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.

Sai hung up the phone and started toward the front door. He paused on the threshold and sighed. A scene he'd been expecting was playing out before him on the front driveway.

"Aw, Ryo, I wanted to go fishing with you today!"

Ryo sighed as he reached out and ruffled the younger boy's hair. "Sorry, Yuli," he said, "but I have to go into town. Didn't Mia explain it all to you?"

Yuli looked down and kicked at an imaginary rock on the ground. "Yeah, I know," he mumbled. "You guys need to get jobs to help pay the bills."

"There's a little more to it, but yeah, that's about it." Ryo opened the door to Mia's jeep.

"Hey, Yuli," Sai said, stepping forward. "We can go down to the lake and do Ryo's fishing for him if you want. I shouldn't think White Blaze will mind too much that I'm there instead of Ryo, right?"

Yuli brightened for a moment, then sighed and shook his head. "No offense, Sai," he said, forcing a smile to his face, "but it wouldn't be the same."

Sai nodded. He'd expected it, but he had to make the offer. The simple truth was that of the five Ronin Warriors Yuli was closest to Ryo. He could have fun with any of them--well, maybe not Sage, necessarily--and they all enjoyed teaching him new things, but he idolized Ryo.

"Well, maybe another time, then," Sai said. "Hey, why don't you go into town with Ryo, then? You know, give him some moral support?"

A huge smile erupted on Yuli's face. "Can I, Ryo? Please?"

"Sure thing, Yuli," Ryo said, smiling himself. "And later on I can drop you off at home so you won't need to hike back."

Sai coughed. "Actually, Ryo," he said, "you can stop at Yuli's house and pick up some things for him before bringing him back here."

Ryo and Yuli turned and stared at him. Sai had to fight down a smile. They'd done it at almost the exact same moment and in almost the exact same manner.

"Huh? Sai, what are you talking about?" Ryo demanded.

Sai hooked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing back towards the house. "Yuli's mother just called. She wanted to know if we'd mind having him as a guest for the week."

Yuli's smile returned. "Really, Sai?"

"Hey," someone said, "what's up?"

"I'm going to be staying here for a week, Rowan!" Yuli cheered.

"Cool," the blue-haired Ronin said. He turned to Sai. "So what's up?"

"Yuli's parents are going out of town for a week," Sai explained. "There's some sort of business conference they're attending. Yuli's mother thinks he'll be bored by the whole thing, so she asked if he could stay here while they're away. I said yes."

"That's great," Rowan said. "Hey, Yuli, want to go down to the lake? We can go do some fishing for White Blaze since Ryo has to go into town."

"I asked him already," Sai said.

"I'm going with Ryo," Yuli said. "We're going to stop at my house to pick up my things."

"Come on, Yuli," Ryo said, "let's get going."

"Right!" Yuli ran around to the other side of the jeep and jumped in.

Ryo turned back. "Hey, Sai, Rowan, can you--"

"No problem," Rowan said. "He'll get all the fish he wants."

"Thanks, guys." Ryo got into the jeep and closed the door.

Sai and Rowan watched as the jeep rumbled to a start, then turned and went up the driveway to the main road.

"So," Rowan said, "you think he has a chance at getting the job?"

"He's the only one that can do it," Sai said. "I know he'll get the job."

* * *

Yuli felt a little uneasy. The architecture that surrounded them was traditional Japanese, but it reminded him a lot of what he'd seen when he and Mia had gone with Anubis into the Netherworld to help the Ronin Warriors. He pressed a little closer to Ryo as they followed their guide down the corridors.

Ryo looked down at him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Yuli shook his head and relaxed. "Nothing," he said. And why should there be anything wrong? He was with Ryo of the Wildfire, the one who'd worn Hariel's Inferno armor and who had defeated Tulpa once and for all. He was perfectly safe, right? But he still felt nervous.

The architecture is supposed to be like this, he told himself. They were in a dojo, after all. They taught traditional martial arts here, and the building itself had been designed in the traditional way.

It all looked so familiar, though, almost exactly like the buildings he'd seen in the Netherworld. Yuli forced himself to think about something else, something more pleasant. Like what Ryo had told him on the way to the dojo.

"It's a teaching job," Ryo had said. "There was an opening for an instructor in swordsmanship at the Oninoseishin Dojo."

Yuli had felt a chill. "Doesn't that mean 'spirit of the ogre'?" he asked.

Ryo nodded. "That's one way of interpreting it," he said, "but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. It might simply mean that they teach students to fight fiercely and without quarter. But you can also interpret it to mean 'spirit of kindness' or 'spirit of mercy'. Either way makes sense."

"I guess," Yuli said slowly. "How come Sage didn't come with us?"

"Sage didn't think he'd fit in," Ryo said. "This is a traditional Japanese dojo, and his fighting style is more Western than Japanese."

