The Others- Chapter 9

"Why can't one of you just stay in the room the entire time? I'm tired of waking up and someone different being in my room." Ryo shrugged.

"I have no clue. It must be because none of us want to stay in a room with you." Ryo joked with a grin, and in return got a scowl from the blonde boy.

"Don't you ever smile?" Ryo asked as Sage sighed in annoyance.

"I do around the pups, but if memory serves me correctly, you took me away from them." Sage smiled bitterly as Ryo groaned.

"I'm sorry, but you needed the help. If we hadn't taken you, you'd be dead right now."

"I doubt that I'd be…" Ryo cut the boy off with his finger.

"You had a fever of 104.6, and just now is it lowering. 106 means that you are dead. You were very close to being dead, got it?" Sage said nothing as Ryo sat on the edge of the bed.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that they take you back after you're better. And I'll make sure that those men don't take you. I'm just lucky that they don't know who I am."

"And what is it that makes you so important?" Sage asked as Ryo smiled.

"For the same reason you are. I lived in the mountains since I was 5 with my tiger, White Blaze." Sage's eyes widened.

"You…. You lived with animals as well?" Ryo grinned.

"Yeah. But the difference is that I still have my tiger. Kento took Blaze, the tiger, back to his place." Sage allowed a faint smile to form on his lips.

"It's good that you still have someone. Same can't be said of me." Sage hung his head, until the feel of a gentle hand rested on his thigh.

"Don't worry, we're here for you." Sage laughed at the idea.

"That's a riot. The blue haired boy annoys the hell out of me, the woman pesters me about my health constantly, the other man doesn't like me because I'm not a clean freak like he is, and if I thought that my eating habits were bad because I was raised by animals, I am easily beaten by that other man!" Sage took a deep breath.

"Plus, that other man who came into my room last night with the blue hair didn't seem to mind that I was willing to bite him, and the other one poisoned the girl, and the idiot sat on my stitches, and…. And…" Sage took a deep breath. Ryo patted the boy's thing once more.

"Yeah, its hard. I know how you feel, sans that fact that you have people after you because they know who you are, and the fact that you are severely hurt, yeah, we're pretty much even on how we're facing things. And I have my cat, and, Jeesh, I'm sorry. We really did screw you over, didn't we?" Sage nodded slightly, his lower lip trembling. He didn't want to cry. Being weak got you nowhere where he came from. But he missed his mother, and the pups, and his life, even with Domingo.

"Sage, you want to cry. Don't you?" Sage nodded feebly.

"But I won't. I shouldn't. I can't bring myself to." Ryo sighed.

"Sage, cry. You're life is ruined. I think you have every right." Sage nodded softly and hung his head. If he was going to cry, at least he was going to hide it to the best of his ability. Ryo couldn't help but pity the boy. It was then he decided that the least he could do is do what had been done to him all his life. Slowly he wrapped his arms around Sage and pulled the boy close, keeping an eye on the injury to make sure that he wouldn't upset it, and rubbing gentle circles along the boy's back. Sage allowed his head to rest on Ryo's shoulder. It wasn't exactly like holding his mother when he was sad, or hurt, since the wolves and human's body structures were so different, but none the less, it was a comfort.

"Aren't they so cute?" Mia stated from the door, as Rowen rolled his eyes.

"Do they even realize that they are flirting?" Mia glared at him.

"They are not flirting! They are comforting each other." Rowen rolled his eyes.

"You call it what you want, I'll call it what I want." Mia stared at him for a moment, before looking back at the two boys on the bed. She couldn't help but think of how cute they were. It was then that the doctor stepped in the room.

"Ok Sage, time for your medication." The blonde boy glared up at the needle through tear-filled eyes, as he pulled closer to Ryo. He knew exactly what that pointy demon of hell did.

"I don't want that thing near me." Sage stated with a steady voice.

"You need medicine. You need painkillers."

