Author's Note: The majority of this story was actually written about 12 years ago, when I was 14 years old. I recently found the file on my computer and felt inspired, so have been editing and adding on. The second half of this chapter is actually where I picked up writing.

That being said, do not expect a sudden increase in quality! I admit that I stopped writing in high school, and have really not done any since, except for research papers! In fact, much as I hate to admit it, my level of reading also took a nosedive in college.

Thank you for the reviews so far! Every review makes me ridiculously giddy.

Thank you for reading.


Dais was no match for the power of the Inferno armor. He fled the scene quickly. "Let's go after him!" Kento yelled, beginning to chase him. "Come on, Ryo, we have him!"

"No! He needs our help!" Sage called, looking around for his fallen comrade, the Tempest warrior. He had not moved from where he had fallen. Sage ran to his side, then froze. "Dani?"

That caught everyone's attention. "Where's that bitch?" Kento demanded, looking around in the alleyways. Sage was speechless, staring down at the crushed asphalt. Dani lay there, unconscious, wearing only her protective suit. Blood ran down her armor from her side, another sheen of blood on her arm. His friends hurried to his side, and stopped dead.

"Oh… No! No!" Ryo exclaimed, staring at the girl's motionless body. "That's not right! It's a trick!"

"No," Sage said softly, kneeling at her side. "It's right. Actually… It makes sense. He quickly felt her pulse. "She's still alive… Barely. Ryo, give her back her armor!" Ryo quickly powered down, returning power to the five other Ronins. Dani's body moved almost imperceptibly, but she seemed no stronger.

"What do we do?" Rowen asked, kneeling on her other side.

"She's weak," Sage muttered. "She's bleeding." He touched her arm gently. Ryo flinched, seeing the deep wound there that he had caused. "Let's take her back." For a moment, no one moved. "Come on!" he snapped angrily. "She's dying!"

Rowen gently moved his arms under her legs, while Sage supported her back and head. Cye and Kento moved to help, and together they slowly began to carry her back to the apartment in an effort to move her body as little as possible. Ryo held back, feeling extraordinarily guilty.

"Mia!" Sage yelled as soon as they were inside. "Mia, we need help!" Mia was at the doorway in a moment – she had obviously been waiting for them, worried.

"What's wr- Shit!" she gasped, unable to believe her eyes. She was temporarily struck motionless. "Put her down on the couch! I'll boil water. Rowen, get bandages… Lots of them!"

Rowen ran to do her bidding, and she quickly went into the kitchen. Sage placed her gently on the couch, then knelt beside her, listening to her very shallow, ragged breathing. He stared at her bruised, injured face, and felt overcome with guilt. He should have protected her. He should have figured it out. He should have trusted her.

But he hadn't. And now, possibly thanks to him, she was dying. Returning with the bandages, Rowen knelt beside him. "It's not your fault," he said quietly.

Sage shook his head, saying nothing. The other three stood back, saying nothing, not knowing what to do. After what seemed like hours, the water boiled, and Mia rushed the boys out of her way so that she could tend to Dani's wounds. The girl didn't stir. "Let her rest," Mia said quietly when she was done. "That's all we can do." The guys stood there, unsure, but, exhausted, they crept off to bed, one by one.

Except for Sage.

"You, too," Mia said firmly.

"I'll stay here," he said, his eyes not leaving Dani's broken face. "To make sure she's okay." She hesitated, but nodded, understanding.

"All right," she said quietly, and left him alone with her, wondering if Dani would survive the night.


Dani's world was still foggy when she awoke many hours later. She looked around in confusion, not sure where she was. She slowly sat up, and was surprised to see Sage asleep on the floor nearby. She put one hand to her head, feeling dizzy, then jerked, realizing that she only wearing her protective suit. She looked around, worried, then stood up as quickly as she could without falling, picking her way around Sage.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice came from behind her. A squeak escaped her lips as she whirled in surprise, her head spinning. She saw Rowen standing there, arms crossed. She could only stare, open mouthed and speechless. "You are in no state to leave… Or even to stand up. We thought you were going to die." He looked down at Sage and raised his voice. "Yo, Sage! Wake up!" Sage shifted, then sat up. He saw Dani almost instantly.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed in relief. Dani felt very, very awkward, realizing that they knew exactly who she was.

