I See That I Was Mistaken

Then Happy I, a slashfic in four parts

Rating: NC-17 for graphic male-male sex

Pairings: Anubis/Cye, Dais/Sehkmet, Kale/Ryo, Kento/Sage, Rowen/Yuli

Disclaimer: "The Ronin Warriors," with its related characters and themes, does not belong to me. I make no money from this venture.

Dedication: This slashfic is for Mink and Ewan McGregor and Laura.

Wherein Kento makes an inspirational speech; Dais quotes Shakespeare; and Sehkmet's sort of weird, isn't he?

"Then Happy I" Part One: I See That I Was Mistaken

Ryo was at a loss for words. He'd been in the backyard talking with Kento about the broken lawn mower, and since Kento could fix it better than he could, not to mention that he didn't want Cye to rope him into weeding the flowerbeds, he'd rounded the corner of the house to make his escape, and here he was, staring at his tiger, his White Blaze - - not that White Blaze was by any means a pet or possession - - and the man with White Blaze. The tall, broad-shouldered man whose strong, capable hands were scratching White Blaze's chin. Everyone in the world was afraid of the huge tiger, except for a select handful - - namely, the inhabitants of this very house, which this man certainly was not. He took in the monk's clothing and the crimson hair spilling from beneath the broad-rimmed hat; he noted the familiar staff.

A tingle at the back of his brain noted Cye's arrival behind him.

"Oh," came a soft, shocked sound.

The man's head lifted; the hat obscured much of his face. "Wildfire, Torrent."

"Anubis," Ryo said. "You can't be Anubis. Anubis is dead. We saw him die." He heard Kento run up behind them as he also heard the front door. Apparently Cye had called the others.

"Anubis?" came Yuli's excited cry.

"Anubis is dead," Kento protested. "Or is this like when White Blaze was revived through Black Blaze?"

"Who are you and what do you want?" Rowen demanded.

"I have come to ask the Ronin Warriors for their help."

"To help you?" Ryo asked. "We don't even know who you are."

"To help my friends," the monk explained. "I ask you to help my friends. They have been stranded in the Dynasty. They do not belong there, not anymore. Neither do they belong here. I ask you to assist them in their transition, to introduce them to this life on this world."

"Friends in the Dynasty?" Rowen repeated. "Anyone with friends in the Dynasty gets no help from us."

"If you're Anubis, who are your friends?" Kento asked. "Dais and Kale and Sehkmet? No way are we helping them!"

"If he's the Ancient, or in the Ancient's place, or Anubis - - you guys always did whatever they said, you never disagreed, they were always right," Yuli said. "The Ancient and Anubis helped you, saved you, showed you-"

"Anyone can put on the monk suit," Rowen cut him off. "We aren't helping."

"Sage?" Ryo asked. "You got anything to say?" He didn't move his eyes; he was too busy staring at the man with White Blaze, but he'd registered Sage's presence.

"I want to see your face," Sage said firmly.

The man raised the hand not on the staff, the one that had been scratching White Blaze, and pulled off the hat, lowering it to his side. If the build, the hair, and that distinctive nasal voice hadn't given away his identity before, now there was no doubt that they faced Anubis.

"Cye?" Ryo asked. He wanted to hear from everyone before making a decision.

"How can we help?" Cye asked Anubis. His voice was soft, but everyone heard.

"Cye!" Rowen exclaimed. "We aren't helping them! They're the evil guys! Remember Sehkmet, the one-"

"If Anubis wants our help, he deserves it," Cye said, "and he shall get it." Cye's voice was louder now, and his tone left no room for argument. Rowen strode from the front porch to stand facing Cye, angry. Yuli trotted after Rowen; Sage followed more slowly with typical graceful languor.

"You want to help Dais, Kale, and Sehkmet. You want to help the evil bastards who fought for Talpa and destroyed-"

"I trust Anubis. He saved us, He sacrificed himself. He deserves our assistance. In the end, the Dark Warlords were our allies." Cye didn't back down from Rowen.

"You trust Anubis." Everyone was staring at Cye, astonished. Of course Anubis had done everything that Cye'd just said, but still, to trust a Dark Warlord, even one who'd left Talpa? For Cye to trust Anubis, well, that said a lot. Ryo was beginning to waver in favor of Anubis now. Rowen, however, wasn't letting it go. "You trust Anubis. The guy who was Talpa's head evil guy. The guy who says 'quake with fear' so terrifyingly you shit your pants. I still have nightmares about this bastard and you want us to help him?"

"Maybe the nightmares will go," Cye said softly. "Maybe we need to help them for our own sake as much as for theirs."

"What do you say, guys?" Ryo asked.

"Well, if White Blaze and Cye are okay with it, that cinches it, doesn't it?" Rowen snapped.

"Rowen," Ryo said, displeased. "Kento?"

"I'll do whatever you say, Ryo," Kento said.

"Typical," Rowen muttered.

"What's wrong with you?" Kento asked. "I know it's scary to think of having to see them again, even having Anubis here is giving me serious creeps like I'd rather have on my armor right now, but aren't we supposed to help people? And it's true, Talpa's gone, the Dark Warlords did help us out in the end, so maybe we should try, for the sake of all the good stuff we stand for. I'd rather do it and face the evil than chicken out now and hate myself for it."

Cye squeezed Kento's forearm in gratitude.

"Sage?" Ryo asked.

"Let's invite the boys over and see what they have to say for themselves," Sage suggested dryly.

"Rowen?" Ryo persisted.

"Sure," Rowen said tightly, "let's invite the boys over. For tea. And hemlock."

Ryo walked over to Anubis, Yuli at his side. Anubis was taller than Sage, who was taller than Rowen, who was taller than Ryo. "They're coming here?"

"With your permission." The hat was on again; he could see Anubis' chin, mouth, a bit of nose. He'd seen that mouth twisted in cruel sadism. "Tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure," Ryo said. "We'll talk then."

"Thank you, Wildfire, Ronins. Yuli. White Blaze." Anubis walked away, staff clanking slightly, that familiar chiming sound that echoed and unrooted memories.

"Tomorrow afternoon," Rowen said. "Great. As long as I don't have to miss 'General Hospital.'" He turned and stormed into the house, slamming the door. Sage withdrew as well.

"You think they'll come in their armor?" Yuli asked. "Or do they have clothes?"

"Which would be scarier?" Ryo asked. Yuli laughed. At least someone could find levity here.

"That was a nice speech, Kento," Cye said.

"I gave a speech?"

"It was inspirational," Cye said. "You should make sense more often."

"Keep talking, Fishy, and I'll run my lawnmower through your daffodils."

"They're geraniums, Kento, and don't call me that," Cye said. "Really, I think that you even swayed Sage."

"Wow." Kento went wide-eyed. "You mean, Sage lets people sway him?" He was awed. "I sort of thought that he was above letting other people's opinions matter."

"Which just proves that you should make sense more often," Cye said. "Go ask Rowen to help you fix the lawnmower; it'll make him feel better. Go on." Cye shoved Kento toward the house. Kento went obediently. Ryo and Yuli stood with Cye.

"You really think we can trust them?" Ryo asked Cye.

"I trust Anubis," Cye said. "The other Dark Warlords, no, of course not. But I trust Anubis, so if he wants us to help them, we should help them."

