The room didn’t seem like a regular dorm room.  The walls were solid 
stone, like those of a castle.  The door was stout wood, yet on one wall 
there was a beautiful bay window with a cushioned seat in it.  To match 
this room, the building in which it was housed was in fact an old castle 
look alike.  What Rowen loved about the place though, wasn’t the archaism 
of the place, but the silence that the walls allowed.  
	Rowen growled as he turned on his side to punch the Snooze button yet 
again.  That was the most annoying sound to shatter the silence with.  
Reaching out from under the covers, he rubbed his bleary eyes.  His hand 
froze in middle of reaching for the clock.  Sleepy midnight-blue eyes 
quickly became awake as the red digital numbers finally registered in 
Rowen’s mind.  7:30!!!  He had promised his friends that he would meet them 
in the courtyard at 7, giving them about an hour before training would 
start.  This talk would be important, too; a new student was rumored to be 
arriving today.  
	Jumping out of his bed, he quickly grabbed his kanji ball, willing on 
his sub armor at the same time.  Without even bothering to open the 
curtains of his window, he was out the door in a flash of blue hair.  He 
paused only long enough to snatch an apple out of the bowl by the door.  As 
his door closed behind him, the clock on his desk chimed a soft 6:50 A.M.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨


	A teenage male of about 15 years of age stepped out of the shadow of 
the dormitory and into the silent stillness called morning.  With a smile, 
he cleared his face of the concealing blond hair and looked around the 
courtyard.  His eyes, a grey like clouds or the fog on the ground, alighted 
on three indistinct forms under the limbs of a grand weeping willow.  
	With a sigh of content, Sage turned and headed towards the guys under 
the tree.  If only they knew what a great plan he had formed to get Mr. 
Lazy-Blue-Boy out of bed.  A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he came to 
the outer bounds of the willow. 
	“Room for one more?” His voice was soft and pure, almost like the 
golden light and auras he enjoyed so much.  Parting the limbs with one 
hand, he slipped into the inner sanctum with the softest of sounds.  
	“As long as you haven’t become Kento’s size, sure.  Although, with him 
here, the space seems a lot smaller.”  A boy about Sage’s own age in red 
grinned as another in light blue laughed.  Kento, in orange, had obviously 
heard this remark and just glared at the guy in red.  As Sage laughed, Ryo 
and Cye pretended to shield themselves from Kento’s glare.  With a few 
steps, he interposed himself between Kento and the other two, sitting down 
softly.  
	“Not that I know of. Unless you guys can see something that I can’t….” 
Sage arched an eyebrow, looking between the still grinning pair and Kento.  
What a crew they made.  Ryo, in red, was as sleek as the tiger that was his 
friend.  With Virtue as his kanji and wildfire at his call, he was 
definitely ready to handle any problem with swiftness and ability.  Cye, in 
light blue, was in many ways like the water that was his element.  With 
Trust as his virtue, he issued calm from himself like an aura, often trying 
to find the peaceful ways out of things, yet still ready to fight.  Then 
there was Kento.  As massive as a brick wall, he was definitely one with 
his element of Hardrock.  With Justice being his virtue, he could dish it 
out with brute force and efficiency.  Lastly, was Sage, himself in green.  
His golden hair seemed to mirror the light, which was his element.  With 
Wisdom for his virtue, Sage could almost always find ways to bail the group 
out of problems.  He also, although to himself, thought himself to be the 
most attractive.  Yet, everyone has their faults….
	Cye rolled his eyes as he looked around.  The tree that they were under 
gave them a shielded view of the driveway that led up to the main 
entrance.  Yet depending where the new guy came from, he could be hidden by 
a row of 5-foot tall hedges that also lined the drive.  If a new student 
was going to arrive, the guys had the perfect place to spot him coming in.  
Just then, Cye nudged Ryo. 
	“Do you hear that?”
	All at once, the conversation stopped.  All ears strained to hear the 
sound of a portal opening or some other indication that the new guy was 
here.  Indeed, off in the distance, there was the faint sound of a portal’s 
song.  With a glance between them all, they nodded.  From where the sound 
came from, they judged that they wouldn’t be able to see because of the 
hedges. Without a sound, Cye, Sage, and Kento started off at a run towards 
the hedges. 
	“Hey…guys!! Rowen’s not here!!” Ryo shouted, still underneath the 
tree.  All he got in reply was a few careless waves.  Rolling his eyes, he 
sprinted to catch up with them.  Within a few moments, he was running along 
side of them, and then slowing with them as they came nearer to the hedge. 
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

	The Ronins were too late.  A flash of ice blonde hair emerged over the 
edge of the hedges as someone, probably the new student, sprinted towards 
the main building.  With a grin, the student paused only long enough to 
pull open the door then slipped inside without a sound.  Once inside, the 
new student paused for breath then walked down the empty hall.  Quietly, 
they opened the door to the main office and stepped confidently into the 
office.
	“Good morning.  You must be Elena Keaths.” Head instructor Katsuiuchi 
offered his hand to the ice-blonde young woman in front of him.  With a 
soft chuckle, Elena accepted his hand, clasping it firmly in hers.  
	“I’m honored to have been accepted into this school.   I have to admit, 
though, I was a bit surprised when I heard that girls usually don’t apply 
here.”  She cocked her head slightly sideways, looking up at the Sensei 
with a questioning expression.  Katsuiuchi smiled and sat, indicating that 
she should also.  
	“It’s true.  But it isn’t our fault.  Not many women apply in the first 
place, and those that do can’t seem to make the cut.”  He sighed and looked 
apologetic.  Unknown to Elena, he was silently using his gift to scan her.  
Plenty of strength, and courage.  She should do fine if the hazing didn’t 
get to her.  Yet he believed that she would be one to rise to 
expectations.  She would not give up, that was for sure.
	“I wanted to tell you that the only other female went home yesterday 
night.  Also that the males here won’t make your training easy.”  Elena 
nodded in understanding, absently brushing a four-stranded braid out of her 
violet eyes.  
	“I’d actually be surprised if they didn’t.  Yes I’m a girl, but that 
doesn’t mean that I can’t take hard work and fighting.”  She smiled in 
slight amusement.  “I’m not known to cry easily.  So, I’m the only female 
now, hmmm?” At Sensei’s nod, she grinned.  “Good.  That means that I’ll 
accomplish something here.”
	Sensei Katsuiuchi looked at her curiously for a couple moments then 
nodded to himself.  She’ll do fine.  I sense something about her…maybe the 
Ancient will clarify things when he arrives in a couple weeks.  Smoothly, 
he rose to his feet and beckoned Elena to follow him.  As they walked down 
the hall, the only sounds were of Elena’s duffel bag and backpack mixed 
with the soft wisp of his hakama. 
	“Tell me, did you encounter anyone as you came in?”  Sensei asked her 
softly, still walking forward.
	“I did not sense or see anyone, yet you might have trained some to mask 
themselves…” She trailed off, looking up at Katsuiuchi with an inquiring 
glance, hoping to glean some information out of him.  
	Sensei just smiled and nodded, whether to her being spotted or what 
they taught he didn’t specify.  Good, so far no one knows who has joined 
us.  I believe that I should test her as people come in to see if she can 
handle distraction…  At the end of this thought they reached a dojo.  To 
Elena’s eyes it looked well used yet also well kept.  As he turned to face 
her, Elena brought her eyes to bear on him.
	“Before we start placing you in classes, we need to know how 
experienced you are.  I trust you brought something to train in besides 
your jeans and a T-shirt.” He arched an eyebrow at her, and she quickly 
nodded.  Moving over to the wall, she knelt on the tatami, unzipping her 
duffel bag when it rested on the mats.  Reaching one hand in, she pulled 
out a simple white karate gi and a pair of black hakama.  
	“You can change around the corner.  Your weapon of choice?” Pausing in 
her trip around the corner, Elena told him that any kind of sword would be 
great.  With the ease of experience, she quickly re-emerged from around the 
corner, her bare feet making no noise.  Once she had stowed her clothes in 
her duffel bag, she tied her hair back with a simple rubber band.  Standing 
up, she padded over to Sensei, who had just finished putting on a set of 
kendo armor.  He indicated a second pile and watched with critical eyes as 
she put it on.  Of course, he thought to himself, it’s not like she’s going 
to need this type of armor when she trains.  
	With a satisfied nod and smile, he tossed a wooden bokken to her.  
Catching it deftly, she examined it with her hands, checking for weak spots 
in the wood and also the balance of the weapon.  Satisfied with it, she 
gave a nod towards Sensei.  Without a word, he pulled on his helmet, Elena 
mirroring his action only moments later.  With a deep breath, she shifted 
into the familiar “ready” position.  Her eyes remained fixed on her 
opponent, wondering if he gave any hints before he moved, or if he was the 
silent type.  Before she could even guess, he was attacking.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

