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The next morning, Saturday, 10:00 AM....
The first thing Cassie did the next morning was check on her visitor,
just in case he decided to up and leave in the middle of the night. To
her relief, he was still asleep. Jetson, who was on the floor, was imitating
Kanji's position on the couch. Cassie couldn't help but giggle at the
sight. She walked over to Kanji, who seemed to be mumbling something.
She then bent down to hear better. Still not being able to make out what
he was saying, she walked away slowly as not to wake him up, but then
paused when one word clearly escaped through his lips.
"Cassie...." thinking that he woke, she turned to check. He was still curled up like a baby on the couch. She walked over to him again and bent down to look at his face and stroke his cheek gently with one hand. He wiggled, but remained asleep.
*He's quite adorable this way* she thought to herself, she then left and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
~*~
Kanji awoke when he felt something lick his face. He opened his eyes to find Jetson slobbering on him,"Oh man!" Although he found it pretty gross, he petted the dog,"Good morning Jetson, where's Cassie?" Jetson moved and faced the direction of the bathroom,"I see, she's taking a shower." He then got up and walked to the kitchen sink to wash his face. He then heard the shower stop. He smiled to himself, he had an idea.
~*~
Cassie opened the door of the bathroom and started to walk out. She was then stopped as she bumped into Kanji. She was even more surprised when he pulled her torwards him and held her tight in his arms, she couln't help but to put her arms around him and hug him back. She rested her head on his chest, they stood like that for awhile, that's when Kanji made his move. Kanji looked down and stared into her eyes as she tried to gently break away, he then pulled her head upwards. She looked back into his eyes, the two seemed to have had sparks flying between them as they slowly brought their faces closer to each other. As their lips made bearly any contact, other than a soft touch, there came a knock from the door. Cassie instantly snapped out of the romantic trance and headed for the door, almost dismissing completely what had just happened.
*Damn, I was so close.* Kanji thought and went back to sit down on the couch, where Jetson sat beside him.
~*~
Ashley happened to be at the door,"Hey Cassie, just wanted to check on-" She peered over Cassie's shoulder and saw, sitting on the couch and playing with Jetson, Kanji."Cassie, we never should have let you had the night shift!" Ashley said.
"What are you talking about?" Cassie asked, puzzled.
"When you said you thought he was cute, I didn't expect you to take him home with you and sleep with him!" Ashley replied, looking at Cassie, who was wearing nothing but a bath robe.
"Can you be a little bit more quiet? Besides, I did not sleep with him!" Cassie retorted, whispering and yelling at the same time.
"Then why is he here, wearing nothing but boxers and a wet tanktop?" Ashley asked, still not believing Cassie.
"He needed a place to stay for the night other than the park. As for his clothes, you expect someone to sleep in t-shirt and jeans?" Cassie said, trying to defend her innocence, so what if she almost locked lips with him?
"That still doesn't explain why his shirt's wet," Ashley replied. Cassie gave her an annoyed look. "Ok, I'm just kidding, no more questions, although I would really want to know what was going on last night...."
"Ashley!" Cassie was getting very annoyed.
"Sorry, sorry. C'mon, get dressed, the rest are waiting at the gym." Ashley stepped into Cassie's house to wait.
"Ok," Cassie turned to tell Kanji that she was leaving, but he seemed to have disappeared. "Where'd he go?" Cassie asked herself.
"Forget about it Cassie, get dressed and let's go," Ashley said.
~*~
Somewhere in the Angel Grove Park....
Kanji stood under the shade of the tree, playing his flute, this time
he was playing a warrior's tune. He then stopped as he remembered the
passing events. Him staring at Cassie when he first saw her, them cuddling
under a tree at night while he told her his past, the battle, where he
slept the previous day, the hug, and the faint kiss. "The kiss.... how
I long to feel it again...." Kanji shook his head for thinking such thoughts.
"What am I doing? I can't fall in love yet, not this easily. Can I? I
never experienced love before, how does it feel like? Cassie...." Kanji
asked himself, confused by his own actions, and his own affections, desires.
As he continued to ponder, he started walking to the youth center, maybe
a little training is what he needed.