"Um. Yes," she said. He frowned.

"You're standing up."

"She was just leaving, actually. I think," Rowen said informatively. Sage glared at her.

"What? You need to lie down!"

"I'm, uh, I'm okay," she said, backing towards the door. Sage leapt to his feet and grabbed her right arm carefully.

"No, you're not." He held her firmly. "Come on," he said, pulling her gently down a hall.

"Where are we going?" she asked. He looked at her in surprise, detecting a note of fear in her tone.

"You can sleep in my bed. Unless you want to eat first?"

"No," she said hesitantly. "I'm okay." He opened a door, never letting go of her arm. The room was decorated as if it had belonged to a ten-year-old kid. Old sheets, decorated with spaceships, were folded neatly in a corner. He saw her looking.

"There are new sheets," he assured her with a tentative smile. "I felt kind of stupid sleeping on them. Now, lie down," he ordered as he led her to the bed. Dani was too drained to argue any further, and just collapsed in a heap, passing out again. Sage studied her for a moment, then covered her up and brushed some of her hair from her face before he left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Later, Dani was dimly aware of someone putting a hand on her back, forcing her to sit up. Her mind was muddled, unable to form coherent thoughts or realize who was there with her. Something was put against her lips, "Drink this," a voice said, sounding far away. She obediently opened her mouth, and a warm, thick liquid was poured in. "Swallow," said the voice. Again, she obeyed, barely managing to not choke. The procedure was repeated, but she soon began to fade once more out of consciousness.


The smell of bacon woke Dani up the next time. She stirred and sat up, feeling much stronger than she had in days. She got up, remembering where she was, and crept to the door, opening it a crack. She heard the murmur of voices and the clanking of dishes, but could make out no words. She paused, considering her options. They knew who she was, so there was no point hiding, but she wasn't sure what they thought of her. She went back to Sage's bed and quickly straightened the covers, figuring she at least owed him that much.

She was walking out of the room when she caught sight of herself in a large mirror. She grimaced, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair. It wasn't perfect, but it was something. Dani cautiously left the room, glancing around before following the sounds to the kitchen.

"You see, you can't let it go too long," Kento was explaining to an enraptured Yuli as he cooked bacon, "Or else it gets too crunchy. But –" He used to spatula to get the bacon out of the sizzling pan, putting it on a plate already piled high, "You don't want it too soft, either." He put more bacon on the pan. While he wasn't looking, Yuli reached up and grabbed a slice, stuffing it in his mouth. Kento pretended to be oblivious, but smiled faintly. Yuli turned, spying Dani in the doorway.

"Dani!" he yelled, running over to give her a big hug. Kento turned in surprise. "Ryo said you get to stay with us forever this time!" His arms were wrapped securely around her thighs. Dani blinked in surprise.

"Er, um, well, no, not really…" Yuli's lower lip turned out in a pout.

"But he said!"

"Ryo doesn't lie," Kento said. He walked over and slapped Dani gently on her right shoulder. "Glad to see you're alive. Yuli, Dani must be starving, get her a plate, too." Yuli ran and fetched a plate from a cabinet, climbing up a step-stool to do it. Dani realized that she was extraordinarily hungry, and her stomach let out a rumble to prove it. Kento smirked at her, then took the plate from Yuli, scooping a huge portion of bacon onto the plate. "Start with that," he said, handing it to her and gesturing for her to sit. She wanted to refuse, but she was starving. She took it and sat down.

"No! My bacon!" Kento sounded brokenhearted. She quickly dropped the piece she was holding , looking up. Kento was trying to save the bacon in the pan – he'd let it go just a bit too long. She shook her head, then picked up the piece again, taking a bite.

White Blaze padded into the kitchen and let out a loud yawn. He gave Dani a long look, the collapsed on the ground at her feet. Yuli ran to him and started petting his face.

"I smell bacon!" a voice announced from the hallway. Footsteps approached. "Really, Kento, we just ate dinner." Cye appeared in the doorway. He looked surprised to see Dani, then an easy grin came to his face. "Hey! You're awake!"

"Gotta get my power up for tonight!" Kento laughed.

"Um… Yeah," Dani said through a mouth full of bacon.

"We thought you were never gonna wake up!" Cye said, pulling out the seat across from her and sitting down.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her brow furrowing. "How long was I asleep?"