	Rowen ran through the corridor, hoping that he didn’t run into anyone.  
Ducking down another hallway, he hoped to gain some time and ground.  As he 
continued down the corridor, he heard the sound of wood against wood.  Who 
would be sparring at this time of day?  He cocked his head, listening to 
the sound and unconsciously slowing his pace.
	His curiosity peaked, and his meeting with his friends temporarily 
forgotten, Rowen came to the room where the fight was taking place.  
Peering around the doorframe, he caught sight of the match between two 
people.  Rowen could quickly recognize Sensei with his techniques, the same 
ones that were slowly teaching Rowen himself how to handle a sword.  The 
other, though, was unknown to him.  The style was fluid, yet quick and 
sharp.  Whoever they were, they were certainly good.  Sensei was actually 
working to block and attack them.  With fascination in his expression, 
Rowen entered the dojo.  
	They didn’t even twitch as he stepped into the room.  A bell rang in 
the distance, signaling to students that they should make their way towards 
their classes.  Some guys were already in the room, sitting along the wall 
and on the floor.  They were all cautious, though, to sit out of the way of 
the two dueling with bokken.  With a shrug, Rowen took a seat in the very 
corner, studying the new guy.  
	Their movements were very smooth, reminding him of Sage when he was 
training with his nodatchi.  They definitely knew how to handle a sword.  
As Rowen continued to watch, the rest of his group of friends entered the 
room.  Kento was of course talking, or more appropriately complaining, 
about food.  With a quick look around, Cye quickly shushed him.  With a 
jerk of his head in Rowen’s direction, Cye led everyone over to where he 
sat.  As they all sat, Ryo shook his head.
	“We missed the new guy by only a few moments. By the time we reached 
the hedge, he was already inside.”  He almost seemed to pout, then chuckled 
softly and turned his attention to the fight going on.  After a few moments 
of watching them, he whistled softly.  
	Leaning behind Sage, he whispered to Rowen,“ How long has Sensei been 
going at this?  He’s using moves I never knew he had before.”  Clearly, Ryo 
was more than slightly in awe of the new student.  Rowen shrugged.
	“I arrived about 3 minutes before you guys did, and they had been going 
at it before I got here.  Ask Akira, he was here before me.”  Sage’s 
eyebrows rose, impressed.  No wonder Sensei never seemed tired after a 
sparring match with them.  They could hardly spar for three minutes; much 
less how long they had been fighting.  This guy was good… 

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

	Yet more students.  Sheesh, how many are there?  Elena was beginning to 
get tired, yet from the way he moved, so was Sensei Katsuiuchi.  How much 
longer can I continue?  There is a good chance of me making a mistake.  (So…
I shall have to be even more cautious.)  Elena finally saw an opening.  Not 
wanting to miss her opportunity, she 
quickly slid her bokken into the 
spot.  She heard many intakes of breath and even a couple gasps as Sensei 
just barely avoided being touched and ending the match.  With a furious 
spinning back up, Elena gained herself more time before attacking again.  
That shot had almost left her totally open for Sensei’s counterattack.  
That was close…  Elena paused and faced her opponent, breathing heavily.  
She saw that he was just as winded as her and she smiled a bit at this.  At 
least she wasn’t a beginner with swords.  After a few tense moments, Elena 
shifted her weight back onto her back foot and balanced herself for a 
desperate move.  She had only tried this once before.  Hopefully shifting 
her weight would distract him for only a few seconds.  That was all she 
needed.  After another breath, Sensei lunged at her, probably hoping to 
overpower her.  Not this time, buddy.  I’m ready for you.  Sinking onto her 
back foot, she pivoted around his sword.  Quickly she set her other foot 
down and jumped sideways, so she was parallel to him.  She made no noise as 
she brought her weapon down to bear on his neck.  At the very last instant, 
though, Sensei reached back and snagged her wrist, twisting it away from 
the hilt and disarming her quickly.  With a soft yelp, Elena landed on the 
tatami, crouched and her wrist still in Sensei’s hands.  

As she crouched there, waiting for him to release her wrist, she tried to 
regain her breath.  Everyone else in the room was either bored silly or 
just stunned into insensibility.  Looking up, she caught Sensei’s nod and 
stood up as he released her.  Smiling slightly, she bowed to him.  Softly 
enough so that only he could hear her, she said, “Thank you Sensei.  That 
was fun.”
     He chuckled softly as he removed his helmet and turned towards the 
assembled males.  All eyes turned to him and the hushed murmurings that 
were going on became instantly silent.  Elena stood slightly behind and to 
the right of Sensei, turned to face the audience.  I wonder what they’ll 
think of me.  Hope I didn’t scare them.  
    “Good morning, gentlemen.  Today, I need to introduce you to our newest 
member and now a fellow student of yours.” Looking over his shoulder, he 
nodded at her, motioning her forward.  Turning back to the crowd, he looked 
them over.  “I introduce to you, Elena Keaths.”
    As Sensei mentioned her name, Elena stepped forward and removed her 
helmet.  During the fight, the band that had confined her hair to a tail 
had broken.  Ice-blonde hair fell down in waves, surrounding her face with 
stray wisps as the rest cascaded down her back.  She calmly surveyed the 
males with her violet eyes, letting nothing show except a cool smile.  
Greetings died unuttered on lips.  The room was deathly silent as everyone 
tried to digest the fact that a “mere girl” had stood up to their Sensei 
and would now become their equal.  Elena tucked her helmet under her arm 
and bowed.
     “Hello.”
      As soon as this word left her mouth in her soft yet vibrant voice, 
murmurs rose from the audiences into outraged and sarcastic remarks.  Only 
one group of five, sitting in a corner, remained silent.  She tuned out 
everyone else in the room; even Sensei as he stood next to her with only an 
eyebrow arched for his expression.  Her violet eyes remained on the group 
of five, taking in a few details about all of them.  As Sensei looked over 
to her, he noticed that her thoughts and eyes were elsewhere.  He scanned 
the room, judging on where they lay.  As he spotted the Ronins, he grinned 
slightly.  Yes…. they will do nicely to help her…and her to help them.  
Leaning over, he whispered something into her ear, to which she nodded.  
Turning her back on the audience, she started removing the armor, stowing 
it back where she had seen Sensei take the sets from.  She didn’t want to 
give these…snobs the impression that she was careless or expected servants 
to pick up after her.  As she did this, Elena listened to the remarks about 
her.  Ooo, hadn’t heard that one before.  Hey now! That’s not true!  One 
particularly loud mouth caught her attention and she looked over her 
shoulder to see who it was.  With his brown hair pulled back into a 
ponytail and his soft blue eyes, he didn’t look like much.  Yet Elena 
caught the way he moved and how he held himself.  This one would not be one 
to get angry with.  Yet, she’d keep her eye on him. 
  When that was done, she picked up her bags and left the dojo through the door 
that she had come in.  Her thoughts wandered slightly as she padded 
silently down the hall.  Why are they this upset about me? Do they all suck 
at sword work that much?  At that, she had to giggle.  That must hurt their 
pride.  Imagine, a “weak girl” being able to handle a sharp object, namely 
a sword, with much better skill then themselves.  Ohhh, the possibilities…. 
Elena grinned somewhat evilly, then shook her head.  She was here to learn, 
not to kick ass and chew bubble gum.  With a toss of her head to settle her 
hair back over her shoulder, she entered Sensei’s office. He had offered 
her his shower and she wasn’t going to pass that up.  