"What's he doing here?" Ryo asked. "He's dead. We all saw it."

"I don't know," Cye said. "Has he been in the Dynasty all of this time?"

"We're definitely getting some answers tomorrow," Ryo said.

"Well, until then, you can help me to pull some weeds. You too, Yuli."

"Shoulda stayed in the house," Yuli muttered, as Ryo's heart sank and they followed Cye back around the house again.

The following morning, Rowen was in a foul mood. They'd all had nightmares, even Yuli, about the Dynasty. Even Kento had less of an appetite than usual. Sage was withdrawn; Kento was nervous; Rowen was snappish and rude; Ryo was dreading noon; Yuli was highstrung. Only Cye seemed calm, which made everyone more unbalanced in reaction to his placidity. Noon came, then one o'clock, and there was a knock at the front door.

Everyone walked to the foyer. All six of them looked at the front door as though trying to see through the wood.

"Answer it," Rowen snapped. "It's what you wanted. They're here."

White Blaze came and looked at the door, too. Ryo reached forth a hand and twisted the knob; he pulled.

So that's what they looked like. Ryo didn't even know which was which. There were three men on the porch. The tallest was heavily built along Kento's lines, with short spiky dark blue hair, small features, and a scar beneath his left eye, a badly healed cross. One had white hair past his shoulders, a patch over one blue eye, and clear pale pink skin. The third was inhuman, with green hair and purple-lidded eyes.

"Dais," Kento said, backing up into Cye.

"Hardrock," said the white-haired man. His voice made Kento reach for the armor ball in one pocket. Cye took Kento's hands and held them tightly for support.

"Torrent," said the green-haired man. Cye's head snapped up; sea-colored eyes stared in horror. Seeing the Dark Warlords face-to-face made it all seem very real; here were their great enemies, before their eyes, not hidden behind armor and Talpa. On their very doorstep.

"You must be Kale," Rowen said to the remaining one, the blue-haired one.

"You guys wanna come in?" Ryo asked. "Where's Anubis?" In response, five eyes looked past his shoulder. Ryo turned slightly, then whirled about to face Anubis.

"Holy shit," Rowen said. "How'd you get in here? Sage, I'll swear whenever I feel like it, okay?" Apparently Sage had chastised Rowen through their psychic link. Ryo wondered whether the Dark Warlords shared one.

"Tell me that isn't Yuli," Kale said in that high, rapid voice that Sage remembered well.

"You know my name," Yuli said, frightened.

"After hearing these idiots yell it constantly, we caught on," Kale replied.

"Is 'idiots' a step above 'Ronin rodent'?" Rowen asked.

"Yes," Kale said, glaring at him.

"Come and sit in the living room," Cye said, releasing Kento's hands and tugging Ryo out of the way. "It's right through here - - you can tell us your plans and how we can help you."

"Do you own clothes?" Rowen asked. The three newcomers were in their under armor, which the Ronins and Yuli had never seen.

"Do you?" Dais asked, casting a glance at Rowen's attire.

"No!" Cye protested, holding onto Rowen's elbow to keep the archer from flying after Dais as they all filed into the living room. "Rowen, this is a very tense situation, and you aren't helping."

"Fine. Send me to my room, then." Rowen stormed into the living room and glared at the Dark Warlords. The group assembled around the room: Kale, Sehkmet, and Dais on the sofa, Cye and Ryo on the loveseat, Yuli and Kento behind the loveseat, Rowen and Sage against the wall facing the sofa, Anubis in his monk's robes complete with hat and staff standing in the center. "At least loose the props," Rowen snapped. Anubis handed Kale the hat and staff, which were propped on and against the sofa arm, respectively. Then Anubis made the very human gesture of running his hand through his hair, which made Yuli recall that these were simply men, just four guys who'd fallen in with a bad crowd and were trying to reenter society. Suddenly it was all much simpler.

"We can take care of certain aspects ourselves," Anubis said. "Birth certificates, for example. We'll need to establish identities and pasts. The part where help is needed is somewhat more mundane. How to drive a car, how to run a dishwasher, what clothes to buy, how a CD player works, what foods to eat. We've never worn jeans or flushed a toilet or turned a light switch. We haven't eaten in a very long time. We've never shopped or seen a movie or watched any of the modern sports."

Cye and Ryo had a quick discussion.

"They'll have to live here, with us, while we teach them what the world's like. We can take them out, show them things, and here they can practice-"

"Cye, they can't stay here! You'll be able to sleep with them in the next room? You'll be able to walk into a room and see Sehkmet there?"

"We have to help them, Ryo. They aren't part of the Dynasty, and if we don't help who can?"

"Rowen'll throw a fit. You're asking too much, Cye. I don't think that any one of us can face these guys at the breakfast table."

"It's our job. It's our duty. When Anubis left Talpa, we weren't very supportive; we were suspicious, threatening, and uncooperative. I think that we ought to make a better attempt this time."

"Kento, Cye wants them to stay here while we teach them about Earth 2000."

"I'll back you up on whatever you decide, Ryo."

"Thanks, Kento. Sage, what do you say to having them live here with us while we show them the ropes?"

"Kale in my home?"

"What do you say?"

"Keep him out of my room."

"Rowen, we want the guys to stay here while we show them-"

"Here?! You want them to be here? To live in our home?" Rowen shouted.

"I don't get this," Kento said. "We're the ones who had our own personal evil guy after him. Dais is my own personal Hell, I'm wetting my pants at the sight of him, his voice gives me nightmares, and you're the one-"

"Did that make it any easier for me? Knowing that they were after you, knowing that they were making it a point to-"

"We're not getting into this here and now," Sage said. "Not in front of them."

"Never show your enemy your weakness?" Rowen asked. "It's a little late for that, Sage. They know we're terrified of them."

"We beat them," Sage said. "We won."

"Did we?" Rowen asked. "Does it feel like it?"

"I wonder whether they'll want to stay here at all," Cye said, casting Rowen a look, unhappy with Rowen's rudeness. "We don't have ten bedrooms, but if some of us are willing to share, we should all fit. Tomorrow we can go shopping, and I'll cook for you to introduce you to modern foods. Perhaps I should be the one to take you on a house tour and familiarize you with the appliances, since I'm the only one who seems to understand what a washing machine and vacuum cleaner do." He rose. Everyone else stood, too, in response. "Do you have any belongings?"

"We left everything in the Dynasty," Dais said.

"All right. Well, I assume that Sage would rather not be disturbed, and moving my aquariums would take some work. We have seven bedrooms. Yuli, would you mind giving up your room?"

"He can stay with me," Rowen said.

"All right. Kento, would you mind giving up your room as well?"

"I'm not letting Dais in there."

"Perhaps Dais can take Yuli's room, then. Anubis, will you...? Then two of you can take Kento's room, and the other can share Yuli's room with Dais. Kento..."

Kento looked from Cye, to Ryo, to Sage, and back to Cye. "I'll sleep in your room."

"Kento, you know full well that you won't." Dark Warlord eyebrows raised, wondering what that meant.

"I'll stay with Ryo."

"No, you won't, and you know it." More and more interesting.

"I'll sleep in the living room."

