The Blinding Mask

Chapter Two

Robyn stepped out of her apartment, bright-eyed and full of energy. Today was the day she was going to get a job, she could feel it. Tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, she shouldered her bag and headed out. She had a newspaper tucked under her arm, full of ads circled in blue, all jobs that she knew she would love to have. Not that Robyn was going to be too picky, she badly needed a job if she wanted to be able to keep her apartment and afford a ticket back to the States. But she didn't want to work at just any old place, either.

There was a momentary lapse in her confidence and Robyn wondered what she would do if she didn't make enough money to get back. Maybe she should have waited another year to do this when she had more money saved. Job hunting wasn't exactly one of her favorite past times, either. The whole ordeal seemed a bit daunting, but Robyn shook her head at herself. She would get nowhere thinking like that. She steeled herself again and started out towards the bus stop.

"Excuse me," a male voice called in her direction.

Robyn turned around to see two men walking towards her. They looked a bit older than her. Maybe in their early thirties. Having lived alone as a single

woman for a while, Robyn was instantly paranoid about being approached by two males when she was all by herself. But the friendly way they greeted her made her relax slightly.

"Hello, sorry to bother you," one of them said. "I know this sounds silly, but we were wondering if you could settle a bet for us. I live across the street and I saw you move in the other day. The two of us have this little wager going as to whether or not you're Japanese. I know it's horrible, but could you settle that for us?"

Robyn smiled at them. "Yes, I am Japanese, actually. I was born here and both my parents are Japanese."

"See?" said the one who had been doing all the talking. "I told you. Her Japanese is beautiful." He then turned to address her. "Your Japanese is beautiful."

Robyn laughed. "Thanks!"

The two thanked her for her time and walked off. Robyn thought little else of the conversation as she got on the bus and headed off to her first destination with hopes high.

By late afternoon, Robyn had returned to her apartment, dejected and frowning. She pulled her red pen out and drew a big red cross mark over the final happy blue circle. It was the last job she had circled, the one that she had wanted the least, and even that one had sent her away empty-handed. She then threw the paper on the floor before throwing herself on the couch and sighing heavily. Her feet hurt and she was depressed that no one even wanted to have her return for a second interview.

She never would have imagined it would be so hard to get a job. Robyn had completed several years of college and was qualified enough. She was also very fluent in Japanese which made up for her non-Japanese appearance. It was the time frame she gave that got her. No one wanted to hire somebody who was only going to be in the country for less than three months. She considered lying about that, but then she knew she would feel guilty the entire time she worked there. No, she didn't want to do that.

Robyn buried her face further into the couch cushions and moaned to herself, kicking off her shoes. She had definitely had better days than this. The whole affair had left her disheartened and drained. It left her with very little energy to invest it in anything else.

BRRING!!!

The phone on the table right next to her exploded loudly, making Robyn jump in surprise. That was the first time she had heard her apartment phone ring and she wasn't prepared for such a sound. Robyn stared at the phone in surprise, wondering just how in the world it could ring that loudly. The phone replied by another BRRING!!!, making her jump again. This time she lurched for the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Robyn," came a male voice over the line. "It's Rowen."

A smile slowly spread to Robyn's face, lifting her spirits a little. She had almost forgotten she asked Rowen to call her the previous night. In truth, the way he had acted made her doubtful he would. So his phone call was a double surprise. If only she knew just how long Rowen had stared at his own phone, wondering if he should call her before he did.

"Hi Rowen! I got just back. Good timing, huh?"

"Yeah." Rowen's voice held that slightly distracted tone it had the day before, but he seemed more attentive this time. "How did job hunting go?"

Robyn moaned again as she was reminded of her day. "Oh, it was horrible, Rowen. I am so tired. If you hadn't called I probably would have slipped off into a void of complete depression."

"Wow, good thing I called then," Rowen responded, sounding slightly amused and a bit more like his old self.

"Yeah, you might not have ever heard from me again if that had happened," Robyn joked back.

"So, would you like me to come pick you up or something?" he asked.

"Yes. Please do," Robyn replied gratefully. "You're like, my hero right now."

The line went silent for a while, then Rowen asked her where she lived. Robyn shook her head and let it slide. Boys were so weird sometimes.

After giving him directions she hung up the phone. Next, she went to her closet and pulled out a more comfortable shirt and an old pair of jeans, pulling them on before tying her shoulder length hair up into a loose ponytail. Robyn had never been much of a makeup girl but she had worn some for her job interviews and didn't feel like washing it off. So she was ready way before the buzz came, indicating that Rowen was downstairs waiting to get in. Robyn pressed the button that was supposed to let her talk to Rowen, frowning when it didn't work.

The buzzer kept ringing. Robyn frowned again as it hummed obnoxiously in her ear.

Darting across the apartment, she stuck her head out the window and looked down at the blue haired man pressing the button repeatedly below.

"Hey!" Robyn called. "The button doesn't work from this end! I'm coming down!"

Rowen looked up at her and grinned mischievously. Then he squashed his hand down on the buzzer, holding it. The loud noise resounded irritatingly across her apartment as Robyn grabbed her purse and coat and dashed to the door, muttering to herself.

"Hey you jerk!," she called as she came out of the building.

Rowen gave the buzzer one last satisfying push, a small smile on his face.

"Stop that, you're going to piss off my neighbors," Robyn warned. "You have no idea how loud that thing is."

"Actually I do," Rowen said with a smirk. "I could hear it from the street. That's why I kept doing it."

Robyn rolled her eyes at him. "You are so retarded."

"Hey, like you can talk. I've seen how mature you can be," Rowen shot back with a smile.

Robyn tried to fight it, but a smile came out anyway. Yes, she had to admit both of them had done some pretty stupid stuff in their days. And she was just glad to see Rowen smiling. He definitely looked in a better mood today, standing easy and relaxed.

"Come on," he said, throwing a friendly arm around her shoulders.