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Cye groaned and wished he were anywhere but here.  Even though his weapon was a 
yari, somewhat staff related, he didn’t want to be doing these drills. Not 
when his arms hurt this much.  Yet it was at the Ancient’s not so subtle 
hint that all five of them come here.  It was a superb place, in fact, for 
all of them to learn how to use their armors and how to fight with weapons 
other than their own in case emergencies should happen.  Cye could remember 
many times when his yari was useless and how he had longed for Rowen’s 
bow.  Yet he couldn’t shoot worth a dime, much less hold a drawn bow for 
any amount of time.  
Cye, whose personality matched his element of water, didn’t really like to 
fight.  If he could, he’d try and find someway to talk himself out of 
trouble.  Although, with Ryo and Kento along, that was sometimes very 
hard.  With one with a temper like the fire, and one with a head as hard as 
rock it was often hard to avoid any kind of fight. Cye sighed and shook his 
head, willing his arms to hold the bo up just a little while longer.  

Finally, a whistle blew and he lowered his sore arms.  The drills seemed to 
be getting harder each day.  It wasn’t helping matters that his thoughts 
kept wandering back to this morning…  Angrily he shook his head.  

Why does the girl…what was her name?  Cye picked up a glass of water, 
walking towards the shade to wait for the other guys to meet him before 
they separated to their next classes.  Elena, that’s right.  Why does she 
keep invading my thoughts?  I haven’t even met her yet and I haven’t seen 
her since this morning…  Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that she would 
be very important to him soon.  With a shrug he sat down and leaned back 
against the trunk of a tree.  With a grin, he waved as Sage and Ryo 
approached.  A breeze ruffled through the leaves and his hair, drying the 
sweat from his skull.  

“So what’s planned after dinner?”  Cye asked, his eyes following his 
friends as they sat down near him.  With a soft chuckle, Sage held up his 
hand.

“Patience, Cye.  Let’s wait for Kento and Rowen to show before we start 
discussing plans.”  Ryo nodded agreement and lay back in the grass, closing 
his eyes, and pillowing his head on his arms.  Grinning, Cye poked Ryo with 
his toe.

“Don’t get too comfy, Wildfire.  Here they come.”  Ryo cracked open one 
tiger-blue eye and looked at Cye, who tossed his head in their direction.  
Following the motion, Ryo spotted two familiar figures, one in orange, and 
the other with blue hair and in blue armor.  They sat down quickly, Rowen 
running an absent hand through his hair.  After a few moments in the 
relative silence, a loud rumble was heard through the small area.  With a 
collective sigh, Sage, Rowen, Ryo, and Cye looked at Kento.

“WHAT?! I was just dodging sharp objects for the past hour.  Aren’t I 
allowed to be hungry?” With a slightly miffed expression, Kento looked 
between the other four.  “Besides, it’s almost dinner.  And I was up early 
for our talk.”  He looked pointedly at Rowen, who coughed softly and looked 
away.
His midnight blue eyes caught on the figure of Elena, who was waiting patiently 
for Kura-sensei, the archery master, to notice her.  The other guys in his 
group started planning, not noticing Rowen’s quietness.  Kura finally 
turned his attention to her and they started conversing quietly.  As she 
talked, Rowen studied her over Kura’s shoulder.  

She was already outfitted for training; it seemed, since she was now in 
subarmor.  It was the a lot like his actually, except that her body was a 
darker blue than his and her guards were white.  He studied it for a bit, 
the flicked his eyes to her forehead.  Another armor? What’s her kanji 
then?  Mentally he shrugged when he couldn’t pull out any hints about a 
tenth armor.  Maybe it’s just an extra subarmor.  I mean, no one else here 
has an armor.  Well, armor like ours…  Seemed logical.  Having satisfied 
that question, he refocused his eyes on her.

Her ice-blonde hair was loose, flaring around her shoulders in the wind.  
At both temples, there was a thin braid of what looked like a five-strand 
design.  Looked cool in his opinion.  Her violet eyes seemed to add 
something to how she looked, instead of setting her apart as they would in 
someone else.  Her features almost seemed elfish in some aspects, yet they 
were more graceful and not as sharp as elves.  The way she carried herself 
was something completely different though.  She seemed conscious of every 
part of her body, yet still able to hold herself with a grace and poise 
that was almost unnatural.  The only person Rowen knew that could do that 
was Sage.  I wonder if sword work gives her that….or maybe she dances…  
Blinking somewhat in surprise with this thought, he shook his head.  
Looking back at her though, he noticed her expression.  It definitely 
looked uncomfortable.  He smiled a little bit.  Maybe she isn’t as perfect 
as the rumors are making her out to be…

As Rowen continued to watch, Elena sighed, and her expression changed.  It 
became determined, yet not stiff.  Rowen knew that look in her eyes 
though.  Even if she was that bad at archery, she would do her best and 
screw people’s opinions if they doubted her.  Chuckling softly, Rowen 
wondered if she was just as stubborn as he was.  And that would be saying 
something…

A cough was emitted from the group around him, and Rowen became aware of 
the silence.  Turning back around, he looked between his four friends.  
Well, three.  Kento had obviously found a snack somewhere and was happily 
munching down.  What worried Rowen, though, were the smirks on Sage and 
Ryo’s faces.  

“Umm…what?”  Rowen shifted his eyes between the two, Cye mirroring his 
actions when he realized that he had missed something when Sage and Ryo had 
stopped talking.  Ryo’s sapphire blue eyes laughed as they met Sage’s grey 
ones.  Then both pairs turned back to the blue-haired boy in front of them, 
who had a distinctly uncomfortable look on his face.  Sage was the first 
one to speak.

