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.

"Guys," Mia said, "I'm worried about Ryo."

No one said anything, Rowan thought, because no one needed to. They were all worried about Ryo.

"Hey," Kento objected, "Ryo's fine. He's just not used to teaching, that's all."

Sage shook his head. "It's more than that, Kento," he said. "Every day he comes home more and more...drained. Enervated."

Rowan nodded his agreement. "Little by little he's getting to that point he was when he started. Completely drained of energy." He shivered. "I don't want to see him like that again. It was all Sai and I could do to replace even a fraction of what he'd lost."

He and Sai had told the others about how bad Ryo had been that one day. Mia, Sage, and Kento had been surprised and stunned by the news. They'd all watched Ryo carefully, but he'd been fine ever since then...or so it had seemed. Now, nearly two weeks after Sai had gotten his job at the Aquapark, it was clear that Ryo was NOT fine.

Getting jobs had energized them all. With the exception of Sage, who was stoic enough for them all, they had all felt rejuvenated by becoming contributing members of the household. For himself, Kento, and Sai, that energy hadn't faded yet. But for Ryo...it was becoming more and more evident that something was draining him of energy. Rowan seriously doubted that it was something as simplistic and unthreatening as over enthusiasm and overwork. Ryo's lose of energy was far too constant and continuous for that.

Every day the five of them--six, if Mia were going to the university--would pile into the car, and Sage would drop them off at the station. Sai would then commute out to Aquapark while the rest of them bicycled or walked to their jobs. Every day they'd split up, all full of energy and ready to meet the challenges of the day. Every afternoon they'd meet up at the station again, tired but in a good way, the kind that doing a good day's work and knowing they'd given it their all filled a person with.

But every day now, the moment they got home, Ryo staggered upstairs to take a nap before dinner. More often than not, he was leaning heavily against White Blaze as the tiger paced beside him. He'd come down shortly before dinner, then stretch out beside White Blaze on the floor of the den and fall asleep again. It was only with a great deal of effort and caution that they could get Ryo to bathe each night. They could get him up and into the bathroom without any problem, but they had to make sure Ryo got OUT of the bath. There had been one night when White Blaze had forcibly herded Sai and Kento out of their room and into the bathroom. Ryo had been sitting in the furo, fast asleep and turning red from the heat.

Rowan sighed. "I don't know what's going on," he said aloud, "but if this keeps up, he's going to work himself into a collapse."

"Isn't there something we can do?" Mia asked.

Sai came in from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready," he announced. "Should we wake Ryo, or just let him sleep?"

"Let him sleep," Kento said. "I'll have his share of dinner."

"You will not!" Sai said sharply. "You'll leave his food alone, thank you very much!"

"I wonder," Sage began softly.

Rowan glanced over at his friend. "What is it, Sage?"

"I think we're all agreed that Ryo losing so much energy each day isn't natural, right?"

Rowan nodded. "If it hadn't been for that one time," he said, "then it might have seemed like ordinary overwork. As it is, thought, I'd say it's far from normal."

"It's definitely abnormal," Mia said.

Sage shook his head. "Paranormal might be more accurate, Mia. Do you remember what Yuli said before, about the strange feeling he had about the dojo when they first went in there?"

Mia shook her head, but Rowan nodded. "He didn't like it there. I think he convinced himself that it all reminded him of the Dynasty and the Netherworld, but he also said that something about the people he met there scared him and even made Ryo wary. Although not in so many words," he added.

Sage nodded. "I think we should perhaps take a closer look at the dojo and its instructors," he said. "There may be something going on there that we should know about."

"Especially since it involves Ryo," Rowan added.

"What's that place called?" Kento asked. "'Oninoseishin,' wasn't it?"

"That's right," Rowan said. "It means, loosely, 'Spirit of the Ogre,' I believe, though I'd have to look at the kanji to know for certain." He turned to Sage. "I'll check the library and the city archives."

"I'll check at the university," Mia offered. "A dojo with a name like that may have some cultural significance."

"I'd like to help," Sai said, bowing his head, "but I'm so far away out there at Aquapark..."

"It's all right," Rowan said, clapping his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're doing your bit by keeping us all full of good, energy-providing food."

"Here, here!" Kento cheered. Then he frowned. "Hey, I just remembered something. There's this guy at the hospital. The day I got the job he was going on and on about something evil, and when I grabbed his wrists to disarm him, I sensed that he'd been touched by something evil."

Rowan frowned. "Disarmed him?"

"Yeah," Kento said, "he was swinging this mop around, and I could tell that he knew how to use it as a weapon." His eyes widened. "AND the nurse said that he was a teacher who taught--get this--swordsmanship!"

Rowan blinked. "Let me guess, he taught at Oninoseishin, didn't he?"

Kento stared at him, then looked away, flushing. "I don't know," he said softly.

Jaws dropped. "What?" Sai demanded.

