Chapter Ten - Prepare For Battle
Kento peered out the window of the train and watched the scenery fly by. He was tired but he couldn't fall asleep, he had too much on his mind. Where he was going for example. He really didn't have any idea himself, but he had to go somewhere that would strengthen his armor. He had qualms about going back to the place he trained before but he didn't know where else to go.
Sai looked out the window of the giant steam ship as it floated on the massive Pacific Ocean. He easily mastered the sea of Toyama and he needed a bigger challenge. What better than the largest body of water in the world? He heard there would be treacherous maelstroms in the area, it would be perfect. Just him, his armor and countless miles of water. His plan was to stay by a marker so he could get a ride back. He may be spending a week in the middle of the ocean, but he wasn't stupid.
Rowen would have a busy week and he knew it as he looked through the window of the plane. His original place of training he mastered quickly, so he would play to the strengths of his armor. He would go to the highest peaks in the country. Mountains normally would be Kento's forte, but high in the sky is what he was looking for. He was no mountain climber, but with his armor he was confident he could meet any challenge he had to.
Sage wasn't at a loss as to where to go. He would go to the darkest place on Earth, and luckily for him, it was in the same country. Riding along the roads in Mia's jeep, he couldn't stop thinking of Mina. Her beautiful face was on just about everything he saw. He shook it out of his mind constantly as he would test his powers of light in the most stifling of places. He knew he would be the first to challenge Cale, the Demon of Darkness. He didn't really wish to face him, but there wasn't much choice. Training his powers of light where none existed was going to be a great challenge.
Ryo was running up a long and winding path alongside White Blaze. He had suspected going to multiple hotspots to energize himself, but as soon as he got out the door he immediately headed to his home. He didn't know why, but for the last twenty-four hours he just wanted to go to his old home. He had a whole week to prepare himself; one day in his own bed and familiar surroundings could only help him.
Kento finally reached the Osaka flats. It wasn't near anywhere he went before, but with the rock solid terrain and absolutely no life, it was perfect for his armor. They weren't mountains, small cliffs really, more like hills of stone. "Man, be pretty easy to start a small landslide around here, I better watch it," Kento said to himself in the desolate regions. "All right, time to see what I got... Armor of Hardrock! Dao Gi!"
In an instant his armor appeared over his sub-armor and before he could even adjust himself, he pulled out his staff and prepared for the Iron Rock Crusher. His eyes surveyed the area for a target. There was a large rock hill that seemed to point at the sky. The Warrior Of Justice smirked as he started to concentrate his energy and focused on the target. "Iron... Rock... Crush-er!" he shouted immediately and seemed to put more emphases on it than ever before. The ground tore up to the sky and light filled the scenery. Invisible force struck the tall hill and it started to crack then shattered completely. The force didn't stop there, however. Kento forced forward hard and the energy from his devastating attack tore a crater on the side of the hill pushing in so far it looked like a perfectly smooth hook.
He looked up admiring his work. "Man, this is going to drive some astrology guy nuts! A crater in the side of a rock hill!" he enthralled himself. He took a few steps closer to admire his craftsmanship as he noticed that every rock stone pebble and boulder his attack struck had become pearl-smooth. Feeling more and more pleased with himself, he started to congratulate himself with hoots and hollers. He held his naginata staff high above his head and started to sing some old army song. He had right to brag. The mountainside was smoother than he had even hoped for, and the rounded perfect sphere boulders were a greater work of art than any sculptor could have ever accomplished. "Oh yeah, baby! I am so set for this Dynasty thing! Out for two days and I already got this licked!" He laughed a bit more and continued to do his Indian-style dance.
In the midst of the dance there was a rumble in the ground. Kento had not noticed, for he was jumping every which way in celebration. However, the smoothed sphere pebbles rolling down to his feet caught his attention. He looked up as his eyes exploded in panic. A large rounded boulder came rolling down the mountain slant. Kento tried to scramble out of there with all the speed his legs could muster. "Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!" he chorused as he ran. He would dive off to the side, but his powers dug him into a deep ditch, giving him only one path of escape yet only one path for the boulder to follow.
In the midst of his race against the oversized marble, Kento recalled everything the Ancient had taught him. "I am the Warrior of the Hardrock! I can handle this!" he encouraged himself. He stopped running and faced the oncoming rock and put both hands forward. As it approached, it turned out that it was much larger than he had originally thought it to be but nonetheless, Kento stood tall.
The boulder met with his hands and instead of what Kento was hoping for, which was it stopping in its tracks, the smooth ground under his feet made him roll with the large rock. "Aw, crap!" Kento still pushed forward trying to get traction with his feet but still not getting anywhere behind the force.
In his mind a wisp of the Ancient's voice jutted in. "Sometimes it is not always wise to attack head-on. Use your opponent's momentum." Kento was a little surprised to hear from him but he had hoped for some instruction.
Doing his best to interpret his words, instead of pushing against the boulder, he moved with it. His hands still sliding against the smooth surface he kept pace with it. The panic in his mind subsided and with every ounce of will, he drove all his strength into his hands and clutching into the boulder. Forming his handholds, he only had a second to react and did so thusly. Sliding down low and using the momentum he and the rock had created, he lunged it overhead with amazing power. The boulder crashed somewhere as the sound of it shattering into countless pieces filled his ears. Kento was breathing heavily as he picked himself up off the ground. His arms so soar after lifting the tremendous weight, he clutched at his forearms trying to soothe the burning strain.
Still breathing heavily, he started to piece together what just occurred. "I did it!" he cried, "I did it! I did it! Oh, yeah, baby, I did it!" He slumped back to the ground and laid out on his back laughing at his great success. Looking up at the hook mountain he created, he suddenly stopped laughing. "If I got the whole thing, that wouldn't have happened," he said out loud. He carefully got to his feet and released his comforting hold on his arms, letting the strain return. He picked up his naginata staff once more and prepared for a second strike.
Sai was laying back in his little brown lifeboat. The sun rising woke him as the sun setting put him to sleep. The bell of the buoy water marker wasn't allowing him much sleep but he needed to keep on his toes anyway. If he just ignored the bell he might lose some of his sharpness. He sat up brushing a hand through his hair and all he felt was seaweed. Angrily pulling it out of his hair like it would strangle the life out of him, he plopped it off the side of the boat. He again put his hand to his hair and he still wasn't pleased but it was what he expected. His once light a fluffy freewheeling hair was now matted down thickly with salty seawater. It didn't matter however as he would simply just be going into the water again.
He plunged deep and made a lap of the area making sure he didn't lose sight of the boat. If he lost that, he would have no safe place to sleep not to mention his rations of food and bandages would be gone. He dove deeper and deeper seeing how long he could hold his breath without using his armor. His training in this led him to great skill in the venture. He could swim quite deep without even letting out a little spurt of air. I've been out here three days. I'd think something would happen to let me know I'm on the right track. Come on, Ancient One, show me what I have to do to overcome this new threat, he echoed to himself in his mind.
Something caught his eye suddenly. There was a large tiger shark chasing after a small baby fish. It was leaving a trail of blood behind suggesting that it had been bitten a few times. Sai could see the shark was toying with the defenseless baby fish and could swallow it at any time. Hey, now. I know it's an act of nature, but, come on, leave the little ones alone! he would have shouted it but he was underwater after all. He charged the shark and gave it a good kick to the side of its head. It wasn't full force, but it was enough to deliver the message.
The tiger shark turned its attention to Sai now. It may have been toying with the small fish but it indeed was hungry. Sai smirked, he always wanted to test his skill against a sea predator but he never really instigated a fight just for fun. Now with the sharp-toothed fish coming straight for him, he swam like a minnow. His skills evident, he evaded the shark every which way it tried to get its teeth into him. Sai, however, finally ran out of air and started to surface. Emerging from the waters and shaking the water and hair out of his eyes he looked around for the fin of his predator. He seemed a little despondent when there was nothing but open sea, he was sure it had given up.
Sai started towards the boat for breakfast when a sudden tug at his foot pulled him in a B-line to the bottom of the ocean. Surprised and disoriented, he had little air and water flowing all around him. Doing his best to get a hold of himself, he started to give hard fists to the pointed nose of the shark. Swinging fiercely, he was making hard impact, blood was emanating from the sea creature but it was still pulling him down with all its strength. Stubborn little bugger, aren't you? and with that, he gave a double-handed punch directly between the eyes. It immediately let go of Sai's ankle and headed away.
Sai smirked quickly but there was no time, he had no air and with all the blood in the water, that nasty little creatures family and friends would be coming with their dinner aprons on. Risking the bends and a severe headache, he darted for the surface. This was not to be, however as he was rammed in the stomach by a large unknown force. Releasing what little air that remained in his lungs, Sai looked on in horror as an uncountable number of sharks surrounded him. Oh, it just has to be the entire family for me, doesn't it? No, I can't get by with a simple great white, it has to be every blasted shark in the bloody ocean! And not hesitating a second longer, he called for his armor. "Armor of Torrent! Dao Shi-n!"
