“Oh... my head hurts...”

Chibi Rekka opened his eyes and found himself laying on a soft patch of grass. Just a few yards away was the familiar, comforting sight of the lake house which was just a few miles away from Nasuti’s house.

Slowly collecting himself, Chibi Rekka got to his hands and knees and lifted his head. His tiny red helmet fell to the ground with a soft thud. Clear blue skies greeted the child, the sound of birds chirping in the background, and also the warm, embracing winds of a perfect afternoon. Well, almost perfect, considering the situation the Chibi Troopers were in.

Looking over his shoulders, the dark haired boy grinned in satisfaction. Chibi Tenku, Chibi Korin, Chibi Suiko, and Chibi Kongo were all huddled together, sleeping peacefully.

They’re okay, he reassured himself. That’s good. But now we gotta figure out how to stop that bad man, Kaijin, and find Sachiriku. Not to mention finding Yaku-chan.

“Guys, wake up,” he called out to them softly. He crawled over to the boys like a little baby until he was upon them. He carefully shook them until they all woke up.

“What happened?” Chibi Suiko yawned as he sat up from his grassy bed. He stretched his little limbs and rubbed his baby blue eyes.

Chibi Kongo took off his helmet and scratched his head. He looked all around him before answering, “I recognize this place!”

“What about Kaosu’s staff though?” Chibi Korin asked. He sat cross-legged and folded his arms across his chest. His helmet was sitting beside him and the usual lock of blonde hair rested over his left eye. He blew at it and for a few moments, his eye was visible, only to have the hair cover it once more.

Chibi Tenku gasped. “Aiya! The staff, I remember now! It saved us!”

The five Chibi Troopers thought back to what just happened. As they were making their way to where they thought Sachiriku’s castle might have been, they were soon facing Kaijin and his minions. He would have hurt them badly if not for Kaosu’s staff. With it, the children were able to escape. For now.

“Where’s the staff?” Chibi Tenku asked as he played with a blade of grass.

Chibi Rekka looked about a few moments until he smiled to himself. He jumped to his feet and scurried over to a couple of shrubs nearby. There, the magical staff stood in solitude. The rings softly chimed as the gentle breezes blew on occasion. The boy reached out gradually, his stubby little fingers shaking a bit as he reached closer and closer. Finally he grasped the tall, smooth handle and pulled the staff over. He nearly fell back as he pulled it; he never expected it to be so light! He was sure it would have been much heavier...

“I got it!” he cheered as he drew the staff close to his body. “It’s okay now. Kaosu’s staff will protect us!” He quickly scampered back to his friends and they all gathered around him.

Chibi Korin leaned over some and whispered, “We have to go find Nasuti and tell her what’s going on. She must be worried about us.”

“Oh yeah right, is that the only reason you want to go back?” Chibi Tenku teased. He puckered his lips and started making kissing noises. “Seiji has a girlfriend! Oooh!”

“Shut up, Touma-chan!”

::Samurai Troopers.::

The two Chibi Troopers ceased in their petty fight and looked up. The other three looked up and around themselves, wondering who spoke to them. They then realized it was the same voice that spoke to them earlier. It was Chibi Kongo who finally called out, “Kayura-san! It’s Kayura-san!”

“He’s right,” Chibi Suiko said as he tried to look for the source of the voice. “Kayura-san, where are you? We can’t see you!”

::I’m afraid I don’t have too much time,:: Kayura replied, her voice faltering. ::You are all very young but you must be careful. Sachiriku is slowly draining my powers and sooner or later I won’t be able to aid you.::

“No, Kayura-san!” Chibi Rekka cried. His fists were shaking at his side. “It was you who I heard crying from the cave before we left, wasn’t it? Don’t you worry, we’ll come rescue you!”

::Rushing into battle is not always the best thing. You must be careful when you come for me. Sachiriku and her minions are very dangerous. Forgive me for not being there with you to help you out.::

“Aw, it’s okay!” Chibi Kongo replied as he placed a hand over his chest. “I, Kongo no Shu, will make sure all these babies here will make it to that witch’s castle.” He yelped as Chibi Rekka, Tenku, Korin, and Suiko stomped on his back with angry looks on their faces.

“Shu-kun no baka!” they exclaimed. “We can take care of ourselves!”

A huge sweatdrop appeared on the side of Kaosu’s staff. Beside the staff a small bubble appeared with a mini version of Kayura in it. Chibi Kayura sweat dropped and sighed. She and the bubble vanished afterwards.