Robyn grinned back and let him lead her down to the car, happy that he had his arm around her. It felt good, especially with the lack of contact yesterday.

Rowen opened the door for her, wincing at the loud squeak it made. Robyn looked at the vehicle dubiously. It barely seemed like it would run, and large spots of rust gave it the general appearance of an unruly cow. Rowen seemed to notice her hesitation and looked a bit hurt.

"Hey, it's not that bad," he protested.

"Of course not," Robyn replied mildly, climbing in. She reached for the seat belt, only to find out it was missing.

Rowen climbed in next to her and gave her a rueful grin.

"Sorry about that, it came that way."

Robyn rolled her eyes and locked her fingers into the cushion beneath her.

"Drive careful, Rowen," she ordered.

"I promise, no sudden stops," Rowen agreed as they started off. "You're doing better than Sage did. I drove him around once and he insisted on sitting in the back the whole time."

Robyn chuckled. "That sounds like Sage. He's fine if he drives you through a hundred mile an hour chase around the city. But if you want to drive him to the store, he has to be doubly buckled up."

Rowen nodded. "So where do you want to go?"

"Oh, some place to get food," Robyn said as she massaged her temples. "I'm starting to get a headache."

Rowen glanced over at her and noticed she suddenly looked very tired. "I'm sorry you had such a bad day."

"Eh," Robyn brushed it off with a wave. "Don't worry about it. The bad part's already over."

'Bad part's already over, huh?' Rowen thought to himself. 'If that's true, then why am I still bothered by it?'

Rowen wasn't really hungry, but being Rowen, he could always eat something. He was also reveling in the fact that they weren't at the coffee shop or Kento's restaurant and he finally got a change of scenery.

"So," Robyn said as she poured dressing on her salad. "Last night was pretty crazy, huh? All of us trying to catch up all at once, it was information overload."

"Yeah, it was pretty insane," Rowen agreed. "You definitely caught us all off guard."

Robyn smiled faintly, looking thoughtful. "Is that why you were so quiet last night?"

Rowen shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yeah, a bit. It felt kind of surreal, you know? I was still trying to let it all soak in when I went home last night." And you scare me. I'm not sure I'm ready for this. I don't want you to know...

"Well now that you've had time to process it all," Robyn replied. "Tell me, how is it that all five of you are still single?"

Rowen just looked at her.

"I figured at least one of you would have gotten married by now," Robyn went on. "It's been six years. I didn't even hear anything about anyone having a girlfriend last night. What is up with that?"

Rowen's face paled a little. He wasn't expecting this kind of question. Though, if he really thought about it, it was something anyone would wonder. What if she had asked that question of Cye or Sage? It would have been far worse then. How should he answer? He had to think.

"Yeah Robyn, you caught us," Rowen replied, trying to remain calm. "It had to come out sooner or later. We're all gay."

Robyn broke into laughter. "With each other, right?" she snorted.

Rowen nodded as seriously as he could and Robyn tried to fight back another fit of the giggles. For some reason, it made Rowen feel good that Robyn didn't believe him.

"What about you?" Rowen then pressed. "I didn't hear you mention a boyfriend either. Lesbian."

Robyn kept laughing. It took her a couple minutes to get settled down again.

"Oh man, that's funny," Robyn sighed as she wiped away a tear. "But if you don't want me to pry, I won't pry. I just thought it was odd, that's all. The girls around here must be crazy not to want to hold onto any of you."

"You sound almost disappointed," Rowen noticed.

"Well you know," Robyn waved him off. "You have high hopes for someone and they let you down..."

Rowen chuckled and went back to his meal, letting it drop and praying it didn't come up again. In truth, he didn't mind telling her about it. In fact, a bit of him wanted to. He and Robyn had always talked honestly to each other about everything. He wouldn't have minded telling her that there had been someone, that the relationship had been rocky, but he had had fun anyway. He didn't mind telling her that it was over and he wished it wasn't. But he knew as soon as he got into it, more questions would come. Questions he wasn't ready to answer. So he had to keep quiet. And thinking of that reminded Rowen that he and the other guys needed to talk about Robyn and just what exactly they were willing to tell her, if anything, and how they were going to do it.

After eating, they went back to Rowen's rusted car. Rowen was about to turn the key when Robyn turned her gaze on him.

"You look older," she said simply. "I mean, I know you're older than last I saw you, but you look older. Like you have seen so much more than you were meant to see these past few years."

Robyn reached for him and Rowen surprised himself by actually shrinking away from her a bit, his eyes wide. But Robyn came forward still, running her fingers through his hair. She pushed back his bangs so she could look clearly into his eyes and Rowen had nowhere to retreat.

"That look," Robyn mumbled softly. "I see that same look in the other's eyes, it's like..."

Rowen held his breath, feeling like her next words would mean his full exposure for what he was trying to hide. But instead, Robyn's eyes darted down to his neck and Rowen realized she had been purposefully distracting him. By the time she reached the collar of his turtleneck, Rowen was too late to stop her. She hooked it with a finger, successfully tugging it down and revealing his scar.

"Holy shit Rowen!" Robyn exclaimed when she got a full view of the vicious scar running down his neck. It was dark purple and slightly indented, as if a chunk had been taken out. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

Rowen broke free from her grasp, pulling his collar back up. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Nothing?" Robyn asked with raised eye brows. "Nothing my ass! It looks like you almost got your throat ripped out! Why don't you want to tell me what happened?"

Rowen's face expression hardened right before her eyes. "Because it's none of your business, okay?"

"None of my business?" Robyn shot back. "Don't you think I have the right to know when one of my closest friends almost dies?"

"Hey, I don't have to tell you every thing that's happened while you were away Robyn! YOU left US, remember? It's not my fault you weren't there, okay? Hell, I'm glad you weren't there!" He muttered an oath far worse than anything she had ever heard from him.