The water seemed to be gone a moment and the silk strands and the sakura blossoms fell and then in the midst of the largest ocean on earth, there was Sai of the Torrent. "All right, you want a piece of me, come and get it!"
The sharks seemed to understand him as they attacked more forcefully. Expertly moving, Sai managed to avoid each attack but as he was moving so fast, he was unable to attack. He certainly didn't want to kill them all, but if he tried to escape to his boat, that would be destroyed as well. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought, dodging an onslaught.
Just then, what he had been hoping for his entire trip had occurred. The Ancient spoke to him. "Show your opponent he has nothing to gain, and it shall break his will to fight," and with that, Sai had everything cleared to him. An awful idea but if he had faith in the Ancient, he would do it. The Warrior of Trust stopped avoiding the sharks and hovered in the water, arms outstretch and eyes shut.
He felt a shark clamp onto his arms and legs, pulling tightly and trying to rip him limb from limb. His armor was much too strong however. He felt them one by one give up their hold and the other sharks witnessing he wasn't something they could easily get. They swam off and Sai still had his eyes shut but smirked at his triumph. Suddenly, the Ancient spoke again in his mind. "Beware the battle-hungry," and Sai immediately opened his eyes to see a large great white bearing down on him with the sharpest teeth he had ever seen. Reacting on instinct he pushed forward in a devastating punch cracking a number of rows of teeth.
It swam off but Sai was nearly hyperventilating. "Sharks don't make good friends... I don't want to do this anymore!" he said, huffing in his armor. He was about to swim back up to his boat but something caught his eye. The small fish he saved, it was swimming around him affectionately. It came up to his face visor and he could swear it was smiling. He chuckled a little. "Aww, heck," he said with a small grin as it seemed to cuddle at his face. "Maybe I could stay the full week."
Rowen was sitting atop a large mountain. It was a long climb but it still was rather easy for him. He sat on a large rock kicking pebbles off the side. This was his fourth mountain in five days and he still had not found anything different than regular hiking trip. He decided to think out his problems. It was almost time to return and he had gained nothing new, he was very troubled by this. What could I be doing wrong? I've went up the four largest mountains in this country and I still haven't gotten anywhere. Ancient, what am I doing wrong?
He got up and paced around a bit. This had to be his last stop. It would take too much time to go to another mountain, climb it, and figure out what he was supposed to do. He was getting frustrated with it all, absolutely nothing was coming of this and according to Anubis, time was running out. Rowen couldn't take it anymore, he had to clear his mind. "Damn worthless mountain!" He looked at the small peak that would be pointless to climb and felt like it was mocking him. He had kept calm all week but after five days of hitting rock mountain walls he had just had enough. "Armor of Strata! Dao Inochi!"
His armor formed around him with malevolence, but he wasn't paying attention. From the moment he called his armor to the moment he pulled out his bow, he had been focusing his energy into his fists. "Well, if I learned one thing it's going to be how to tear the hell out of a stinkin' mountain!" He stepped back, cocked an arrow and leapt into the air. "Arrow Shock Wa-ve!"
In a harsh beam of light the arrow struck the point of the mountaintop and drove its way down the center. Rowen landed on a flat, heaving heavily. He had put so much into that shot and he could feel it beneath his feet. A little too much. The ground below him began to crack and ripple, he was losing his balance. Rowen let out a blue streak of obscenities that would make a sailor red in the face. He finished simply with "Stupid mountain!" and the flat below him crumbled dropping him below. Dropping like a stone, he grabbed a handhold and tried to climb upward. "Not even in my twenties and I'm already too old for this," he stated without so much as a smirk. He began to climb back up despite the rocks and pebbles showering his armor. Rowen was about to announce that he had enough of this training when finally what he had been looking for appeared.
"Sometimes the battle is not to find victory, but to turn defeat into victory."
That was it! That was what he was looking for! The Ancient had finally spoken to him! But what does it mean? Rowen was about to kick himself. He finally found what he was looking for and he was in no position to do anything about it. "Somebody up there must be having a real laugh about this! Okay, not find victory but defeat and turn it to victory... what the hell does that mean?! Focus, blue boy! Focus!"
Rowen shut his eyes and ignored his slipping grip. "All right, I have been searching to make myself stronger and haven't come close. So if the week ends that means I'm defeated. How do I turn that into victory?" he continued to interpret. His handhold itself was falling out of place as the mountain top continued to collapse. "What does this mean?! -Whoops!" he said as his grip totally gave out and he had to immediately grab for another.
"All right, focus again. Focus... c'mon, you can figure this out!" he continued. As he tried to concentrate, his grip slipped again. "Damn mountain! I'm glad I shot you to pieces!" he bellowed, trying to reform his grip. "Man, if I can't figure this out I'm dead! I won't even survive this fall!"
Suddenly Rowen smiled. "That's it!" and with that, let go of his grip and freefell to the ground below rushing to meet him. He shut his eyes and let his armor feel things out for him. A sphere of navy blue light surrounded him and slowed his fall and eased him to the ground. "Looking for victory I found defeat. If I kept looking I would have completely fallen in it, but taking time out to survey and look at the situation, I turned the defeat into victory," he congratulated himself as he looked on at the falling rubble. "And for some reason, I feel stronger than ever."
Sage was in the darkest pits of the world to focus his power. He hadn't heard anything from the ancient in his time there but he wasn't as frustrated as Rowen. He knew he wasn't focusing. It was day six and now he was sweating not of heat, but of fear. "Man, why can't I focus? This isn't working. I know I could have had this licked in three days," his voice echoed in the caverns. He drew his sword once more and focused himself. In a an instant the darkest place on earth was flushed with light. Sage concentrated hard and the light held in its fight against total blackness.
In Sage's mind, all was white. He stood there in his subarmor walking around aimlessly. He had been in this place in his mind constantly and the same thing always happened. He found her every time he turned around. He tried and he tried but he couldn't stop himself from searching for her. "No, damn it! I can't! I must focus on the task at hand!" he said, shutting his eyes and clenching his fists tightly.
"What is your task?" a light female voice asked as he felt arms wrap around him from behind in a warm embrace.
He could feel his eye loosen open and his fist grow limp. "To love you," he said simply. He could feel her cuddle her head into his back as he shook his head. "It's over... I lost," he said as he tried and failed for the umpteenth consecutive time.
"Failure is a relative term," she said as she turned him around.
Sage looked into her blue eyes but this time, for the first time, he didn't see himself. They were vacant. All he saw was her eyes. "They're... they're empty," he said in shock.
"What are you looking for, Sage of Halo?"
Sage turned and found the Ancient bearing down on him. "Ancient One!" he exclaimed.
The Ancient walked directly up to him. "You sound surprised to see me, Halo," he said in his quiet voice. Sage was surprised. Not only to see the Ancient, but also at the way the Ancient was talking to him instead of giving a sliver of advice. "You thought you could not focus on the Dynasty, and all was lost." Sage nodded, unable to speak. "Focus can be done indirectly. You want to protect her, do you not?" he asked, pointing at the gorgeous young blond girl behind Sage.
Sage looked over his shoulder and there she was, with her hands folded behind her back, her head tilted as she smiled sweetly. "Yes, but I..." he trailed off.
"Then focus on protecting her," the Ancient said bluntly. Sage was still lost at how casual he was being. Did he know what was going on with him and Ryo? "Look into her eyes. And focus," he said, interrupting Sage's thoughts.
The Ancient one began to walk off into the whiteness and Sage turned to Mina again who seemed to have the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes Sage had ever seen. He brought her close to him and wrapped his arms around the small of her back. She giggled at his touch but Sage planted a sweet soft kiss on her lips as he smiled. He shut his eyes and embraced her further.
Suddenly in a booming voice the Ancient spoke once more. "A strong man doesn't throw his power everywhere to express his authority. He puts it where it is needed. Brandish of it only leads to collapse." Sage ceased his kiss with Mina and looked into her eyes once more and there he saw the object that caused surprise and shock in his system... he saw Ryo.
Sage immediately opened his eyes and found himself back in the caverns spreading his light energy across it. He relaxed his armor and the darkness returned. He started to breathe heavily as the amount of energy he put forth was tremendous. That much was obvious for the ground beneath his feet was trembling violently. Sage couldn't see what was happening but he knew it wasn't good. Sounds of boulders falling filled their air as panic filled his body. It was a stalactite cave, those boulders coming down could chop a man in half.
Sage recalled the words of the Ancient then and finally realized it was a prediction. His energy caused this downfall and now he had to use it to stop it. He focused his energy once more prepare to stop everything with one large blast as he had been practicing but the rest of the words filled his mind. "That's what I was doing wrong! I have to put my power where it's needed!" he exclaimed as he set to focus himself. Aligning the thin of his sword with the center of his face, he shut his eyes tightly and felt the rocks fall around him. Within a flash he leapt from falling stalactite to stalactite, slicing them as if they were soft as clouds. Without sight and only sound and feel and his indescribable sixth sense, he sliced the rock formations from striking him down.