Cye sighed. "Fine. You can move your belongings to my room and sleep in the living room. Anyone interested in a house tour, follow me. Oh, and if we're going shopping tomorrow, we'll have to scrounge up some clothes for our guests."

"They are not wearing our clothes," Rowen said.

"Would you rather they went naked, Rowen?" Cye asked, and left the room.

"Did Cye just ask that?" Kento asked. "Sweet proper little Cye?"

"I hope not," Cye said from the hallway. Ryo laughed.

Yuli trailed Cye and the four Dark Warlords through the house, interested in the tour. He'd seen the Ronin Warriors use the psychic link many times; he was familiar with the facial cues and unconscious gestures that let him know that they were doing it. All through the tour, the four men carried on an unvoiced conversation. Cye noticed, too, but didn't comment on it.

Kento moved his belongings to Cye's room. Cye's room housed aquarium after aquarium. Kento knew very well that he'd never get to sleep there; it was too busy and noisy for him, peaceful and interesting as it was during the daytime. The upstairs had two bathrooms: one for Rowen and Sage, another for Kento, Cye, and Yuli. Ryo's room was on the first floor. Kento couldn't sleep there, as he'd learned long ago. Back during the war with the Dynasty, and immediately after, they'd all been plagued by horrible nightmares, or couldn't get to sleep at all, so the five of them had piled into each other's beds for comfort. They'd discovered quickly that no one could sleep in Ryo's bed but Ryo. Anyone else who tried to get near the bed was fended off by one huge tiger, who felt weirdly overprotective in this one arena for no apparent reason. Rowen joked that White Blaze wanted Ryo all to himself.

Kento couldn't sleep with Cye or Ryo, therefore. Since Rowen and Yuli were sharing Rowen's bed now, that left Sage. Kento wasn't about to consider going near Sage's room or Sage's bed.

Yuli came by as Kento was dumping his clothes in one spot on Cye's floor. "Kale and Anubis are going to share your room. Sehkmet's taking my room with Dais."

"Is that okay with you? They both tried to kill you."

"Yeah, but that was before."

"It's that easy?" Kento was astonished.

"For me, yeah. They were under Talpa then, and now they're not. They're just people, Kento. I think they're scared. Wouldn't you be, if you'd lived off in the Dynasty for all of this time, and then you came back to earth and you didn't recognize anything, not even the clothes or the food? They're just scared, out of their element. The Dynasty was their home."

Kento had to admit that he could see how someone would be scared under those circumstances. Still, "They're evil guys."

"I don't know. Maybe they're evil at heart and that's why they followed Talpa. But they haven't done anything here, now, besides insult Rowen's clothes."

The rest of the day hadn't gone too badly. Ryo and Sage had closed Rowen up in Rowen's bedroom and had kept him there all afternoon and evening. The Dark Warlords had been left to Cye and Yuli, who told the Dark Warlords general information about the times. The Dark Warlords were very quick studies; Cye decided that Talpa had picked up some extremely intelligent people.

"The child is here," Dais said. "Where is the woman?"

"This is her home," Anubis added.

"Mia doesn't live here," Cye said. "She's in Tokyo. She's given us the house." The Ronin Warriors tended to avoid Tokyo, since they'd fought there; it held bad memories for them.

"Doesn't the child have a home?" Dais asked.

"This is Yuli's home," Cye said. The Dark Warlords were more sensitive than he'd expected and pressed no further.

"How old are you?" Dais asked Yuli.

"Sixteen."

"Yuli," Cye chided.

"I'll be sixteen next week," Yuli said defensively. "How old are you?" he demanded of Dais.

Dais only smirked. Yuli decided, after clenching his jaw for a moment, that he'd overlook the Dark Warlords' rude arrogance. He was a better person than that; he wouldn't stoop to pettiness. They were guests, they needed help, and he'd follow Cye's example.

He went upstairs to Rowen's room. He'd paused for a moment, not knowing whether it'd be worse to share a bathroom with Sage or four Dark Warlords. Finally he settled on sharing Rowen and Sage's bathroom, but he was in and out in record time. Then he hesitated in nervous embarrassment. Sage, he knew, slept naked - - he knew this only from rumor, of course, not from witnessing it himself. Rowen slept in boxers and a T-shirt, so he didn't have to worry on that point. But he'd never shared a bed, never stripped in front of anyone, and he wasn't sure whether there were some protocol. For the moment he was alone, so he stripped to his boxers, pulled on an old T-shirt, and sat on Rowen's bed. Rowen had been allowed to go down to the kitchen under Sage's strict supervision while Cye kept the Dark Warlords busy elsewhere. He tried to remember whether Rowen slept on the right side or the left. Well, since the Dark Warlords were in the house, he'd rather have a Ronin Warrior between him and the door, just in case, so he took the far side. Rowen never bothered to straighten the bed, so he settled on his back among the mussed bedclothes, moving the book he found to the other side of the mattress.

Kento, meanwhile, took a sleeping bag and his pillow down to the living room floor. He tried not to think about Anubis and Kale in his bed. That was terribly intimate, sleeping in someone's bed, and of all people...at least it wasn't Dais. Anubis was almost as bad, though, and Kale was hardly better. He consoled himself with deciding that they wouldn't be comfortable there; they weren't small people, and the bed wasn't all that big.

White Blaze investigated him briefly, then left him alone on the hard floor. They should get a thicker carpet.

Cye sobbed into his pillow.

In the morning, Cye was up making breakfast. Sage was up already, of course, but wouldn't be eating any of it. When Sage came through the kitchen from the routine morning run, Cye said, "Sage, on your way past the living room, could you please waken Kento?"

Sage nodded briefly, gliding from the room. He stopped by the slumbering form of Kento spread across the sleeping bag. He paused and nudged Kento's ribcage with sneakered toes. Kento grunted. "Kento." Kento blinked up at him. "Hey, Sage."

"Cye wants you awake." Sage walked away.

"Good morning, Sage!" Kento shouted. "Good morning, Kento," came Sage's patient, unamused reply. Kento sighed and scratched his scalp. He rolled up the sleeping bag and shoved it behind the sofa beneath the windowsill, then jogged upstairs to pee and dress. He came back downstairs for food, only to have Cye send him up again to wake the others.

He was supposed to wake up the Dark Warlords? He wondered briefly what they looked like asleep. And unless they slept in their armor, they were naked.

Naked in his bed?

Nothing he wanted to see, ever.

The bedroom doors were closed. Good. He pounded with one heavy fist on first one, then the other. "Breakfast," he said, and ran downstairs again, escaping.

Yuli woke through all of this noise, though Kento hadn't knocked on Rowen's door. Rowen's door was normally open, but Yuli assumed that Rowen's policies were changing due to their guests. He slipped from the bed and cast a glance at Rowen. Gorgeous even asleep, even with bed hair. He slapped himself mentally and turned away quickly.

Normally, none of them was above slumping down to breakfast half-asleep and not really dressed. Except Sage, who got up, ran, showered, meditated, and then had breakfast on his own. Cye was normally awake and dressed, too, most mornings. Kento usually awoke for food first, then clothes. Ryo sometimes made the effort to be presentable, and sometimes procrastinated and shuffled in wearing pajamas - - or, on Yuli's lucky mornings, only pajama bottoms. Rowen often fell downstairs late, still asleep, in boxers and a rumpled T-shirt, hair looking like Sonic the Hedgehog.