Robyn opened her mouth to retort, but then closed it again and folded her hands in her lap, leaving Rowen with the last word. He was breathing hard in the silence, momentarily swept up in his own frustrations before he realized what he had just allowed to escape. Robyn just sat there quietly, looking straight forward. Her face was a mask, devoid of all emotion, but Rowen knew he would be lying to himself if he thought for one minute he didn't just hurt her feelings right then.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said roughly, still having a hard time trying to control the anger in his voice. "I'm just going to take you home now, okay?"

Robyn didn't respond and Rowen started the car anyway.

"If I had been there…," Robyn said quietly. Her brows furrowed angrily for a moment. "I would have killed them."

"No," Rowen whispered in a tight voice, gripping the steering wheel beneath whitened knuckles. "It would have killed you first."

The beaches were packed this time of year in Japan, and everyone was out trying to soak up as much sun as they possibly could. Stretching up and down the sand, brightly colored bikinis and tanned flesh could be seen relaxing and running, playing and swimming. That was what most people came to the ocean for. But that was not what he had come for. The beaches stretched for miles, and further up the coast the land dropped off more dramatically into the ocean. Here, there were no beaches to enjoy; only rocky earth and tightly clustered vegetation. The water was deep; well beyond the reaches of toes even as one first slipped into the cool calm liquid, and the dense trees gave it a feeling of complete solitude. That was what he had come for.

Cye had spent a lot of his time working as a lifeguard on the public beaches. He would have strongly advised anyone who happened to be swimming where he was right now that it was dangerous; that the water was too deep and the currents here too strong. But it never occurred to him to fear the same things he would fear for others. The water was not his enemy. It had never been his enemy. Should he be pulled beneath the surface, it would not matter; and should the loving arms of the ocean coax him down further into its depths, that too was alright. Because water was Cye's element. He had but to ask, and he would be released back up into his own world, a world he had found increasingly suffocating and colorless.

It was bizarre, he knew, that he could sink down towards the bottom of the seabed, the ocean draped heavily over his body with more pressure than the average human body could take. It surrounded him by a pitch blackness only broken by that far off speck of light indicating the surface. It was strange that only here, in his solitude and his darkness did he feel at peace. It was the bright and cheerful world far above him that made him cringe, that pushed and tightened in on him, oppressive and grim. It was here where he would go when he couldn't stop remembering…her.

Sometimes Cye liked to close his eyes when he was down here, blocking out that one small dot of light, and pretend that he lived in the same kind of world that she had. That he had her strength and serenity. That he could adjust just as well as she had, but deep down Cye knew that it was different. He chose to float in a sea of darkness, Cassie never had such a choice. And, as always, Cye eventually had to leave it. Though the water was familiar, his body still craved the light. He needed it and could only imagine what it was like to never have it. Despite his every effort, he couldn't stop himself. He had to go back up to it every time. Maybe that's why he still couldn't bring himself to blame her.

Today, however, it felt different.

He had been down here for a few hours now, hundreds of feet below the surface, in a place where the currents were still. Cye had been sinking steadily the entire time, watching that dot above him slowly disappear. He had never gone this deep before; certainly not without any kind of gear on. Cye had found out a long time ago that he didn't need oxygen to breathe under water. When he was younger he had needed it; when they were fighting Talpa and the warlords. Certainly he could hold his breath far longer than the others could, but he was still human and needed air. When he was older and had swum to Africa, it had amazed him how long he could swim and how far between breathes, but he always eventually had need to break for air. But now? Now everything was different. Cye wasn't sure if it was these new armors, or if it was just him; just his body's reaction to being exposed to Torrent for so long that was changing him. The old armors had worn down on them, even as they made the Ronins stronger. But these new armors? They were like children, learning and growing and stretching further every day.

Cye hadn't even realized how much of his mind had been shut off from the spell Mia had used on them, and he'd never known how disconnected he had been with his new armor when he had received it. Sure it had made him uneasy and distracted, they had all been like that. It wasn't until later that the armors had been screaming at them to listen, to understand that they were missing a part of themselves that the armors wanted back. The armors wanted whole bearers, not just a part. The armor of Torrent had reveled that in the return of Cye's memories, as the last barriers between them were broken down. It was funny, his armor rejoiced that they were now made whole and yet Cye had never felt so empty and alone in his entire life.

God, how he missed her…

Cye knew he was drifting too deep, that even his body could only take so much, but at the moment, he really didn't care. The slowly building pressure in his chest and his limbs matched the raw, torn feeling that he carried around with him every day. Cye had known grief in his life, had seen people he cared about die and he had mourned them, but with Cassie it was different. He had lived through her death not once but twice, and the time lapse between the repressed memories and the new ones wasn't enough to diminish the pain. In the cave the second time, or in the room the first, he had seen her die. He had seen her ripped apart to save their lives twice, had seen the agony in her eyes and heard her whisper his name twice. It was the whisper that hurt him the most and made the raw torn feeling expand, tearing him to shreds more completely than Cassie's fate had been. He had let her die with his name on her lips.

Cye sank into his grief, letting it fill him. This was the only place he could be like this. Everyone was hurting right now and no one wanted to admit it. No one wanted to say out loud that it was real. Even him. Cye had never even said her name out loud since getting his memories back. Even though Cassie's name, her face, everything about her were never far from his thoughts.

The previous night when they were all at his house, Ryo had said a friend of his had died. That was the closest anyone had ever been to acknowledging her death. To admitting they knew someone was gone and they knew it hurt him. The rest felt like white noise. It was something in the background everyone knew, but no one wanted to put a name to it. No one wanted to say the words–those excruciating horrible words that, for some reason, Cye was dying to hear.

He closed his eyes and slowly rolled over in a circle, feeling the water move around him lazily. It liked him being down here, it enjoyed his presence and never asked anything of him. And down here, where there was only fish and other sea creatures, the constant barrage of his senses finally stopped.

