Vamps and Ronins

Chapter Eight: Too Many Plans

Written by: Tiasha

~

Somebody told me the wrong way

What if I died?

What did I give?

I hope it was an answer so you might live

I hope it helped you live

I hope it helped you live

Creed, "Wrong Way"

~

Arain looked up at his laptop as it announced that he had an instant message. Hoping it was from one of his friends in Italy, he jumped up excitedly, bounded over to his makeshift desk and read the message. He frowned when he did not recognize the sender.

He closed the message without bothering to respond and prepared to finish his homework but paused as another message appeared, from the same sender.

Arain read this message as well and suppressed a shudder at what it said.

Have you had any dreams lately?

He shook his head in annoyance as he tried to block the sender but growled when it did not work. Arain froze; the server said there was no such screen name on the entire net. How was that even possible? His vibrant gray eyes widened as the IM displayed another message.

You can't run from destiny. Embrace your fate and join us.

"Who are you?" Arain wrote back. A reply was sent almost immediately afterwards.

I am your future, Arain.

"Who are you?!" he wrote back again.

As I said, I am your future. Do not worry, we will become one very soon, Arain. We'll be together as one soon…

Arain shivered as an icy finger wisped down his spine. He closed the message and sighed in relief as nothing happened after he did so. He signed off the Internet and went back to the bed next to the two large windows and his homework. He had only a few more assignments left to finish and he wanted to hurry so he could go outside and see if the neighbor's large white tiger was around.

If not he would find something to do; though he could not practice his archery since Lyn had forbid the harmful objects anywhere near the house. Though he did have his soccer ball and she had said nothing about that.

---

The bright afternoon sun found the young blond haired boy out in the back yard of his aunt's house, kicking a soccer ball against the back fence.

Usually, that would be fun, but not for this eleven-year-old boy. He greatly wanted his bow, arrows, and cork target.

Kicking the black and white ball again, Arain plopped down on the grass and watched as the soccer ball bounced off the fence and rolled back to him. He plucked a few blades of grass and closed his eyes, smiling as the sun kissed his blond head. The sunlight always cleansed him of troubles and fears…as if washing away the whole world from existence. Many times he had wished that the sun would do just that but wash away just his father, George Niente.

A cold nose against his face brought Arain out of his thoughts. Eyes now opened, Arain stared into a pair of ancient brown ones, eyes that held knowledge and compassion; he found himself nose to nose with a large white tiger.

"Oh, it's you," Arain said slightly relieved and making no notion to move. He was quite happy sitting down at the moment. He was tired of kicking the soccer ball around with no opponent…and he did not consider the tiger an opponent. More like nemesis for claim of the soccer ball.

White Blaze would have none of that though, so he went and fetched the discarded soccer ball from earlier. He dropped the ball in Arain's lap, and then waited for the boy to move.

Arain looked at the tiger unenthusiastically. The last time he and the tiger had tried to play soccer ended up being Arain chasing the animal around the large yard to retrieve his soccer ball before going in for supper. He sighed in defeat.

"You like making me work to get MY soccer ball away from you…don't you White Blaze?" he asked, stressing the word 'my.'

White Blaze merely watched him intently, as if studying him.

Arain nodded, "Fine. I've been practicing so be prepared to lose cat."

"You better be careful. He's giving you the 'You're my prey' look," a voice said.

Arain turned to find the raven-haired young man from next door, leaning against the fence, grinning as if he knew something was about to happen.

Arain suddenly fell face first into the dirt, a heavy weight on his back. He sputtered, trying to rid the grass from his mouth and craned his head to look behind him. White Blaze had a massive paw placed on his back, pinning him to ground effectively.

"Not fair!" he yelled at the beast, flailing his arms in pathetic attempts to free himself.

When White Blaze continued to look at him, brown eyes almost laughing, Arain turned to the youth at the fence.

"Could I please have a bit of help?"

Chuckling, Ryo leapt over the fence and wrestled the tiger off of him.

"Jeez Blaze," Ryo grunted, still pulling the large feline off the boy, "We need to put on a diet or somethin'. You've gotten heavier."

Arain scrambled away and moved to help Ryo when White Blaze decided he wished to continue his game of pouncing. Both Ryo and Arain exchanged unsure glances as they both dodged the tiger.

