the right corner of his test and smiled a bit. “Teacher’s pet,” he heard a student sitting behind him murmur. “Now, there will be none of that!” Mrs. Elberg snapped at the student. He kept his mouth shut as Mrs. Elberg sat back down.
“Now that everyone has their tests back...” Mrs. Elberg was interrupted by the door being opened. A young boy, possibly a freshman or a sophomore, stood in the open doorway, completely exhausted from running. “Is there something wrong?” Mrs. Elberg asked as she stood up. “There’s...a fight...outside, Mrs. Elberg,” the boy managed to get out between gulps of air. “Show me where,” she told the boy as she started to follow him out into the hall. Before she left, Mrs. Elberg looked at Rowen and asked, “Would you mind keeping an eye on the class for me, Rowen?” “No problem, Mrs. Elberg,” he replied. With that, Mrs. Elberg and the boy left the room. All of her students, except for Rowen, immediately got up and crowded around the window.
The chattering got so mingled that only a few things could be heard clearly now and then. “Hey, watch it!” “I can’t see!” “Stop pushing!” “Don’t I know that kid?” “Get outta the way!” “Make me!” Rowen shook his head as he put his test away in a pocket folder. He heard the still open door squeak a bit, and he looked up to see a young Hispanic girl trying to close the door with her arms full. A thin navy blue head wrap kept most of her curly dark brown hair out of her face. She was dressed quite properly, in a traditional schoolgirl look. She was wearing a short-sleeved white blouse, a navy blue pleated skirt with a matching sweater tied around her shoulders, white knee socks, and black Mary Jane shoes.
When he first saw the new girl, one thought immediately came to Rowen’s mind: “Roxanna?” He got out of his seat and approached the girl, whose back was still facing him. Just then, the young girl turned around. Startled by seeing him standing there, she gasped slightly and dropped her binder, notebook, folder, and pencil case. Her sparkling blue eyes looked into Rowen’s calm blue eyes for a few moments. Then, she quickly looked down at the floor and bent down to pick up her stuff. “Here, let me help you, Roxanna,” Rowen offered as he bent down to help her. She froze when Rowen called her “Roxanna.” She looked at him and asked with a slight Hispanic accent, “How did you know my name?” “Isn’t it a bit obvious?” Rowen asked her.
When she finally realized who he was, a small smile formed on her face. “Rowen?” she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. “That’s me,” he admitted. To his surprise, Roxanna embraced him. “This is so great, to finally meet you face-to-face after all these years of writing to each other!” Roxanna blurted out. “Same here, Roxanna,” Rowen admitted as she let go of him. As they stood up, Rowen asked, “What happened earlier? We were supposed to meet outside before school started.” Roxanna looked down shamefully. “Lo siento. I overslept this morning. Mi madre had to drive me to school. I was up late last night unpacking my stuff, and I was so excited about meeting you the next day that I forgot to set my alarm.”
“It’s all right, Roxanna,” Rowen told her. “Stuff like this happens all the time. Take myself, for example. I forget to set my alarm on a regular basis.” Roxanna giggled and added, “Si, I remember you mentioned that in one of your letters.” She looked over Rowen’s shoulder at the crowd of students at the window. “What are they doing?” she asked. Rowen turned his head and replied, “Oh, they’re just watching some fight outside. Our teacher, Mrs. Elberg, went outside to break it up.” “Aww, man!” one of the students complained. “The fight’s over!” Several of the students groaned as they returned to their seats. Rowen returned to his seat as well, and Roxanna took the empty desk right next to him.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Elberg returned to the classroom. “You totally kicked butt out there, Mrs. Elberg!” one student exclaimed as everyone applauded her. “Well, I guess those self-defense classes did come in handy,” Mrs. Elberg admitted. She added jokingly, “If anyone gets out of line in this class, you better watch out!” A majority of the students groaned as she took her seat. “Now, where was I? Oh yes.” Mrs. Elberg looked up and spotted Roxanna. “Excuse me, but are you Miss Rodriguez?” she asked. “Yes,” Roxanna replied, nodding her head. “Why don’t you come up here?” Roxanna got up from her desk and approached Mrs. Elberg’s desk. “Class, this is our new student, Ms. Roxanna Rodriguez, from Los Angeles, California. Please give her a warm welcome to our school.”
Scattered applause was heard for less than a minute. “Here you are, Ms. Rodriguez,” Mrs. Elberg said as she handed Roxanna a textbook. “Take good care of it. Just so you know, you missed our first test. I won’t let that one count toward your grade. However, you will need to get notes from one of your classmates. Will that be a problem at all?” “No, Mrs. Elberg,” Roxanna replied, holding the textbook against her chest. “That’s all,” Mrs. Elberg told her. “You can return to your seat.” “Gracias. I mean, thank you.” Roxanna turned around and went back to her desk. Mrs. Elberg got up and stepped up to the chalkboard. “I would like everyone to turn to page 73 in your textbooks,” she started as she wrote on the chalkboard...
Rowen and Roxanna were heading down the hall to Rowen’s locker during the five-minute break before second period. “Ahh, here we go,” Rowen muttered as he approached his locker and unlocked it. While he was putting his Calculus book away, Roxanna was looking at him curiously. “Why are you dressed like that?” she asked abruptly. “What do you mean?” Rowen asked, not bothering to face her. “I mean, why are you dressed this way? I thought you dress casual, just a T-shirt and jeans. Is it because of me?” The last question caught Rowen by surprise. “Umm...well, you see, I...yeah,” he admitted reluctantly. Rowen pulled a textbook out of his locker, closed it, and looked at Roxanna.