His empathy. It was another thing they didn't talk about. Cye was developing a second power and he was increasingly growing worried about what it would do to him. It felt more like a curse than a blessing at times. How could anyone want the power to feel the emotions of others? Weren't ones own raging emotions confusing enough? And, much to Cye's dismay, the more he was around people, the more he could feel this power growing.

At first it had just been whoever was next to him. But then it pushed out to include everyone that was around him, sudden thoughts and emotions coming at him from all directions. Excitement, sadness, worry, joy. All at the same time. Some days were worse than others, but it was getting to the point where Cye spent more time trying to suppress his powers than develop them. It was just too hard to cope. And through them, Cye began wondering if he was a good person. How could he be? When he felt others' happiness, he would become bitter and jealous. When he felt others' pain, all he could think was their pain wasn't as great as his. And when he was around the other Ronins, Cye did his damndest not to let in any of their feelings.

Cye knew Ryo was sad about his tiger…Cye missed White Blaze too. But a tiger wasn't a person, and to him the loss just didn't compare. And Rowen's manic depressive anger over Nikki made Cye want to shake him. Didn't he understand that at least Nikki was still alive? That he wasted so much energy being hurt and angry when he should be thankful that they didn't lose her too? Heartache rolled off of Kento in waves, despite his stubbornness, but Cye didn't want to care. And when he was close to Sage…the one person who understood his pain the most was the one person Cye didn't want to understand. It was an issue they had never really dealt with, had never had the luxury to deal with between the fighting and the suffering. Cye didn't want to pick up on Sage's feelings at all, he wasn't ready yet for that part of it. The only one that he could empathically handle these days seemed to be Mia.

Mia. There was something about her that deeply disturbed Cye. Where everyone else radiated emotions, barely containing them to a reasonable level, Mia had stood alone. When he was close to her, he felt nothing. She was like stone, immovable and indifferent, and when she had used the seal on…him…the only thing that Cye had felt from her was an overwhelming sense of justice. Sometimes little bits flickered through here or there, squeezing through the cracks, reassuring Cye that Mia hadn't been stripped of everything that had made her the once sweet and caring person she had been, but so much of her was walled up so tightly, Cye doubted she even realized she had feelings anymore. The only time anything squeezed out it was when Kento was around, and then afterwards she walled up even tighter.

He knew better than to ever mention that to Kento. This entire thing had hurt him far greater than anyone else knew, and he was trying so hard to move past it all. Cye knew better than to give him any kind of hope when it came to Mia. Plus Nikki had shown Cye some very horrible things when she had let him delve her, and if Mia had experienced anything like that, then he doubted that there was any part of her that wasn't deeply affected. If Mia had to keep her walls up to protect herself from what had happened then maybe those walls should stay up. Even Mia could only stay strong for so long, she didn't need anyone trying to break down her defenses to get close to her. Cye had always thought that you needed to be honest with yourself and your demons, so you could learn to heal. But no one seemed to be healing these days, they only seemed to be getting worse. Cye was too busy trying to lay his own demons to rest right now, and to move on. He didn't have the energy to try and help any of the others.

Cye's eyes popped open and all he saw was darkness. His chest had started to hurt even more, his arms and legs were starting to go numb, and he knew he needed to get back up to the surface. There was a small problem. He didn't know which direction that was. Cye twisted and turned, searching the darkness for that one small speck of light, but he had drifted too deep and it was gone. Apprehension momentarily wavered his calm, making his chest hurt even more. Cye wasn't positive but he must have been down here for a few hours at least. It was definitely time to get back to the surface. He reached out to his environment, searching for direction, but the ocean was no help. Water has no concept of up or down, and it has no top or bottom. Frustrated and slightly panicky, Cye did something he had never done before. There were people up on the beach, and if he found them, he would know which direction was the right one. Not knowing exactly how it was done, Cye reached out with his mind.

He found fish. Not much goes through a fish's brain, and the tiny sparks of thought were so shallow that Cye didn't even bother trying to understand. Cye pushed his mind out farther. At first there was nothing but more fish, then his mind hit that of something much larger than a fish. Its brain was much more complex than the fish, although it was not necessarily intelligent. But it did give off the feeling of being very hungry. Cye jerked his mind back from it, pushing past in all directions at once. It was hard and much more taxing on his strength than reaching out in one direction. He was growing tired and that worried him, being this deep. Cye didn't realize how hard he was reaching out, how desperately he was trying to find his way, until one section broke the surface of the water, grabbing at all the people nearby. A thousand different emotions and thoughts hit Cye at once, and he reeled back from it in pain, clutching his head. Then one familiar mind touched his.

Cye? Is that you?

Sage's sudden consciousness so near him made Cye jerk back in response. The blonde was the last person he expected to come in contact with. However, Sage's presence was much stronger than anything else and was easy to latch onto. So latch on Cye did and he began to move towards it.

Are you alright? Where are you?

Cye tried to send the impression that he was coming, but eased away from it, pulling his mind back completely. His head hurt as he swum, and now that he knew where he was going, Cye realized just how deep he had gone down. No wonder there was something large and hungry nearby, it had probably been a shark.

It took him almost a half hour before his head finally broke the surface. Cye looked around, realizing that he had drifted down shore of where he had started from. The beach had mostly emptied out, except for a blonde man that sat waiting on a medium sized rock near the water. He stood up when he saw Cye emerge, but stayed where he was as Cye wearily rose out of the water. Sage looked at him seriously, his violet eyes narrowed with what Cye had come to recognize as worry. Cye was amazed he didn't feel it coming off of his friend. But it was hard to concentrate on anything now, his senses having been replaced by a grinding headache.

"You okay?" Sage asked quietly, eyes flickering over Cye as if to make sure he wasn't missing any parts. Cye nodded, rubbing his arms to try to get the numbness out of them. Cye was too tired to be embarrassed right now, and freely admitted what had happened.

