Before the Last Night of Innocence

By Dixxy with help from Pathfinder

Part One: Sage

It was one of the first days of school, and all seemed normal the day that would start the cycle that would turn our lives upside-down. In fact, it was lunch. I sat down with my chef salad and began to dig in. hey, I had to watch my boyish figure! Especially with all the new girls in school that had moved to Toyama during the summer. There was this one magenta haired girl that was-

I'm getting side-tracked.

Kento sat behind his "mountain" of food. Three sandwiches, a cup cake, and a 100 Grand candy bar. "Well, Ryo, Rowen, and Cye are all late." I shrugged. Rowen was probably talking with a teacher about some extra-extra-extra-EXTRA credit assignment, Ryo was probably talking with the coach, but where was Cye?

The British teen in question waltzed over to the table. I looked at him questioningly. Cye looked, I don't know, dazed, confused, and a little, awkward. "Cye?" I asked. "You okay?"

"I don't know. There was this, girl," he said, propping his chin on his hand. "A sophomore asked me to meet her after school."

"A SOPHOMORE!?" asked Kento. "Dude, you go!?"

"Kento, hold a sec, what's she like?" I asked. "And wait a second, why would a sophomore- no offense- go after a junior?"

"Well, I helped her get her locker open, and she said I was nice, so she asked if we could meet outside at the bleachers," said Cye, taking out his lunch which consisted of a light pasta salad and half an egg-salad sandwich.

"Is she hot? What's her name?" asked Kento.

"Shelia McConner, she's from Ireland-"

"THE HOT TICKET FROM IRELAND EVERY GUY IN THE SCHOOL HAS BEEN AFTER SINCE DAY ONE!?" Kento, myself, and two guys at a table nearby said in perfect unison. I forget the names of the other guys. It doesn't matter.

Sheila McConner was the undisputed HOTTEST girl in school. She was an Irish redheaded exchange student with a nice front and a small waist. She had these green eyes that shimmered even in a dim hallway (Our school has the world's worst mechanic working for them- power outages and fuses are very common, which is why the computers run on their own generator). What any guy would give to JUST go out on a measly date with her, and Cye of all people was meeting her outside of school for just helping her with a rusty locker? This was going to be interesting.

"Well, all I got to say is go for it, man!" said Kento. "Get her while you can, because she'll get picked up hotter than a stack of yen on the ground during New Years."

Cye blushed. "I don't know, I think she just wants to thank me or something, I don't think-"

"Just try!" I said. Deep down, I hated myself for saying that. I wanted her, too! But, then again, I had the other 99.9% of the female population at my whim, so it didn't bother me at the time.

At the time. . .

Part Two: Rowen

It was sometime near noon. I was just getting up that fine Saturday morning. Typical for me. VERY typical. So, I took a shower, dressed, made my bed, and went downstairs. By the smell of the mustard, mayonnaise, and pickles, I had a feeling Ryo was making lunch, or in my case, breakfast.

Question was, why wasn't Cye making lunch/breakfast?

"Hey, Rowen, did Cye mention staying out late last night?" asked Ryo.

"No, he said he'd come back from Sheila's around ten or so- he still isn't home yet?" I was a little concerned. A few days after school started, Cye started going out with Sheila McConner. Every guy in school was a little envious of him, to say the least. It had been about three months since their so called relationship started. Just a little after Halloween. The only thing I didn't understand was that Sheila was definitely the "dominant" one in the relationship. She bought him the candy and flowers and gave them away if he tried it. What was WITH that girl?

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK.

"I GOT IT!" Ryo, myself, Kento, Sage, and Yuli all yelled at the same time. We all darted for the door, but since I'm the fastest, I got the door first.

Standing outside was Sheila and Cye. Sheila looked strangely happy while Cye was looking a little, unsettled. "Cye?" I asked.

"Hi Rowen!" said Sheila cheerfully. "Cye and I were watching the movie last night, it ran a little late, and we fell asleep on the couch, sorry if you were worried."

"You should have called," I said.

"The movie ran REAL late," said Sheila. "It was Titanic, we didn't start it until around nine thirty."

"Why would you start Titanic at nine-thirty?" I asked.

"Because. . . I don't know, seemed like a good idea at the time!" said Sheila. Something wasn't right. Cye looked awful and Sheila seemed to be hiding something.

"Okay," I said. "Cye, come on in." Cye slowly nodded, but before he was inside Sheila grabbed him, dipped him, and kissed him. Cye looked a little more than uncomfortable, falling to the ground when she let go. She harshly grabbed his arm and jerked him back up on the ground, dusting his jeans off. Sheila smirked as she waved good bye and strutted down the driveway, swinging her hips.

"Cye, is something wrong?" I asked.

"Ow." I looked over my shoulder before Cye could reply. Sage, Ryo, and Kento were a tangled mess on the floor. Yuli had wisely stayed out of the pile. I laughed and shook my head.

Cye wasn't laughing.

That was weird. Cye always laughed whenever something like that came up. Especially when it involved a great crash like that. "Cye are you-" before he could answer me, Cye was already going upstairs. "Don't you want a bite to eat?"
"N, not hungry," he said. I heard the click of his bedroom door, then silence. The house was silent. We all exchanged looks. What was wrong with Cye?

