Chapter Nine - Corruption and Power

Cale was traveling to the northern mountains for a long while, spreading his darkness making the blackest of nights. The Mountains shadowed what light the golden sky gave and the dark catacombs that filled the mountains were even darker than the valleys. It was a perfect scene for the Warlord who drew his power from the darkness. A Demon of Darkness, evil and Corruption... or was he?

I can't give up fighting. It's too hot... but I can't give up to this evil flame! Cale was keeping his sanity alive in the small pocket in the back of his mind. These spirits may have control of my body, but not my soul. I shall continue to fight and when the opportunity presents itself I will destroy this armor! Never again will it cause such evil! You hear me, demon spirits! You better keep your attention on me or we shall all die in a brilliant blaze on honor and glory!

Cale struggled with little success but in the midst of his tirade he felt a jolt in his arm. Everything in his mind fell quiet. What was that? he asked himself, surprised. My arm, I felt it move; that's the first time I've felt my arm move in hours. Could it be that the control of these spirits is not total? Cale seemed to get excited in his mind. He started to laugh maniacally. You have not won, Talpa! I still have hold over my body! As soon as the opportunity presents itself, you will no longer have the armor of Corruption to control! With this small triumph, Cale felt his strength return.

It was nearly seven in the morning and the sun shone threw the windows. Ryo had given up his room for Mina since he didn't share it with another, after all, things weren't working out greatly between them. The afghan that Ryo used to keep himself warm on the couch was rolled up and thrown over the arm. Ryo had his jeans on and he made sure to fold his shirt correctly before he went to sleep. It was still folded in a perfect square sitting on the armchair. Ryo's mind wasn't on any of this however. With his elbows to his knees and his fingers intertwined at his chin, his thoughts were captivated on Mina and Sage.

"Well, you're up early," a light voice pierced his thoughts. Ryo snapped out of his trance and turned to see Sai in a blue bathrobe coming down the steps. All the clothes and trinkets they left behind seemed so new to them after they returned. Usually the guys would come down with a pair of boxers and old T-shirt but perhaps Mina had something to do with that.

"You're up early too," Ryo replied, unable to think of anything better to say.

"Well I was hoping I could get us started with a good breakfast. We're going to need it."

And as soon as Sai finished, Mia's unmistakable voice chimed in. "My sentiments exactly. Would you like a little help?" Sai smiled as he entered the small kitchen with Mia trailing. She stopped a moment and saw that Ryo immediately delved back into his thoughts as soon as he was no longer part of the conversations. "Hey, you okay... Ryo?" Mia asked but not in her motherly voice. It sounded like more of a concerned sister. She knew Ryo responded better to that than her superior mother tone.

He looked up and nodded a yes and returned to his thoughts only to be interrupted again by the red haired keeper of the house to sit next to him adjusting her robe as she sat. "Now, c'mon, you don't expect me to settle for that do you?" she continued with a small smile. It used to drive Ryo wild when he saw it but with his feelings for Mina grown stronger than ever, it was simply a smile.

"I'm okay Mia, really. This Dynasty thing has just got me bugged, that's all."

Mia shook her head back. Ryo never offered a reason for his distress before. He was too stubborn to do it, but now giving up so easily, Mia knew right away that it wasn't the real reason. "Ryo, you think I don't know you at all, don't you?" she said almost sternly.

Ryo just looked at her, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, trying to convince himself that Mia didn't know.

"You expect me to believe the Dynasty is what's troubling you after you went in there and torched Talpa completely last time?"

Ryo looked back down at his feet. She was right, he usually was over- confident with Dynasty battles, which usually led him into vast guilt trips when he failed. But she was wrong too. The Dynasty really was on his last nerve. Whether it be intensified by Mina's situation or just that he would go in with the victory being most likely completely dependent on him.

Mia's fingers snapping in front of his face interrupted Ryo's thoughts. "Earth to Ryo! You still alive in there?" she teased.

