Kento vaguely thought 'Ow' as he slipped out of consciousness
Wow, chapter 3 already. I really want to thank everyone that's given me reviews. I always want to get better so don't be afraid to tell me what you think! I really appreciate feedback, so keep it coming!
On a quick note, I FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE HTML!!! Hopefully this third chapter'll be easier reading now that I've figured out how to do paragraphs. And finally, don't worry about the new characters, I won't let the story wind up revolving around them. Ja Ne! ~Abri
Kento vaguely thought 'Ow' as he slipped out of consciousness. After five or so minutes, Kento was fast asleep. As he slept, he began to slip into the world of dreams. Kento dreamt of flying to the Mongolian BBQ on Isaki Drive, but within moments something else was clawing at his unconscious.
Kento tossed a little and his face scrunched up in annoyance, but the nagging feeling became stronger. A blue expanse rushed up beneath him and without warning he was trapped in an entirely different dream.
Rowen crept around the corner, being careful to avoid the mess on the floor. The sleeping form on the couch breathed in deep ragged breaths and exhaled foul ones. Rowen resisted the urge to hold his nose and focused all of himself to the carpet. Over the beer bottle, down with the toes. Over the dirty laundry, down came his left foot. He was nearly to his book now. Rowen cursed his father again for taking it. He hadn't done anything wrong.
His thoughts drifted back a half-hour. A Tale of Two Cities was nearly over, Mr. Sydney Carton was being led to the guillotine and Rowen had to know what was going to happen next. No book had ever held his attention like this before. However, he'd been so caught up in the story that he hadn't noticed the time. His father slammed the door hard as he entered the kitchen. Without a word he turned and headed straight for the refrigerator. Rowen's face froze in terror as he realized his mistake. Rowen never dared come near his father after work. His mother had warned him how stressful the day left him, and that he should try to stay out of the way until he had wound down or she had gotten home from her job. "What are you doing?" asked his father. It seemed safe to answer so Rowen said, "Reading my book." His father sniffed in disgust. "And what about that mess in the living room? Huh? What about that?! I suppose you were too busy reading to concern yourself with it!" He seized the book from Rowen's hands. "You can have this back when you learn some responsibility. Now get out of here!" Rowen had walked to his room quickly, gone in, and turned off the light. On his bed he had waited forever, until he heard his father snoring.
Now it was time to reclaim his story. Rowen knew very well how stupid this was, he thought he should probably just turn around right now and not risk aggravating his father. But something in him said no, not this time. As Rowen rounded the couch to the desk where his book lay, he saw his reflection in the mirror. He looked old for an eight-year-old. Kento continued staring around the room and at the young Rowen in utter bafflement, it seemed as if he wasn't even there. Rowen reached out for his book and felt his fingers go numb from the rush of holding it again. Carefully he made his way back out of the living room.
Without warning the telephone started ringing and his father was up like a bolt. Dazed, confused, and completely drunk he whirled toward Rowen with frantic eyes. Rowen ran as fast as he could, tripping and stumbling, sending papers, bottles, and clothes flying. His father howled angrily. Rowen was to the stair case when he sensed something coming. The telephone brought him down as it blew across his left shoulder. Rowen scrambled onto his back and looked up to see the man coming towards him, knocking over the lamp, kicking things in his path everywhere...
Sabishisa recoiled, but she was to slow. She'd opened the wrong memory and had paid the price by reliving the experience with him. His memories of the Dynasty had been straightforward; easy to follow, but now she had inadvertently stumbled into something that had been buried deeper than any battle with Talpa.
"You have stopped. Why?" a male's voice asked. It was deep and resonated off the walls of the spacious room, lending a feeling of strength and power to this mysterious voice coming from a top a throne in a deserted throne room. "Wrong memory. I apologize for the waste of time," she said. Sabishisa realized she had jerked away so violently that she was now on the floor several feet from where she'd been standing. As she moved back toward the still form she gave away no trace of fear, but inside she was shaking. She felt as if that hulking demon had been coming down on her. I'm letting myself get to close to his mind, to familiar. I must focus… The Master's growing impatient, I can sense it. Even with every barrier he has against me, I can still read him. I simply know him to well…
The man behind her rose and silently walked to the hall that connected to the great room. Without pausing in the resuming of her task, she asked, "Is that all?" "Yes," he answered pausing at the archway. "You have told me all I need know of Inferno, Talpa, and the race of Ancients. You may continue searching his mind if you sense anything of interest. I have matters to tend to," he turned sharply and his cloak furled loudly. "Hold for a moment! What should I do with him once I'm through?" A pause.
"You say they no longer posses the armor because they believe there is no need for it? Well then. Return him quickly so that we may convince them otherwise." His footsteps resumed and echoed down the hall. "All five will be needed to summon Inferno. Sweet dreams Sabishisa."
Sabishisa waited a few moments, then sighed relief. No more pressure was on her to discover the secrets of the battle between Inferno and Talpa. She surveyed the room and glared at the candles on the walls. Light made her uneasy; absorbing it was unavoidable and it always made her skin crawl. She looked to the stars above through the large open windows. Slowly the reflection of the candles lighting the room dwindled away to nothing within her large empty eyes. With the room lit dimly by starlight she let a large pillow materialize next to the table upon which the boy lay. Sabishisa relaxed herself into the pillow and took deep cleansing breaths, releasing all the fear and tightness from her chest. Her mind became tranquil as she absorbed the darkness of the room, (and the sensation of no other thoughts.)
