Chapter 10 – Too Quiet

The ship dipped into a wave, sending it in green crests up her sides. But she was too large for such a small thing to make much of an impact, and the three occupants of Cabin 473, deep in the heart of the ship, barely felt the slight rise and fall.

They were rather too occupied with other thoughts, anyway. Benkei was sobbing theatrically on his bottom bunk, whilst Demure and Nile were trying their hardest to ignore him, and to work out exactly what they should do now. Nile's quicksilver mind was running through every possible situation that they might end up in, and none of them were especially good. In fact, he couldn't think of any way out of their current situation.

On waking that morning, the remnants of Team Wild Fang had discovered that Kyouya was still missing. In fact, they didn't see him at all until Demure's sharp eyes picked him out from across the ship's lounge, reading a book and ignoring the world in general. He hadn't responded at all when Benkei and Demure had tried to talk to him (Nile was too afraid of saying something stupid like he had the previous evening to attempt it) and when they had finally retreated to their cabin, they had found that Kyouya had not followed them. After a couple of hours, a concerned Nile had gone to ask one of the stewards, who managed to find Kyouya's name on the passenger log and told him that Mr Tategami had requested a separate cabin a couple of hours before the ship had left port.

Nile had returned to Cabin 473 dispirited and sullen, and had gone straight to his bunk to think. Why? Why had Kyouya so suddenly decided that he didn't want to stay with them? Of course, Nile had obviously said something daft the day before, but he'd said a lot of daft things before and this hadn't happened. Was it nerves? Or something worse?

"Nile, d'you think Kyouya will come back to fight with us?" Demure asked quietly. Nile sighed and shrugged uncomfortably.

"I've got no idea, Demure. We'll just have to wait and see."

Demure hunched his shoulders forward. "I just wish we could do something... do you know why he's acting like this?"

Oh, Nile knew alright. "Um... it might have been something I said to him," he admitted. "I just said that we'd cheer for him in the match against Gingka and he all but stormed out. He said something about not wanting any help."

"Well, that much is obvious," Demure muttered. "Kyouya never wants help."

"I just don't get why he's so stubborn about fighting alone. If I were him, and I knew my opponent got stronger with help, I'd take whatever I could to beat him."

Demure was still staring at the floor. "Maybe that's it. He's never had help before, so he just doesn't know how to accept it. And anyway, it's not like we can do a huge amount for him – just... hope. And cheer, even if he doesn't want it."

Nile lay back on his bunk, uncomfortably aware of the empty place underneath. Kyouya had been right – this had become a habit, and it was horrible having it broken. It felt like the team itself was falling apart again. "I wish there was some way we could get him back, but if he won't talk to us we don't have a hope."

Silence fell between them, and Nile couldn't read it, even though he was the one who began it. That was an even more uncomfortable feeling than the empty bunk.

"There... there may be a way," Demure said hesitantly. "I'm not sure if it'll work, but..."

"Anything's better than nothing," Nile retorted. "Go on. How would the hunter from the tribes of Africa go about capturing the Lion?"

.

Cabin 332 was very quiet. There were two beds in there, but only one of them was occupied, and that particular occupant wasn't keen on moving too much or making any noise.

Kyouya hated boats. At least, he hated them insofar as they seemed to hate him, by making his stomach tie itself into knots and his legs go horribly shaky. He had been dreading this boat ride anyway, and now it was even worse.

A tiny, tiny part of him pointed out that he could easily go and knock on the door of the other cabin and be let back in, but that felt too much like giving in. Even if Nile's stories about his village and his family could take Kyouya's mind off feeling seasick, it would break the self-imposed solitude he had set up around himself.

He needed to concentrate for the battle, and he needed to be alone. After all, he would be alone in the dish, so he needed to get used to it again after so long spent in the company of his team. Yes, there had been other battles, but none like this one. Gingka would be assisted by the entire crowd, so Kyouya needed to be absolutely certain of himself, and of his own prodigious strength, in order to win.

Kyouya took a deep breath and willed himself to stay perfectly still, the eye of the storm. He was strong, proud and fierce, free from any ties that might bind him to anyone else. He was a young lion cast out from his original pride, alone and fighting his way to the top and gaining all the awe and respect and terror that he was due – as long as he stayed alive, and kept winning. And sooner or later, he would win against a truly strong opponent, and gain his own pride to defend from all comers. He had thought that he had found it in the Face Hunters, who had followed his every order to the letter and had won vast amounts of points for him. But then Doji had come along, and Kyouya's leadership had been shaken and broken, along with his faith in his ability to keep them safe. Disbanding them had been the only option after that.

