Disclaimer: Ronin Warriors are not mine. I didn’t make them up. They belong to Sunrise Animation. Also, any new characters are my creations and if anybody likes them and maybe wants to use them, please tell me. (That’s wishful thinking, I hope somebody will like them that much.)

Note: I have no idea when this takes place or how the new Emperor came about (yet). The Ronins are in the middle of a battle with a new dynasty and new warlords. I make a few assumptions you need to know, like that Ryo was an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. I can’t think of anything else right now, but I use my own interpretations of dynasty magic and their powers. Keep that in mind and everything should make sense. I’d appreciate comments if it doesn’t.

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Mia leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. She had been working for five hours. It was one in the morning and she still hadn’t found anything. Mia groaned as she stretched her aching muscles. I really should get to bed earlier. I am going to get it in the morning. The guys always tell me to sleep and I never listen.

Mia leaned forward again and shut off her computer. She left her den but paused at the foot of the stairs. She thought she had heard something. There hadn’t been any attacks for over a month. The house should be silent. Mia glanced around the room. She was in the foyer and could see part of the dining room and kitchen door beyond it through a doorway to her left. Mia heard the backdoor in the kitchen shut quietly. She looked up the stairs nervously. They guys were all asleep. She didn’t want to face an intruder no matter if it was human or otherwise. On the other hand, the Ronins needed their rest. Finally, gathering her courage, Mia crept slowly towards the kitchen. After a dramatic pause outside the kitchen door she inched it open.

The room was empty. Mia felt a bit stupid, but she was sure she had heard something. She walked quickly to the back door. It was unlocked. She reached for the bolt and stopped. She knew that she should just lock it and go back up stairs, but she was too curious. Curiosity killed the cat…she pulled back her hand, but I’m not a cat now am I? Mia opened the door.

In front of her, there was a lone figure standing and watching the lake. He was wearing loose gray sweatpants (note for Karen: hee hee looks like he went through your wardrobe. Guess who) and a light blue T-shirt. There was a large whale on the back and the logo of some aquarium in London. His brown hair moved a bit in the late night breeze coming off the lake.

"Cye what are you doing up? You scared me half to death. I thought someone had broken in."

He turned around. "Huh? Oh hi, Mia. I’m sorry." He turned back to look at the lake. Mia frowned and walked up next to him.

"Cye, what’s the matter? Another dream?"

Cye glanced at her. "How’d you hear about that?" Mia hadn’t been there that night when Sage finally revealed his suspicions.

"Rowen. You know him. He always wants to keep everyone up to date." I love his accent. Huh? That was a random thought. Why is he up so late?

"Oh. No, it wasn’t a dream. The one night I don’t dream, I can’t sleep. Figures." Hey, she’s asking me why I’m awake but I know I was too quiet to wake anyone up. "Look who’s talking. You’re pestering me about my sleeping habits, but what are you doing up?"

Mia blinked. "Oh, me? I… well…" Boy am I going to get it.

Cye turned towards her. He smirked. "Hmm…was somebody up a bit late on the computer?" he teased.

"So maybe I was. But we need information about this new dynasty and you know that!"

"But Mia," he said quietly, "how can that information help us if you conk out in the middle of telling us? Hmm?"

Mia sighed in defeat. "Alright, I’ll go to sleep earlier if…you tell me why you came out here."

"Too watch the lake. It helps calm me down."

"Hmm?"

" I feel off balance. Everything’s out of whack. We’ve got to face the dynasty without inferno or the help of the ancient’s staff and on top of that I’m having these strange dreams. What are we going to do? I keep asking myself over and over and I haven’t found an answer or even a shred of an idea. Even Einstein doesn’t know what to do. Haven’t you noticed how quiet he’s been? He thought my dreams were some sort of big all-important key, but we’ve all come up with the same thing. Nothing! All we know is that someone Ryo met in an orphanage can get into my head! How is that supposed to help us? We have no idea who she is or where she is. So I ask again, what are we going to do now? We might as well give up now. There’s nothing we can do to stop them! The dynasty’s already won."

