Storms of the Past
Chapter Three
Mistakes and Memories
By: Lady Ava
Disclaimer: Once more. I don't own the Ronin Warriors
The rain began to pound harder and harder outside the mansion the next day as the Ronin sat around, doing nothing. Rowen was curled up on the sofa, reading Harry Potter. Sage and Kento sat in front of the television, trying to beat the crap out of each other in Mortal Combat. Ryo was sitting on the staircase, sketching away in his journal.
Sai sat in the kitchen, running his finger around the rim of his coffee mug. He and Ryo weren't on speaking terms ever since yesterday's incident in the garage. It killed him. Ryo was one of his best friends and he wasn't talking to him. Glancing out of the window in the kitchen, a huge bolt of lighting streaked across the sky, lighting the whole house with its yellow light. 'He's right. Maybe I am scared of the stormy sea. After all, that's how my dad died. Dragged under by the undertow.' He thought, shivering at the thought.
Standing from his chair, the youth walked out of the kitchen and through the living room. Stopping at the base of the stairs, Sai glanced up at Ryo. He was deep in his work and didn't really notice him standing there. Either that, or he chose not to notice him. Walking up so that he was a step below his leader, Sai sat on the same step as his friend. They sat there in silence; the only noise was Ryo's pencil scratching away on the paper of his sketchpad. Finally, he stopped and looked down at the drawing. Placing the book into his lap, Ryo looked straight ahead of him. "Sai, I'm sorry. I shouldn't of asked such a question." He finally said.
"It's okay Ryo. It is as much my fault. I shouldn't have yelled like that. It wasn't my normal behavior." Sai quickly added.
Holding up his hand towards Sai, Ryo smiled at his trustful friend. "Friends?"
Slapping his hand into the virtuous leader's hand, Sai smiled. "Friends."
Suddenly, Kento ran out of the kitchen and into the family room. "Guys, we're out of food! There is nothing in this entire house!"
"Kento, are you sure?" Ryo asked calmly as he and Sai descended the stairs.
"I won't lye about this Ryo. You know me." Kento said instantly.
Standing from the couch and placing his book onto the table, Rowen laughed a bit. "He's right about that. He wouldn't lye about food."
Sage stood from the floor and turned the television off. "Well then, someone has to go and get more supplies. Any volunteers?"
Raising his hand into the air, Sai smiled. "I'll do it. I've got nothing better to do."
"Do you want me to go with you?" Kento asked.
"No Kento. No offence, but shopping with you is like shopping with a four-year-old. You always grab the most junk-filled snacks to buy and I always end up having to put them back." Sai laughed as he headed for the garage door.
Sulking, Kento leaned up against the counter. "Whatever." He mumbled.
Placing his blue sweatshirt on over his short-sleeved school shirt, Sai grabbed the keys. "I won't be long."
Closing the door behind him, Sai pushed the electric garage door opener on, causing the door to lift up. Walking around towards the driver's side, Sai began to fiddle with the car keys. Looking up as he found the right one, Sai saw his surfboard leaning there against the wall. He didn't know why, but it just seemed to shout out, 'Take me with you.'
Walking over, Sai grabbed his board and threw it into the trunk. Then, hopping into the driver's seat, he backed the car out of the garage and was gone.
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Finishing loading his bags filled with food and other things into his car, Sai slammed down the trunk door. Glancing out at the sea, the teen felt his muscles tense. The scene before him was like the day that his father had died. The stormy ocean was churning out monstrous waves that crashed harshly onto the shore. Suddenly, the familiar urge came over Sai. Opening the door to the back of the jeep, the teen withdrew his surfboard. Then, removing both of his shirts and sandals, the youth ran through the rain and down onto the beach.
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Kento paced back and forth in the kitchen uneasily. Sai had been gone for almost two hours and the drive down to town was only fifteen minutes in both ways. The Hard Rock warrior kept glancing up at the clock and then out the window. The weather had worsened a ten fold since Sai had left.
Rowen and Sage followed the youth back and forth while they tried to play cards. "Kento, you are going to ware a hole in the floor if you don't sit down and relax." Rowen told him as he took three cards from the deck.
"I can't relax. Sai's been gone for over two hours. What could be taking him so long?" Kento stated as he leaned up against the table.
Ryo walked into the kitchen from the garage and shut the door behind him. As he walked in, a roll of thunder and a burst of lighting created for a more dramatic entrance. "Sai's surfboard is gone. He must have taken it with him." He told the others.
Folding against Rowen, who happily took his money from the center of the table, Sage stood. "Why take his surf…oh no. He won't. He's too smart to try to surf those waves alone."
"Maybe…I don't know." Ryo said quietly as another crash of thunder rolled overhead.
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Sai dragged himself out of the stormy sea and threw himself onto his back on the beach. He was panted and his bare sides were heaving in and out. His board was still out there in the rough seas, but Sai was too exhausted to go back in to fish it out. Besides, he was in too much pain to even think about going back in the water. Looking down at his stomach, Sai saw that he wasn't just wet with water. There was a huge gash in his side that was caused when he hit the rocks that were submerged before. The salt water stung as it flowed into the bloody cut. It looked deep, probably needed at least five stitches. But he would ask Sage to look at it when he got back.