“You did that for me? How sweet of you,” Roxanna admitted, smiling a bit as they walked down the hall. “I must admit, you look muy guapo today.” Rowen blushed a bit from her compliment. “So, uh…where’s your next class, Roxanna?” he asked. “First of all, Rowen,” Roxanna replied, “since we’re friends, you can call me by my nickname, Roxie.” “Okay…Roxie.” “My next class is ‘Criminal Justice’ with Mr. Lobello,” Roxie continued. “ ‘Criminal Justice,’ with Mr. Lobello?” Rowen repeated. “Si. Do you know him?” Roxie asked. “Yeah, I know him,” Rowen admitted. “Matter of fact,” he added a bit smugly, “I have that same class next period.” “Really? Bueno!” Roxie exclaimed as they continued down the hall...
It was almost time for fifth period to begin. Ryo, Sage, Kento, and Cye were sitting at a table in Study Hall, waiting for Rowen to show up. “Come on, Sandra!” Sage pleaded with the redhead girl, who was sitting at a table across from the guys, along with Rita, Clara, and Kim. “There’s an extra seat right here.” He indicted an empty seat right next to him. Sandra looked up from her book for a moment and retorted, “Sorry, Sage, but I trust you ‘bout as far as she can kick you.” She jerked her thumb at Kim, who snickered a bit at Sandra’s cruel remark. “Leave it alone, Sage. For the last time, she’s not interested in you,” Ryo reminded him. “That’s not entirely true,” Sandra reluctantly admitted.
Sage immediately perked up when he heard this. “Ha! I knew it,” he admitted proudly. “I am interested in you...as a friend!” Sandra added. “Aww,” Sage groaned. Ryo, Kento, and Cye snickered over Sage’s situation. “Hey, there’s Rowen!” Ryo pointed out as they watched Rowen enter the room with a big grin on his face. “He’s sure happy about something,” Ryo told Cye, Kento, and Sage. “Perhaps he finally met his pen pal, Roxanna,” Cye suggested. “If that’s true, he obviously wasn’t disappointed with what he saw!” Kento added smugly. Rowen arrived at their table and sat down next to Kento. “How are you all doing today?” Rowen asked cheerfully, which caught his friends a bit by surprise.
“We’re doing all right, Rowen,” Sage replied as Rowen opened up a textbook and started to read. “You seem to be in higher spirits now,” Cye mentioned. “Does this mean you ran into Roxanna earlier today?” “As a matter of fact, I did meet Roxanna,” Rowen admitted openly. “So, which class of yours is she in?” Cye asked. “All of them.” “Get outta here!” Sage exclaimed. “I’m serious!” Rowen told him. “I saw her schedule, and it’s like someone handed her an exact copy of my own schedule!” Kento decided to get a little personal. “So, spill it, Rowen! Is Roxanna hot or what?” “Excuse me, what?” Rowen asked, a bit surprised. “Is Roxanna hot?” Kento repeated. “You know! Is she a babe, a knockout, a hottie?”
Rowen flushed a bit with Kento continually egging him. He was at a loss for words. “Come on, Rowen. Details! I wanna know...Hey!” Kento exclaimed when a crumpled ball of paper hit him on the head. “What did you do that for?” he asked Kim. “Why don’t you stop bugging him, dude?” Kim told him. “Leave him alone. Rowen don’t need to tell you nothin’. Anyway, you’ll see for yourself if she’s a babe or not. Okay?” Kento kept his mouth shut after that. Just then, Ryo looked up and spotted Roxanna entering the room. “Hey, Rowen, is that her?” he asked. Rowen turned his head to see for himself. “Yeah, that’s her,” he admitted. “Whoa,” Kento exclaimed in a low whisper. “That’s all I can say, man. Whoa.”
Rowen looked suspiciously at Sage, who was obviously checking out Roxanna. “Don’t even think about it,” Rowen whispered harshly. “What?” Sage asked innocently. “I know what you’re thinking,” Rowen warned him accusingly. “It’s like clockwork with you, Sage. You just have to flirt with every pretty girl that comes along...” “So...you think she’s pretty?” Kento interrupted. “Well, I...” Rowen stuttered as he turned red a bit. “Hola!” Roxie greeted him. “Hi, Roxie,” Rowen replied. “Mind if I sit here?” she asked, pointing at the empty seat between him and Sage. “Sure,” Rowen replied a bit hesitantly. Roxie sat down at the table and placed her notebooks and pencil case down.
“Roxie, these are my friends,” Rowen started. “This is Ryo Sanada, Cye Mouri, Kento Rei Fuan, and Sage Date.” “Pleasure to meet you,” Roxie replied. “And over here,” Rowen continued as he turned around, “this is Rita Niitsu, Clara Garson, Sandra O’Brien, and Kim Ashe.” “Wow, Rowen,” Roxie admitted. “You have a lot of friends.” Just then, Mr. Stein entered the room and sat at the desk in the center of the room. “Remember, people,” he stated dully. “This is Study Hall, so keep the talking down to a whisper.” The talking quieted down and Mr. Stein removed some papers from his briefcase. “Rowen, could I borrow your notes for Calculus and Criminal Justice, por favor?” Roxie asked in a whisper.
