Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Haze Chronicles ❯ Haze Chronicles 3: Kento: Roots of the Earth ( Chapter 3 )

Haze Chronicles 3: Kento: Roots of the Earth

"So, what you're trying to tell us is that something possessed you?" Ryo asked.

"That's what it felt like. It was almost like someone decided to borrow my mind for a while. Then it left. Very freaky," Cye explained.

"I'll bet."

"Ryo, do you even believe me?"

"Of course, Cye, but you gotta admit, it does sound a little farfetched," Ryo said.

"I know, I know. But I swear on...Kento's ham sandwich that's the truth!"

"I heard that, Cye!" Kento yelled from the next room.

Ryo grinned, "Well, if it's not bothering you too much..."

"I think it was probably a one time thing, but we should keep an eye on--Haze! We were just talking about you!"

"I'm sure you were. Do you know why Mia just tried to give me the 'look of death'?"

"No, why?"

"I told you, I told you she was trouble."

Cye groaned. "Mia..."

"First, it was just a niggling suspicion in my head that something was wrong with her, and I think I've just been proven!"

"Look here, I had nothing to do with what happened! I'm just as freaked out as you are!"

"I doubt that! You don't look the least bit concerned for what happened to Cye. Why don't you stop trying to get away with something and tell us the truth?"

"Excuse me? Are you calling me a liar?" Haze snapped.

The shouting had gotten the other warriors' attention. They appeared on the scene.

"What's going on?" Rowen asked.

"This psychopath thinks what happened with Cye was all my fault!"

"Well, it was, wasn't?"

"Ladies, please, can't you tone it down a little? Let's talk about this rationally. Mia, you first. State your case," said Sage.

Mia took a deep breath. "Okay, I know something's not right with her. She's too strange. I already told you that I thought she was a Dynasty soldier, and I've been proven. She tried to take control of Cye's mind and put the blame on someone else. She's obviously lying to protect herself or her master."

Haze looked about ready to blow up.

"Okay, fair enough. Haze? Your defense?"

"This woman has been after me since the moment I walked into this house. You don't even know me, and you're spreading these horrible lies about me. I don't appreciate that. We were just talking and then *BOW* Cye changed into something else. Hooker."

"WHAT? Listen to me, you little--!"

"MIA!!" the five Ronins chorused.

"Ahem. I'll make myself perfectly clear: Either she goes or I go."

"Mia, that's not fair and you know it. We don't know what happened. Just give us a chance to see what's going on and then you can give ultimatums. Okay?" Ryo said.

"This is *my* house, you know."

"We understand that, Mia, but give us some credit. Have we ever knowingly put you in danger?" said Ryo, again calming Mia.

"No..."

"Okay then. Do you agree to give Haze one more chance?"

"I suppose."

"Haze? Do you agree to stay out of Mia's hair?"

"Yeah."

Ryo clapped his hands together. "That's settled, then. So, what's the next order of business? Who's next on the interview list, Haze?" Both Ryo and Haze ignored the look they got from Mia.

"Kento."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Haze leaned into the chair in her customary way of back-against-one-arm-legs-over-the-other. Kento sat across from her with a bowl of potato chips in his lap.

"So, what do you wanna know about the warrior of strength and justice?"

"Hold on," Haze said, leaning forward and pushing 'record' on the machine. "I want you to know that nothing you say will leave this room, unless you give me permission, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"All right. Basic info first: age, place of birth, relatives, et cetera."

"Hi! I'm Kento rei Fuan and I'm 17 years old. My birthday is October 12. I've got the armor of Hardrock. Cye's my best buddy."

"I meant to ask you about that. He told me what happened. Everything."

Kento had the grace to look stunned. "H-he did? I guess he's not the Ronin of Trust for nothing, eh?"

Haze smiled.

"Lessee. I"ve got a whole mess of brothers and sisters. There's Sun Yen; she's 2, there's Li; she's 6, there's..."

"Wait a minute. Organization, Kento my boy. Name all your sisters first."

"Okay. Sun Yen, Li, Hilan, and...nope, that's it. They're 2, 6, and 12. My brothers are Khym, Ken, and Kami. They're 8, 10, and 14."

"That's a lot of damn 'K's'."

"I know. Even my mom gets confused sometimes. She'll go through all of us to get to the one she wants to yell at. By the time she gets there, she'll forget what she's mad about anyway. It'll be like: 'Sun! Hil-! Khy-! Kento! Get your ass over here! We all make fun of her for it. What about you? Got any siblings?"

"I thought *I* was interviewing *you.*"

"Aw, c'mon. I wanna know at least a little about you. So, how many?"

Haze shook her head. "The rumors are true, then," she muttered.