"About three days."

Dani almost choked on her bacon. "What?!"

"Don't worry," Cye assured her with an easy grin, "Sage didn't mind you taking over his room,"

"Three days?" she demanded incredulously, convinced they were messing with her head. Cye nodded gravely.

"We really thought we were gonna lose you there for a while." He glanced at her plate. "Eat, you've gotta be starving." Dani wanted to protest, to ask more questions, but her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she was indeed starving. She tried hard to not eat like the boys did, shoving the food in her mouth as fast as she could, but mostly failed. Cye and Kento seemed to not notice her very unladylike behavior. It was, after all, completely normal in this home.

The boys kept quiet until she was done eating. Cye eyed her as she relaxed back into the back of the wooden chair. "So, why didn't you just tell us? Before, I mean." Dani tensed up.

"I… I don't know," she said lamely. "At first it was because I didn't know who YOU guys were, and didn't know if I could trust you. And then, I dunno… I guess I just wanted you guys to learn to trust me for me, not for the Armor of Tempest."

"Well… That was dumb," Kento commented. "We could have avoided a lot of trouble." Dani shrugged, not saying anything.

"Well, why not tell us when Mia caught you sneaking out, then?" Cye asked. Dani shrugged again, feeling small. She wanted desperately to leave and go back to hiding out in department stores. "And what about in the fortress? Your arm is still hurt because you didn't just say 'Hey, look, it's me, the sixth Ronin Warrior! Surprise!' Ryo feels awful because he hurt you like that. We almost killed you. And you would have let us, wouldn't you have?" Cye demanded, getting a bit worked up. He was starting to seem angry. "It was stupid, Dani. You should have just told us."

Dani shrugged again, looking away. She didn't say anything because she knew he was right. She could have avoided a lot of trouble, but it had never felt right to her.

"Cye's right. It was stupid," came a hard voice from the doorway. "You could have saved us all a lot of grief by just coming clean instead of skulking around and following us about." Ryo stepped in. His face was impassive, but his eyes were blazing. "You put us all at risk. We could have planned our attacks much better if you had been there, but instead you were creeping around showing up in the middle, refusing to work together. Sage almost died in that attack on the Dynasty! And why? For your pride? If you had been there with us, we would have stood a much better chance! And you almost died, too, and all because you refused to be honest and you refused our help. This is not teamwork!"

"Whoa… Ryo. Dude. She just woke up, " Kento put in awkwardly, sending a quick glance at Dani, who was not reacting. "Can't you wait to crush her very soul until, you know, after she finishes eating?" He looked to Cye for support, who provided it by nodding agreement.

"No," Dani said quietly, staring down at the table. "Ryo is right." She took in a deep breath of air, then squared her shoulders and turned to face the Ronin of the Wildfire. "You're right," she repeated, looking directly at him. "I'm sorry."

Ryo met her eyes, unmoving for several long moments. Finally, he spoke. "This is what's going to happen. You're going to stay here. With us. Because if we don't unite and work as a team, we won't be able to defeat Talpa. We stand a much better chance if you are with us – fully, completely with us. You can't be with us if you aren't here."

Dani nodded, feeling small. Ryo seemed to relax. His eyes still blazed with anger, but he kept it in check. "Finish your food, then go back to bed. You still have a lot more healing to do."

"I… I was done," the girl answered. She turned and put her plate in the sink, then left the room quickly.

"Ryo, man, that was pretty harsh," Cye commented. He picked up baseball from the floor and tossed it between his hands.

"It was the truth. She put us all into danger," Ryo answered, snatching some bacon. "We all learned early on that we were nothing if we don't work together. She needs that lesson too, evidently."


Dani returned to the room, shutting the door tightly behind her. She felt like a little girl being sent to her room. Filled with shame, she sank to the floor and leaned against the door. She sat like that for a while, trying to fight back the shame and self-hatred that rose up in her, threatening tears.

A soft knock came at the door, making her jump slightly. She stood up, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her as she did so. "Um, come in," she said. The door opened and Sage popped his head in.

"Hey. I heard you were awake. Wanted to see it for myself." He walked in and sat down in the desk chair. "How do you feel?"

Dani sank down on the edge of bed. "Well, pretty much like I've been hit by a truck, honestly."