“Sure,” Rowen whispered as he handed a notebook to Roxie. She opened one of her notebooks and started to copy Rowen’s notes. “What about everything else?” Rowen asked. “We do have all the same classes together.” “We have lunch next, right?” Roxie asked as she was jotting down notes. “Yeah, we do,” Rowen replied. “I can get the other notes then.” “Well, I had plans to go to the library next period,” Rowen explained. “That’s fine by me. I haven’t been to the library yet,” Roxie whispered. “All right, then,” Rowen whispered back. He looked up and noticed that Sage was checking her out again. When Sage looked up for a moment, Rowen gave him a warning in the form of a dirty look.
Sensing the tension in the air, Cye decided to strike up some conversation. “So, Roxie, right?” he started. “Yes?” Roxie replied. “Rowen told us that you’re from Los Angeles?” Cye asked. “Well, not entirely,” Roxie admitted. “I’m originally from San Gabriel. It’s a small suburb in Los Angeles.” As she continued writing, Sage confessed openly, “You know, I used to live in California.” “Really? Where did you live?” Roxie asked, not even bothering to look up. “Villa Park,” Sage replied. “Villa Park,” Roxie muttered out loud. “That would be located outside of Anaheim. How long have you lived here in Toyama?” “It’s been around seven years, more or less,” he admitted.
Suddenly, a series of loud tones sounded off. “Remain calm, everyone,” Mr. Stein announced as he stood up. “This is just a drill.” “What the hell’s going on?” Kim asked. “Just a fire drill,” Kento replied as they all got up from their seats. “What’s the big deal?” “I ain’t used to no tones. I’m used to them big, old, clanging bells.” Mr. Stein approached the classroom door and opened it. “You know the routine,” he told the students. “Everyone, line up single file.” He waited patiently as everyone got up from the tables and formed a line by the open door. Just to make sure Sage didn’t get the chance to flirt with Roxie on the way out, Rowen intentionally cut between the two of them before they left the room...
The school day had finally come to an end. Ryo, Kento, Cye, Sage, Kento, Clara, Rita, and Sandra were waiting under the oak tree for Rowen and Roxie. “Here he comes,” Cye announced to the other when he saw Rowen heading their way. “Roxie will be out in a few minutes,” Rowen told his friends. “She needed to get something from her locker.” “That’s good, because we need to talk to you about something important,” Ryo admitted. “Maybe you should sit down,” Sage suggested, indicating a nearby picnic table. Rowen sighed before he reluctantly headed to the table, with the guys following behind. As he sat down on top of the table, Rowen asked a bit hesitantly, “What is it now?”
“It’s about your friend, Roxie,” Ryo started. “We’ve been talking, and we think that she could possibly be the kokoro of air.” “Get out of here!” Rowen exclaimed. “You got to admit, it all adds up when you look at what has happened so far,” Cye pointed out. “I don’t know about Roxie being the kokoro of air,” Rowen muttered out loud. “I’ve been around her most of the day, and this blasted ring hasn’t reacted at all.” “That doesn’t matter, Rowen,” Sage explained. “Remember, the rings only react when they’re in some sort of danger. That’s how it worked so far.” Rowen was quietly thinking to himself for a moment. “I’ll talk to her about this matter privately,” he finally replied. “It’d be easier on Roxie if it was just me explaining the situation.”
“Well, here she comes now,” Cye remarked. Rowen got up from the table as Roxie approached them. She had a backpack strapped over her shoulders and was carrying a book in her arms. “Okay, I’m ready to leave now,” she announced. “Great, let’s get outta here,” Kento retorted. As the group of ten left the school, Roxie whispered to Rowen, “Is there something wrong with your friend, Kento?” “No, he just has a thing about school,” Rowen whispered back. “And what’s that?” she asked. “He hates it,” Rowen whispered. Roxie giggled a bit. Rowen smiled a little, thinking about how Roxie looked when she giggled. There was some silence between them as they lagged behind everyone else.
“So, what did you think about the library?” Rowen asked, trying to strike up conversation. “Muy grande,” Roxie replied. Rowen eyed the book she was carrying in her arms. “What’s that book you checked out?” he asked. “I don’t believe I read that one before.” Roxie looked down at her library book. “It’s an assortment of haiku, poems, and short stories,” she replied. “I found it very interesting. I was especially intrigued by one poem in particular.” “Do you mind telling me about this poem?” Rowen asked. “Sure, no problem,” Roxie replied. “It goes something like this: ‘Torch of spirit sought through five: Drinking strength from immortal fire, The darkest prison sheds the light, Churning beneath a swirl of salt, Burning within a throne of rock, Floating amongst the eyes of the ages...’ ”
“ ‘Unmourned in the stream of the sky,’ ” Rowen finished. “You know this poem?” Roxie asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. “Umm...yes, I do,” Rowen admitted. “Then, would you happen to know the legend of the Ronin Warriors?” Roxie asked. “The Ronin Warriors? Well, I umm...” he stuttered. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re at our street now,” Sage announced. Rowen and Roxie looked up and noticed that Sage was right. “We’ll see you guys later,” Ryo said as he, Cye, Kento, Clara, Rita, and Kim continued down the road. “Bye, Ryo. Bye, guys,” Rowen shouted as he, Sage, Sandra, and Roxie started down their street. Sage and Sandra walked ahead, while Rowen and Roxie lagged behind.
“So, where were we, Roxie?” Rowen asked. “We were about to discuss the legend of the Ronin Warriors,” Roxie reminded him. “Oh, right,” he muttered. “So, do you know anything about them?” Roxie asked. “Well, from what I recall, over a thousand years ago, this world was apparently attacked by an evil demon from the Nether World called Talpa. He led an empire they called the Evil Dynasty, full of these Dynasty soldiers and Nether Spirits. It appeared that Talpa would have succeeded in taking over, until there was a face-off between him and an elderly monk.” “An elderly monk?” Roxie interrupted. “Seems bizarre, doesn’t it?” Rowen replied. “Anyway, the monk defeated Talpa, but Talpa warned him that one day, by the power of his armor, he would return to seek his revenge.”