Mia stared in shock at the usually quiet Ronin. He had seemed so calm. Why hadn’t he talked about his fears? Or maybe she was the only one who hadn’t noticed. All of them were closer than she could possibly imagine. Did his thoughts just go unsaid, yet were mutually understood? Did they all feel this way? That would be a disaster. The moment the Ronin Warriors lost heart, the mortal world was doomed. "Cye, you can’t say that," she tried to reassure him. "Rowen’s been quiet because he’s thinking over an idea. He’ll come up with something. Our Einstein won’t give up. That’d be risking his reputation!" She smiled. Cye didn’t respond. "Besides, if the dynasty had such a great advantage wouldn’t they have attacked and taken over by now?"

"Maybe they don’t want to rush it. With no opposition, what’s the hurry?" He was putting up a fight, but Mia could see that he was beginning to accept what she said. That was what he wanted, any sort of reassurance that his pessimism wasn’t legitimate.

"With no opposition, why wait? And I would hardly call four Ronin armors no opposition." It had the desired effect. Cye cracked a smile. " Besides, what do you mean without the ancient’s staff? Lady Kayura still controls it."

Cye wasn’t willing to accept that one. "Yeah, she and it are just trapped in a Dynasty dungeon, that’s all."

"So? Ryo and Rowen got you three out. They were only two, you’re four."

"They had inferno." Cye watched Mia closely. It was the problem they had all been worried about. He hoped Mia could show him to be wrong. Maybe they could win without it.

"You have the armors that create it," Mia countered. "The inferno’s power may be immeasurable but the Ronin armors are in no way puny."

"Neither are the Emperor’s Warlords."

So what? You refuse to fight them then? You’re giving up because this won’t be a walk in the park?" Mia was incredulous.

"No, of course not! But…" Cye paused. Sehkmet was almost impossible to beat but I tried anyway. I never even thought of giving up then. Why can’t I think of it that way, to compare this fight to the last time the Dynasty threatened. It seems obvious, but I guess I don’t want to accept that we have to fight all over again. And there’s no way we’ll all come out of this okay anymore. But that doesn’t make a difference. I’m not giving up on this world just because winning won’t be easy. "Yeah, I guess you’re right about that." Cye smiled. The conversation hadn’t dismissed his fears, but he felt better anyway. "Thanks Mia. I think I can sleep now." He took one last look at the lake before walking back to the house. Mia grinned at his back and followed him. Once inside, he made an exaggerated show of making sure she went to bed instead of going back to work. Glad Cye was back to his cheerful self, Mia slept soundly.

* * *

Cye rolled over in his bed. And just as I thought it was going to be a peaceful night, I have another dream. He opened his eyes and pushed off the covers. Cye was surprised to it was already morning. He was even more surprised, however, by the pillow heading straight for his face. "Ah!" He threw up his arms to block it just in time. The sound of laughter could be heard coming from across the room. Cye threw down the pillow and glared at his friend. "Kento!"

"Hey, it wasn’t me!" Kento managed between fits of laughter. Sage was standing in the doorway doubled over with laughter.

"Yeah, and what’d he throw it with?"

"He has two arms, you know."

"Then where’d he get the pillow?"

"Kento so kindly offered me his." Sage tossed his hair out of his eyes and grinned.

"Come on, Cye. Admit it. It was funny."

"Ok, I forgive you." Cye jumped out of bed. "But you get to wake up, Rowen!" He dashed out the door and down the stairs.

"Hey, no fair!" Kento called after him.

"Hope you can manage in time for breakfast!" Cye’s gleeful yell came from downstairs.

"Aw, man. Rowen sleeps forever."

Sage was still grinning. "Not today he won’t,"

"Huh?"

"You got a bucket?"

"Oh…" A mischievous grin spread across Kento’s face.

A few minutes later…

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Cye stopped making breakfast to look up the stairs. "Whaa?"

Mia looked up. She frowned at Cye. "Who woke up Rowen?"

"Kento…but Sage might have he--"

"What? You let Sage wake him up? I swear if he soaked those sheets again, he can dry them out."

