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.
Mia hit the equal key on the adding machine without looking, waiting for it to print out the figure and advance the tape while she straightened out the stack of papers before her. When everything was straight, she glanced over at the display. She started to look away, but she was suddenly unsure of what she'd seen. She turned back warily, and gazed at the figure.
Her eyes widened in shock. The papers she'd just straightened out went flying as she searched frantically for one document in particular. Finding it, she scanned through its contents for the information she was looking for.
She closed her eyes as she read through the paper. Then, she slowly turned to face the adding machine, hoping against hope that she'd misread the numbers there or that, somehow, they had changed.
She opened her eyes.
No such luck.
She sighed and sank back in her chair dejectedly. She considered adding the figures again, but decided against it. When it came to using the adding machine, she never missed. Besides, she'd gone through the whole thing once before, this second time was only to ensure that she had indeed added everything correctly. The final sum had come out exactly the same as the first time. Therefore, there could be no mistake.
There was no helping it. She had to tell the guys. She hated to do it, but Ryo and Rowan were entirely too perceptive, and Sai especially sensitive to her moods. They'd know something was wrong the moment she entered the room.
Mia stood up and went out onto the balcony outside her office. Her office, because this house--once her grandfather's--was now her house, and the office that had been his now belonged to her. After all sorts of complications--not the least being his death during the Dynasty's imprisonment of Toyama's inhabitants--his estate had finally been settled, and in his will he'd named her the heir and recipient of everything he had.
But she had never expected that she wouldn't be able to enjoy it for even a moment, not with the real world and all its demands intruding on her so forcefully.
She leaned against the railing of the balcony and gazed down at the lake. It shimmered with the light of the midmorning sun. As she watched, huge shadows crept across its surface, keeping pace with the clouds that floated overhead.
It wasn't fair, she thought. A part of her nearly yearned for the days when their lives were constantly in danger from the Dynasty. Then it had all been a struggle between simple concepts like good and evil, and their greatest goal was simply to get through another day as they fought against Emperor Tulpa, Lady Kayura, the Dark Warlords, and their hordes of nether spirits.
But compared to the battles to be fought in the mundanity of everyday life, facing down the Dynasty was child's play.
She sighed and went back inside to sit behind her desk.
There was really no helping it, she thought. There were only two possible solutions, and she refused to contemplate the first and most obvious: asking the guys to leave.
How could she? After all they'd been through together, she could sooner part with her left arm than with the Ronin Warriors. And even if she could bring herself to ask them to move out, she didn't want to be responsible for dividing them. With things as they were in the world, there was no way they could possibly find an apartment for all five of them. They'd have to split up to find separate lodgings.
Not that she'd really be separating them. They were too close for that. The five Ronin armors had forged a powerful bond among them, strengthened by their own mutual respect for one another and their loyalty to a common cause. And of course, Hariel's white Armor of Inferno had drawn them together into a single being of unimaginable power. Her grandfather's research couldn't prove it, but she suspected that a part of each Ronin Warrior lived in each of the others and that no matter what happened--even with the relinquishing of their armor--they would always share that connection.
And what's more, she couldn't help but recognize that they'd become a family of sorts. She was both mother and sister to them all, taking care of all the details that needed attending to. The guys were her brothers, though they sometimes fulfilled other roles as well. Cool, stern Sage often became their father, providing the voice of reason amid the chaos that usually reigned in the house. Sometimes, though, it was quick, intelligent Rowan who took that role with his keen insights and broad expanse of knowledge. Other times it was quiet, compassionate Sai whose sensitivity to others' feelings kept things from getting too far out of hand. Even loud, brash Kento became the father figure, especially when a physical presence was needed to reassert control.
Fiery, charismatic Ryo somehow managed to be both younger and older brother at the same time. The other Ronin Warriors would follow him through the fires of the underworld if he asked it of them--such was the loyalty he inspired in them--yet he often deferred to Sage or Rowan's judgments as though one of them was the leader instead of him, or allowed Sai's gentle voice and touch to dissuade him from rashness.
And of course, there was Yuli, who was with them more often than not, spending many a night with them instead of returning home to his parents. Fortunately, his parents had seen firsthand how much they all liked and cared for him, especially Ryo, who had forged a special bond with the boy who had been his biggest champion and most devoted supporter.
Mia smiled at the memories that welled up, then stood up. There was no way she was going to destroy this family. That left only one solution to their problems, and she doubted the guys were going to object.
