Phobia ~*Prologue*~
~*TorrentScythe*~
****
In the battlefield, the Ronins were fighting against a bunch of Dynasty Soldiers. So what else is new? Our fellow heroes are pretty confident that this fight was in their hands definitely.
"All right! We pretty much got this!" Kento commented as he strike down his staff down at the enemy.
"Amen to that," Cye agreed. He quickly turned around and prepared for another small fight.
"Guys...don't you think this is a tad too much?" Sage asked.
"Hm? Whatcha mean?" Rowen asked.
"I mean...LOOK AT HOW MANY THERE ARE!!" Sage yelled as he got his no-datchi ready to slice them all in half.
Rowen turned to see what Sage was talking about.
"I see whatcha mean," He answered.
Ryo took in a deep breath as he watched millions of Dynasty Soldiers circle them all. "Okay...why are there so many?"
"Aha! I knew I wasn't the only one that thought that," Sage explained.
"I don't get it. It's like everyone time we strike down one, more and more keep popping up," Cye pointed out.
"Ah who cares! The more there are, the challenging it gets! And do I love a challenge!" Kento exclaimed as he brought his staff to commence his attack. "Iron Rock-,"
"Kento! Wait!" Sage yelled.
"Now what? They're just coming at us!" Kento complained as he watched the circle of Dynasty Soldiers closing in on them. They were walking to them. "If we don't act now, they're gonna get the better half,"
"He's got a point, you know," Cye said.
"Yeah, but look at how they don't seem to care about your attack. Usually, they would have that terror or some sort of it in their eyes the second you shout out even one word. Do you see terror at all?" Sage asked. "We have to think of something to at least get them to back off,"
"Sage," Ryo said, "Now isn't exactly the best time to be concentrating on their fears. We're gonna have to do our attacks. It might be our only way,"
"What are the chances of that?" Sage asked.
"We'll probably be able to knock off the first couple rows," Ryo said.
"Good job! So what are we gonna do for the other thousand rows then?" Sage inquired.
"We'll think of something! We gotta hurry! We're pretty closed off!" Ryo yelped as he brought the ends of his swords together.
The circle of soldiers were close to them. They were very close. At once, all five of the boys were yelling out their attacks, ready to send them all to Dynasty Hell, when they were covered by a black fog full of smoke. They could see no one. Nothing.
"Oh my God...guys! Where are ya?" Ryo coughed. He heard bunches of coughing, but no answers. Ryo kept on coughing himself. He fell to his knees as he continued coughing, fearing that he might cough out his lung. "Gu-Guys!" He could barely say anything with coughing. Something was wrong. He could feel his throat closing. He could barely breath. His vision was blurred as his eyes watered from the amount of fog and smoke mixed together. He heard Cye's screaming in pain. He heard Kento gasping for air. Sage and Rowen were both gasping and screaming for the others. *What's...happening?* Ryo asked himself before blackness covered his whole body.
****
Ryo walked into a room with absolutely nothing in it. No floors, no ceilings, no walls, no furniture. Just emptiness. A sudden ball of light caught the corner of Ryo's eyes. The ball floated around the room, in which Ryo saw every single bit of its movement. The ball floated to Ryo's nose level and illuminated the room to be completely black. Ryo was now finding it difficult to breath as the ball of light floated away. Ryo crouched down and crouched his knees. He was taking deep breaths as he realized he was now all alone in the dark room.
****
"Ryo! Ryo!" Ryo opened his eyes. He blinked a bit clear his vision. There was Mia's beautiful face, staring down at him with panic. Her eyes were puffy and red, as if she's been crying for days.
"Mia?" He asked. Mia's lips grew into a smile of joy.
"Ryo! Thank goodness you're okay!" She cried as she anxiously gave Ryo a hug. Ryo smiled.
"Mia...," He whispered into her ear. Mia and Ryo both sat up. Ryo looked around and found himself in his room. He looked up at Mia. "What happened anyways?"
"I have no idea, but White Blaze found you all. He actually carried all of you back to here," Mia said. She looked down at the floor. "And that was two days ago...,"
"You mean to tell me that I was in a two day coma?" Ryo asked. Mia nodded. "And the others? What about the others?"
"They still haven't woken up yet," Mia answered.
"They're probably just sleeping, enjoying their rest. Especially Rowen," Ryo told Mia. Mia couldn't help it but laugh.
"Maybe you're right," She answered.
A blood curdling scream was then heard through out the house.
"Oh look! Someone's awake," Ryo said.
"You stay there. Don't move at all. I'll go see what's up," Mia told Ryo as she rushed out of the room. Ryo looked around. He was all alone in his room.
Alone.
Ryo felt his loss of breathing again. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable. His stomach was turning. What's wrong with him?
*I don't feel safe being alone. I know Mia and the rest are just in the other room, but why don't I enjoy being alone anymore?* Ryo thought to himself as he quickly got out of his bed and into the hallway, where he saw White Blaze. All his security was beginning to return to him as he walked over to his tiger.
****
The scream was coming from Sage and Rowen's room so Mia quickly rushed in. She saw Sage still resting, but Rowen was shaking badly as he hugged his knees. "Rowen? What's wrong?"
Rowen quickly turned to Mia. "Mia! My life saver! Thank God you're here!" He was still shaking and his breathing was rapid. There were beads of sweat on his forehead.
Mia quickly rushed over to him and held him tightly. Rowen allowed Mia to hold him tight and comfort him.
"Rowen, what's wrong?" She asked again.
"There're....all these books! There's books everywhere! It's...it's...," Rowen lost his words as his eyes caught sight of an encyclopedia. He was screaming madly.
"Rowen! Rowen!" Mia yelled as she grabbed on to Rowen's shoulder. Rowen took in a couple deep breaths as he turned his head away and closed his eyes.
"Sorry," He apologized. Mia sighed.
"Would you rather I take out all the books from your room?" She asked.
Rowen nodded slightly. "If you can. This whole room is covered with 'em,"
"I'll tell you what. I'll try to take as much as I can. In the meantime, you can rest up in the living room, I'm pretty sure there're no books in there,"
Rowen thanked her. They both stood up and Mia lead Rowen out the room, down the stairs, and into the living room.