“So, Ro-chan…notice something interesting?”  He arched his eyebrow, knowing 
full well that Rowen knew what he was talking about.  Cye blinked then 
looked around as Rowen glared at Sage.  If only looks could kill… His 
turquoise eyes spotted Elena, walking towards a tree.  He “oh”ed softly.  
Suddenly an idea came to him and he grinned mischievously.  Standing 
suddenly, he turned and walked over to where Elena was now leaning against 
the tree in the shade.  Ryo’s eyebrows shot up and Sage let out a 
surprised, “Hey!”  Rowen just laughed and laid back into the grass.  The 
bell would be ringing soon and he wanted to rest a bit before going to 
archery.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Elena gazed at the sunlight designs on her armor, as the leaves shifted 
overhead.  She had to smile a bit at that thought.  Armor, heh…  Yet this 
was unlike any armor she had ever heard of.  It was flexible yet strong, 
and was not made up of clanking plates.  There were no ties having to be 
dealt with, and it seemed to be a “one size fits all” kind of thing.  It 
also seemed to come in a rainbow of colors, since every student had a set 
and everyone was a different color.  Some had subtle variations, yet they 
were there.  Her own set of dark blue and white was unique.  No one else 
seemed to have white guards.  She personally thought that the colors made 
her look good, but why should it matter, since practically all the guys 
were just concentrating on how to beat her, not how she looked.

With a small, cold smile she rubbed her fingertips together, listening to 
the slight rasp of sound and marveling how smooth it was.  Her sense of 
touch was not hampered at all by the armor.  In fact, it seemed enhanced.  
Wonder if there are any doors or locks that I can try my hand at.  I do, 
after all, have the training…  She chuckled softly and closed her eyes, 
leaning back against the trunk.  Wouldn’t that just rub everyone’s noses in 
it, if she left a note in their rooms.  It would get her into a lot of 
trouble, though, and she was not here to make that.  Sighing softly, she 
waited for the bell to ring, signaling the change in “classes” as she had 
started to call them.

“Hi.”

Elena’s eyes snapped open, focusing on the rusty haired guy in front of 
her.  He didn’t look or sound particularly nasty, so she answered him with 
a small smile.

“Hi…”

He grinned and extended his own uniquely armored hand.  Her violet eyes 
gave him a quick pass and she noticed that his colors were a white body and 
light blue accents.  Someone had WAY too much time to think of all these 
color variations…  The thought brought a slight chuckle to her lips, and 
his smile seemed to broaden, reaching his bright turquoise eyes.  

“I’m Cye.  It’s nice to have a new face around here.  Even if it is a 
girl’s…”  His voice had a curious British lilt to it, yet it held no trace 
of insult or malice at that last sentence.  She didn’t take offense.  
Clasping his hand in hers, she inclined her head politely.

“I’m Elena.  Nice to meet you.  It’s great that there is at least one guy 
here who isn’t going to try and pound my face into the dirt, trying to 
prove he’s better at something than I am.  Sheesh, and men complain that 
we’re bitchy.”  She chuckled softly; releasing his hand to tuck her’s back 
in her crossed arms. 

Cye chuckled, sounding quite like a laughing stream to Elena’s ears.  Just 
then, a particularly strong gust of wind blew by, shoving one of her braids 
and a lot of hair into her face.  Growling softly, she gathered it back and 
secured it in a high ponytail.  

“Okay…all better,” she said and smiled.

He nodded and was just opening his mouth to say something when the bell 
rang.  His head turned as he heard his name being called, and Elena looked 
over his shoulder to see a group of four, slightly familiar, guys.  Cye 
nodded and held up his hand, signaling that he’d be there in a moment.  
Turning back to Elena, he cocked an eyebrow.

“See you at dinner?” Cye asked softly.

“They feed us here too? I’d’ve thought your orange friend over there 
would’ve eaten everything they had.”  She smiled, her violet eyes sparkling 
with amusement.

“Oh, Kento?  True, he does eat lots, yet somehow the kitchen is always 
stocked.”  He paused as he heard his name called again, this time the voice 
held a touch of annoyance.  Cye rolled his eyes and she chuckled.

“I’ll see you later, even if it isn’t at dinner.”  With that finally 
statement, he waved and turned, jogging back to his friends.  Chuckling 
softly, Elena shook her head and headed off towards the archery range.  As 
she walked, her smile faded and she groaned softly.  This was not going to 
be good.  She couldn’t shoot an arrow worth beans, much less draw a bow.  I 
never got training for it...can we say lame excuse?  She shook her head 
again.  After the show they had gotten this morning, she bet all the guys 
were just looking for something to rub her nose in, making her look bad.  

Within a few more moments, she arrived at the edge of the field.  She knew 
enough etiquette and stopped where she was, waiting for the clear range to 
be called.  Kura-sensei had told that she would be tutored by one of the 
other students.  Knowing her luck, she would probably get someone who was 
conceited and - 

“Hi there.”

The unknown person’s hand never touched her shoulder.  Quick as a flash, 
she ducked down and to the left, grabbing the wrist as she dropped.  
Swinging her elbow with all her strength, she would….  Her elbow stopped 
mere inches from the side of the young man’s face.  He obviously hadn’t 
expected this since he hadn’t resisted in any way.  Her violet eyes met his 
midnight blue ones and held, each pair seeming to search for something in 
the other.  Yet Elena blinked, ruining the moment and she hastily let him 
go and stepped back.  She quickly looked him over beneath downcast lashes 
as she stepped back.  Suddenly she smiled broadly.  Now there was something 
to be proud of…blue hair.

“I like your hair.”

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

“I like your hair.”

Rowen just stared at Elena, absently noting how her smile reached all the 
way up to her violet eyes.  Unconsciously, he smiled back, trying to get 
his mind back on track to what he had been instructed to do.  Teach her.  
Such lovely and helpful instructions, o wisest of the Sensei…sheesh, why 
not just dump her on my hands and walk off? Would’ve saved you breath….  
Rowen resisted the urge to roll his eyes and shake his head, focusing his 
attention back on his student.

“Thanks.  I’m sorry if I startled you.”  His smile turned apologetic and he 
firmly kept his eyes on her face.  It was bad enough that Sage had talked 
to him about his “checking her out,” and just happened to think that Rowen 
would want his “professional” advice.  Just thinking about what Sage had 
said made him want to blush and hide in his room for a week.  Before he 
could say anything else awkward, Elena shook her head, tossing her hair 
back over her shoulder.

“It’s okay.  I wasn’t paying attention anyway.  Oh, by the way, I’m 
Elena.”  She extended her dark-blue armored hand.  In her quick study of 
him, she noticed that her armor was practically the opposite color 
orientation to his.  Without incident or insult, Rowen accepted her hand, 
shaking it firmly in his, yet not testing her grip. Elena sighed softly in 
relief.  

“I’m Rowen.  Kura-sensei asked to help you with your archery.  But after 
your awesome display this morning, I was suspicious that you wouldn’t need 
it.”  His eyes twinkled with amusement, and it took Elena only a little 
while to realize that he was actually teasing her.  She laughed softly and 
smiled, but Rowen remained silent as if wondering how she would accept that 
he and Sensei knew how much of a flop she was at archery.  As if sensing 
his thoughts, Elena’s eyes narrowed and she looked into his eyes, like she 
was searching for something.  In the spilt moments it took for her to do 
this, time seemed to slow for Rowen.  He noticed that her eyes changed to 
his own dark blue and that his own kanji of Life was glowing softly on her 
forehead.  

As his numbed brain recognized this, the moment passed.  Elena blinked and 
her eyes were now the same lovely violet and the symbol had faded from her 
forehead. Rowen cocked an eyebrow and tried to keep his expression neutral, 
not displaying anything.  If Elena noticed the shadow that passed over his 
eyes, she didn’t comment about it.  What…just happened?  That was…my 
kanji...right?  Yet, she saved him again by smiling and nodding, taking her 
hand back.  