"You go that way, I'll go this way," Ryo announced and Arain nodded. "On three. One…two…three!"

Both ran in opposite directions, hoping to confuse White Blaze, which only seemed to cause the tiger to pause for a moments thought.

The afternoon sun watched as two youngsters ran around the yard, trying to keep from being playfully pounced on by the large white tiger.

---

The setting sun on the other hand, found the two youths breathing heavily and laying on their backs, staring up at the sky. White Blaze was off a few yards away, grooming himself after a satisfying game of chase and pounce.

Ryo decided to ask a question at random, now that they had regulated their heartbeats and breathing back to normal.

"Got any names I should know about just in case you're aunt makes a surprise visit out here and calls you somethin' silly," he asked the blond eleven-year-old next to him.

Arain gave him an odd look.

"What? My grandma does it from time to time! She tells me to go scare the new neighbors with White Blaze…whenever we get new neighbors."

Arain laughed at that comment; "How often is that?" he asked curiously.

Ryo shrugged, "Depends on whether or not I do what she tells me to and how long it takes for Blaze to venture over there on his own time. Either way, six or eight months."

"Six or eight months? Man, they must be real wimps. I think it's cool!"

"You're also eleven."

"So? Well, my mom had this nickname for me when I was really little. She used to call me Phoebus."

Ryo shook his head. Phoebus? Wasn't that a name of a god or something? He made a mental note to remember and ask Rowen about it later. Especially since those new armors had a slight trend in names referring to ethereal creatures and personas.

"So, you're from Italy, right?" Ryo asked. It had been obvious to him that the kid had been taking the adjustment fairly hard. Especially by the way he had acted when he had introduced himself and White Blaze for the first time.

Arain grew somber quite rapidly and Ryo wondered if having even brought up the subject of the kid's home was too soon.

"Yes, about twenty minutes or so's drive to Naples. My mom works at a big computer firm in the city and George-my dad owns a vineyard and winery…" Arain's voice trailed off.

Ryo turned his head to look at the boy. He had a feeling that the boy's sudden visit was due to family problems. Perhaps abuse? Certainly not as bad as Robyn's…right? How often was abuse as bad as what Robyn went through? Though he did not know the whole story behind Robyn's parents, he had a feeling that it was a rare occurrence.

"Arain! Dinner's ready! Come in and eat please!"

Ryo smiled and stood, brushing blades of grass from his clothing; he knew what the dinner call meant.

"Hey kid," he called to Arain, "If you ever need to talk, let me know."

The boy nodded and raced inside his home.

Ryo looked over at White Blaze and crossed his arms. "Come on free-loader. You've had you're fun."

With that Ryo hopped back over to his side of the fence and headed towards the house, curious as to what Grandma was making for their dinner. He faintly heard White Blaze jump over the fence as he went inside.

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

Mariko nodded as Cody relayed the new information to her. It was the younger twin's shift at the hospital and Dr. Date had just announced that tomorrow Robyn was able to return home; however, with strict orders for two more days worth of bed rest.

"All right then, Yang. No, don't give me that excuse…oi! Look who's talking! Brat…iie, no and I mean it!" Mariko stated, noticing that Sage was now looking at her skeptically. Leave it to her baby sister to get all in a huff because she had informed her that Robyn would be fine eating the hospital food. She rolled her eyes as her sister continued spouting off random curses in Spanish, which made no difference to Mariko since she was not fluent in Spanish anyway.

She forgets that I took French!Mariko thought to herself as her sister finally calmed down.

"So what do you want me to do? Halo's mother wants to know where Robyn will be staying since Cye will have to be in school. Not only that but Torrent's home will be the first place they look, Ying," Cody reasoned.

"That soon huh? Mon dieu, je ne sais pas!" Mariko said in French. Of course it was to get back at Cody for speaking Spanish but she knew she would need to clarify for her sister. She could almost see the little question marks floating around her sister's head. "Sorry," she lied, "what I said was, 'My Lord, I don't know.' See if Miss Koji will board the guardian for the time being."

The last comment had obviously caught Halo's attention because he immediately moved to stand next to her, though never too close. Mariko assumed it was because of when they had first met and shook hands. Their armors had naturally reacted to each other. Though Halo did not know it, while her skin burned to his touch, his aura had flashed so brightly that she had to retreat form the astral plane at a disturbingly fast pace. Too fast for her comfort that is.