This morning, Kento, Ryo, and Yuli were alert, dressed, and ready for evil to walk through the doorway. Cye was trying to keep them calm. Ryo wouldn't have been calm if Cye'd slipped a tranquilizer into the orange juice.

Cye handed Yuli a glass of milk and flipped a pancake. Anubis walked into the kitchen wearing lesser armor. Ah, so Anubis really had retained the armor. Yuli'd wondered about it. Kale was right behind Anubis. Dais and Sehkmet were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it, Sage!" They heard it even in the kitchen. A door slammed. Ten minutes later, Rowen was in the kitchen. Happy. Rowen was cheerful. Smiling. His eyes were sparkling and everything. Yuli stared. Cye smiled. Kento was bewildered. Ryo looked suspicious, which wasn't like Ryo, so the suspicion faded in seconds.

"What's with you?" Kento finally asked.

"Isn't it a beautiful morning?" Rowen asked. "Hey, we'd better get you guys dressed; you can't wander around the mall in your armor. We are going to the mall, aren't we?" he asked Cye.

Ryo wondered whether it was fair to let Cye be in charge of this operation. Cye had been running the show since the Dark Warlords had arrived. The last thing Ryo'd done to lead was open the door.

"Yes," Cye said. "You're coming with us, Rowen?"

"Sure. Isn't everybody?"

"We'd be glad for your company." Cye was sparkling now, too. It didn't take much sometimes. Yuli was still wondering what Sage had done, and where the other two evil guys were.

"We'd better raid Kento's wardrobe," Rowen said. "I'm guessing only his stuff will fit. Sage and I are too skinny, Yuli's too small..."

"My clothes?" Kento asked.

"You think that Kale would fit in my clothes, Kento?" Cye asked. "And Anubis is hardly Ryo's size."

"Yeah, but...my clothes? Even for Dais? And Sehkmet isn't that big."

"We'll work out something," Cye said comfortingly, and gave Kento more pancakes for consolation. It worked. Ryo excused himself. Cye cleaned up the kitchen and took Anubis and Kale up to his room where Kento's clothes were. Kento and Yuli stayed in the living room in denial.

Dais and Sehkmet appeared, and Cye was hardpressed to piece together outfits for all four. Anubis was too tall for Kento's clothes, but too broad for Sage's. He got Kale dressed, at least, and out of the way. He ended up borrowing from Ryo's closet and his own. He handed over the clothes, including underwear, and decided that if they returned the clothes he'd burn them.

Then everyone was ready to go. In the driveway there was some hesitation. Finally they put the four Dark Warlords with Kento and Cye in Kento's SUV; Sage and Rowen took Sage's sports car; Ryo and Yuli took the sedan. That way there was room for packages; this would be a major shopping expedition.

The Ronins and Yuli didn't know where the Dark Warlords were getting money, and they didn't ask. They wanted to ask.

The first stop in the mall was a clothing store. Not where Sage shopped, but not where Rowen shopped, either. First they needed to figure out the Dark Warlords' sizes, but no one really felt like measuring anyone's inseam, so they guessed. Once the Dark Warlords were loaded down with packages, they went to a shoe store. Kento and Yuli spent their time making trips back and forth with the bags, toting stuff out to the cars, not wanting to be in the way in crowded stores. Kento was accustomed to this sort of task; he was the one who mowed the lawn, shoveled the snow, and generally uncomplainingly made himself useful. Right now it was easier to walk back and forth with bags than to watch Dais try on sneakers.

Then the Dark Warlords changed clothes. The clothes they'd been given by Cye were never seen again, and no one asked. In jeans and T-shirts and sneakers, they still didn't look normal.

They passed the ear piercing booth, and it caught Dais' eye. All four Dark Warlords came to a full stop, watching. Rowen explained about body piercing and tattoos. The Dark Warlords wanted to try it. Yuli wondered whether body mutilation and masochism were intriguing to the Dark Warlords, or whether they just thought that it would look nice to have pierced ears. At any rate, Rowen promised that they could try it on their way out of the mall, later. They stopped at a McDonald's to eat, and Sage left them, meeting up with them later at a bookstore.

The bookstore was interesting. Kale got lost in the history section. Anubis lingered over the biographies. Sehkmet looked at the humor books and comic strips. Dais went crazy in the literature section. He grabbed Kento and started to pile book after book in Kento's arms, pulling novels and poetry off the shelves. Renaissance, English Restoration, Victorian, American modernism - - Dais was enthralled. Kento was amazed. Sehkmet strolled over with a collection of "Calvin and Hobbes" strips and Dais grabbed a book, opened it, and said:

        "Let those who are in favour with their stars
        Of public honour and proud titles boast,
        Whilst I, whom fortune of such triumph bars,
        Unlooked-for joy in that I honour most.
        Great princes' favourites their fair leaves spread
        But as the marigold at the sun's eye,
        And in themselves their pride lies buried,
        For at a frown they in their glory die.
        The painful warrior famoused for might,
        After a thousand victories once foiled
        Is from the book of honour razed quite,
        And all the rest forgot for which he toiled.
         Then happy I, that love and am beloved
         Where I may not remove nor be removed."
        (Shakespeare Sonnet 25)

"You could have said it better," Sehkmet said.

"What was that?" Ryo asked Rowen.

"A sonnet," Rowen said. He glanced at the book. "Shakespeare. Sounds like one of the early sonnets, the ones for the young man."

"Shakespeare wrote poems for some guy?" Ryo asked.

"Don't get me started," Rowen said.

Dais wanted to stay and glory in the bookstore forever, but Anubis ordered him out. They went to a CD store, a place Rowen liked because they could listen before buying. Dais got stuck in the classical section. Kale liked Nine Inch Nails. Sehkmet listened to teenybop and cracked up laughing, then bought all of it he could find, amused beyond belief. Anubis was uninterested until Dais shoved him into a listening booth with Mozart. Anubis wouldn't come out after that. Finally they moved on to a drug store to buy toothbrushes and razors and other items of that sort. Then Rowen took them to a tatto art and body piercing shop in a back corner of the mall.

The four men all wanted tattoos and piercings. Cye tried to convince them that it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but they weren't dissuaded. The idea of pain didn't deter them in the least, either. Finally they spoke with the artists themselves, They disappeared all at once into the back room. Some time later, when Rowen was so bored that he was considering getting a tattoo himself, they emerged. Sehkmet's earlobes had small silver hoops, and Kale had diamond studs, but nothing else was visible, and they wouldn't tell what had happened.

They all went home in the now overloaded cars. Kento carried Dais' bagloads of books up to his room. The Dark Warlords had bought a stereo which they set up in Yuli's room, and immediately Mozart's Jupiter began. After that, *NSYNC began, and Sage closed his door firmly.

"Looks like somebody's settling into popular culture," Rowen said. "Boy bands and body piercing - - Sehkmet's getting into the flavor of the times."

"How old are they?" Yuli asked.

"Dais is the oldest, and Anubis is the youngest," Ryo said. "I think. That's all I know."

"Did you see Dais in the bookstore? When he found Milton's Paradise Lost, I thought he'd have a coronary," Rowen said.

"What's with you?" Kento asked. "You're awfully cheerful today."

