Land of the Rising Sun: Chapter Two

A Police Matter

The five teens kneeled behind a corner in downtown Tokyo. They were across the street from the police station where Richie had fallen captive. A dark presence seemed to hover around the station, making the rangers' hairs stand up on end.

A sleek black car pulled up to the station. The door opened, and a man in a black suit stepped out and moved towards the station entrance. It was the officer who had held Richie in the cage. "That's him," Richie said.

Jonathan squinted. The teen's vision was less than perfect. "He seems normal enough."

"For being possessed at least," Zack said.

Richie watched the officer enter the station. "I wonder how many Youkai are inside?"

"Only one way to find out," Jason said.

Trini nodded. "Let's come back at night. We'll be harder to spot that way."

"Sounds like a plan," Jason agreed. "Zack, you'll go in with Richie. The rest of us will stand by in case you run into trouble."

Night fell across the city. Zack and Richie were in their ninja uniforms as they leapt across the rooftops towards the police station. The rangers reached the station in minutes.

Richie and Zack set grappling hooks against the ledge of the roof. They used ropes tied to the grappling hooks to start scaling down the building side. They entered the station through an unlocked window and landed in a dark, empty hallway.

"You think there'd be more people up here," Zack said as his eyes scanned the shadows.

Richie nodded as they started moving down the hall. "Yeah..."

Dorodoro dropped from the shadows and pounced towards the two rangers. Zack and Richie unsheathed their sword as the grunts attacked.

Richie spinning heel kicked a Dorodoro aside. The teen brought his blade down diagonally through a second soldier's chest. He slammed the end of his blade's handle against that soldier's face to knock the grunt backward.

Zack used his sword to slap a jagged blade aside and arced his saber back around to slash across the soldier's throat with a burst of spark. Zack pushed forward with a jump kick upside a soldier's head.

Bullets suddenly shot down the hall as Zack and Richie dove for cover. The Youkai officer stalked towards them with his gun held forward. His name was Azukiarai. An evil grin spread across his face as he watched the rangers roll back into crouched positions. "Well, well...what have we here?"

"Just visiting," Zack said as he tightened his grip on his sword.

Jason, Trini, and Jonathan had not heard from Zack or Richie in too long. And the station seemed too quiet. The three rangers, dressed in their ninja uniforms, entered the police station. They found no sign of their two teammates or anyone.

"Great," Trini said sarcastically. "They're not here."

"Where could they have gone?" Jonathan asked.

Jason shook his head. "I don't know...but this is definitely not good."

Trini moved closer to the center of the hall. She bent over to a small piece of paper lying on the floor. "Over here!" she called to the others as she picked up the paper.

Jason looked at the paper. It was written in Japanese. "I can't read Japanese."

"Let me see," Jonathan said as he took the paper. He spoke fluent Japanese and could read the language too. Jonathan came from a rich family background. Much to his constant distaste, his parents had constantly bombarded him with highly-paid tutors and teachers. His parents were obsessed with molding him into a well-educated successor who could compete in the global market. But he preferred playing video games.

"It says Zack and Richie are at that Youkai bar from before," Jonathan said. "We're supposed to be there at dawn if we want to see them again."

"It's a trap," Trini said.

Jason nodded. "Yeah...but we don't have much of a choice."

A Dorodoro crashed through the bar door, wood splintering in every direction. Jason, Trini, and Jonathan burst into the bar room. The three rangers were in their ninja uniforms. Azukiarai and several dozen Dorodoro were inside. Richie and Zack were tied with their arms wrapped around two pillars.

Trini snapped down a small smoke bomb. The rangers moved towards their teammates and untied them.

Zack's hand immediately wrapped around Trini's throat. He roundkicked the ranger in the side and tossed her backward. Trini crashed through a table.

Richie spinning heel kicked Jason across the face and cross punched Jonathan in the face.

Richie and Zack started to blur. They were really two Dorodoro with a disguise spell making them appear as the teens.

"They were imposters," Jonathan said with frustration as he started fighting several Dorodoro that surrounded him. He used his sword to deflect the grunts' blades and started slashing across their bodies, trying to knock them down as fast as they came.

Trini stayed behind the battle, closed her eyes, and focused. She reached out with her mind, sensing Zack and Richie nearby. Her eyes snapped open, and she leapt across a group of Dorodoro while kicking them in the back.

Trini somersaulted through the air and landed behind the bar. Richie and Zack were tied up and gagged behind the bar counter. She removed their bindings.

"Thanks Trini" Zack said as he rose to his feet.

The three teens leapt over the bar.

Azukiarai growled with anger. He transformed into his monster Youkai form. His body was green and blue with leather segments running along his side and back. He had a long, reptilian tail extending from his tailbone. The creature's head was mushroom shaped, but jagged. He had no eyes or features on his face except for a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

The rangers readied their morphers. "Shogun transform! Ninja Power!" Energy twirled around them as they morphed into their Ranger forms.

"Kill!" the Youkai monster shouted, signaling the Dorodoro to attack.

The Rangers unsheathed their swords in unison.