~*~
"Is he the one Tora?" asked Kyoten, one of the Dragoons, the leader, the one who represented chaos. And as his representation goes, his appearence looked chaotic, bat wings, long jet black hair, a height of 8 feet and purple skin. The rest were there also, Toranoshi, the demon that Kanji and Cassie fought the night before, represented nightmares, though he usually goes in the form of the six-armed samurai, he has the ability to change into anyones worse nightmares. Aneijin, representative of shadows, was cloaked in black clothing from head to toe, but the rest of him appeared to be mortal, aside from the black pupils in his eyes. Enken, represented fire, dressed in ancient Chinese warrior clothes and red hair that had a burnng look to it, his pupils also had fire dancing in them. Aisukishu, ice, the only female member of the Dragoons, was dressed in an ocean blue, satin dress, her eyes seemed to have a cold stare to them. Hyojin, wind, dressed to look like an average young man, had a handsome face, and a golden bow and arrow set, to represent his powers of the wind, his speed is also a striking ability. Shinei, death, one of the more demonic looking demons stood 8 feet tall, though hunched down, looking like a hunchback, but his face is covered with snaky hair, making him look like a goblin, he also wore a necklace with a small skull as a pendant. Kura, time, an old appearence, has the ability to control time, making things move slower or faster by will. Finally, Qua, earth, has the ability to control things such as plants and anything mother nature created, looks very similar to Hyojin, except for his build is more muscular.
"Yes, he is the one, he's the survivor of our raid in Tokyo," Toranoshi stared at him with anger as he left.
"Should we kill him now, Kyoten?" Shinei asked.
"No, I want to kill him in front of this girl he cherishes so much, this Cassie...." Kyoten started chuckling in a low voice that then became a loud roar, the rest laughed after him. They all stared into the couldron once more,"Great Couldron of Hades, show us this one human they call Cassie...." the water in the couldron bubbled for awhile and then it showed the image of Cassie during the fight with Toranoshi.
"I recognize her...." Toranoshi said. Kyoten then turned to Hyojin, Qua, Aisukishu, Aneijin, and Enken.
"Since you guys are the 'human' looking, I want you to capture her, bring her here. Then we'll take care of Kanji Osan...." Kyoten said. The five silently nodded and disappeared.
~*~
Angel Grove Gym & Juice Bar....
After Kanji got dressed to fight, he decided to show the whole gym what
he could do. He stood at one side of the gym, and made sure that he had
a clear path across the whole room. When things finally cleared of people,
Kanji stood in an odd fighting stance, his eyes closed. People still paid
no attention to him, the only person on the gym floor. That's when his
eyes quickly opened and he started dashing across the room with quick
punches and kicks, each striking a different area of the pretend opponent,
and as he reached the other side of the room, he launched himself into
the air and punched the air in rapid succession as his jump carried him
almost to the roof, on his way back down he finished with an axe kick
in the air. By now he caught the attention of everybody in the gym and
bar, including five particular teenagers(hint: it ain't the Power Rangers)
~*~
"He's here, let's just have a little fun with him," Enken said. Hyojin chuckled.
"Let's...." Hyojin said in a low voice. The five got up and walked torwards the gym.
"That's some nice moves you got there, let's see if they work...." Enken said to Kanji.
Kanji looked into Enken's eyes and felt a burning sensation as Enken's stare had fire dancing in his pupils,"Hey you're-!" Kanji's comment was then cut off by Enken's punch. Kanji's face seemed to heat up and he instantly started sweating.*Not good, if he keeps hitting me, then it's likely I'll burn.* Kanji thought, as Enken rushed at him with fast punches that seemed to leave trails of smoke. Kanji dodged, but did not dare blocking or any other form of touching his skin, he knew it would burn him. Enken then threw a right hook that missed Kanji's face and brought him closer, Kanji then used this chance to grab him by his shirt and knee him in the stomach, still making no contact with his skin head on.
"So you're a fast learner, this makes it fun, but you can't avoid my attacks forever," Enken said.
"You have no idea what my abilities are," Kanji said. Aisukishu, then stepped up, taking a fighting position, now she wore a more suitable attire, a fighter's clothes.
"Never send a man to do a woman's job, hmph!" Aisukishu taunted.
"Let's see you take him out then," Enken said back.
" With pleasure," Aisukishu said and charged at Kanji, Kanji blocked her punch with an unexpected result, he started shivering with a cold sensation, as if his blood was freezing. By now the Rangers had arrive to witness the fight that Kanji was in, one that he was losing and one that everybody was watching.