Sage let out a quick laugh. "Sounds about right. We're just glad you're alive. You seem to have a pretty bad habit of not taking care of yourself."

"I get by," Dani stated with a shrug.

"Dani, those wounds were ridiculous. Infected, not healing… You were covered in blood! You had lost so much, we aren't even sure how you were standing up."

"Me neither," Dani said jokingly, but neither one of them found humor in it.

"I'm serious. You shouldn't have been still fighting."

"And then what? Let Talpa win?"

"No! Let the other five warriors with mystical powers handle it for a little while!" Sage huffed out a deep breath and flicked some of his blond hair away from his face.

A long moment of silence stretched between the two. Dani looked out the window, wishing that there was more to see. The bustle of the city was completely gone, replaced by dirty, abandoned streets and trash blown by the wind.

"Listen…" Sage started finally, "I heard about what Ryo said to you. I'm sorry."

Dani shrugged. "He was right." Sage didn't disagree with her.

"Yes, he was right." A somewhat hard note came into his voice, but nothing like Ryo's had sounded like. "But he was too harsh. Yes, you should have trusted us. You should have told us the truth from the beginning. But…" he sighed. "You've heard it already. I didn't come up here to lecture you." He got up from his seat. "You need to rest. Someone will come check on you in a bit, bring you some food." He paused. "I don't mean it to sound like you're stuck in this room. You can come out, do whatever you like, of course."

Dani met his eyes, then forced a smile. "Thank you, Sage. That's very kind of you. Don't you want your room back?" She stood up as well, looking around as if to collect her things, realizing quickly she had absolutely nothing with her. "I can go somewhere else. Actually, I had a place to stay bef-" Sage cut her off by raising his hands up to her and shaking his head adamantly.

"No, no! It's okay. I've moved in with Kento," he said with a grin. "Brought in a bed and everything. This will be your room now."

Dani frowned. "It's okay, honestly. I hate to be a bother." Sage reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Dani. You are not a bother. We already decided. Now, please get some rest. We'll need you at full strength soon." He flashed one more smile, then turned and went to the door. He paused there, one hand resting on the door. He turned back around suddenly.

"Can I ask you something?" Dani looked up.

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

"What happened at the fortress?"

"Why wasn't I there at the beginning, you mean?" Sage hesitated.

"Let's start with that, yeah."

Dani let out a deep sigh. "I was on my way when I had a… run-in. There was an army hiding in the city. I think they wanted to sneak up on you. I happened upon them, and so," she shrugged. "I attacked."

"No way you took out an entire army on your own," Sage said skeptically. She shook her head.

"No. They would've had me, but the main part of the army moved out. They only left a few to finish me off. They didn't."

"That must have been the attack that snuck up on us at the gates. I guess they realized we were moving."

Dani nodded. A long silence stretched between the two. Finally, Sage spoke again. "The other thing…"

Dani looked up, a question written on her face.

"In the fortress. After I was captured," Sage started again, looking embarrassed. "Why were you there?"

She looked down. "I arrived just in time to see the end. See you guys retreat, and see them take you out. I went in after you." She glanced quickly up at Sage's face, then away. "I attacked while they were dragging you away. It wouldn't have worked if they had expected me. I think they were so focused on your friends that they didn't anticipate me at all. So I…" Sage noted that she was turning a little bit red. "I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't. So I hid you in a room and went to make sure the path was clear."

Sage nodded. "I owe you a great debt. Thank you, Dani." He paused again. "When you ran into me, you weren't wearing your armor. Why?"

Dani sighed, sinking down onto the bed and rubbing her forehead. "I…" she paused and swallowed, then took a deep breath. "I wanted to res- I wanted to help you out. As me. Not as Tempest." She sighed again. "I guess I thought that if I helped you, you – you all might trust me. And then I could tell you the truth. So I powered down on my way back to get you."

Sage walked to the bed and sat beside her. Awkwardly, he patted her on the shoulder. "Hey," he said with a smile. She looked up at him. "You saved my life. I won't forget that." He stood up again. Dani did as well. "You really should get some more rest. I'm sorry to have bothered you for so long." He walked to the door again, this time clicking it shut behind him.

