~~~~
Chapter 8 ~~~~
By:
Cat Paws
Hojin
slowly made her way through the fog. She could feel that he was near, but
slipping away from her when she came close. There was no longer a wall to block
her exploration. I'm here to help, bother. Where are you? She began to
feel an energy forming. It spread itself throughout Sage's body.
Yessss.
Heal us Sage. The demon sounded weak. In its own body, it would have
already been healed, a little bit weak, but healed. However, this was Sage's
body, and in the end, he had the last say.
Outside,
his body was beginning to glow with a green light. The Ronins had stepped back,
not knowing what was happening. Their armors, as well, were beginning to glow
with their own energies.
Sister?
Hojin rushed to the feeling of Sage. I need your help. We must free our
father. It's time for his soul to rest in peace in the Afterworld.
Are
you sure?
We
can do this. We have to. We are the only ones who can show him the peace that
he needs. Help me.
I
give you all my power, my brother. A
slight white light now surrounded Hojin's body.
The
energies around Sage became stronger and took the form of green-white fire. It
moved as though alive. The Ronins were speechless. What could they say? What
they were witness to was beyond explanation. They could feel that something
good was happening, but they did not know what.
Suddenly,
a brilliant flash of light burst out of Sage. The spirit of the demon rushed
out of him, renewed. No longer was it a demon, destined to wonder about, not
knowing its way. It would finally be at peace. It disappeared as quickly as it
came, moving on to its next task in the other worlds.
The
energies that were at work ripped Hojin from Sage. She was thrown back into her
own body with such force that it actually knocked her over.
" Sage!" was the first thing out
of her mouth. She had lost total feel of him.
Hojin!
He yelled into the silence. He began to slip into the darkness. Total
exhaustion and fatigue enveloped him. He needed to rest, desperately. It was
over, finally over, and he had done it. That was the last thing he remembered.
************
The
sun shone brightly in the morning sky. Its rays made their way through the open
curtains and into the sleeping warrior's face. Three days had passed since the
battle and he had not yet wakened. Now, the sun was determined to have this
warrior face the new day. It shone brightly in his eyes, begging him to wake
up.
Slowly,
but surely, the warrior did stir. Moaning, he sat up to get the persistent sun
out of his eyes. His vision was a little fuzzy, but he managed to make out the
surroundings. He was back in his room at Mia's mansion.
Rowen
was sound asleep in the bed next to him. He could hear the sounds of breakfast
down stairs. The others must all ready be up. He glanced at the alarm clock,
9:15 a.m. Nearly half the day had
passed! Not use to sleeping in, Sage jumped out of bed and started to make it.
Feeling a little dizzy, he sat back down. Maybe I shouldn't push it. Taking
it more slowly, he finished his task and decided to take a shower. He felt
grubby and hated the feeling. He gathered some clean clothes and headed to the
bathroom.
As
he undressed, he noticed a faint scar across his chest. He vaguely remembered
how it had gotten there. Actually, his memories of what had happened during the
takeover were jumbled with pieces missing, large pieces in some places.
Downstairs,
things were going about as usual. Cye was in the kitchen wiping up a large
batch of his special waffles. Kento was also in the kitchen, bugging Cye to let
him have a taste. "Come on, man. I'm wasting away here. Just a little
taste."
"No.
You know you have to wait like the others. Besides, its not finished
cooking."
"But
they're half done."
"You'll
eat anything, won't you?"
"Maybe,
what's your point?" he asked, giving Cye a sheepish grin.
"Please
get out of the kitchen and stop bugging me or I'll never cook for you again.
I'll have Ryo be the chef," warned Cye, an angry look on his face.
"No,
not Ryo. Okay, I'll leave, just don't get Ryo." Kento rushed out of the
kitchen.
That
should keep him out for a while. Or, hopefully, until I can finish, he
thought. He went back to his waffle mixing and making.
Kento
went into the living room and flopped down on the coach, sighing. White Blaze
glanced up from his spot in front of the window, voiced a greeting then placed
his head back down.
"Hey,
what's the matter? Cye kick you out of the kitchen again?"
"Yeah."
he answered, a disappointed look on his face.
"Don't
worry. You guys do this every morning, and afternoon, and evening."
"Yeah,
but this time was worse. He threatened
to have you cook, flame-boy."
"Hey!
I'm not that bad," claimed Ryo. Kento gave him a look that said
'don't-even-go-there-cause-you-know-I'm-right'. Ryo just grinned then shrugged. The last time he was allowed in the kitchen, they had to order take-out.
They had lost most of the food to charcoal and the rest just tasted badly.
Though he tries, Ryo can't cook to save his life.
Then,
deciding to change the subject, Kento asked, "Where's Mia?"