“What did this monk do?” Roxie asked, obviously intrigued by the story. “And when do the Ronin Warriors come in?” “I’m about to get to that part,” Rowen assured her. “The monk, who was also called the Ancient, knew that as long as the armor existed, Talpa would be able to carry out his threat, but unfortunately, Talpa’s armor couldn’t be destroyed. So, the Ancient melted down Talpa’s armor and created the nine Ronin armors. Four of these armors were imbued with the powers of the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The remaining armors were imbued with the powers of the five elements: fire, earth, air, water, and spirit. The four seasonal armors disappeared over time, but according to legend, if Talpa and his Evil Dynasty ever returned to the mortal world, the Ronin Warriors would be there to stop him.”
Roxie was silent for a few moments. “That was an interesting legend, Rowen,” she admitted. “Especially the way you tell it.” “What do you mean?” Rowen asked, blushing slightly. “Well, the way you spoke, it was as though you believed in the legend yourself,” Roxie explained. “It sounded muy bonito, coming from you.” Rowen blushed even more from Roxie’s compliment. “Hate to interrupt the chat, Romeo,” Sage retorted, “but you passed your house.” Rowen stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around and saw that Sage was right. He was so into his conversation with Roxie that he walked right passed his house. Rowen would have kept going if Sage didn’t stop him. “Oops, my mistake,” he admitted, chuckling nervously.
“Sage! You didn’t have to be so rude ‘bout it,” Sandra retorted. She looked at Rowen and Roxie and smiled. “Well, we have to be going,” Sandra announced cheerfully. “Nice meeting you, Roxie.” “Same here, Sandra,” Roxie replied. She and Rowen watched for a few moments as Sandra half-dragged Sage down the street. “Are those two a couple?” Roxie asked. Rowen laughed out loud. “No way! In Sage’s dreams, perhaps,” he admitted. There was a moment of silence between them. “So, you mentioned you live on this street? Whereabouts?” Rowen asked. Roxie started to giggle. “What?” he asked. “You weren’t the only one to walk pass your house,” she got out between her giggles. “So, where is your house?” Rowen asked again.
Roxie pointed at a two-floor, white cottage-style house. “I can’t believe it,” Rowen muttered. “What is it?” Roxie asked. Rowen looked into her blue eyes and replied, “We’re neighbors.” “Bueno,” Roxie replied with a smile. Rowen decided to take a chance. “Can I walk you to the door?” he asked quickly. Roxie was slightly taken aback by Rowen’s offer. “Sure, Rowen,” she finally answered. The two headed back to Roxie’s home and walked down the small brick path to the door. “There’s something I want to know, Roxie,” Rowen started. “What did you think about me? You know, when you saw me for the first time?” “Well, personally, I wasn’t disappointed with what I saw,” Roxie admitted.
Rowen looked away so Roxie couldn’t see his face turning red. “I’ll see you later, okay?” Roxie asked as she started to open the door. “Wait a minute!” Rowen exclaimed. “What is it?” she asked. “I need to discuss something important with you, but not out here,” Rowen explained. “Then where?” Roxie asked. “Meet me outside around four. I’ll take you to this place I know of where we won’t be interrupted.” “I don’t know...” Roxie murmured a bit hesitantly. Rowen could tell she was nervous, so he took her hand to help calm her. “Roxie, I would never do anything to hurt you in any way. You do believe me, right?” She looked up into Rowen’s blue eyes and smiled a bit. “Yes, I do,” she whispered.
“There’s one other thing I need to tell you, no, warn you about,” Rowen continued. “I have an impostor out there. He looks nearly identical to me; only his eyes are different from mine. He’ll possibly try to cover them up with sunglasses, so keep an eye out for him.” Roxie slowly nodded her head. “Well, goodbye for now, Roxie,” Rowen continued. “Adios, Rowen,” Roxie replied. She gave him a quick hug before she entered her home and closed the door. Rowen stood there astonished for a few moments before he turned around and headed back to his own house next door...
Meanwhile, inside a dark room, Strata was sitting on a large velvet pillow in his sub-armor, in deep meditation. A circle of lit candles, sitting on top of tall wooden candleholders, surrounded him. Strata chuckled evilly to himself. “So, you think you can protect the kokoro from me, Rowen of Strata,” he muttered under his breath. “Too bad you don’t know that the two of us are psychically linked.” Strata heard the door open from behind him. He opened his eyes and asked in an annoyed tone, “What is it, Devaki?” “Lady Dulcea wishes to speak with you right now,” Devaki told him. Strata stood up and followed Devaki down the hall to the throne room, where Dulcea was sitting on her throne, waiting for them.
“Thank you, Devaki. You may leave now,” Dulcea ordered, gesturing with her hand slightly toward the hallway. Devaki bowed to her and hobbled back to the hallway. “Lady Dulcea, you wished to speak with me?” Strata asked as he bowed respectively to her. “Your time has come to destroy the kokoro of air, Strata,” Dulcea informed him. “I’ve been anticipating this moment, Lady Dulcea,” he admitted. “So, you have a plan?” she asked. “Yes, and it’s quite a devious one, if I do say so myself,” Strata boasted. Dulcea raised an eyebrow upon hearing this boast. “Don’t be so sure of yourself, Strata,” she muttered icily. “Remember, the others were so sure of success that it led to their downfall. Don’t forget that.”