He immediately started to run and dodge the falling debris. Dipping and dodging he used nothing but his armors resonance to determine his direction. Soon he heard less and less crashing of the rocks and the ground beneath his feet grew soft. He felt the warmth of light on his face and the sounds of animals communicating. Sage halted his charge and found himself at the entrance to the cave. Looking up at the blue sky and white clouds, he felt as if he was being rewarded. He had made his escape bluntly and quickly. A great feeling of satisfaction and joy started to fill him as his shoulders jumped with his laughter. He removed his armor and ran through to open field like a small child. Skipping over small stones and ditches, he couldn't recall being happier only when he and the Ronins defeated Talpa.
He stopped at a small lake and looked at his reflection. "I'm a complete mess!" he said to his reflection with a smile. He dipped his hands in and washed his face of the dirt and soot that had plagued it for the last week. Finally sending away his sub armor, he sprinted to the dirt road where he parked the jeep, his smile never leaving his face.
Ryo's eyes squinted open as the sunlight broke through his sleeping eyelids. He ran his hand down his face and he could feel that his facial hair had grown in vast amounts over the week, so much that he almost had a full beard by now. He felt his forehead; his wound was still bleeding but Mina's ribbon was still wrapped around it keeping the life fluid from running down his face. "Day Seven," he stated with a sigh. He leaned up and threw off the covers, throwing his legs over the side he looked at his bedroom floor filled with pictures. There was barely any foot-places for him but he didn't leave his room that much anyway. With a heavy heart he opened his drawer again as he did every morning and every night of that week and pulled out the letter with the return address somewhere deep in Africa. He pulled it out and read it to himself again out loud.
"To the Son of Hayter Sanada;
We are deeply regretful to inform you that your father has suffered a mortal wound to his jugular by an unsuspected attack by a wild cougar that had infiltrated our camp. We managed to keep him alive long enough for him to give us some vital information and addresses. I regret having to be the one to inform you of this but there was nothing we could do from there on. I wish there was more I could say, he was a great man and an even better photographer, but he was so much more than that. He was a friend and a comrade. We hope the shock isn't too great for you. The rest of the crew and the company are going to bring him back to Japan for a proper funeral. Unfortunately, circumstances do not permit us to bring him back for a number of months. We will contact you upon our arrival in Yaminashi.
Best Wishes,
Otason Yashimuri."
He carefully refolded the letter, slipped it back into his envelope and put it back in the drawer. He picked up a photo from the floor. It was his father, his mother who was obviously pregnant, and him on his father's shoulders. They all looked so happy as they leaned up against the door of the cabin. And now only he remained.
"Eight months, Dad, eight months since I realized you weren't coming home ever again. I've been reading the letter over and over and it still burns a flame in me I can't control. But I don't cry anymore dad, I don't cry. I will become the man you would have wanted me to be. I hope you and Mama are together. Together and watching me. I will make you proud... I promise."
He laid the picture down on the floor and looked at all the others. The majority of them were of Mina and himself around the cabin, at theme parks and such. He recalled each and every event, time and place that each picture commemorated. "We shared our love and our souls with each other Mina, what happened? I would have loved you until the end of time if I could. Was I being selfish not telling you of the Ronin Armor? Was I wrong in thinking that you would be better off without knowing such evil existed? Is it so wrong that you can't forgive me? Or is it that you won't forgive me? Won't forgive me because it justifies your feelings toward Sage? Do you realize your putting my heart through hell? If you could only answer me... if I could only ask you...."
Ryo headed toward the bathroom to clean himself up. They had all agreed to meet at Mia's when they finished training. He looked at himself in the mirror for a long time. His beard had grown in full and even his hair seemed to grow a bit. He looked at the man in the mirror for a moment with no emotion. He seemed to like himself with a beard, but, nonetheless, it had to go. He slid open the mirror cabinet and pulled out his razor and cream. He lathered up in the mirror and took a few strokes with the razor and soon he completed half his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly disgust filled him to the brim. His eyes slanted in anger and he forcefully swiped down the other side of his face as the blood shot towards the mirror.
He finished the job quickly and the gash down the side of his face seemed nonexistent as it was so thin, but it was still there nonetheless. He went back into the room and looked over the pictures on the floor. As he was collecting them back into their albums he came across a particular one he always favored. It was of he and Mina. He examined every detail of it. Mina was wearing a faded yellow Sunday dress and her red ribbon in her beautiful golden blond hair. He was behind her peeking from the side. It seemed like he wasn't supposed to be in the picture and he popped in anyway. In his hand was a white lily as he held it in front of her from behind. His arm around her waist, and chin on her shoulder he looked at her smile and surprise as she was presented with the flower.
He enjoyed looking at the picture, it expressed his feelings for Mina so well. He took a piece of cloth that he used as an ace bandage when he was young and wrapped the picture to his arm. It's what he always had done when he went off to battle with the Dynasty. He always had a picture of someone he loved strapped to him at all times. He then quickly dressed and headed outside.
White Blaze came bounding up to him as he shut the door and proceeded down the steps. Without hesitation, Ryo mounted the white tiger and with a bounce, started down the mountain path. Rounding each and every corner with skill and ease, they both seemed to take delight in the pureness of running down the mountainside. Ryo leaned in close to his tiger companion and whispered in his ear. "Hey, boy, no matter what happens over the next few days, promise me we'll always be able to do this." White Blaze seemed to pick up the pace as if agreeing to Ryo's condition.
The mansion showed up over the horizon quicker than Ryo would have expected, or have liked. White Blaze seemed to pick up on his uneasy feelings and slowed to a trot. With a scratch the back of White Blazes ear, Ryo smiled knowing that they would always be this close. It was inevitable however that he would dismount White Blaze and have to enter the mansion.
Pulling his leg over slowly, Ryo carefully walked a small dirt path to the door. He heard a loud clang a moment and stopped in his tracks. "And you'll get another if try stealing the batter again!" a British accent roared from the house.
"Aw, come on, man! It's been a week since I had any decent food! Just a little taste is all I wanted!" a whining hungry voice replied.
"Sticking your face in the bowl doesn't count as a taste, you living garbage disposal!"
Ryo laughed to himself lightly as he continued his way in. Then again as he got closer he halted as he heard someone yell in disgust. "The Pythagorean Theorem, you idiot! How basic can you get?!" a disgruntled voice hollered.
"Would you sit down and relax? It's only a game show," a female voice said, obviously humored by the outburst.
Ryo chuckled again. "Oh, Rowen, if only the world were as smart as you," he said as he put his hand to the door.
He was about to enter as he heard two voices whispering to each other. He knew it was Mina and Sage and every cell in his brain seemed to yell at him to get away from the door, but the fear in his heart kept him in place. "I missed you so much!"
"You've been saying that since you got back, Sage."
"I know, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. You were everywhere with me."
"Don't say that..."
"Why not? It's true! Every time I closed my eyes I saw you."
"Please... just stop... "
"Mina, is something wrong?"
"....."
"Please, Mina, you know you can trust me. Tell me what's wrong."
"...It's us..."
"Us?"
"We... what are we doing?"
"I know this may be a little fast for you. I completely understand, we'll take it slower."
"Thank you."
"Don't worry about it. Soon everything will be okay and you and I can take this as slowly as you want."
"I really appreciate it."
"But can I say one last thing?"
"Um... sure."
"I fell in love with you instantly. I never do that. If I can say that I love you so freely right now, just think of how much I will love you when we get to know each other."
He heard them walk off from there. He took a number of steps away from the door and his expression was that of a man that saw death take his heart and give it the twice over. With both hands Ryo clasped the sides of his head and hair. Clenching his teeth with his eyes shut tightly holding back tears, he fell to the ground. "Stop it! Please, God, stop it! I can't take it anymore! It's too much! It's too damn much! I'm losing everything! My friend betrays me, my love refuses me, my armor tests me, the other world tries to kill me... it's too much! Please, God, make it stop!" On one knee with a fist to the ground and a hand to his face, he did as much as he could to compose himself.
The sky turned dark blue as the sun began to set. Ryo's tears had dried and his breathing returned to normal, however, he was still defeated inside. The area was quiet, all that could be heard was White Blaze's breathing at his side. Ryo felt a warm touch at his shoulder. He snapped his head up quickly and saw the bright smile and concerned eyes of Mia Koji. "Hey," she whispered, "come inside, Ryo. The guys have been worried about you." With a helping hand, Ryo got to his feet and dusted himself off. Together they walked to the door as they saw the windows light up from the lights turning on inside.
Ryo opened the door and Mia, with both hands on his shoulders, called out, "Hey, look what I found!"
Kento was the first to the door, as he was in the living room playing some type of video game. "Aww, it's cute! Can we keep it?" he joked with huge puppy dog eyes. Ryo smirked a little as he and Kento did their special handshake the Ronins had; they crossed the back of their fists with each other.
The three filed into the living room where they met Rowen with his nose deep in a thick book and Sai feeding the fish in the aquarium. "Ryo!" they said simultaneously.
"Hey, buddy, where were you? We all got here hours ago," Rowen asked, standing from the couch. They too gave the special handshake and Sai as well as he approached.