"Huh? Oh uh, sorry Mia," he replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, c'mon, Ryo, you're scaring me. I've never seen you like this. Please, tell me what's wrong." Ryo was still rubbing his eyes while Mia was speaking but she came closer with an arm around his back. She started to pull him close comfortingly. She saw in his eyes that he had been keeping back tears for seemingly hours. "Ryo, sometimes it's okay to let tears out. Fighting off emotions doesn't make for a strong man," Mia offered. Ryo just sat there still but Mia could feel his body tremble, she was breaking him down. "It's okay to let it out. I'm right here and no one has to know. You've been there for me so many times, let me be here for you."

Ryo let one tear escape from his eye. "If we defeat Talpa, if we get out of this without a single injury, I still will lose..." he said in a shaky voice.

Mia looked at him and instead of interpreting it she said, "Let it all out, Ryo." In one emotional outburst he draped his arms around Mia and hugged her so tight and Mia welcomed every tear. She was rubbing his back with her arms around him and snuggling her head into his neck. I always wanted to hold him like this. I feel almost shallow, she said to herself. Every part of Mia just wanted to comfort him in every way. He was always the strong warrior that saved her from evil peril and now, it was her turn.

Mia felt Ryo start to pull himself together and push away from her. She gave one last tight embrace before Ryo got up and put his shirt on. He didn't once look at her and she knew why. He was too ashamed. Breaking down and crying like that was very un-warriorlike. Ryo was ashamed of himself but he had to admit, after keeping it to himself since four in the morning it felt unbelievably good. Ryo could feel Mia staring at him still sitting on the couch. He forced out one single laugh as he unfolded his shirt and said; "I could never show tears to anyone before," he said, obviously trying to pull himself together still.

"Oh? What made you so open now?" Mia asked rising from her seat.

Ryo slipped the shirt over his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I let my feelings out once, and... I could never put them back."

Mia smirked. "Is that where your fiery temper came from?" she chuckled.

Ryo forced another laugh. It sounded as if he was back to normal. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Hey, I'm going to go pack. Got places to go, you know," he said, immediately abandoning the conversation.

"All right, but make sure you come down for breakfast, we're going to cover every one of the food groups."

Ryo began to head for the stairs when: "Bwa-ah!"

Mia shocked up at the scream. Ryo looked upstairs and smiled. "What was that?!" Mia asked, fearing the worst.

"That was just Kento waking Rowen with the custom icy lake water," Ryo answered.

"Kento, you idiot!" was heard from upstairs.

Mia giggled lightly as she remembered that Kento used to do that routine nearly every weekend. "I shouldn't have left the bucket in Kento's room," she said before leaving for the kitchen. Mia walked in to the island of the kitchen with a wide smile on her face. "You know, I wish you guys never moved out. I forgot how much fun we had."

Sai smiled as she reminisced. "You would want five rowdy guys mooching off you for the rest of your life?" he said sarcastically.

"You know, it wouldn't be so bad. I forgot how much I love having you guys around. Even in the midst of this Dynasty Resurrection we all still manage to keep a smile."

And at that, Sai frowned. "Yeah, all except Ryo."

"What about Ryo?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"I might..."

"Well, tell me!"

"I kinda said I would keep it a secret."

"From me or Ryo?"

"You have a point..."

"So tell me!"

"All right, but you can't say I told you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, all that stuff. C'mon! Spill it!"

Sai turned his attention away from the pancake batter and took a seat at the island. Mia followed him as they took up a cooking task that didn't require much attention. "I was going in to check on Sage and his ribs. His healing power didn't take any effect till today so I thought I go see how he was," Sai stated, seeming a little nervous.

"Yeah..." Mia said, urging him to continue.

"Sage was in there talking about how he got his armor. Mina was in there too; it looked like she was changing his bandages," he continued.

"I don't think I like where this is going," Mia inserted.

Nonetheless, Sai continued. "After he finished the story they stopped talking and I decided I would come in then. You know, as not to interrupt anything, but... I was," he finished.

"You mean to say... Sage and Mina?"

Sai nodded. "Like it was their last day alive."

"Does Ryo know?" Mia asked, regaining her composure.

