Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ White Wheeled Limousine ❯ White Wheeled Limousine ( One-Shot )

Disclaimer-I will never own the three Dark Warlords, Anubis, Kayura, or any characters from the series Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. All rights go to Sunrise, Nagoya Television, Graz Entertainment, and Ocean Group. The title of this story is taken from the song White Wheeled Limousine, sung by Bruce Hornsby, and taken from his CD Hot House. Hot House was produced by Bruce Hornsby and published by Basically Zappo Music/Warner-Chappell Music. All rights to the CD and song belong to them.

 

White Wheeled Limousine

Isabel Night

 

Today was supposed to be a day for relaxation. The lapping of water inside an artificial lake mixed in with the faint scent of Weeping Higan Cherry Trees confined to a well-tended garden should have made the blending of scent and sound give off a peaceful, lazy aura. Instead, impatience graced the features of a four hundred fifty-six year old male, Sasaki Cale, who was currently standing on a balcony over the castle's garden, running his fingers through his wild blue hair.

 

Dais, Kayura and Sekhmet, his fellows in the Nether Realm, were supposed to have met him an hour ago to prepare for the annual Cherry Blossom viewing. The original plan was for the three of them to go to the kitchen and help the cook make a picnic lunch for the party. Because they were not on time, he was stuck waiting for them. The three of them should have come back from the Mortal Realm after visiting a friend in Kyoto, and traveling shouldn't have been an issue. The only way to go between the worlds was to summon a red gate that connected the castle to the human world, and as long as the system wasn't misused, people and demons could travel between both without any physical harm.

 

Absentmindedly, Cale closed his eyes and traced the inverted cross-shaped scar over his left eye. Given to him by his last human master for failing to commit suicide after an unsuccessful battle, the scar was a reminder of his past, and a personal vendetta—until his armor's sword sliced the bastard in half. Now used as an unconscious way to remember the forgotten, Cale's mind began to drift back to the time he had first joined the Dynasty, the collective name for Talpa's empire.

 

Cale was twenty years old when he had joined the empire. Moreover, while his eyes saw four hundred years of fleeting human history, he physically looked like the same man who had first swore loyalty to his demon master.

 

He had once been part of a group called the four Dark Warlords. His brothers, Dais, the white-haired Warlord of Illusion, Sekhmet, the green-haired Warlord of Venom and Anubis, the red-haired Warlord of Cruelty, joined with him as part of the most powerful force in the Nether Realm—and earning a reputation by becoming what many considered Talpa's greatest commanders. For four centuries they appeared to be unbreakable, until five children, the Ronin Warriors, with the help of their guardian monk, The Ancient One, smashed that façade to pieces.

 

Cale idly rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to bring his mind out of the past and into the present. Today was the nineteenth anniversary of Talpa's defeat, and sometimes he wondered about how things had changed. The Ronin Warriors were no longer children but in their early thirties, settled down, married, and with children. From what Kayura had reported, the girl Mia was also married and had a family of her own. The boy-child, Yuli, would probably be in his twenties, working, and starting to look for a wife. Though Cale wished everyone well, he still had a bit of trouble trying to make peace with the fact that he had been played like a—

 

"Sorry we're late!" Kayura called out, successfully jarring Cale out of his thoughts as she made her way towards the balcony he was standing on with Dais and Sekhmet. "The visit took longer than we expected. Hachiro wanted us to help him prepare some dried sweets for the Cherry Blossom viewing."

 

Katsumori Hachiro was the first mortal friend Dais had made in over four hundred years. The two had met at an O-Bon festival dance four years ago, held in Maruyama Koen Park. As it was Dais' first festival outside the Nether Realm, it came as a huge surprise that he would form a lasting friendship. The original reasoning behind the trip was to go to Kyoto, Anubis' ancestral home, and honor the family of the man who saved their lives. Much had passed since then, and even now, Cale still had lingering bouts of jealousy. Perhaps some part of him was still possessive, wanting to keep Dais, Sekhmet, and Kayura locked up in the castle, safe from the human world by making sure other potential friends had an "accident" via a sword through the heart.

 

"Really," Cale answered, masking a frown with pleasant smirk on his face. "What's so nice about making sweets that the three of you would overstay your visit and forget about our festival plans?"

 

"Cale," Dais sighed, rubbing his forehead. "We didn't mean to overstay; besides, Hachiro gave us something nice in return."

 

Dais produced an envelope and handed it to Cale, who quickly ripped open the top, and pulled out four stiff, white tickets. The writing was a bit faded and smudged, but Cale could tell that the tickets were still in fair condition.

 

"In fact," Dais spoke up again, noticing the puzzled look on Cale's face, "These tickets are an invitation to the Heian Jingu Shrine's Cherry Blossom party."

 

Cale blinked; the Heian Jingu Shrine, especially the South Garden, was almost as old as Kyoto itself. Dedicated to Emperor Kammu and Emperor Komei, the temple had a major dedication ceremony a year before the war with America. In the Heian Era, court nobles had their Cherry Blossom parties in the South Garden while composing springtime poems. To secure an invitation must have been a stroke of good luck, even though tea ceremonies could also take place in the North Garden.