"You mean…" Cye started cracking up.

"If you think it’s so funny then you can dry out the mattress." Mia glared at him. "Last time it didn’t dry and Rowen had no place to sleep!"

Cye was still laughing, "No thanks…" Cye’s amusement faded as a rather morbid thought occurred to him.

"Nothing, I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"Nevermind."

"Cye…"

"Well, when you suggested that I dry the mattress, I started thinking how I could get out of that… And then I thought of short cuts with my armor, but I’d just make it wetter. The only one who could dry it would be…" He sighed, "A little strange, no?" (See how off track this thought is? Seriously happened to me and I figured…oh what da heck…Not that I was upset since, well, I’m directly responsible for our buddy Ryo’s death and that would be a bit straaange.)

"Yeah, but he’d probably set it on fire instead." Mia chuckled. Cye looked at her in surprise. He hadn’t wanted to remember that Ryo was gone. It never occurred to him that maybe he should get over it and accept it. Cye paused thinking about it. It made sense.

"You know Mia maybe you’re right," he murmured.

"Hmm?"

Cye spoke up, "You’re right, he would have burned it to ash." Cye grinned at her.

Mia smiled back. She had wanted to be upset too, but she felt she needed to show Cye that he had to get over Ryo’s death. It worked so Mia smiled. She felt like the big sister, always taking care of the guys. Except now they were missing one. Mia swallowed a lump in her throat. Trying to teach him a lesson, but you can’t learn it yourself, huh? Mia shook her head ruefully and got up to see if she could help with breakfast.

Suddenly, they heard Kento yell. Cye rolled his eyes. "What now?" Then they heard the sound of running feet.

* * *

Rowen woke to the feeling of cold water splashing his face. "Aaaaaaaah!" Oh no! Not again! He opened his eyes to see Kento holding a bucket of water poised above his head. The fact that it wasn’t tipped completely over and the straining of Kento’s forearm told Rowen that there was still a good amount of water left. He looked around for Sage. The blond brat had to be there and indeed he was. Sage was leaning against the wall on the other side of the bed with his arm still in a sling. He had a sinister grin on his face.

"Don’t be so upset, Ro. We didn’t used the entire bucket this time." He gestured cheerfully to Kento. "Of course that can be changed."

"It’s up to you," Kento informed him.

"Get away from me, you psychos!"

"Sorry, blue boy we need assurance that you’ll get up."

"Yeah, I don’t want to miss breakfast."

"Just get away from me and I’ll get up!"

"Nope. We’re not moving," Kento stated.

"Well, dipstick, I can’t get up with that bucket in my face," Rowen growled. Kento moved the bucket slightly to the side but still ready to dump. Rowen slipped around Kento, but not before quickly shoving him in the chest. He fell over and the bucket landed on top of him. Kento gave a startled yell as Rowen ran out of the room before either of them could give chase.

Back in the room, Sage leaned over Kento. "That’s why I let you carry the bucket. You ought to be more careful." Sage grinned and quickly followed on Rowen’s heels.

Cye looked up as Rowen ran into the kitchen. He slowed down and slid into a seat at the kitchen table. Rowen glanced at the door apprehensively and wiped water from his face. Sage came in shortly afterward, grinning. Rowen glared at him. Sage simply gave him a thumbs up. "Congratulations on getting up so early. And that was a nice move on Kento."

Cye looked confused. "What move on Kento?"

Of course, that was when Kento entered the kitchen. "Mia," he whined, "look what Rowen did." The entire front of his shirt was soaked. Cye started laughing at the pitiful look on his friend’s face. Kento put on a injured expression.

"Sorry, but I don’t doubt you deserve it. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to get involved in Sage’s schemes?" Cye managed between laughs.

"What are you implying?" Sage asked darkly.

Mia put down the waffle batter she was mixing. "Sage, I think this has gone a little too far." Too bad the referee is dead. Mia sighed. "Sage, Kento go clean up the water you spilled. Until then no breakfast."

"But Mia…" Kento started to protest but Mia raised her hand.

