Chapter Thirty-Five
"A Complication"
The Ronin of Hardrock remained in silent thought as he made his way back to the house. Every now and then, he would glance at his charge before returning his attention to the forest around him. His mind still couldn't wrap around the fact that Ryo had been attacked, right under their noses.
Shock, that was probably why Kento felt numb right now; he was too stunned to believe that something this bad could happen. They were a team; they were supposed to be unbeatable. They had taken everything the Dynasty had thrown at them, as well as beings not even tied to it…They hadn't come out of those fights unscathed, but they had never been beaten this badly.
Kento cast a quick look over his shoulder when he heard someone coming up behind him. Relief filled his face once he saw that it was Sage.
"That was a speedy recovery," he quipped to the blond.
The Halo Ronin offered his friend a grin, "You know me. I bounce back pretty fast."
To this Kento gave a snort, before saying softly, "Guess the badguys are getting desperate. They've never attacked physically, not to this extent."
"Mental attacks just weren't working anymore," the swordsman murmured, "So they opted for something a little more harmful."
"Mm," a frown quickly formed on Kento's face, though it turned into a sigh of relief. The Ronins of Torrent and Strata had found and notified the other warriors; they were on their way back to the mansion now.
"Aww man," Kento gritted in irritation as a light rain started to fall, luckily the house was in sight now. The Warrior of Strength slowed in surprise at seeing White Blaze sitting on the porch, waiting for them.
The tiger's ears were back, and his tail twitched in irritation. His brown-eyes regarded them calmly, and he let out a small huff. When they had left the house to go fight, the animal had been asleep…They hadn't waited for him to wake up, and left without him.
If they had just waited a few more minutes, the thought ran through his mind, would Ryo be like this now? He shook his head slightly to clear it, eyes narrowing as a new thought popped up. How did White Blaze get outside?
As if in answer, the tiger let out a low whine just as Kento's feet touched the porch steps and then the front door swung open. The light caught her eyes in such a way that it made them appear almost completely violet; but when he blinked and got closer they were her normal hazel-violet.
"Mei mei," Hardrock's bearer frowned, and was about to inquire what she was doing there but she cut him off.
"Get him upstairs, and I'll see if there's anything I can do," Elayne murmured quietly, adding in her head, 'Not much, until Yayoi gets here, anyway.'
"Okay," the look he gave her signaled they needed to talk later, and to this she gave a nod in response.
Sage voiced the other man's unasked question, eyeing her carefully, "What are you doing here?"
"I've had a fever off and on the past few days, they sent me home," she walked up to the swordsman, placing a hand to his cheek. "Universe might've given you strength, but you're exhausted."
"An, you didn't answer my question," he tilted his head to study her, yet kept a stern tone to his voice, "They sent you home, fine. But…"
"Fine," she bit out sourly, "I saw what happened. That's why I came here, to see if there was anything I could do, medically. Don't say anything to anyone about this, Nii-chan. We will be drowning in kittens, if you do."
"Didn't know Cye was a cat person," he chuckled out, offering a slight smile, "I'll rest later. You go on; I'll wait for the others."
"All right," she stepped into the house, the white tiger instantly at her side, and then paused, "Sage, I know you're upset and distraught. But, don't stay out here all night, please."
The Ronin of Halo merely sighed, softly shaking his head. It was pretty sad when a person knew him that well.
No more than fifteen minutes later, the Shinwako mansion was once more filled with occupants. Dread, confusion, anger and other unpleasant emotions filtered throughout the air, making it extremely hard for Elayne to concentrate.
Not only that, but unfortunately she was stuck with the most annoyed inhabitants while trying to work. Rowen's temporary shock had worn off, and had been replaced with a good deal of irritation. If Kali walked in on them, she'd be dead in seconds that's about how angry he was.
Cye was angry as well, but nowhere near as much as the archer. That was a good thing; Elayne doubted very much she'd be able to handle both of them whilst they were mad. Kento was the only one dealing with this rationally; he had managed to get past his shock and was doing what he could to help keep the others calm.
In fact, he had been the one to go out and bring Sage in, deciding the Ronin of Halo had spent enough time outside brooding. Currently the blond swordsman was sitting on his bed, and though he was physically there his mind was elsewhere.