Now he was an outcast again, this time of his own making, and he had to fight every battle to remain alive and respected, or else he would lose any chance he ever had of finding a world-class team to call his.

That was the one thing that scared Kyouya. He had been afraid of it for so long that he'd forgotten how frightened of it he was. But now it was back, and roaring in his face, and he hated it.

He was afraid that if he lost, if he fell and failed to meet people's expectations, he would never be able to get back up again. It was simple, really. He had seen hundreds of people throughout his life get cheered on to unbelievable victories, and all the while the ones who were supporting him just expected greatness from him. It was fine whilst he was winning, because simply that fact of knowing there were people in the crowds who were expecting him to win was enough to spur him on, but if he lost and that expectation was shattered, no-one would cheer him on to a come-back victory. No-one ever had.

Except... except that one moment in the battle against Ryuga, when he had heard his own name being screamed above the howling winds, reminding him that there were people who were relying on him and hoping for his victory against a triplicate dragon with too much power.

Not expecting. Hoping.

He hadn't realised there was such a difference until that moment, and it had been a bit of a shock. But things like that couldn't help you win a battle. Being stronger than your opponent did that.

There was a soft sound outside the door, and Kyouya sat up, alarmed. It had sounded like someone pushing against the door handle, trying to get in. Well, if that was Demure or Benkei again, they could just stay out there. He did not want to be dealing with Benkei's exuberance on top of being seasick.

The sounds died away almost as quickly as they had come, footsteps receding up the passageway. Kyouya was about to collapse back onto his mattress when he noticed something small and white out of the corner of his eye.

There was an envelope lying on the floor just inside the door, which hadn't been there earlier. It had his name on it. Frowning, Kyouya got up, picked it up and carried it back to his bed, slitting it open with a finger and tipping the contents out. There was a piece of paper wrapped around a strangely shaped piece of plastic – Kyouya recognised it as a cabin door key - and that was all. Puzzled and secretly more than a little curious, Kyouya unfolded the paper to reveal a scrawl of words written in blue biro on the inside.

.

Kyouya,

I know that nothing I can say will make you change your mind about how you want to – and will - blade. Goodness knows, I've already tried. To be honest, I don't care, either. You're stubborn and strong, and that's good for the team. But maybe it's not so good for you.

You told me that you faced Wolf Canyon alone, with only Leone beside you to challenge the wolves. You said you came out different, and you didn't sound as if you were happy about that. Now you are heading into another canyon, and not of the same type, but you will come out different nonetheless.

May I suggest that this time, though, there will be more than just Leone to help you through. I know we can't be a crowd roaring your name as you once wanted, and I know that you wouldn't want that if we could do it, but we are your team; you have me, and Demure, and Benkei. We are, after all, your team-mates.

No matter what you might think, there will be five people in the dish in two days' time when you battle Gingka. Gingka will not be fighting Kyouya – he will fight Team Wild Fang. Maybe there will only be one blade, but you will be carrying all our thoughts and our hopes to get to the final and be declared the best bladers in the world. I know that you will not let us down, and so we shall not let you down.

If you have read to here, then I must have achieved something. There's still an empty bunk in Cabin 473.

N.

.

Kyouya read the letter once, then again, and then crumpled it into a ball in his fist. Nile. What was it about the guy that kept him so hopeful, and stopped him from giving up? Surely it wasn't something as ridiculous as friends. That was Gingka's line, anyway. Kyouya had enough experience of how much that could help – he'd eventually blocked out the yells of support from Gingka and the others in his battle against Ryuga, because he had be determined to face the Dragon on his own, and on his own terms. Friends didn't win you battles. Being the strongest did that.

And Kyouya was the strongest. He had to be, because otherwise there was no point in him facing Gingka.

But he couldn't pull his mind away from the letter. You are heading into another canyon, and you will come out different. How could Nile write something so preposterous – and yet something that sent shivers down Kyouya's spine and echoed in his mind long after the paper was screwed up in the bin?

.

Nile was drifting on the edge of sleep, his quick mind losing focus and letting go of the problems he had been battling all day. Tomorrow was a new day, and they would be one step closer to his dream – their dream – of being the best bladers in the world, no matter what state his team was in.

But just before he fell into true sleep, he heard a strange sound; a soft click like someone setting their blade into a launcher in preparation for an attack – or like a door being unlocked and opened with tremendous care so as to not wake the occupants of the room.

The bunk below him moved slightly and let out a quiet creak. Cloth rustled, and then all was still.

Nile smiled.