Temples of the Kanji

Chapter 1

Carissa is Greek for beloved one. In this fic I will be using the dubbed names and powers save when I talk about the temples. They will be referred to as Tenku (Strata), Kongo (Hardrock), Korin (Halo), Suiko (Torrent), and Rekka (Wildfire). When you see * it means the story is moving to a new setting or totally separate part of the story. When some thing is bracketed by ~ it means the person is talking to themselves or something like that. I don’t know, but it shouldn’t be that hard to decipher. By the way, Rowen rules!!!! ^+^

CHAPTER 1

Ryo gazed restlessly out at the torrent of rain out side while he absently scratched Whiteblaze behind the ear. It had rained all day yesterday and it looked as if today would be no better. He was sitting on the window seat with his head propped up against the glass while he watched the rainfall in a daze. Whiteblaze lifted his head and Ryo turned around to see what the guys were up to. Kento sat crouched in front of the TV playing one of his many games enthusastically. His nose was inches from the screen and he swayed with the movements of the game, crying out in rage as a "GAME OVER" flashed across the screen. Soft shuffling could be heard from the kitchen as Cye fixed lunch for the house full of guys, he hoped to lift there spirits. Kento stood up from the TV and crept over to the kitchen, hoping to steal a bite. A loud clang could be heard followed by a yelp and sullen Kento running out of the kitchen while nursing a nasty bump on the head from Cye’s frying pan. Ryo tried to suppress a chuckle and looked over to Mia and Yulie. They were playing a board game and neither looked thrilled over the results. Over on the couch Rowen was reading a thick brown book while one leg lay haphazardly over the side swinging in time with steady pound of rain on the roof. A sudden wail could be heard from down the hall and everyone looked up from what they were doing in time to see an enraged Sage storm into the living room. He stopped at the entranced and looked menacingly around the room. "Look at my hair!!!!##@*7%+?/!!! It will NEVER be the same again!!" Sage’s hair was a mess; it frizzed and fell limp around his head, the ends curling slightly. Kento started laughing hysterically will the others hid theirs behind their hands, knowing better. Sage glared daggers at Kento and whipped out a can of heavy-duty hair spray and gave Kento a face full. Kento choked and ran towards the kitchen to stick his head under the faucet, shoving Cye to the floor in his mad dash. At that point everyone burst into fits of laughter while Sage stormed back to the room he shared with Rowen. All the while mumbling about his dinner date and how he hated damp weather. Once the laughter subsided Kento came back into the room-dripping wet and they all started up again while Kento stormed off to his room to change into some dry clothes.

* *

Carissa hugged the wall tighter as an ensemble of men and women clad in ceremonial robes walked by chanting softly. Once they had passed her she continued towards the meadow of melodies, keeping a sharp eye out for more processions. That was the problem with festivals, it was the only time she could steal away yet was also the busiest time in the valley. She cursed silently to herself as her heel caught and she was forced to dive under a bush lest a shadow sentry discover her. Now that she was closer to the temple there would be more people. Suddenly she spotted a bulky figure slinking towards the back of the temple; she crawled closer and discovered it to be head priest Albatross. She paused at this, ~ Why would the old bird be stealing to the back of the temple? ~ Suddenly she saw another procession coming and hurried on her way in order to elude discovery. Upon reaching the meadow she gave out a silent mind call and waited patently under the cover of the great redwoods. Not a minuet later she heard a soft wicker and was greeted by a large white unicorn. ~ Hello old friend, are you ready Star Step? ~ He wickered softly and she gracefully alighted onto his back. ~ Lets go. But we’ll have to use the south exit since the ceremony takes place at the north one. ~ He tossed his silvery main and took off at a silent gallop. Upon arriving at the South Gate she slid down from Star Steps broad back and approached the massive pillars guarding passage to the valley. She approached carefully and placed her hand on the stone pedestal off to the side, whispering a soft incantation. The pillars glowed momentarily and then the solid rock wall before her shimmered and turned into a clear path leading to some dense forest. She jumped back onto Star Steps back and urged him through the gate. Once they had galloped through the air shimmered again and the rock face was there once more.

Star Step slowed to a comfterble canter once they were a good ways out of the mountains and enjoyed the quiet of the peaceful woods. Carissa relaxed and thought excitedly about what lay ahead. ~ Two whole weeks of blissful freedom, without all those old birds back home. ~ For two weeks the priests would be celebrating the festival of the moon, and wouldn’t notice little old her not being present. During the festivals everyone celebrated and prayed. That meant she wouldn’t have any lessons and could steal away to the real world. She loved it out here and wished she could stay forever, but that’s all it was, wishes. Suddenly she was jerked out of her thoughts by a sharp pain in her shoulder; she looked down in horror to discover a crudely crafted arrow to of cut clean through her right shoulder. Star Step gave a cry of distress as shadowy figures surrounded them and she slid to the ground with a whimper of fear. She opened her eyes in time to see six demon creatures move stealthily towards her and Star Step. All she could manage was a soft ~ run…. ~, Before slipping into uncioncious.