~*~
Cassie pushed through the crowd to see what was going on and to find that Kanji was fighting two people at once, a girl and a guy. Though they didn't look to powerful, they seemed to have some sort of strange effect on him, the guy however hand a noticable trait of smoke trailing his punches.
~*~
Kanji's hands and legs were aching from the dodging and from the cold strikes that Aisu were throwing at him. *If I keep this up, I'll be worn out in no time!* and in a rage he finally yelled,"No fair! Where's your honor?" Kanji asked the two. They stopped as if they realized something. Then Aneijin stepped up.
"I think he means he wants a fair fight. Fine, why don't you fight with me, I don't cheat," Aneijin said and he and Kanji started circling the gym floor.
*If only there wasn't so many people here, I'd use my powers, but that seems impossible right now.* Kanji thought and prepared for any more tricks, but with the rage he had right now, he just attacked Anei head on, good for him. Anei didn't seem to have as much skill as the others, making him a fair fight. Soon, it appearently showed that Kanji was besting the young demon. Enken stepped up from behind Kanji, who wasn't paying attention and shoved him into Anei, who waited and grabbed Kanji and flung him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground. "Whatever happened to a fair fight?" Kanji asked.
"You were winning," Aisu replied coldly. That's when Kanji remembered something from training.
Since they are demons, they have honor, but they have a big ego, as soon as they see any sign of losing, they'll do anything to win. Use it to your advantage and make them fight each other.
Though Kanji didn't uderstand the second part at first, he now knew what Ninjor was trying to tell him. He then stood up, between Aisu and Enken, as Enken threw another punch at Kanji, Kanji dodged and grabbed his arm and threw him into Aisu. Since fire and ice don't mix, their powers drained fast and their attacks won't affect Kanji as much."Now's a fair fight, c'mon, show me whatcha got!" Kanji beckoned as a taunt. Enken gladly obliged, not aware that his powers were drained. Kanji then had alot of fun as the punches no longer burned. Kanji even held his own as all three took him on. But soon it was appearent that they were recharging, as Aisu became faster and Enken started to leave trails of smoke again. At one point in time, Enken punched at Kanji, Kanji ducked and the fist strikes Aisu, knocking her down, and hurting Enken himself as Aisu's skin froze his blood.
"You'll pay for that humiliation Kanji!" Hyojin then pulled out an arrow and shot at Kanji, Kanji tried to knock it away but the golden arrow was powerful and slashed at his arm as it redirected it's course. Cassie just couldn't watch any longer and joined in the fight, just when Enken swung at Kanji again. Cassie happened to be in the way.
"Cassie be careful!" Kanji jumped in front and shoved Cassie out of the way, taking the punch with full force on his wound. Kanji yelled as the punched sizzled his skin and he layed on the ground, holding his wound.
"I thought you were going to provide more of a challenge, come on you three, let's go, he's had enough,"The five walked out of the gym. Cassie then came to Kanji's side, trying to wipe the blood from the wound.
"Are you ok?" Cassie asked Kanji.
"I'll be fine, just bandage the wound and get me some ice, this is burning!" Kanji moved his hand and revealed the wound which was throbbing. "Cassie, don't ever jump in like that again, it was very dangerous," Kanji said.
"If I didn't jump in, you would've eventually died," Cassie said.
"Better me than you," Kanji said. Now everybody went back to what they were doing and Tj came with a pack of ice.
"Are you going to be ok?" Tj asked, Kanji simply nodded and got up.
~*~
Angel Grove Park, 30 minutes later....
Kanji walked around by himself, still holding the burning wound, the ice
already melted, but he kept his hand there. "Ninjor was right, I wasn't
ready," Kanji said to himself. Cassie came up from beside him.
"It's very hard to keep track of you, why do you keep disappearing?" Cassie asked.
"It's the way of the ninja," Kanji joked.
"I don't think you need that pack of ice anymore, here, let me see that wound," Cassie moved his arm and clearly saw that the wound became a scab thanks to the burn, she then took the ice pack and threw it away in a nearby trash can. Cassie continued walking with Kanji silently for a awhile longer, that's when Kanji broke the silence.
"Why are you still following me?" Kanji asked.
"I want to know more about you," Cassie answered, she then took his hand and they walked holding hands.
"I already told you about myself last night," Kanji said.