"I'm going to go down and talk with Kayura," the Hardrock Ronin announced, he had been unable to sit still. "You guys going to be okay?" He got a handful of mumbled responses, none whatsoever from Sage, not that it surprised him any.
Kento let out a sigh, "Mei mei?"
"I'll be fine, as long as Rowen and Cye keep a hold on their tempers," she responded calmly, she had managed to get the wound and the area around it clean. She put the finishing touches on the bandage, adding, "Even if they don't, I'll still be fine. But, they won't be then."
The Warrior of Strength merely chuckled at her attempt to try and bring some humor to a dreadfully horrible situation. He then walked out of the room shutting the door behind him.
Elayne ran a hand through the Wildfire Ronin's hair, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. Right now, he was teetering on the brink of falling into a coma. The only thing that had prevented him from getting there was Sage's intervention.
"You've lost too much blood, Ryo," she murmured softly.
Cye looked up sharply, demanding, "How much is too much?"
"He should be dead," the girl ground out not failing to notice the tone in which the man had spoken. "With as much blood as he lost, and with how quickly lost it, he should've gone into shock."
"He hasn't gone into shock?" Sage inquired lowly, brow furrowed in thought.
"No, not yet," she answered, "Whatever you managed to do, slowed down his body's reaction time. Normally, his armor would have done that for him. It's how they managed to keep you from acquiring gaping wounds and other severe injuries. At least, that's what Kayura thinks."
"He's not going to make it is he?" Rowen had been silent a great deal, well when he wasn't ranting and raving under his breath about how he was going to tear Kali apart. "With as much blood as he's lost, he needs a transfusion in order to survive, right?"
"Un," she nodded in response, jumping to her feet when she heard a knock on the door. "I'll be right back," she then quickly dashed from the room.
Kento ran a hand through his hair as he listened to the Seasonals try to discuss what could be done. They seemed to believe that if left alone for long, Ryo could die from the loss of connection with his armor. The Hardrock Ronin had to shake his head; poor Ryo, the guy was really batting a thousand to one odds here…If one thing didn't kill him, something else would.
The Warrior of Strength sighed through his nose, currently the four men were arguing over the possible things that might happen if this issue was left unresolved if Ryo survived the normal aspect. Was it just him, or where there an awful lot of 'if's there? He shifted his weight slightly; the living room looked rather empty with only six people in it.
The Elemental Senshi had vacated the area, not long ago, having headed up to their room for some sleep. They were concerned for Ryo of course, but the four young women had ended up dealing with a great deal of Raikken and were completely exhausted. It was probably better that they were sleeping; they didn't need to deal with the aggravation Kento currently found himself dealing with.
"All right, now let's hold on a minute," Kayura broke in, deciding to get a hold on the situation. She turned her attention to Hardrock once silence had fallen, "What did Universe say exactly?"
"That they had severed Rekka from its bearer," the man answered, saying further, "I think she was implying that it was a physical severing. She said the reason she could heal us like she did, was because they had only separated us from our armors mentally."
"Rekka," Kayura chuckled softly to herself, "She's using the old names again."
"Cale, Dais is this information helpful at all?" Anubis inquired of the eldest in their group. He knew very well that both were more knowledgeable in this area then he was. "Do either of you know of a spell or curse that might match this description?"
"Unfortunately, I know of plenty," Dais answered with a frown, "Without having a better idea of what the exact spell might be, this could take some time."
"Kali seems to like to play with The Forbidden," the bearer of Winter said calmly, "So we should start there. But still, there is much to…" He stopped, shooting a look to the door and not even a moment later noise came from there.
"It's not the other Senshi, they would've just come in," Kento remarked making his way to the door, and opening it. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing the person standing there.
"Yayoi-san?"
"Hello Kento-kun," the woman gave a bow of her head, "I am sorry to bother you. But, I have brought what An needed…"
"You have excellent timing," Elayne breathed out from behind the Hardrock Ronin. She had forgone the use of stairs, and merely jumped down from the second floor railing. Thanking her lucky stars, that neither Cye nor Kirstin had seen that; since both would've given her a lecture on how to make use of the staircase.
"Runs in the family. There's a cooler in my trunk, and everything else is in a box on the backseat," Yayoi blinked slightly, at the man that had suddenly joined them.
"So," Cale inquired having come to what was going on, "This is one of Halo's sisters?"