* *

Rowen lay on his bed staring absent mindedly at the plastered ceiling of the room he shared with Sage. He could hear Sage cursing from the bathroom about his hair and the inhumanity of having damp weather on the day of his big date with Susan. He rolled over in an attempt to lesson the aching pain in his head. He had excused himself from the living room to retire to his room for the evening; he had a pounding headache. He had thought it to be a regular headache and had taken some Advil earlier. Now the pain was worse and he couldn’t figure out why, he hadn’t had a migraine for years now. Suddenly the pain intensified and he curled up into a ball and rocked back and forth trying to take his mind off of the throbbing pain in his head by concentrating on Sage’s voice.

Sage looked at himself hopelessly in the mirror, it was a lost cause. His hair was frazzled beyond even his repair. He sighed in disappointment; he would have to cancel his date with Susan. Unless…he smiled at himself in the mirror. ~ You my handsome friend are a genius. ~ He took one last look at himself in the mirror before heading towards the door, " Hey Rowen, you know that hat of yours? Well I was wondering…" Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and ran over to Rowen’s rocking form. " Rowen? Hey are you all right buddy?" Once he reached Rowen he gasped, " Guys you had better get in here fast!" The guys all rushed in at Sage’s urgent cry and stopped in their tracks in shock. Rowen had his eye’s squeezed shut in pain and his kanji flickered madly on his forehead.

Rowen tried in vain to push the pain he felt to the back of his mind but couldn’t. He could sense that someone needed him, but whom? ~ She needs me…I can feel it. Where are you? ~ All of the sudden it stopped, as quickly as it had come. He sat up shakily and found that the guys had surrounded him while Mia held a damp cloth to his forehead. " We have to help her…" It came out as barley whisper but he had already moved Mia aside and made his way to the door. The guys followed him with concerned expressions.

Ryo managed to catch up with Rowen before he made it out the door and turned him around to face him. " Rowen who are you talking about? What just happened in there?"

Rowen fidgeted with urgency and looked at Ryo with worry clear on his face. " I don’t know Ryo, but something tells me some one needs our help. Now! I can’t explain it but I just know." He looked at Ryo with pleading eyes.

Ryo sighed in frustration and nodded, he trusted Rowen’s instincts. " Okay, lets go. After you!" Rowen looked at him appreciatively and ran out the door as he summoned his armor and leapt into the sky. The others followed suit and were soon running below him as they headed off towards the mountains. Ryo looked up at Rowen and sighed. He didn’t know what Rowen was talking about and didn’t understand why his kanji had reacted so strongly to it. But there was one thing he did know; Rowen rarely acted on impulse. In order for him do so without a single thought meant it was very urgent. But what could it possibly be?

Rowen glanced down at his friends and concentrated on the strong pull of his kanji towards the mountains. He didn’t know how, but he somehow could sense that someone needed his help, but whom? ~ Just hold on a bit longer, the Ronin Warriors are on their way! ~

* *

Star Step thrust his flashing horn through the torso of another one of the demon creatures as he made his way over to his partner Carissa. He cried in distress as he realized she had fallen unconscious and continued to fight off the demon warriors trying to stab at her with their long cruel spears. He didn’t know what to do, Carissa was in no condition to ride and he was to far from the valley to give out a mind cry to his kinsmen. Cari had ordered him to run but he refused to abandon her while she was totally defenseless. He couldn’t fight them off much longer and knew he needed help but would have to leave Cari behind in order to go get some. He suddenly realized that the creatures had maneuvered him so that he was slowly being herded away from his charge, he hadn’t thought these creatures to posses that much intelligence. ~ Never underestimate your enemies! Now Cari is in danger. ~ His small delicate ears picked up thrashing sounds coming towards him through the woods and again tried to mind call Cari, nothing. ~ I don’t know what to do! More soldiers are on their way through the woods and I can’t hold them off alone. ~ As the thrashing forms came closer he came to a grim decision, he would have to leave Cari and go get help. With one last fleeting look at his dear companion he turned on his heel and went tearing back into the mountains towards the valley. ~ I just hope I can get back in time…~

* *

Rowen could hear the sounds of a battle up ahead and picked up his pace. The others, being on foot, were a couple minutes behind him and he didn’t even wait for them to catch up upon reaching the battle scene. He looked around frantically for the source of his kanji’s distress and spotted it immediately. A slim girl in a sparkling navy dress with blond hair was crumpled on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood while demon like creatures slowly closed in on her. He immediately swooped down to her side and launched himself on the limb of a nearby tree. He had thought them safe up in the trees and realized otherwise as five of the creatures sprouted wings ands started towards him and his precious cargo.

Ryo arrived on the battle scene with the rest of the guys and spotted Rowen up on a tree limb holding a young girl. All of the sudden a bunch of demon creatures charged him and the guys while some others grew wings and alighted after Rowen. The creatures were the ugliest he had ever seen; they had horns and tails with two dominant colors, crimson red or a mottled green. He blocked an attack by one with his twin katanas and nearly reeled back at the incredible stench coming from the slobbering fanged mouth of the hideous creature. They smelled strongly of death and decay.