"I don't know, okay?" Kento said defensively. "I'm mostly in the children's and senior's wards. I haven't seen the guy since then."

"Well," Sage said slowly, "I think that tomorrow you'd better go looking for him. And you'd better find him."

Rowan frowned and rubbed his chin. "If there is something evil at that dojo," he said, "should we start carrying around our yoroi balls? We may need our armor again."

"Only if it's really necessary," Sage said. "Let's not reveal too much about ourselves until we know more about what we're facing. Arming ourselves--and Ryo arming himself--may warn our opponents that we're more than ordinary human beings. We'll do our investigating first, then decide whether or not we really need our armors close at hand."

Rowan nodded. "Then we have a plan. Tomorrow we'll--" He stopped and sniffed. "Is something burning?"

Sai gasped and sprinted for the kitchen.

* * *

Ryo broke off as a loud scream cut through the air.

Instinct kicked in. He left his intermediate level class and sprinted down the hall, the practice sword still held tightly in his hand. As he ran he heard more pain-filled shouts, along with the meaty thuds of wood striking human flesh. Just as he through open the doors to the courtyard, there was a loud cracking noise, followed by another scream.

His jaw dropped at the scene.

Some of the advanced classes were held in the courtyard, and today was no exception. Older students knelt along the same clearing that Ryo had first fought in, their expressions shocked and in some cases openly horrified. One of the other instructors, Kitano, lay on his side on the ground, clutching his arm. Blood trailed from his mouth, staining his cheek and the white sand beneath him. Standing over him was one of the other instructors; Ryo thought it was either Ichima or Sanma, though even after the two or so weeks since he'd been there he still couldn't tell Ichima apart from Nima, or any of the other eight senior instructors. Ichima (or Sanma) held a wooden practice sword which, to judge by Kitano's position, was still substantial enough to do serious harm, like breaking a few bones. There was a savage, inhuman look in Ichima's (or Sanma's) eyes as he gazed down at Kitano.

Standing in a corner with his hands behind his back was Mr. Manigami.

Even as Ryo watched, Ichima (or Sanma) was raising his sword to deliver another forceful blow. Ryo darted into the ring, deflecting Ichima's (or Sanma's) blow with a deft flick of his wrist that sent the man's sword flying. "What's going on here?" he demanded. He was dimly aware that the other two junior instructors, Hidekawa and Toshino, had arrived and were gaping at the scene themselves.

"You are interrupting an exercise, Instructor Ryo," Mr. Manigami said calmly.

"Exercise?" Ryo said incredulously. "You call beating a man into unconsciousness an 'exercise'?"

"As I recall," Mr. Manigami said cooly, "when you first applied to teach here I explained that our students attend for two reasons. Some wish to become masters of the art of swordsmanship. Others, however, attend to learn some techniques of self-defense against bullies."

"And beating up an instructor does that how?" Ryo demanded.

"Instructor Kitano was simply demonstrating how to defend one's self against an assailant. Unfortunately, he has proven incapable of competently defending himself."

"I don't believe this," Ryo said, shaking his head. "At any rate, it isn't necessary to beat him to a pulp!"

"Are you volunteering to take his place, then, Instructor Ryo?"

Ryo tensed. There was a subtle note in Mr. Manigami's voice that set him on edge. He was almost daring him to agree. But if so, why? What did the man want? To embarrass him in front of the students? Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Very well," Ryo said. "I will take his place."

"Splendid! Instructors Hidekawa and Toshino, please take Kitano to the hospital. He may have a broken arm and a couple of broken ribs that may need taping."

Ryo watched as the other two instructors hurried forward, then carefully lifted Kitano to his feet. He turned to Mr. Manigami. "What am I supposed to demonstrate?"

Mr. Manigami gestured at the other senior instructor. "Ichima will be attacking you. Your job is to defend yourself and attaining the advantage over him."

That sounds easy enough, Ryo thought. So why did Kitano have trouble with it?

"Are you ready, Instructor Ryo?" Mr. Manigami asked.

Ryo nodded.

"Then begin."

Ryo watched as Ichima circled around, rotating slowly in place to follow the man's movements. When Ichima darted in and swung at him, Ryo ducked out of the way, parrying with his sword and spinning Ichima around. He thought that was it, then realized that Ichima had used the momentum of the spin and was swinging his sword again, this time in an upward motion that would, if it connected, swing directly into his ribcage. He twisted away and made a counterswing.

The two swords struck each other, and Ryo's continued in its swing, trailing splinters of wood from Ichima's shattered sword behind it.

Ichima stumbled to the side, then stared dumbly at the broken sword in his hand.

"You were supposed to get hit," Mr. Manigami said quietly from his corner.

Ryo tensed again, sensing menace in the man's otherwise calm voice. He sounded extremely angry that Ryo'd successfully deflected the strike.