"I'm allowed to be cheerful," Rowen said.

"We still don't know what happened to Anubis," Ryo said.

"Well, he's not dead anymore," Rowen said.

"He's been with them this whole time?" Yuli asked.

"We all thought that he was dead, and he must've known we thought so. Why didn't he bother to tell us?" Ryo asked.

"Why'd he pretend to be dead in the first place?" Rowen asked.

"Where's Kayura?" Yuli asked.

"I never liked her," Kento said.

"Rowen did," Cye said.

"I was very very very very stupid," Rowen said. "I got over it, fast."

"She isn't the love of your life?" Ryo asked.

"Nah," Rowen said. "She's too...female."

"Good point," Cye conceded.

"Rowen, you're bisexual," Ryo said. "That means you like girls, too."

"Okay, then, Kayura's a bitch and I want nothing to do with her," Rowen said brightly.

"Good point," Cye repeated. Rowen laughed, pleased. Kento, Ryo, and Yuli looked shocked.

Kale passed the room and Rowen called, "Hey, Kale!" Kale backtracked and came to the living room doorway. "Hey, Kale, what happened to Kayura?"

"She's still in the Dynasty," Kale said. "Lording it over the guy things."

"Guy things?" Ryo repeated.

"The stormtroopers, the foot soldiers, those big metal guys you all loved to tear through."

"Oh, those," Rowen said. "Guy things, is that their official name?"

"It's just what the four of us called them. Well, Sehkmet said that their names were Joe." Kale left.

"Joe," Cye repeated. "Every single one was named Joe?"

"Sehkmet's sort of weird, isn't he?" Yuli asked.

"But not in a bad way," Rowen said. "I don't know, if he weren't evil and awful I might sort of like him."

"Guy things," Ryo said. "I sort of thought that they'd have some more grand name."

"I'm sure they did," Rowen said. "Soldiers of Doom. They're the warriors under the Dark Warlords, Talpa's grand army, that sort of thing. But I guess since they were all mindless metal, the Dark Warlords weren't all that impressed by them."

"I remember them sweeping down on us, at the end, when it was just you and me, and there were millions of them, millions, everywhere..."

"God, that pretty much sucked," Rowen said. Kento couldn't help but laugh. Ryo blinked for a moment.

"Rowen," Cye said, chastising.

"Oh, come on, sure it was hell, we thought that we were dead for sure, but we had to save the three of you and then the world, so we fought and won. The millions of Guy Things swooping down on us was awful, I won't deny it, but it's over now. Now they're all stuck up in the Dynasty with Kayura, and I almost feel sorry for them."

"Why isn't she down here?" Yuli asked. "Why do only the four of them get to come?"

"Maybe they're really only here to escape her," Rowen speculated.

"They could take her in a second," Ryo said. "Anubis alone could beat her."

"Anubis alone could beat anybody," Rowen said.

"No way," Kento said.

"Anubis could beat any one of us and you know it," Rowen argued.

"He could beat all five of us together," Cye added.

"That was before," Yuli argued. "Not with how strong you are now. Not with the white armor."

"He could take us," Rowen disagreed. "We'd be dead."

"Whom are you talking about now?" Kale asked, in the doorway again.

"Anubis," Rowen said.

"You're right," Kale said. "He'd beat you, Hariel's armor or not." He was gone again.

"No way," Kento said again.

"Never," Ryo said.

"We'll never know for sure," Rowen said. "There's no way I'm ever letting him near me with that 'quake with fear', never again, no thank you."

"The only thing scarier, the only thing, is Dais," Kento said. "Anubis and 'quake with fear' - - I'm quaking buddy, believe me."

"Anubis is scarier than Talpa," Cye agreed.

"Why are evil guys so ugly?" Ryo asked. "I mean, all those guys from the Dynasty, Talpa and Saranbo and Saber Stryke and the Sun Devil and - - there are only, what, three attractive people?"

"And one of them isn't Badamon," Kento said.

Rowen chuckled. "So who's on your list of three, Ryo?"

Ryo turned red.

Rowen grinned. "Come on, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"Kayura, Anubis, and Dais," Ryo said very quickly.

"Kayura's a bitch," Rowen said, "and Cye agrees with me, so she really has to be. But she's pretty. Anubis and Dais, I totally agree."

"You don't think that Kale's good-looking?" Cye asked.

"I can see it," Rowen said. "He's no Sage, but he's attractive."

"What about-"

"No, Cye."

"But-"

"No, Cye. Don't even try to say that Sehkmet's good-looking. The man is a snake."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it."

"But," Yuli said, "if Cye thinks so, and Sehkmet's his mortal enemy, then maybe-"

"Have you looked at him?" Rowen demanded.

"Yes," Cye and Yuli said. "Have you?" Cye asked.

"Gross," Rowen said cheerfully. "At least the good people don't have to worry about it. All heroes are absolutely gorgeous."

"Maybe that's why Anubis came to our side," Yuli suggested.

"Maybe Dais is really good at heart," Rowen suggested.

"No," Kento said flatly.

"He read that poem beautifully," Rowen said. "No one who reads that well can be all evil."

"Did you just call me absolutely gorgeous?" Kento asked.

"Yes," Rowen said. "And Cye, don't look like that. Ryo, stop blushing; Cye and Kento are modest and insecure but you know better. The Ronin Warriors have been blessed with flawless physiques and beautiful faces and really good hair."

"I don't know about that hair thing," Kento said, and flicked Rowen's bangs.

Ignoring Kento, Rowen said, "That goes for our sidekicks, too."

"Who would they be?" Cye asked.

"White Blaze and Yuli," Rowen said.

Yuli almost squeaked.

Rowen draped an arm over Yuli's shoulders on one side and Cye's on the other. "My poor, low self-esteem people. What can we do? The two of you and Kento can start a club. Ryo only gets to go every other week, though."

"Well, if you think that I'm good-looking," Cye said, "I don't see why you won't extend the definition to include Sehkmet. He looked awfully nice in jeans."

"The Dark Warlords in jeans and sneakers," Kento said.

"Never thought I'd see it," Ryo said.

"Dais filled those jeans out mighty nicely," Rowen said, a gleam in his eye.

"Better than Anubis?" Ryo asked, then blushed. Rowen chuckled and asked, "Are we talking about the backside or the front, Ryo?" Ryo shoved him; Rowen shoved Ryo back, into Kento, then started to tickle. Ryo giggled and squirmed away, hiding behind Cye. Yuli felt dizzy just watching their enticing bodies twist together as the four of them declared an all-out war.

"You look like young children fighting in the nursery," a very familiar voice said, and Kento grabbed Ryo's arm in momentary distress before recognition set in. Dais was in the doorway, watching with bored amusement.

"Oh," Cye said, checking Yuli's watch, "that's right, you wanted to-" He rose, brushing back his auburn hair. "Excuse me," he told the others, and left with Dais.

"What're they doing?" Kento asked.

"Cye's showing them the gym, how all the equipment works," Yuli said.

"Cye's pretty cosy with them," Rowen said. "Think they'd talk to him?"

"About what?" Ryo asked.

"About who they really are," Rowen said. "We don't know anything about them. Don't you have a million questions? What they really want, who they really are? At least why Anubis isn't dead?"

"We can't put Cye in the position of - - that's not fair," Kento objected.

