Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors. If I did The Legend of the Kikoutei never would have been made. Who would think it would be cool if our boys lost their armors?
The Prisoners
By RedMoonEclipse
Chapter 1
Waking to a Different Life
Ryo felt himself slowly waking up. He felt uneasy for some reason but couldn't remember why. It was as if the teenager was missing something – something important.
Ryo opened his eyes. He found that he was in a room that wasn't his hotel room in Los Angeles. He couldn't remember how he had gotten here. As he sat up to inspect where he was at closer, he felt something move on his right wrist. He looked down to only find a simple, plain silver bracelet. That was another thing that Ryo couldn't remember. When had he put on the bracelet? The teenager wasn't one to wear jewelry – what 16 year old boy would? Jewelry was for girls.
He looked for a way to take off the bracelet but could not find anything. There wasn't even a seam to suggest that the bracelet had ever been in pieces.
Ryo quickly gave up trying to find a way to take the bracelet off. He let the bracelet go and stood up. The itch to call out the Wildfire armor was strong because of the uneasy feeling that had settled inside him.
When he called for the Wildfire, it didn't come. The only thing that came was a burning sensation around the base of the teenager's neck. Curious as to why he had only felt the burning, he looked around for a mirror. When he found his target the teenager walked to it. What he saw he didn't expect.
A circle of 'XXX's surrounded his neck looking as if it was a tattoo. Ryo was surprised at the sight. His neck hadn't had the markings before Ryo had woken up in the strange room. He couldn't understand why he was wearing the tattoo-like mark around his neck and the bracelet on his wrist.
The teenager's blue eyes swept what Ryo only assumed was a bedroom with 5 beds, looking for a way out of the room. There was a lone door that was opposite of where he was standing. He went to it and reached for the knob. He was expecting for it to be locked so he was surprised that the door opened without any sort of resistance. He knew that he was strong but this was ridicules even for him.
The black-haired teenager walked through the doorway only to see that the hall was completely empty of any sort of living being. He walked through the place without even seeing so much as a guard.
Whoever kidnapped me is lousy at keeping people from leaving, Ryo thought as he walked. But where is everyone?
The decision to find a way out of this place came quickly. He began to scout the area but couldn't find a way out. He kept walking until he hit a metal gate that was the same color as Ryo's new bracelet.
"Is anyone here?" Ryo loudly asked from in front of the gate. At first no one came and Ryo was beginning to think that wherever he was, he was the only one there. He was about to turn back when he heard footsteps close to the gate.
A brunette man in a black suit and blood-red tie came into view. Beside the man was a beautiful woman in a long, black dress. They stopped in front of the gate. The man was the first to speak.
"My name is Mason," the man said.
"You can call me the Sorceress," the woman told Ryo after Mason had finished speaking. Ryo could distinctively hear the capital 'S' when the woman spoke.
"Where am I?" Ryo asked the two.
"You are at my estate," Mason told the teenager.
"Why am I here?" The black-haired teenager asked.
"You are going be fighting for me, Ryo," Mason answered.
Ryo felt a rush of cold fear go down his spin. How does he know my name? He silently asked himself.
"I'm not going to fight for you," Ryo promised the man.
Mason smiled. "You don't have a choice," he told the teenager.
The Sorceress pointed at the tattoo-like mark around the black-haired teenager's neck. "That Sealing Mark on your neck will make you fight."
"You won't be able to run," Mason told Ryo. "The bracelet on your wrist has a tracking chip inside. It will tell me where you are at no matter where it is."
Mason turned to the Sorceress. "Shall we leave?" He asked her. It was as if the man had forgotten his captive. "There are things that I need to do."
The Sorceress nodded her head. She followed the man away from the gate that separated them from Ryo. The black-haired teenager just watched them go. Once they were out of sight, Ryo began trying to break through the gate in front of him.
The gate didn't even bend underneath Ryo's strong hands. No matter how much strength he used or the force he tried, the gate never even warped. It was as if it was made of a metal that not even Ryo could bend and he didn't understand it. Would even Kento be able to make it bend? Ryo asked himself.
His hands left the metal bars of the gate and he turned back the way that he had come. He walked while being lost in his thoughts. He had to find a way out of here before something happened.
Before Ryo realized it, the teenager had left his now-prison. He found himself on a terrace beside a few tables that had 2 chairs around each one. When he looked out he saw a pool – Cye would like it – and a fire pit near it. Both were surrounded by grass with sidewalks going to each one.