Strata slowly nodded his head in understanding. “Of course, Lady Dulcea,” he muttered. “I did formulate a backup plan,” Strata continued. “That is, if the slight chance of the first one failing, which it won’t, does occur. I will not fail you!” Dulcea stared at him with her cold violet eyes. “You better not fail me, Strata,” she uttered icily. “I had enough failures to deal with already, and I don’t need another one. Now, go!” Strata quickly bowed to her and teleported out of the throne room...
Meanwhile, back at Roxie’s house, the young Hispanic girl was heading out. “I’ll be back soon, Mama,” she shouted as she closed the door. Roxie looked up and saw Rowen waiting for her at the edge of the street. “Hey, Rowen!” she shouted as she headed toward the road. Suddenly, Rowen turned his head and Roxie noticed that he was wearing dark sunglasses. She stopped a few feet away. “Who are you?” Roxie asked suspiciously. The young man chuckled as he removed his sunglasses. Roxie took in a huge sigh of relief when she noticed that his eyes were normal. “Why did you scare me like that, Rowen?” she asked as she approached him.
“I was just giving you a little test, Roxie,” Rowen explained. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” “That’s okay,” Roxie admitted. “So, where are we going?” “There’s this place I know of, located in the woods down the street,” Rowen explained as the two walked down the street toward Sage and Sandra’s homes. “Up there, we won’t be disturbed by anyone.” “Oh, really?” Roxie asked, suspecting that Rowen had an alternate purpose for wanting to speak to her alone...
Unbeknownst to Roxie, the real Rowen had just arrived at her house. He waited around for a couple of minutes. “She’s probably not ready yet,” Rowen concluded. He decided to take a quick walk to pass the time, and he headed in the opposite direction toward the main road leading to Han`a High. A gentle breeze was blowing, causing the lock of hair on Rowen’s forehead to twitch around. He took in a deep breath. “This is possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Rowen thought to himself as he walked down the street. “Finally, someone I can talk to at an intellectual level. Roxie has changed so much since the second grade. She used to be so shy and timid. Now, she’s more open-minded, outgoing, pretty...”
Rowen suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. “What was I thinking?” he muttered to himself. Rowen was a bit confused, since he never felt attracted to a girl before. He jerked his head back and muttered, “I best be heading back. Roxie might be out waiting for me by now.” Rowen turned around and started to head back to Roxie’s house. The gentle breeze had just kicked up a notch, but it didn’t seem to bother him much. He pulled his jacket collar up as he continued heading back. “What the...?” Rowen exclaimed. The once gentle breeze was now a very powerful, roaring gust, bending the trees alongside the road and blowing dust and sand up in the air. He covered his eyes so the sand wouldn’t get in them.
Suddenly, the wind abruptly stopped. Rowen brought down his hands, opened his eyes, and gasped. The ring of Life, restrained only by Rowen’s chain necklace, was hovering right in front of his face. A small orb of dark blue light surrounded the ring. Rowen quickly snatched the ring from the air in his fist. “Hmm...could it be possible that this ring was responsible for the abrupt changes in the barometric pressure?” he asked himself thoughtfully as he opened his hand and looked cautiously at the glowing ring of Life. Suddenly, a beam of dark blue light came out from the ring. The beam projected a flat dark blue oval in front of Rowen. Through the oval, he saw several images, all in various shades of dark blue.
The first image he saw was of Roxie and himself, or someone that looked completely identical to him, heading towards a path on the side of the street leading into the woods. The next image was of Roxie looking over the edge of a small cliff. The last image was of his look-alike pushing Roxie off of the cliff. The flat oval disappeared, and the ring of Life stopped glowing. Rowen stood there for a moment, thinking quietly to himself. “Hey, I recognize that cliff!” he exclaimed. “It’s in the woods, right past Sage’s house. I remember the two of us going up there to meditate...I can reminisce later. Now’s definitely not the time!”
Rowen took a small crystal orb out of his pocket, closed his eyes, and concentrated. In the blink of an eye, his clothes were instantly replaced with his sub-armor. As soon as the transformation was complete, Rowen ran as fast as he could down the street. “I just hope I can get to her in time,” he thought to himself as he sped past his house...
“How much further is it, Rowen?” Roxie asked. The two have been climbing up a steep trail in the woods for quite a while. “Almost there,” Rowen assured her. A few moments later, they reached the end of the trail. The trail emptied into a small, narrow cliff overlooking the forests and distant mountains. Roxie gasped in astonishment at the amazing view. “How marvelous!” she exclaimed. “You like it?” Rowen asked. “Of course, I do. It’s absolutely breathtaking!” Roxie exclaimed. “I’m going to take a closer look.”
As she headed toward the edge of the cliff, Rowen announced, “Just watch your step, Roxie.” A small smirk appeared on his face. “You might end up falling off,” he muttered to himself. Rowen chuckled evilly to himself as he headed toward the cliff’s edge. He was slowly sneaking up on Roxie. Rowen had his arms stretched out and was about to push Roxie when a familiar voice shouted, “Roxie! Get away from that cliff!”
Roxie looked up and was surprised to see a second Rowen, only he was wearing some sort of metal sub-armor colored blue and white. “Rowen?” she exclaimed questionably as she looked over at the Rowen standing next to her. He had a stern, aggravated look on his face. To Roxie’s surprise, Rowen turned toward her and pushed her hard, sending Roxie off the cliff. “Ahhhhhh!” she screamed as she fell further down toward the dense forest below. Roxie kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see herself make contact with the ground.