His arm wasn't much better. There was a huge scrap on where his arm bent that could probably use two stitches itself. Examining himself over and then the damage that he managed to do to himself, Sai cursed under his breath. Climbing to his feet, Sai staggered up the steps that lead up to the road.
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The rain was coming down in sheets as the teen arrived back at his car. Opening the front passenger's door, he withdrew his short sleeve school shirt. Placing a piece of the bottom in his mouth, Sai ripped the shirt down the middle. He repeated the process until he had enough cloth to create temporary bandages that he could use until he got back to the beach house. Carefully wrapping his arm and waist, Sai would occasionally gasp in a sudden shock of pain. Then, he pulled his sweatshirt over so that he could conceal his injuries from his friends.
As he closed the passenger's door, a familiar grip came down onto his shoulder. Turning around he saw lean staring at him, concern written clearly on his soaked face. "Len? What are you doing here?" Sai asked, cringing a bit in the pain.
"I was here buying some food and supplies." He said calmly as the wind began to howl over the ocean. Staring at the teen, Len's expression quickly changed to angry. "Why were you out there?"
Sai glanced down at his feet as he let the rain soak through his sweatshirt. "I…I never surfed in a storm like this and I wanted to try it." He stated lying.
Bending down so that he was eye level with Sai, Len stared into the teen's brown eyes. "You and your father are exactly the same. You can't tell a lye for your life."
Turning away from the teen, Len looked over towards a woman standing in the doorway of the store. She had light brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. In his arms, she held a little toddler girl, who was clinging onto her mother tightly. "What's the matter, Len?" She called over through the roar of the wind and the crashing waves.
"This is the boy I was telling you about. Mouri's kid. I'm going to drive him back to his place. Follow behind us so that we can just drive back to the hotel." The friend of Sai's father shouted. Then, taking the keys from his pocket, he threw them over to his wife. After the woman agreed and vanished, Len then looked at Sai. "Come on. Give up your keys, Sai. You are in no condition to drive."
Sliding out from in front of the man, the torrent warrior started around to the driver's side of the car. Withdrawing his the keys from his sweatshirt's front pocket, Sai gave a weak smile back to him. "I'm fine Len. I can…drive…myself…"
Feeling his feet fall out from underneath him, Sai began to head for the ground when he felt Len's arms wrap around his waist. Sai yelped in the sudden shock of pain that ran through his sides. "Just as I thought. Come on. Up front in the passenger's seat. No arguments." The man told as he helped Sai back over and into the jeep. Then, taking the keys from him, Len ran around to the other side and hopped into the car. As he placed the keys into the ignition, the man asked, "Where is your beach house?"
"Just follow the road straight up to the top of the cliff. That's where it is." Sai murmured.
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Vision on the road was next to impossible. The rain was coming down at an angle and it was in sheets. So, very three minutes, Len would have to pull over until the storm decided to become better. The two people didn't really speak for the first few minutes. Sai was still a little agitated that Len won't let him drive home himself.
On their third time pulling over, Len turned the engine off and quietly leaned back into the chair. "Sai," he finally started, causing the teen to look up at him in question. "Why did you actually go out there? You know perfectly well that you're not suppost to go out surfing by yourself and certainly not during a tropical storm warning."
Glancing out the water-covered windshield, Sai shivered a bit from his damp clothes. "I never understood how my father could of drowned that day. Why didn't he manage to get out of the undertow fast enough in order to get air?" Reaching up, Sai grasped his necklace in his fist. "He was a strong swimmer, he should have been able to swim out of it. So, why didn't he?"
"I know your father must of tried Sai. He didn't want to die that day. You and I both know that. But, what happened…happened. There was nothing we could of done about it." Len told him softly.
Yanking his necklace off from around his neck, Sai turned quickly and faced the man. "If he hadn't given me this than he won't have died. It was his good luck charm. But he told me to wear it instead." He yelled. Suddenly, another rush of pain coursed up and down the youth's side, causing him to groan in pain.
Falling forward, Len caught Sai by his shoulders. "Hey, are you alright?" The man asked quickly as he sat the youth up in his chair.
Grabbing his side, Sai panted heavily. "I'm okay."
"There you go again with the bad lying." Len joked. Leaning over to Sai placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "What did you scrap up?"
"My side and my arm. They aren't too bad." He said. Len raised an angry eyebrow at Sai, causing the teen to glance down at the floor. "Okay, I might need stitches. But my friend Sage can do it. He is starting to train to be a doctor."
"I think I should take you to the hospital. If the cut is that bad, there is no sense in making it worse."
"I told you I'm fine." Sai growled. Suddenly, he realized what he had just done. He had yelled at one of his oldest family's friends. Quickly looking down at the floor, Sai became calm again. "I'm sorry."