He quickly saw the walls surrounding the vast area that Ryo had found himself in. The walls weren't particularly high. Ryo wouldn't have much trouble jumping over them. It was the pieces of paper on the walls that drew his attention. He walked to one of the walls to inspect them. He was curious about the unknown script on them. His hand reached out to peel one off so that he could look at it closer.
Black lightning-like lights went between his hand and the piece of paper. Ryo couldn't get his hand closer to the piece of paper. He pulled his hand back and went to put it on the wall to push himself back from the piece of paper. Black lightning-like lights went between Ryo's hand and the wall again. The teenager took his hand away from the wall.
Ryo walked back a few paces. He ran at the wall and jumped up with the intention to go over it. He hit an invisible wall above the physical one. The teenager immediately fell to the ground. He looked at the top of the wall. What was that? He asked himself.
The black-haired teenager gave up trying to jump over the wall. He walked back to the terrace and sat in one of the many chairs to think. As he sat there he tried to remember what had led to Ryo waking up at Mason's estate.
"Wasn't I with the others?" Ryo asked no one.
…
Ryo walked into the restaurant that Kento's uncle owned. His eyes scanned the many tables, looking for 6 particular people. He had been asked to meet them here for dinner. He had left late so the people he had come to eat with were already waiting at a table to the side of the big room.
Ryo went to their table.
"You're late," Rowen pointed out from the other side of the table.
Ryo sat beside Kento. "Sorry," he apologized. "I took longer than I thought."
"No problem, man," Kento said with a pat on the black-haired teenager's back, "at least you made it."
"Was getting worried, though," Cye admitted from his place across from Ryo.
Ryo smiled at his brunette friend. "Sorry," he said again.
Mia smiled. "Its okay, Ryo," she told her boy. "I'm just glad you just made it."
"Have you ordered yet?" Ryo asked.
"Are you kidding?" Rowen asked. "I swear Kento ordered at least half of the menu."
"It's a good thing Mia's rich," Sage added. "Otherwise Kento might have spent it all on tonight's dinner."
"Hey!" Kento protested. "I can't help that I eat more than you!"
The brunette snickered. "Much more," he corrected his purple-haired friend.
Hardrock sent his friend a pout. "Sorry for eating so much," he sarcastically said.
"Hey, it's all good," Rowen interrupted.
Kento saw the multiple waitresses walking towards them. He smiled brightly and said "food's coming!"
Wildfire looked in the direction Kento seemed to be only focused on. "Did you order anything for me?" He asked.
Kento smiled brightly. "Of course," he answered, "your favorite even!"
Ryo watched as the food was placed on the table. It seemed as if at least half of the table was taken up by the amount that Kento alone had ordered.
…
The memory ended with Ryo eating dinner with the other Ronins, Mia and Yuli. It was after that that Ryo couldn't remember. What had happened after that?
The sun began to set as Ryo sat there thinking. He couldn't remember anything more and it was starting to bother him. He felt as if he was missing something important.
When night came, Ryo looked at the stars. Rowen would like it here, Wildfire thought. You can see the stars so well here because there are no city lights taking away the beauty of them. The thought came crashing down when Ryo remembered the reason he had been brought here. He didn't want his friend to get caught up in the situation.
But he missed Rowen – he missed all of the Ronin Warriors. He wanted to be wherever they were right now.
Ryo stood and walked back inside. It didn't take long for Ryo to find his new bedroom again. He lay down in the bed that he had woken up in earlier. He fell asleep thinking about his friends, Mia and Yuli. Did anyone know that he was missing?
…
The next day found Ryo sitting beside the fire pit outside. There was a fire going in it but it wasn't helping him much. His connection with the Wildfire had basically been severed by the Sealing Mark around the black-haired teenager's neck somehow. He missed his armor. He had gotten used to being able to feel the Wildfire's soul being tied to his own soul. Losing that tie between them so suddenly had caused the black-haired teenager to miss even his element.
Ryo sat there as he thought about what to do next. Nothing came to the teenager as the hours passed by him.
He didn't know when his skin had started to turn red. He couldn't feel any heat and his friends weren't there to help Ryo. By the time he realized he had gotten sunburned, his skin was already a little red.
He could hear Sage's voice in his mind. Get out of the sun, Ryo. You're getting sunburned again.