"I don't know, I don't want to risk it not being the reason because if its not and we tell him in the state he's in, it would kill him."

Mia looked at the seasonings she was chopping and realized she wasn't moving at all. Every part of her wanted to go and comfort Ryo but also go and strangle the life out of Sage and Mina. "Maybe we should have a talk with them," Mia said with a death-lock on the dicing knife she had in her hand.

"I really don't think we should get involved," Sai stated, looking nervously down at the knife.

Ryo was in the attic looking through old boxes of his clothes he left behind. He didn't leave much there when he left but there was only so much White Blaze could carry. He didn't take many clothes with him. He would be wearing his armor for the majority of the week. He was mostly looking for things like first aid kits, and the like. He was about to leave the attic to go to his old room that Mina was currently occupying to find an old satchel to carry these things in. He was about to but he heard Sage's voice speaking in its 'trying not to sound bashful in front of a pretty girl' manner. He leaned against the door and sure enough he was talking to Mina.

Every shared word, every laugh, every giggle, each like a jagged dagger stabbing Ryo in the heart. "She wants him more. It's my own fault. I should have been honest with her from the start. I can't blame Sage, I drove her to this," Ryo whispered, trying to convince himself.

"Don't worry, this time next week we'll be stronger than ever!" he heard Sage proclaim through the door.

Yeah, in a week we'll all be stronger, I can be strong enough to handle this, Ryo thought.

"We'll extinguish that God-awful flame and everything will be back to normal," Sage again was heard through the door.

"Back to normal. I'll win this battle and everything will go back to the way it was," he whispered to himself again, but this time forming a small smile.

"Then we'll all come home and it will be just you and me. We can throw all the trash of the past away because it will be a new beginning." And with that last word, all the relief that had built up in Ryo crashed into his stomach.

"Trash of the past? Is that what I am now?" Ryo stood upright. He felt anger and sadness fight over dominance of his emotions, but when those two clash in Ryo, a new warrior arises; confusion. He began pacing the attic violently swinging his arms, trying to ease his frustration through force. He began slapping himself in the forehead a number of times to settle himself but to no avail. Lost in the mad thought, Ryo slammed his head into a boarded wall of the attic exposing the insulation as the splinters and shards rattled to the floor. He slumped himself to the wooden floor finally able to drive out the maddening confusion. His mind filled with immense pain and blood splattered all over the wall as well as his forehead.

The sudden thud of Ryo's cranium shattering the wallboard didn't go unheard as the two outside the door rushed in to see what happened. Sage entered first seemingly ready to dawn his sub armor. Mina was behind him looking over his shoulder. They both seemed to look on a bit more surprised as their eyes focused on Ryo sitting on the floor with a bloody forehead and wood shards stuck to it. "My God, Ryo! What happened?!" Sage exclaimed, kneeling down beside him. He was about to raise a hand to Ryo's wound but denied as Ryo violently turned.

"No! No, don't touch it. It'll be fine. Save your strength," he said abruptly. Sage pulled his hand away but the look on his face was deeply concerned. Mina walked in and kneeled beside Ryo as well. "I just tripped, that's all. I clipped the wall on my way down. Nothing serious," he went on, fighting off the dizziness his impact caused.

"Let me heal it, Ryo, it will only take a second, I got plenty of power stored up." Sage reached out again. This time Ryo forcibly pushed Sage's hand away and covered the blood but also his eyes. He felt he would collapse at any moment.

Mina looked at Sage and pieced together he must have some type of healing power. She looked back to Ryo with his hand over his face and recalled how stubborn he was. She removed the bow from her hair and, without a word, wrapped Ryo's forehead with it. The floored warrior removed his eyes from his hand and looked at Mina with what looked like hopeful eyes. "If you're going to be stubborn about it, at least keep it from being infected," she said casually. Though the ribbon was red, the blood made it a darker shade as it seeped through.

"Thanks," was all he said as he shakily got to his feet and trudged out of there.

The two that remained exchanged a look that had everything but satisfaction in it. "You... think he knows?" Sage asked unsurely.