"Yeah, Ryo, you're never late. Actually, you're always early for everything," Sai went on.
"I guess things change, Sai," he said, rubbing the back of his head with a slight grin.
"Well, now that he's here can we eat now, Sai?" Kento butted in accompanied by his rumbling stomach. All eyes turned to Kento, who stood a little stupefied a moment. "I know, I know! Some things will never change! I set myself up for that one, didn't I?" The group laughed one last time as they all started towards the dining room.
"Not that I'm complaining but where's Yuli? He's always here, especially when it comes to something like this," Sai asked as he started toward the kitchen to get the food.
"It's Sunday, Sai, he has to go to school and there's no such thing as 'Seniors Getaway' for him," Mia responded. They got to their seats and awaited the meal Sai had prepared. It was going to be their last gathered meal before the great battle.
It was quiet, nothing was grabbing their attention but there was one thing that caught Ryo's. "Sage! Mina! Ryo's here! Food is ready! Don't make me come up there and drag you down!" Kento hollered at the top of his lungs.
"What's the matter, Ryo? You look like you saw the Ancient himself."
Ryo snapped out of his trance and saw Sai carrying in a large pheasant plate. "Oh, nothing, Sai ... I just thought that Mina would have gone home by now," he said lowering his head. Pretty much everyone at the table knew what was going on. Some thought Ryo didn't know, while others knew that everything was out in the open to him. Kento came in, oblivious to everyone's eyes averted to Ryo, and sat down with a big sniff of the pheasant's scent.
Sage and Mina came into the room quietly and they all took their seats. "Hey, Ryo, I didn't hear you come in," Sage greeted as he took a seat between him and Mina.
"I just got here a second ago," Ryo responded quietly. They all began to eat the rare deliciously in that household accustomed to fast food and take out. Almost an hour went by and nothing was said through the entire time.
"Wow, if silence is golden then we must be the richest group in the world," Mia interrupted the silence.
"Sorry, Mia, we all just have a lot on our minds. That's all," Sai offered. Mia grinned lightly, thanking Sai for speaking up.
Kento finally had his opening but capitalized a little late as his mouth was stuffed with white meat. "So, what are we all worried about? It's not like we're going to lose!" he exclaimed happily. The majority of the people at the table smiled a little but others still seemed a little despondent. "Come on, guys! I'll prove it! Tell me what happened on your trips. That will show you that we all have gotten stronger," he continued to reason.
There was stirring at the table but Sai could be heard clearing his throat. "I went to the Pacific," he started. "Basically what I learned was that not everything needs to be fought off, there usually is only one thing we have to worry about, and not everything that surrounds it."
"He's got a good point there, guys," Rowen interjected. "Our target is Talpa. The Warlords, Kayura, and the Dynasty soldiers, that's all excess baggage. We got to keep it together for Talpa," he explained.
Sage laid back in his chair with a light smirk. "What did the Ancient teach you, Rowen?"
Rowen also laid back a moment. "It sounds like you mean to ask more than that question," he replied.
"Well, I have to say, what could the smartest man in the world need to know, hm?"
Rowen wasn't smirking or even grinning. "Was that a shot at my intelligence, Sage?"
The blonde Ronin leaned forward and still had that insidious grin. "Maybe."
Rowen realized that Sage was testing him. He always liked to do this when it came to philosophical interpretation. Sage, who was the scholar of philosophy liked to toy with the mind of Rowen, the Scholar of just about everything else. The Warrior of Life eased back into his chair with a smile. "Your not doing this with me now, buddy. It's been a long day." Sage gave a triumphant grin as leaned back into his chair.
"Okay, Aristotle, what did you get from your little vacation?" Kento chimed in.
Sage seemed to suddenly grow nervous. "W-What?" he asked shakily.
"What did you learn smarty guy, that is, if you learned anything," he restated.
"What I learned from the Ancient is for me to know and no one else," Sage answered forcefully.
"Oh, somebody is touchy today! I don't think you learned anything, Mr. Philosophy!" Kento chuckled. "Hey, what do you think, Ryo?" he said, still laughing lightly.
"He definitely learned something," Ryo responded eventually. Sage seemed to grin brightly at his response.
"Okay, what did he learn, hm?" Kento asked, feeling his argument slip from his grasp. Ryo didn't respond. "Ryo?" he asked again.
"Excuse me." The Warrior of Virtue stood up with his plate in hand and headed for the kitchen.
"Jeeze, what's eating him?"
"Ryo's been like that for a while," Mia explained to the confused Kento.
"Oh, man, just what we need. One of Ryo's trips into misconception. Beautiful! Why does he always have to go off into his little world and whine to himself?" he complained.
"Well, at least he doesn't come out and whine to us like some people," Rowen shot in with a disgruntled tone.
"Hey, calm down, will you? I wasn't insulting him, it's just that he is always some kind of emotional basketcase. I would have thought he would have gotten over it by now," Kento went on.
"Well, Ryo doesn't have anyone he thinks he can pour his heart out to," Mia stated, not once taking her eyes off her plate. She knew Mina would hear that and probably take it as a shot to herself. Mina lowered her head even further. At that moment she felt so small and just plain wrong she could feel tears climbing to her eyes.
Sage somehow picked up on it and stealth fully put a hand to her back without anyone even noticing. In that instant Mina felt instantly healed of all her qualms. Sage was about to retract his hand and as he was about to put it back to the table, as quietly and quickly as Sage had, she grabbed his wrist. A little stunned and surprised, he didn't let on about the gestures going about under the table to the others. She carefully pulled his hand to her knee and let it rest there as the meal continued. Sage hadn't noticed it before, but it looked like articles of the clothing were Mia's. It would make sense, considering she was there for the week.
Ryo was already upstairs and in bed in one of the extra bedrooms of Mia's mansion. In actuality, it was a little art room the last time he saw it but after a week it became another bedroom, lucky for him. Most of Mina's things were in his old room so he assumed that's where she was spending the longs nights. The fact that she waited for their return was little comfort mostly because his mind reassured him over and over that she was simply waiting for Sage. The lamp was out and the only light came from the full moon in the window. There he laid, listening to the happenings of downstairs.
He heard the clamoring up and down the steps. He heard Rowen arguing with the TV again. He heard Sai complain that he wasn't going to cook Kento anything else. He heard Mia go through her nightly procedures. The shower, the music, the windows shutting and then sleep. Eventually he heard Rowen and Sai retire to their separate rooms. Then came the unmistakable argument of Sai and Kento about how much food was brought into the room. Then it was quiet. Quiet enough to hear the conversation between Mina and Sage.
"Sage?"
"Yeah, Mina?"
"I know I said I wanted to take this a little slower..."
"I totally agree with you. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you I know, but what I wanted to say is..."
"Is?"
"Is that... I think I already am developing feelings for you."
"Heh heh, hey, relax. You've been through a rough week. Its natural to feel close to someone protecting you."
"I know, but... we've only been together for three days at most, and in secret."
"So - you're saying that when it goes out in the open, it won't be as exciting?"
"To be honest... I don't know if there is anything to bring out in the open."
"....."
"Oh, please don't be offended! I didn't mean anything by it!"
"No, no, I was just thinking."
"What about?"
"How I can make there something to bring out?"
"You really think there can be something between us?"
"Tell you what. Tomorrow we'll be gone. In that time you think about who you're going to be with. It may be a day, it may be a year, I'm not sure, but in the mean time you go out into the forests, or up in the mountains, or wherever makes you feel relieved. Then clear your mind and just look for some one there. If it's me, then we'll build on that. We'll let everyone know what's going on so there are no secrets and we can be open about it. If it's Ryo then I'll back away without a simple word to be said. Ryo doesn't know what happened and he doesn't have to if you don't want him to. How does that sound?"
"It sounds like I should have asked you from the start."
"Ha ha, well, no matter what happens, anywhere, anytime, you can come to me for advice."
"Thank you, I appreciate it."
"No problem. I got to be getting to sleep. Big day and all tomorrow."
"Goodnight... oh, Sage?"
"Hm?"
"Will you do me a small favor?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Could you... walk me up the stairs?"
"Why, it would be my pleasure, milady!"
Two laughs cursed Ryo's ears and footsteps grew then faded as they walked by. A few quiet murmurs and as Sage was about to leave Ryo could make out him saying. "We'll have a long talk when we get back."
Ryo turned to his side and whispered to himself, "If we get back." Minutes became hours and the stars filled the sky. Ryo felt pauses in his thought and didn't know whether he momentarily fell asleep or his mind just shut down temporarily. He guessed he was asleep since at no point did he feel tired. His mind drifted among endless thoughts.
Surprisingly, it was safe to say that Mina was not the majority of them. Qualms of Mia and the guys, the former Dark Warlords, Talpa, the weird flame. "Leader Mode takes over," he joked out loud, breaking the silence. Among his stratagems the occasional domestic situation arose, but he immediately shoved it away. Another gap in thought, or otherwise known as a quick nap, and he picked up right where he left off.
A rattling came from outside the window. Ryo sat up and let the covers fall from his chest. "It's time..."