Part Three: Ryo

It was nearly a year since Sheila and Cye came home. We never did find out what was eating our young British friend. He came around in about a month, right after Sheila mysteriously left school on a sudden transfer. It was weird, and all the guys were bummed, but Cye seemed almost happy to see her go. A surprise to everyone, even me, Ryo Sanada, star of the school soccer team.

That one month Cye was acting weird though was not a normal month. Cye wouldn't come out of his room the whole weekend and ended up being sick the following Monday from lack of nutrients. He wasn't eating. When he did come back, Sheila would not leave him alone if they passed each other. She'd pull him close to her, kiss him roughly, and then let him go. Maybe that was why he relieved she left. Cye never did like a lot of attention.

It was hot that evening. The others were all inside, minus Yuli, White Blaze, and myself. We were playing with the sprinkler/hose/water balloons/anything else wet we could play with. In fact, we were having a blast. Water everywhere! I was wondering why Cye hadn't joined us yet.

Speaking of which, I saw Cye come out of the house with his jacket on. "What are you doing with that?" I asked.

"It's going to get cold tonight, and I'm going out for a walk, I'll see you when I get back, all right?" said Cye.

"Okay, whatever," I said. "Just be back before ten."

"Yeah, I will," said Cye, laughing as he walked backwards down the driveway. Once he reached the end, he turned on his heels and began to walk normally. Suddenly, I didn't want him to go. I just, stared at him, liked I'd never see him again.

"Ryo?" asked Yuli. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure, I just, I just got this feeling," I said. I shook my head. A feeling. That's all it was. Cye could take care of himself. He was just as much of an experienced fighter as the rest of us. He could handle almost anything thrown at him.

Almost.

"Why are you worried about Cye? He's been back to normal for," Yuli counted on his fingers as his eyes looked upward, like he was thinking, "eight months. I don't think his little 'stage' is coming back. That's what Mia called it. A stage."

"I dunno Yuli, something just doesn't seem right about tonight. I just got this feeling something will happen. Aw, what am I saying? Cye'll come back, get a good laugh about the whole thing, and we'll all just forget about the bad feeling."

Rowen came outside. "Ryo, is it just me, or do you have a weird feeling something's gonna happen tonight too? Revolving around Cye?"

"You too!?" I said. "Look, it's probably nothing. Cye just went for a quick walk. He can take care of himself. We shouldn't be worried. Yeah, he's the youngest in our little 'mutant Boy Scout troop', but he can take care of himself. He's not a baby." Mutant Boy Scout Troop is our little code name/joking name for Ronin Warriors. Nothing big.

Little did we know, but that night, something would happen. Cye was changed. We would all change.

All we knew at the time was that Cye didn't come back that night. Or the next night. Cye had vanished into thin air.

Part Four: Kento

A week. A long, struggling week without my best buddy in the whole world. Why'd Cye have to run away? Was it the armors? Cye really wasn't very enthusiastic about saving the world at first. He was scared. I was, too, but, I was more prepared for a fight than he was. Well, what could it be? School? Nah. Toyama? Nah, he liked it better than Shinzuki, my hometown.

Was it ME?!

I got home before the others did. Ryo was at soccer tryouts, Yuli and Mia were at the mall, Sage and Rowen were at the library. They would all be late.

As I closed the door, my ears caught the answering machine clicking off. I went into the living room, waited a few seconds (a fetish of mine, I dunno, I have to wait a few second before I hit the answering machine button) and pressed play.

"Hi, Ryo, this is Coach Hitemhard. Tryouts for varsity will be in the gymnasium, and since you're my star player, you're already on. Anyways, just wanted to remind you about that. Have a nice day, and go get 'em, sport! Oh, sorry about your friend. Hope he turns up safe."

"So do I," I mumbled.

"Hi, Sage, this is Tiffany, just wanted to confirm our date on Friday? Love ya, bye babe!"

"Hi Sage! This is Katie, just wanted to confirm our date on Saturday, see you doll-face!"

"Hi Sage, this is Christine, just making sure you still love me, and to like, hee-hee, make sure we're still on for Monday, lots of love. I love you Pooky-bear!"

I started laughing. Sage was going to get in MAJOR trouble one of these days. I listened in to the last message.

"Hello? It's me, Cye. I, I'm sorry I left you guys a few nights ago, but, something happened. It's not necessarily bad, and it's not necessarily good, either, but I need to handle this on my own. Besides, I'm a bit embarrassed to even consider returning. Until I can gather up the courage to talk to you guys, I guess, I guess this is good-bye. I really am sorry, I just can't- I don't know, but, things are just so, complicated. I'm afraid to come home. Kento, Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Mia, Yuli, White Blaze, please, please just remember I'll try to come back some day. Today just isn't that day."

Click. End of messages. Cye had JUST called, and I'd missed him by a matter of seconds.

My heart stopped as I fell down onto the couch. "Cye. . ." I said, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. I'd missed him. By just a few seconds, I'd missed him. "WHY!?" I screamed.

"Kento, what's the matter with you?" I heard the door slam as Mia and Yuli came in.

"Cye called," I said. "Here, listen." I played the messages again. I saw tears streaming down Mia's face when she heard the message. She started crying into my shoulder.

"It's okay Mia, Cye said he'll come back. He will," I said, although I wasn't very sure myself.

"I know he will. Someday. . ." Yuli said slowly.