Suddenly, Roxie gasped when she felt something wrap itself around her waist. She opened her eyes and noticed that it was an arm coated in blue and white armor. “Rowen?” she asked, looking up in the face of her friend. “Don’t worry, Roxie. I got you,” Rowen told her. He dug his fingers deep into the nearby cliff wall. Rowen’s fingers left long thin trails in the rock wall until they finally came to a stop. He pulled himself up on a thin ledge, never letting go of Roxie.
“Do you mind telling me what’s happening?” Roxie asked fearfully. “Not to be rude, but now’s not exactly the best time,” Rowen explained as he crouched down. “Hold onto me,” he instructed Roxie. “Why? What are you going to do?” Roxie asked nervously. “Just trust me on this, Roxie,” Rowen told her. Roxie hesitantly wrapped her arms around Rowen’s neck. “Hang on,” he reminded her. With all his strength, Rowen propelled himself off of the ledge. Roxie held on tighter as they accelerated higher back toward the cliff.
When Rowen and Roxie landed back on the cliff, they both saw Rowen’s impostor standing there, with his back towards them. “So...you survived, eh?” the impostor muttered out loud. “You can’t destroy a Ronin Warrior that easily,” Rowen retorted. “Mind telling me how you managed to pull this off?” “It’s quite simple, really,” the impostor replied as he turned around. Rowen and Roxie gasped when they noticed his eyes. One was a normal looking blue eye, while the other eye was a deeper blue, with no pupil.
“Contacts,” Rowen muttered out loud. “That’s correct, Rowen of Strata,” the impostor retorted as he levitated off of the ground. When he was about six feet in the air, he spun around rapidly, forming what appeared to be a small blue tornado. When he finally stopped spinning, Strata was in his full armor. “Stay behind me,” Rowen told Roxie as Strata landed on the ground. “Armor of Strata! DAO INOCHI!” Roxie gasped as she witnessed her friend transforming into blue and white samurai-style armor. When the transformation was complete, Rowen withdrew his bow and stood ready for battle.
“Do you really believe that you can protect the girl from me, Rowen of Strata?” Strata asked sarcastically as he withdrew his own bow. Rowen could tell what his evil twin was about to do as Strata removed an arrow from his quiver and loaded it in his bow. “ARROW SHOCK WAVE!” Strata shouted. Rowen stood his ground as the blazing arrow headed straight towards him and Roxie. “Life!” he thought as his kanji glowed on his forehead. To Roxie’s surprise, a blue light emerged from Rowen’s armor, creating a large hollow sphere around the two of them. Acting as a shield, the blue sphere deflected Strata’s attack.
“Roxie, listen to me,” Rowen whispered loud enough for Roxie to hear. “This shield won’t last much longer. I’m gonna distract Strata, and I want you to make a run for it.” “But, Rowen, I don’t want to leave you here alone...” Roxie started to argue. “Roxie, don’t worry,” Rowen told her. “I’m more concerned with your safety than my own.” He looked up and noticed that the shield was starting to fade away. “Get ready,” Rowen warned Roxie as he held up his bow.
As soon as the protective shield disappeared, Rowen charged toward Strata and swung his bow down at him. Strata managed to block the blow with his bow. While the two warriors were locked in combat, Strata noticed in the corner of his eye Roxie running past them towards the trail in the woods. “You’re only delaying the inevitable, Rowen of Strata,” he muttered sinisterly. Strata suddenly knocked Rowen off of him with a powerful kick. After Strata stood up, he swung his bow down at the fallen Ronin Warrior. Rowen quickly rolled out of the way and Strata’s bow made contact with the hard packed earth, leaving a narrow hole. Strata swung his bow down at Rowen again, but he used his bow to block his clone’s second swing...
Meanwhile, Roxie was running as fast as she could down the path. “Ahh!” she screamed as she tripped over a root in the trail and fell to the ground. As she sat up, Roxie saw something on the side of the trail glowing with a bright blue light. From taking a closer look, Roxie realized that the glowing object was a ring. She reached out her hand to pick it up, but she stopped short. “What am I doing?” Roxie asked herself as she stood up. “I need to get help for Rowen.” She continued running as fast as she dared down the steep trail. “I doubt that anyone would believe me, but I can’t let Rowen fight that impostor by himself,” Roxie thought.
Out of the corner of her eye, Roxie saw a small sphere of glowing blue light fly right past her. “What was that?” she gasped as she stopped running. The glowing blue orb was hovering in front of her face. Roxie noticed that the same ring she found earlier floating within the glowing orb of blue light. She willingly opened her hand, and the ring dropped right in her open hand. Suddenly, a narrow beam of blue light emerged from the ring and connected with her forehead. Slowly, the kanji of Life appeared on Roxie’s forehead. As she stood there, Shuno appeared at her side. ”Roxanna Rodriguez,” he said, “I am Shuno, ruler of the kokoro. You, my dear, are the kokoro of air reborn, destined to help the Ronin Warriors defend the mortal world from evil. Rowen is one of the Ronin Warriors. He wears the armor of Strata. You must open up your eyes and your mind to what’s really happening around you.”
Roxie quickly opened her eyes and looked around, but the mysterious Shuno was nowhere in sight. “Huh? Where did he go?” she asked herself. “What was that nonsense he was going on about?” Roxie thought over what Shuno told her for a moment. “Well, I guess some of it makes sense. Shuno did know about that strange armor that Rowen was wearing and...” She was interrupted by a loud crash from the cliff. “Oh, no! Rowen!” Roxie cried as she hesitantly made her way back to the cliff...