Kento peered out the window of the train and watched the scenery fly by. He was tired but he couldn't fall asleep, he had too much on his mind. Where he was going for example. He really didn't have any idea himself, but he had to go somewhere that would strengthen his armor. He had qualms about going back to the place he trained before but he didn't know where else to go.
Sai looked out the window of the giant steam ship as it floated on the massive Pacific Ocean. He easily mastered the sea of Toyama and he needed a bigger challenge. What better than the largest body of water in the world? He heard there would be treacherous maelstroms in the area, it would be perfect. Just him, his armor and countless miles of water. His plan was to stay by a marker so he could get a ride back. He may be spending a week in the middle of the ocean, but he wasn't stupid.
Rowen would have a busy week and he knew it as he looked through the window of the plane. His original place of training he mastered quickly, so he would play to the strengths of his armor. He would go to the highest peaks in the country. Mountains normally would be Kento's forte, but high in the sky is what he was looking for. He was no mountain climber, but with his armor he was confident he could meet any challenge he had to.
Sage wasn't at a loss as to where to go. He would go to the darkest place on Earth, and luckily for him, it was in the same country. Riding along the roads in Mia's jeep, he couldn't stop thinking of Mina. Her beautiful face was on just about everything he saw. He shook it out of his mind constantly as he would test his powers of light in the most stifling of places. He knew he would be the first to challenge Cale, the Demon of Darkness. He didn't really wish to face him, but there wasn't much choice. Training his powers of light where none existed was going to be a great challenge.
Ryo was running up a long and winding path alongside White Blaze. He had suspected going to multiple hotspots to energize himself, but as soon as he got out the door he immediately headed to his home. He didn't know why, but for the last twenty-four hours he just wanted to go to his old home. He had a whole week to prepare himself; one day in his own bed and familiar surroundings could only help him.
Kento finally reached the Osaka flats. It wasn't near anywhere he went before, but with the rock solid terrain and absolutely no life, it was perfect for his armor. They weren't mountains, small cliffs really, more like hills of stone. "Man, be pretty easy to start a small landslide around here, I better watch it," Kento said to himself in the desolate regions. "All right, time to see what I got... Armor of Hardrock! Dao Gi!"
In an instant his armor appeared over his sub-armor and before he could even adjust himself, he pulled out his staff and prepared for the Iron Rock Crusher. His eyes surveyed the area for a target. There was a large rock hill that seemed to point at the sky. The Warrior Of Justice smirked as he started to concentrate his energy and focused on the target. "Iron... Rock... Crush-er!" he shouted immediately and seemed to put more emphases on it than ever before. The ground tore up to the sky and light filled the scenery. Invisible force struck the tall hill and it started to crack then shattered completely. The force didn't stop there, however. Kento forced forward hard and the energy from his devastating attack tore a crater on the side of the hill pushing in so far it looked like a perfectly smooth hook.
He looked up admiring his work. "Man, this is going to drive some astrology guy nuts! A crater in the side of a rock hill!" he enthralled himself. He took a few steps closer to admire his craftsmanship as he noticed that every rock stone pebble and boulder his attack struck had become pearl-smooth. Feeling more and more pleased with himself, he started to congratulate himself with hoots and hollers. He held his naginata staff high above his head and started to sing some old army song. He had right to brag. The mountainside was smoother than he had even hoped for, and the rounded perfect sphere boulders were a greater work of art than any sculptor could have ever accomplished. "Oh yeah, baby! I am so set for this Dynasty thing! Out for two days and I already got this licked!" He laughed a bit more and continued to do his Indian-style dance.
In the midst of the dance there was a rumble in the ground. Kento had not noticed, for he was jumping every which way in celebration. However, the smoothed sphere pebbles rolling down to his feet caught his attention. He looked up as his eyes exploded in panic. A large rounded boulder came rolling down the mountain slant. Kento tried to scramble out of there with all the speed his legs could muster. "Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!" he chorused as he ran. He would dive off to the side, but his powers dug him into a deep ditch, giving him only one path of escape yet only one path for the boulder to follow.
In the midst of his race against the oversized marble, Kento recalled everything the Ancient had taught him. "I am the Warrior of the Hardrock! I can handle this!" he encouraged himself. He stopped running and faced the oncoming rock and put both hands forward. As it approached, it turned out that it was much larger than he had originally thought it to be but nonetheless, Kento stood tall.
The boulder met with his hands and instead of what Kento was hoping for, which was it stopping in its tracks, the smooth ground under his feet made him roll with the large rock. "Aw, crap!" Kento still pushed forward trying to get traction with his feet but still not getting anywhere behind the force.
In his mind a wisp of the Ancient's voice jutted in. "Sometimes it is not always wise to attack head-on. Use your opponent's momentum." Kento was a little surprised to hear from him but he had hoped for some instruction.
Doing his best to interpret his words, instead of pushing against the boulder, he moved with it. His hands still sliding against the smooth surface he kept pace with it. The panic in his mind subsided and with every ounce of will, he drove all his strength into his hands and clutching into the boulder. Forming his handholds, he only had a second to react and did so thusly. Sliding down low and using the momentum he and the rock had created, he lunged it overhead with amazing power. The boulder crashed somewhere as the sound of it shattering into countless pieces filled his ears. Kento was breathing heavily as he picked himself up off the ground. His arms so soar after lifting the tremendous weight, he clutched at his forearms trying to soothe the burning strain.
Still breathing heavily, he started to piece together what just occurred. "I did it!" he cried, "I did it! I did it! Oh, yeah, baby, I did it!" He slumped back to the ground and laid out on his back laughing at his great success. Looking up at the hook mountain he created, he suddenly stopped laughing. "If I got the whole thing, that wouldn't have happened," he said out loud. He carefully got to his feet and released his comforting hold on his arms, letting the strain return. He picked up his naginata staff once more and prepared for a second strike.
Sai was laying back in his little brown lifeboat. The sun rising woke him as the sun setting put him to sleep. The bell of the buoy water marker wasn't allowing him much sleep but he needed to keep on his toes anyway. If he just ignored the bell he might lose some of his sharpness. He sat up brushing a hand through his hair and all he felt was seaweed. Angrily pulling it out of his hair like it would strangle the life out of him, he plopped it off the side of the boat. He again put his hand to his hair and he still wasn't pleased but it was what he expected. His once light a fluffy freewheeling hair was now matted down thickly with salty seawater. It didn't matter however as he would simply just be going into the water again.
He plunged deep and made a lap of the area making sure he didn't lose sight of the boat. If he lost that, he would have no safe place to sleep not to mention his rations of food and bandages would be gone. He dove deeper and deeper seeing how long he could hold his breath without using his armor. His training in this led him to great skill in the venture. He could swim quite deep without even letting out a little spurt of air. I've been out here three days. I'd think something would happen to let me know I'm on the right track. Come on, Ancient One, show me what I have to do to overcome this new threat, he echoed to himself in his mind.
Something caught his eye suddenly. There was a large tiger shark chasing after a small baby fish. It was leaving a trail of blood behind suggesting that it had been bitten a few times. Sai could see the shark was toying with the defenseless baby fish and could swallow it at any time. Hey, now. I know it's an act of nature, but, come on, leave the little ones alone! he would have shouted it but he was underwater after all. He charged the shark and gave it a good kick to the side of its head. It wasn't full force, but it was enough to deliver the message.
The tiger shark turned its attention to Sai now. It may have been toying with the small fish but it indeed was hungry. Sai smirked, he always wanted to test his skill against a sea predator but he never really instigated a fight just for fun. Now with the sharp-toothed fish coming straight for him, he swam like a minnow. His skills evident, he evaded the shark every which way it tried to get its teeth into him. Sai, however, finally ran out of air and started to surface. Emerging from the waters and shaking the water and hair out of his eyes he looked around for the fin of his predator. He seemed a little despondent when there was nothing but open sea, he was sure it had given up.
Sai started towards the boat for breakfast when a sudden tug at his foot pulled him in a B-line to the bottom of the ocean. Surprised and disoriented, he had little air and water flowing all around him. Doing his best to get a hold of himself, he started to give hard fists to the pointed nose of the shark. Swinging fiercely, he was making hard impact, blood was emanating from the sea creature but it was still pulling him down with all its strength. Stubborn little bugger, aren't you? and with that, he gave a double-handed punch directly between the eyes. It immediately let go of Sai's ankle and headed away.
Sai smirked quickly but there was no time, he had no air and with all the blood in the water, that nasty little creatures family and friends would be coming with their dinner aprons on. Risking the bends and a severe headache, he darted for the surface. This was not to be, however as he was rammed in the stomach by a large unknown force. Releasing what little air that remained in his lungs, Sai looked on in horror as an uncountable number of sharks surrounded him. Oh, it just has to be the entire family for me, doesn't it? No, I can't get by with a simple great white, it has to be every blasted shark in the bloody ocean! And not hesitating a second longer, he called for his armor. "Armor of Torrent! Dao Shi-n!"