During the way, Mia was wondering how it was possible that Rowen 'the bookworm' Hashiba could be so afraid of books? It was like Rowen being afraid to breath. How could he all of a sudden just start screaming at the sight of books? Something wasn't right...
****
Cye's eyes fluttered opened. He looked around. He saw Kento laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Cye sat up. His head was aching badly. He quickly brought his hands up to his head as he cringed in pain, hoping that he can magically hold his brain in place.
"You're awake," Cye heard Kento said.
"Yes, good morning to you too," He said, "Be a dear and get me a couple hundred aspirins, would you?" He asked. Kento looked at him.
"You got hit pretty badly," He said.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Cye asked.
Kento sighed. It was obvious that Cye didn't remember what happened during the fight they had with the Dynasty Soldiers. Kento only remembered partially, for he lost his consciousness from lack of breathing.
He finally sat up and told what happened to Cye.
"From what I saw, you were coughing badly like the rest of us. One of the Dynasty Soldiers hit your head with his weapon very hard. In fact, so hard, I was practically afraid that they split your head in two,"
Cye ran his hand through his hair. He felt a huge bump at the back of his head.
"So you're right," He responded. He then decided to change the subject. "How long have you been awake?" He asked.
"Oh say around...ten minutes before you did," Kento answered.
Cye stretched his arms and yawned. "Well, I feel pretty rested up. How about you?"
"More then needed to," Kento said. They both got out of their bed. Cye felt his brain breaking to pieces.
"I'm in deep need of an aspirin," He moaned.
"We'll take a quick trip into the kitchen and I'll get you an aspirin and a glass of water. How's that?" Kento asked.
"Fine with me," Cye said as he followed Kento out of the room. But the sound of the glass of water is sort of giving him a queasy feeling in his stomach.
****
"You've been a very good boy, White Blaze," Ryo said as he petted the white tiger. "Mia told me what you did. It was probably hell on earth having to carry five teenagers to Mia's house. You saved our lives. Thanks a lot buddy," Ryo gave his pet a hug. White Blaze growled softly as he accepted the hug.
"Hi Ryo," Ryo turned around to see Sage standing at the doorway of his room.
"Sage! You're awake!" Ryo cheered.
"You're awake too, I see," Sage answered, "Say, have you've seen Row-AH FUCK!" Sage quickly ran back into his room, slamming the door behind him. Ryo blinked, not believing what just happened.
"Well that was a tad odd," He said. He petted White Blaze. "I'll be back," He said. He stood up and knocked on the door. "Sage! What's up in there!"
"Ryo! Run! There's an animal in the hallway!" Sage yelled back.
Ryo chuckled. "It's only White Blaze, silly!"
"White Blaze, Schmite Blaze! It's scaring the living bejeezus out of me!" Sage yelled back.
Ryo rose up an eyebrow of confusion. White Blaze has never scared Sage before...
Sage gave out another scream. "THERE'S A BIRD ON MY WINDOW SILL! OH MY GOD! THERE'S A SQUIRREL ON THE TREE! WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE ANIMALS HERE!!!!" He screamed.
Ryo found it quite odd that Sage is being afraid of animals.
****
Rowen looked cautiously around the living room from his seat on the couch. Not a book in sight, so he felt pretty safe. He thought that it was quite odd that he developed a sudden fear of his favorite hobby. He can't read a book, less look at it without freaking out. Why are the books giving him a hard time? They'd never hurt him before.
Why now?
He turned his head to the kitchen door, where Mia was preparing some breakfast for everyone. He leaned back on the couch, trying to figure out what he should do when he heard footsteps pounding on the stairs. He looked up to see Kento guiding Cye into the kitchen. Rowen flinched. There goes his breakfast. He knew perfectly well that Kento would eat the food, even if Mia wasn't done cooking.
He watched Kento and Cye open the kitchen door, peer in, and run off screaming their heads off. They ran back up the stairs, leaving Rowen all puzzled.
"What just happened?" Rowen asked Mia through the open door. Mia emerged from the kitchen and shrugged.
"To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea," Mia answered. She shrugged and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Rowen to wonder what they were screaming about.
****
Ryo was still petting White Blaze, talking to him, when Cye and Kento rushed up the stairs an into the hallway. Ryo looked up at them. They were both shaken and breathing hard.
"Huh? What's up, guys?" He asked.
"We need to talk to you!" Cye and Kento demanded.
"Why? Is the dynasty here?" Ryo asked as he stood up.
"No. Something odd is going on. We must talk to you," Cye said as he grabbed Ryo's left arm.
"We must," Kento said as he took Ryo's right arm. They both dragged Ryo into their room so they can talk. Kento closed the door behind so they can have some privacy. At that point, Sage opened the door slightly.
"Ryo?" He asked. He received no answer. He gave a sigh of relief. If Ryo's gone, most likely so would White Blaze. Sage opened the door wider and was about to walk out when he caught sight of White Blaze. Quickly he ran back inside his room, slamming the door behind him. "Oh when will the horror end?!" He screamed.
****
"It was horrible," Kento said as he sat down at the edge of his bed. "I don't know what's happenin'. I was gonna go into the kitchen with Cye when I saw food," He said.
"...So?" Ryo questioned.
"I didn't eat it," Kento said.
"...Are you feeling all right?" Ryo asked.
"That's not even half of it. It's really odd. It's actually as if I'm afraid of food," Kento stated. Ryo stared at him with disbelief.
"You are KIDDIN' ME?!" Ryo exclaimed, "You have a fear of food now?!"
"You heard me," Kento said as he nodded.
Ryo turned to Cye curiously. "And what about you?"
"I saw Mia washing some apples," Cye answered.
"Let me guess. You all of a sudden have a phobia of apples?" He asked.
"Actually no," Cye answered, "You wouldn't believe it at all,"
"Uh...Mia?" Ryo asked.
"No! It was the running water," Cye explained.
"Gasp! Okay! Stop being sarcastic. What was it really?" Ryo asked.
"I told you...it was the water,"
"HONEST?!"