"I don't care about that, I want to know about your personal life," Cassie said, she then smiled at him. He smiled back and they found a shade to sit under, the day was hot, burning hot. Once again, she put her head on his shoulder and rested as he put his arm around her shoulder and held her close. She closed her eyes and almost fell asleep listening to the sounds of the birds and his mellow voice speaking in a relaxed tone.
~*~
"Oh how sweet," Ashley said. The other four Rangers happened to be spying on them nearby while having a picnic.
"This is kinda boring, like watching a soap opera," Justin said.
"You know nothing about people in love, do you?" Tj asked.
"If they were in love, wouldn't they be making out?" Justin asked.
"You don't know anything about love," Carlos joked.
"Yeah, love is more than just making out," Tj added.
"That's how it's like in the movies," Justin said.
"Too much TV can spoil your mind, kid," Carlos said. The rest laughed, but Justin grimaced.
~*~
"Cassie?" Kanji said, making sure she wasn't asleep on his shoulder.
"Hmm?" Cassie answered quietly.
"Remember this morning?" Kanji asked. Cassie lifted her head to look at him.
"What about it?" Cassie asked, a little puzzled, apparently not remembering much.
"Remember this?" Kanji pulled in closer and kissed Cassie tenderly in the lips, she pulled back awhile, looking at him and then pulling back in to kiss him back. The two were then locked in a passionate kiss the seemed to last forever.
~*~
"Now that's love!" Justin said as he pointed torwards the two who were kissing. Ashley shifted her attention from the picnic food and looked at what he was talking about. Tj dropped his sandwhich when he saw the two locked in a long kiss.
"Ok, so maybe you were half right, I'm going to break this up," Tj got up and headed torwards the two.
"No, Tj wait," Carlos said," don't disturb them, besides they'll be angry if they find us spying on them." Tj came back and sat down.
"Ok, but if they go any further...." Tj said.
"What are they going to do? It's the park, there're hundreds of people here, let them make out, besides, I'm enjoying watching Cassie like this, I never knew she's that kinda person," Ashley said.
~*~
Kanji finally pulled away, a little surprised by his own actions,"Wow...." they said at the same time.
"Kanji.... That was intense," Cassie said. "How would it feel like if we went any further?" Cassie asked.
"I have no idea, I never felt this way before," Kanji answered. He kissed her again, this time a quick kiss.
"Heh, that makes two of us," Cassie added. "Kanji....?" Cassie asked nervously.
"Hmm?" Kanji responded. Cassie shifted uneasily, not sure what to say.
"Do you....um....want...." Cassie said, with a shaky voice.
"What is it Cassie?" Kanji ask quizzickly.
"Would you like to find out?" Cassie said quickly, trying not to make him understand. Kanji's face froze, surprised and delighted at the same time.
Kanji gave out a quick laugh,"Whoa....this is just too much," Kanji said, and before Cassie could say anything he grabbed once again for another kiss,"If you're ready," he finally answered and laid her down on the grass.
"I'm ready, promise you'll be gentle gentle with me," she kissed him again.
" I will, it's my first time also," she smiled at him and he got on top of her, kissing her neck.
~*~
"Alright, he just crossed the line right there!" Tj got up and started heading for the two.
"Tj, wait!" Ashley got up and followed him.
~*~
Kanji started to unbutton Cassie's shirt when he noticed a hand sticking out of the shadows. Quickly he grabbed Cassie and rolled to get her out of the way as the hand tried to grab her. "Sheesh, there's always something there to stop me from going any further, isn't there?" Kanji asked himself. He sprang to his feet and looked around. Cassie buttoned her shirt back up and searched for the reason why Kanji stopped.
"Cassie, you can't!" Ashley yelled, as she and Tj ran torwards them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Cassie asked, surprised by their sudden appearence. "Wait a minute, you guys were spying?!" She soon figured as she saw Justin and Carlos in the distance, waving nervously.
"I know, it was wrong, we couldn't help it. Besides, this was Ashley's idea," Tj said.
"My idea?! You considered it also!" Ashley shot back.
Kanji saw a twinkle in the distance and stuck out his hand, catching a golden arrow before it struck Cassie, Cassie gasped as she saw how close it was to hitting her."Shooting a golden arrow on a sunny day is a dead giveaway, Genji Glove appear!" Kanji's gauntlet then appeared on his hand, as well as his sword. "Show yourself, I know you're here!" he yelled out in all directions.