Dani looked around the room, sinking back onto the bed. She felt overwhelmed. She knew that she should be happy, but found herself instead feeling something else entirely. She was grateful for their kindness, of course, as well of ashamed of her previous actions. The other Ronins had every right to be mad at her. She had snuck around, and she still couldn't explain to herself why she had done so. It would have made much more sense to come clean when she realized who they were, but a part of her – the same part that made her want to flee from this house – had rebelled fiercely against the idea. Dani laid back against the pillows with a sigh. Her body felt very weak, despite the three days of rest it had already received, but her brain kept churning. Despite that, she soon faded again into a deep sleep.


"DANI!" a voice came at the door. Dani sat bolt upright, practically leaping from the bed, summoning her protective suit as she did so. The door opened a crack. "Dani?"

"Yuli, no!" a hissed voice came. Dani recognized the voice as belonging to Mia. "She's resting."

"No, she's not. Look!" Yuli pushed open the door and pointed at Dani. "Dani, we're going to play baseball. Do you want to come?"

Dani smiled at the boy. "I'm not very good."

"That's okay. Neither is Cye."

"HEY!" came a voice from down the hallway. "You'll eat those words soon!" Dani grinned despite herself.

"Yeah, okay. I'd love to." Yuli jumped into the air in excitement.

"Great! I'll go tell Ryo!" He ran down the hallway. Mia still stood in the doorway, looking Dani up and down.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Mia asked. Dani shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. The last time she'd seen Mia, the older girl had been screaming at her and accusing her of being a traitor. She knew that Mia had been doing what she thought was best in order to protect her friends, but it was a hard event to bounce back from. She got the impression that Mia hadn't forgiven her for not being honest, too.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Baseball is easier than fighting, and I'll need to do that soon." Mia nodded.

"You're undoubtedly dehydrated. I'll get you some water, you'll need lots of it. And…" She paused and glanced at Dani again. "I'll get you a hairbrush, too." She turned and walked away, leaving Dani feeling self-conscious. The brown-haired girl put a hand to her hair, trying to comb through the tangles with her fingers.


An hour later, the group of eight stood in an empty park. The grass was overgrown and filled with weeds and the man-made pond was green with scum, but that didn't stop Yuli from running around in joy. "Here's home base," he called out to Dani, pointing to a spot on the ground, "And there's first, second, and third. We finally have even teams! We never had even teams before! Well, unless Mia didn't play, but she likes to, she just won't say."

While Yuli ran and talked, Ryo was walking around the outskirts of the park, searching for signs of danger. Only when he returned to the group were teams decided. Kento and Yuli, it seemed, were always team captains. By schoolyard pick, Kento chose Sage, Rowen, and Cye, while Yuli took Ryo, Mia, and Dani.

Kento's team took a huge lead almost instantly, even though Dani suspected them of going easy on them. so, the park was soon filled with laughter and friendly jibes. The five original Ronins seemed very close with each other and with Mia and Yuli. Dani couldn't help but notice Ryo touching Mia a little more than was necessary as he gave her advice and adjusted her grip on the bat.

When it was Dani's turn to bat, she walked up nervously. Kento, the pitcher, smirked at her. "All right!" he yelled at his team. "It's another girl! Scoot in!" Laughingly, the other three boys did so. Dani grinned and cocked her head, placing a hand on her hip.

"Now, Kento, do you really think that being closer will help you catch the ball better?" she jibed, returning the playful insult. Most of the group hooted with laughter, though Ryo only smiled faintly and Mia remained stony faced. Dani settled herself into the batting position, shifting her heels and staring Kento down.

Kento wound up, smirking, then threw the ball. Dani swung and missed. "Come on, Dani, you can do it!" cheered Yuli from second base.

Kento wound up again, then threw again. Once again, Dani missed. On the third try, the bat connected with the ball. The ball hit the ground before it even reached Kento, rolling towards outfield in between second and third bases. Dani dropped the bat and sprinted to first, just barely making it before Sage threw the ball to Rowen, who had a foot on the base. Dani suspected Sage of moving more slowly than he could have.

Ryo was up to bat next. Without any words, Kento's team began to move backwards. Kento straightened and hardened his jaw. "All right, Wildfire, let's see whatcha got!" Kento called. Ryo grinned.

Kento hurled the ball much faster than he had when Yuli, Mia, or Dani had been up to bat. Ryo cracked the bat against the ball, and it went flying. Dani immediately began to run, easily rounding second and heading towards third. That's when the fun came to a screeching halt.