Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Vamps and Ronins ❯ Little Miss Trouble ( Chapter 2 )

Vamps and Ronins

Chapter Two: Little Miss Trouble

By: Tiasha

~

Now I saw a face on the water

It looked humble but willing to fight

I saw the will of a warrior

His yoke is easy and His burden is light

He looked me right in the eyes

Direct and concise to remind me

To always do what's right

Creed, "Faceless Man"

~

Wearily, she looked up at the sign, reading the next destination. Toyama. Robyn groaned and sat up straight, gingerly moving her left arm; the bleeding had stopped but it continued to throb. Ignoring the pain, she braced herself for the jerky stop of the subway/metro and stood up. She glanced at the two men on her right out of the corner of her eye and frowned. There was something odd about them, perhaps the fact that one of the men wore a pair of sunglasses...and it was past dusk.

"Miss, are you sure you will be all right?" the man next to her asked. She nodded before dashing out of the cab. Calmly, she made her way through the always-present crowd and up the single flight of stairs. Robyn breathed in the familiar scent of Toyama, a genuine smile gracing her pale lips as she began to walk home. It would take her a good forty-five minutes to reach the Mouri house but she was not concerned about time anymore; after all, she had gained no true sleep in five days and she was now paying the price.

Robyn jerked to a stop as the hair on the back of her neck pricked up and stood on end. Someone was watching her. Cursing silently for once in her life, she took off at a dead run, clutching her injured arm to her side. She weaved in and out in very much the same way she had done in Tokyo but did not bother to apologize this time; after all, she was running for her life. She glanced behind her briefly and caught a glimpse of a figure in a darkened alleyway behind her, watching her intently.

Panic over-rode all other thoughts and movements as well as ignoring the exhausted state her muscles were in; she raced blindly through the crowd, knocking pedestrians over, shoving a few others, no longer caring about her surroundings. The only logical thoughts that were processed at this point were survival, fear, and Cye. It was the last thought that brought her out of her panic-stricken state and allowed her to formulate a plan as she continued her ever-so-tiring run. She needed to get home and explain things to Cye; she was positive he would know what to do.

A three-inch wooden cross bounced against her chest and she instinctively gripped it. The salesman in an Antique store she had visited in Tokyo had given the cross to her. He had given it to her as a gift but she was still foggy on why he had done such a thing. He had told her that it would protect her and bring her courage, telling her some bogus story about its history. She still believed that the history of the cross was fake, what reason did she have to believe that it was true?

She winced in pain as her labored breaths became shallow and legs began to feel numb; her lungs burned and she began to struggle for air. Closing her eyes, Robyn attempted to gain a steady breath but continued to gasp. She suddenly found herself falling and braced herself for a rough landing, which never came. She heard a collective of gasps and her name being said in a disbelieving tone.

"Help," she croaked out before blackness overtook her exhausted body.

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Cye looked up to the sky and sighed, worry clouding over his young handsome features. It had been five days since Robyn had called him from Tokyo and he was beginning to grow worried. The longest span of time she had ever called before was three days, not five. Granted she was most likely busy with her possible internship at Tokyo University but she would have left a five-second message at the least. He knew Robyn well enough that she also would have made time to call him, no matter how busy she was. She had promised his mother that she would call every other day at the latest and Robyn would not back out a promise to his mom.

"Yo buddy, you okay?" a familiar voice broke his train of thought and Cye turned to look at his best friend. He nodded and sighed again; something was wrong, he could feel it.

"Hey Cye, has Robyn called you back yet?" Ryo asked, a spark of hope in his tiger blue eyes. Cye threw his eyes downcast and shook his head. He knew the others were probably just as worried, well, he wasn't too sure about Sage but then again, no one was.

"No, she hasn't called since last week, not even a 'hi I'm all right' message on the machine. I'm really starting to get worried you guys," he said, his British accent evident as always. He gazed at his friends, a frown on his face. "I should have gone with her, at least she would have known somebody. She's only been here a year and going off to Tokyo by herself was kamikaze."

Rowen shook his head, "You're overreacting Cye. I betcha anything that she's really busy at the moment."