::Let the staff protect you,:: Kayura said, bringing back the situation at hand. ::It will--!:: Her voice was unexpectedly cut off as the ground beneath them began to tremble.

The Chibi Troopers all huddled closer together, hugging one another and keeping the staff in the middle.

“What’s going on?!” Chibi Rekka shouted. The deep rumbles of the earth drowned his voice.

~*~

Byakuen was tossed onto the ground like a piece of meat. He landed on his left shoulder and winced in pain as he heard a sickening “pop.” His arm was now broken and on top of that, his shoulder was dislocated.

“What a day this has been,” Byakuen muttered. He rolled swiftly to his side and got to his feet. Where he once laid was a deep cut in the ground. “That could’ve been me.”

“Damn straight,” a cool voice implied from behind. “Too bad I missed.”

Without warning Byakuen felt the sharp blow of the boomerang make impact upon his back. He fell forward but before he could hit the ground, a fist jabbed his jaw upward, almost snapping his head back. A malicious laughter rang in his ears as he fell roughly to the ground. A dark shadow fell over him and when he opened his eyes, he growled. “This isn’t real... Kokuen-Oh, stop it!”

Kokuen-Oh, wearing Kuroi Kikoutei with such pride, sneered at the man who lay before him. “The little mouse is on his last limbs. Too bad.” His eyes glowed curiously and they trailed away from Byakuen. They soon settled upon the oddly colored skies. “I believe I have... as the humans would say, ‘I have bigger fish to fry.’”

“What’re you talking about?”

“The world. Why let out my anger on just you when I can take it out on this stupid planet? It’s perfect!”

“Kokuen-Oh, you don’t know what you’re talking about! You... AH!” Byakuen jumped back as the ground where he once stood crumbled into total darkness. “This place is falling apart. We have to get out of here!”

Kokuen-Oh raised the boomerang and threw it into the air. The weapon whirled around and around, going higher and higher until suddenly the sky “shattered” and revealed a blue sky. Blue sky...?

“No more illusions,” Kokuen-Oh declared. “The limited powers Kaijin-san gave me were good for a laugh, but now that I have Kuroi Kikoutei, I shall make the world suffer for my anguish! It’s always been about the Samurai Troopers, Rekka no Ryo, Kaosu, Byakuen... NO MORE!”

Before Byakuen could do anything, he found everything around him shattering into thousands of pieces. He held his broken arm and cried out as a mysterious wind picked up and sent him and Kokuen-Oh out of this uncanny setting and out towards the blue sky.

~*~

“LOOK AT THAT!”

Chibi Tenku pointed to the sky with wide blue eyes. Chibi Rekka and the others gasped as they watched in fascination. An enormous portal appeared where the sun was. A strong wind picked up and small rocks, leaves, and twigs were lifted off the ground and sent hurling into the hole, it was like a giant vacuum sucking up everything.

“This is bad!” Chibi Rekka barked as he was nearly lifted off the ground. Chibi Kongo held him down, along with himself and Chibi Suiko. Chibi Tenku and Chibi Korin were on the ground holding onto large clumps of grass.

Two bright flashes washed over the forest simultaneously. The wind died down and the five Chibi Troopers dared to look up. They discovered that the portal had vanished and two figures fought against one another over by the lake. One was an individual wearing huge black armor. In their possession was a mighty black boomerang, and with each swing it make a loud “whoosh” of a noise. The other figure had short white hair stained with blotches of crimson and dirt. Their gentle brown eyes were fixated upon the opponent.

“YAKU-CHAN!” the Chibi Troopers exclaimed.

Chibi Rekka drew out his Chibi Rekka Ken without a moment’s hesitation. “Yaku-chan! We’re coming!”

The other four Chibi Troopers drew out their weapons and shouted, “RIGHT!”

Kokuen-Oh turned around just as he shoved Byakuen to the side. “Well now, looks like the diaper patrol’s here just in time for me to demonstrate my powers!”

“Don’t you dare hurt them!” Byakuen snarled as he made a fist with his hands. “It’s me you want, not them!”

“You forget that everyone will soon be a victim of my awesome abilities. Just sit back and enjoy yourself, Yaku.” He flew into the air as the earth violently shook. The waters of the lake created rather large waves in which some crashed onto the shore and dock.