She looked down upon him. A blue strand of hair, long and tangled, was lying across his nose. The room began to get chillier as a breeze picked up outside. Absent-mindedly she picked up the lock and twisted it around her forefinger. She drifted back toward his mind, ignoring everything else. You've sparked my curiosity Rowen, now I need to know how that night ended. She shifted herself back to the memory from earlier. Carefully she avoided the event and searched for the feelings that came afterwards. The memory opened itself to her before she could stop it.
Rowen sat alone on the roof. He had no memory of how he had gotten there, and he didn't care. He clutched his wounds as they throbbed and bled. His mind was racing and his heart pounding out of control. He wiped at his eyes and choked down the sobs trying to tear free from his throat.
A bright gleam caught his eye. His right eye trailed up to it. It was a star. White and lovely it gleamed at him. Rowen tried to brush the blue hair out of his eyes then gave up and reached into his pocket to take out a hair band. Pushing it on he stared at the night sky. He knew this constellation. He moved his lips to form the word: Aquarius. His eyes trailed the sky: Pisces. He sniffed quickly and wiped his eyes, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach. Gemini. Virgo. His mind grew tranquil as he searched the sky and found familiar friends. He forced a grin and kept it up for each constellation. Slowly his eyes grew heavy, the stars began blurring together and their pale light had a soothing effect that he couldn't resist any longer. His breathing calmed and his eyes closed.
Time moved and it was 3 in the morning. A frost was settling everywhere, but Rowen was warm. The wounds that had covered him were healing nicely, and the deep blue was just fading from his brow…
Sabishisa grinned, "So you're fond of the night as well? We're not so different Ronin."
Hours had passed since he had gone missing. It was time to return him and begin the battle. There was nothing else to be learned from this one. Now this warrior would surrender his armor or die. The choice was his, but it was obvious he would choose death. She chuckled lightly, "fool". A weakling such as this would be no match for her and the Ruler of the Nether Realm. That he had survived this long with his pitiful sense of ideals was incredible. If he embraced just a bit more of that side of himself that loved the night, he would lose every laughable ideal he clung to in a second.
A breeze came through the windows that caused Rowen to shiver and stir. Sabishisa stood and walked out of the room. A moment later she returned holding a blanket in one arm. She draped it over him and pushed the irritating lock of blue hair into the spot he liked it best.
Rowen! Kento sat straight up, arms flailing. A dream? Naw. I don't buy that. Something is wrong here. Kento raised an eyebrow as his eyes scanned the horizon. The woods were peaceful, the lake calm, the grass swayed a little in a warm breeze, the trees cast shadows in the moonlight. Nothing out of the ordinary. The stars were shinning brightly. Then brighter. Wha…? The stars began to fall. And Rowen's scream echoed through Kento's ears.
As Rowen had awoken, the first thought to cross his mind was how intricate the branches above him looked. His mind pondered them more as the fog lifted. Too many to count all at once. So complex. They're very lovely when they cast their pattern on the ground, either from moonlight or sunlight...
A moment later he came to his senses and was up like bolt, head darting back and forth for the enemy. He could sense, almost smell, the alien energy in the air. It hung stagnant, a sickening feeling swept over him when it touched to his power, yet the Strata power pulled at it, trying to absorb it.
A shadow fell upon him and he looked straight into the sky. A young woman floated there. She was slight of figure, and pale as the moon. Her eyes were an endlessly deep blue-green, and dark as the night sky. Her long pale purple hair was tied loosely in a black ribbon, and was flapping in the breeze. Her garments were plain. A jacket of dark leather buttoned over her blue blouse, and her trousers looked more of the bottoms to a training gi, but matched the blouse.
Rowen attempted to think, but all that registered was a gawk. He tried to think again, but felt far too tired to puzzle this all out. Something in the back of his mind was pulsing, most likely the answer to what was going on. That or what to do next, but Rowen found himself glaring hard, not caring.
"GO AWAY!" he screamed. Sabishisa took on a look of shock. She'd planned her reactions carefully to anything he might say. She had a million quick witted responses and now they'd all be going to waste. She opened her mouth, but was cut off. "We just killed Talpa, we don't need this!!! I have high school FINALS coming, I'm trying to make it into the COLLEGE of my choice and now…" his mind cleared and the answers flooded in, "YOU'RE SEARCHING THROUGH MY MIND… WITHOUT. MY. PERMISSION!!!" Sabishisa let her mouth hang open. Somehow her mission of intimidating the ronin warriors was taking a turn. She couldn't even get past the first one!
"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE TRYING TO CONQUER THE WORLD! FOR THE LOVE OF OUR ACADEMICS GET OVER YOURSELVES AND JUST… BUGGER OFF!!!"
She grinned deeply. "Die."
A nebula surrounded her as her clothes melted away and were replaced by a thin plate armor covering. Reaching to her scabbard she drew forth a mighty bastard sword that had matierialized with the armor, and screamed, "Star Kaji Blaze!"
The stars grew brighter then fell from the sky straight at Rowen.