The water seemed to be gone a moment and the silk strands and the sakura blossoms fell and then in the midst of the largest ocean on earth, there was Sai of the Torrent. "All right, you want a piece of me, come and get it!"
The sharks seemed to understand him as they attacked more forcefully. Expertly moving, Sai managed to avoid each attack but as he was moving so fast, he was unable to attack. He certainly didn't want to kill them all, but if he tried to escape to his boat, that would be destroyed as well. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought, dodging an onslaught.
Just then, what he had been hoping for his entire trip had occurred. The Ancient spoke to him. "Show your opponent he has nothing to gain, and it shall break his will to fight," and with that, Sai had everything cleared to him. An awful idea but if he had faith in the Ancient, he would do it. The Warrior of Trust stopped avoiding the sharks and hovered in the water, arms outstretch and eyes shut.
He felt a shark clamp onto his arms and legs, pulling tightly and trying to rip him limb from limb. His armor was much too strong however. He felt them one by one give up their hold and the other sharks witnessing he wasn't something they could easily get. They swam off and Sai still had his eyes shut but smirked at his triumph. Suddenly, the Ancient spoke again in his mind. "Beware the battle-hungry," and Sai immediately opened his eyes to see a large great white bearing down on him with the sharpest teeth he had ever seen. Reacting on instinct he pushed forward in a devastating punch cracking a number of rows of teeth.
It swam off but Sai was nearly hyperventilating. "Sharks don't make good friends... I don't want to do this anymore!" he said, huffing in his armor. He was about to swim back up to his boat but something caught his eye. The small fish he saved, it was swimming around him affectionately. It came up to his face visor and he could swear it was smiling. He chuckled a little. "Aww, heck," he said with a small grin as it seemed to cuddle at his face. "Maybe I could stay the full week."
Rowen was sitting atop a large mountain. It was a long climb but it still was rather easy for him. He sat on a large rock kicking pebbles off the side. This was his fourth mountain in five days and he still had not found anything different than regular hiking trip. He decided to think out his problems. It was almost time to return and he had gained nothing new, he was very troubled by this. What could I be doing wrong? I've went up the four largest mountains in this country and I still haven't gotten anywhere. Ancient, what am I doing wrong?
He got up and paced around a bit. This had to be his last stop. It would take too much time to go to another mountain, climb it, and figure out what he was supposed to do. He was getting frustrated with it all, absolutely nothing was coming of this and according to Anubis, time was running out. Rowen couldn't take it anymore, he had to clear his mind. "Damn worthless mountain!" He looked at the small peak that would be pointless to climb and felt like it was mocking him. He had kept calm all week but after five days of hitting rock mountain walls he had just had enough. "Armor of Strata! Dao Inochi!"
His armor formed around him with malevolence, but he wasn't paying attention. From the moment he called his armor to the moment he pulled out his bow, he had been focusing his energy into his fists. "Well, if I learned one thing it's going to be how to tear the hell out of a stinkin' mountain!" He stepped back, cocked an arrow and leapt into the air. "Arrow Shock Wa-ve!"
In a harsh beam of light the arrow struck the point of the mountaintop and drove its way down the center. Rowen landed on a flat, heaving heavily. He had put so much into that shot and he could feel it beneath his feet. A little too much. The ground below him began to crack and ripple, he was losing his balance. Rowen let out a blue streak of obscenities that would make a sailor red in the face. He finished simply with "Stupid mountain!" and the flat below him crumbled dropping him below. Dropping like a stone, he grabbed a handhold and tried to climb upward. "Not even in my twenties and I'm already too old for this," he stated without so much as a smirk. He began to climb back up despite the rocks and pebbles showering his armor. Rowen was about to announce that he had enough of this training when finally what he had been looking for appeared.
"Sometimes the battle is not to find victory, but to turn defeat into victory."
That was it! That was what he was looking for! The Ancient had finally spoken to him! But what does it mean? Rowen was about to kick himself. He finally found what he was looking for and he was in no position to do anything about it. "Somebody up there must be having a real laugh about this! Okay, not find victory but defeat and turn it to victory... what the hell does that mean?! Focus, blue boy! Focus!"
Rowen shut his eyes and ignored his slipping grip. "All right, I have been searching to make myself stronger and haven't come close. So if the week ends that means I'm defeated. How do I turn that into victory?" he continued to interpret. His handhold itself was falling out of place as the mountain top continued to collapse. "What does this mean?! -Whoops!" he said as his grip totally gave out and he had to immediately grab for another.
"All right, focus again. Focus... c'mon, you can figure this out!" he continued. As he tried to concentrate, his grip slipped again. "Damn mountain! I'm glad I shot you to pieces!" he bellowed, trying to reform his grip. "Man, if I can't figure this out I'm dead! I won't even survive this fall!"
Suddenly Rowen smiled. "That's it!" and with that, let go of his grip and freefell to the ground below rushing to meet him. He shut his eyes and let his armor feel things out for him. A sphere of navy blue light surrounded him and slowed his fall and eased him to the ground. "Looking for victory I found defeat. If I kept looking I would have completely fallen in it, but taking time out to survey and look at the situation, I turned the defeat into victory," he congratulated himself as he looked on at the falling rubble. "And for some reason, I feel stronger than ever."
Sage was in the darkest pits of the world to focus his power. He hadn't heard anything from the ancient in his time there but he wasn't as frustrated as Rowen. He knew he wasn't focusing. It was day six and now he was sweating not of heat, but of fear. "Man, why can't I focus? This isn't working. I know I could have had this licked in three days," his voice echoed in the caverns. He drew his sword once more and focused himself. In a an instant the darkest place on earth was flushed with light. Sage concentrated hard and the light held in its fight against total blackness.
In Sage's mind, all was white. He stood there in his subarmor walking around aimlessly. He had been in this place in his mind constantly and the same thing always happened. He found her every time he turned around. He tried and he tried but he couldn't stop himself from searching for her. "No, damn it! I can't! I must focus on the task at hand!" he said, shutting his eyes and clenching his fists tightly.
"What is your task?" a light female voice asked as he felt arms wrap around him from behind in a warm embrace.
He could feel his eye loosen open and his fist grow limp. "To love you," he said simply. He could feel her cuddle her head into his back as he shook his head. "It's over... I lost," he said as he tried and failed for the umpteenth consecutive time.
"Failure is a relative term," she said as she turned him around.
Sage looked into her blue eyes but this time, for the first time, he didn't see himself. They were vacant. All he saw was her eyes. "They're... they're empty," he said in shock.
"What are you looking for, Sage of Halo?"
Sage turned and found the Ancient bearing down on him. "Ancient One!" he exclaimed.
The Ancient walked directly up to him. "You sound surprised to see me, Halo," he said in his quiet voice. Sage was surprised. Not only to see the Ancient, but also at the way the Ancient was talking to him instead of giving a sliver of advice. "You thought you could not focus on the Dynasty, and all was lost." Sage nodded, unable to speak. "Focus can be done indirectly. You want to protect her, do you not?" he asked, pointing at the gorgeous young blond girl behind Sage.
Sage looked over his shoulder and there she was, with her hands folded behind her back, her head tilted as she smiled sweetly. "Yes, but I..." he trailed off.
"Then focus on protecting her," the Ancient said bluntly. Sage was still lost at how casual he was being. Did he know what was going on with him and Ryo? "Look into her eyes. And focus," he said, interrupting Sage's thoughts.
The Ancient one began to walk off into the whiteness and Sage turned to Mina again who seemed to have the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes Sage had ever seen. He brought her close to him and wrapped his arms around the small of her back. She giggled at his touch but Sage planted a sweet soft kiss on her lips as he smiled. He shut his eyes and embraced her further.
Suddenly in a booming voice the Ancient spoke once more. "A strong man doesn't throw his power everywhere to express his authority. He puts it where it is needed. Brandish of it only leads to collapse." Sage ceased his kiss with Mina and looked into her eyes once more and there he saw the object that caused surprise and shock in his system... he saw Ryo.
Sage immediately opened his eyes and found himself back in the caverns spreading his light energy across it. He relaxed his armor and the darkness returned. He started to breathe heavily as the amount of energy he put forth was tremendous. That much was obvious for the ground beneath his feet was trembling violently. Sage couldn't see what was happening but he knew it wasn't good. Sounds of boulders falling filled their air as panic filled his body. It was a stalactite cave, those boulders coming down could chop a man in half.
Sage recalled the words of the Ancient then and finally realized it was a prediction. His energy caused this downfall and now he had to use it to stop it. He focused his energy once more prepare to stop everything with one large blast as he had been practicing but the rest of the words filled his mind. "That's what I was doing wrong! I have to put my power where it's needed!" he exclaimed as he set to focus himself. Aligning the thin of his sword with the center of his face, he shut his eyes tightly and felt the rocks fall around him. Within a flash he leapt from falling stalactite to stalactite, slicing them as if they were soft as clouds. Without sight and only sound and feel and his indescribable sixth sense, he sliced the rock formations from striking him down.
