Chapter 1: The Beginning

 

 

There was only the dull constant thump of the single car train as it made its way though the mountains toward the backside of Japan and a small town called Hagi. If you listened carefully you could hear the faint clickety clack of the keys on a computer. The computer was owned by one Hashiba Touma. Touma was busy typing up a summary of some books he had been reading up to that point. The books had been tossed onto the seat next to him so he could access their information.

 

On the seat across from him with his legs hanging in the aisle and the seat barely big enough for him slept Shu Lei Fuan. Touma couldn’t remember how long he had been asleep but he was glad he had. Shu would have normally been called a good traveling companion, but  because of the reason they were traveling to this hillbilly town, Shu and Touma had just sat and looked at each other.

 

Just two days ago Shu received word from Shin’s sister. This was a shock since Shu hadn’t talked to any of his friends since their return from Africa. To even more of a shock, Shin’s sister told him that Shin was mumbling something in his sleep. He kept mumbling the same word over and over, Suiko. Shu then called Nasuti and got another shock. Touma had suddenly showed up at Nasuti’s house two days before and had locked himself in the library. Shu told Nasuti that he was going down to see Shin and find out what had happened, and Nasuti told him to let her know what had happened. She then told Touma about Shu’s call, and he announced that he was going too. It was really by chance that they ended up on the same train.

 

They had decided to keep this from the others, especially Ryo, until they knew more. This of course wasn’t that hard to do. It had been a year and a half since they had returned from Africa. With the kikkotei and their own yoroi destroyed, they had nothing to connect them and had drifted apart. All their good memories of the times they spent together seemed to disappear and only the memories of the battles remained. Nasuti had continued her research at the University and what her grandfather had started, but had found nothing new about the armor since the troopers had been the first the wield them. Touma had brought some of the books he had found in Nasuti’s library with him in hope that he would find something to tell them what was happening to Shin.

 

The  train jerked to a stop and Touma looked up from his computer. Just outside sat a small train station with just one small wooden building. A sign stood just in front of the building and Tenku stood in front of it. Touma blinked and it was gone. He looked at the sign again, it said ‘Hagi’.

 

“Shu, wake up!” Touma slapped his computer shut and shoved it in his bag.

 

“Are we there?” Shu mumbled still half asleep.

 

“It’s time to get off now!” Touma crammed his books into another bag and walked towards the door, “I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

 

“Shit, Touma ya ass!” Shu jumped up and grabbed his bag. The door was closing as he exited the train and his bag got caught. The train conductor had to open the doors again and Shu spent the next minuet bowing and apologizing. By the time Shu caught up to Touma he was getting into a cab out front the station.

 

“Damn it, Touma, wait up!”

 

“Oh, I thought we were meeting at the hospital.”

 

“It’s amazing, as long as I’ve known you, you really haven’t changed,” Shu growled as he flopped into the cab after Touma.

 

“Is that a bad thing?”

 

“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t be you if you had.”

 

“That makes no sense, Shu.”

 

The cab arrived only a few minuets later at the hospital. It was a small building, new compared to those around it but still a good 15 years old. At the entrance stood a man who was in this 30’s, tall with dark hair and eyes. He was leaning against the building smoking a cigarette. Shu paid the driver and got out of the cab.

 

“You got here fast, Shu-san.” The man pulled out what looked like a coin purse and put his cigarette out in it and then put it up.

 

“Came right after Sayoko-san called.” Shu shook his hand and the man led the two into the hospital. “Ah, this is another of our friends, Touma. Touma, this is Shin’s brother-in-law Yuusuke.”

 

“Pleasure to meet you,” Yuusuke replied as he held out his hand. Touma took his hand,

 

“What were the results?”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Ah, forgive him. He has no clue how to act around other people,” Shu explained with his hand behind his head laughing.

 

“Ah, They’ve tested him for everything under the sun, but it all came back inconclusive,” Yuusuke explained as they boarded the elevator and rode it to the third floor. They turned left down the small hall, and through a set of off white double doors. They stopped at the large desk just inside the doors and Yuusuke spoke to the nurse there explaining who they were.

 

“Because of his condition being unknown they’ve put him under restricted visitation. Only his sister and I are allowed to see him. We had to get special permission for you guys to come.” He led them down the hall and into one of the rooms. A curtain was partially drawn around the bed so that its occupant could not be seen. On the visible side Shin’s sister, Sayoko, sat looking extremely tired.

 

“Why don’t we go and take Michio off of my mother for a bit. Let them talk.” The woman nodded and allowed Yuusuke to lead her from the room. Once they were gone Shu hesitantly took a few steps farther into the room. Shin was sitting up in bed looking perfectly healthy if not a bit put off.

 

“Hey, umm, nice hair.” Shu had pointed out the fact that the hair on the back of Shin’s neck had been completely cut off. “Was it Sayoko’s doing?” Shu smiled but the lack of one on Shin made his own disappear.