Yayoi gave a frown, if this man knew of the armors, then, "I suspect this is a Seasonal bearer?"
"Yes to both questions," Elayne answered, "I'd do the formal thing, but we really don't have time for that. Cale and Kento can you two please get the items Yayoi mentioned out of her car?"
"Sure thing, come on Cale," the Hardrock Ronin, "I'll show you what they were talking about."
Yayoi frowned slightly, fully prepared to make a comment, but Elayne was quick to make her intentions known.
"I need you to take a look at my 'problem,'" She murmured a pleading look in her eyes, "Not only are you a doctor, I want someone else's opinion."
"Okay," the woman gave a nod, and entered the house.
Yayoi eyed the four people sitting in the living room with a raised eyebrow, and they watched her with much of the same reaction. Though, none of them posed a question as Elayne quickly mouthed 'later' to them.
The eldest of the Date children remained silent, until they walked up the stairs and reached the first floor landing, "You said 'O.' If Kento-kun is all right, then am I to assume Ryo is the one in need of a transfusion?"
"Yes," the girl nodded a grave look on her face. "Yayoi, to be honest I'm more worried about the ones awake, than I am about the one unconscious."
"Seiji's not taking it too well, ne?" she inquired shaking her head, "Doesn't surprise me. I'm an outsider and I can see how tight the bond between the five of them is. It's always been that way; when Sage first brought them home…You just knew. For something like this to happen to them, they must be a mess."
"Mm," Elayne murmured, adding, "It doesn't help that out of them all, Sage is the most protective of Ryo."
"Ryo-kun is the little brother that Seiji never had," Yayoi pointed out knowingly, "And I am certain he saw Ryo-kun at his worst, more often than the others."
If she had only known how right she was…
When the door opened, Rowen merely gaped at the person who stepped in. He could form no words, his mind drawing a complete and total blank.
"Yayoi-san!" Cye greeted just as blown away as the archer.
Hearing that name, Sage snapped out of his stupor violet eyes connecting with her almond-brown ones. He looked at his sister open mouthed.
Yayoi let out a merry chuckle, "Hello, little brother." She messed up his too tidy hair, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when it fell neatly back in place. She had always wished her hair could do that.
Sage was more taken aback by the show of affection, than her presence here, "Nee-chan? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was in the neighborhood," she said as if that were explanation enough. She smiled at his deepened scowl, and elaborated, "An-chan asked me to drop in, and check on some of her patients."
Cye and Rowen exchanged looks, and then shot curious glances to Elayne; who had once more taken up her spot by Ryo. White Blaze was on the floor, at the foot of the bed, watching his cub with a protective gaze.
Yayoi offered her younger brother a kind smile, and then walked over to get a better look at Ryo. Her breath hissed in, as she noticed how pale the young man was.
"Elayne…"
"It's not all because of the blood loss, the enemy cut his connection with Wildfire," she quickly interjected, "I explained to you about exactly how much blood he lost, and that his body hasn't gone into full shock yet."
"Doing the transfusion here is risky," the woman commented.
"Taking him to a hospital is riskier," the girl countered, "Not only will the doctors ask questions that cannot be answered, but the enemy could follow and then there'd be innocent lives hanging in the balance. Plus, he shouldn't be moved. Anything sudden could send him over."
"This is what I like about you, you think over all options before settling on one," Yayoi murmured in praise, "However, if we do the transfusion…" She tried not to smile at the look of relief in Elayne's face…Yayoi assumed the girl originally figured she wouldn't be able to help, "There's a risk he could lose the blood we give him, due to internal bleeding."
"She's right," Rowen had miraculously found his voice, "And there's no way to tell if he's got an internal injury. Not here anyway."
"Ah Ro-chan," Yayoi tsked him lightly, "Don't just assume things. Did you find any internal injuries, An?"
"I haven't been able to look for any," she murmured quietly, placing a hand to her forehead as if trying to clear her thoughts, "There's too much emotion, so I can't focus clearly."
"You can do it in a crowded hospital," Yayoi was frowning, "And obviously, you have managed to slow down his body's natural reaction even more than it already was."
"It's not that easy!" she cried in exasperation, "There's no emotion in a recovery room, or in surgery that I can't block out. This place, these grounds, too much has happened here in the past and whatever is lingering here still is so concentrated that it throws me off."