They were a family, after all. And families stuck together.
* * *
Kento blinked. "Jobs? You want us to get jobs?"
Mia shook her head. "It isn't that I want you to get jobs. You must get jobs." She sighed. "The long and the short of it is that we're nearly broke."
You mean you're nearly broke, Ryo thought to himself, but he felt touched that Mia had included them all. It meant that she, too, felt like they were a family meant to stay together.
He, Rowan, and Sai had been discussing the matter for a while now. They all realized that there was no way Mia could continue to support them all the way she had during the Dynasty's invasion. Then, they'd all been too busy fighting to give it much thought. Now, though, they knew that they were a considerable drain on Mia's funds. Not even the influx of her inheritance would change that.
"We're broke?" Kento said, staring. "I don't get it. What about everything you got from your grandfather's will?"
Mia looked down at the document in her hands. "Much of what he left me is valuable, but they're so special that I'm reluctant to sell any of them. If we can't do something soon, I won't have any choice but to start selling things off."
Ryo glanced at Rowan, who nodded back. It was what they were talking about all right.
"You see, Kento," Mia continued, "Grandfather owned a lot of things and didn't have a whole lot of loose funds." She made a sweeping gesture. "All of his money was tied in to this house and its contents. And I don't want to sell the house or anything inside of it."
"And you shouldn't," Sai said softly. "Everything here is a part of your life, and a part of our lives now, too."
"Sai's right," Rowan said. "Don't worry about it, Mia. We don't mind finding jobs."
"We have a problem, though," Sage said quietly from his seat by the wall.
Everyone looked at him. "Sage?" Ryo said. "What problem?"
Sage stood up and started pacing. "The fact is, Ryo, that I seriously doubt that any employer in his right mind is about to hire five young men whose previous job was saving the world from an extra-dimensional evil."
Ryo flushed. What Sage said was true. They could hardly list "saving the world" on their resumes. And now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure any of them really had any exceptional vocational skills. True, Rowan and Sage were extremely intelligent, and Sai was a great cook, and Kento...well, Kento was strong and could lift cars with ease. But could they use these disparate skills and talents to make a living?
"Mia," Sai said, "exactly what area are we spending the most money in?"
"Food," she said.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Kento said quickly.
Mia shook her head. "Nobody's saying it is, Kento. The truth is that it's all of us. Before it was only my grandfather and me living here, and we could get by going to the market maybe once every two weeks. Now, though we have seven mouths to feed--eight if we count Yuli--and I have to go to the market twice a week."
Ryo sighed inwardly, knowing that he, more than Kento, was responsible for the costs. Much of the food bought by Mia consisted of raw meat that they fed White Blaze. And since White Blaze was a huge tiger, it meant they had to buy a lot of meat to keep him satisfied. Of course, Ryo took him to the lake everyday to catch fish for him, but White Blaze's upkeep still placed a huge drain on their funds.
"Everything else is fine," Mia was saying. "Utilities, cable television, phone bill, Internet accounts, and all that...no problem. It's just that we're buying so much food nowadays that we've nearly exhausted all our funds." She turned away. "And of course the attorney's fees and the inheritance tax cut everything in half," she added bitterly.
Ryo glanced over at the others. Only Kento seemed surprised by their current state of affairs. Ryo exchanged pointed looks with Sai, Rowan, and Sage. They all nodded to him.
He sighed and straightened. "Don't worry, Mia," he said calmly. "Somehow we'll all find jobs and start earning our keep around here."
She started. "Oh, no," she gasped, "I didn't mean it like that! I want you all to stay here"
Ryo nodded. "Mia, we've been living here rent free ever since we defeated Tulpa and the Dynasty. All I'm saying is that it's time we started contributing to the income around here." He glanced at the others again, then looked back at Mia. "Besides," he said, smiling, "a family takes care of each other."
Mia flushed. "A family?" she whispered.
"A family," Sage said as he, Rowan, and Sai drew closer. Kento belatedly joined them.
"A family that needs to settle down into peaceful times," Rowan said. "Don't worry, Mia. We'll find jobs. After the destruction caused by Tulpa, I'm sure there are a lot of things we can do to help rebuild the city, right?"
Ryo nodded. "So don't worry, Mia. Tomorrow we'll start looking around for jobs, okay?"
Mia looked up and smiled. "Okay."
"Okay!" Kento shouted. "Now that that's all taken care of, when do we eat?"
Everyone groaned and dogpiled on Kento. Even Mia.
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