"True about what?"

"You ARE hardheaded!"

"Heeeeyy!"

"Anyways, let's continue." Haze thought she had deftly outmanuevered Kento, but he wasn't as blind as she thought.

"So? Siblings? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins?"

Haze's brow furrowed until they almost touched in the middle. She did not want to get into her past. It was bad enough that she couldn't even get into it with herself, much less some almost complete stranger.

"I really don't want to talk about it, Kento."

Kento seemed to look beyond her for a second before saying, "Haze, c'mon. We're all friends here, right?"

Haze leaned forward and hit "stop" on the recorder.

"Kento, when I say I don't wanna talk about something, I *really* don't want to talk about it, 'kay?"

Kento looked past her again, making Haze wonder what was so interesting behind her. She turned, and almost blew up in fury.

"You mother-fuckers were spying on me?!" she roared.

The other four Ronins plus Mia looked at each other. Cye spoke first.

"We weren't spying--"

"Then what the fuck do you call it?" she yelled again.

"We were just keeping an eye on you. I mean after what happened with Cye, can you blame us?" Ryo said, raising his voice above Haze's

Haze calmed down somewhat. It was a reasonable explanation.

"But you could, or rather, *should* have told me! I don't know what happened anymore than you guys do!"

"We're not accusing you of anything, Haze. We just wanna know what's going on," Cye said.

"So what are we gonna do?" Kento asked into the silence.

"Nothing," Ryo said. "We just have to wait till something happens. If and when something does happen, don't get mad when we jump in, okay Haze?"

She nodded. "I understand. So, can Kento and I continue without you guys, or do I need supervision?"

Mia glared at her.

"I'm sorry. That came out harsher than I meant it to."

Mia kept right on glaring. Then she turned on her heel and stalked out. Ryo wasn't too far behind. Sage nudged Rowen and nodded towards the door. Cye caught the gesture as well, and the three of them left together.

"Okay, then. Shall we?" Haze asked, pushing record.

"My parents own a restaurant. We're pretty well off, I guess. It's not like I flaunt it or anything."

"I'll say. I thought you were a scrub, lookin' like that."

Kento looked at her, about to take offense, when he realized that she was kidding.

"Hey, I wouldn't talk. You're not so dapper yourself, Kasen."

"Oh hell no. That little drowned rat told you my name?"

Kento laughed. "Damn right! He tells me everything!"

Haze muttered something.

"What was that, Kasen?" Kento taunted.

"I said 'Damn him'!" she said, loudly and in good humor. "Ahem. Anyways. Where are you from?"

"China, duh. I thought you knew that."

Haze coughed. "I know. Humor me for the sake of journalism."

"I was born right outside of Beijing in a big house. Or as big as one can get in China."

"I can imagine."

"I guess I've lived a pretty normal life. Other than Hardrock, I'm ordinary."

"Come on. Something other than Hardrock must've happened to you. You guys attract attention."

"I suppose the first time I met Cye was a little interesting."

"Oh?" Haze prompted, when Kento hesitated.

"Ummm...It was the first day of sixth grade. He was in my science class and we were assigned to be lab partners. I really didn't want to, cuz I thought he was kinda, well, you know, dorky. Anyways, we were listening to the teacher ramble on about...oh, I forget."

"Couldn'ta been too important, huh?"

Kento mock glared at her. "We were s'posed to dissect a fish of some sort, and Cye took offense. I thought he was a vegetarian or something, but the other kids really started harrassing him. Even though I barely knew him, I did know that the other kids were in the wrong. So I put my two cents in. Cye just kinda looked at me like I'd grown another arm. Eventually, a fight ensued and the lot of us got suspended."

Haze chuckled. "Cye was fighting too?"

"Sort of. I think he ended up chucking the fish at someone."

"I wonder why Cye didn't mention that?"

"I dunno. Maybe he knew I would bring it up. Or maybe his mind was clouded."

Now it was Haze's turn to glare at Kento. Except she was serious.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that! I was only referring to what you said at dinner."

Haze relaxed. "So, how did you end up with Hardrock?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I was visiting one of my uncles in America. He was showin' me around and we ended up going to the Grand Canyon."

"And here I thought that Samurai were only in Japan."

"It's not what you think. I tripped on some loose rocks and busted my ass. I was out cold for a little while and I dreamt of some orange armor and the 'justice' kanji. When I got back to Japan, I asked my parents if there was anything like that in our family. They didn't know."

"So where did you get Hardrock?"

"I'm getting to that. I think that by the time I had that dream, Cye already had Torrent. I saw his kanji ball one time when I was visiting. It looked familiar."

"I thought you didn't have Hardrock yet."