"Yeah. I stayed down too long and got disoriented. I was deep, couldn't find my way up."

Cye looked down the coast as a breeze hit him, chilling his bare wet torso. He was wearing swim trunks but had left the rest of his clothes back where he had started at.

"I think I left my things over this way."

Cye started off and without invitation, Sage fell into step next to him. The blonde's lips were pursed, and he looked like he wanted to say something. Cye guessed that it was something to the effect of how dangerous it was to let himself go that far, and he didn't want to hear it, but Sage kept his mouth shut, choosing to not bring it up. They found his clothes about a mile down the beach, and Cye thankfully dried off, pulling on a large black hoodie and quickly changing into a pair of jeans. Cye sat down on the grass, leaning against a tree quietly. The numbness had left his arms and legs, but he was definitely tired and his head still hurt a lot. Sage had sat down crossed legged a few feet away and was looking out at the ocean.

"You really startled me, shouting like that," Sage suddenly murmured.

Cye looked at him.

"What do you mean, shouting?" he asked.

Sage smiled slightly. "You were projecting yourself. I'm so used to everyone else being normal, I don't usually block anything out. I just happened to be driving by and you slammed into me so suddenly I almost ran off the road."

Cye flushed slightly and shrugged uncomfortably.

"Sorry. I didn't realize that I was…shouting. I've never done anything like that before. I was just trying to find my way up."

Sage glanced at him speculatively.

"Does your head hurt?" he asked curiously. Cye grimaced and nodded.

"Feels like I'm getting a migraine."

"That's a sign that you overextended yourself,' Sage told him. "Actually I was startled with how strong you are, I hadn't realized." Sage sat quietly for a moment before adding softly, "You need to be careful, Cye. If you overextend yourself to the point of exhaustion, especially down there where we would have a hard time finding you, it could be bad."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cye replied, a bit shortly. He wasn't exactly pleased at how his attempt at a relaxing afternoon had gone and he wasn't in the mood for quiet calm lectures, especially when he knew that Sage was right. Sage just nodded, eyes drifting back to the ocean. A faint feeling of concern brushed back over him, and Cye felt a little guilty. Sage was just being a friend, he didn't deserve to get the brunt of Cye's attitude.

"It's weird for me," Cye admitted, trying to smooth over the awkwardness. "I'm not very good at turning that stuff on and off."

Sage gave him a tight smile.

"You'll get used to it."

Cye looked down at his hands. He had forgotten that was how Sage was. When it came to emotions, the blonde was immovable. He had always been. Both of them had received these new powers around the same time. But while Cye kept working to build a resistance to it, Sage hadn't tried to many any barriers at all. Cye could feel it. Sage's walls stayed down and he let all the emotions run freely around him and remained, as far as Cye could tell, unaffected by them.

That was the difference between the two. Cye had always been about talking openly about how he felt and being mindful of his and others' emotions. Sage was not. Sage wasn't a talker about anything at all; especially how he felt. Cye knew he would be wrong to assume Sage didn't feel as much as other people did, but Sage had a completely different way of dealing with emotions. It was almost like he could make himself immune to his empathy if he wanted to be.

Though he didn't want to admit it, Cye was jealous about that. Being next to Sage and feeling that difference between them made Cye feel like the weaker one. Why couldn't he be more like Sage? Why couldn't he just let this bombardment of the senses just roll off him and continue on? Why did he have to let so many little things bother him all the time?

The answer came simply. He couldn't be like Sage because he wasn't Sage. He was Cye. And Cye handled his problems by talking about them. Just like he had and how he always would. But the one thing he was dying to talk about still seemed like an unreachable subject right now. He had a feeling Sage wasn't ready to discuss Cassie with him yet. And there was still another subject that needed addressing.

To Cye's surprise, Sage brought it up first.

"Do you think," Sage spoke softly. "That if Robyn had been with us then, she would have told us what was going on?"

Cye looked at him for a moment, trying to soak in the question and all the possibilities. He knew exactly what Sage was referring to. If Robyn had known that same secret that Mia had kept from them, would she have kept it too? Or would she have had enough faith in them to take the truth and tell them?

"I don't know," Cye finally spoke. "I don't want to think about it. If she had been there, too. If something had happened to her–" Cye froze there, ice creeping up his spine. What if it had been Robyn instead of Cassie? Would it have hurt less then?

Cye was horrified with himself for even thinking that. The thought of having a choice between the two in who he would have preferred to die made him sick to his stomach. Quickly, he pushed the offending thought away, a bit disgusted with his own thoughts.

"Why do you ask?" Cye then said, trying focus on something else.

Sage was quiet for a moment. "I just wonder if we should do the same by keeping this from her."

Cye shook his head and stood up, grimacing again at the pain the movement caused.

"It's something we all need to decide," Cye replied, thrusting one hand in his hoodie's pocket and picking up the rest of his stuff. "The sooner the better, or she might end up finding out about it anyway."

"You don't want to tell her, do you?" Sage surmised from his comment.

Cye turned and leveled his gaze at Sage. "Tell her what? We don't even know how to say it out loud to each other. How could we possibly say it to her?"

There was accusation in his words, but Sage made no move to deny it.

Cye turned and started walking back towards his car, not waiting to see if Sage would follow.

Ryo was sitting on the front steps of Robyn's apartment building when Rowen finally pulled up. The dark haired man stood up and smiled when he recognized the rusted car.

"Hey, you guys went somewhere without me? Thanks a lot," he teased.

Robyn climbed out and closed the door, her face set in a frown. Rowen stayed inside, his hands on the wheel. He made no move to exit the vehicle. Ryo instantly picked up on the vibe between the two and stiffened.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Robyn stayed silent, her head down slightly. Rowen remained staring ahead, his hands never leaving the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Rowen said out the window. His voice was flat and left no room for argument. Neither did the fact that he was already backing out and driving away.