"I want answers," Rowen said. "The more I think about it, the more questions I have."

"Typical Ro-chan," Ryo murmured. Rowen smiled.

Cye left the Dark Warlords for the kitchen. Let's see, he could make lasagna, ham with cherry sauce, apricot chicken, twice-baked potatoes, raspberry cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, fried rice, macaroni and cheese, what else did he have ingredients for in the house? "Kento?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you do me a favor, please?"

"Sure."

"Would you please grill me some hamburgers and hot dogs?"

"Sure. Oh, wait, is this for them?"

"Please, Kento. I'm making a lot of food, and whatever they don't eat you can have."

"You're bribing me."

"Please, Kento."

"Okay, okay, you know I'll do it. What else are you making?" Kento asked with interest, entering the kitchen.

"Tomorrow night we'll order pizza," Cye promised. "No introduction to the New World would be complete without pizza."

"All right!" Kento exclaimed. "Maybe we should invite over the evil powers more often."

"Don't tell Rowen that you said so."

"He's being totally weird with this whole new happy attitude."

"I'm trying not to worry about it," Cye said with a small sigh. "It doesn't bode well."

"Think Sage knows about it?"

"I assume that Sage caused it," Cye said.

Kento considered that. Maybe Sage had caused it, since Rowen'd come down to breakfast all happy only after the yelling and door-slamming. While he got the grill from the garage, managing not to bump anyone's car in the process, he wondered what Sage could have said to Rowen. Yuli came outside to hang out for a few minutes, and he asked Yuli about it. Yuli advised him to ask Sage, since Rowen wasn't telling.

Cye was pulling chocolate chip cookies from the oven to cool when Dais walked into the kitchen. Silken white hair damp and curling just a little, pale skin flushed pink, barefoot, dressed in sweatpants that slipped down a little and a T-shirt that clung to the shoulders, Dais looked positively fuckable after his shower. Cye gazed just a bit too long, then blushed and turned back to the baked goods.

"That smells good," Kale said, following Dais, sounding suspicious.

"What is that?" Dais asked, peering at the cookies.

Sehkmet came in, looking over Dais' shoulder. He tucked a strand of Dais' hair behind one ear and said, "It looks edible, at least."

"I don't know whether any of you have allergies or...you aren't Jewish, I suppose?" Cye asked.

Anubis joined the other three clustered around the side of the table. "What is Hardrock doing outside with burnt meat?"

"Burnt meat - - wouldn't that be Wildfire's job?" Kale asked.

"No," Cye said. "We don't let Ryo cook. Here, sit, let me get you some plates. Just try a little of everything." He didn't know what was taking Kento this long, but since Kento was doing him a favor, he wouldn't push.

Kento came inside with the cooked meat. He decided not to hang around to watch the Dark Warlords eat, so he went to the den. Sage was there in the armchair reading, White Blaze lying on the carpet. He stood there and waited for Sage to notice him, not wanting to interrupt Sage's reading. When you talked while Rowen was reading, Rowen didn't hear a word that you said, or at least didn't remember a word of it two minutes later. When you spoke while Sage was reading, Sage got irritated.

"Yes?" Sage asked, eyes on the page.

"Sage, what did you say to Rowen this morning? Why's he all happy when yesterday he was angry?"

"Are you sure that you want to know?" Sage raised his eyes to look at Kento. Well, Kento only saw the one eye, but he assumed that the other one was still there behind that fall of blonde hair. "I didn't want to disturb the rest of you."

"What is it?"

"You won't tell, will you?"

"You're asking me to keep a secret?"

"What was I thinking?" Sage wondered. Kento couldn't keep secrets. Only Sage and Rowen could, really.

"Is it something bad?"

"No, not bad, just interesting, and not for innocent minds. You'll figure it out soon enough, Kento."

"It's about the Dark Warlords?"

"Yes. It's nothing terrible, Kento, it's just something that I shared with Rowen to get him out of his funk. It'll come to light on its own in time. Don't worry about it."

"Okay. Thanks, Sage." He left quickly, trying to guess what it could be. It had to be something scandalous. Like Kale was a transsexual or Sehkmet wore lace panties. Something that would amuse Rowen and Sage, something "not for innocent minds" - - which meant something not for him, Ryo, Cye, and Yuli. Maybe Anubis wrote those trashy romance novels, or Dais had a secret love for Leonardo DiCaprio, or... Oh, what could it be?

He hoped that if it was awful, it was about Dais. Something really, horribly embarrassing. Something that would make Dais less terrifying.

Cye was washing the dishes at the sink while listening to the Dark Warlords.

"Taste some of this," Dais said.

"Oh my god," Kale said, "what is this? Give me."

"I'm eating that!" Sehkmet protested.

"Is that any good?" Dais asked.

"Yes, and it's mine," Anubis said.

"Would one of you learn to share?" Dais asked.

"No," they all told him.

"Kale!" Sehkmet shouted.

"I just want-" Kale began.

"No, no, that's mine," Anubis said.

"Sehkmet, you cannot eat an entire cheesecake by yourself," Dais said.

"Watch me," Sehkmet dared.

"I'll trade you two cookies for one potato," Kale offered.

"Three cookies," Anubis said.

"Share!" Dais shouted. "The potatoes do not belong to Anubis, the cookies do not belong to Kale, and Sehkmet if you-"

"This is so good," Kale said.

"We wouldn't know!" Dais said.

"Trust me, it is," Kale said.

"You're all a bunch of squabbling children," Dais said. "All of you! Anubis, I expected better of you, at least."

"Since when?" Anubis asked. "All right," he relented. "Sehkmet, cut yourself one slice of the cheesecake at a time. Kale, the cookies are not yours exclusively; in fact, I'm taking some. Dais, would you like a potato?"

"Try some chicken," Dais offered.

"This is good," Kale said. "I'm going to eat this every day."

"What is this?" Sehkmet asked, sounding suspicious.

"It's a hot dog, Sehkmet. Processed pig parts. It won't kill you," Anubis said.

"Although Hardrock cooked it," Dais added.

"Dais," Anubis said. "Just eat it, Sehkmet."

"Not if Hardrock cooked it," Sehkmet said.

"Dais, why do you encourage him?" Anubis asked. "We aren't here to foster hostilities."

"Dais never told Sehkmet to hate Hardrock," Kale said. "He decided it all on his own. Dais hasn't returned the favor by loathing Torrent, has he?"

"I promised not to harm Hardrock," Sehkmet said. "That does not dictate that I eat this-"

"You won't touch food that Hardrock cooked, but you're eating Torrent's," Anubis said. "Does this make sense to you, Sehkmet?"

"I don't like Hardrock," Sehkmet growled.

"I doubt that he's terribly fond of you, either," Kale said.

"No one's terribly fond of me," Sehkmet said. "It's a gift."

"Is that good?" Dais asked.

"Delicious," Anubis said. "Have some."

"I spent all of that time in the Dynasty without chocolate chip cookies," Kale said. "Why?"

"Are you supposed to wear blue pants with a red shirt?" Dais asked.

"I'll wear whatever I want," Kale said, unoffended. "No one's looking, anyway."

"Perhaps we should have gotten Halo to do our shopping for us," Anubis suggested.