"No buts. Get to it."

"What a slave driver," Sage muttered as he passed by.

Mia frowned. "Sage…"

He turned and flashed her a brilliant smile. "Who me?" And then he left.

Mia shook her head. "Sage seems like the only cheery one in this house right now."

"Wrong."

Mia looked up at Rowen. "Huh?"

Cye, however, was the one to answer her. "He’s just the most social. So he’s trying to be as involved as possible and relieve the pressure on his mind. I guess he’s trying to make life as normal as possible. We all are."

"Wrong again."

"I think I was right about Sage."

"You were but not everyone’s trying to dodge what happened. Some people have the…I don’t know…maturity to face it."

"Who does?" Mia asked. "You?"

"Kento."

"Kento?"

Cye blinked. "Yeah, I guess he wouldn’t have any difficulty dealing with it. Jeez, the human garbage disposal is better at handling emotional problems than we are."

"Well, we’re not that bad. At least there haven’t been any inspirational speeches about how ‘Ryo would have wanted it this way’ or some other thing. Those parts of movies always made me gag." (Notice that he’s the only one in the series that ever gives a speech like that. "Strata’s Defiant Stand" I think the episode was called.)

"I happen to think those scenes are touching. Now would you like one waffle or two?" Mia held up an empty plate.

"Three."

* * *

Matar slammed the cover of the old book shut. The force sent stirred a cloud of dust off the table. He resisted the urge to sneeze.

He was in a large cavern. Bookshelves filled with scrolls, books, and other ancient documents lined the walls. A large stack towered next to Matar while still more were strewn around the floor. The Warlord was not happy when something failed to give him the information he needed. He was not handling his frustration well. "Damn superstitious fools." He grumbled. So far he had found exactly nothing. The armor legend hadn’t offered any assistance either. He had intended to check if the possession of Halo’s power could destroy or harm a nether spirit, but…Arrgh…Am I the only one who cares? Of course! Why would anyone actually write down helpful information? That would be too easy! All I have here is a bunch of stupid legends and instructions for religious rituals! This is the Dynasty! Hello? Don’t we already have enough myths? Matar rubbed his eyes trying to banish his fatigue.

He had been searching the books for hours. There many records about magic but no one ever happened to mention anything about how it might work. Perhaps they were too superstitious about writing something so powerful down, or maybe the people who knew weren’t the ones that were literate. Several times, he had thought he was getting close when he found allusions to a possessed person. However, either it was never mentioned again or the method to free the victim was showy and complicated, which he knew hadn’t happened. Also it never involved obvious magical power like the armors exhibited. That implied that it couldn’t have been halo, but it also eliminated to other Ronins as well. And besides, If Halo’s power is so damaging to nether spirits then how could Talpa have drained his power during Halo’s captivity? This makes no sense. It had to have been someone else, but who? Matar had not been there. He didn’t know the exact order of events, which could possibly provide him with a vital clue. Of course this meant Matar would have to do something that he found very unsavory. He would have to talk to Lady Dementia.

After wandering over what felt like the entire nether world on his hunt for Dementia, Desharian had finally mentioned off hand that she had been sent on some errand. "Oh, it’s not important," he had said casually. Not only was Matar sure that Desharian knew nothing about what the girl was doing, but he inferred that Desharian had been aware that Matar was looking for her. Matar was tempted to strangle him. He restrained himself with an effort. Usually Desharian’s attempts to get a rise out of him were futile but he was tired. Matar stalked off wondering how Talpa’s Warlords had been able to survive each other.

Matar stopped. Checking the hallway to make sure it was empty, Matar slumped against the wall. He relaxed and slid down to floor. His chest rose as he took a deep breath. I need to relax. There are other ways to do this. Just because Desharian deserves to spitted and roasted over an open fire doesn’t mean I have to suffer because of it. Dementia isn’t here but I still need to know what happened. Suddenly Matar smacked his forehead. Idiot, if people are too superstitious to write what you want, then go somewhere where they aren’t. And if you don’t have time to do the research, find somebody who’s already done it! Anything’s better than this nonsense. He stood up and headed towards the passage that led to the Emperor’s quarters. Looks like it’s time for a trip to the mortal world.