Ryo watched the car disappear in confusion and then turned to Robyn who still hadn't looked up at him.

"What happened?" he wondered.

Robyn shrugged. "I dunno. I guess... we had a fight."

Ryo's eyes widened and he looked in the direction Rowen's car had gone. Before she had left, Robyn and Rowen had gotten into all sorts of arguments, but it was always good natured teasing. They had never been in a FIGHT fight before. Ryo instantly blamed Rowen. His shortening temper was getting on everyone's nerves, but Ryo never thought he would blow up on Robyn. Especially on only the second day they had seen her.

"It was my fault," Robyn insisted when she saw the look on Ryo's face. "I had been having a bad day anyway so I was irritable. Don't blame him. I need to mind my own business."

Knowing Rowen, he didn't look quite convinced in what Robyn had said. But he let it slide for now.

"So do you want to hang out or go do something?" Ryo wondered.

Robyn sighed. "I'm sorry Ryo, but I'm really tired."

"I have a tv at my place," Ryo offered. "We could watch a movie. I've got popcorn."

Robyn tried to stop the smile that was tugging at the side of her mouth, but it was no use. "It's very tempting," she admitted. "I could go for that."

"Okay, only," Ryo then frowned. "We'd have to walk. Or we could probably find a bus stop."

"I don't mind. We can walk," Robyn relented. "Show me the way."

Ryo gave her a charming smile as he jerked his head in the direction they were going to go. The two feel in step side by side as they journeyed down the sidewalk.

"So how was job hunting?" Ryo ventured.

Robyn sighed, heavier this time. "I have to do it again."

"I see," Ryo replied.

Robyn fell into a sullen silence. Ryo couldn't have that.

"Hey," he smiled, getting her attention. "It will be better tomorrow. Don't give up yet."

"Thanks," Robyn replied softly.

It wasn't too far to Ryo's apartment. Robyn was amazed how close they were. It was kind of a nice coincidence. The place was nicer than hers. And bigger, with furniture. As promised, Ryo started getting popcorn for the microwave while he let Robyn glance over his modest movie collection. He offered they go rent one, but Robyn said she wasn't in the mood to go anywhere else. She settled for a movie she had seen before, but not for several years. It had a lot of explosions and no particularly deep plot. Something she could just watch without thinking.

Ryo's couch was comfortable and Robyn allowed herself just to sink into it. Though she was staring right at the tv, she wasn't really watching it. Her thoughts kept going back to that argument. The anger and hurt in Rowen's face, his voice; she had never seen him like that.

"I don't have to tell you every thing that's happened while you were away Robyn! YOU left US, remember? Hell, I'm glad you weren't there!"

Robyn thought about the conversation over and over again, not paying attention to the movie. Maybe she had been naive thinking that she could be gone for six years and just come back and act like everything was the same as it had been. That was her mistake, not theirs. She did know the kind of lives they had as Ronin Warriors, but that didn't mean she was entitled to know their business, whether or not it involved their armors.

They WERE very strong and capable men after all. It wasn't like they needed her for anything. Even just to talk, they had each other. They would understand each other better than she would. Especially now with her having been gone so long. She wasn't necessary. That was how strong people were. They could handle their problems, their lives, on their own. Robyn would do better to be more like them.

Ryo looked over from the movie when he felt something press against his arm. Robyn's head and shoulder were leaning against him, her eyes closed. She wasn't kidding when she said she was tired. Ryo allowed himself a small smile as he continued to watch the movie. It was nice hanging out like this. He hadn't realized how draining it was to be with the others until now. Not that he didn't like his friends, but it was different. With Robyn, he wasn't constantly worrying she would blow up at him or someone else. There were no uncomfortable silences or awkward moments when certain topics came up and all of them pretended that they weren't bothered by it.

With Robyn, Ryo never had to worry about how that horrible incident had affected her. He was so glad she had never experienced it. He never had to wonder if she was getting over it okay, if she was moving on or if there were parts of it still eating her inside and haunting her dreams. It felt good to have a friend who he could just be with, even if she was sleeping right now.

A deep hum pulled Ryo out from his thoughts and he reached for his vibrating cell phone as carefully as he could. Ryo wasn't the type to have electronic gadgets, but he needed one for his job since he was outside all day. He quickly turned down the tv and turned his voice away from the sleeping woman as he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ryo, it's Cye. I've been talking to the guys and we're going to try to get together at Rowen's house in about a half hour. There are certain things I think we all agree need to be discussed. Can you come?"

Ryo glanced over at Robyn. She hadn't stirred yet.

"Um, I kind of have Robyn over at my place right now. I don't know if I could."

"I'm not sure if we could do it any other time. Everyone is free right now. Who knows when it will happen again? If you can't show up, we'll probably still have a talk without you. Is that okay?"

Ryo frowned slightly as he glanced at Robyn again and weighed his options. He was pretty sure he had a good idea of what they planned to discuss. He really felt like he needed to be there. Maybe he could sneak away. "I'll do what I can, but go ahead and start without me."

"Okay. I'll let the others know. Bye, Ryo."

Ryo closed his phone and set about the slow task of extricating himself from Robyn's sleeping form without rousing her. Once having completed that, Ryo placed a light blanket over her and then squatted to look at her sleeping face. Robyn really had passed out hard on him. She was probably still getting used to the time difference. Ryo left her a quick note on the coffee table in case she did wake up before he returned and then stepped out the door, locking it behind him.

By the time Ryo reached Rowen's, the guys had managed to get into three minor blowouts and had resorted to sitting with crossed arms and scowls on their faces. Rowen particularly looked pissed, and he had parked himself out on his couch, feet stretched out so that even if anyone else had wanted to sit down, they couldn't. Cye and Sage had both claimed the two small chairs that made up Rowen's dining set. Kento, still in his work clothes and smelling of sweat and orange chicken, had plopped down on the kitchen counter, fully in view of the others because of the small size of the apartment. Hardrock's face was a thundercloud. Sage had on his best stubborn expression, and Cye looked like he was at his patience's end.