Sage rushed into the clearing and was momentarily distract by a flash of moonlight reflecting off of something white running off towards the mountains. That was all the creature needed, as it lashed towards him with long jagged claws, Sage knew there was no way he would be able to block the blow in time to save his life. Without warning a golden arrow whizzed pass his head to strike the creature in the chest as it gave out a strangled scream before falling to the moist ground. Sage reached up to brush his ear and was shocked when he found a faint trace of blood on his finger. He looked up at Rowen indignantly and scowled up at his cocky blue hared friend. " Hey! Watch where you’re pointing that thing! You could poke someone’s eye out withthose!"

Rowen gave Sage a lopsided grin before calling down to his ruffled friend. " Well if ya would watch where ya were going then a wouldn’t hafta always be saving yer ungrateful ass." He blocked another attack from one of the creatures and chuckled to himself over his friend’s predicament. He hadn’t of meant to nick him like that but wasn’t even about to admit that his aim was less than perfect.

Sage glared up at his best friend and was about to say something nasty when he was distracted by a horde of demons swarming around him. He sliced through one of them with his no- datchi while he fought back to back to back with Ryo. He’d get back at Rowen later.

As they cut down the last of the creatures they all rushed over to Rowen who had jumped down from his high perch to lay the strange girl down on the forest floor. He supported her upper body and inspected her wounded shoulder. As she lay there he took a closer look at the strange girl he had rescued so valiantly. She was tall and slender with a petite frame and a light complexion. She had long molten blond hair adorned with several light streaks that cascaded down her back, now matted with blood. Her angelic face was contorted in pain and her eyes long lashes were scrunched up in a state of deep concentration. A few strands of her hair were in her face and he tenderly brushed them aside with a gentle touch. His attention was drawn to her full red lips and he had a sudden urge to brush them against his. His eyes slowly wandered down the length of her body to look at the foreign dress she was wearing. It was fitting of her soft curves and the neckline was below the shoulders. It was a dark navy in color covered with something that caused it to sparkle like a star filled sky and had two slits up the sides that went all the way up to just below the waistline. He suddenly turned a crimson shade as his thoughts were interrupted by a partially suppressed chuckle from beside him. He turned around in embarrassment to be greeted by his friends amused looks. He whipped back around and studied the girls wound closely and spoke up so that they wouldn’t have the opportunity to make something of it. He fingered the arrow cautiously in order to test how securely it was embedded and whether or not it had hit the bone. "The arrows cut clean through er shoulder. I think it only grazed the bone but I can’t be sure. Were gonna hafta break off the arrow and pull it through, after that it’ll hafta be supported and we’ll hafta be sure ta stop the bleeding er else she’ll suffer from major blood loss."

Cye walked up concerned for the girl and confronted Rowen in a soft voice filled with worry for the strange girl. "Rowen, do you think she’ll be okay? She’s already lost a lot of blood." He saw Rowen wince slightly and immediately regretted what he said.

Ryo stepped up bravely to face Rowen, "Just tell us how we can help."

Rowen looked at all of them in gratitude as they all nodded in agreement with Ryo. He took a deep breath before going over the procedure of taking out the arrow. "Okay, Kento you hold down her legs while Ryo holds down her arms. Sage I need you to support her upper body and keep it steady. Cye, rip off the arm of my jacket and tear it into strips we can use to stop the bleeding and make a makeshift sling. After I break the arrow on the count of three I’m gonna pull out the arrow. Okay, Cye are those bandages ready yet." He positioned himself over her and prepared to snap off the end of the arrow.

* *

Carissa floated in a black void of pain. She vaguely remembered being told that when you lost consciousness the pain went away. ~ Well what do they know. ~ She could feel herself being moved around and could hear voices mumbling incoherent words. One got her attention especially; it was gentle and concerned. ~ Why is he concerned? ~ She could feel a warm touch and weight on her arms and legs. She slowly began to surface from consciousness and her senses were overwhelmed with pain, noise, and a comforting voice. ~ What was he saying? ~ As she slowly became alert she could barley make out the voice, " One, two…" As her star filled eyes slowly began to flutter open she could just barley make out the face of a handsome young man with sad blue eyes and an annoying blue lock of hair that fell in his eyes. She had a sudden urge to brush it aside before her world was filled with pain. She arched her back and tried to thrash her arms and legs before giving out a strangled cry of pain and once again sinking into unconsciousness. She noted with relief that this time there was no pain and she slipped into a world of thoughts.

********* Okay tell the truth now, was it awful? If it was please tell me. Because if I get bad feedback I’m going to quite writing because it is difficult to find the time for it. Please E-mail me your thoughts!!! By the way, the guys are all 17 besides Cye who’s 18. This story is dedicated my best friend Miri and my love Touma a.k.a Rowen. Miri because her first opinion of it was that it wasn’t dedicated to her and Touma because I wish he were here. Unfortunately he isn’t since he’s not real!!! L SOB L Well this is Carissa signing off!! J