 

“What did you see?” Touma walked past Shu and stood at the end of Shin’s bed. Shin looked at him and then at Shu,

 

“I thought you were only going to tell Nasuti?”

 

“He was at Nasuti’s. She told him. Ran into him on the train,” Shu shrugged.

 

“What did you see?” Touma repeated himself.

 

“What are you talking about?” Shin looked up into Touma’s eyes and instantly understood, “You saw it? How close is it?”

 

“About 12 feet.”

 

“What are you guys talking about?” Shu asked as he walked to the side of the bed.

 

“What did you see?” Touma repeated himself ignoring Shu.

 

“It was a couple of feet away. It took a few steps and it engulfed me. I felt like I was under water, I couldn’t breath. It hurt. Then I passed out. When I woke up I was here.”

 

“You don’t remember anything from after you passed out?” Shin paused for a moment.

 

“A laugh. Someone was laughing.”

 

“Will you guys tell me what is going on?” Shu leaned over the bed so that he came directly into their sights,” What is ‘it’?”

 

“Suiko.”

 

“And Tenku.”

 

“Suiko and Tenku? But we destroyed them,” Shu exclaimed.

 

“Yes, we did.”

 

“If they’re destroyed how is it you’re seeing them?”

 

“I don’t think its actually them, Shu, it’s just what our minds are making us see,” Touma explained.

 

“Huh?”

 

“You expected Shu to understand that?” Shin asked smiling a bit.

 

“HEY,” Shu shot back.

 

“We destroyed the armors, but I believe that some, or all, of their power was not destroyed. Instead it is still with us,” Shin tried to clarify. 

 

“So, we still have their power. What’s that got to do with you two seeing the yoroi?”

 

“I think it’s the power making itself known. It’s such a great power, that our mortal bodies can’t quite handle it,” Shin reasoned looking down at his hands, “I think another battle is coming, but this time, we don’t have the yoroi.”

 

“But we have the power, that should be enough.” Shu practically jumped with enthusiasm.

 

“Shu, the power is too much for us to handle. We may not be able to control it.”

 

“Oh,” Shu sighed and flopped down in the chair that Sayoko was previously sitting in. “So is this going to happen to all of us?”

 

“I don’t see why not. We need to get everyone together. The last thing we need is someone alone when it happens and end up dying.”

 

“Hey, Touma, don’t even joke about that,” Shu threatened jumping up and grabbing Touma’s shirt.

 

“I would never joke about anything like that.” Touma stared Shu down and slowly Shu released him and sat back down.

 

“I don’t know why you moved back to this place. It would have been easier if you had stayed in Tokyo,” Touma said picking up the chart at the end of the bed.

 

“I didn’t really have much of a choice, not after Mother died.”

 

“I’m sure you’re sister and her husband could have handled the store themselves,” Touma frowned.

 

“I don’t know, I mean with Michio being…” Shin shot Shu a sharp look which stopped him, “…a Mouri, a hell to look after.”

 

“That is true, he is Shin’s nephew.”

 

“Touma!” Shin said in a scolding tone of voice.

 

“You seem in very high spirits today, Shin.” An older man with only a little bit of white hair left on his head appeared behind Touma and took the chart from him. “These the friends I was forced to allow in here? They seem to be making the air a bit stressful.”

 

“So, when can I go home?” Shin asked looking away from the doctor and out the window.

 

“You’ve been asking me that since you woke up,” The doctor replied as he flipped through the file.

 

“And has the answer changed any?”

 

“I’m sure to you’re pleasure, it has,” The doctor sighed and replaced the file back on the end of the bed, “Since we can find absolutely no explanation as to why you collapsed, there is no reason to keep you here any longer. I’ve already called your sister and told her. You’re free to go.” Without even a word of thanks or gratitude to the doctor Shin threw off his sheets and got out of bed. As soon as he was dressed he walked out of the room. Touma and Shu followed, Shu apologizing for Shin and thanked the doctor for his hard work.

 

“So, what now?” Shin asked as they piled into a taxi and headed for Shin’s home.

 

“Well, we’ve got to tell the others and find out if they’ve seen their yoroi as well,” Shu announced matter-a-factly.

 

“And we’ve got to figure out why this is happening,” Touma added.

 

“So, to Nasuti’s then,” Shin nodded.

 

“So, who’s paying?” Touma asked looking over at the other two.         

 

“For the cab?” Shu asked knowing where this was going.

 

“That and the train to Kanagawa.”

 

“I paid part of his way down here, it’s your turn Shin.”

 

“I’m not paying for him! He can pay his own way!”

 

“Is this the thanks I get for coming all the way down here to see you?”

 

“I didn’t ask you to come!”

 

“This is going to be a long trip,” Shu sighed as he leaned on the door and watched the scenery go by as Shin and Touma argued next to him and thoughts of another battle loomed overhead.