The Darkness Returns Once Again
By: Rowen of Strata
This is my very first fanfic and feel free to e-mail me your comments, suggestions on future chapters, and flames to rowen_of_strata111@hotmail.com. To understand what is happening in my story, I recommend reading Mela N.'s the Darkness: Mother Night and Epilogues. I felt that the ending was a heartbreaker and needed to be continued. DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Ronin Warriors, so don't sue me! Also, I do not own the two characters, Kendy and Maurette. They belong to Mela N. Enjoy!
Part 1
The Reunion
It has been almost two weeks since the deaths of Sai and Rowen. Mia, Kento, Sage, Ryo, White Blaze, and Yuli have been mourning the loss of two of their best friends, but have learned to move on with their grief. Everyone believed that the two were no longer among the living, yet no one had ever been able to locate their remains. The whole group would go to the cemetery at least once a week to visit the empty graves. A memorial pool was built in the memory of Sai, and, even though this wasn't mentioned before, an astronomy club and section in the library was dedicated to Rowen.
Sage had taken all of this the hardest. He felt since he was out of control when Rowen and Sai were sent into the Demon's darkness that it was his fault that they died. Sage's friends tried everything to convince him otherwise, but he just refused to listen. For a while, Sage had sank into a depression that no one could bring him out of. After two weeks, Sage is finally starting to pull himself together.
It was late in the afternoon when the Ronins left school and decided to pay a visit to their deceased friends.
"Hey Sage, how are you doing buddy?"
"Fine, but I still feel like I could have fought harder----"
"Whoa Sage! I thought we had already gone through this. There was nothing you could have done and besides, you were under the demon's control. I mean you were in a damn coma for a long time at the house!" Ryo interrupted.
"No I wasn't Ryo! My physical body may have been at the house, but my soul was up and about, killing my own friends! Yeah, I know that you have had your own little guilt trips, but you weren't the one who watched your best friends die and have no control over it!"
"Sage, get a grip! Why I outta-----"
Kento saw the approaching fight and stepped in between the two just in time.
"Look at you two! Fighting over this like two five year olds. Don't you think I care about Sai enough to grieve? My grief isn't taken out on my own friends, now grow up!"
Ever since Sai's death, Kento, unbelievable as it may seem, had become the peacemaker of the group. He felt that since he was the closest to Sai that he should take his place. After a few moments of silence, Ryo and Sage forgave each other. While they were walking, Ryo started to ponder to himself.
'If Sai and Rowen are dead, then how come we didn't feel their presence leave our souls. We are all bonded together through our armors, so when one of us goes through the pain of death, the other Ronins should be able to sense it. Oh I wish I knew the answers! If Rowen were here, he would be able to explain everything! What a waste. Even if Sage was out of control, I still feel like it was his fault.'
The fact that Ryo, or any of the others, didn't know is that neither Rowen nor Sai had actually died. They were living with two volunteers, Kendy and Maurette, that they had met at the hospital that they had stayed at for several weeks. Sai and Rowen had planned to start a new life here on the other side of the world and try to leave behind the anguish that had plagued them in Toyama.
"Sai?"
"Hhm…?"
"Do you miss the guys at all? I mean, Sage and Kento are probably taking this real hard and I really want to see the guys again. It's been so long and from what I know, Sage is probably beating himself up over this."
"Kento's probably dying of hunger too. I hope they don't start to kill each other over our 'deaths', you know what I mean Rowen?"
"Yea. But you know, I kinda like it better back in Toyama. Even though I do have a slight crush on Maurette, the urge to see the guys is even stronger. I was thinking, maybe we could move back there."
"We can't let anyone else know though, because if we did, we'd be called the living dead for the rest of our lives." Sai said, jokingly.
"Can we arrange a trip to visit them tomorrow or the next day. PLLEEAASSEE?"
"Okay, Rowen! Jeez! I thought you were only like this when you have had too much sugar! Don't have a heart attack, now go to sleep! It's past midnight!"
"Good night Sai."
"Good night Rowen."
"Sai?"
"WHAT?"
"Do you think that we can take Kendy and Maurette with us and introduce them to the guys? I mean, they did help nurse us back to health."
"Sure, whatever you want. NOW GO TO SLEEP ROWEN!"
That night, Rowen and Sai slept peacefully, but it was another story at Mia's mansion outside of Toyama. Sage has had reoccurring nightmares of what happened that day…..
DREAM
Sage stood there as the demon called out in his mind, "Do it Sage, my son, give their souls over to me! Do it now!"