“Sounds wonderful.  With all the swag that I’ve been getting already, I 
don’t need anymore about my archery skills,” she paused, then chuckled. “Or 
lack there of.”  

She acted like she had no idea of what had just happened.  Rowen was 
shocked.  I wonder if the guys felt anything…  Shaking his head slightly, 
as if to clear it of those unsettling thoughts, he beckoned for her to 
follow.  While she worked at archery, Rowen would be thinking on how to 
exactly word what he was going to say at dinner.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Elena was finally spent.  After that workout this morning, and then archery 
with Rowen, her shoulders and upper arms had been reduced to mush.  Not 
that she had even used arrows, just continued drawing and releasing of the 
bow and how to stand.  With a sigh, she took her dinner to a table in the 
corner by the door, setting her book down on the table.  Starting to eat, 
Elena tuned out the noise of everyone else and thought back over her day.  
Her “class” on hand-to-hand fighting had allowed her to release her 
annoyance and frustrations on a straw dummy.  Males could be so childish 
when they were challenged.  At least, she wasn’t such a beginner as to need 
the extra instruction by the huge guy in orange armor.  She wouldn’t want 
to get on his bad side unprepared.  She grinned coldly.  Well, actually…bet 
I could take him in a fight.  Looks like the type who looses their temper 
when they fight.  Heh…easy prey.  

Mentally, she shook herself.  She came here to learn, not start trouble.  
Even if it was a lot of fun to pick at…  Sighing softly, she started eating 
again.  She would start her sword “classes” tomorrow morning, so her 
evening was free.  She had already checked out her swords with the 
Armsmaster, so she could spend the night exploring before lights were 
called.  Sitting back with a smile, she opened her book.  The tale of nine 
mystical armors and an evil that desired the world, like every evil, was 
enough to give her imagination some fun before bed.  

Having only started reading, Elena was rudely interrupted when her book was 
snatched from her hands.  Her eyes narrowed and became hard silver.  The 
only knowledge that pervaded her mind at the moment, though, was that 
someone had taken her book.  Looking up, she studied the guy who had just 
earned himself a nice ego deflation, courtesy of her. 

It was Kenji; the one with soft brown hair tied back and blue eyes.  The 
one who had been extremely loud at being outclassed at the demonstration 
this morning.  Elena had been curious about how he might match up to her…
seems like now she might get a chance.  Or, she thought wryly, standing up 
to face him, he could be a complete flop and forget that I might actually 
hurt him instead of swoon for his looks.  It took an effort of pure 
willpower to not smirk at him.  The noise from the rest of the common room 
died down as everyone turned to look at the two of them.  It might look 
almost comical, having each of them size the other up.  Elena had to tilt 
her chin up to meet Kenji’s hard eyes, as he was easily taller than her 
modest 5 foot 3 inch frame.  If he thought she was going to back down just 
because of size though, he was going to get a nasty awakening.  It would 
start, with her tone turning ice cold and hard as steel.

“How dare you.  How dare you lay your hands on my property.  I demand that 
you-“

“YOU?!?” He scoffed down at her.  “You demand that I should give you 
something?”  Kenji sneered at her, resting one hand casually on her book, 
leaning against the table as if she was no threat.  He seems to have so 
conveniently forgotten that it is my book, which he is using for a hand 
rest.  Oh well, stupidity is it’s own reward.  Yet her thoughts did nothing 
to soothe her anger.  It burned inside her, creating a comforting heat in 
her cheeks.  Her reply was like a physical slap in the face to him.

“Exactly, you worthless son of a hamster and an ass.  With the intelligence 
that you have shown, much less inherited, I doubt that you could even read 
the book.”  Elena smiled maliciously.  Their ever so nice conversation had 
attracted all the attention in the room, making all those who enter 
immediately focus on the action.  Even though Elena’s table was near the 
door, her entire attention was focused on Kenji.  She trusted him about as 
much as she could swallow her sword, and she wasn’t going to give him any 
openings.  Because of this, she didn’t notice when five new people entered 
the room.  

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

As soon as the Ronins stepped into the common room, they smelled trouble.  And 
trouble wasn’t hard to find with no noise in the room and all eyes focused 
on Kenji and a short, ice blonde figure that was now becoming familiar in 
their eyes, especially to the eyes of Cye and Rowen.  Usually, Cye wasn’t 
up for violence, but this was going too far.  Rowen growled silently and 
started towards the pair at the same time that Cye did.  Ryo, though, 
quickly intercepted them before they took one more step.  

“Don’t do anything.  She hasn’t noticed us, and if you guys deal with Kenji 
now, she won’t appreciate it.”  He looked between the two, to see if they 
got the point.  As they nodded, he turned, looking through the crowd.  
Kento, of course, had gone off to eat.  Ryo sighed.  How typical….  At 
least Sage was still there to back them up if any of Kenji’s friends came 
to help him.  Quickly, he turned his eyes back to the action, hoping that 
he hadn’t missed anything.

Nothing much had.  Kenji had picked up the book, looking to where Elena had 
been reading.  To his dismay, the book was in no language he could 
recognize.  He looked up to see Elena leaning against the table, a smug 
smile on her lips.  Stupid fool…can’t even recognize the legend of the 
Warriors.  

With a snarl, he motioned his friends away.  He would deal with this wench, 
and deal with her good.  How dare she think that she could compete with 
them and even have a hope of being better than they are…  Without looking, 
he tossed the book over his shoulder.  Unfortunately for him, his gamble 
did not work and her hard silver eyes remained on him.  

Elena sighed inwardly as her precious book flew.  Its pages fluttered open 
like wings trying to learn how to fly; yet it was to no avail.  Should the 
book land like that, it would be impossible to repair.  Her eyes narrowed 
and her smile disappeared.  Oh, he was going to pay for messing with her.  
Straightening in one smooth motion, Elena measured her opponent as she 
closed the difference between them.  She suddenly felt the urge to smile, a 
nice, cold, and malicious one.  Having had to go to the Armsmaster about 
her swords, she hadn’t had time to change out of her subarmor.  Kenji, on 
the other hand, had showered and changed into relaxed clothing.  Giving 
into the urge, she smirked and felt much better about getting to kick 
Kenji’s ass.

Rowen gasped softly, noticing the look in her eyes.  If she doesn’t have 
complete control over that temper, she’ll tear him in two…  He glanced 
quickly at Ryo, who nodded. Her temper was almost a match for his when she 
got going, it would seem.  At least, even if she didn’t know it yet, she 
could count on the Ronin Warriors to help out.  Rowen’s eyes widened as he 
saw the book go flying.  Not the book! From where he was standing, though, 
he wouldn’t be able to catch it in time.  With a mental cry, he alerted 
Sage to the danger, who quickly went into action.  With all the grace and 
timing that only Sage could manage, he caught the book a few feet above the 
floor.  Straightening, and walking back a couple steps to the group, he 
flipped through the book.  With a muffled yelp, he shoved the book under 
Rowen’s nose, pointing to a familiar scene.  With ease, Rowen mentally 
translated the ancient Celtic it was written in.  

“And then the Warrior of Virtue shall call the others to him, forming the…
WHITE-!!!”