Cye massaged his temples with his fingers as Ryo entered the room, having heard a muffled yell of "Come in!". Ryo looked around, picking up immediately on the tension in the room.

"So…" Ryo started cautiously.

No one said anything and only Cye seemed interested in making eye contact with him. Finally Torrent rolled his eyes and looked at Ryo, half embarrassed, half disgusted.

"It seems," Cye drawled, "That we are completely incapable of making a decision without you, Ryo."

"Why is that?" Ryo asked, even though he knew better.

"Because Rowen is a fucking idiot," Kento snapped from the kitchen, voice heated.

Rowen glared at Kento angrily.

"Because it's my fault that Robyn decided to tear my clothes off," Rowen shot back sarcastically.

"You couldn't have just made something up, could you?" Kento growled. "No, you had to flip out and be an asshole to her, and now she knows something's going on."

"She said you guys got into a fight," Ryo spoke up in concern, directing the question at Rowen. Strata rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.

"She tricked me and yanked down my shirt." To emphasize the point Rowen hooked a finger on the neck of his sweater and pulled the material down, revealing the angry dark purple skin that used to be a smooth section of neck. Even now after it had healed, it still looked exactly like what it was, a hunk of flesh that had been bitten off. It made Ryo shiver and grow angry at the same time, and made him remember how helpless he had been in the fight where Rowen had received the wound.

"It wasn't as if I was throwing it around," Rowen added. "It's not my fault that Robyn had to be nosy."

"Hey back off of her," Cye instantly replied, quick to come to her defense. "Robyn didn't know. And you certainly could have handled the situation better than that. You could have come up with something to tell her."

"Of thank you, warrior of trust," Rowen drawled. "I'll remember that lying to my friends is the way to go from now on."

Cye glared furiously at Rowen, but Sage cut in, trying to soothe them both.

"Rowen, you know Cye's right. It wasn't your fault she saw your wound, but you should have made up some sort of explanation. Now she'll just wonder all the more, especially since you yelled at her. You wouldn't really be lying to her, just protecting her from things she doesn't need to know anything about."

Rowen however, wasn't in the mood to be placated.

"Sure Sage," Rowen replied. "Because lying to cover up what someone didn't want others to know worked out really well for everyone in this room. It worked out fabulously. In fact, why don't we give Mia a call, I'm sure she could think up something marvelous to tell Robyn, something that only the best kind of liar could come up with---"

That was about as far as he got. Kento had jumped down off the counter and had reached the couch, grabbing Rowen by the collar and yanking him up to his feet.

"You want to say that shit standing up?" Kento snarled, so angry he was shaking. Rowen faced down the furious Hardrock, nose to nose.

"I haven't said anything everyone in this room didn't already know," Rowen responded to the threat levelly.

"Rowen!" Sage barked. "Quit it! This isn't about any of that, it's about Robyn."

"See how well it's been going?" Cye remarked Ryo, wincing at the shouting and rubbing his temple again.

"This has everything to do with Robyn," Rowen replied, still face to face with Kento and not backing down. "Do you actually think she isn't going to figure any of this out? Don't you think that each of us is going to let something slip without even realizing it, a little here a little there, and she won't put it all together? At least if we are honest with her, then she might have a fighting chance---."

"A fighting chance against what?" Kento asked in a dangerously quiet voice. "There's nothing left to fight against, Rowen. It's over. We all saw it, he's gone."

Rowen's dark blue eyes glittered as he smiled grimly at his comrade. "Why? Because we say it is? Because we hope it is? Give me one ounce of proof that everything is actually over---."

"Mia gave us proof," Ryo spoke up softly, having not said anything up to this point. "White Blaze gave us proof. And that's all the proof we get. We can't sit around scared to death that the something is going to leap out at us when we least expect it, and we can't start fighting with each other because we're worried something like that will happen again. We're not here to point fingers and throw around blame, so that needs to stop." Ryo's face became dangerous as he stepped in between Rowen and Kento. The blue haired man was taller, but the look in Ryo's eyes made Rowen shrink back slightly.

"Rowen, you're my friend. But Mia was my best friend and if I ever hear you say anything like that again about her, I will personally beat the hell out of you. Sit down!" The last part came out as a snarl.

Rowen sat. Kento snorted derisively, and found himself nose to nose with Ryo.

"I get it," Ryo said softly, almost gently. "I really do. But I don't care how angry he makes you, or how angry any of you make each other, we are a team. We fight together, not against each other, and if we can't do that, then we've already lost whatever advantage we had. Sit." Ryo pointed at the kitchen and Kento grudgingly did as he was told. Ryo crossed his arms, now resembling the rest of them, and he looked about the room.

"Let me ask you guys something. Is there a single one of you that is mentally ready to fight right now, if something happened unexpectedly? Is anyone actually even watching what's going on around you?"

They all shifted uncomfortably, the answer obvious on their faces.

"I know this has been hard…" Ryo fought down saying that it had been absolutely horrible, and that he had never imagined how hard it would be to lose his tiger, but he stuffed the words down, hardening his voice. "I know it's been hard, but we all need to still keep sharp, to not do anything stupid, and to keep our eyes open. As far as we know, the Damian threat is over, but that doesn't mean something else isn't around the corner waiting. We need to be strong, we need to stick together, and we need to decide what to tell Robyn."

Ryo looked at the couch, where Rowen had stretched out again. Ryo stared pointedly at his feet and Rowen begrudgingly moved his legs so that Ryo could sit down. Ryo waited for someone else to start talking but no one came forward. Finally he sighed and broached the subject.

"Okay. So who thinks that we should tell Robyn what happened?"

No one raised their hands. Ryo rolled his eyes at Rowen.