Sage had no control over his actions. Using only the will of his mind, he forced Rowen into the cocoon of darkness first. The tentacles of some unknown creature wrapped around Rowen and as he was pulled into the blackness, he screamed out in agony as Sage stood, unmoving, in place. Next Sai was pulled away, never to be seen again. In his mind, Sage was screaming out to his friends, but his mind and body were two separate entities in the spirit realm. He felt as if his soul had been torn in two. Sage was now screaming at the top of his lungs. "NOOOOOOO!"
END OF DREAM
"Sage! Come on wake up dude!" Kento was shaking Sage and screaming at the top of his lungs, but Sage refused to respond. Usually Sage would wake up, but this time was different. Sage's kanji of wisdom was flashing wildly under his tangled hair. Then Ryo came with a bucket of ice cold water and dumped it all upon Sage. Sage awoke with a startled look upon his face and then started to bawl into Kento's chest.
"I-I killed t-them. Rowen, Sai, I k-killed them!"
Kento and Ryo gave each other skeptical looks, and both of them wondered if they should search for professional help for Sage. None of them slept well for the rest of the night.
(If you are wondering where Mia and Yuli are, Yuli is on vacation with his parents and won't be back for the rest of my story because he is so annoying, and Mia is on a business trip.)
Later the next day at Kendy and Maurette's house:
Rowen and Sai had made travel arrangements for the four comrades to board a plane that was bound for Toyama Airport and everyone was packing clothing and other necessary items for travel.
"Kendy?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen my toothbrush and hairbrush? I had them last night and now I can't seem to find them!"
"You can use mine! We have to leave here in 7 minutes to reach the airport on time!"
"Okay! If you say so!"
Outside of the house, Rowen and Sai were waiting by the navy blue Dodge Ram the girls owned.
"Man!" Rowen said impatiently, "We're going to be late if they don't hurry up dammit!"
"Rowen." Sai said soothingly, "You have got to trust them. They would never make us late. Especially for something this important."
"That's easy for you to say, Warrior of Trust!"
"SHHHH! Not so loud! We don't want them to know about our past, now do we?"
"Sorry Sai."
Kendy and Maurette came out of the house at the last minute and they sped off towards the airport as fast as they could go without being pulled over.
Meanwhile, back at Hana High School, Kento, Ryo, and Sage were eating lunch. Sometimes, people pestered them, wanting to know how the school's most trusting student and "Einstein" had died. Everyone had been told several times that they had a car accident while visiting some relatives, but some people were skeptical.
While eating lunch, a strange feeling overcame the three friends. This time, the sensation they felt wasn't one that would be caused by an evil presence, but one that felt very pleasant and welcoming. None of them realized that they would be reunited with their friends once more.
It was about 8:00pm when Sai, Rowen, Kendy, and Maurette reached Toyama's airport.
"It feels so good to be back in good ol' Toyama again, doesn't it Sai?"
"I'm not as thrilled as you are. I have many good memories here, and then there are the bad ones." Sai solemly stated.
"Hey! You're not alone there Sai, but we can't live in fear of the past anymore. We have to move on."
"I know. It's just really hard to forget."
"SHHH! The girls are coming." Rowen said as Kendy and Maurette walked up. "Did you two find anything that even relates to some form of transportation?"
"I called a cab for us to use, but it'll be kinda expensive." Kendy replied.
"Yeah. All of us will have to pitch in money to pay for it." Maurette added.
Rowen and Sai agreed, and walked after their two friends towards the taxi. While in the car, the group asked the driver where the nearest hotel would be located. Back at Mia's home, Sage, Kento and Ryo were in the midst of eating dinner. Kento had left the table early, saying he was full and yet he hadn't eaten much at all. Ever since Sai and Rowen had passed on, Kento had never been the same. Ryo thought that eating reminded Kento of Sai. Kento turned on the TV to a news-broadcasting channel in the living room. The anchors were frivolously talking about things that no one really cared about, so Kento aimlessly started flipping through the channels. Ryo sat at the table, wondering what happened to the friends that he used to know.
'Is it just me or am I becoming the introvert of the group. All Sage ever does is mope around because of his guilt trips and Kento has become so serious that I can barely stand to be around him and then there's me. All I ever do anymore is slowly drift off into my thoughts, with not a second thought of anyone's feelings. I would give anything to have those two back and for some reason, I think we can. Today I started to feel like Sai and Rowen's presence was slowly coming back into reality. I desperately want to tell Sage and Kento, but I'm afraid of what it might do to their mental stability. Ha! I am already beginning to sound like Rowen.'
While Ryo was lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice Sage get up from the table and leave the house. Not even Kento flinched when the door closed.
Sage felt like he needed to spend some time alone to think things over and to find his center once again. His icy blue eyes looked up to the stars and they reminded him of Rowen and how he would stay up at night just to look at them.