Ryo stood. He put out the fire in the fire pit and went inside the mansion. He found the room that he had eaten breakfast in earlier. He sat in one of the chairs and waited – like Rowen had always told him to do – while his skin cooled down. As he sat there he couldn't stop looking at the fireplace in the room.
It's inside, he reasoned. I can sit in front of it since there's no sun inside here.
He stood and went to the fireplace. He lit the fire and settled in front it. As he sat there he missed his armor like he had when he had been sitting near the fire pit with the fire going. He sat there for hours like he had outside. He didn't worry about his sunburn worsening since he was inside the mansion.
…
Mia tried calling Ryo again. Like the times before, Ryo's cell was still turned off. She closed her own cell and turned to the others in Mia and Yuli's hotel room.
"I can't get in touch with Ryo," she stated. "I don't understand. He's never ignored any of our calls before."
Kento laid his chest on the single table in the room and stretched his arms across it. "I know," he said. "I tried, like, 5 times already."
Rowen spoke from his place on Mia's bed. "I can't get in touch either." He looked at Sage and Cye. "Were you guys able to?"
Sage shook his head.
"Ryo never answered when I tried to call him a couple of times," Cye reported.
"Could Ryo still be asleep, Mia?" Yuli asked from the floor by Mia's bed.
Kento shook his head. "Ryo's never really slept in for as long as I've known him," Kento told the 10 year old.
Sage nodded from his spot on Yuli's bed. "Kento's right, Yuli," the blonde told the boy. "I don't think Ryo's one of those who sleep in regularly."
Rowen caught the pointed look Sage was giving him. "I like sleeping," the blue-haired teenager defended.
Sage smiled a little. "Yeah, Rowen," he said. "We all know that."
Kento snickered.
Mia shook her head. "Should we check if Ryo's still asleep?" Mia asked.
Out of all of the Ronins, Ryo was the only one who slept by himself. The hotel that the Ronins, Mia and Yuli were staying at didn't allow more than 2 people per room for some reason. The Ronins had naturally split into the same groups that shared a room together like at Mia's place. Ryo, because he always slept in the room with White Blaze, had naturally gotten his own hotel room.
The 6 of them left Mia and Yuli's hotel room. They walked across the hall and knocked on the door. When there wasn't any sound from inside the room, Rowen knocked again.
"Ryo?" Rowen asked.
Mia looked down the hall when there was no answer from inside. "I'll get the receptionist," she said. "I think that they'll open the door for us."
Mia left. After a few minutes Mia came back with the receptionist trailing behind her. They unlocked the door and immediately left. The Ronins, Mia or Yuli weren't able to thank the receptionist in time.
Sage opened the door and walked inside.
"You awake, Ryo?" Sage asked.
When there was no answer, Cye flipped on the light switch. An empty bed greeted them.
Mia turned to her boys. "Where do you think Ryo could have gone?" She asked them.
Kento shrugged. "Maybe he went to get something to eat?" He suggested.
"Only you would do that," Cye pointed out.
Kento smiled and shrugged as if to say so what?.
"Mia, why don't you take Yuli back to your guys' hotel room?" Rowen suggested. "Me and the others will try to find Ryo."
Mia nodded. "Hurry and find him, Rowen. I'm worried that something might have happened to him."
"Are you kidding?" Kento joked. "Ryo's got the Wildfire. He'll be fine."
Mia didn't smile. "Just because Ryo has the Wildfire doesn't mean that he's invincible," she reminded him.
Mia left with Yuli. She closed the door behind her.
"Well," Sage asked, "how do we find him?"
Rowen looked at his friends. "We split up to find him," he stated.
"He'll be found easier that way," Cye agreed.
Kento stretched his arms above his head, his right hand holding his left elbow. He dropped them. "Well, let's get going then."
The 4 of them left the room. When Rowen had closed the door, Sage looked at the other 3. "Split up and look in different areas in town that's near here?" He suggested. "I don't think he'll have gone far."
Rowen nodded. "Yeah, I agree. We'll call if we find him."
"When should we meet up again?" Cye asked.
"How about for lunch?" Kento asked.
Rowen nodded. "Sounds good," he said.
Sage, Rowen, Kento and Cye walked out of the hotel. They waved at each other as they separated. They headed in opposite directions.