"What are we missing?" Cye arched an eyebrow, looking back and forth between the two women.
However, a knock on the door interrupted them, and then Kayura poked her head into the room, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
She then stepped to the side, allowing Kento and Cale to enter with what they had taken from Yayoi's car. The other three Seasonals were standing behind the Lady Ancient.
Sage let out a soft chuckle, "You can come in, Kayura, we don't bite."
Yayoi and Elayne both snorted at this, and rolled their eyes in near perfect unison. Yeah right…The guys didn't bite, often at least.
"Thank-you both," the girl was quick to state to the two men as they deposited what they held. She looked to Yayoi as if waiting for further instruction.
"Actually, there is," the woman stated with a smile, "Take the three Walking Wounded, as well as Kento-kun, and see if you can't get them to eat something. Them littering about the room, isn't going to do much except annoy me. I need privacy, An needs concentration."
Kayura gave a nod in acknowledgement, and she and the four Seasonals turned and walked down the hall, waiting on the Ronin before going down.
"We're being kicked out of our own room?" Rowen raised a blue-eyebrow at this, and was gently pushed towards the door by Elayne.
"Consider this your two-minute eviction notice," she quipped, glancing to Cye who almost managed to smile. He walked out of the room behind the archer, Kento giving a polite bow of his head to Yayoi before following after.
Sage hesitated as he slowly got to his feet, only to have his legs give out…Luckily he managed to lean back so he fell on the bed, yet the action was not missed by the two women in the room.
"Kayura! Forget about Sage, his exploits just decided to catch up with him," Elayne called out, getting up and closing the door. She didn't want to have to listen to Rowen whine about the injustice of it all. The girl then set about setting everything up while Yayoi checked on her brother.
Yayoi tilted her head, looking her brother over with a frown, "You have a case of exhaustion. Bed rest and lots of it, doctor's orders."
"I thought you didn't like an audience, and that An needed to be able to concentrate?" the blonde swordsman inquired.
"Your thoughts are so muddled, I can barely pick them up," Elayne cheerfully commented.
Yayoi let out a small laugh, before telling him, "It's fine, Seiji. Besides now you get a chance to see how An cheats at work."
"Yayoi-nee-chan, I don't cheat," she whined out, having finished rigging everything up. "I just find out whether or not my wondrous colleagues have made fatal errors." Elayne let her eyes slip shut, permitting the jewel around her neck to do what it did best…Find where potential problems might be, and then allowing her to fix them.
"How?" Sage asked in a low voice, so as not to disturb her.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Yayoi admitted sitting down next to him, "Grandfather seems to think that at one time a healer had that jewel, and thus the impression left behind allows the wearer to see and fix problems."
"He's right," a ghost of a smile crossed his lips, "A healer did own it. How are things at home?"
"Everything is fine," she answered calmly, before inquiring, "I thought you decided you were not going to take over the dojo? So why did you ask for the papers…"
"Because, I owe my family more, but all I can give right now is my assistance in things that can be handled from a distance," he answered.
Sage leaned back onto the bed, placing his arms behind his head, "At the time of the argument Grandfather and I had…I was anxious and uptight. I did not need to be pushed, and he pushed. Even back then, Halo was trying to warn me that something else was coming. But as things are right now, I cannot take over. I will not abandon my friends."
"They're not your friends Seiji," she shook her head at him and smiled, "They're your brothers. Why do you insist on trying to deny that fact?"
"Habit," he murmured, eyes slipping shut sighing out, "Once I have learned something, it is hard for me to forget it."
Yayoi inwardly winced at hearing this, knowing that no matter how much she might have wanted to deny it…It was true. Being first born, she had been taught much of the things Sage had…However, when he had been old enough to start learning the ways of the clan; she had been able to loosen up. To follow her own goals and dreams, and not the ones set down for her by the family. In that respect, she felt bad for her younger brother; though, like any other older sister she did her best not to show it.
"Yayoi-nee-chan?" Elayne called softly, noting that Sage had finally fallen asleep.
The woman jerked her head up, as she was torn from her thoughts. She blinked a few times, and then remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. She got up and walked over, asking, "Are we good to go?"
The girl nodded, "Mhm. There wasn't any internal damage."
"This should take about," Yayoi glanced at the package of blood, "Mm, well it's 500 milliliters, so that means?"