Yuli had nodded and accepted the reason for the other Ronin's absence. Just now, though, as they followed the man who'd met them at the entrance, he'd have given anything if Sage of the Halo had been on his other side. Sage was intimidating, and sometimes even a little scary, but Yuli knew he could count on Sage to protect him from danger almost as much as he could count on Ryo.

Finally, after what seemed like at least an hour's trek into the interior of the dojo, they emerged into an enclosed courtyard and garden. A pond filled with koi lay to their left while a large swath of grass surrounded by neatly raked sand lay before them and to their right.

A tall man dressed in a black gi stood beside the pond, tossing in granules of some sort into the water, causing the fish to swarm and thrash before him. As they approached, the man turned around and moved to meet them.

"Master," their guide said, "this young man is applying for the instructor's position."

The other man nodded. "Thank you, Kuma. That will be all." He turned towards them.

Yuli immediately pressed up against Ryo's leg. There was something about the man's gaze that scared him. There was a coldness that reminded him of Sekhmet's eyes, especially when he'd just finished spreading some of his venom around.

It didn't reassure him that he felt Ryo stiffen as well.

Then, Ryo was bowing. "Konnichiwa," Ryo said.

"Greetings," the man said. "I am Ichima Manigami. I understand you're here to fill the instructor's position, Mr.--"

"Ryo."

"Mr. Ryo, then. So you're here to teach swordsmanship?"

"Yes."

"What are your credentials?"

Yuli wondered what Ryo would say. He knew little of Ryo's--or any of the Ronins', for that matter--life before the Dynasty attacked. Would Ryo say anything about being a Ronin Warrior? No, that would be stupid.

"I'm afraid I don't have any ranking to speak of," Ryo said. "However, my father taught me everything he knew, and he was a master swordsman."

Mr. Manigami rubbed his chin. "Since we have no way of verifying your skills in the usual manner, would you be willing to demonstrate your skills instead?"

"You mean, like in a kata drill?" Ryo asked, frowning.

The man shook his head. "No, Mr. Ryo, let me be more specific. Would you be willing to duel with some of the dojo's top instructors? You'll have the opportunity to demonstrate your abilities, and I'll have a chance to see if there is anything in your repertoire worth teaching to our students."

Yuli suddenly felt angry. Of course Ryo had things to teach! Ryo was the best, it had only been treachery on Tulpa's part that had nearly brought about Ryo's defeat. The instructors wouldn't stand a chance!

"I have no objection," Ryo said quietly.

"Very well," the man said, nodding. He turned and faced back the way they'd come in. "Nima! Shima! Goma! Hachima! I have a job for you!"

* * *

Ryo watched as the four men approached. There were some strange and unnatural things about them, like in the way they leaned forward as they walked, as though they were used to lumbering about like gorillas, or in the way they strode as though they were bulkier and bigger than they were. And there was something unsettling in their eyes, something that seemed cold and inhuman, or hot and inhuman.

Ryo blinked, and suddenly he was looking at four ordinary men. They were taller than most, and seemed to fill their gi to swelling, but they were simply ordinary men. Each one held a sheathed katana in their hands; one of them carried two. He handed the sword over to Mr. Manigami.

"Thank you, Hachima." The man turned towards Ryo, handling the blade of the sword delicately, as though the polished metal were bare instead of hidden by the wooden guard. "I do not think you have a sword with you, Mr. Ryo?"

Ryo shook his head. "I hadn't expected to need to prove myself today," he admitted.

"Then I think this will serve as an adequate tool for your demonstration," the man said, holding out the sword, the hilt-end out.

Ryo nodded and reached out for the sword. The moment his hand touched the hilt, however, he felt a sudden sense of danger and menace, as though the sword had belonged to someone evil. The sensation faded immediately, though, and Ryo shook his head.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Ryo?"

Ryo immediately dismissed that strange sensation. Maybe he was just nervous about the whole thing. "No, everything is fine."

"Good," the man said. "Then let the demonstration begin. Nima!"

Ryo jumped back as one of the men sprang into action, charging towards him with his sword--still sheathed, fortunately--held over his head. Ryo dodged the first blow and parried the second, glancing briefly over his shoulder at Yuli, who hadn't had time to step back.

"Yuli, get out of the way!" Ryo shouted as he parried another blow. From the corner of his eye he could see the boy scrambling towards the corridor they'd entered the courtyard from.

With Yuli out of danger, Ryo was able to concentrate on the opponent in front of him. He soon caught the rhythm of the man's strikes, and quickly turned the tables on him, forcing the man on the defensive.