"Those weren't our orders, oh well, I hate taking orders anyways," Hyojin then materialized in front of Kanji, smiling wickedly."I don't think I've had the pleasure of fighting you yet, Kanji, am I correct?" Hyojin asked.
"You did, however, take a cheap shot at me!" Kanji responded."The pleasure is now yours however," Kanji said, smiling back.
"I like your attitude," Hyojin said,"but you'll need more than that to win against the spirit of the wind."
"You sound confident, I should have the same right to sound confident," Kanji joked. "Say, never caught your name," Kanji added.
"My name is Hyojin, spirit of the wind, and killer of your family," Hyojin laughed and slashed at Kanji with the sharp end of his bow. Kanji pulled out his sword and parried the attack, stepping back.
"Guys leave, this is my fight!" Kanji said to the others.
"But Kanji, what if you get injured again?" Cassie asked.
"I won't lose this time," Kanji said,"Alright Hyo, let's go!" Kanji stuck out his gauntlet and made strange gestures,"Terrattack! Bahumut Summon!" Kanji again was engulfed in white light and reappeared in his armor."Hey, this thing looks cooler in the day!" Kanji said as he checked out his shining white armor."Alright, let's get serious, you go first!" Kanji said.
"If you insist....!" Hyojin pulled out three golden arrows and shot them all at once, Kanji dashed in and jumped over the arrows, coming down on Hyojin with his sword. Hyojin hopped to the side and slashed at Kanji with his bow. the blow struck him on the side and he was sent spinning to the ground.
"Damn! I really need to work on my technique!" Kanji cursed and got back up to his feet. Before he could taunt Hyojin again, Hyojin swung an arrow at him, Kanji back flipped to escape. Then, Hyojin used the arrow as a javelin. Kanji sidestepped and spun to slash at Hyojin, this time successful with an attack. The slash tore Hyojin's outer shirt, not much protection, so he simply ripped the rest of it off. Hyojin pulled out another arrow and shot it at Kanji. Kanji attempted a block, but was too slow, the arrow penetrated his armor and struck him in the arm."Ah.... screw this shit! Can't see with this stupid helmut! And I can't move with this shiny armor!" Kanji did another group of strange gestures,"Terreturn!" He returned to his regular form, but still kept the gauntlet and sword."That's better," Kanji and Hyojin dashed in at the same time and ended up clashing weapons, one trying to force the other down. Finally, Kanji pushed away and swung. Hyojin stepped back and had his second shirt torn. With anger, Hyojin pulled out a large arrow and shot it at Kanji. Kanji jumped back a long distance and summoned his spirit energy for a finishing attack."Burning Cresent!" The blast split the arrow in half and struck Hyojin to the ground. Quickly, Hyojin sprang to his feet, Kanji dashed at him and swung at his neck, just as the blade was about to make contact, Hyojin took his bow and also swung at his neck. The two stood, staring at each other, neither budged to deliver the final blow.
Finally, they both smirked,"Very good, Kanji," Hyojin said and removed his bow from Kanji's neck, Kanji doing the same with his sword." It's a tie for now, but next time I won't hesitate to kill you at the expense of my own life," Hyojin said. Hyojin swung the bow around his shoulder and walked away,"Let's go guys," the rest of the five Dragoons joined him and left. Once they were gone, Kanji dropped to his knees and breathed heavily, gasping for air, his muscles tight, and bathing in sweat.
"Man what a rush!" Kanji said, relieved that he was gone. He continued to gasp for air,"Water! somebody get me water!" Kanji yelled and laid down on the grass.
"Man, that was amazing!" Justin said, sitting beside Kanji.
"If you thought that was amazing, just wait till you wear the armor, it's heavy as hell!"Kanji commented. He then sat up and waited for the water.
"Too bad, as much as I'd like to have those powers, I'll be moving soon," Justin said.
"Sorry to hear that Justin, I'm sure you'd enjoy it," Kanji said. Cassie returned with the water, in which Kanji drank down fast and splashed on his face.
"Baby, are you ok?" Cassie asked. Kanji nodded and hugged her.
"Argh!" Kanji yelled as a horrible pain he didn't notice shot into his arm. Since his adrenaline was pumping, he felt no pain, but as he began to relax, all the pain he suffered surged into him, and it was burning. Kanji dropped to the ground again, this time, out cold and unconscious.