Meanwhile, unknown to Roxie, Rowen was losing the battle with Strata. His evil twin knocked him to the ground with a low roundhouse kick. By grabbing the handles on Rowen’s armored boots, Strata flung the Ronin Warrior right into a massive tree. The force of the impact knocked Rowen unconscious and snapped the tree in half. “That must have hurt,” Strata retorted with a hint of venom as he approached the unconscious Rowen, slung him over his shoulder, and headed for the edge of the cliff. “It’s time to end this, Rowen of Strata,” he muttered sinisterly.
“Let him go,” Strata heard Roxie order him. He looked over his shoulder and smirked at the girl standing at the border between the forest and the cliff. “If you insist,” he retorted as he quickly dumped Rowen’s unconscious body over the edge of the cliff. Strata looked back at Roxie, but to his surprise, she wasn’t scared or panicked, which was what he was expecting. Roxie closed her eyes and concentrated. The ring of Life on her right ring finger reacted by radiating a blue glow. Strata could feel powerful gusts of wind coming from the edge of the cliff. He turned around and gasped, “It’s...not possible!”
To Strata’s utter shock, he saw Rowen being lifted back up to the cliff by the powerful winds. The Ronin Warrior was carried over Strata’s head by the winds and was gently laid down by Roxie’s feet. The girl slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her injured blue-haired friend. She kneeled down and delicately touched Rowen’s cheek. “Come on, Rowen. Please wake up,” she whispered concernly. Strata decided to take advantage of this opportunity. He loaded one of his golden arrows in his bow, took careful aim at Roxie’s heart, and released the arrow.
To Strata’s complete surprise, Roxie instinctively reached up with her hand and grabbed the arrow, with the sharp arrowhead just two inches away from her heart. “Enough with these games, kokoro,” Strata muttered icily as he held up his bow. “You die now!” he yelled angrily as he charged toward her. Roxie looked up at him with anger burning in her bright blue eyes. “WHIRLWIND!” she shouted. A severe blast of incredibly powerful winds knocked Strata down to the bare ground. He could feel the powerful winds pushing him toward the edge of the cliff.
Before he went over the cliff, Strata reached out and grabbed onto the edge with his hand. As the evil Ronin Warrior swayed on the cliff’s edge, he looked up at Roxie, who was slowly approaching him. Her dark brown hair was being tossed about wildly by the gusts of wind. Roxie stood and watched as Strata lost his grip and plummeted down to the forest below. She was about to look over the edge of the cliff to make sure that Strata was gone when she heard Rowen take in a loud gasp of air. Roxie immediately hurried back to his side. Rowen slowly opened his eyes and wearily looked up at his friend. “Roxie?” he whispered a bit weakly. “Rowen? How are you feeling?” Roxie asked.
“Like I told that creep earlier, you can’t destroy a Ronin Warrior that easily,” Rowen reminded her as he struggled to stand up. “Here, let me help you,” Roxie offered as she helped Rowen stand up. “Thanks, Roxie,” he replied with a small, weak smile on his face. “Hey, Rowen!” they heard a familiar voice shout. Rowen and Roxie turned around and saw Sage running towards them, wearing his green and white sub-armor. Following right behind him were Ryo, Cye, and Kento, all in their sub-armors as well. “Hey, guys,” Rowen greeted. “How did you know we were up here?” “I saw you running down the street in your sub-armor earlier,” Sage explained. “I figured that something was up, so I called the guys and let them know what was going on.”
“Hey, you guys!” they heard Sandra shout. The five Ronin Warriors and Roxie looked toward the woods. Standing there was Sandra, taking in several deep breaths of air. Rita, Kim, and Clara were standing behind her, also showing signs of exhaustion. “Are you all right, Sandra?” Cye asked. “Give me a minute,” Sandra replied between gasps of air. “You dudes don’t realize how fast y’all run with that damn armor on,” Kim retorted. “What happened, Rowen?” Ryo asked. “Well, to sum it all up: Strata, posing as me, tricked Roxie into coming up here, and pushed her off that cliff over there,” Rowen explained. “I caught Roxie, brought her back up to the cliff, and fought Strata while she made a run for it. Strata overpowered me, threw me into what used to be a tree over there, and I passed out.”
“So, what happened to Strata?” Sage asked. “No need to worry about him,” Roxie replied. “I don’t think he’ll be coming back anytime soon.” “That’s what you think!” a familiar voice shouted from behind them. The Ronin Warriors and the five girls looked up and were surprised to see Strata floating in the air right in front of them. “Give it up, Strata!” Rowen shouted. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re outnumbered here!” Sage added. Strata stared down at them and snickered evilly. “That’s where you’re wrong, Rowen of Strata and Sage of Halo.” “Just what do you mean?” Ryo demanded. “I could always...even the odds,” Strata replied sinisterly as he snapped his fingers.
Instantly, Wildfire, Halo, Torrent, and Hardrock appeared in the air next to Strata, all in their full armor. “Told you we’d be back,” Wildfire muttered sinisterly. “Stay behind us,” Ryo instructed Rita, Sandra, Clara, and Kim. “You, too, Roxie,” Rowen told her. Roxie willingly stepped behind the Ronin Warriors as they formed a line in front of the girls and stood their ground. “How ironic this is,” Strata sneered. “The Ronin Warriors will end up losing their lives protecting the ones we were sent to destroy.” “You guys ready?” Rowen asked his friends. “Hey, we’ve been ready,” Kento retorted. “Let’s do it,” Ryo muttered out loud. “Armor of Wildfire! DAO JIN!” “Armor of Halo! DAO CHI!” “Armor of Torrent! DAO SHIN!” “Armor of Hardrock! DAO GI!”