"Yeah, that's right, water. I'm all of a sudden afraid of water," Cye said as he sat down next to Kento. He felt his head throbbing in pain again. "This really sucks. I really need some sort of pain killers or something. Do you have any aspirins with you?"
"Sorry," Ryo answered.
"Ah frick," Cye muttered disappointedly. He stood up and made his way out the door. "Maybe Sage might have some with him. Or he can heal me. One of the two,"
Kento and Ryo watched Cye leave. The second that Cye closed the door behind him, Kento and Ryo turned to each other.
"So...what's going on with us?" Kento asked.
"I have no idea," Ryo answered, "But I'm guessing it had something to do with that fight we had...,"
"Whatever. I'll be back. I gotta go see how Rowen's doing. He looked so tensed in the living room. I wanna know what's up," He said as he left.
Ryo looked around anxiously. There was no one else in the room. Just him. An uneasiness feeling rushed through him. Why can't he handle being alone? He had the sudden urge to be with someone. Quickly! Just be near someone! Anyone! There had to be someone else in the room.
Ryo panicked as he realized that there was no one else in the room. He was all in his own lonesome. He quickly ran to the door, slammed into it, stepped back, anxiously opened the door, and dashed right out.
****
Cye watched Ryo dash out madly out of his room, jumping over White Blaze and ran...er, excuse me, more like fell down the stairs.
"Ryo: 0, Stairs: 1," Cye said to himself. He knocked on Sages door. "Sage! It's Cye! Can I talk to you-,"
"SHIT! OH SHIT! THERE'S ANOTHER BIRD ON MY WINDOW SILL! OH JESUS CHARLES*! THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!!" (*Authors's note: Sorry for the Jesus Charles inside joke. I was just too tempted to put it in! I couldn't resist! ^_^)
"Uh...okay, never mind," Cye said, realizing that Sage is also loosing his sanity. He saw White Blaze napping on the floor. He smiled. "Well at least you're not loosing your mind like the rest of us," He said.
****
"Irrational fear of books? Ya don't say!" Kento exclaimed after Rowen had told him what he thought was mighty odd.
"Yeah, I know. Strange, isn't it?" Rowen asked. Kento laid back on the couch.
"Definitely," He answered, "A tad odd if I don't say so myself,"
"EIIIIYYYAAAAAA!" They both heard Ryo scream. Kento and Rowen both turned their heads to see Ryo crashing head first at the base of the stairs. Kento and Rowen stared at Ryo for awhile, then continued their conversation.
"So what about you? Experiencing anything strange?" Rowen asked. Kento shrugged
"It's kind of odd, but I'm feeling uncomfortable around food...I don't know why. Maybe I'm just hallucinating or something. I mean, we're talking 'food' here! I need it to live! To move on in life! I mean, I can't possibly be afraid of food, can I?" Kento explained.
Mia walked out of the kitchen. "Breakfast's ready!" She exclaimed happily.
Kento clutched Rowen's arm tight, shaking a bit. "Hold me,"
"Chill, Kento," Rowen said as he patted Kento's head. "It'll be okay. Here, I'll take you into the kitchen and we'll eat food together. Is that all right with you?" Rowen asked as he began walking into the kitchen, dragging Kento along with him.
Mia watched them both oddly as she walked to the base of the stairs. She looked down to see Ryo laying there, tapping his finger on the floor annoyingly.
"Plan on getting up anytime soon?" She asked.
"I think I feel safer closer to the ground, thank you. I see ants here that I can easily make friends with. I'm not alone on the floor, at least," Ryo answered.
"Well get up and eat some breakfast," Mia said as she grabbed hold on Ryo's hand and helped him up. Ryo nodded and walked into the kitchen to meet up with Rowen and Kento. Mia then needed to get Sage and Cye and they're set. She's pretty sure they have to be awake from their two day coma, for everyone else is already up.
"Sage! Cye! Come downstairs and eat some food!" Mia called out.
"Sure thing, Mia! Coming!" Cye answered.
"OVER MY FUCKIN' DEAD BODY AM I COMING OUT OF THIS ROOM! I KNOW WHITE BLAZE IS FUCKIN' STILL THERE!" Sage yelled.
"Whoa. Harsh words," Mia muttered to herself. Cye walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to join the rest, leaving Mia to call Sage out of the room again.
****
"AH! I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE!" Kento screamed as Cye entered the kitchen. He saw Ryo happily eating, and Rowen trying to pry Kento off of him.
"Kento! Get off! You're not gonna die!" He yelled at him.
"What's up, Kento?" Cye asked as he sat across from him.
"I can't eat! The food is scaring me!" Kento cried, shaken a bit.
"Oh for the love of God," Cye muttered as he grabbed himself a plate full of pancakes. He grabbed a couple more pancakes and devoured it in syrup. He handed the plate in front of Kento. Kento looked at it wearily and quickly hid behind Rowen.
"Cye! Why do you have to be so mean?" Kento asked.
"I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to help you eat," Cye defended himself.
"Looks like you're trying to give me a heart attack," Kento said, glaring at him.
"Me? Give you a heart attack? Don't make me laugh!" Cye blurted out.
Rowen and Ryo stopped their eating and turned to Cye and Kento's argument. They both looked at Cye and Kento, who are glaring at each other.
"This isn't gonna turn out good," Rowen said.
"Oh, I see you're stupid plan! I'm getting on to you! You're trying to kill me!" Kento yelled.
"Kill you? You're trying to be some anorexic freak! You're not really afraid of food! Eat up!" Cye yelled back.
"I can't eat! It's giving me an uneasy feeling! I can't even look at food without freakin' out!"
"Oh...is that so? Oh, Kento would you like an apple?" Cye asked as he held up a red apple in front of Kento's face. Kento screamed and hid behind Rowen again. Cye laughed. "Ooooh! The apple is going to attack me! I'm so scared!" He said sarcastically.
Kento glared at him. "Oh...that was so low. But two can play at this game," Kento said as he stood up. He grabbed a glass cup from the cupboard, ran to the sink, and quickly filled it with water. After it was filled, he turned to Cye with a smirk, holding up glass of water.
Cye loosened up a bit when he saw what Kento had planned for him. He gulped and started backing away.
"Kento...couldn't we talk to each other civilly?" the shaken British said.