…
At the beginning Rowen didn't ask anyone. He thought that he'd be able to find his missing friend easily. When that didn't happen the blue-haired teenager went for the second option.
"Excuse me," he said to a young woman. "I'm looking for a friend."
The young woman looked the teenager up and down in appreciation. She thought that the teenager in front of her was cute.
"What does your friend look like?" She asked.
Rowen lifted his hand. "He's about this height. He's got black hair and blue eyes. He's Japanese. He's 16. He al-" Rowen caught himself from before he finished Ryo's description. White Blaze isn't with Ryo right now; he's in Japan.
The young woman shook her head. "I haven't seen anyone like that around," she stated.
Rowen smiled tightly. "Thanks for your help," he told the young woman.
Strata left quickly left her. He looked around himself again and went to the next person, a short old man.
"Excuse me," he said when he was standing in front of him. "I'm looking for a friend." This time he raised his hand to Ryo's height. "He's about this height with black hair and blue eyes. He's Japanese. He's also 16." This time Rowen was able to catch himself from starting to say that Ryo always had a tiger with him.
The old man shook his head. "Sorry," he told the teenager, "haven't seen anyone like that."
Rowen nodded his head. He left the old man and walked a little ways before looking for someone again.
"Excuse me," he said when he reached the person. "I'm looking for a friend."
"What does he look like?" The person asked.
Like before, Rowen raised his hand to Ryo's height. "He's about this tall, has black hair and blue eyes. He's 16 and Japanese."
He was answered with a shake of the head. "Sorry," he was told like the times before, "haven't seen anyone like that."
Rowen nodded. "Thanks for your help."
"I hope you find him soon," the person said.
…
Sage started asking people on the streets near the hotel rather quickly. But there was a problem compared to his blue-haired friend. It seemed as if every female wanted to flirt with him each time he asked for their help in finding Ryo. After several times of this, the blonde decided to stick with asking males.
"Can you help me?" Sage asked a young man. "I'm looking for a friend."
"Can you describe him to me?"
"He's Japanese," He raised his hand to Ryo's height. "He's about this tall with blue eyes and black hair."
The young man shook his head. "That describes many people here," he stated. "How old is he?"
"He's 16," the blonde answered.
The young man shook his head. "Haven't seen anyone like that around here," he told Halo.
Sage nodded. He left the young man.
He walked down several different streets near the hotel. He looked into each alley but only found a group of boys one time. The black-haired teenager was still missing a couple of hours later. Sage tried to stop the worry from coming; Ryo could defend himself if needed.
…
Kento tried to ignore the restaurants and fast food places.
Really, he tried.
If his stomach wasn't growling from hunger, he might be having an easier time looking for Ryo.
…
Cye was still asking people about Ryo when it became close to lunch.
Should I start heading back to the hotel? I'm sure Kento's already at Mia and Yuli's room waiting to eating. The brunette could see Kento laying on one of the beds complaining that he was starving and that he'll die of starvation if everyone didn't come back soon.
Torrent turned around. He started heading back to the hotel that he and the others were staying at.
…
Sage, Rowen, Cye and Kento returned to Mia and Yuli's room soon after each other. When everyone had finally gathered together, Mia led them to the restaurant that Kento's uncle owned.
When they were waiting for the food that they had ordered – with Kento ordering a lot more than them like usual – the 4 Ronins began filling each other, Mia and Yuli in on their searches. It was obvious that Ryo hadn't been found by any of them at this point.
"I asked a lot of people," Cye told the others, "but none of them seemed to be able to tell me where Ryo is."
"I had the same problem," Rowen agreed.
Sage nodded. "I asked basically everyone except the females," he informed the others. He gave a shrug at their expressions. "You know the females like to flirt with me," he reminded them.
Rowen smiled. Sage's right, he thought.
"I asked people, too," Kento said. "But that didn't get anywhere."
Mia nodded. "I'm just surprised that Ryo hasn't been found yet," she told the others.
"Hey, Mia? Does that mean Ryo's in trouble?" Yuli asked the female brunette.
"I'm sure Ryo's fine," Cye answered for Mia.
"But, still," Sage said, "where could he have gone?"
"Did any of you look inside the buildings like bookstores?" Rowen asked the other 3 Ronin Warriors.
Cye shook his head. "Truthfully, I didn't think of that," he admitted.
"We'll have to try that after lunch," Sage suggested.