"I don't think so, Ryo's temper of fire would have reacted by now," she stated, pretty sure of herself.

Sage smiled as he stood up. "Well, you have a point, I think I would have had a fist in my face by now," Sage joked.

Mina smiled lightly as she was aided to her feet. "C'mon, let's get some breakfast. It's going to be a long week."

Ryo shut the door to his old room quietly and as soon as the latch fell into place. He slumped to the floor on his hands and knees. The pain was growing faster than he thought it would but at least it was occupying his thoughts for the time being. He stealthy made his way to the bathroom and took a giant bottle of aspirin and two cups of water. The normal dosage wasn't going to cut it for this head-splitter. He returned to the room and slipped outside to the balcony. Slumping down in a corner and letting the morning sun shine on him through the rails, he popped two pills into his mouth and chugged back the water seemingly in one swallow. "Four hours like hell," he said weakly, reading the bottle. He laid his head back and shut his eyes tightly. He could feel the knot of Mina's ribbon tied around his head. One of the strands had draped over his shoulder and he put his hand to it as if fondly remembering her.

Sage and Mina had just come down the stairs into the already crowded dining room. Kento was stuffing his face like there was no tomorrow, Sai and Mia were still putting out plates and Rowen was slowly eating his bacon and eggs as he watched the human trash compacter in astonishment. "Well, at least two of us are dressed and ready to go," Rowen said, peering at Sage and Mina as he fingered the clefs of his robe.

"Where's Ryo?" Mia asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Sage took a seat at the end and Mina a seat beside him. "He's poking around in the attic for something," Sage explained. Sai put a plate of food in front of him and gave Sage look that asked if Ryo was okay. Sage did the best he could to show that he really didn't know. Mina lowered her head as she ate. She really didn't want to be a part of this conversation.

Everyone except Ryo and Yuli were at the table and it was quiet to say the least. Rowen eventually looked around and noticed the missing Ronin. It was way too early for Yuli to be up anyway, but Ryo he knew was up and about. "Its almost eight, where's Ryo?" Rowen asked, looking around for some one to answer.

"Maybe he ain't hungry. No biggie, more for us!" Kento squeezed out between mouthfuls.

"He hasn't had anything since yesterday afternoon, he's gotta be starved," Sai inserted.

"Last I saw him, he was heading for his old room," Sage pointed out, slicing into his egg white.

"Well, stubborn or not, no man can survive on an empty stomach for long," Rowen replied, rising from his seat.

Kento raised a fork to the air. "Amen to that!" The group chuckled a little and Rowen put a few strips of bacon, a slice of toast and an egg on a plate and headed upstairs.

Walking carefully as not to spill the plate's contents, Rowen went upstairs to Ryo's room. He knocked first and said his name; no answer. He knocked a second time and turned the knob a little; still no answer. Rowen walked in and thought Ryo wasn't in there. He heard a small snap and he looked out the French windows to see Ryo popping two more pills into his mouth as he basked in the sun. Rowen smiled slightly as he approached the balcony. "Hey, the bandana was my idea, get your own gimmick," he cracked, coming out in the sun. Ryo looked up at him and forced a smile as he returned to the view of the lake. "Gotcha some breakfast. Eat up, buddy, you're going to need it."

Ryo raised his hand to accept the plate. "Thanks" he said in a played voice, pretending there was nothing on his mind. He put the plate down beside him and returned to his view of the lake.

"It's going to get cold soon, it's been down there for nearly twenty minutes," Rowen said, noticing Ryo not eating.

"Heh, how did you get it past Kento?" he smirked.

"He was too busy stuffing his face to realize half a parcel of his food was missing," Rowen joked in reply.

Ryo again returned to his view not even glancing at the plate at his side. Rowen just sat on the railing waiting for Ryo to take a bite. Birds started to fly around the balcony at the smell of the untouched food. Rowen couldn't stand around much longer. "C'mon, Ryo, you can't think your fooling me."

Ryo gave his friend a crooked glance. "What do you mean, Rowen?" he replied, knowing full well Rowen had him singled out.