“SHHHHHHHHHHHH!”  Sage glanced around wildly, hoping not to have drawn any 
attention to them.  Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed, except for the 
other Ronins around them.  Rowen just looked at him.
	“The white armor?  What the hell?”  His midnight blue eyes met Sage’s 
wild grey ones.  Both of them turned to watch the unfolding scene, 
questions forming by the hundreds by the second.
	Elena stopped in easy reaching distance from Kenji.  Her expression had 
not changed and her eyes remained silver.  With a growl, his left hand shot 
out, intent on slamming his fist into her face.  Yet he had not compensated 
for her shortness or her speed, which unknown to her, was enhanced by the 
armor she wore.  All his hand encountered was air, yet Elena’s hit her 
mark.  Kenji doubled over, trying to breathe. 
	“You know,” she said conversationally. “It’s easier to regain your 
breath if you stand up straight.”  As she said this, her knee came up to 
connect with his head, snapping him upright.  Sighing softly, she tried to 
calm down.  She couldn’t hurt him that much or she’d be kicked out.  That 
was probably what he was going for if he couldn’t beat her.  With the ease 
of many practices, she helped him over her shoulder, depositing him nicely 
in the middle of a table full of his friends.  Dusting off her hands, she 
looked for where her book would have landed.  
	She spotted it as she was heading out, in the hands of Rowen.  With a 
smile, she walked over to him.  Hoping that he hadn’t noticed her display 
of temper, she tapped him on the shoulder.  She also noticed Cye and gave 
him a wave.  Turning back to Rowen, she smiled up into his eyes and laid a 
hand on her book.
	“Thank you for rescuing it.  I owe you big time for that.”  Seeing that 
he was in some sort of shock, she lightly slid the book from his hands and 
walked out of the room.  The noise had begun to rise again, and she didn’t 
feel like sticking around to have anyone else challenge her.  

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Once in the hall, she breathed a bit easier and leaned back against the wall in 
a small alcove near the door.  Closing her eyes, she calmed the rest of the 
way down, taking stock of what had happened.  Again, she didn’t sense the 
Ronins, all except Kento, when they came out to look for her.  Her first 
clue that someone was out there was a warm hand on her cheek.  Cracking 
open one eye, she smiled tiredly at Cye.
	“From your expression, I take it you saw my tantrum.”  She sighed.  
Well, that’s just a dandy impression to give one of the two only nice guys 
in this place.  Her violet eyes met his turquoise ones, and she read there 
admiration yet no hate.  “Are you angry at me?”  He chuckled softly and 
ruffled her hair like she was a small child.
	“For someone kicking Kenji’s butt? No, I’m not angry, just surprised.”  
He smiled again, hoping to reassure her.  For some reason, when he first 
touched her cheek a small buzz of energy flowed into him, gently 
insinuating itself with his ordinary power.  As she smiled back at him, Cye 
noticed that a faint blue light was glowing on her forehead.  Before he 
could identify it, he got a mental nudge.   
Cye rolled his eyes and stepped back, offering his hand to Elena to bring 
her out of the shadows.  Man, doesn’t Sage ever give up?  
	Coming into the light again, Elena looked at the company around her.  
There were only four boys this time; each dressed comfortably, yet each 
seemed to have a unique color for each.  The blonde’s was dark green, 
Rowen’s was dark blue, Cye’s was light blue, and the black haired guy was 
red.  Cocking her head to the side she looked around, then focused back at 
Cye, who gently released her hand.  
	“Wasn’t there another one with you guys earlier?  A larger one?”  Her 
voice held a trace of curiosity, then looked to Rowen as he rolled his eyes and 
walked back into the common room.  Cye laughed and turned to her.  
	“I’ll introduce my crew while Rowen tries to pry Kento away from his 
food.”  First, he turned to the guy in red.  The guy’s eyebrow twitched up 
at the phrase ‘my crew,’ leading Elena to believe that Cye usually wasn’t 
the one to make the decisions.  Stepping forward, he offered his hand to 
her, clasping it firmly, yet not testing her grip.  Which was probably a 
wise idea, since she was in armor and he wasn’t.  
	“Hi.  I’m Ryo Sanada.  Pleased to meet you, Elena.”  Her smile 
broadened as she looked him over.  Yet it was his eyes that took her breath 
away.  They were the light, clear blue of an afternoon’s sky, sometimes 
referred to as tiger blue eyes.  His black haired glowed in the dim light 
with blue highlights, setting off his tanned skin and eyes perfectly.  His 
movements reminded her of a large cat, all grace and long claws properly 
sheathed until threatened.  In short, he was very impressive.  He was 
taller than her, yet she bet that under the long sleeve shirt he wore he 
would have the muscles of a sword fighter and not a boxer or wrestler.  It 
just didn’t seem to fit his style.  
	For some reason, Ryo felt his heart twitch in a strange way as she 
smiled at him, sparkles coming into her violet eyes.  Yet those eyes 
unnerved him slightly.  Starting to say something, he paused, blue yes 
becoming curious.  On her forehead, Ryo noticed his own kanji of Virtue 
there, and when she looked back into his face, her eyes were his own bright 
blue.  Gasping softly, he stiffened, releasing her hand suddenly.  A buzz 
of energy had seemed to flow into him at that very moment, settling gently 
next to his own.  Elena’s eyes quickly changed from blue back to violet and 
the red glow faded from her forehead at Ryo’s action.  
	“What?  Is something wrong?”  She quickly looked around; wondering it 
had been someone who had made him jump in surprise.  But wait…he was 
looking at me when it happened.  Did I do something?  Looking back into his 
face, Ryo noticed that her violet eyes were worried.  Taking a grip of 
himself, he smiled and patted her shoulder.  
	“Nothing’s wrong.  Congrats on kicking Kenji’s butt.  I only wish that 
it had been me doing it.  Man, is he annoying.”  He hoped that his light 
tone and words would make her relax again.  Anything to see her smile…  
Hold it, Wildfire.  She’s not here to play around with.  And neither are 
you.  The senseis wouldn’t have taken her in unless she could fight.  But 
what’s with the kanji?  Giving her little bow, he stepped back, giving Cye 
the chance to introduce Sage.  Ryo grinned as he straightened and walked 
over to lean against the wall.  This should be interesting…
	At Cye’s nod, the blonde in green stepped up to take Ryo’s place in 
front of her.  He could plainly see that Sage was in his “Charm Mode,” 
beautiful smile and all.  Elena’s smile became a bit brighter in response 
to it, yet something inside her turned up a wall, guarding her secrets from 
that smile.  She knew stories about people with beautiful smiles.  Without 
hesitation, she offered him her hand, waiting patiently for him to take it, 
or even refuse it.
	As soon as Sage’s hand enclosed hers, Wisdom flared to life and Sage’s 
own grey eyes looked back at him under a few stray wisps of ice blonde 
hair.  Instead of acting surprised, he brought her hand up to his mouth, 
brushing the back with his lips.  Like a reflex, Elena sank down into what 
would be a perfect curtsy, had she had a dress.  Wisdom faded as she bowed 
her head and closed her eyes.  At an imperceptible signal, she rose, her 
movements smooth and controlled, reminding Cye of a dancer as he watched 
her.  
	Once again straight, Elena gave Sage a unique smile that she had never 
before given anyone.  It seemed to fill her eyes to the brimming point, and 
even made Sage forget about the kanji that had been on her forehead.  For 
some reason, she felt safe with Sage, as if she could trust him with her 
life.  Sage was going through a reaction much the same as hers.  As his 
lips had brushed her hand, a little sizzle of energy had flowed into him, 
settling into his, mixing with his own.  Her smile made his heart give a 
funny flip, and unconsciously he smiled back, a genuine smile.  Cye and Ryo 
were quite surprised at that.  Sage never really showed his true emotions.  
Elena was definitely something if she could get Sage to open up without 
even knowing him for an hour.  
	“I’m honored to meet you, Elena.  My name is Sage Date.”  Without 
removing her hand from his, she studied him as he studied her, curiosity 
plain in his eyes.  They were the grey of fog, or even mist rising from the 
ground.  Elena had to force herself to look away from those eyes and their 
hidden depths.  It is not my place to go there.  His hair was as golden as 
sunlight, covering one of his eyes in an easy wave.  It seemed to add to 
his mystery and that alone perked her curiosity.  His body type, too, was 
of a sword fighter, yet it leaned more towards a dancer.  In many ways he 
is indeed like me…  Elena chuckled softly at that thought, fingering a 
braid out of her face with her free hand.  She idly wondered what the guys 
thought of her.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