* * *

Mia yawned as she watched Sage wash the breakfast dishes. He had offered as soon as he and Kento had cleaned up (or dried up) Rowen’s room. She had a feeling he was trying to make it up to her for his little prank. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She was so tired. When she opened her eyes she saw Cye looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Knowing he was teasing her, she raised an eyebrow at him. Cye smiled.

"Hey, Mia, can we go to the beach today?" Kento asked.

"The beach? You’re in the a middle of a fight with Dynasty and you want to go to the beach?"

"But nothing’s happened for a month and a half!"

"Yeah Mia. A month and a half. Should we just hang around the house all day?" Cye added.

Sage decided to get involved, "Besides we need a break. Fighting evil is very stressful."

"And I’ll go," Rowen spoke up.

Mia threw up her hands. "Then why are you asking me?" she exclaimed.

"Because you’re the evil slave driver that rules the house." Rowen grinned.

"Nobody else to ask." Cye shrugged.

"He started it." Sage pointed to Kento.

"I dunno." (Process of elimination...Guess who.)

"It was a rhetorical question!"

"Oh. So we can go?"

"Kento, I don’t care. It’s your choice."

"Aren’t you coming?" Cye wanted to know.

"No."

Rowen groaned. "Research?"

"And what’s wrong with that? Don’t you like libraries, Einstein?" Mia glared at him.

"Not on sunny days when I could be having fun outside."

"Aren’t libraries fun?"

"Of course, but not so much for you. And, like I said, not on sunny days when I could be having fun outside."

"Well, fun or not, I want to be ready for the Dynasty attack. Unless you think they’ve simply given up?"

Sage sighed (ok this was originally "Cye sighed" but, well, just read that aloud.) "Alright. See you later, I guess."

Mia watched them leave to get ready before walking to her office. She put two of her disks and her written notes into her bag. Grabbing her car keys she walked to the foot of the stairs. "Hey Rowen!" He poked his head out of his door.

"What?"

"Catch!" she tossed him the keys. And, of course, he did. His hand eye coordination was too good for her to easily catch him off guard. "’I’m just going downtown so I’ll take the bus. I want the jeep home intact and with you driving. Not Kento, not Sage and not Cye. No matter how trustworthy he is, he doesn’t have a license yet. Okay?" Rowen stepped into the hall and gave her a stiff military salute before dashing back into his room.

Mia shook her head ruefully as she walked to the bus stop. They could be so silly sometimes. She smiled. It was a pretty day. Too bad she had to miss it, but she, at least, wanted to be prepared even if things had been quiet recently.

* * *

Matar stood outside the dynasty gate in the middle of a city. Nobody noticed him or the gate. It hadn’t been hard to convince the Emperor to open one for him. He looked around. I haven’t been in a city in years. I wonder where the library is.

Matar stepped forward. As he did, the gate disappeared and people began to notice him. He hadn’t gone five steps when some little kid ran into him. It didn’t help that the kid was on a skateboard. Matar was simply wearing jeans and a T-shirt in order to fit in here so he could easily feel the metal hitting his shin. It hurt. With a startled cry he fell back and hit the cement of the sidewalk. He was not alone. The kid also toppled. Matar looked up. The dark-haired boy was sitting on his butt examining his now skinned knee. Noticing Matar, he looked up. "Umm…I’m sorry mister. I’m not very good at stopping."

Matar stood up favoring his left leg. He didn’t offer to help the kid. "I noticed." The kid swallowed nervously. He got up and picked up his skateboard just as a red-haired woman came running through the crowd.

"Yulie! Come here right now!" She turned to Matar. It was obvious that she was embarrassed. Apparently she had seen the collision. "Excuse me, sir, I’m so sorry. He isn’t supposed to be riding that thing." She glared at the boy. "Not two minutes after I pick it and you smash into someone." She shook her head ruefully.