"This whole 'nothing's wrong, let me be' attitude isn't working. There's something bothering you and if you try to tell me it's the Dynasty I'll tear a strip out of you for lying." Ryo smirked and shook his head and turned his stare to the ground. Rowen looked at him again. "Ryo, you remember when we were running around in the Dynasty to save the guys?" Rowen asked, turning his gaze to the lake.

"Yeah?" Ryo replied with curiosity.

"Then you remember how that weird statue sucked up your powers when you blasted through the wall."

Ryo shuddered at the memory. "How could I forget? I was nearly dead."

Rowen turned to face Ryo now. "So then you know I had to face Kayura on my own," he continued.

Ryo looked at Rowen crookedly again. "What are you getting at, Rowen?"

Rowen slid down to the side to be level with Ryo and said simply; "You owe me."

Ryo could have argued and Rowen knew it. The Warrior Of Life was rescued from space by his fellow Ronin, and it was impossible to tell who owed whom what in battle as they all saved each other countless times in just as many skirmishes. Ryo could have argued all that but he didn't, there was a small nagging voice in the back of his head telling him to spill it. "I lost the battle before I could fight," he finally broke the silence.

"What do you mean by that?" Rowen asked.

Ryo looked directly at his friend. "I lost Mina."

Rowen's eyes widened in shock. Oh, God, he doesn't mean me, does he?! he asked himself, welling with nervousness.

"After the battle with those soldiers, and Sage was hurt, I saw something."

"...Yeah?"

"I really don't want to go into this..."

"I'm not sure I want to go into it either... but say it, Ryo."

"Hmmm... "

"C'mon, Ryo, you can't keep this bottled up."

"I... I went out and got Mina some flowers, I was going to apologize but..."

"But...?"

"But when I was going downstairs, I heard her and Sage talking."

"Sage?"

"Yeah."

"Oh..."

"You sound relieved."

"Huh? What?! No! Not relived! Go on, Ryo!"

Ryo gave an odd look to Rowen, who seemed to get red in the face, He was rubbing the back of his head seemingly in embarrassment, but nonetheless he wanted Ryo to continue. "Like I said, Mina and Sage were talking. Somehow they got to talking about how he got the armor, and then..." Ryo stopped and lowered his head once more.

"Ah, say no more," Rowen said, also with a depressed tone.

"I haven't let on that I know, we don't need any wars between the Ronins, especially at a time like this."

They sat there quietly for a moment. Rowen was thinking deeply and Ryo just sat there letting his mind wonder. "You're not upset with Sage?" Ryo didn't answer; in fact he didn't even budge. "I see, stupid question."

"Yeah, but you see, I can't be upset with Sage, its all my fault that Mina wants to be with him instead of me," Ryo said solemnly.

Rowen got a disgusted look on his face and stood up quickly. "Don't go blaming yourself! You always do this and its puts more stress on you than needed!"

Ryo also stood up and threw his arms into the air. "Well, who else is there to blame?! If I just listened to my conscience and told her the damn truth, she'd be in my arms right now... not Sage's." Again the two fell silent. Ryo turned and leaned against the railing of the balcony with his hands. "I know what you're thinking, Rowen," Ryo said, breaking the silence. "But it's not like that this time. I would rather die than lose Mina. I am not going to sit around and sulk. I'm going to get her back no matter how hard I'll have to fight."

Rowen seemed to smile. He always admired Ryo's determination, and this time there was something new to it. Ryo was faced with losing the greatest thing he had and amidst all his anguish, he still kept steadfast. "So what are you doing up here in a balcony with a growling stomach and an aspirin bottle?" he asked.

Ryo stood silent a moment. "I don't know how to fight this," he said, lowering his head.

Rowen lost his little smirk and walked up behind Ryo and put a hand to his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Ryo, we'll fight it together, just like we did with Kayura."

Ryo still bowed his head but a small smile crept to his face. "C'mon, let's get packed and get out of here. We have a war to win."

Rowen left Ryo's old room and started to his old room where he too had to start packing. Ryo sunk back down to the floor, grabbed a piece of bacon and took it down bite by bite.