He immediately started to run and dodge the falling debris. Dipping and dodging he used nothing but his armors resonance to determine his direction. Soon he heard less and less crashing of the rocks and the ground beneath his feet grew soft. He felt the warmth of light on his face and the sounds of animals communicating. Sage halted his charge and found himself at the entrance to the cave. Looking up at the blue sky and white clouds, he felt as if he was being rewarded. He had made his escape bluntly and quickly. A great feeling of satisfaction and joy started to fill him as his shoulders jumped with his laughter. He removed his armor and ran through to open field like a small child. Skipping over small stones and ditches, he couldn't recall being happier only when he and the Ronins defeated Talpa.
He stopped at a small lake and looked at his reflection. "I'm a complete mess!" he said to his reflection with a smile. He dipped his hands in and washed his face of the dirt and soot that had plagued it for the last week. Finally sending away his sub armor, he sprinted to the dirt road where he parked the jeep, his smile never leaving his face.
Ryo's eyes squinted open as the sunlight broke through his sleeping eyelids. He ran his hand down his face and he could feel that his facial hair had grown in vast amounts over the week, so much that he almost had a full beard by now. He felt his forehead; his wound was still bleeding but Mina's ribbon was still wrapped around it keeping the life fluid from running down his face. "Day Seven," he stated with a sigh. He leaned up and threw off the covers, throwing his legs over the side he looked at his bedroom floor filled with pictures. There was barely any foot-places for him but he didn't leave his room that much anyway. With a heavy heart he opened his drawer again as he did every morning and every night of that week and pulled out the letter with the return address somewhere deep in Africa. He pulled it out and read it to himself again out loud.
"To the Son of Hayter Sanada;
We are deeply regretful to inform you that your father has suffered a mortal wound to his jugular by an unsuspected attack by a wild cougar that had infiltrated our camp. We managed to keep him alive long enough for him to give us some vital information and addresses. I regret having to be the one to inform you of this but there was nothing we could do from there on. I wish there was more I could say, he was a great man and an even better photographer, but he was so much more than that. He was a friend and a comrade. We hope the shock isn't too great for you. The rest of the crew and the company are going to bring him back to Japan for a proper funeral. Unfortunately, circumstances do not permit us to bring him back for a number of months. We will contact you upon our arrival in Yaminashi.
Best Wishes,
Otason Yashimuri."
He carefully refolded the letter, slipped it back into his envelope and put it back in the drawer. He picked up a photo from the floor. It was his father, his mother who was obviously pregnant, and him on his father's shoulders. They all looked so happy as they leaned up against the door of the cabin. And now only he remained.
"Eight months, Dad, eight months since I realized you weren't coming home ever again. I've been reading the letter over and over and it still burns a flame in me I can't control. But I don't cry anymore dad, I don't cry. I will become the man you would have wanted me to be. I hope you and Mama are together. Together and watching me. I will make you proud... I promise."
He laid the picture down on the floor and looked at all the others. The majority of them were of Mina and himself around the cabin, at theme parks and such. He recalled each and every event, time and place that each picture commemorated. "We shared our love and our souls with each other Mina, what happened? I would have loved you until the end of time if I could. Was I being selfish not telling you of the Ronin Armor? Was I wrong in thinking that you would be better off without knowing such evil existed? Is it so wrong that you can't forgive me? Or is it that you won't forgive me? Won't forgive me because it justifies your feelings toward Sage? Do you realize your putting my heart through hell? If you could only answer me... if I could only ask you...."
Ryo headed toward the bathroom to clean himself up. They had all agreed to meet at Mia's when they finished training. He looked at himself in the mirror for a long time. His beard had grown in full and even his hair seemed to grow a bit. He looked at the man in the mirror for a moment with no emotion. He seemed to like himself with a beard, but, nonetheless, it had to go. He slid open the mirror cabinet and pulled out his razor and cream. He lathered up in the mirror and took a few strokes with the razor and soon he completed half his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly disgust filled him to the brim. His eyes slanted in anger and he forcefully swiped down the other side of his face as the blood shot towards the mirror.
He finished the job quickly and the gash down the side of his face seemed nonexistent as it was so thin, but it was still there nonetheless. He went back into the room and looked over the pictures on the floor. As he was collecting them back into their albums he came across a particular one he always favored. It was of he and Mina. He examined every detail of it. Mina was wearing a faded yellow Sunday dress and her red ribbon in her beautiful golden blond hair. He was behind her peeking from the side. It seemed like he wasn't supposed to be in the picture and he popped in anyway. In his hand was a white lily as he held it in front of her from behind. His arm around her waist, and chin on her shoulder he looked at her smile and surprise as she was presented with the flower.
He enjoyed looking at the picture, it expressed his feelings for Mina so well. He took a piece of cloth that he used as an ace bandage when he was young and wrapped the picture to his arm. It's what he always had done when he went off to battle with the Dynasty. He always had a picture of someone he loved strapped to him at all times. He then quickly dressed and headed outside.
White Blaze came bounding up to him as he shut the door and proceeded down the steps. Without hesitation, Ryo mounted the white tiger and with a bounce, started down the mountain path. Rounding each and every corner with skill and ease, they both seemed to take delight in the pureness of running down the mountainside. Ryo leaned in close to his tiger companion and whispered in his ear. "Hey, boy, no matter what happens over the next few days, promise me we'll always be able to do this." White Blaze seemed to pick up the pace as if agreeing to Ryo's condition.
The mansion showed up over the horizon quicker than Ryo would have expected, or have liked. White Blaze seemed to pick up on his uneasy feelings and slowed to a trot. With a scratch the back of White Blazes ear, Ryo smiled knowing that they would always be this close. It was inevitable however that he would dismount White Blaze and have to enter the mansion.
Pulling his leg over slowly, Ryo carefully walked a small dirt path to the door. He heard a loud clang a moment and stopped in his tracks. "And you'll get another if try stealing the batter again!" a British accent roared from the house.
"Aw, come on, man! It's been a week since I had any decent food! Just a little taste is all I wanted!" a whining hungry voice replied.
"Sticking your face in the bowl doesn't count as a taste, you living garbage disposal!"
Ryo laughed to himself lightly as he continued his way in. Then again as he got closer he halted as he heard someone yell in disgust. "The Pythagorean Theorem, you idiot! How basic can you get?!" a disgruntled voice hollered.
"Would you sit down and relax? It's only a game show," a female voice said, obviously humored by the outburst.
Ryo chuckled again. "Oh, Rowen, if only the world were as smart as you," he said as he put his hand to the door.
He was about to enter as he heard two voices whispering to each other. He knew it was Mina and Sage and every cell in his brain seemed to yell at him to get away from the door, but the fear in his heart kept him in place. "I missed you so much!"
"You've been saying that since you got back, Sage."
"I know, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. You were everywhere with me."
"Don't say that..."
"Why not? It's true! Every time I closed my eyes I saw you."
"Please... just stop... "
"Mina, is something wrong?"
"....."
"Please, Mina, you know you can trust me. Tell me what's wrong."
"...It's us..."
"Us?"
"We... what are we doing?"
"I know this may be a little fast for you. I completely understand, we'll take it slower."
"Thank you."
"Don't worry about it. Soon everything will be okay and you and I can take this as slowly as you want."
"I really appreciate it."
"But can I say one last thing?"
"Um... sure."
"I fell in love with you instantly. I never do that. If I can say that I love you so freely right now, just think of how much I will love you when we get to know each other."
He heard them walk off from there. He took a number of steps away from the door and his expression was that of a man that saw death take his heart and give it the twice over. With both hands Ryo clasped the sides of his head and hair. Clenching his teeth with his eyes shut tightly holding back tears, he fell to the ground. "Stop it! Please, God, stop it! I can't take it anymore! It's too much! It's too damn much! I'm losing everything! My friend betrays me, my love refuses me, my armor tests me, the other world tries to kill me... it's too much! Please, God, make it stop!" On one knee with a fist to the ground and a hand to his face, he did as much as he could to compose himself.
The sky turned dark blue as the sun began to set. Ryo's tears had dried and his breathing returned to normal, however, he was still defeated inside. The area was quiet, all that could be heard was White Blaze's breathing at his side. Ryo felt a warm touch at his shoulder. He snapped his head up quickly and saw the bright smile and concerned eyes of Mia Koji. "Hey," she whispered, "come inside, Ryo. The guys have been worried about you." With a helping hand, Ryo got to his feet and dusted himself off. Together they walked to the door as they saw the windows light up from the lights turning on inside.
Ryo opened the door and Mia, with both hands on his shoulders, called out, "Hey, look what I found!"
Kento was the first to the door, as he was in the living room playing some type of video game. "Aww, it's cute! Can we keep it?" he joked with huge puppy dog eyes. Ryo smirked a little as he and Kento did their special handshake the Ronins had; they crossed the back of their fists with each other.
The three filed into the living room where they met Rowen with his nose deep in a thick book and Sai feeding the fish in the aquarium. "Ryo!" they said simultaneously.
"Hey, buddy, where were you? We all got here hours ago," Rowen asked, standing from the couch. They too gave the special handshake and Sai as well as he approached.