"Oh I'm just gonna test out if you're really afraid of water, you big faker!" Kento yelled.
"A big faker, am I?" Cye asked as he stood, armed with a pancake.
Ryo and Rowen saw what this is gonna turn out into.
"Guys! Sit down! Stop provoking each other!" Rowen yelled.
"Boy, talk about loosing your brain cells. Best friends turn against each other. Maybe Cye needs that aspirin bad," Ryo muttered to himself.
"Oh! A pancake! You think that's gonna bring me down?" Kento asked.
"Probably is. You're not even looking at it! You closed your eyes!" Cye yelled.
"I wouldn't be talking! You seem to have your eyes closed too,"
"How do you know that?"
"I peeked!"
"Prepare for the Civil War!"
"Give me you're best shot!"
"Bring it on, chubby!"
"YOU GUYS!" Rowen and Ryo yelled as they stood up. They ran in between, hoping to talk some sense into them. Before they even spoke, Kento splashed the water and Cye threw the pancake. They both opened their eyes to see that they didn't really hit the person that they intended to hit. Instead, they were both looking at a pissed off Ryo with a pancake on his head and a pissed off Rowen that seems to be soaked a bit.
"Uh oh...," Cye and Kento muttered.
"Oh you really pushed your limits," Ryo said angrily.
"C'mon! Let's go! Right here right now!" Rowen declared to Cye and Kento.
****
"Sage Date! Open this door!" Mia yelled as she banged on the door.
"Nnnnnnnnno," Sage said simply.
"Open it,"
"No,"
"Now,"
"I know White Blaze is still there. I can feel it,"
"Sage, I'm opening this door,"
"I like to see you try, lady,"
"My hand is on the doorknob,"
"Oh big whoopdey do,"
"I am turning the doorknob,"
"Just try it sista. Just try it,"
"I am opening the door,"
"I like to see you-," Sage stopped talking as he saw Mia enter his room. "-...trying," Mia instantly grabbed Sage and dragged him out. Not having much of a choice, Sage was dragged all the way down to the kitchen, only to find them that the kitchen had now turned into a war grounds. A complete mess had filled the kitchen. Pancakes on the floor. Water wetted everything. Cooking books thrown everywhere. A complete disaster.
"What the-," Mia gasped. Sage looked around cautiously.
"What happened here?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer, he saw someone huddled in the corner, shaking. Sage quickly ran to him to see who it was. "Rowen? What happened?"
"Oh it was terrible," Rowen muttered. "One moment we were having our own lil' duel. The next moment," Rowen took in a deep breath. "A cookbook was sorta thrown at me," He was breathing rapidly. "It was terrible, Sage! Just terrible!"
"There there," Sage said as he comforted Rowen. He looked up to see Kento leaning back on the wall, breathing hard and shaken. Cye was next to him, his eyes completely wide from horror. Where was Ryo? Well who could miss that muffling sound coming out of the cupboard with the table blocking the door?
"Someone open the door! I'm fuckin' serious here! This isn't funny!" Ryo yelled.
"That's it," Mia said with a sigh as she grabbed the phone book. Rowen flinched at the sight. She started flipping through the yellow pages. "I'm calling a psychiatrist and get an appointment for all five of you,"
"A what?" Sage asked.
"You heard me," Mia told Sage, "All five of you need some serious help. I don't know what happened in that fight you had, but I know for sure you each developed some weird ass phobia that is affecting each and everyone of you. Help is needed and fast,"
"Mia! Please! Anything but a psychiatrist!" Rowen pleaded with Sage.
"I'm left with no other option," Mia said as she shook her head. She found the number that she was looking for and dialed. After a couple rings, the phone was picked up and Mia heard a lady speaking, most likely the secretary.
{Hello, welcome to Dr. Schwartz office. May I help you?}
"Yes, I will like to assign five appointments," Mia requested.
{I'm sorry, ma'am, did you say five?}
"Yes. They're for my five roommates,"
"Mia, please stop while you're still ahead. We don't need any help at all," Sage said.
"I wouldn't be talking, Mr. Let's-All-Be-Afraid-of-Little-Animals," Mia said through her clenched teeth. "And Rowen here can't even handle a couple books. And would you like to take a look at Cye and Kento? They're practically traumatized. And Ryo is sounding pretty scared in that cupboard,"
{Ma'am, is there a problem?}
"No. None whatsoever," Mia said through the phone.
"Mia, you're making a big mistake," Rowen said, shaking his head.
"Is there a reasonable time that they can come to the office?" Mia asked the secretary, ignoring Rowen.
{Ah...let me see...Dr. Schwartz is opened for the rest of the night at four tomorrow evening. Each session is about an hour long.}
"Great! That'll be wonderful! We have no conflicts during that time,"
"If she's assigning that appointment tomorrow, I can't. I'm booked all day tomorrow," Rowen told Sage.
"Not anymore, Hashiba," Mia said angrily to Rowen. Rowen gulped.
{Great. It's settled. All I need are their names}
"Ryo Sanada, Sage Date, Rowen Hashiba, Cye Mouri, and Kento Rei Huang,"
"She did NOT just say my name. Tell me, Sage," Rowen said, looking up at Sage with pleading eyes.
"I wish I can tell you that she didn't," Sage said shaking his head some more.
{Thank you. Have a nice day.}
"You too," Mia said and hung up. She turned around with a smile on her face. "Well guess what? You're all to have an hour appointment with Dr. Schwartz tomorrow,"
"Mia. Just call back and cancel them," Sage said. He thought about it for a bit, looked at Cye and Kento, then at Rowen, and turned back to Mia. "Or at least cancel my appointment. I'm perfectly under control,"
"White Blaze!" Rowen cheered as he saw the white Siberian tiger trot into the kitchen. That instant, Sage threw the table that blocked the cupboard door, and joined Ryo in the cupboard, shutting the door.
"Hi Ryo. I think you were feeling pretty lonely in here. I thought I accompany you a bit," Sage said.
Mia sighed. Sage isn't really fooling anybody. And so the mayhem continues. But who knows? If this Dr. Schwartz guy can help anybody, he can help the Ronin Warriors with no problem.
Right?