Matar dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "It’s alright." Matar looked around and decided that these two would know as much as the next person. "Could you tell me if there is a library around here?" (Can you imagine his next line being "My name’s Maxwell Stanton,"?)

The woman looked relieved while her son, he assumed, peered at him from he side. "Yes, of course. It’s two blocks that way. Across from the Cinema."

"I’m afraid I don’t know where that is."

"Just go straight you’ll find it." Matar nodded his thanks and started making his way through the crowd. He didn’t notice the boy staring after him. The woman with the boy walked into a nearby store expecting the boy to follow. The kid took turns looking after first the Warlord and then his mother. After a few seconds of thought he grabbed his skateboard and took off after Matar.

Matar continued walking down the sidewalk. After a few blocks, he still hadn’t noticed any movie theatre and was beginning to get frustrated. A bus stopped near him and let off its passengers. Matar was debating asking one of them for directions when he felt a light tap on his arm. He turned around to see a child standing behind. For a moment he was confused but then he saw the skateboard. "Excuse me, mister, but the Library’s over there."

Matar just stared at the boy. I can’t believe he followed me. And where’s his mother? I doubt she sent him to be my tour guide. He looked in the direction the boy pointed. Sure enough there was a small sign that said "Public Library". He turned back to the boy. "Thank you. I would have missed it."

"I know. My name’s Yuli." He grinned.

Matar blinked. "Didn’t your mother tell you not to talk to strangers?"

"Yes."

Matar just looked at him, and then he laughed. "Really?" Matar sighed. "Alright, Yuli. Did you want to help me find my way through this maze?"

Yuli nodded. Then he took off towards the library carrying his skateboard. "Come on." The Warlord followed at a more leisurely pace.

Once in side Matar paused seeing a reception desk. Would he have to sign in or do some other thing to use the library? But Yuli tugged his arm. "Come on. Ignore that. They only care if you’re going to use the expensive stuff."

"And what’s the expensive stuff?"

"They have some computer things upstairs."

"You know a lot about the library. Come here often?" Matar asked as he allowed himself to be led.

"Sometimes I have to come with my friend."

"He’s a bookworm?"

"Uh huh. Rowen’s a genius!" Yuli nodded emphatically. They reached a room with several computer catalogs. Yuli pulled him over to one. "See? Whatcha looking for?"

Matar looked the computer over it seemed simple enough. "Thank you I can take it from here. Why don’t you go find your mom?"

Yuli looked at him, confused. There was a sudden moment of understanding and then it was obvious the boy was trying not to laugh, "That was my babysitter. We were supposed to come here later so I can just wait here." Yuli seemed determined to follow Matar for the rest of the day.

What an adventure. Matar thought sarcastically. After about ten minutes of watching him type in searches, Yuli’s enthusiasm waned. The boy started to wander off into other parts of the library. Matar almost tried to keep an eye on him but then he laughed at himself for feeling responsible. Matar copied the call number off the screen on a nearby piece of paper and started looking for that section. Yuli found him a little while later while later at a table with about a dozen books. Most of them were useless but a few of them talked about the same showy procedures just in more detail then before. What little he did find only served to reassure him that the person who freed Dementia hadn’t been Halo.

Yuli kneeled on a chair. He folded his arms on the table and rested his head on top of them. "So whatcha looking for?" Of course Matar couldn’t very well tell him, but he went as close to the truth as he could.

"I’m looking for information on magical spirits in ancient Japan."

"Cool," Yuli replied, but Matar could tell he wasn’t all that enthusiastic. A little while later, the boy wandered off again. Matar was amused as he went back to his research.

"Hey mister! C’mere!" Matar looked up. He was in the middle of a book by a Prof. Koji and it was very helpful. He really didn’t want any interruptions.

"I found something to help your research!" Yuli raced to the table.

"What is it?" Matar couldn’t but let some of his annoyance creep into his voice.

Yuli stopped short. He continued a little quieter this time. "It’s my babysitter."

"And how can your babysitter help?" Matar was skeptical.

"She’s an expert. On stuff like what you’re doing. I think." Yuli looked upset.