"I didn't. I just remembered from my dream."

"Yeah, but don't you write in kanji?"

"Uh-huh. But we don't use random words like 'justice' and 'trust', you know?"

"I guess that makes sense."

"Cye only told me that he 'found it' somewhere."

"Huh. You said he tells you everything."

"He does now. Anyways, a couple days later is when I found Hardrock."

"How?"

"I was just wandering along, mindin' my own business--"

"When it fell out the sky?"

"No, idiot. That's prolly how Rowen got his. It started to get stormy, and lightning hit this tree. It split dead down the middle, and right where the roots met the earth is where Hardrock stood. And the rest is history, I guess."

"Didja tell Cye about it afterwards?"

"Yeah, but not till a couple days after I got it. I wanted to get used to the idea first."

"What'd Cye say?"

"He was thrilled. Now he wasn't the only one with some weird armor."

"Had either of you actually used the armor yet?"

"No, we didn't need to. And we didn't know how. None of us did until we were all together."

"How long till that happened?"

No answer.

"Hello? Kento?"

Nothing.

"Uh-oh. Not again."

Kento had changed dramatically. He was now glaring at Haze, rage and insanity in his eyes.

"You're mine, Hazriel," Kento said, only it wasn't really Kento. He leapt over the coffee table separating them and throttled her.

"Scream for me," Kentodemon whispered. She managed to get out a strangled gurgle.

*************

Rowen walked up to the house, nose in a book, and blindly opened the door. He walked through the living room, where Kentodemon was choking Haze.

Rowen kept reading/walking. As he hit the bottom step to the second floor, he looked up, a puzzled look on his face. Then the scene in the living room finally registered. His book dropped from his hands as he dashed back.

"Kento! What tha hell are ya doin'?!"

An evil laugh escaped Kentodemon's lips. "Killing Hazriel, Strata. What does it look like?"

"Ryo! Sage! Cye! Hurry!" Rowen shouted as he launched himself at Kentodemon.

Kentodemon continued to squeeze Haze's throat with one hand as he flung Rowen back against the wall with the other.

The remaining three Ronins appeared on the scene just as Rowen went flying.

"Kento! Stop! You're killing her!" Cye yelled desperation in his voice.

"That's the point, Torrent," Kentodemon hissed, and squeezed harder.

The blood vessels in Haze's eyes popped, leaving them a ghoulish blood red.

"This is the end, Hazriel."

Haze's eyes changed from red to a glowing blue. Her long black hair lifted from her shoulders and a blue smoky substance started to rise from her body.

There was a sudden blue flash as Kentodemon was thrown backwards. The chair Haze was sitting in also flipped over.

Haze shot to her feet. "You have threatened this body for the last time, Malek. The High Kingdom will hear about this." The glowing blue then faded from Haze's eyes. She slumped to the floor, unconcious.

*************

Haze was lying on the couch, surrounded by the Ronins. They were in deep conversation.

"I seriously want to know what happened," Kento said, more subdued than usual.

"There's definitely something evil going on here, but I don't think it's Haze's fault," Sage said.

"Who's this 'Malek' character she talked about? What's the 'High Kingdom'? And who's Hazriel?" Ryo asked, totally lost.

As Haze became aware, she struggled to sit up. Sage, who was seated on the arm of the couch, pushed her back down.

"Oh no. Lay still. You're not recovered yet."

"You guys aren't angry with me?" Haze asked in an uncharacteristically timid voice.

Ryo cracked a small smile. "No. Whatever happened wasn't because of you. Something else started it. We just don't know what. Yet."

Suddenly, a bright flash blinded them for a moment. When they could see again, Anubis was standing in the room.

"Anubis! *You* can tell us what's going on!" Kento shouted happily.

"Correct, Hardrock." He knelt next to Haze and put a hand on her forehead. "I'm going to try to communicate with Hazriel. This may give you a headache."

"Too late," she murmured.

Anubis grinned and Haze's eyes closed.

"Hazriel. I know you can hear me. We need to know what's going on. Hazriel!"

"I can hear you, Anubis. No need to shout."

Sage jumped, startled at the voice, which he knew came from Haze, but didn't, somehow.

"Easy, Halo. I'm not Malek. That bastard."

"Who's he then?" Rowen asked, as he shifted the icepack held to the back of his head.

"Malek is the man who murdered my father, and now who plans to murder me."

"Who was ya fathah?" Rowen asked again.

Haze/Hazriel looked at him, surprised. "You don't know?"

All of them shook their heads. Even Anubis was lost.

"Hariel."

"What!?" Ryo roared.

Hazriel gave him a look. "Oh come on. Like my name wasn't a dead giveaway."

