Ryo Sanada stood on the shore of the lake, watching as the serene water turned golden in the fading evening light. His dark, wild hair whipped around his face in the wind, which had sprung up mysteriously as soon as he stepped outside the Koji mansion, as if it waited there for him.
Turning tiger-blue eyes towards the forest, he frowned slightly at the violence of the wind, it's aggression damaging the innocent trees as it ripped leaves from the branches and broke the smaller branches in it's frenzy. Small saplings were bent mercilessly under its force, and Ryo could feel the winds' power pushing at his back, urging him to bow before it.
With a sigh, Ryo stuck his hands in his jeans pockets, ignoring the winds' howls as he watched the sun fall to the horizon. Suddenly, something warm and wet brushed up against his thigh and Ryo smiled down at White Blaze, whose nose snuffled at his jeans curiously.
"Hey, boy. What're you doing out here?" Ryo grinned down at his friend.
White Blaze looked up at him, cocking his head to the side and growling softly in his throat.
Ryo laughed, and turned back to the sunset. Frowning, he noticed dark clouds had forming on the horizon, swiftly darkening and heading towards the mansion nestled in the woods. Sharp tugs on his pants caused Ryo to jump and look back down at the tiger, curiously. White Blaze had grabbed one leg of his jeans and was tugging insistently on his clothes.
"What is it boy? What's wrong?" Ryo asked, kneeling down to the tigers' level as White Blaze released the cloth from between his teeth.
White Blaze made a low whine in his throat, followed by a growl as he turned towards the dark horizon, now littered with blackening clouds.
"It's okay, boy. Just a little rain." Ryo said, standing up again and turning towards the lake once more.
The wind had picked up even more and the lake's usually calm surface had become choppy. White Blaze grabbed his jeans again, this time tugging more insistently on the cloth until Ryo was sure it would rip.
"Jeez, White Blaze! What's the matter with you, huh?" Ryo scratched the tiger behind the ears, flinching back in surprise when the tiger growled deep in its throat and tugged once again on the fabric of his clothes.
Gently removing his clothing from the tigers' mouth, Ryo pointed to the house.
"Why don't you go wait for me inside if you're afraid of getting wet; I just want to enjoy the weather a little bit." Ryo said, turning once more to the now violent lake surface and the nearly pitch black sky.
Thunder rumbled ominously in the sky and Ryo experienced a slight shiver at the sound. He loved storms. He loved their power and fury. He loved the sense of slight fear that accompanied storms; not fear for the power of nature, but fear for the fury behind it.
Suddenly, White Blaze roared, breaking Ryo out of a dream-like trance he had fallen into, reflecting on the storm. Ryo stumbled backwards as White Blaze pushed his head against Ryo's legs.
"Woah, White Blaze!" Ryo cried, trying to regain his feet.
White Blaze ignored him as rain began to pelt mercilessly down upon the pair, pushing Ryo again towards the gleaming lights of the mansion. Ryo fell down on his knees at White Blazes' insistent pushing, but the tiger ignored his masters' graceless fall and began trying to drag the young Ronin by the collar of his shirt.
"White Blaze!" Ryo shouted. "What's the matter with you!?"
Suddenly, thunder rumbled in the sky, so loudly that Ryo covered his ears with his hands. The rain grew heavier, by now both boy and tiger were soaked to the bone. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the yard and forest with its brilliance.
Ryo looked up at the sky, suddenly realizing just how dark it was. Unnaturally dark clouds marred the evening sky, not allowing even a scrap of gray into the landscape. The rain poured out of the black clouds like darts, pricking and pinching Ryo's skin wherever they landed. Thunder rolled again, and suddenly, Ryo was truly afraid.
Regaining his feet, he began walking briskly towards the mansion, White Blaze prodding him from behind.
Suddenly, a bright, white light filled Ryo's vision, and he cried out as he fell to the ground. A resounding crack filled the air as Ryo blinked in confusion, momentarily blinded by the brightness.
Reaching out, he felt White Blazes' warm chest next to his hand and grabbed the tigers' fur, swinging himself onto his back. As White Blaze began to run towards the mansion, Ryo's vision cleared slightly and he gasped at the crater that marked the ground just a few feet from where he had been standing. Clinging tightly to White Blaze, Ryo's stunned state of mind didn't register the mud track that White Blaze was about to run into until it was too late.
With a cry as White Blaze slid in the mud, Ryo to fell from his back and rolled down a small hill, into the line of trees at the edge of the woods.
Groaning, Ryo rolled onto his back, staring up at the black sky and the wind-blown trees above him. Thunder rolled and Ryo's fear returned, causing him to push White Blazes' nose out of his face and return to his feet, unsteadily.
Running swiftly, he made for the shining lights of the mansion he could see in the distance.
The night had turned so dark that he could only just barely make out the trees in his path, and he stumbled upon a rock that sent him sprawling across the ground once more. Ignoring the pain in his legs and arms from the fall, Ryo got up and continued running, vaguely aware of White Blazes running just behind him. Thunder rumbled across the sky and another crack sounded out of nowhere, the deafening roar of a tree turned to ashes by the lightning's horror, only a few paces from where Ryo ran by. Luckily, the lightning didn't ignite any of the nearby trees, but Ryo had no time to think of that.
'It's almost like the lightning is aiming for me. Or maybe I'm attracting it.' Ryo thought as he ran, his brow furrowed in both fear and confusion.
Reaching the edge of the woods, Ryo paused. If his speculations were correct, he had to be very careful. There was still a good distance of clear land to the mansion, but not so much that Ryo couldn't see inside the well-lit window to the kitchen. Deciding that he had no choice, Ryo sprinted across the yard.
Twenty-five feet before he reached the back door.
Twenty feet. He could feel White Blaze running alongside him now, eager to be inside and away from this terrible storm.
Fifteen feet.
Twelve.
A blinding flash obscured Ryo's vision once again, but this time threw up an arm against the blinding light as the lightning struck directly in front of the frightened Ronin. The force of the blast threw Ryo back a few feet, landing him hard on his back, breathless and in pain.
Groaning awkwardly, he blinked up at the sky as lightning flashed across it again, and he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the way. He distantly heard White Blaze roar a warning as time seemed to slow and he watched the electric bolt fly towards him with amazing accuracy. Gasping, he clenched his eyes shut and waited for death to come.
But it never came.
Instead a shadow fell over the fallen Ronin stopping the rains' merciless onslaught and Ryo looked up in confusion just as the lightning struck. A deafening roar filled the air as the silhouette of the form above him shone briefly. Ryo blinked the rain out of his blurry eyes, unsure of what was above him, protecting him from the lightning's deadly strike. Whatever it was, quickly moved away and disappeared into the shadows of the forest. Ryo blinked again, trying to see the huge form as it melted quickly into the darkness, but he saw nothing more of the being that had saved his life. White Blaze tugged at his shirt and Ryo gasped, suddenly realizing where he was.
Ignoring the pain in his back, he stumbled to his feet and ran the last few feet to the back door, turning the knob frantically and falling into the kitchen. Pushing the door shut with his foot, he sighed in relief as he lay panting on the kitchen floor. As consciousness slipped from him, his last thoughts were of the form that had saved him, and the lightning that seemed so bent on taking his life.