Matar looked surprised. "Really?"

Yuli’s face brightened as he nodded.

Matar picked up the book he was using. "Well, then, lead me to her."

Yuli took off. Matar wondered what it would be like to have Inanime’s talent of seeing magic. Then it wouldn’t matter how many walls were in the way, he would still be able to follow Yuli. Of course then he wouldn’t be able to see the walls, which has certain disadvantages. Also, for there to be any advantages, Yuli would have to have a magical aura, which was unlikely. Maybe it was such a great talent after all. So Matar took the simple way out and just quickened his pace. They came to another table where a young redheaded woman was searching through various books just as he had been earlier. Yuli ran up to the chair next to her and peered over her shoulder. "Hey, Mia," he greeted her.

She looked up startled. "Yuli, where’d you disappear to?" she wanted to know. Apparently Yuli had come to Matar before even acknowledging his babysitter.

"Mia, you know stuff about magic and spirits right?"

Mia was even more surprised. "Well, a little," she said cautiously.

Yuli turned to Matar. "Uh, mister, I don’t know your name."

Matar smiled. Perhaps this girl could help him. "Hello, miss. My name is Peter (last name? Who knows). I’m looking for information on magic and spirits in ancient Japan. Yuli said you were an expert?"

"Oh. Well no, I’m not. I know a bit about it."

"Oh sorry to bother you." He turned and as he did she could see the book under his arm.

"Wait…Peter. Is that book helpful?"

He stopped. "Yes actually. Why?"

"My grandfather wrote it. My name’s Mia Koji. I also specialize in the same area. Perhaps I can help."

"Then I’m lucky to have met you. Or more specifically, lucky to have met your young friend." Matar sat at the table across from her.

"I would have to agree." She smiled. "How did you meet him?"

Matar smiled wryly. "Oh we bumped into each other on my way here. That’s an industrial strength skateboard he’s got there."

Mia glanced at Yuli. He looked a bit embarrassed. She sighed. "Yuli, you ran into Ryo, you almost injured Kento’s back, and now you ran into Peter. How long does it take you to figure out how to stop?"

Yuli felt he had the right to defend himself. "But I didn’t run into Ryo. I ran into Whiteblaze."

"Careful, Yuli, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." (Yes, I know it’s supposed to be in Japan, but…like I care.) Matar joked with the little kid but he was trying to keep a calm expression on his face. Whiteblaze? That, if I’m not mistaken or delirious, is the name of Wildfire’s tiger. And these friends he mentions, they share names with Rowen of the Strata, Ryo of the Wildfire, and Kento of Hardrock. I heard of the kid that carried the jewel of life and the Ronin’s female guide but how could I possibly just happen to run into them? Not that I mind. From what I’ve heard, this girl is certainly the best one to help me, if she does know the Ronins.

Mia laughed at Matar’s teasing, but Yuli wasn’t off the hook. After mirth was done, she berated the kid once again. "Yuli, who you ran into doesn’t make a difference. You shouldn’t be riding that thing in a crowd if you can’t do a simple thing like stop."

Yuli sighed, "Alright, Mia."

Mia nodded and turned to Peter as she smiled. "Now, what can I help you with?"

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Ok if this doesn’t seem like a good place to end a chapter that’s because it’s not. But you see there’s little thing called writer’s block that means unless you want Matar to look like a fool because he has zip to say to Mia, this ends here like it or not. You know, Desharian is beginning to annoy me. I really want to strangle him, but I need him for later chapters…if I ever write them. Oh yea! I actually got an email from someone that LIKED my fic! Woopee! Oh and back to what I was saying…because I can not write this scene I’m going to start up again after they’ve had their little chat. And, it will become my happy little scapegoat. Any time Matar comes up with some wildly improblable idea…::big imperious voice:: "Oh, that’s what Mia told me the other day when…" So that’s just a little forewarning. Hope you liked it so far. And really you can email me if you like it. Mail (GOOD mail) is such an uplifting experience. Especially since I’m a bitch when someone tells me I’m wrong. =0.~=