"Yeah, Ryo, you're never late. Actually, you're always early for everything," Sai went on.
"I guess things change, Sai," he said, rubbing the back of his head with a slight grin.
"Well, now that he's here can we eat now, Sai?" Kento butted in accompanied by his rumbling stomach. All eyes turned to Kento, who stood a little stupefied a moment. "I know, I know! Some things will never change! I set myself up for that one, didn't I?" The group laughed one last time as they all started towards the dining room.
"Not that I'm complaining but where's Yuli? He's always here, especially when it comes to something like this," Sai asked as he started toward the kitchen to get the food.
"It's Sunday, Sai, he has to go to school and there's no such thing as 'Seniors Getaway' for him," Mia responded. They got to their seats and awaited the meal Sai had prepared. It was going to be their last gathered meal before the great battle.
It was quiet, nothing was grabbing their attention but there was one thing that caught Ryo's. "Sage! Mina! Ryo's here! Food is ready! Don't make me come up there and drag you down!" Kento hollered at the top of his lungs.
"What's the matter, Ryo? You look like you saw the Ancient himself."
Ryo snapped out of his trance and saw Sai carrying in a large pheasant plate. "Oh, nothing, Sai ... I just thought that Mina would have gone home by now," he said lowering his head. Pretty much everyone at the table knew what was going on. Some thought Ryo didn't know, while others knew that everything was out in the open to him. Kento came in, oblivious to everyone's eyes averted to Ryo, and sat down with a big sniff of the pheasant's scent.
Sage and Mina came into the room quietly and they all took their seats. "Hey, Ryo, I didn't hear you come in," Sage greeted as he took a seat between him and Mina.
"I just got here a second ago," Ryo responded quietly. They all began to eat the rare deliciously in that household accustomed to fast food and take out. Almost an hour went by and nothing was said through the entire time.
"Wow, if silence is golden then we must be the richest group in the world," Mia interrupted the silence.
"Sorry, Mia, we all just have a lot on our minds. That's all," Sai offered. Mia grinned lightly, thanking Sai for speaking up.
Kento finally had his opening but capitalized a little late as his mouth was stuffed with white meat. "So, what are we all worried about? It's not like we're going to lose!" he exclaimed happily. The majority of the people at the table smiled a little but others still seemed a little despondent. "Come on, guys! I'll prove it! Tell me what happened on your trips. That will show you that we all have gotten stronger," he continued to reason.
There was stirring at the table but Sai could be heard clearing his throat. "I went to the Pacific," he started. "Basically what I learned was that not everything needs to be fought off, there usually is only one thing we have to worry about, and not everything that surrounds it."
"He's got a good point there, guys," Rowen interjected. "Our target is Talpa. The Warlords, Kayura, and the Dynasty soldiers, that's all excess baggage. We got to keep it together for Talpa," he explained.
Sage laid back in his chair with a light smirk. "What did the Ancient teach you, Rowen?"
Rowen also laid back a moment. "It sounds like you mean to ask more than that question," he replied.
"Well, I have to say, what could the smartest man in the world need to know, hm?"
Rowen wasn't smirking or even grinning. "Was that a shot at my intelligence, Sage?"
The blonde Ronin leaned forward and still had that insidious grin. "Maybe."
Rowen realized that Sage was testing him. He always liked to do this when it came to philosophical interpretation. Sage, who was the scholar of philosophy liked to toy with the mind of Rowen, the Scholar of just about everything else. The Warrior of Life eased back into his chair with a smile. "Your not doing this with me now, buddy. It's been a long day." Sage gave a triumphant grin as leaned back into his chair.
"Okay, Aristotle, what did you get from your little vacation?" Kento chimed in.
Sage seemed to suddenly grow nervous. "W-What?" he asked shakily.
"What did you learn smarty guy, that is, if you learned anything," he restated.
"What I learned from the Ancient is for me to know and no one else," Sage answered forcefully.
"Oh, somebody is touchy today! I don't think you learned anything, Mr. Philosophy!" Kento chuckled. "Hey, what do you think, Ryo?" he said, still laughing lightly.
"He definitely learned something," Ryo responded eventually. Sage seemed to grin brightly at his response.
"Okay, what did he learn, hm?" Kento asked, feeling his argument slip from his grasp. Ryo didn't respond. "Ryo?" he asked again.
"Excuse me." The Warrior of Virtue stood up with his plate in hand and headed for the kitchen.
"Jeeze, what's eating him?"
"Ryo's been like that for a while," Mia explained to the confused Kento.
"Oh, man, just what we need. One of Ryo's trips into misconception. Beautiful! Why does he always have to go off into his little world and whine to himself?" he complained.
"Well, at least he doesn't come out and whine to us like some people," Rowen shot in with a disgruntled tone.
"Hey, calm down, will you? I wasn't insulting him, it's just that he is always some kind of emotional basketcase. I would have thought he would have gotten over it by now," Kento went on.
"Well, Ryo doesn't have anyone he thinks he can pour his heart out to," Mia stated, not once taking her eyes off her plate. She knew Mina would hear that and probably take it as a shot to herself. Mina lowered her head even further. At that moment she felt so small and just plain wrong she could feel tears climbing to her eyes.
Sage somehow picked up on it and stealth fully put a hand to her back without anyone even noticing. In that instant Mina felt instantly healed of all her qualms. Sage was about to retract his hand and as he was about to put it back to the table, as quietly and quickly as Sage had, she grabbed his wrist. A little stunned and surprised, he didn't let on about the gestures going about under the table to the others. She carefully pulled his hand to her knee and let it rest there as the meal continued. Sage hadn't noticed it before, but it looked like articles of the clothing were Mia's. It would make sense, considering she was there for the week.
Ryo was already upstairs and in bed in one of the extra bedrooms of Mia's mansion. In actuality, it was a little art room the last time he saw it but after a week it became another bedroom, lucky for him. Most of Mina's things were in his old room so he assumed that's where she was spending the longs nights. The fact that she waited for their return was little comfort mostly because his mind reassured him over and over that she was simply waiting for Sage. The lamp was out and the only light came from the full moon in the window. There he laid, listening to the happenings of downstairs.
He heard the clamoring up and down the steps. He heard Rowen arguing with the TV again. He heard Sai complain that he wasn't going to cook Kento anything else. He heard Mia go through her nightly procedures. The shower, the music, the windows shutting and then sleep. Eventually he heard Rowen and Sai retire to their separate rooms. Then came the unmistakable argument of Sai and Kento about how much food was brought into the room. Then it was quiet. Quiet enough to hear the conversation between Mina and Sage.
"Sage?"
"Yeah, Mina?"
"I know I said I wanted to take this a little slower..."
"I totally agree with you. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you I know, but what I wanted to say is..."
"Is?"
"Is that... I think I already am developing feelings for you."
"Heh heh, hey, relax. You've been through a rough week. Its natural to feel close to someone protecting you."
"I know, but... we've only been together for three days at most, and in secret."
"So - you're saying that when it goes out in the open, it won't be as exciting?"
"To be honest... I don't know if there is anything to bring out in the open."
"....."
"Oh, please don't be offended! I didn't mean anything by it!"
"No, no, I was just thinking."
"What about?"
"How I can make there something to bring out?"
"You really think there can be something between us?"
"Tell you what. Tomorrow we'll be gone. In that time you think about who you're going to be with. It may be a day, it may be a year, I'm not sure, but in the mean time you go out into the forests, or up in the mountains, or wherever makes you feel relieved. Then clear your mind and just look for some one there. If it's me, then we'll build on that. We'll let everyone know what's going on so there are no secrets and we can be open about it. If it's Ryo then I'll back away without a simple word to be said. Ryo doesn't know what happened and he doesn't have to if you don't want him to. How does that sound?"
"It sounds like I should have asked you from the start."
"Ha ha, well, no matter what happens, anywhere, anytime, you can come to me for advice."
"Thank you, I appreciate it."
"No problem. I got to be getting to sleep. Big day and all tomorrow."
"Goodnight... oh, Sage?"
"Hm?"
"Will you do me a small favor?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Could you... walk me up the stairs?"
"Why, it would be my pleasure, milady!"
Two laughs cursed Ryo's ears and footsteps grew then faded as they walked by. A few quiet murmurs and as Sage was about to leave Ryo could make out him saying. "We'll have a long talk when we get back."
Ryo turned to his side and whispered to himself, "If we get back." Minutes became hours and the stars filled the sky. Ryo felt pauses in his thought and didn't know whether he momentarily fell asleep or his mind just shut down temporarily. He guessed he was asleep since at no point did he feel tired. His mind drifted among endless thoughts.
Surprisingly, it was safe to say that Mina was not the majority of them. Qualms of Mia and the guys, the former Dark Warlords, Talpa, the weird flame. "Leader Mode takes over," he joked out loud, breaking the silence. Among his stratagems the occasional domestic situation arose, but he immediately shoved it away. Another gap in thought, or otherwise known as a quick nap, and he picked up right where he left off.
A rattling came from outside the window. Ryo sat up and let the covers fall from his chest. "It's time..."