"Four hours," Elayne answered without having to think about it, and then offered a sheepish grin.
Yayoi smiled, and raised an eyebrow at the girl she considered to be a younger sister, "So why do you need me again, if you know how to do all this?"
"The reason is currently sound asleep," she pointed to Sage's slumbering form, "I knew you being here would help calm him down. And where he won't listen to me, he will listen to you without questioning. It's that whole older sibling privilege."
Yayoi let out a soft laugh at this, and gave a nod of her head in agreement; how so very true.
Elayne frowned as she cast worried eyes back to Ryo…What could have severed the connection between the Ronin Leader and his armor? If the link between the two wasn't restored soon, it didn't matter what they did on the medical aspect…Ryo would die.
Suddenly something brushed across her senses, and a familiar voice murmured, 'It's an elemental obstruction spell.'
"No way," Elayne breathed out, quickly getting to her feet.
Yayoi watched her closely, inquiring, "An?"
"I thank-you for your help Yayoi-nee-chan," the girl bowed her head, "But you'll have to excuse me, I just realized something."
She quickly exited the room, and once more forewent the stairs, landing in a kneeling position in the living room. She managed to startle the dozing occupants into wakefulness, and noticed that Cye was giving her a reproving look which she dutifully ignored.
"What's wrong now?" Sekhmet groaned out, normally she adhered pretty strictly to a mortal's standard of behaving…She only gave it up if something was important.
"Cale, Dais, it's an elemental obstruction spell," the girl looked at the two as she said this.
Both men exchanged worried glances, before Dais spoke up, "Well, that helps immensely. There are only two types. The first prevents an outside element from healing the victim."
Cale gave a nod, saying, "While the second prevents an outside element and the victim's elements from healing…" He stopped, turning to Dais, saying, "That's it then."
"Mm," the Summer Seasonal stroked his chin thoughtfully, "The use of that spell would explain why the connection between armor and bearer has been severed. Though, that leaves me to question how Halo managed to heal Ryo at all."
"Universe said," Kento's brows were furrowed, as he tried to recall what he had heard, "That Sage was born with the ability, and he never lost it. The armor merely boosted it."
"That's why he's so exhausted then," Elayne broke in, "Halo couldn't help him any, so Sage ended up doing almost all the work himself."
"Is there anything we can do to help Ryo?" Rowen softly inquired.
Cale hesitated before he answered, "Spells of such a nature, rarely have counter-spells to them. They are intended to kill the victim."
"Great…just great," Cye shook his head saying bitterly, "Our lives just keep getting better and better."
"We'll go back and look through the library," Dais suddenly said, "Universe wouldn't have known what it was, unless it had been used in the past. At least, I am assuming that is where the information came from?"
Elayne merely smiled in response to the question, and everyone took that as being a 'yes.' After all, it was rather obvious, wasn't it?
"We'll get going now," Cale headed for the door, "Anubis, notify us if anything occurs."
The Spring Seasonal gave a nod, "I will do that."
Cale and Dias hadn't even been out of the house five minutes yet, when Elayne crossed her arms in front of her chest, saying "Now, that's done with, and there isn't anything more you all can do except try and get some sleep. No protesting or I'll get the certified doctor down here to back me up."
Kento yawned and stood up, "You'll get no complaints out of me, mei mei. Night all."
"You evicted us," the Strata Ronin reminded her with a snort, "Have you had a change of heart?"
"No, your Mom paid the rent for your sorry butt," the girl bit out sarcastically, "Get going, Ro, no more wise comments!"
"Yeah yeah," the blue-haired archer rolled his eyes and proceeded to ascend the stair-case.
Cye walked past her, and grinned wryly, "Next time, use the stairs on your way down."
"How did I know you were going to comment on that?" she inquired of no one in particular, "You're such a Mom, Cye."
The Torrent Ronin beamed, "I know, and it irritates you so badly…So, I'm more than willing to have the label."
"Cye," she narrowed her eyes, and he chuckled before patting her on the head and following the other two Ronin.
"Mm," Kayura stretched saying with a sigh, "It's going to be a long night."
Everyone remaining in the living room had to agree with her there; there was no telling when Cale and Dais would return…Knowing them, it'd probably be in the pre-dawn hours. Thus began another waiting period, and hopefully this one wouldn't last as long as previous ones.