~*End of Prologue*~
~*TorrentScythe*~
****
In the battlefield, the Ronins were fighting against a bunch of Dynasty Soldiers. So what else is new? Our fellow heroes are pretty confident that this fight was in their hands definitely.
"All right! We pretty much got this!" Kento commented as he strike down his staff down at the enemy.
"Amen to that," Cye agreed. He quickly turned around and prepared for another small fight.
"Guys...don't you think this is a tad too much?" Sage asked.
"Hm? Whatcha mean?" Rowen asked.
"I mean...LOOK AT HOW MANY THERE ARE!!" Sage yelled as he got his no-datchi ready to slice them all in half.
Rowen turned to see what Sage was talking about.
"I see whatcha mean," He answered.
Ryo took in a deep breath as he watched millions of Dynasty Soldiers circle them all. "Okay...why are there so many?"
"Aha! I knew I wasn't the only one that thought that," Sage explained.
"I don't get it. It's like everyone time we strike down one, more and more keep popping up," Cye pointed out.
"Ah who cares! The more there are, the challenging it gets! And do I love a challenge!" Kento exclaimed as he brought his staff to commence his attack. "Iron Rock-,"
"Kento! Wait!" Sage yelled.
"Now what? They're just coming at us!" Kento complained as he watched the circle of Dynasty Soldiers closing in on them. They were walking to them. "If we don't act now, they're gonna get the better half,"
"He's got a point, you know," Cye said.
"Yeah, but look at how they don't seem to care about your attack. Usually, they would have that terror or some sort of it in their eyes the second you shout out even one word. Do you see terror at all?" Sage asked. "We have to think of something to at least get them to back off,"
"Sage," Ryo said, "Now isn't exactly the best time to be concentrating on their fears. We're gonna have to do our attacks. It might be our only way,"
"What are the chances of that?" Sage asked.
"We'll probably be able to knock off the first couple rows," Ryo said.
"Good job! So what are we gonna do for the other thousand rows then?" Sage inquired.
"We'll think of something! We gotta hurry! We're pretty closed off!" Ryo yelped as he brought the ends of his swords together.
The circle of soldiers were close to them. They were very close. At once, all five of the boys were yelling out their attacks, ready to send them all to Dynasty Hell, when they were covered by a black fog full of smoke. They could see no one. Nothing.
"Oh my God...guys! Where are ya?" Ryo coughed. He heard bunches of coughing, but no answers. Ryo kept on coughing himself. He fell to his knees as he continued coughing, fearing that he might cough out his lung. "Gu-Guys!" He could barely say anything with coughing. Something was wrong. He could feel his throat closing. He could barely breath. His vision was blurred as his eyes watered from the amount of fog and smoke mixed together. He heard Cye's screaming in pain. He heard Kento gasping for air. Sage and Rowen were both gasping and screaming for the others. *What's...happening?* Ryo asked himself before blackness covered his whole body.
****
Ryo walked into a room with absolutely nothing in it. No floors, no ceilings, no walls, no furniture. Just emptiness. A sudden ball of light caught the corner of Ryo's eyes. The ball floated around the room, in which Ryo saw every single bit of its movement. The ball floated to Ryo's nose level and illuminated the room to be completely black. Ryo was now finding it difficult to breath as the ball of light floated away. Ryo crouched down and crouched his knees. He was taking deep breaths as he realized he was now all alone in the dark room.
****
"Ryo! Ryo!" Ryo opened his eyes. He blinked a bit clear his vision. There was Mia's beautiful face, staring down at him with panic. Her eyes were puffy and red, as if she's been crying for days.
"Mia?" He asked. Mia's lips grew into a smile of joy.
"Ryo! Thank goodness you're okay!" She cried as she anxiously gave Ryo a hug. Ryo smiled.
"Mia...," He whispered into her ear. Mia and Ryo both sat up. Ryo looked around and found himself in his room. He looked up at Mia. "What happened anyways?"
"I have no idea, but White Blaze found you all. He actually carried all of you back to here," Mia said. She looked down at the floor. "And that was two days ago...,"
"You mean to tell me that I was in a two day coma?" Ryo asked. Mia nodded. "And the others? What about the others?"
"They still haven't woken up yet," Mia answered.
"They're probably just sleeping, enjoying their rest. Especially Rowen," Ryo told Mia. Mia couldn't help it but laugh.
"Maybe you're right," She answered.
A blood curdling scream was then heard through out the house.
"Oh look! Someone's awake," Ryo said.
"You stay there. Don't move at all. I'll go see what's up," Mia told Ryo as she rushed out of the room. Ryo looked around. He was all alone in his room.
Alone.
Ryo felt his loss of breathing again. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable. His stomach was turning. What's wrong with him?
*I don't feel safe being alone. I know Mia and the rest are just in the other room, but why don't I enjoy being alone anymore?* Ryo thought to himself as he quickly got out of his bed and into the hallway, where he saw White Blaze. All his security was beginning to return to him as he walked over to his tiger.
****
The scream was coming from Sage and Rowen's room so Mia quickly rushed in. She saw Sage still resting, but Rowen was shaking badly as he hugged his knees. "Rowen? What's wrong?"
Rowen quickly turned to Mia. "Mia! My life saver! Thank God you're here!" He was still shaking and his breathing was rapid. There were beads of sweat on his forehead.
Mia quickly rushed over to him and held him tightly. Rowen allowed Mia to hold him tight and comfort him.
"Rowen, what's wrong?" She asked again.
"There're....all these books! There's books everywhere! It's...it's...," Rowen lost his words as his eyes caught sight of an encyclopedia. He was screaming madly.
"Rowen! Rowen!" Mia yelled as she grabbed on to Rowen's shoulder. Rowen took in a couple deep breaths as he turned his head away and closed his eyes.
"Sorry," He apologized. Mia sighed.
"Would you rather I take out all the books from your room?" She asked.
Rowen nodded slightly. "If you can. This whole room is covered with 'em,"
"I'll tell you what. I'll try to take as much as I can. In the meantime, you can rest up in the living room, I'm pretty sure there're no books in there,"
Rowen thanked her. They both stood up and Mia lead Rowen out the room, down the stairs, and into the living room.