"She
had to go to a meeting, or something, real early. We have the house to
ourselves." Just then, a loud thud came from the second floor. "What
was that?" Kento shrugged, and both ran to find out what had made the
noise. They ran into Cye, literally, at the bottom of the stairs.
As
they clambered up to investigate, Cye said, "I think it came from Rowen
and Sage's room." They burst into the room and stopped short in the
doorway when they saw what had happened.
On
the floor, surrounded by blankets and pillows, drumming his fingers was a very
ticked Rowen. Next to him, on his own bed, laughing hysterically was Sage.
"Thanks for the wake up call, bud."
"No
problem." said Sage between laughs. Rowen picked himself up and gathered
his blankets.
"You
know, you could have woke me up a lot nicer."
"I
tried, but you kept rolling over. Stop being such a baby." He'd calmed down and sat cross-legged on the
bed. "Hi guys." he said, just noticing the other three.
"Sage,
you're awake!" exclaimed Ryo.
"Yeah,
man. You've been out for almost three days. We were beginning to wonder,"
said Kento.
"That
long? Wow. No wonder I'm starving."
"Yeah,
me too."
"The
waffles!" cried Cye. He rushed to the kitchen. Kento, Ryo, and Sage
followed, leaving Rowen to making his bed and getting ready. He joined them
later in the dinning room.
It
was like old times. Kento was eating his waffles whole as the others tried to
guard their own from him.
"Hey,
save me some," said Rowen.
"Well,
hurry up."
"Yeah.
He's starting in on your stack."
"Oh
no you don't, Kento."
"Jeeze,
man. Can I have just one?"
"No!"
"Dang."
Sage sat back in his chair. What amazing friends he had. They risked their
lives for him. To think, he almost lost that friendship for power.
"Hey, umm, Sage? You gonna finish
that?" asked Kento.
"You
can have it."
"You
sure? Thanks." He snatched the remains away before Sage had a chance to
answer.
Same
old Kento. He glanced up and grinned.
After
cleaning the table, Sage went for a walk. Ryo afford to go along, but Sage said
he needed to be alone. Ryo explained that he felt bad for what happened. He did
not want to fight him, but there was little choice. Sage understood and did not
blame him.
************
He
walked in the peacefulness of the forest and felt the sun on his back making
him glad to be alive. "Hojin?"
I'm
here. She stepped out from behind a tree, her long hair moving playfully in
the wind. Her bright green eyes were sparkling with happiness. "I am glad
to see you have returned, my brother."
"It's
good to see you too, sister."
"I
was worried. You were gone for so long. Where did you go?"
"I'm
not sure. It was calm and filled with peace."
"I
could help you to remember."
"No.
If I was meant to, I would. Perhaps it is better this way."
"What
about your friends? Are you going to tell them the truth?"
"When
I am ready to face what happened, I will tell them. Until then, it might be
best that they don't know."
"I
am glad to have found you."
"I'm
glad you did, too."
"I'll
miss you."
"Don't,
we'll always be there." A tear slid down her face, followed by a few more.
"Don't cry." She looked into his violet eyes. They were so strong and
reassuring. She held him, clinging to him as though he might disappear.
I
love you, Sage.
And
I love you as well, Hojin.
"Good-bye." she whispered. She pulled away.
"Can't
you stay?"
"My
place is there, the Nether Realm. Your place is here, Earth." She was so brave, a free spirit amidst
chaos. She walked to a portal, standing strong.
"Till
we meet again." Look in your hand. She opened her hand and there in
her palm was a tiny round pendent with a stylized lightning bolt on it, his
armor symbol. She clutched it tightly and smiled as she stepped through the
portal.
When
Sage got back to the house, the guys had found their own things to do. Rowen
was on the deck with his nose in a book. Ryo, Cye, Kento, and White Blaze were
in the den talking about something or other.
"Hey,
Sage! Get Rowen! We have an idea for something!" yelled Kento hearing him
enter.
"Where
is he?"
"On
the deck!" answered Cye.
Sage
cut through the dinning room and saw something on the table. It was a wood
flute, Hojin's flute. Till we meet again... The thought brushed his
mind, making him smile.
Rowen
came walking in, book under arm. "Rowen, the guys want us in the
den."
"Why?"
"I
don't know. Come on."
When
they got there, there was a heated discussion going on. "No, White Blaze
can't help. That's cheating," said Cye.
"Yeah.
It wouldn't be fair to us," agreed Kento.
"Okay,
guys. What's this all about?" asked Rowen.
"Wanna
play a game of 'Hide and Seek'..... Ronin Style?" asked Ryo, a mischievous
grin spreading across his face.
*****The
End*****