"Don't they have chewable tablets or something like that?" Rowen asked as the doctor sighed.

"No we do not. Little children just get the shot." Rowen shrugged.

"Yeah, but little children can't kick your ass." Mia shot a warning glance to Rowen who shut up.

"Sage, I know that it hurts, but after you get that needle your arm won't hurt anymore." Sage gave an untrustworthy look at the doctor, but obligingly gave the doctor his arm, Ryo's words having had an effect on him. He winced as the needle entered his arm, but said nothing. Finally, the doctor removed the thin metal object from the boy's arm.

"See? That isn't so bad, now was it?" Sage glared at the scientist.

"It was, but I'll manage." He stated with much fierceness in his voice. The doctor sighed as he began to exit the room.

"Well, Rowen, Ryo, Sage, I'm going to the library. Anyone want to come? Except you Sage, you have to stay here and rest."

"I will!" Ryo exclaimed. It had been years since he had been in a library.

"Me too." Rowen stated as Sage looked on in confusion.

"What is a "Library"?" He asked as Mia shook her head. She had forgotten that Sage knew nothing about the rea world.

"A library is a place where you can borrow books from."

"Books?" She sighed.

"The things you read." Again Sage shook his head in confusion.

"What is "read"?" Rowen nearly fell on the floor.

"We'll explain it to you later. I'll go get Kento and Anubis to watch you until we get back." Sage nodded, still trying to figure out what these "books" and "reads" were. He felt Ryo let go of him and stand up, walking over to Mia.

"We'll be back in a little Sage." Ryo stated as the three people left to go get Kento and Anubis. What Anubis and Kento didn't expect was to, when they entered the room, not find Sage there at all.

~*~*~*~

"You two screwed up? All you had to do was get an injured guy from a hospital, and you can't even do that? What am I going to do with you?" Sekhmet and Cale shrugged. With an annoyed sigh, Kayura turned to Dais.

"Well then, I guess it is up to you and me." Dais nodded. Kayura took his hand, as she led them out of their hideout.

~*~*~*~

Sage was tired. Obviously the painkillers did more then kill the pain, they made him feel tired and instantly wish to fall asleep. But Anubis and Kento had yet to arrive, and he wanted to stay awake till he knew that it was safe to fall asleep. But when 2 people entered through his window, he knew that all was not right, and he was alone. His eyes shot open, his vision blurry.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice tired and weak, showing none of the vigor he had the day before against the other men.

"Oh my gosh! They couldn't get HIM? He's half dead. How could they not have gotten him?" Dais shrugged to Kayura.

"No clue. But you know what idiots they can be, especially when they are left together." Kayura nodded as she walked over to Sage.

"Aww, poor baby. You look so sad and hurt." She smiled at him as he turned his head away.

"Go away." He muttered as she laughed and turned to Dais.

"Aww, he wants us to go away. Should we?" Dais grinned.

"Nah." She smiled and nodded.

"Look at his pretty gold hair. Isn't it pretty Dais?" She asked with a grin.

"Stop mocking me." Sage stated firmly, only getting another round of laughs in reply.

"Well little boy, why don't you go to sleep, and when you wake up you can be given to the person that wants you."

"No. I'm staying here. With Ryo, and Mia, and…" He shuddered. "Rowen." Kayura sighed.

"No. You are coming with us." She reached for him.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." Sage warned but Kayura ignored him and reached out to grab him. With what was left of his strength, he clamped his teeth down on her hand as she screamed in pain.

"You little freak!" She shrieked. Dais looked on in hatred. No one hurt Kayura. He wouldn't allow it. Yet this boy had. With anger, he slammed a small vase full of flowers over the boy's head, and watched as it shattered, and they boy fell into immediate unconsciousness.

To be continued…

A/N: Writers block is not my friend. As soon as I finished "The Mage's Tale" I had trouble writing this one. Oh well, I can try. I can force myself to write if I try hard enough. So now, on to the next chapter! Ja ne!