Ryo ignored her. "You mean to tell me that Haze is Hariel's daughter?"

"No, Wildfire. Haze is a descendant of Hariel's clan, but she's not me. We are two totally different entities."

"So you're possessing Haze, so to speak?" Sage asked.

"Yes, for lack of a better word. I inhabited this body when it was just a child. I am hoping to confront the demon Malek, but he can, unfortunately, kill this body. I need to be released from it if I, or Haze, is to be of any assistance."

"We could try an exorcism," Sage suggested.

"No. That won't work. I need the device that got me in here in the first place."

"And where is this device?" Cye asked.

Hazriel looked sheepish. "Ireland."

***************

The five Ronins, plus Mia, Yuli, and Haze/Hazriel and WhiteBlaze stood in line, waiting to board their plane to Ireland. (Well, not WhiteBlaze; he was in the cargo bay.) They had booked the flight as soon as Hazriel told them about it, and it was a few days later.

Sage looked over at Haze/Hazriel. It was Haze, for now. Sage had come to expect the sudden change into Hazriel; he now recognized the signs. Her eyes would get droopier and she would look more relaxed. The real difference, however, would be her/their eyes. Haze's eyes were a startling emerald green, while Hazriel's were tiger blue like Ryo's. Sage had long had a suspicion that Ryo was distantly related to Hariel, and if that was the case, Haze and Ryo would be many-removed cousins.

The thought of two Ryo's freaked Sage out a bit.

A whistle brought him out of his daze.

"Earth ta Sage," Rowen whispered beside him. "Whatcha daydreamin' 'bout?"

"Haze and Ryo."

Rowen looked puzzled for a moment. "Oh. Ya mean bein' related ta Hariel?"

Sage nodded. "Yeah. Wouldn't it be weird if they were? I mean, one Ryo is enough. We can barely keep *him* in one piece."

"Why should it matta? Ah don't think Haze is gonna stick around afta all this."

"And what if she does? Then what?"

"Then we deal with it. C'mon, Sage, it's not like ya ta be so upset 'bout somethin'."

"I am not upset!"

Rowen raised an eyebrow, then frowned. "Great. This asshole doesn't quit. Ryo! Haze! Guys!" ::I seem to be doing a lot of yelling for them...::

The lot of them came running.

"Peace, Ronin," Sage/Malek said. I'm here to make you a deal, not to fight. We all know what I want. Give me Hazriel and I'll leave you alone."

"Absolutely not!" Ryo shouted.

"If you don't hand over the girl, I will be forced to snatch another of Hariel's descendants."

Sage's one eye returned to its normal piercing lavender. "He's gone, but he's getting more insistent," he said shakily.

"He must be damned powerful if he can control Sage like that," Kento said in a rare moment of insight.

"Who's the other descendant?" asked Cye.

"Ro and I think it's probably Ryo."

Even Ryo nodded. "So I guess that means you guys are gonna have to up security on me, eh?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. Once we all get ta Ireland, we'll figure somethin' definite out," Rowen said.

"Flight 216 bound for Dublin, now boarding," said the PA system.

"That'd be us," Mia said, and they walked off.

**************

Haze and Kento sat next to each other on the flight. She still had a few more questions.

"I don't know how you can want to interview me after all this. I mean, I almost killed you."

"Nonsense. It wasn't you, it was Malek. C'mon now. We'll start where we left off the last time. How long was it until you donned the armor?"

Kento thought a bit. "Hmmmm...not till about two years later, give or take a few months."

"Damn. So what'd you do till then?"

"Both Cye and I had the urge to learn some self-defense. Of course, after awhile, we ended up really learning how to fight."

"With the weapons you were going to use, or just anything?"

"Anything, at first. But then we picked a weapon we were most comfortable with. Cye had the yari, and I had the naginata."

"What other weapons did you learn?"

"Huh? Oh, we could all use each other's weapons in a pinch. I can use Cye's yari or Ryo's katanas or Sage's no-datchi, if I really had to."

"What about Rowen's bow?"

Kento snorted. "Yeah right. Sage is the only one that can use that thing effectively enough to do any damage. I always get whacked with the string."

"And Sage doesn't?"

"Not really. I've seen him with bruises before. Hey, are you taping this?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What are you going to do with the tapes?"

"Listen to them for my own personal enjoyment."

"C'mon, seriously. Are you going to show them to other people? Like your fellow journalists?"

"I honestly don't know. I might have some people listen to them, but only people I trust."

"Do we get a say in who listens to them?"

"If you really want to, I don't see why not."

A stewardess rolled by with a cart.

"All right! Food!" Kento shouted. Haze buried her face in her hands.