	Cye was blown away.  How could Elena, a new person, get Sage to smile?  
He thought it was a major accomplishment if even one of them got a laugh 
out of him.  Sure, Sage made wise cracks, smiles, and looks happy, but he 
never seemed to be completely carefree.  His smiles and laughter never 
showed in his eyes.  Fear, amusement, confusion were rarely shown to anyone 
through those strange grey colored windows.  There was more to this girl 
then they had ever imagined.  He glanced at Ryo from the corner of his eye, 
and only got a nod for an answer.  
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Ryo was just as stunned as Cye was.  He had nearly jumped out of his skin when 
he saw his kanji on her forehead.  He couldn't believe that Sage was 
accepting it as nothing had happened.  And then smiling?! It's not that 
Sage wasn't a cool guy, or that he didn't have a sense of humor.  Sage 
always thought about what he did, almost never being spontaneous. But the 
smile that he was giving Elena was a true reaction…not one just to fit in 
with everyone else.  Elena was definitely someone to keep an eye on.  His 
mouth quirked into a grin.  And maybe not just because she has our kanji…
she's got class and looks.
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

	Sage was astounded.  Her reaction was genuine.  I feel…connected to her 
somehow.  Was it that buzz of power? Is it hers?  She seemed to, almost 
understand him thought no words had been passed between them.  His eyes 
fell into the violet of hers, loosing himself in the depths of them.  Eyes 
are the windows to the soul…  At a slight cough, Sage blinked coming back 
to reality.  He had no right to look that deep.  Yet Elena merely looked up 
at him, her own smile warming him over.  Reluctantly he released her hand, 
still shocked at the kanji and his own reaction to what had happened.  It 
seemed that Elena was hesitant to let go of his hand too, yet she turned 
quickly to look at Cye.  Sage watched as she cocked her head to the side, 
raising an eyebrow in a questioning look.  
	Her answer was a mere smile and a nod of his head towards a commotion 
coming out of the common room.  Looking over her shoulder, Elena’s smile 
dimmed as she saw that it was the large guy from her hand-to-hand fighting 
that Rowen was dragging towards her.  Rowen favored her with a smile as he 
deposited the guy near her, then he went to lean against the wall next to 
Ryo and Cye.  As Elena sized Kento up, Sage went to join the other three.  
Ryo glanced at him with an arched eyebrow, but getting no response from the 
blond he turned his eyes back to Kento.
	“This should be…hmm, interesting, don’t you think, Rowen?” 
	“Well, Ryo, if Kento doesn’t shove his head up his ass, it shouldn’t be 
that bad.  It’s all in his hands now.”  Rowen’s eyes widened at that and 
looked over at the guy in red.  “I didn’t just say that, did I?”  At the 
other’s nod, he sighed and whapped his forehead with his hand.  Chuckling 
softly, he turned his attention to the area of tension in the hall.  
	Kento had stopped dead and looked down at Elena, who looked right back 
up at him.  She showed no signs of fear or intimidation, but she could just 
be a good actress.  Needless to say, Kento was not very impressed with the 
girl in front of him.  Sure with those eyes and ice blonde hair she was a 
looker, but he hadn’t seen her deal with Kenji so in his eyes she was still 
untrained.  Besides, he thought with a smirk, what can a girl do?  
	Elena’s thoughts weren’t too flattering either.  Her dislike grew with 
every moment she looked him over.  A slight orange glow started to grow on 
her forehead, and her eyes started to subtly change from violet to black.  
Ugh.  He looks like an ox.  Maybe a mule.  Certainly seems to have the 
brains of one.  He didn’t even notice.  Sneering, he arched an eyebrow and 
crossed his arms.  Then he looked up at the other four guys leaning against 
the wall.
	“So why did you guys have Rowen drag me out here?  You said there was 
someone here I needed to meet.”  Elena had no trouble hearing the disdain 
and scorn in his voice as he ignored her.  Justice flared even brighter on 
her forehead.  Ryo, Sage, Rowen, and Cye just looked between each other and 
shrugged.  If Kento wanted to die, well that was his decision.  They’d be 
sure to get a broom to sweep up the pieces when Elena was done with him, 
though.  Before Elena could even say anything, Kento looked down at her.
	“What at you looking at?  Scared that I might ruin your makeup?  Girls 
should keep to doing what they’re good at, like cooking.”  That was the 
worst thing that he could have said.  Elena’s now black eyes flashed 
dangerously and she tilted her head back to glare into his eyes.  Only at 
that moment did he notice the mark on her forehead and her cold obsidian 
eyes.  Not even waiting for the other guys to respond, she opened her mouth 
to give this fool a lashing he wouldn’t forget.
	“The day I’m scared of you is the day when you have all the power of 
Hariel, the Ancient, and the Sage combined.  You can’t even sneeze as hard 
as one of them, you insignificant thing.”  Be damned if she’d call this guy 
by his name, or even acknowledge him as being human.  Her voice was ice 
cold, making Kento take a step back in fear.  The rest of the guys were 
stunned too.  How could Elena know about the Ancient?  And who was the 
Sage?  Ryo, Cye, and Rowen all turned to look at their Sage, but he was 
just as surprised as they were.  He turned surprised eyes on them.
    His eyes returned to the 
fight.    For once his mental tone was 
serious.  
	By now, Elena had backed Kento up against the opposite wall.  He 
couldn’t seem to utter a word, but not because of fear.  Elena, on the 
other hand, had plenty to say and she continued to slash Kento to ribbons 
with her words.  The remarks finally registered in Kento’s brain, and 
became furious.  With a growl, he lashed out with his fist.  Quick as a 
flash, Elena slid out of the way.  What is it with guys and trying to punch 
me? Surely they can see that it is pointless.  Smiling up at Kento from in 
side his guard, she struck.  As Kento doubled over trying to breathe, she 
delivered an appropriately termed bitch slap to his face.  Sneering at him, 
she turned and walked back towards the guys, scanning their faces as she 
came closer.  None of them seemed particularly angry, or were rushing to 
Kento’s aid.  Rowen obviously saw her expression and smiled gently, 
noticing with relief that her eyes were once again violet and her forehead 
was kanji free.
	“Don’t worry.  Kento needed his ego deflated.  He’s actually a pretty 
cool guy,” he paused, then shrugged. “Well, at least some of the time.”  
Elena smiled, glad that her new friends weren’t angry with her.  Slipping 
between Sage and Ryo she reached into the alcove to get her book.  Moving 
back out into the hall, she looked them over, her eyes lingering on Sage. 
	“It’s nice meeting you.  I’ll see you guys-“  Suddenly the doors to the 
common room banged open and the noise level in the hall started to 
increase.  In a flash of ice blonde hair, she took off down to the hall, 
her armor boots making no sound against the wood floor.  Scrambling 
slightly in an uncommon show of awkwardness, she turned a corner and was 
off towards her room.  Cye assisted Kento back up, while the rest of the 
guys gathered around them.  Cye and Rowen just grinned at each other as 
Kenji tried to answer some very probing questions.  