The Chibi Troopers stumbled about and fell on their bottoms. Chibi Rekka used Chibi Rekka Ken to gather himself once more. He made a small growl and glared at Kokuen-Oh. “We have to stop - WHOA!!!” Before he knew it, the ground underneath him slowly cracked open. “O-Oh no! I’m falling in!”

“RYO!” The Chibi Troopers tried to reach out to their friend but it was too late. Chibi Ryo cried as he slipped from the earth and descended into the darkness below.

Horrified, Byakuen screamed, “RYOOO!!!”

A single tear fell from his cheek. The tear shined brilliantly and then something extraordinary happened.

Kokuen-Oh turned around and gasped. He squeezed his eyes shut covered his ears as the familiar sound of the staff’s rings began to chime over and over again. “That cursed staff – shut up, damn you! SHUT UP!”

The earth stood still once more and the waves were calm. Silence was all that was heard. Kokuen-Oh slowly opened his eyes and pulled his hands away from his ears. He cursed softly as he saw Chibi Rekka. “Why that little...!”

With his eyes closed, Chibi Rekka whimpered as he held on dear life...

Held on? Wasn’t he falling only a moment ago?

He opened his eyes and gasped. He discovered himself sitting on Kaosu’s magic staff like a witch riding a broomstick. He looked around him and realized he was up on the surface once more.

The Chibi Troopers all cheered for joy while Byakuen sighed in relief. More tears were spilled, but they were tears of joy. As best as he could, he made his way over to the Chibi Troopers, ignoring the throbbing pain from his shoulder and arm.

Once on the ground, Chibi Rekka leaped off of the staff and ran towards his best friend. His eyes filled with tears, he screamed, “BYAKUEN! BYAKUEN!”

Byakuen stopped and knelt down on the ground, holding out his good arm. He laughed happily as Chibi Rekka threw himself into his embrace. The little boy hugged the daylights out of him but he didn’t mind. He was so afraid of having to lose Ryo. If anything had happened to him...

“Yaku-chan, I was so scared!” Chibi Rekka sobbed into his shoulder, his little arms around his neck. “Yaku-chan, don’t you ever leave me like that again! Otherwise I’ll just follow you and I’ll never leave you alone!”

“Ryo,” Byakuen whispered as he patted the boy’s head. “It’s okay. I’m right here, I’m not leaving.”

By now Chibi Tenku, Kongo, Suiko, and Korin made their way over to the two. Byakuen set Chibi Rekka down and hugged the other four, happy to see them as well. He decided to not tell them of his injury until after they were finished dealing with their problem: Kokuen-Oh.

“Oh isn’t that just sickening?” Kokuen-Oh muttered as he watched the little reunion down below. He folded his arms across his chest and scoffed. “Well then, I’ll simply kill six birds with one stone. Or should I say... with a boomerang?”

Reaching behind, he drew out the boomerang and pulled it back. With one swing, he threw the mighty weapon and flew back smirking mischievously.

Byakuen sensed this oncoming assault. He gathered all the children, being forced to use his broken arm as best as he could, and jumped. The Chibi Troopers cried out as they heard a huge explosion where they all were moments ago. The boomerang had made its impact and was now on the ground, rolling after them. Where the boomerang struck was one giant crater, smoke rising from the ground.

“Shimatta,” Byakuen whispered as he ran across the forest as fast as he could while having to carrying five squirming boys. Kokuen-Oh, I will find a way to settle this! But don’t even THINK about harming the Troopers!

~*~

“Bwahahaha! This is perfect!”

Kaijin waved a hand over the image of Byakuen and the Chibi Troopers in his crystal ball. The dark palace room he currently resided was filled with vast, colorful energy created by Kaijin himself. Leaning forward, the golden mask of Kaijin reflected the frighten expression of each of the Chibi Troopers.

“I knew summoning the remaining essence of Kuroi Kikoutei would get me somewhere. And seeing how it needed a wearer whose heart was filled with such negative emotions – oh this is rich! Rich indeed! HAHAHA! Oh Sachiriku-sama, soon you shall get the power you desire and then... and then...!”

More heinous laughter filled the room which seemed to echo on and on.

~*~

Chibi Ryo: Byakuen is back with us but now there’s Kokuen-Oh to worry about! We have to fight for our lives against Kokuen-Oh AND Kuroi Kikoutei! Can the shakujo help us? See you in the next episode of Choroiden-Chamruai Troopers: “Kikoutei’s Fury! Kokuen-Oh’s Mask is Lifted!” See you then! BUSO!