"Rowen," Sage said to the sky, "I know you and Sai wouldn't want me to pout like this, but I need to have a sign from you guys or something. I feel like your guys' presence is still with me, but I watched you die in that spirit realm. I would give anything for you to be alive. Especially you Rowen. I miss our intelligent conversations that we had with each other. I know this is hard to believe, but Ryo's becoming the spitting image of you, Rowen. Always immersed in his thoughts. There's one thing that I need to tell Sai. If you can hear me, Sai, Kento needs your help desperately. He's reverting into himself. He's slowly stopping eating and he practically refuses to talk with anyone, other than himself. Please help him."
Sage went into a deep meditation and saw some sort of vision of Rowen and Sai. They were well and very close-by. Sage also saw two unfamiliar girls with them and wondered who they were. The first girl had hair that was a mix between auburn and blond and her eyes had a mystical feel to them. They made you feel like you were swimming in the ocean depts. Her complexion was fair and her body flowed like the steady river water. Her aura was clean and pure. There were no imperfections in it, which was very rare in humans. Sage somehow knew that her name was Maurette and that Sai was in love with her.
Then he saw another girl who seemed to be quite outspoken at times. Her eyes were also blue, but they were even darker than the eyes of the other. Her hair was a mix between deep brown and blue hues, and she had lighter blue highlights in a few areas. They looked like comets among the darkness of space. She was a little thinner around the waistline than Maurette was and her skin had a slight tan to it. He soon picked up that she was Rowen's crush and that her name was Kendy.
Before Sage saw anymore, he snapped out of his trance. He stared into the nothingness for a moment, not believing those girls could be in love with Rowen and Sai. "They're dead, right? How is this possible?" Sage looked at his watch and realized he had been meditating for nearly four hours.
"Damn. The guys must be so worried about where I've been all this time. I better get back before they call the cops."
Sage then ran back to the house. Meanwhile across town, Sai, Rowen, Kendy, and Maurette were preparing for bed. Rowen was just too excited about the thought of seeing his friends again to go to sleep. He decided to stay up and read a book that he hadn't had a chance to finish yet.
'Tomorrow I'm gonna see Sage and all the others again. I can't wait to see their faces when we come strolling up the porch and say hi. I bet Sage'll practically drop dead at the sight. I hope Kento doesn't kill Sai with one of those huge bear hugs of his. I just hope Sai will feel the same way. From what I've seen, he would have preferred to stay in America, as far away from his friends and old life as possible. It's just not like him. Oh well. Nothing can be done about Sai's feelings. I better get to sleep now like a normal person, otherwise it's going to be hell getting me up in the morning.'
With that last thought, Rowen slid under the covers of his bed and went to sleep.
The next morning was bright and cheery. Rowen awoke to the sweet smell of Sai's and Maurette's cooking. For once, Rowen didn't need to be shoved out of bed. He voluntarily got up and walked into the kitchen, or what the hotel called a kitchen.
"Hey! The boy-who-sleeps-like-the-dead has awoken to join the living!" Maurette said with sarcasm in her voice.
"Ha Ha. Very funny. So, what's for breakfast?"
"Sausage and pancakes." Sai replied.
"Sounds good. Where's Kendy?"
"She just went out to explore Toyama a bit." Maurette replied.
"WHAT?? You let her go out all by herself?!? She could get lost, or kidnapped, or---"
"Slow down buddy! She'll be fine. Anyway, we were planning on paying our surprise visit to the guys a bit later today, so you might want to take off those smiley face boxers and put on some real clothes." Sai finished off the last part with a slight giggle.
"What's wrong with smiley faces?"
"Nothing. Just put some clothes on while I call Kendy on her cell phone and tell her to come back here before we go to visit." Sai replied.
Rowen then dashed out of the room while Maurette continued to cook and Sai called Kendy. Meanwhile, Kendy was enjoying a brisk walk in the sunlight when she noticed a group of three boys walking down the street. One had ash-blue hair and was wearing the most eye-catching orange shirt. The next had on formal clothing, a green vest and white dress pants with a white blouse underneath and his hair was a golden blond and it covered over his right eye. The last had jet-black hair that was about shoulder length and he was wearing an old, red sweater. Kendy had the strangest feeling about those boys. It was something almost magical. Kendy snapped out of her trance and realized that her cell phone was ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kendy. This is Sai. Look, you need to come back to the hotel room before Rowen has a heart attack. You should have seen the look on his face this morning when you weren't home! What he was wearing was even funnier. Imagine Rowen standing in the doorway with nothing on but a pair of smiley-face boxers!"