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

	Rowen shifted in his window seat, gazing at the stars outside the open 
window.  He sighed and turned his gaze over towards the rest of the guys.  
They were all about his room, no order to them what so ever.  When Kento 
had learned that they all had defended Elena and not him, he had moved to a 
corner to sulk.  Shaking his head, Rowen blew a strand of hair out of his 
eyes and returned to his star gazing, mulling over his erratic thoughts.  
	Ryo watched Rowen from his seat on Rowen’s bed.  Something is 
definitely up with him…  Ryo would bet Whiteblaze that part of it had to do 
with the new girl, Elena.  She had made an impression on all of them it 
seemed.  Thinking this, Ryo glanced at Sage.  Feeling eyes on him, Sage 
turned his head to meet Ryo’s eyes.  Cocking an eyebrow he jerked his head 
at Rowen, his expression turning slightly questioning.  Ryo just shrugged 
in response; he had no idea what was going on in that blue haired head.  
Yet there was also something in Sage’s eyes that bothered him.  Having been 
through thick and thin with each of the guys here, Ryo could pick up on at 
least when something was bothering them.  Turning to glance at Cye, he just 
nodded, then cleared his throat.  
	Kento looked up and sighed, then got up with a groan and walked over to 
where Cye, Sage, and Ryo were sitting, forming a rough circle.  Yet there 
was a gap as Kento leaned back against the side of Rowen’s bed.  Blinking, 
Kento looked over to where Rowen sat.  In fact, all eyes turned to him.  
Rowen, though, didn’t even twitch although he was usually perceptive.  To 
all eyes that looked at him, he seemed a statue.  Only a breeze through the 
window that ruffled his hair and made him blink indicated that he was still 
alive.  Sage stood up and walked quietly over to him, gazing out at the 
night over Rowen’s shoulder.
	Rowen jumped as Sage’s hand touched his shoulder.  Turning his head 
sharply, he then smiled apologetically up at his blonde friend.  Sighing he 
took one last look out the window, and said silently to only Sage,
 an annoying specter? >  His blue eyes looked up to the sliver of the moon 
in the dark velvet of the sky as he waited for Sage’s answer.  
	
< I can’t explain any of this…but it seems that she will become an important part of our lives. >  His mental tone changed slightly, as if he 
smiled.  annoying one, I’ll welcome her company. >  Rowen chuckled softly and stood 
up, turning to face the room.  As he walked over to his bed, he glanced 
over his shoulder at Sage.    All 
he got was an arched eyebrow and a small smile as a response.  
	As they joined the other guys, Rowen promptly dumped Ryo off his bed 
and sprawled comfortably on it.  After recovering from his being shoved off 
the bed, Ryo stood up and snatched the pillow from beneath Blue-boy’s head 
and sat down on it.  
	“Okay.  As everyone, except for Cye, has seen their kanji on the new 
chic’s forehead.  Now, I don’t think that Kento felt the little buzz as the 
new girl-“
	“Elena.”  Ryo stopped and looked questioningly at the blue haired form 
on the bed.  
	“What?”
	“Elena.  Her name is Elena.  It’d be rude to classify her as ‘the new 
girl’.”  Ryo blinked, then shrugged.  Ro-chan’s getting a bit defensive 
about this.  
	“Well, Elena somehow has managed to make our kanji appear on her 
forehead.  Also, her eyes change colors.”  Sage and Kento nodded when Cye 
glanced at them for confirmation.  His turquoise eyes widened in surprise.  
	“Does she know that she’s doing this? And what about that buzz of 
energy I felt flowing into me?  I know it had no malicious intent though.”  
Kento arched an eyebrow at him, yet the other four nodded.  “In fact,” Cye 
continued,” it seemed to mix with mine and give me a bit more energy, yet I 
knew that it was still there.  Like a comforting warmth.”  
	“That’s the thing,” Sage answered, smoothing his golden hair away from 
his eyes.  “She seems completely unaware of any of what she’s doing.  And 
if it is her energy flowing into us, she seems none the worse for wear 
about giving five people the amount she gave me.”  He sighed and shook 
his head.  “I’m completely baffled.  Not only does she have our kanji, but 
she knows about the Inferno armor, the Ancient, and it seems like she might 
even know about Talpa.”  Everyone just gaped at Sage except Rowen.  Ryo’s 
eyes were wide. 
	“Even the Inferno?!”  This was news to him…  Rowen say up on the bed 
and nodded.  
	“It was in that book that Sage caught.  It said in plain Ancient Celtic 
that the warrior of Virtue, which is you Ryo, shall be granted the other 
armors and call forth the white, or Inferno, armor.”  His midnight-blue 
eyes were serious as he looked at Ryo.  ”This might turn out to be a 
problem.”  Even as he said this, Rowen hoped with all his heart that it 
wasn’t.  There was something…different about Elena.  Something that made 
him curious to know her more, yet also make him feel completely content 
with just being someone she knows.  
	Cye blinked and tried to digest all this.  True the Ronins’ identities 
were somewhat of a secret, yet no one really thought of them as different.  
In fact, some of the ones here were training to try and earn armors, 
although none had done so successfully yet.  None of them could acquire 
kanji, though, or had even mentioned a Sage.  What’s going on?  Is it good…
or evil?  Kento, still a bit sullen, shook his head. 
	“Dude, until we get more info, there ain’t crud that we can do.  Let’s 
just keep a quiet eye on ‘er.  Sides, the Ancient is comin’ in a few 
weeks.  We can ask him ‘bout it. “  With that, he crossed his arms like a 
note of finality.  All the guys looked at him in amazement.  Kento had 
actually contributed something useful and not related to food in any way.  
Kento looked around, then grinned.
	“I got my moments…”  They all laughed and shook their heads.  Sage 
nodded and stood up, drawing all eyes to him.
	“Does everyone have a class with her?”  Cye, Rowen, and Kento nodded.  
They had all seen her today.  Ryo shrugged and looked up at Sage.  “She 
wasn’t in the sword seminar this morning, so I don’t know.”  Sage nodded 
again.  He had swords with Ryo and Rowen, so he hadn’t seen her either.  
	“We’ll see if she’s there tomorrow.  Is that cool with everyone?”  With 
nods and yes’s  as agreement, Sage grinned.  “Cool.  Well, I need my 
beauty rest,” he paused as Ryo groaned and threw the pillow at him.  “So, 
I’ll see ya’ll later.”
	He turned and stepped out into the hallway, closing the stout wood door 
behind him  Sage’s thoughts were still troubled though, so when he reached 
his room he didn’t get ready for bed.  Instead, he grabbed his coat and 
started walking to the door that led to the woods.  As he turned down the 
final corridor that would take him outside, he quickly ducked back around 
the corner.  Someone was sneaking through the shadows!  Peering around the 
corner, he caught a flash of ice-blonde hair.  Only one person at the 
school had that color hair.  Where is she going?  With silent steps, he 
followed her out the door and into the growing night.