Ryo nodded his agreement and Kento gave him a lop-sided grin. His friends' optimism lifted the worry from his mind slightly but not completely. He still felt that nagging in the back of his mind, that instinct that always told him if Robyn was in danger or not.

"Granted she could be busy, but let's not forget what happened just recently. Trouble's probably gone and gotten herself into a rock and a hard place. Danger and trouble seem to be attracted to her," Sage commented, folding his arms across his chest.

Cye groaned inwardly; leave it to Sage to bring up his close-encounter with death and bring up his new nickname for Robyn. How was Robyn to know what she was getting herself into when she dated Jason? However, Sage's recent comment made that nagging feeling worse. He glanced behind him just in time to see a flash of red and lavender as someone bumped into Sage who stood next to him.

Instinctively, he caught the flash of red and lavender before diverting his attention to the stumbling Sage, who Rowen just happened to steady. Cye watched as Sage turned around and glared at the person in his arms. Sage's glare, however, quickly turned to a look of surprise and he heard his friends gasp. Looking down at the limp form in his arms he realized that it was Robyn. There was no mistaking her red hair but her usually bright green eyes seemed glassy and her skin felt feverish.

"Robyn?" he asked, shocked and disbelieving that she was here in the flesh. He watched her struggle to hold on to consciousness and he heard her breathing come in raspy puffs.

"Help," was all she could manage to say before she fainted. He held her now extremely limp frame to him, steadying them both so not to fall. Scooping her up into his arms, he realized how much lighter she was and frowned.

"Cye, we gotta get her to the hospital!" Ryo shouted, getting the group's full attention. "She's been shot! Let's go!"

Cye looked down and saw the sickening dark maroon stain on her left sleeve. He also noticed the deep dark red line across her cheek as the five of them raced down to the subway to catch a rail to the Toyama Hospital.

What on earth happened to you Robyn? he thought to himself as he sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs in the subway cab, cradling her body. The others crowded around him and Sage reached out to push a few strands of her red hair out of her face. The sudden change in mood caught Cye slightly off guard but he made no move to question his blond companion.

"You think she'll be all right?" Kento asked, worry etched on his face. Ryo shrugged his shoulders as Rowen bent down and rolled Robyn's blood stained sleeve up. He grimaced as the gunshot wound began to bleed again.

With out a second thought, he took off his pull over and ripped some of the fabric off, pressing it to the bleeding wound. Rowen ripped a longer strip of fabric off of his pull over and tied it securely and tightly to Robyn's arm before standing up. He raised an eyebrow at his now ripped pull over and shrugged as he saw one arm missing and part of the torso missing. Throwing it casually over his shoulder he looked Cye straight in the eyes and Cye swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.

"It all depends on when she got shot. If it was days ago, then we need to consider an infection at its worst," he stated, looking away from Cye to the others. A melancholy mood swayed and circled about them as they all became silent for the rest of the ride to the hospital.

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Mariko smiled as she watched five of the original Ronins fuss over the redhead. Hopefully she would receive what she wanted soon. Her smile grew wider as a young man in his early twenties sat down next to her and another man also in his early twenties with sunglasses sat across from her. These were her two most trusted warriors, allies, and friends. She raised an eyebrow as the young man with sunglasses smirked at her.

"What is it Scott?" she asked, her voice dull but slightly annoyed. "And take those sunglasses off, the sun is no longer up." The young man complied and pulled them off, folding them and tucking them into a pocket in his black leather jacket. The young man next to her chuckled slightly.

"All right Phoenix, the briefing begins now," Scott said, his deep violet eyes searching her ice blue ones. She frowned slightly at him.

"We will allow Robyn to recover from her injuries. We receive no pleasure in harming her, besides, that was not even part of our original plan," she stated, crossing her arms over chest. She watched as the man next to her ran a hand through his short blond locks.

"All right, is there any new information we need to take into account?" the man asked her. Mariko looked at him blankly before sighing.

"They have a gaki as well," she whispered. She heard both her friends curse at this sudden streak of bad luck.

"Dammit, a replacement I bet. I just got rid of that other one," the man said, glaring out the subway window. Mariko took his hand in hers and frowned, knowing full well that he was still recovering from his last battle.