"The day that I get Halo to do something for me is the day that I..."

"Yes?" Dais asked, amused.

Kale finished, "The day that I marry Wildfire."

"He isn't that bad," Dais said, then burst into laughter.

"I knew you'd never keep a straight face," Kale said.

"Let's not slander Wildfire in front of Torrent," Anubis suggested.

"Sorry, Anubis," Kale and Dais chorused, giggling.

Cye had learned a lot from observing the Dark Warlords. Sehkmet spoke the least, and aside from enthusiasm over pop culture, had a hard edge. Anubis, being the leader, and Dais, being the eldest, alternately ruled. Kale was a troublemaker. Did Sehkmet dislike Kento on Dais' behalf? That made little sense. He wasn't surprised that they disliked Ryo, but it upset him.

When the Dark Warlords were finished eating, they thanked Cye and left. Anubis remained as Cye started to wrap leftovers.

"We appreciate all of your efforts, Torrent. It can't be easy for you."

He didn't know what to say to that, so he stayed quiet.

"Your support has been invaluable."

"We only want to help."

"Should you need help in the future..." Cye looked up and met Anubis' eyes for a split second, then lowered his eyes back to the Tupperware. Anubis left the kitchen. As soon as he was alone he shoved everything into the refrigerator and hurried off to bed, where he sobbed himself to sleep once more.

Ryo was glad that Rowen was being more upbeat, regardless of the cause. Sage was taking the invasion much better than he'd hoped, and Kento and Yuli seemed to be trying to follow Cye's lead, though Yuli was managing better than Kento. White Blaze didn't seem at all disconcerted by the enemies' sudden appearance in their home. As long as everyone else was doing well, Ryo was sure that he should be coping with it, so he tried, too. He put himself through his normal routines, he acted like passing Anubis in the hallway was no big deal, and he managed not to let his nightmares intrude on reality. In the morning after breakfast he went outside with Rowen for some exercise. It was a nice day, and Sage joined them soon thereafter. Yuli sat on the grass and watched them go through a routine together.

"Wanna wrassle?" Rowen asked Ryo.

"Sure," Ryo said. As far as wrestling went, only he and Rowen and Cye did it; Kento was too big and strong, and no one dared to lay a hand on Sage, not even Rowen. He hitched up his shorts and faced Rowen, waiting.

Sage sat beside Yuli on the lawn. "Stop drooling," he said absently. Yuli blushed, mortified.

"Such a pretty day," Cye said, coming up behind them. "Kento, come and play with me."

Kento came around from the side of the house. "Want me to toss you around?" Kento asked.

"Yes, please," Cye said, smiling. Cye was very good at tumbling and acrobatics; he was a perfect gymnast. He stretched a bit, then did a few practice flips around Ryo and Rowen. Then he ran straight at Kento, who in one quick movement caught him and threw him up in the air.

Anubis and the others stepped outside in time to see Cye flying through the air, tumbling down with one graceful twist after another, landing in a flip and cartwheel. Cye bounced up and ran at Kento again, who caught him and lifted him in the air, Cye standing on Kento's hands straight over Kento's head. Kale watched, speculating.

"Hah!" Ryo pinned Rowen triumphantly.

"Best two out of three?" Rowen asked.

Kento threw Cye and said to Kale, "What?"

Kale crossed his arms over his chest.

Kento crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh-oh," Sage murmured. Yuli watched.

"Kento," Cye said, having landed and sized up the situation. "You don't want to do this."

"I'm stronger than he is," Kento said, eyes on Kale.

"Kento, you're stronger than everybody," Cye said. "That's not the point. Are you really ready to face a Dark Warlord in combat over anything, even a checkerboard?"

"I could face Kale or Sehkmet any day," Kento said. "I hate them. I'm terrified of Dais and Anubis; that's different. But Kale and Sehkmet hurt you and Sage." He looked ready to growl. If he'd been Ryo, he would have. Kale stepped closer; Kento stepped closer, too, until the two of them were separated by a foot of lawn.

"Anubis, stop this," Cye said.

"If Kento and Kale are ready to spar, it may be healthy for them to try," Anubis said.

Rowen pinned Ryo, then rolled off and sat, watching in shock as Kento lunged at Kale. The two men were huge; Rowen pictured Titans in groundshaking combat, moving mountains. "Kento," Ryo said softly behind him, worried.

Kento pinned Kale, who grunted and shoved him off again. Kento, undeterred, moved in for more. Kale gained the upper hand but didn't keep it, and ended up flat on his back. "You win," Kale said.

"I win," Kento agreed.

"Let him up, Kento," Cye said, worried along with Ryo. Kento rose, but instead of turning to Cye or Ryo, he looked to Sage. Sage very slowly and very sincerely smiled. Kento grinned widely in response. As strong and agile as Sage was, it was unlikely that he'd beat Kale at wrestling. Kento, however, could beat Kale, and had done so, on Sage's behalf. Sage smiled in acknowledgment and appreciation of the act.

"Kicked his big evil butt for you, Sage."

Kale, of course, wasn't stupid. Yes, he was large and strong and had great muscle mass, but there was no way that he'd beat Kento in this sport. The match's outcome had been decreed before Kento's first move. Kale had entered into the match aware of his imminent loss. That didn't make Kento's victory any less sweet for the Ronins.

Cye squeezed Kento. "Extra pizza for you tonight."

"What do you want?" Dais asked Anubis.

"In honor of the victor," Anubis said, "give me a staff and Sehkmet one of Kale's swords."

Out of nowhere, those weapons appeared in their hands.

Cye squeezed Kento's hand. "See, Dais' illusions can be used for good things, like training and practice."

"Sure," Kento said, completely unconvinced.

Dais braided Anubis' long crimson hair with quick fingers.

"They groom each other?" Rowen whispered to Ryo.

Anubis and Sehkmet bowed to each other respectfully before taking up position. "Now," Dais said, and Sehkmet struck. Anubis blocked like a pro and the game began. Everyone quickly got out of the way as the two men fought across the backyard. After a few minutes, traps began to appear. Rocks popped up out of nowhere to make them stumble; loud noises clapped to distract them; Sehkmet's foot was stuck in a hole briefly. All of this was no doubt Dais' doing; Ryo began to speculate on the various benefits to having someone of Dais' talents around for training. Sehkmet, apparently angry about the foot in the hole episode, retaliated not against Dais but against Anubis, risking his own safety to disarm Anubis. Suddenly staffless, Anubis went on the offensive nonetheless and grabbed Sehkmet's sword. Sehkmet got mad and almost kicked Anubis in the balls but thought better of it. Anubis, having seen the foot change direction at the last second, knew what Sehkmet had intended and ripped Sehkmet's shirt.

"Hey!" Sehkmet protested, and really did kick Anubis in the balls.

"Sehkmet!" Dais shouted.

"He ripped my shirt! I've owned this shirt for less than a day and he-"

"Sehkmet!" Dais shouted.

Anubis's foot slammed into Sehkmet's crotch. Sehkmet went down hard.

"Anubis!" Dais roared. Kale was having a laughing fit. Dais was furious. Sehkmet and Anubis spent a few minutes sitting on the lawn. Finally Sehkmet pulled off the tattered remains of his shirt and handed Anubis the staff. They rose and resumed their fight. The Ronins and Yuli couldn't believe it. First there was flat-out professional, glorious battle; then there was fighting dirty and acting like children; then right back to business.