"Okay…Rowen? Weren't you pushing to tell Robyn?" Ryo asked with forced patience. Rowen shook his head.

"I don't want to tell her anything. The less she knows the better. But that doesn't mean that I don't think she will somehow find out by herself, and I think it's better if we just tell her."

"So you vote to tell her."

"No. I vote she's going to find out anyways."

Ryo sighed, looking at Sage for help.

"He votes no," Sage said. "Just as I do. I don't want Robyn to have to deal with any of this stuff. Hell, I don't want to have to deal with--" Sage stopped himself there, swallowing the rest of his thoughts. That was probably the most Sage ever had to say about the situation.

"I vote we don't tell her," Cye spoke up. "Robyn's only going to be around for a few months. She doesn't need to know anything. If she asks, then don't give her any big answers. I know Robyn. She doesn't want to pry into anyone else's business, so as long as we downplay any issues that might come up, she won't ask."

The others nodded, except for Rowen, who remained in a stony silence.

"Well, it's not like she never kept anything from us," Kento put in. "All that shit back in high school; Cye had to get attacked before we realized anything was going on."

"She's a lot better at keeping secrets than we are," Cye put in, wondering if that was a good or bad thing.

"We'll just have to keep watch on her," Ryo announced, eyes on Rowen. "If anything does happen, we tell Robyn so she can better protect herself. That way no one is left in the dark when they shouldn't be." It was obviously made for Rowen's benefit and seemed to make him relax slightly.

There was a general grunt of agreement, even from Rowen. They all sat for few moments, but realizing that this wasn't one of those fun relaxing evenings, and realizing that Rowen very clearly wanted to be left alone, the group slowly headed out. Ryo hung around, waiting until the others had left. As the door closed behind Sage, he rounded on the blue haired man that had finally stood up.

"Rowen, what the hell were you thinking, picking a fight with Kento like that?" Ryo demanded. Rowen shrugged, face defensive.

"I was mad," Rowen replied. He leaned against the arm of his couch, expression stubborn.

"You're always mad, Rowen."

Rowen didn't reply. There was nothing much to say, because the statement was correct.

Ryo continued, not done. "I know exactly why you've been acting the way you have, Rowen. We all do, and no one says anything about it because you need a chance to be angry. But you're taking things too far. You act like you're the only one who this happened to and you know that's not true. So at least have a little compassion, you aren't the only one who got hurt."

Rowen still said nothing, but he did manage to look a little embarrassed from where he rested.

"Try to control yourself, Rowen," Ryo said. "And apologize to Robyn. You hurt her feelings."

"Yeah…Okay, Ryo." Rowen muttered. Ryo stood there for a moment, then nodded and quietly left, leaving Rowen alone with his anger.

Outside in the hall, Ryo saw Sage leaning against the wall, waiting for him to be through talking with Rowen. Had he been that obvious that he wanted to chew Rowen out in private? Sage gave him a weak smile, and headed back into Rowen's apartment without knocking. That at least made Ryo feel better, since he had already started to feel guilty about yelling at them all tonight. Ryo hated pulling rank, but he was worried to death about his guys, and he was afraid that if they couldn't get it all together, then things would only get worse. Sage was Rowen's best friend, and if anyone could rationalize with him, Sage could. Rowen couldn't maintain this manic kick for much longer, not if Sage was there to let his air out regularly.

Ryo headed for his apartment, hoping on a subway so the trip went faster. He wanted to go home, where it was calm and no one was angry. If Robyn was still there, maybe he could cook her something to eat. He had been cooking more these days and he found that he enjoyed it a lot. It was with relief that Ryo went up to his apartment and let himself in. The place was as he left it, the same lights on, and the corner of the blanket he'd laid on Robyn's sleeping form was sticking out beyond the arm of the couch. A small smile came to Ryo's face as he moved to the couch and looked down. Robyn was gone.

Ryo's ears perked up and he listened to the stillness of the room. He couldn't sense anyone else in his apartment.

"Robyn?" he called out loud, wandering a bit down the hall, checking the bathroom anyway. Nothing.

For a brief moment, panic filled him. All the things he and his friends had just talked about came back to him. About being prepared for an attack, about telling Robyn so she could better defend herself. Horrible images mixed from the past and his own imagination came to Ryo's head, making his heart beat quicker. It also made him feel that much more foolish when he noticed the piece of paper still left on the coffee table. It was the note he had left her, but she had turned it over and written on the back.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you. I didn't know you had some place you had to go tonight. I went home. Don't worry, I found the landlord and had him lock up for you."

That only did a little to soothe Ryo's nerves. He quickly whipped out his cell phone and dialed Robyn's number. It rang more times than Ryo would have liked and he was almost out the door to run over there when someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Robyn, it's Ryo."

"Oh hey, I just barely got in the door. Hope you weren't calling long."

Ryo ignored her pleasant tone. "Robyn, why didn't you wait? I could have walked you home."

"Well because you didn't say what time you would be back, silly," Robyn replied. "I knew the way home. I didn't need to wait for you."

"But you should have," Ryo insisted. "You shouldn't be out at night alone. It's dangerous. Promise me you won't do that again, okay?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Are you serious?" Robyn finally demanded. "I'm not a child you know. I'm allowed to go outside when I want. I don't need your permission. And I've gotten along fine without a big, manly male escort before, thanks."

"Being older doesn't mean nothing will ever happen to you," Ryo shot back. "I want you to be careful."

"Ryo, I'm sorry. I love you, but you're not my parents and you're not Cye. I don't have to do what you say."

"I know, but--"

"Good night, Ryo."

CLICK.

Robyn hung up and Ryo pulled his phone away so he could stare at the buzzing receiver.

"I'm not Cye?" he asked his phone. What was that supposed to mean? Ryo closed his phone with a frown and dropped himself on his couch to slouch and brood. He could get four powerful warriors wanting to kill each other to stop bickering, but he couldn't get one redhead to do what he asked.