He hadn't let himself fall out of practice even after they defeated the Dynasty. When he was battling their minions, however, he hadn't bothered to control his strength: they had been empty suits of armor, enchanted into a semblance of life by the powers of Tulpa's nether spirits. Now, though, his muscles started to ache as he controlled his motions, keenly aware that this time his opponents were not evil beings but living, breathing men who didn't have the protection of the Dark Warlords' armors.

"Shima!"

Ryo blinked as another man charged at him from the side. He fell off his first opponent, deftly parrying short, quick jabs at his face and torso.

"Hey, no fair!" Yuli shouted.

"Mr. Ryo," Manigami called, "some of our students enroll to learn the traditional ways of swordsmanship and the discipline of spirit that goes with it. Other students enroll to learn self-defense against bullies and the like. I think you'll agree that a controlled sparring match with an honorable opponent and a street-fight with a common thug are two entirely different things, yes?"

Ryo heard the man's words and agreed with them, but he couldn't help feeling slightly disillusioned about the dojo. Maybe Yuli's first interpretation of the name was correct. Then again, he and the other Ronin Warriors had given Anubis a chance, and he had worn the Armor of Cruelty. What was in a name, after all?

As he fended off the two attackers, he found himself wishing for another sword. During all the battles against the Dynasty soldiers--and there had been hordes of them for each Ronin Warrior--he'd always had the two swords of Wildfire, or the two Soulswords of Fervor when he wore the Inferno Armor.

"Goma!"

Ryo tensed, prepared to spar with a third attacker. To his surprise, though, the charge he expected didn't come. Instead, the first two, Nima and Shima, renewed their attacks with a ferocity that was almost bestial in nature.

"Ryo, behind you!"

Yuli's warning came almost too late. It was only through his flexibility and dexterity that he was able to contort his body to evade Goma's blow and let the swords of Nima and Shima catch it instead. He jumped out of the way while the three men shook their hands from the force of the blows.

"Hachima!" Manigami's voice had a harsh edge to it, as though he hadn't expected Ryo to be such a tough opponent.

The fourth man didn't charge forward like the first two, or try to get behind him like the third. Instead, he began to circle warily, looking for a hole in Ryo's defense. Ryo slowly rotated as well, keeping a portion of his awareness on the three other opponents who had only just recovered their swords and were slowly moving into position to surround him.

Suddenly, all four men charged at once. This time, though Hachima and Shima raised their swords over their heads, Nima moved into a strange weaving pattern of spins and somersaults, each of which included a sudden kick or jab with a foot or fist. Goma had also begun a series of rapid spins, but he held his sword blade out, becoming a potentially lethal whirlwind as he danced in towards Ryo.

Now he definitely did not like the way things were going. It was one thing to battle Dynasty soldiers who you knew would resort to any and all means to win a fight, but quite another to battle supposedly honorable instructors who had suddenly decided that using their fists and feet was acceptable in combat.

Ryo ducked down as Goma spun in towards him, then somersaulted backwards, kicking out and knocking the man's sword from his hand. Goma lost his balance and toppled to the ground, stunned.

Ryo dodged Shima's thrust and caught hold of Goma's sword as it fell towards the ground. Again he felt the strange sensation of menace, but he shoved it aside as he blocked Nima's kick and Hachima's jab.

Now, with one sword in each hand, Ryo felt more comfortable. He began a series of jabs and thrusts that quickly drove the four men back. Goma was already unarmed, so Ryo focused his attention on the other three. In short order he'd knocked their swords from their hands.

Then, before he could shut his eyes, Goma tossed a handful of sand into his face. Blinded, Ryo staggered back.

"Ryo!"

Ryo quickly put distance between himself and the four men. He'd fought blind before, against Sekhmet when that warlord had been trying to keep him from awakening Sage. This time, though, there would be no time to discipline his other senses to see for him, no swords of Wildfire to guide him through the darkness.

Ryo felt anger flaring in him, and it turned into a burning rage that extended to his very body. The hilts of the swords in his hands warmed suddenly, and Ryo immediately damped down his fury. These weren't the swords of Wildfire, they weren't designed to channel his power, no more than the swords of Wildfire were designed to channel the power of the Inferno armor.

He took the first blow to his side, then another to his left leg. Now, however, he'd managed to blink the sand away and could see again. Swift slashes and thrusts left his four opponents on the ground, groaning or unconscious.

Ryo turned and glared at Manigami. "That was dirty," he snarled.

"No more than you'd expect from a gang of bullies," the man said calmly. "Bullies have no honor, Mr. Ryo. They will use any and all means to sustain their power. Ask any of our pupils who are here to learn self-defense and they will tell you the same."

Ryo forced himself to calm down. He took several deep breaths, then lowered the swords. "Very well," he said. "I've fought against your instructors. Have I proven my skills to you?"

"You have indeed, Mr. Ryo," Manigami said. "The job is yours if you want it."

