Note: I have nothing to do with Ronin Warriors and its characters except to be a fan who enjoys the series very much. This story is my extrapolation of the storylines as received in North America. I apologize if this story doesn't quite fit into the Japanese series.

"What are you?"

Kento stopped. "I don't...I don't understand what you're talking about, Mr. Kumano."

"I'm not stupid," the patient said softly. "I saw the way you tackled Goma yesterday, and the way you fought him. No ordinary person could catch a door like that, or plunge through a window seven stories up then jump back up through it again."

Kento sighed. "I'm not sure you'd believe me," he said.

"Try me," Kumano said coolly. "A man who didn't appear to be a man is trying to kill me. I think I can just about believe anything you say."

Kento sighed again. "Okay, you asked for it."

He told Kumano as much as he dared about the Ronin Warriors, the Dynasty, Tulpa, and their battle for the Inferno armor and the souls of the entire city. He avoided mentioning names whenever possible, completely omitting Mia and Yuli from his story. As he'd expected, Kumano's expression had turned skeptical after only a little while, but the man listened to him as he told it all. Gradually the look of skepticism faded to an expression of reluctant acceptance.

"Well," Kumano said when Kento finished, "I asked for it."

"You still don't believe me, though," Kento pointed out. "Not completely."

"It's...hard to accept it all," Kumano said. "I mean, I was here when everything you talked about happened, but I can't remember it." He sighed. "Still, you believed me when I told you about the school. It's only fair that I believe you."

"Thanks," Kento said. "Listen, can you think of anything that might explain why those...ogres are running a kendo dojo without devouring every human student that passes through their door?"

Kumano frowned. "No," he said slowly. "Everything in our folklore tells us that ogres enjoy eating humans, but I can't think of any reason why..." He stopped.

Kento leaned forward eagerly. "Yes?"

"I don't know if it's significant," Kumano said, "but Mr. Manigami was insistent that I duel to the utmost of my abilities, using all the skills and techniques at my disposal when I fought Goma."

Kento frowned. "Well, if what you said yesterday was true, about him wanting to further assess your skills, then that would make sense."

"You're not a swordsman," Kumano pointed out. "In what was essentially an exhibition match, two duelists would never wholly expose their skills. We'd always keep one or two special techniques in reserve. For Mr. Manigami to demand what he did, he was elevating it to a death match."

Kento rubbed his chin. "I'm not sure what it all means," he said, "but I'm sure my friends can figure it out."

"Kento," Kumano said, "there's something else you should know."

"Oh?"

The other man looked down. "The reason Mr. Manigami hired me was to replace another instructor who had died." He looked up. "I did some digging around after I was hired. The man was in good shape with no health problems. He was only thirty-five."

"How did he die?" Kento asked.

"Old age."

Kento blinked. "What?"

"It's been one of the unsolved mysteries the police haven't been able to close," Kumano said. "Someone found an old man's body in the instructor's apartment. The police looked for the man, but couldn't find him. Then they checked the body's dental records and found out that it was the man. Something had completely drained the life out of him!"

Kento shivered. That definitely wasn't good. The enervation Kumano had described before had been so like what Ryo had suffered that it was unnerving enough. Now, to hear that someone else had been so drained of life energy...

"I'll be back," Kento said. "I have to make a phone call."

* * *

"Listen, guys," Mia said as she drove, "Kento and I may have found something."

The three Ronins with her--Sage, Rowan, and Sai--looked at each other. "Well, don't just leave us hanging in suspense!" Rowan complained. "Tell already!"

"Kento talked some more with Mr. Kumano, the instructor that Ryo replaced," Mia said. "From what I understand, Ryo's boss turned what should have been an exhibition into a death duel. He wanted Mr. Kumano to use all of his skills and techniques to defeat one of the other instructors."

"But why?" Sai asked. "That doesn't make any sense at all."

"It would," Sage said, "if you wanted to observe what someone is capable of."

"But for what purpose?" Sai pressed.

"To learn it and copy it," Rowan said. "Remember, these are supposed to be 'exhibition' matches. I think that Manigami, or whatever his name is, is trying to learn a number of fighting styles for some reason I can't figure out yet."

"It still doesn't make sense," Sai said. "Learning a new fighting style is good and all, but it would only be useful if there's an opponent out there that you really need to defeat. Otherwise, it's just bragging rights, isn't it?"

"Actually," Mia said, "you may not be too far off the mark." She handed her book bag to Sage. "There are some photocopies of newspaper articles in there," she said. "Take them out and look at them."

Sage did as she asked. He was about to hand some of the articles back to Sai and Rowan when his eyes caught the headline on the top story. "This can't be right!"