During the way, Mia was wondering how it was possible that Rowen 'the bookworm' Hashiba could be so afraid of books? It was like Rowen being afraid to breath. How could he all of a sudden just start screaming at the sight of books? Something wasn't right...
****
Cye's eyes fluttered opened. He looked around. He saw Kento laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Cye sat up. His head was aching badly. He quickly brought his hands up to his head as he cringed in pain, hoping that he can magically hold his brain in place.
"You're awake," Cye heard Kento said.
"Yes, good morning to you too," He said, "Be a dear and get me a couple hundred aspirins, would you?" He asked. Kento looked at him.
"You got hit pretty badly," He said.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Cye asked.
Kento sighed. It was obvious that Cye didn't remember what happened during the fight they had with the Dynasty Soldiers. Kento only remembered partially, for he lost his consciousness from lack of breathing.
He finally sat up and told what happened to Cye.
"From what I saw, you were coughing badly like the rest of us. One of the Dynasty Soldiers hit your head with his weapon very hard. In fact, so hard, I was practically afraid that they split your head in two,"
Cye ran his hand through his hair. He felt a huge bump at the back of his head.
"So you're right," He responded. He then decided to change the subject. "How long have you been awake?" He asked.
"Oh say around...ten minutes before you did," Kento answered.
Cye stretched his arms and yawned. "Well, I feel pretty rested up. How about you?"
"More then needed to," Kento said. They both got out of their bed. Cye felt his brain breaking to pieces.
"I'm in deep need of an aspirin," He moaned.
"We'll take a quick trip into the kitchen and I'll get you an aspirin and a glass of water. How's that?" Kento asked.
"Fine with me," Cye said as he followed Kento out of the room. But the sound of the glass of water is sort of giving him a queasy feeling in his stomach.
****
"You've been a very good boy, White Blaze," Ryo said as he petted the white tiger. "Mia told me what you did. It was probably hell on earth having to carry five teenagers to Mia's house. You saved our lives. Thanks a lot buddy," Ryo gave his pet a hug. White Blaze growled softly as he accepted the hug.
"Hi Ryo," Ryo turned around to see Sage standing at the doorway of his room.
"Sage! You're awake!" Ryo cheered.
"You're awake too, I see," Sage answered, "Say, have you've seen Row-AH FUCK!" Sage quickly ran back into his room, slamming the door behind him. Ryo blinked, not believing what just happened.
"Well that was a tad odd," He said. He petted White Blaze. "I'll be back," He said. He stood up and knocked on the door. "Sage! What's up in there!"
"Ryo! Run! There's an animal in the hallway!" Sage yelled back.
Ryo chuckled. "It's only White Blaze, silly!"
"White Blaze, Schmite Blaze! It's scaring the living bejeezus out of me!" Sage yelled back.
Ryo rose up an eyebrow of confusion. White Blaze has never scared Sage before...
Sage gave out another scream. "THERE'S A BIRD ON MY WINDOW SILL! OH MY GOD! THERE'S A SQUIRREL ON THE TREE! WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE ANIMALS HERE!!!!" He screamed.
Ryo found it quite odd that Sage is being afraid of animals.
****
Rowen looked cautiously around the living room from his seat on the couch. Not a book in sight, so he felt pretty safe. He thought that it was quite odd that he developed a sudden fear of his favorite hobby. He can't read a book, less look at it without freaking out. Why are the books giving him a hard time? They'd never hurt him before.
Why now?
He turned his head to the kitchen door, where Mia was preparing some breakfast for everyone. He leaned back on the couch, trying to figure out what he should do when he heard footsteps pounding on the stairs. He looked up to see Kento guiding Cye into the kitchen. Rowen flinched. There goes his breakfast. He knew perfectly well that Kento would eat the food, even if Mia wasn't done cooking.
He watched Kento and Cye open the kitchen door, peer in, and run off screaming their heads off. They ran back up the stairs, leaving Rowen all puzzled.
"What just happened?" Rowen asked Mia through the open door. Mia emerged from the kitchen and shrugged.
"To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea," Mia answered. She shrugged and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Rowen to wonder what they were screaming about.
****
Ryo was still petting White Blaze, talking to him, when Cye and Kento rushed up the stairs an into the hallway. Ryo looked up at them. They were both shaken and breathing hard.
"Huh? What's up, guys?" He asked.
"We need to talk to you!" Cye and Kento demanded.
"Why? Is the dynasty here?" Ryo asked as he stood up.
"No. Something odd is going on. We must talk to you," Cye said as he grabbed Ryo's left arm.
"We must," Kento said as he took Ryo's right arm. They both dragged Ryo into their room so they can talk. Kento closed the door behind so they can have some privacy. At that point, Sage opened the door slightly.
"Ryo?" He asked. He received no answer. He gave a sigh of relief. If Ryo's gone, most likely so would White Blaze. Sage opened the door wider and was about to walk out when he caught sight of White Blaze. Quickly he ran back inside his room, slamming the door behind him. "Oh when will the horror end?!" He screamed.
****
"It was horrible," Kento said as he sat down at the edge of his bed. "I don't know what's happenin'. I was gonna go into the kitchen with Cye when I saw food," He said.
"...So?" Ryo questioned.
"I didn't eat it," Kento said.
"...Are you feeling all right?" Ryo asked.
"That's not even half of it. It's really odd. It's actually as if I'm afraid of food," Kento stated. Ryo stared at him with disbelief.
"You are KIDDIN' ME?!" Ryo exclaimed, "You have a fear of food now?!"
"You heard me," Kento said as he nodded.
Ryo turned to Cye curiously. "And what about you?"
"I saw Mia washing some apples," Cye answered.
"Let me guess. You all of a sudden have a phobia of apples?" He asked.
"Actually no," Cye answered, "You wouldn't believe it at all,"
"Uh...Mia?" Ryo asked.
"No! It was the running water," Cye explained.
"Gasp! Okay! Stop being sarcastic. What was it really?" Ryo asked.
"I told you...it was the water,"
"HONEST?!"
"Yeah, that's right, water. I'm all of a sudden afraid of water," Cye said as he sat down next to Kento. He felt his head throbbing in pain again. "This really sucks. I really need some sort of pain killers or something. Do you have any aspirins with you?"