"I was merely demonstrating that you always have to be on guard," he said, forcing an airy, innocent tone into his voice. "After all, just because you know how to defend yourself doesn't mean that your opponent doesn't also know how to defend himself as well."

There was a long moment of silence. "A good point to remember," Mr. Manigami said finally. "Very well. Now, though, perhaps you'd like to demonstrate something else for advanced students."

Ryo frowned. Now he heard a slightly vindictive edge in the man's voice. "Such as?" he asked warily.

"I believe that some of our students have had trouble with gangs at their schools," Mr. Manigami said smoothly. "I'd like you to demonstrate how it is possible for them to defend themselves against multiple opponents, in a situation similar to that which they might find themselves in."

Now Ryo was really concerned. What was the man after? What he was proposing wasn't an organized fight but very likely a street fight. But why?

And yet, it could be a legitimate lesson, couldn't it? Ryo remembered that Yuli had been having trouble with older kids around his school until Sage and Kento had taught him a few moves that would be highly effective against any opponents (Sage had pointed out several accessible pressure points, and Kento had shown him how to tackle someone bigger than he was). So problems with youth gangs wasn't entirely unreasonable.

"Okay," he said finally. He wondered what the catch to it all would be.

"Excellent." Mr. Manigami turned towards the main office. "Nima, Sanma, Shima, Goma, Rokuma, Shichima, Hachima, Kuma, and Juuma! I have need of your skills!"

Ryo blinked. All of them?

Mr. Manigami turned towards him. "To make it more interesting," he said, "perhaps we should not involve traditional weapons. Please use that mop over there instead." He pointed to a spot behind Ryo.

Ryo turned and stared. A mop? And yet, he could see the logic in that as well. How many students would actually be carrying swords with them to school? They'd have to make do with what they had, and if that was a mop, well...then it was a mop. Sighing, he went to get his new weapon.

He had barely grasped it when a shout from one of the students put him on guard. He swung the mop around, the cloth strips at its end blocking the length of pipe that had been flashing down towards his head. Seeing the other nine men closing in on him, Ryo shoved his first opponent--he thought it was Ichima again--away and darted back into the center of the ring. Although that would allow them to surround him, at least he was no longer backed into a corner.

Ryo studied his opponents carefully. In addition to Ichima's pipe, he saw bicycle chains, switchblades, and brass knuckles in and on his opponents' hands. And with only a mop, he'd have his work cut out for him.

"Great," he muttered. "All right, then let's do it."

A bicycle chain flashed in from the side and the fight began.

* * *

"Any luck?" Sage asked after Ryo had trudged upstairs, exhausted from his ten-to-one battle as well as the relating of it once they'd all gotten home.

Rowan shook his head. "It's strange. According to some of the records I found, the Oninoseishin is a legitimate school for martial arts. But also according to those same records, it's a small, little-known karate dojo in Nagasaki, not kendo dojo in Toyama."

Sage sighed. "That's what I found when I searched the Internet."

Mia nodded. "Same thing at the university."

"Any luck at the hospital?" Sage asked Kento.

The other Ronin shook his head. "I tried to talk to the man, but he'd been sedated again. Apparently he started acting up again, ranting about something evil. But I did find out that he was an instructor at Oninoseishin. In fact, I think he's the one Ryo was hired to replace."

Sage rubbed his chin. "I don't like that coincidence," he said. "Kento, I know you have things to do at the hospital, but you have got to talk to that patient. We have to know what's going on at Oninoseishin."

"Should we warn Ryo?" Mia asked.

Sage shook his head. "You heard Ryo," he said. "He already knows that something's not right there. He'll be on his guard from now on, I'm sure."

"I just feel so helpless!" Mia said. "At least when we were fighting the Dynasty we knew something of what to expect. Now we don't know what's going on!"

"Take it easy, Mia," Rowan said. "We'll find out. If there's something evil there, we'll put a stop to it. No way are we letting it get to Ryo."

"He's right," Sage said. He turned and called over his shoulder. "How's dinner coming, Sai?"

"Not much longer," came the response. "Sooner, if you all help set the table."

Sage stood up. "Well, let's go and help. Tomorrow we'll do more research, all right?"

* * *

"You're all incompetents! You let one man--one mortal--beat all of you!"

"Forgive us, master!"

"Fools. But now I have a better measure of his skills, so when the time comes, he will be no match for me."

"Master, there is another problem."

"The one at the hospital?"

"No, master. Someone else has begun searching for information on the school. Someone else has begun asking questions."

"It does not matter. We will be moving soon anyway."

"But what if it is him, master?"

"If it is our great enemy, then we will simply have to devour him, won't we? We will not be stopped now, not after we have already come so far! Or do you doubt my powers even now?"

"No, master! Never!"

"Still, perhaps we had better investigate whomever is investigating us. Tomorrow you will go out and seek out the seekers. But do not draw needless attention to yourselves or to the school. Do you understand?"

"Yes, master!"

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