"Josh, have you seen Gaea recently?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow. Mariko watched as Joshua grimaced, not comfortable with that question but he shook his head.

"No, she has taken into hiding, either that or she is discreetly following Robyn."

"We will protect Robyn and Apollo at all costs," Mariko demanded.

"Why do we not just take Apollo from her while she is weak?" Scott asked raising an eyebrow.

"She'll tell the Ronins the instant she can talk. It is better we wait and attempt to explain things again." Mariko felt Joshua squeeze her hand and she smiled lightly, squeezing his back in return.

She watched Scott slump down in his seat in a huff and she shook her head. Scott was rambunctious but he was loyal...loyal like her adoptive father was. Sighing softly, Mariko leaned against Joshua and closed her eyes. Joshua was probably the best friend she had ever had.

Even though Joshua was a gaki, he had had a brother once and she had loved his brother deeply. She still mourned her lover's death even two and half years later. Though two and half years would not seem long to a normal person, Mariko had been trained in the art of sabotage, espionage, swordsmanship, and soldiery/prowess. One death to her was nothing but she had gone against training and fell in love with Julien. His death had taken an enormous toll on her heart, especially having seen his death with her own ice blue eyes. His death was forever etched in her memory and would continue to haunt her dreams for the rest of her life.

Since Julien's death, Joshua and her had grown closer in an unbreakable and incomprehensible bond. They had been each other's support, helping each other get through each day one at a time...as well as create a plan of revenge.

Julien...

~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~*

Maroon eyes narrowed as tanned fingers fiddled with a school class ring. They were following her as well, now that she was injured. An atarashii ronin, a gaki, a psivamp and a plasma-vamp were more than she could handle by herself.

"Stupid girl," the young woman muttered, glaring at the redhead in the lap of one of the five young men. Cody frowned as she looked out the window. She had offered to protect the young redhead and the redhead had agreed, but the instant things had gotten heavy, the redhead ran. Of course she had followed the redhead discreetly, making sure she did not die.

"What is it they want?" she asked herself as her thoughts revolved around Phoenix and the gaki Joshua. Phoenix was interested in something the young redhead possessed...but what? Cody tried to recall past events up to the present but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Guess I will just have to give Robyn a tongue lashing once she has recovered, Cody of Gaea thought as a smirk adorned her pale pink lips. Absently, she pushed some forest green hair up under the baseball cap she wore. She had chosen a civilian outfit for this mission, a pair of baggy jeans, Adidas tennis shoes and an earthy brown short sleeve shirt covered by a black hoddie jacket.

Yawning, Cody leaned her head against the window of the subway cab and closed her eyes, drifting off into a light doze. Her grip around her black Jansport backpack instinctively tightened as the cab slowed to a standstill, reaching a stop on its route to the Toyama Hospital. She heard a couple of loud, rowdy teenagers get on the subway and make their way to her.

She sensed one of the teenagers sit down next to her and wrap their arm around her shoulders. Slowly, her hand reached inside her jacket and she gripped a small dagger in its sheath. She smelled alcohol as the teenager breathed on her and she suppressed the urge to gag. Not even twenty-one and this kid was drinking...the thought made her want retch.

"So, what's a girl like you doin' all by yourself?" he asked. Cody looked up at him and watched as he jerked backwards slightly. Most people found her deep maroon eyes startling when not framed by her forest green hair...like now.

"What's it look like?" she asked in a monotone voice. The teenager visibly relaxed, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"I think you're waiting for me to take you home," he said, his words beginning to slur slightly. Quick as lightening, Cody had her dagger pressed up against the young teenager's throat. She smiled as she saw fear in his onyx eyes and fed off of that fear.

"Now, kindly remove yourself from my sight," she said in a deadly but monotone voice. The teenager scrambled backwards and shoved his friends further back into the cab after she placed her dagger back in its sheath.

Glancing ahead, Cody saw the five young men regarding her with an uneasy look and the auburn haired one held Robyn a little more protectively. She really could have cared less about her behavior and it mattered very little. If anything, the teenager had learned a small but important lesson and Cody had more pressing matters to handle. She certainly had no time for a drunken teenager interested in a wild night; she had to stay alive and not be distracted by other things. Her mission and promise was to protect Robyn...and Apollo.