Mia nodded grimly. "It happened, all right. I have a friend on the newspaper staff. One of her friends was a victim of the strange 'ogre cloud.' What's not printed there is what happened when she decided to investigate the situation."

"What's the date on this?" Rowan asked as he took the article from Sage.

"I forgot to write it down," Mia admitted, "but it's approximately the time that Sage was awakening Kento and Ryo and Sai were fighting Sekhmet."

Sage shook his head. "Sometimes I forget that everything that happened with the Dynasty was actually rather localized and that there were other things going on in Japan."

"Things like this ogre cloud," Sai said, nodding his agreement. "But Mia, you said there was something that isn't mentioned in the article?"

Mia nodded. "My friend told me that the whole business was about awakening an ogre named Otakemaru. Someone was going around desecrating Buddhist temples by destroying statues of the Kannon goddess. These temples were specifically chosen because they were built upon the sites where the body parts of Otakemaru had been buried. Destroying the statues would awaken the ogre. The ogre cloud was the result of the weakening of the barriers."

Sai shuddered. "Who would do such a thing?" he asked.

"Another ogre," Rowan said flatly.

"What?" Sai asked. "But why?"

Mia nodded. "It was another ogre," she said, "but according to my friend, he looked just like a human. A young man, actually, dressed as a high school student."

Rowan started. "Masaka," he whispered.

Sai looked at him. "Is something wrong?"

Rowan shook his head. "What else did your friend say?" he asked Mia.

"The human-looking ogre didn't have a name," Mia said, "but his sword did: Onikirmaru."

"Ogre-Slayer," Rowan whispered.

"Now it all makes sense," Sage said softly. "I've heard stories about that sword. It will cut through demonic flesh with ease. Ogres fear that sword because they're powerless against it. The only ogre immune to its killing touch is the ogre that wields it because it's part of him."

Mia nodded. "That's what my friend said. The boy said that the sword was his horn and that he'd been born with it in his hand."

"Then why--"

"Think about it, Sai," Rowan said. "An ordinary ogre fighting the Ogre-Slayer wouldn't stand chance. Teeth and horns and claws are useless against him. But what if they fought him on his own terms? Not with teeth and claws, but with swords?"

"The Ogre-Slayer won't be expecting it," Sage added. "It may actually tip the balance in the ogres' favor. Especially since they've been observing skilled swordsmen and stealing their techniques."

"It's rather innovative and ingenious, when you think about it," Rowan said. "Ogres are known to be dangerously cunning but not particularly restrained. For them to resist temptation for so long...to allow all those tasty humans to come and go without devouring them..." Rowan shook his head.

"It doesn't matter," Sai said sternly. "What matters is the effect it's all having on Ryo."

"Sai's right," Mia said. "Ryo's in danger the longer he works there. Kento also told me that the teacher Ryo replaced was himself a replacement for an instructor that had died. And the man, who was only thirty-five, looked like he was over a century old when he died, like all the energy had been drained from him."

Rowan and Sai stared at each other. "Stop the car!" they shouted.

Mia slammed on the brakes as she swung to the side of the road. A horn blared behind her and a driver cursed as he passed them.

Rowan and Sai jumped out of the car. "Mia," Rowan said, "go pick up Kento, then go home and get Ryo's yoroi ball. I saw it on his dresser before we left this morning. Then Sage and Kento can bring it along with White Blaze."

Sage shook his head as he got out of the car. "There's no time," he said. "I'll go get Kento while Mia goes home. She can send White Blaze with the ball."

Mia started to object, but Rowan cut her off. "Hurry, Mia," he said. Then, nodding at Sage, he and Sai started running towards Ryo's dojo.

* * *

Ryo staggered as he again fought with the other instructors. He felt his strength slowly leeching away. It wasn't as bad as the first day when Sai and Rowan had given him their energy to replace his, but it was getting there. What was going on?

The aura of menace and evil that he'd always felt around the dojo was even stronger now, and it seemed to be emanating from the instructors themselves, but the greatest focus seemed to be Mr. Manigami himself. The man had this time chosen to directly involve himself in this ten-on-one--no, make that eleven-on-one--battle.

The head instructor was very skilled, Ryo had to admit. His skill with the sword in his hand easily surpassed that of any of the other instructors. Ryo himself was hard pressed to defend himself against him, but it didn't help that the others were swarming around him like hornets.

"Show me your best moves," Mr. Manigami hissed at him, raising his sword for another blow. "Show me!"

Abruptly Ryo saw someone else standing before him. It wasn't a human, but something larger, with mottled pink skin, sharp claws and fangs, and a pair of asymmetrical horns.

"Ogres," he whispered.

"Show me!"

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