After that statement Sai started to laugh hysterically and Kendy heard Rowen yell in the background, "There is nothing wrong with smiley faces!!!!" Kendy couldn't help but snicker at the entire situation. She replied "Thanks for the, um, pleasant bit of information, Sai, and I'll be back at the house in about 15 minutes." Kendy then hung up her phone and called a cab. Down the street, the guys were shopping for some new clothes, amazingly. The only reason why they were out is because Mia had ordered them to buy some new clothes before she got back later on tonight.
"Man! I hate shopping for clothes. So many shops to choose from and so little time."
"Quit complaining Kento. Shopping isn't that bad." Sage replied.
"That's because you're part girl!" Kento snapped back.
Sage never heard the last thing Kento said because he found a shop that was perfect for his taste in clothing.
"Sage! Sage? What are you doing!" Ryo yelled.
"Watch out!" Kento said, "Once he finds a shop he likes, there's no taking him away from it until he buys out the entire store!"
This time said heard what Kento said and yelled, "I heard that and I do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"That's enough!" Ryo yelled in frustration, "You two are acting like children! Let's go back to the house and eat something because the food is too expensive here in town. We'll come back as soon as we eat."
Several hours went by and they never returned to the marketplace. Then Mia walked in the door and then……
"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU GUYS TO GO AND BUY SOME NEW CLOTHES AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE!!!!"
The guys looked at each other with the feeling of dread in their eyes. One, they forgot to get new clothes, which was plenty to piss Mia off. Then there was the other fact that the house looked like a tornado ripped through it.
"I LEAVE FOR ONE WEEK AND THIS IS WHAT I COME BACK TO!!!!"
Sage decided to run while he could, but he didn't get too far.
"OH NO, PRETTY BOY! YOU"RE NOT GETTING OUT OF THIS THAT EASILY!!" Mia screamed as she dragged Sage by the collar back into the living room.
"Come on, Mia----"
"DON'T YOU 'COME ON, MIA' ME LITTLE MAN!!"
Just as the Ronins were going to get their just desserts, they all heard a knock on the door.
Sage got up very quickly and opened the door, not bothering to see who it was because he was too busy worrying about Mia pouncing on him, said, "Thank you whoever you are. You just saved us from certain death at the hands of the tyrannical Mia Coji."
"No problem Sage. The pleasure's all mine." Sage recognized that voice.
"No. It couldn't be."
Sage then looked up and saw who was standing at the door and saw the face of his long-lost best friend Rowen!
"Wait. R-Rowen? I-is that r-r-really you? B-but I killed you! I watched you die with my own eyes!" At that statement, all the color in Sage's face drained away. He started to walk away at that point.
"Aren't you going to let us come in Sage?" came a voice with a distinct British accent.
With that, Sage stopped walking away and immediately passed out from shock onto the floor. Rowen, Sai, Maurette, and Kendy let themselves in. Kendy then remembered Sage from the group of boys she saw walking along the street earlier and she still sensed something was quite different about him. In the middle of her thoughts, Kendy was interrupted by someone's voice.
"Sage? Who is it?"
No answer.
"Sage?" everyone called his name this time. As they did, everyone, including Mia ran in to discover Sage passed out on the floor and 4 figures standing in the room. Mia then turned on the light and discovered who the figures were. Kendy recognized the rest of the boys from the same situation she remembered Sage from. Everyone had the same look of shock on their faces as Sage slowly regained consciousness. When he fully came to, he grabbed onto Rowen like he would never let go and started to sob uncontrollably.
"Rowen! I thought I had killed you! I thought I would never see you again! Where have you been all this time while we were left here to suffer! I've missed you so much! You too, Sai. I think Kento's finally recovering from his shock, so beware, he might just hug you to death."
Just then Kento spoke.
"Sai? Sai! I've missed you and your cooking so much!"
He then ran up and gave him a giant bear hug. Sai tried to squirm out of the vise Kento had him in, but all of his attempts were in vain. As he felt himself losing consciousness from lack of oxygen, Kento suddenly let go and Sai collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
"Sorry buddy. I've just missed you so much. You were the only person I could think about! Hey, who are those two girls you're with. They're cute."
"Don't even go there, Kento." Rowen replied to Kento's statement. "We'll explain what happened to us and who these girls are after a good night's rest."
Then Kendy whispered to Rowen, "What are they talking about? There's something you haven't told me, isn't there? Well, you can't keep it from me anymore."
"I'll explain later." Rowen responded.
" I'll remind you too."
Just then, Mia came out of shock and decided to tell the school tomorrow about the mistaken deaths of their two friends. Mia knew that the people in the school wouldn't take this very well, but this had to be done. Ryo had to be pushed into the other room by the guys and he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Rowen and Sai. It was like he was staring at them like they were ghosts. Through all of this Mia had only one thing on her mind, and that was how she was going to get back at the guys for messing up her house.
To Be Continued…