When the battle ranged closer, Rowen could see some of the results of the previous day's body art adventure. Now Sehkmet's torso was exposed, with firm round muscles. There was a ring piercing Sehkmet's right nipple, and some tattoos, but Rowen couldn't see clearly what the tattoos were. There was definitely a fat snake coiled twice around Sehkmet's upper right arm. There was something on Sehkmet's lower right back, too, and something over Sehkmet's heart.

The battle ended when Sehkmet was disarmed and on his back, Anubis standing over him. Anubis helped Sehkmet up again and they bowed.

"Never!" Dais shouted, and the weapons vanished. He stormed into the house.

Sehkmet ran a hand through his thick green hair. Even the hair under his arms was dark green, Rowen had noticed. And now Rowen could see the tattoos, as Sehkmet turned away from him. On Sehkmet's lower right back was Sehkmet's kanji. Piety. Sehkmet turned again, looking at the house, and Rowen read the word romanized and scripted over Sehkmet's heart: Rajura. He wondered what it was, what it meant.

Anubis loosened his hair. "I'll talk to him."

"Let him calm down a little first," Sehkmet said.

"That was priceless," Kale said. "The look on your face when- And the look on Dais' face-"

"Quiet, Kale," Anubis said.

"Way to make an impression on our hosts," Kale added. Anubis knocked him on his ass and walked into the house. Sehkmet chuckled and sat beside Kale, who moaned quietly and then remained lying there to watch the sky.

"I can't believe they did that," Kento said, the Ronins and Yuli all standing together now.

"I haven't kicked anybody in the groin since-"

"Yes, Ryo, I remember it perfectly," Rowen said.

"I'm sorry, Rowen," Ryo said. "It was an accident."

"I know, Ryo."

"Is Dais like... Anubis is their leader, and Anubis took over for the Ancient," Ryo said, "but is Dais their...teacher? Coach? Trainer?"

"If Dais is the oldest," Yuli said, "maybe he got there first and then taught the others when they came."

"It seems to work really well, since he can create any fighting situation and opponent," Rowen said.

"Yes, we've all seen just how effective Dais' illusions can be," Cye said. "He made me beat up Ryo. I still can't get over it."

"Did Sehkmet pierce his...nipple?" Kento asked.

"Wouldn't that hurt?" Yuli asked.

"What's Rajura?" Sage asked.

"I was hoping that you'd know," Rowen said. "Why don't we ask him."

"You mean why doesn't Cye ask him," Ryo said.

"Me?" Cye asked.

"Rowen wants you to get information out of them," Kento said. "Who they are, what they want, why Anubis isn't dead after all."

"Me?" Cye asked.

"They won't hurt you, Cye," Rowen said.

"Why can't you ask if you want to know?"

"They're more likely to tell you."

Cye sighed. "Okay, I'll ask, but don't expect much, if anything."

As the group broke up, Anubis had returned and was lounging on the grass with Kale and Sehkmet. Since Anubis had spoken to him last night, and Kale was in a good humor, Cye drifted over toward them. "You fought well," he told Anubis and Sehkmet.

They nodded.

"Have a seat," Kale invited, eyes closed, lying on his back, knees up.

Invited, emboldened, Cye sat on the grass, making himself small. He didn't care what Rowen said; Sehkmet was good-looking. That thick forest of hair, that body. "What's Rajura?" he asked politely.

"My lover's name," Sehkmet said.

Cye's sea eyes widened. "I didn't realize." Sehkmet's purple eyes regarded him calmly, giving away nothing. "I..."

"It's Dais' real name," Anubis added, to help Cye.

"Oh," Cye said. "Oh!" He turned red.

"We've kept it to ourselves," Sehkmet said. "Didn't want to disturb your Ronin sensibilities."

"No, I, of course... You and Dais are lovers? I didn't... You needn't hide yourselves," Cye said. "Not that..."

"I have no intention of fucking on the kitchen table, Torrent, don't worry yourself."

Cye turned bright red at that. "I didn't..."

"Will their relationship disturb you?" Anubis asked.

"No, of course not," Cye said. "We... None of us has a relationship," Cye said, "Mostly because it's... But we..." He paused, then tried again. "We aren't homophobic. I hope that you'll feel comfortable here. You don't need to closet yourselves for our sake. Although I wouldn't recommend being openly affectionate in public."

"Are you gay?" Kale asked.

"Me?" Cye asked.

"The four of us are, and we wondered whether the armor only came to gays."

"Rowen's bisexual."

"Well, Strata..." Kale seemed to think that that explained itself. Cye supposed that it did, and smiled. "So the rest of you?"

"We're gay," Cye admitted. He was hardly used to saying it aloud, and was pleased that he could.

"But you aren't in any relationships?"

"It's hard to make friends," Cye said. "Being who we are, wearing the armor, having gone through what we've gone through, our life experiences have made us extremely close but make it difficult to include other people."

"So fall in love with one of the other Ronins," Kale suggested. "Dais and Sehkmet came together. It makes sense." He opened his eyes and turned his head to look up at Anubis. "Don't think that that means that I want you."

"I wasn't thinking that," Anubis said dryly. They shared a smile and Kale's eyes closed again, face turned to the sun.

"Rajura is Dais?" Cye asked. "Do you all have other names?"

"Yes," Anubis said.

Apparently that was all he'd get on that subject for now. He looked at Kale. "I didn't expect you to be a sun lover."

"Because of my penchant for darkness and death?" Kale asked. "I'm sure that you love the water, but I don't see you being afraid to walk on the earth."

That was very true. Cye didn't tell Kale that Sage was afraid of the dark. Sage never had been, until Kale. Sage was too proud to admit the fear, and hid it well, but Sage's friends knew Sage too well to be fooled. Hence the nightlights plugged into the bathroom and hallway sockets.

"Anubis?" Cye asked. Anubis looked at him. "We were wondering why you aren't dead."

"I never died in the first place," Anubis said, a reasonable explanation. Cye waited for more. "It was for Kayura's benefit. If you'll recall, I sacrificed myself numerous times in various ways to aid the five of you. It was simply one more instance. I didn't die, Torrent. She wasn't worth that much of a sacrifice." Kale chuckled.

"But you knew that we thought that you were dead."

"I suspected as much."

"And you didn't bother to let us know that you were alive?"

"No. I didn't think that it would matter."

"You didn't think that it would matter?" Cye repeated, disbelieving. "How could you not think that it would matter? We thought that you were dead!"

"I apologize," Anubis said. "I see that I was mistaken."

"All of this time you've been alive and hanging out with your friends and roaming around the Dynasty perfectly healthy and you never bothered to let us hear about it?"

"Torrent. I'm here. I'm fine. I'm alive." Anubis grasped his hand.

Cye swallowed and blinked back tears that he swore wouldn't fall. "Good." Anubis' hand was large, and warm, and strong. Very masculine. He wondered if he had that funny look on his face that Yuli got sometimes, that swooning awed horny look. He sincerely hoped not. He could've sworn that he was over Anubis. Apparently not. Learn something new every day.

matthew@matthewtime.com
"Then Happy I" Part Two: Way to Go, Anubis
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