Ryo was strongly tempted to turn it down. How could he even contemplate working in such a place? How could he, the warrior of virtue, work in a place apparently devoid of honor?

Be reasonable, he told himself. You need this job, and what he said about bullies is true. Who knows? Maybe you can change things around here.

Ryo looked up. "I'd like the job, please."

Manigami nodded. "You'll begin tomorrow with two of the beginning classes. We'll pair you up with instructor Kitano and see how well you do with them. If everything goes well, we'll move you up to one of the intermediate classes next week, and possibly one of the advanced classes as well. Is this all right with you?"

* * *

"So you accepted the job?" Kento asked.

Ryo grunted. "Yeah," he muttered. "Sai, a little lower, would you?"

Sai moved his hands down along Ryo's spine, pressing deeply into the other Ronin's skin, kneading the taut, tight muscles beneath the skin. "What did they put you through, Ryo?" he asked. "I've never seen you this tense before!"

Ryo laughed softly. "Well, it isn't easy having to hold back after all this time, Sai," he said. "Fighting the Dynasty is one thing, this was entirely different."

Sai nodded. He knew as well as any of them that their strength, while an asset against the Dynasty's soldiers and warlords, was a potential danger when they dealt with ordinary foes. And after all those battles at full strength and power, fighting with anything less would be a trial.

Ryo groaned softly. "Right there, Sai," he whispered.

Sai complied, focusing his attention on a spot several centimeters above his waist and to the left of his spine. Ryo's groan turned into a moan of pain, then into a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Sai."

"No problem," Sai said. He continued his massage.

"Hey, we're home!" a voice announced.

"We're in here, Rowan," Yuli called, wrestling with White Blaze, who simply rolled over and pinned Yuli to the floor. "Hey, get off of me!"

Rowan, Sage, and Mia entered the living. "So, how did it--" Rowan broke off. "Hey, what's wrong with Ryo?"

"He got the job," Kento said.

"But he had to hold back his strength to do it," Yuli added. He was still squriming out from under the huge tiger. "White Blaze! Come on!"

"It wasn't easy," Ryo said.

"How did you guys do?" Sai asked.

Sage shook his head. "There was nothing available," he said. "No one wants to hire anyone extra because profits are going to be slim as it is."

"They're keeping it all strictly in-house," Rowan added. "That means no outsiders allowed."

Sai felt Ryo shift underneath his hands. "Well, at least we have a start," he sighed. He sounded depressed. "I can ask at the dojo and see if there's something for you, Sage."

"No, that's okay," the wearer of the Halo armor said. "We'll think of something."

"White Blaze, get off already!" Yuli shouted. "You're too heavy!"

Sai suppressed a grin as the big cat blithely ignored the little boy pinned under him. Then he felt Ryo moving again. He watched as their leader got to his feet.

"Come one, White Blaze," he said. His voice was still dejected and sad.

Sai blinked as Rowan suddenly darted across the room and tackled Ryo. "Rowan, what--" he heard Ryo begin. Then their leader dissolved into laughter as Rowan began tickling him mercilessly.

"Cheer up, Ryo," Rowan said, "tomorrow's another day. We'll find something, right?"

"Sai!" Ryo gasped. "Sage! Anybody! Help!"

"Gangway, coming through!" Kento shouted. He launched himself at Rowan and bowled the blue-haired Ronin over. He immediately began tickling him.

Ryo started to rise, but Sage was suddenly on top of him, jabbing at the spot right under Ryo's ribs, eliciting a new wave of laughter from the other Ronin. Off to one side White Blaze had jumped up, freeing Yuli, who immediately tried to tackle White Blaze again, who promptly sat down on Yuli's legs.

Sai studied the tableau of wrestling, tickling, laughing Ronins, a shouting boy and a smug cat. He turned to Mia. "Shall I start dinner now?" he asked.

"I'll help," she offered. The two of them started towards the kitchen.

"Oh, no you don't," someone said. Sai felt a hand catch hold of his ankle.

"Help!" he cried as he was pulled backwards onto Sage and Ryo. Rowan pulled away from Kento and began tickling him. "Mia!" Sai gasped, trying to fight free while his sides convulsed with laughter.

"I'll take care of dinner, Sai," Mia said quickly, fleeing from the room before she could get pulled into the mess, too.

"Traitor!" Sai called after her, before the tickling became too much and he fell to the merciless tickling of his fellow Ronins.

* * *

"You have his swords?"

"Yes, master."

"And?"

"Nothing, master."

"Nothing? Let me see them."

"Something has broken the spell, master, something of great power. See the char marks on the hilts?"

"He has power, then."

"Yes, master."

"Good. Get rid of these. They're of no use to us now."

"Yes, master."

"Alert the others. We cannot let this new blood go to waste."

"Yes, master."

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