"Fine, I'll speak with Miss Koji. Mari, I need to talk to you about something later on…about one of the other Ronins…" Cody replied somewhat sheepishly.

Mariko blinked and looked at the receiver before answering her younger twin, "I'll see you later this evening at the apartment then, Cody-chan?"

"Yeah, sure."

Mariko glanced up at the bearer of Halo as he looked at her expectantly before placing the phone back in its cradle. She raised a brow at his gaze before moving towards the door. She had some research of her own to do and she needed to discover the meaning of her newfound research as soon as possible. Halo would either come to her, Cody or Miss Mia Koji when he felt like asking for information on what the phone conversation had been about.

"Well?" she heard him question. She paused at the doorway and looked at him; he posed the question sooner than she had expected him to. He immediately directed a glare in her direction when she did not answer him immediately and she reciprocated the gesture.

"Well what Halo? Why do you care so much? From your actions I have gained the assumption that you care nothing of the guardian Robyn," Mariko snapped at him. She regretted having used those harsh words, however and mentally kicked herself for doing so; she had just witnessed Halo's own mask of indifference slip for a moment's pass.

"Please forgive my accusation…" she quickly apologized, but paused when he shook his head.

"What is going on with Robyn?" Sage asked her, ignoring the accusation and apology. He obviously was more interested in what was going on with Robyn and Mariko knew she had definitely been wrong about him. He cared about Robyn's safety and that was enough to leave her in a slight stupor.

"She will be released from the hospital by tomorrow but with strict orders of two more days worth of rest," Mariko replied solemnly. She had no need to alarm him of the possible attempts of kidnapping that could take place.

If Robyn were to stay at Miss Koji's, Josh and herself along with Cody and Scott would be there to protect her. Not only that but if for some reason none were around to protect the redhead, Cody's 'little' pet would protect her. Shadow was large enough to strike fear into any vampire, Scott was always wary of the large beast and even Josh avoided the beast when it was in a foul mood.

"That soon?" Sage questioned, looking at her suspiciously.

Mariko crossed her arms and took an almost motherly stance unconsciously. Matt had given her that look many times in the past and she never let him get away with it, so why should Halo?

"Don't give me that look mister! I do not deserve such a look! I am merely informing you of the current events. Besides, it's your mother's medical clearance that is getting Robyn out of the hospital tomorrow. Ask her for details if you like."

The bearer of Halo seemed slightly taken back at the sudden scolding but brushed it off with a glare and a shrug rather quickly. They all were growing tired from worry and most of them were brushing things off that they normally would not.

Mariko then noticed how exhausted he looked…as if he had been lacking sleep for the past few days. Narrowing her eyes, she continued to cross her arms and fixed him with an almost motherly glare, if not that then an older sister one.

"Halo…you seem sleep-deprived…is something bothering you?"

He glared back at her, "It is none of your concern."

"Oh but it is…should it hinder the rest of our abilities to keep this realm safe."

Sage continued to glare at her and she returned the glare back readily and steadily. Halo was the first to break eye contact and moved past her, preparing to return to his practice. Yes, they were all growing exhausted and easily ready to surrender any fights that occurred amongst themselves.

"Halo, I'm serious. Do not allow this distraction to continue for long…for Robyn's sake at least."

She watched him pause to look at her placidly before nodding and walking off.

Well, at least he had not tried denying the fact that something was bothering him…now if he would only seek help.

One miracle at a time I suppose…but the hope always remains…as long as I'm alive, hope will always be present…even in the most grim situations.

---

Mariko's words had cut him and he did not like that fact one little bit. It was bad enough that he was losing sleep because of Robyn (though it was not EXACTLY her fault), worse that his schoolwork was beginning to slip due to his lack of sleep, and now Mariko KNEW he was not sleeping well.

It would be just my luck that she goes and mentions it to the others, Sage thought to himself as went out to the empty practice floor. His father must have finished class slightly early for he was busy in his office, shuffling through various papers and there was no sign of a class in session.

Wishing to distract his mind, Sage picked up his usual practice sword and set to work on rehearsing katas he had memorized by heart.