After the transformations were complete, the four remaining Ronin Warriors withdrew their weapons and stood ready for battle with their evil clones. “Ready?” Strata asked the other Ronin clones. “You bet we are,” Hardrock agreed as he withdrew his naginata. At the same time, Wildfire withdrew his katanas, Halo withdrew his sword, and Torrent withdrew his trident. The five Ronin clones yelled out simultaneously as they all charged toward the Ronin Warriors and the girls. Unexpectedly, to the Ronin Warriors’ surprise, the Ronin clones’ bodies became engulfed in some sort of purple electricity. They screamed out in pain as the bolts of purple electricity coursed through their armor straight to their bodies.
Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light engulfed the evil Ronin Warriors. The real Ronin Warriors and the girls shielded their eyes from the bright light. When they opened their eyes, the Ronin clones were nowhere to be seen. “Where the hell did they go?” Kim asked as she looked around. “Perhaps that light destroyed them,” Cye suggested. “That could be possible, but if that’s true, then who did it?” Rowen asked. “Maybe it was that guy, Shuno,” Rita suggested. “I don’t think he did,” Ryo admitted. “If he had the power to destroy those clones of us, when we couldn’t even do it ourselves, then Shuno could take on Dulcea by himself and wouldn’t have asked for our help. Besides, I have a feeling that those clones are not dead. They’re still out there, and so is Dulcea.”
“You’re right, Ryo,” Rowen admitted. “We have to stop them from taking over this world. Together, we can do this.” Ryo, Sage, Cye, and Kento nodded in approval. “Well, you can definitely count me in,” Kim boasted as she joined them. “Yeah, me, too,” Rita announced. “Me, three,” Sandra admitted. “Don’t forget me,” Clara added. Rowen looked at Roxie was now standing all alone, thinking quietly to herself. “Hey, Roxie!” he shouted. Roxie looked up at him questionably. “You with us?” Rowen asked. Roxie hesitated for a moment before she replied with a small smile, “You bet I am.” She quickly joined the group at the edge of the cliff as the sun was starting to set overhead...
Meanwhile, unknown to the Ronin Warriors and the girls, Dulcea was watching them on the cliff via her mirror in the throne room. “Enjoy your victory while you can, Ronin Warriors,” she stated coldly. “You may have won this battle, but the war is far from over.” Just then, Dulcea heard several footsteps approaching from the hall. She waved her hand over the mirror, causing the images to disappear as her Ronin clones entered the throne room, all back in their sub-armor. They were obviously enraged about something, and it showed. The five clones stopped just a few feet away from Dulcea, whose back was facing them. “We almost had them!” Strata reported angrily. “Why did you stop us?” Torrent asked.
“May I remind you that you were supposed to destroy the kokoro before they discovered their true powers, and you all failed,” Dulcea stated coldly. “The Ronin Warriors are another matter. You will destroy them when I decide.” “Oh, yeah?” Hardrock shouted angrily as he stepped in front of Torrent and Strata. “And when will that be?” As Kento’s evil clone spoke, bolts of purple electricity could be seen running down Dulcea’s left arm down to her hand, where they gathered into a small ball of electricity. She quickly turned around and zapped Hardrock with the ball of purple electricity. The force of the attack was so powerful that it knocked Hardrock to the floor, along with Strata and Torrent.
“Remember your place,” Dulcea reminded them bitterly. “I’ll tell you as much as I decide to tell you. Now, leave!” Hardrock, Strata, and Torrent quickly got up from the floor and headed back toward the hallway, along with Halo and Wildfire. “As you wish...” Wildfire addressed to Dulcea. “...For now,” he muttered to himself as he left the throne room. Dulcea sat back down in her throne as Devaki, who was watching everything from the back of the room, quickly hobbled to her side. “Pardon me for asking, Lady Dulcea, but why didn’t you let our evil ‘Ronin Warriors’ destroy the real Ronin Warriors when they had the chance?” “I have bigger plans for them,“ Dulcea replied. “I can’t afford to lose any of them, now that all five kokoro have been revived.”
She stared at Devaki with her menacing violet eyes before continuing. “Don’t forget, Devaki. If we wish to succeed in conquering this planet, we need to gather a massive amount of dark, negative energy, and Black Chi energy is just the resource we need. Devaki, I want you to devise a plan right away for gathering the energy we need.” “Right away, Lady Dulcea,” Devaki agreed as he quickly bowed to her and hobbled out of the throne room. After he left, Dulcea’s deep violet eyes focused on an unusually large tapestry hanging on the wall to her left. She got up from her throne, approached the large tapestry, and pulled an antique gold-colored velvet rope that was dangling from the right side of the tapestry.
Like a stage curtain, the massive tapestry separated in the middle and the two halves were pulled away from each other. Concealed behind the tapestry was a large glass picture window that touched the floor and was twice as tall as she was. Dulcea stepped closer to the window and looked through it. Spread out in front of her was nothing but the darkness of outer space, heavily peppered with shining white stars. Dulcea’s violet eyes then focused on the planet Earth, which was floating right below her feet. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the main island of Japan. “This world will eventually fall under my control, but first, those Ronin Warriors will pay for what they’ve done,” Dulcea muttered coldly. She chuckled sinisterly to herself as she closed the tapestry curtain and headed back to her throne...
TO BE CONTINUED
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