Len placed a hand onto the teen's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. I know that you're upset." Glancing away from Sai himself, the man mumbled. "I miss him too."
Dropping the necklace onto the floor, Sai felt his eyes begin to water. The hot tears started to roll down his already wet face and he began to sob. Whenever he heaved his breath in and out, more and more pain ran through him. "He shouldn't have died." He murmured.
"I know Sai. I know." Len said softly. Looking back over at him, the man saw the necklace sitting on the floor. Reaching over, he picked it up into his hand. "You're father told me, 'the first day that I teach my son to surf, I'm going to give this to him.' That man always kept his promises."
Looking up at Len, Sai wiped his tears from his reddened eyes. "He said that?"
"Yup. And meant every word of it." He said as he placed the necklace back around Sai throat.
As the rain began to lighten, Len turned the car back on. "Are we almost there?"
"Yea, not too much farther now." Sai mumbled sitting back in his seat. He had just told the biggest lye to his father's friend's face and he didn't see through it. Sage was a healer but wasn't training to be a doctor. But, as long as it got him back to the house, Sai couldn't have cared less.
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Pulling into the driveway, Sai and Len switched places. The youth tried to convince the man that he could manage the rest of the way. Then, after some heavy persuasion, the older of the two finally caved and left.
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It was around six o'clock when the others heard the garage door open. "Finally." Ryo said as he and the other Ronin headed out into the garage to help Sai with the bags. As they opened the door, the saw that Sai was still sitting in the car, his head resting on the steering wheel. That's when Ryo felt something flow over him. Something was definitely wrong.
Quickening his pace a bit, the leader of the Ronin Warriors walked up to the door and opened it. "Sai? Are you okay?" Ryo asked, sounding very concerned.
Lifting his head up, Sai looked at his friends who were standing there, worried half to death. "I'm fine. Just glad to have made it back before it decided to get worse." He told the others, a small grin on his face.
Opening the trunk of the car, Sage and Kento began to empty the car of all the bags. Sai had managed to buy all the things that were needed in case the storm decided to worsen. He bought five flashlights and a ten pack of D batteries, just in case the lights decided to go. There was also a first aid kit and hammers and nails.
"What's with all the hard wear, Sai?" Rowen asked as he began to unpack it along with the food on the counter.
Walking in wearily, Sai sat slowly in the kitchen chair. "The hammers and nails are to board up the windows. If there is a sudden strong gust of wind, it could blow out all the windows." He stated slowly.
Sitting down next to his friend, Kento stared angrily at him. "Why did it take you so long Sai? The town isn't even a fifteen minute drive from here."
"I had to stop and start the car every couple of minutes because of the rain. I could barley see out the windshield." Sai lied. It killed him to lye like that, but it had to be done. He knew that he couldn't tell them that he had been out surfing.
Placing a hand onto his friend's shoulder, Sage squeezed Sai's sweatshirt lightly. "Sai, you're soaked to the bone."
Realizing that his clothes probably absorbed whatever water was left on his body, Sai gulped. "I had to walk out into the ran because I accidentally dropped my keys." He quickly stated. Standing from the table, his vision blurred a bit. "I'll go change." He murmured.
"We'll empty out the bags and then we'll board up the windows." Rowen told the rest of the group, who agreed by nodding.
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Not knowing how he did it, Sai managed to make his way up to his bedroom. Walking over to his suitcase, Sai withdrew his most comfortable clothes that he could find: a pair of blue flannel pants and his swim team shirt. Then, staggering into the bathroom, he shut the door quietly. After rummaging through at least three cabinets, he finally found the medical kit.
Finding the medical supplies that he needed, Sai removed his shirt. The temporary bandages that he had made weren't living up to his expectations. His blood had already soaked right through as was already starting on his sweatshirt. Removing the make shift compress, Sai almost wanted to throw up at the sight. The flesh around the wound had begun to turn a purple color from loosing blood and from being bruised. The same thing went from his arm.
Murmuring curses under his breath, Sai carefully cleaned out the wounds and then wrapped his arm and stomach. Then, after cleaning the bathroom up so that no blood could stain the white tile floor, Sai deposited the old shirt into the garbage and left, hoping that the others wouldn't see how much pain he was really in.
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Upon entering the family room, Sai saw that Ryo and Sage had already started boarding the windows up. Kento was working on the dinning room, while Rowen was hammering away in the kitchen. As he sat down on the couch, Sage turned back to him. "Hey Sai. We decided to sleep in the movie room tonight, just in case. So, could you get some blankets and pillows from the hall closet and from our rooms?"
Nodding, Sai instantly stood back up on his feet and left to head back upstairs. He seemed to have become more sluggish than before he left to go to the town and Sage noticed this. "Hey Ryo, is it just me, or does Sai seem a bit slower and less peppy than usual?"
"It's not just you. Sai's slowed down a bit. But I don't know why." Ryo told him flatly.
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~ It's so close to the end you can almost taste it. Please read and review! ~