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

Gold eyes narrowed to slits as Joshua found the prey he had been curious of. The young woman's blonde hair fell to her shoulders and was cropped at an angle and pulled out of her face with a wrap-around headband. Her eyes searched the crowd lazily as if trying to decide who the first victim would be. She must have sensed something, however, for she went rigid all of a sudden and her delicate brows shot upward in surprise as she searched the crowd for any one suspicious.

Fortunately for Joshua, he was on a second story balcony and she had no inkling to look upwards, for if she did, she would have found the cause of her sudden suspicion. Though the balcony gave Joshua a readily available way to follow the young woman without suspicion, the balcony prevented him from seeing her eye color. He had to make sure that this was the right woman for he did not want to have accidentally caught some innocent human instead of a soul gaki.

The woman abruptly got up from the little outside café, leaving a small amount of money on the table near her drink. She delicately pulled the hem of her black mini-skirt down before placed a pair of sunglasses over her eyes; however, Joshua caught a glimpse of the color her irises were. Red. The same shade of red as the sleeveless turtleneck she wore and the same shade of fresh blood.

"How appropriate for one who hunts as frequently as we do," he muttered at the irony. He stood and dissipated into a fogbank of gold, hovering out of sight from curious eyes and followed the young blonde woman. He had a few questions for her to answer, but would he be able to contain her long enough to ask those questions?

---

Joshua was almost hesitant as the young woman turned down one alley, but followed when she returned to the main sidewalks near the road. He continued to float leisurely, moving inconspicuously above the unsuspecting woman for about an hour until she paused and went into a 'novelty' store.

Stealthily, he floated into a nearby crevasse and solidified before casually moving across the street to the novelty store. He grimaced slightly as the air became thick inside, but the smell was exquisite. He looked down towards his left and then right, noting the sticks of incense burning in the gravel of potted plants on either side of the door.

He glanced around at the store; it was definitely a Mariko and Cody store, he surmised in one glance. It contained New Age and Native American goods, candles, jewelry of any kind, crystals of any kind, herbs, and books ranging from tarot reading to witchcraft to Buddhism to Taoism to Cook books! In fact, the store reminded him greatly of one in America where Mariko and Cody had worked at entitled Yesterday's Memories. He made a mental note to inform Mariko and Cody of this place.

"Can I help you sir?" a melodious voice inquired and Joshua turned to see the young woman he had been following appear from behind a curtain of midnight blue velvet.

"Yes, anything that has the scent of 'Dragon's Blood' would be a nice starter and speaking to a fellow hunter should follow that," he stated and smiled slyly at her confused look. She was a good actor, he gave her that…but they all had to be. He knew that he himself had to pretend to be clueless when confronted.

"The Dragon's Blood I can help you with but you wish to what?" she replied and jerked backwards as he stared right into her blood-red eyes. He swiftly moved next the counter she was standing behind and she quickly backed away. The fear in her red-eyes caused him to stop and doubt himself and his conclusion. Perhaps it was not her who was the gaki…but then who?

"You honestly do not know what I'm talking about do you?" he inquired in a matter of fact tone. He frowned when she nodded her head, smiling in an all-knowing manner.

"On the contrary, gaki," she said, laughing in such a way that a chill ran up Joshua's spine. "Identify yourself and perhaps we will have this conversation you so wish for."

"Joshua is the name, from the European region, soul."

The young woman nodded and eyed him consideringly. "What is it you wish to speak of, soul gaki?"

"Robyn, the red-haired young woman at the hospital. One of her friends said he saw you and that you mentioned something about studying vampires?"

"Hell's Fire! What now? I can only do so much for the yearling!"

Joshua narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean? And please do not call her a yearling…she may not live as long as we do but she is still an adult by the human standards."

"I gave her the marble…I honestly have never seen its aura glow as bright as it did with her."

"So you're saying you know what the marble is?"

"Yes, yes of course. It is a mystical armor! Any gaki who has lived in Japan and does not know legend of the armors and the demon of one thousand years past is a disgrace to us! Hell's Fire! I was there when Talpa entered this realm! Quite the bastard too."

Joshua chuckled, "Yes, I've heard that he has that affect on people. But why did you give it to Robyn? She isn't its bearer, you know."

The young woman nodded, "Yes, I noticed. Tell me Joshua…have you felt it? Have you felt that dark pulse lately?"