"Sorry," Ryo answered.
"Ah frick," Cye muttered disappointedly. He stood up and made his way out the door. "Maybe Sage might have some with him. Or he can heal me. One of the two,"
Kento and Ryo watched Cye leave. The second that Cye closed the door behind him, Kento and Ryo turned to each other.
"So...what's going on with us?" Kento asked.
"I have no idea," Ryo answered, "But I'm guessing it had something to do with that fight we had...,"
"Whatever. I'll be back. I gotta go see how Rowen's doing. He looked so tensed in the living room. I wanna know what's up," He said as he left.
Ryo looked around anxiously. There was no one else in the room. Just him. An uneasiness feeling rushed through him. Why can't he handle being alone? He had the sudden urge to be with someone. Quickly! Just be near someone! Anyone! There had to be someone else in the room.
Ryo panicked as he realized that there was no one else in the room. He was all in his own lonesome. He quickly ran to the door, slammed into it, stepped back, anxiously opened the door, and dashed right out.
****
Cye watched Ryo dash out madly out of his room, jumping over White Blaze and ran...er, excuse me, more like fell down the stairs.
"Ryo: 0, Stairs: 1," Cye said to himself. He knocked on Sages door. "Sage! It's Cye! Can I talk to you-,"
"SHIT! OH SHIT! THERE'S ANOTHER BIRD ON MY WINDOW SILL! OH JESUS CHARLES*! THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!!" (*Authors's note: Sorry for the Jesus Charles inside joke. I was just too tempted to put it in! I couldn't resist! ^_^)
"Uh...okay, never mind," Cye said, realizing that Sage is also loosing his sanity. He saw White Blaze napping on the floor. He smiled. "Well at least you're not loosing your mind like the rest of us," He said.
****
"Irrational fear of books? Ya don't say!" Kento exclaimed after Rowen had told him what he thought was mighty odd.
"Yeah, I know. Strange, isn't it?" Rowen asked. Kento laid back on the couch.
"Definitely," He answered, "A tad odd if I don't say so myself,"
"EIIIIYYYAAAAAA!" They both heard Ryo scream. Kento and Rowen both turned their heads to see Ryo crashing head first at the base of the stairs. Kento and Rowen stared at Ryo for awhile, then continued their conversation.
"So what about you? Experiencing anything strange?" Rowen asked. Kento shrugged
"It's kind of odd, but I'm feeling uncomfortable around food...I don't know why. Maybe I'm just hallucinating or something. I mean, we're talking 'food' here! I need it to live! To move on in life! I mean, I can't possibly be afraid of food, can I?" Kento explained.
Mia walked out of the kitchen. "Breakfast's ready!" She exclaimed happily.
Kento clutched Rowen's arm tight, shaking a bit. "Hold me,"
"Chill, Kento," Rowen said as he patted Kento's head. "It'll be okay. Here, I'll take you into the kitchen and we'll eat food together. Is that all right with you?" Rowen asked as he began walking into the kitchen, dragging Kento along with him.
Mia watched them both oddly as she walked to the base of the stairs. She looked down to see Ryo laying there, tapping his finger on the floor annoyingly.
"Plan on getting up anytime soon?" She asked.
"I think I feel safer closer to the ground, thank you. I see ants here that I can easily make friends with. I'm not alone on the floor, at least," Ryo answered.
"Well get up and eat some breakfast," Mia said as she grabbed hold on Ryo's hand and helped him up. Ryo nodded and walked into the kitchen to meet up with Rowen and Kento. Mia then needed to get Sage and Cye and they're set. She's pretty sure they have to be awake from their two day coma, for everyone else is already up.
"Sage! Cye! Come downstairs and eat some food!" Mia called out.
"Sure thing, Mia! Coming!" Cye answered.
"OVER MY FUCKIN' DEAD BODY AM I COMING OUT OF THIS ROOM! I KNOW WHITE BLAZE IS FUCKIN' STILL THERE!" Sage yelled.
"Whoa. Harsh words," Mia muttered to herself. Cye walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to join the rest, leaving Mia to call Sage out of the room again.
****
"AH! I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE!" Kento screamed as Cye entered the kitchen. He saw Ryo happily eating, and Rowen trying to pry Kento off of him.
"Kento! Get off! You're not gonna die!" He yelled at him.
"What's up, Kento?" Cye asked as he sat across from him.
"I can't eat! The food is scaring me!" Kento cried, shaken a bit.
"Oh for the love of God," Cye muttered as he grabbed himself a plate full of pancakes. He grabbed a couple more pancakes and devoured it in syrup. He handed the plate in front of Kento. Kento looked at it wearily and quickly hid behind Rowen.
"Cye! Why do you have to be so mean?" Kento asked.
"I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to help you eat," Cye defended himself.
"Looks like you're trying to give me a heart attack," Kento said, glaring at him.
"Me? Give you a heart attack? Don't make me laugh!" Cye blurted out.
Rowen and Ryo stopped their eating and turned to Cye and Kento's argument. They both looked at Cye and Kento, who are glaring at each other.
"This isn't gonna turn out good," Rowen said.
"Oh, I see you're stupid plan! I'm getting on to you! You're trying to kill me!" Kento yelled.
"Kill you? You're trying to be some anorexic freak! You're not really afraid of food! Eat up!" Cye yelled back.
"I can't eat! It's giving me an uneasy feeling! I can't even look at food without freakin' out!"
"Oh...is that so? Oh, Kento would you like an apple?" Cye asked as he held up a red apple in front of Kento's face. Kento screamed and hid behind Rowen again. Cye laughed. "Ooooh! The apple is going to attack me! I'm so scared!" He said sarcastically.
Kento glared at him. "Oh...that was so low. But two can play at this game," Kento said as he stood up. He grabbed a glass cup from the cupboard, ran to the sink, and quickly filled it with water. After it was filled, he turned to Cye with a smirk, holding up glass of water.
Cye loosened up a bit when he saw what Kento had planned for him. He gulped and started backing away.
"Kento...couldn't we talk to each other civilly?" the shaken British said.