 

"Wait, how did Hachiro get us into a party at the Heian Jingu Shrine?"

 

"He didn't tell us," Dais shrugged, waiting for Cale's response to the sudden change of plans. "He probably got them as a thank you gift for being the guest of honor at a tea ceremony."

 

"And all of us are going?"

 

"That's the idea,” Kayura volunteered.

 

"What about our personal plans?" Cale asked, clenching his fist behind his back in an attempt not to show how upset he was. "We were going to have a private celebration in the garden."

 

"I think it would be better if we celebrate the viewing in the Mortal World," Kayura replied, absently toying with a strand of black hair. "We've been in this world for almost four hundred years, with very little to no human contact, and this outing might be a good experience for us. Not only as a way to reclaim a portion of our humanity, but we could also see how much the world has changed."

 

"Good for us?"

 

"I think it would be good idea if we got reacquainted—"

 

"I'm not going," Cale huffed at Kayura, his voice sounding more disappointed than angry.

 

"What do you mean you're not going?" Dais questioned, raising an eyebrow.

 

"I mean I'm not going to a viewing party in the mortal world when we can have one here."

 

"Cale, this isn't about location." Sekhmet sighed, shaking his head. "Kayura honestly believes that this party would allow us to meet new people and get out of the castle—"

 

"Why should we celebrate the festivities in the human world when we can do the same thing here?" Cale pointed out, becoming more irritated. "What's more, we'll be closer to Anubis—"

 

"Cale, it's been almost twenty years!" Sekhmet snapped.

 

"I don't care!" Cale snapped back, his patience now gone. "We've always had viewing parties in the castle gardens, and I'm not going to one in the human world just because you three believe it's good for me!"

 

"Cale, calm down; there's nothing—"

 

"I said no!"

 

"Enough!" Dais yelled, raising his voice in an attempt to keep the shouting down. "Cale, if you don't want to go, then don't go. Besides, it's not like we're betraying—"

 

"We're not betraying Anubis," Sekhmet finished, firmly biting his lower lip in an attempt to control his temper. "I'm not a mind reader, but I think that this is something he would have liked. Plus, it's not like we're trying to dodge our way out of spending time with him; we just want to try something different."

 

"Different?" Cale inquired, raising an eyebrow.

 

"I'm saying that an opportunity like this might be something he would have wanted." Sekhmet continued, laying out his reasons. "Yes, it is much easier to have the festival here, but think about the bigger picture. We've been stuck in this world and have no experience dealing with a majority of human beings. On the other hand, I've never been through much of Kyoto, except for my visits with Hachiro, so maybe we can also visit other temples, try local delicacies, and even walk The Philosopher's Way."

 

"But we've lived here for a long time," Cale point out. "We have a comfortable home, a terrain we're familiar with, and we're close to Anubis's grave. Why should any of that change?"

 

"Again, because I feel that Anubis would want us to change," Sekhmet countered. "It's been almost twenty years since we buried him, and we're still living in this world, moping around, clinging to our past, feeling sorry for ourselves, and trying to push aside the fact that we've been given a second chance. He didn't die for us so that we would be stuck in this world forever; he would want us to start over, live our lives again, and make new friends. If that means going to the Mortal Realm for a party, then that's what I'll—"

 

"I'm not trying to get out of going to anything," Cale objected, shaking his head. "But the three of us made the choice to leave the mortal world behind. If we leave the Nether Realm for good, then we're saying that our previous choices mean nothing."

 

"True," Kayura reminded him, speaking in an even tone. "I, on the other hand, didn't have a choice when it came to joining the Dynasty. Thanks to Anubis's sacrifice and the Ancient's staff, I can remember my past. When I was eight years old, I lost my family to Talpa's raid on my clan. Soldiers took me to the castle, Talpa wiped my memories clean, and no matter how much I wish or make offerings to the Kami, I'll never get my mother and father back. Yes, I'm from the past, but I don't want that to stop me from living life and having the freedom Anubis wanted all of us to have. Even though I don't remember much about my parents, I feel that they wouldn't have wanted this too. I'm going to this party with Dais and Sekhmet, and if you want to stay here and sulk then—"

 

"Fine," Cale finished, dramatically throwing his arms up in the air when he realized that he wasn't going to talk anyone out of going to Kyoto. "I'll come to the viewing party! That doesn't mean I'll enjoy it!"

 

Kayura closed her eyes and uttered a small sigh. She knew that Cale was more stubborn than Dais or Sekhmet, but at least she had scored some points with him coming to the festival. 'He'll have a good time,' she thought, smiling inwardly as Cale left the balcony in a foul mood. 'In fact, he'll probably have a better time than the rest of us and not admit to it.'

 

THE END

 

End Notes-I would like to thank all my Beta Readers for helping me put together this story. I would also like thank all of those who have read and reviewed as well.