Joshua nodded slowly, "I've felt something out of place."

"Protect the girl at all costs Joshua…"

Joshua narrowed his eyes, "Why? What's going on?"

"She is the perfect one."

"Perfect one? Robyn?"

"The Empress is…"

"Who and what does the Empress have to do with all this? What is Robyn in all of this?"

"Have you not felt that void in her? The darkness that pulses through her despite her pure heart?"

Nodding, Joshua watched as the young woman sighed in exasperation.

"The Perfect One and the Empress are balanced."

"You never answered me…what does Robyn have to do with all this?"

"I'm not sure…but I suspect that she is the Perfect One."

"What does that mean?"

"She is the balance."

"I thought you said the Perfect one and the Empress were the balance?"

"The Perfect One and the Empress are one in the same. The more I think of it, the more I grow sure. Robyn is the Perfect One…the Empress…the balance."

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

Robyn watched idly as the sun set behind the tall buildings of the city, disappearing and splashing the sky with purple and black. The first few stars could be seen twinkling in the sky of black velvet, despite the light pollution the city produced. Sighing, she glanced at the door and wondered if anyone would visit her this evening. Most likely not since almost all of the Ronins, both old and new, had heard the news of her release tomorrow.

They are all making sure everything is safe no doubt. They're all just paranoid…she told herself as she gazed back out of the window. She couldn't blame them…she had been in the hospital for about eight days now.

It was a few minutes later when she heard a knock on her door, no more like a thump…

"Hello?" she called softly, waiting for an answer. When she received none, she moved to get out of bed just as a quiet shuffling sounded near the bay window. Robyn paused, the blankets of the hospital bed half folded back and one of her legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

A lump suddenly formed in her throat when she began to sense a disturbing presence. This was the same feeling she had when running around Tokyo…running for her life. They were here for her…and she would go. She would go with them, figure out what was going on, then escape and figure out a plan to end everything. She couldn't let the guys get involved and hurt because of her…not again.

Having decided on her course of action, Robyn swung her other leg over the edge. Yes, she would go with the enemy for now…but what if they planned to kill her?

"Robyn, we are here for you always…don't be afraid to ask us for help," Rowen had said that night when they all had that surprise meeting. Always there for her? After all she had put them through the first time?

No, she could not live with herself is she put them through all of that torture and pain again. But she knew they would be upset, more like furious, if she did something on her own. Then who could she ask for help? Mariko and Cody would help her! And they would not tell the others if she asked them not too!

So with new plans set in mind, Robyn swiftly lunged out of bed, thankful that she had her own clothes on now, and raced for the doorway. She heard more shuffling and the terrifying sensation of something pulling at her from the inside, almost as if to stop her from running.

Throwing open her hospital door, she found a young nurse sitting in the doorway and staring stupidly into space. The nurse seemed to be dead of individuality and life. A scream lodged itself in Robyn's throat as she bent down and shook the shoulder of the young woman, only to gain no response.

"Oh…my…God…" she squeaked and quickly stood up, stepping over the nurse's unmoving body. Oh the woman WAS alive for she was breathing but she was just so devoid of a desire to live, as if her mind had been shattered.

Now with no obstacles in her way, Robyn took off down the hallway, knowing very well that whatever had gotten the young nurse…would not hesitate to go after her. She had not gotten but a few paces away before she suddenly felt light and languid, slowing her pace. Then suddenly, all was black.

---

Scott wanted to gut himself like a fish right now as he shifted the weight of the young redhead on his shoulder. All she had ever done for him was out of kindness…and this was how he was repaying her. Taking her to the enemy to die.

He swiftly opened the back door of Tregarde's club and headed up the back stairs to Tregarde's office. Scott slowed his pace however, half way there…just to buy the kind redhead some time…and perhaps her friends would sense that something was wrong fairly soon. He didn't want the girl to be harmed…but after the beating he had gone through just to voice his CONCERN about her well-being. There was not much more he could do.

Tregarde was waiting in his office, looking as smug as ever as Scott entered the room and placed the redhead in a large, over-stuffed chair. She groaned groggily but showed no other signs of waking up at that moment. Tregarde cleared his throat as Scott continued to stand stoically near the chair and young girl.

"That will be all Masters…you may go," Tregarde stated, waving a hand idly in his general direction. The man's eyes were trained on the young unconscious redhead and Scott frowned.