"Oh I'm just gonna test out if you're really afraid of water, you big faker!" Kento yelled.
"A big faker, am I?" Cye asked as he stood, armed with a pancake.
Ryo and Rowen saw what this is gonna turn out into.
"Guys! Sit down! Stop provoking each other!" Rowen yelled.
"Boy, talk about loosing your brain cells. Best friends turn against each other. Maybe Cye needs that aspirin bad," Ryo muttered to himself.
"Oh! A pancake! You think that's gonna bring me down?" Kento asked.
"Probably is. You're not even looking at it! You closed your eyes!" Cye yelled.
"I wouldn't be talking! You seem to have your eyes closed too,"
"How do you know that?"
"I peeked!"
"Prepare for the Civil War!"
"Give me you're best shot!"
"Bring it on, chubby!"
"YOU GUYS!" Rowen and Ryo yelled as they stood up. They ran in between, hoping to talk some sense into them. Before they even spoke, Kento splashed the water and Cye threw the pancake. They both opened their eyes to see that they didn't really hit the person that they intended to hit. Instead, they were both looking at a pissed off Ryo with a pancake on his head and a pissed off Rowen that seems to be soaked a bit.
"Uh oh...," Cye and Kento muttered.
"Oh you really pushed your limits," Ryo said angrily.
"C'mon! Let's go! Right here right now!" Rowen declared to Cye and Kento.
****
"Sage Date! Open this door!" Mia yelled as she banged on the door.
"Nnnnnnnnno," Sage said simply.
"Open it,"
"No,"
"Now,"
"I know White Blaze is still there. I can feel it,"
"Sage, I'm opening this door,"
"I like to see you try, lady,"
"My hand is on the doorknob,"
"Oh big whoopdey do,"
"I am turning the doorknob,"
"Just try it sista. Just try it,"
"I am opening the door,"
"I like to see you-," Sage stopped talking as he saw Mia enter his room. "-...trying," Mia instantly grabbed Sage and dragged him out. Not having much of a choice, Sage was dragged all the way down to the kitchen, only to find them that the kitchen had now turned into a war grounds. A complete mess had filled the kitchen. Pancakes on the floor. Water wetted everything. Cooking books thrown everywhere. A complete disaster.
"What the-," Mia gasped. Sage looked around cautiously.
"What happened here?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer, he saw someone huddled in the corner, shaking. Sage quickly ran to him to see who it was. "Rowen? What happened?"
"Oh it was terrible," Rowen muttered. "One moment we were having our own lil' duel. The next moment," Rowen took in a deep breath. "A cookbook was sorta thrown at me," He was breathing rapidly. "It was terrible, Sage! Just terrible!"
"There there," Sage said as he comforted Rowen. He looked up to see Kento leaning back on the wall, breathing hard and shaken. Cye was next to him, his eyes completely wide from horror. Where was Ryo? Well who could miss that muffling sound coming out of the cupboard with the table blocking the door?
"Someone open the door! I'm fuckin' serious here! This isn't funny!" Ryo yelled.
"That's it," Mia said with a sigh as she grabbed the phone book. Rowen flinched at the sight. She started flipping through the yellow pages. "I'm calling a psychiatrist and get an appointment for all five of you,"
"A what?" Sage asked.
"You heard me," Mia told Sage, "All five of you need some serious help. I don't know what happened in that fight you had, but I know for sure you each developed some weird ass phobia that is affecting each and everyone of you. Help is needed and fast,"
"Mia! Please! Anything but a psychiatrist!" Rowen pleaded with Sage.
"I'm left with no other option," Mia said as she shook her head. She found the number that she was looking for and dialed. After a couple rings, the phone was picked up and Mia heard a lady speaking, most likely the secretary.
{Hello, welcome to Dr. Schwartz office. May I help you?}
"Yes, I will like to assign five appointments," Mia requested.
{I'm sorry, ma'am, did you say five?}
"Yes. They're for my five roommates,"
"Mia, please stop while you're still ahead. We don't need any help at all," Sage said.
"I wouldn't be talking, Mr. Let's-All-Be-Afraid-of-Little-Animals," Mia said through her clenched teeth. "And Rowen here can't even handle a couple books. And would you like to take a look at Cye and Kento? They're practically traumatized. And Ryo is sounding pretty scared in that cupboard,"
{Ma'am, is there a problem?}
"No. None whatsoever," Mia said through the phone.
"Mia, you're making a big mistake," Rowen said, shaking his head.
"Is there a reasonable time that they can come to the office?" Mia asked the secretary, ignoring Rowen.
{Ah...let me see...Dr. Schwartz is opened for the rest of the night at four tomorrow evening. Each session is about an hour long.}
"Great! That'll be wonderful! We have no conflicts during that time,"
"If she's assigning that appointment tomorrow, I can't. I'm booked all day tomorrow," Rowen told Sage.
"Not anymore, Hashiba," Mia said angrily to Rowen. Rowen gulped.
{Great. It's settled. All I need are their names}
"Ryo Sanada, Sage Date, Rowen Hashiba, Cye Mouri, and Kento Rei Huang,"
"She did NOT just say my name. Tell me, Sage," Rowen said, looking up at Sage with pleading eyes.
"I wish I can tell you that she didn't," Sage said shaking his head some more.
{Thank you. Have a nice day.}
"You too," Mia said and hung up. She turned around with a smile on her face. "Well guess what? You're all to have an hour appointment with Dr. Schwartz tomorrow,"
"Mia. Just call back and cancel them," Sage said. He thought about it for a bit, looked at Cye and Kento, then at Rowen, and turned back to Mia. "Or at least cancel my appointment. I'm perfectly under control,"
"White Blaze!" Rowen cheered as he saw the white Siberian tiger trot into the kitchen. That instant, Sage threw the table that blocked the cupboard door, and joined Ryo in the cupboard, shutting the door.
"Hi Ryo. I think you were feeling pretty lonely in here. I thought I accompany you a bit," Sage said.
Mia sighed. Sage isn't really fooling anybody. And so the mayhem continues. But who knows? If this Dr. Schwartz guy can help anybody, he can help the Ronin Warriors with no problem.
Right?
~*End of Prologue*~