Kento nodded. He was about to say something when he caught sight of his most favorite thing in the world. "Food's here!" He exclaimed.
The others at the table laughed.
…
After lunch, the 6 of them returned to their hotel. They went to Mia and Yuli's room to discuss where Ryo might have gone. It would have been a great brainstorming if one of them knew where the black-haired teenager might have gone without telling any of them. The only conclusion that they could come up with was the same thing that Rowen had asked while they were waiting to eat: check all of the buildings that they pass by to find their missing friend.
The 4 Ronins split after leaving the hotel.
Each looked inside the buildings they passed. Kento was the only one who had a hard time leaving a restaurant or fast food place. If he hadn't just eaten, the purple-haired teenager might have forgotten what he was doing and have gotten something to eat.
Mia went to the receptionist soon after the Ronins left to find Ryo. She had a question that had been bugging her since her boys had left to find their missing friend.
She stopped in front of the front desk.
"I'd like to ask a question," Mia told the receptionist.
"What is it?" the person behind the desk asked.
"I'm looking for someone," Mia began. "He's 16 years old, Japanese and has black hair and blue eyes." Like the 4 Ronin Warriors, she raised her hand to about Ryo's height. "He's also about this tall. I think he might have left last night."
The person behind the front desk shook their head.
"Sorry," they answered, "no one who looks like that ever came through here last night.
"Thanks for your help," Mia told the person.
She left after being given a nod. The young woman returned to the hotel room that she shared with Yuli to wait for the teenagers' return. Worry was beginning to gnaw at her. Where could Wildfire have gone?
When Mia walked through the door to the room, she saw that Yuli was sitting in one of the chairs with his feet on the seat in front of him.
"What do you think happened to Ryo, Mia?" Yuli asked again.
Mia sat in the only other chair in the room. She looked out the window. "I don't know, Yuli," she admitted. She turned to the boy with a bright smile. "But this is Ryo we're talking about. He'll be okay."
Yuli nodded. Ryo had to be okay.
The 2 of them waited in their hotel room for the 4 teenagers to return. It wasn't until dinnertime that they came back to Mia and Yuli.
The first thing that Rowen did was shake his head when Mia looked at him. He sat on Yuli's bed and waited for the other 3 to come back. Mia and Yuli didn't say anything as they waited; Rowen didn't feel like talking.
Kento was the second to return.
"Still can't find him," he told them after he shut the door. He sat on Mia's bed while waiting for Cye and Sage.
Sage was the third to walk through the room's door. He shook his head like Rowen had and sat next to Rowen on Yuli's bed. At this point none of the occupants in the room had said anything. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Where could Ryo have gone?
Cye was the last to return.
"I haven't found Ryo," the brunette told the others by the door. He walked to the others and sat next to Kento on Mia's bed.
"Did any of you find anything that would be helpful?" Mia asked from her seat.
Rowen shook his head. "It's as if he dropped off the face the planet. I looked in the bookstores, actual stores and any place that he could have gotten something to eat."
Kento nodded. "I even looked in the restaurants and fast food places," he announced proudly. "I didn't even eat at any of them."
"And you didn't get anything to eat?" Cye echoed in amazement. "That's amazing."
"Are you sure you're Kento?" Sage asked.
Kento crossed his arms. "I'm not that bad," he pouted.
Cye snickered. "Yeah, right," he whispered.
Kento punched his brunette friend's arm in retaliation for the comment.
Mia stood. "Let's get something to eat," she suggested.
Kento jumped up. "I'm starving!"
Everyone in the room laughed. Even with everything that had happened today, Kento's stomach didn't fail them when it came to normalcy.
After they returned from eating at the restaurant that Kento's uncle owned, Cye and Kento went to their hotel room with Rowen and Sage returning to their own. Mia and Yuli went to their room as well.
The 4 teenagers, Mia and Yuli tried to sleep but sleep was hard to find that night. The fact that Ryo's empty room was across from Mia and Yuli's didn't help.
The next couple of days were spent with Kento, Sage, Cye and Rowen looking for Ryo while Mia and Yuli waited for their return to Mia and Yuli's hotel room. Even after those couple of days of looking for the missing teenager, Ryo was still missing.
Sage, Cye, Kento, Rowen, Mia and Yuli's fear kept growing the longer that the black-haired teenager was missing.
RME: I have no idea what life is like in the 80's as I wasn't alive at that time. Instead, this is set in today's world.