"What are you going to do to her Dragon?" Scott asked curiously, folding his arms and leaning against the chair. His intent was to inform Tregarde that he was not leaving until he received some answers. Obviously his point had gotten across for Tregarde leapt out of his seat, roaring a curse at him.

"Damn you! You've grown attached to the pathetic little vessel, haven't you?!"

Scott automatically recoiled at the booming voice, almost retreating inside himself like he always did, but he held firm, for her sake. She had no one else to depend on at the moment, and it was his fault for that.

"No, I have not…" he lied placidly. Tregarde considered him with a baleful eye.

"No matter, she will die in any case. And our glorious Emperor will rise again, bringing forth his darkness."

Scott shuddered and quickly retreated out of the room. The Emperor? Did he mean Emperor Talpa? Sighing, Scott headed down to the club to drown himself in alcohol and women.

---

Karasu furrowed his eyebrows as Scott left for the club a few stories below. The foolish psivamp had not even noticed that door had not closed behind him when he took the redhead to Dragon. And Karasu had heard every word of the conversation…

Perhaps this is becoming more and more complicated than we had originally thought…perhaps Apollo was merely the decoy of the initial plan…

"Karasu!" Tregarde's voice echoed throughout the floor of the building.

Karasu swallowed his suddenly parched throat involuntarily. Had he been caught?

"Prepare the altar…we have a seed to plant…" the voice continued.

Sighing a silent breath of relief, Karasu quickly left to prepare the altar. As soon as that was done…he could alert Phoenix and Gaea. And if the atarashii Ronins came, then the original Ronins would follow. Karasu had a feeling that the girl would be pleasantly happy to see her companions after what was to come.

He honestly wished to save the girl from what physical pain and mental torture was to come…but if he were to keep up this charade and save the world, then she would have to be the sacrifice.

Mother Empress of the dark Emperor…what an unpleasant thought…forgive me child…

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

Kogono genjitsu,

Mother of Darkness,

Kokoro no ai

andjunsui no gold.

Spring so atarashii and green

han'eisuru na kanojo ni eyes,

sofull of inochi but also shi.

ketsuekisoshite bara petals fall like ama

andcascade like taki running aka.

Mother of evil,

demonsrise.

Kokorono kin,

junsui as the sun.

Kogo no genijtsu

shroudin darkness

consumed by hate.

Aidesired of family

andtomodachi,

withkami no megumi no raito.

Mother Kogo of Darkness and evil,

equalin all aspects.

The tsuriai no ai and hate

existwithin her.

However, the darkness shies and dies within her

inthe face of ai soshite dojo

fromsamurais no raito.

Kanzenna chowa exists within her

ofDarkness soshite raito.

For she is the Mother Kogo…

Mariko frowned as she stared at the poem, disheartened by not solving half of it. Placing her chin upon her hand, she drummed her fingers on the desk with frustration. She had to figure this poem out! But first she had to translate it…and her computer was doing the best it could.

"Is it done yet?" she heard Cody ask from behind her. Mariko shook her head and sighed.

"No, it can only translate so much and this one line I don't understand…Spring so atarashii and green? What does it mean by Springso new and green? It just doesn't make sense…"

"Well, doesn't atarashii also mean fresh?" Cody asked innocently. Mariko felt her eyes widen, then narrow…

"Cody…come here and do me a favor." Cody moved over to the computer and her older twin a bit warily. "See if you know any of these words?"

Cody glanced at the computer before motioning for Mariko to give up the chair. Mariko relented and left the room, allowing her sister some peace and quiet. While her sister did not do the whole astral planes like Mariko…Mariko's agitated state would definitely bother the younger sibling.

"Maybe I can actually catch a nap or something," she muttered, realizing she had not had any sleep in the past twenty-four hours.

Just as she curled up on the couch in the apartment, something prodded at the back of her mind. Someone had lost all true hope, she realized and sighed tiredly. However, she bolted upright, nearly falling off the couch, when she realized who had lost all hope…

"In the name of Anubis…no!" she shouted, racing in to the office to inform Cody of what she had just learned.

"They've got her! That damn Dragon has her!" she screamed at her sister…her face pale. Mariko knew what they were planning to do the young redhead and it could possibly shatter the girl.