"I know who you are." The words were soft, whispered, almost illegible from the lips of Kyoko, the formally rambunctious warrior in training. His eyes flickered from hers to the other two men in the room, Kyoko's brother, who seemed oblivious now, simply watchers, an audience unhearing. "Ryo of Sanada, Ryo of Rekka, Ryo of Jin. I see the fire that burns so brightly inside of you…it calls to me, as it once called to you. Do you understand, Sanada Ryo, friend to all life?"
"I don't," he murmured in return. "Who… what are you?" A smirk passed over the lips of Kyoko, curling the edges of her mouth and relighting the faraway candle sparkle in the depths of her eyes. The darkness faded to blue ice. Two deep pools stared at him firmly.
"You will face me this day, Ryo Sanada, and from there, you must decide your own fate," she said, her mouth barely forming the words. The smirk faded and was replaced by a deep frown. "Harm my brother, Sanada, and I will not even give you the chance to choose. His life is more precious to me than you could ever image."
"I'm not here to fight," Ryo assured her flatly. "I'm here to free you and that alone." She lifted an eyebrow, then narrowed her eyes.
"We will see," she replied lightly, the pale blue giving in to the dark shadow of Kyoko's deep brown. "You had better not hurt Dakota. I will make your life hell, Sanada Ryo, you can count on that." Ryo felt a small flare of his temper, but supressed it with a quick thought. Kyoko's eyes closed, than opened slowly. The candle light was doused and she blinked again, this time rapidly. She sat up and looked around, wide eyed.
"I'm sorry, did I fall asleep?" Steven and Ling exchanged a quick glance, then both of them looked to Ryo, who managed a look of innocence with a confusion that wasn't quite as feigned as he could have hoped and then a nonchalant shrug. Steven shook his head and Ling frowned deeply.
"You did, Kyoko, as usual," said Steven, forcing humor into his voice. He shot her a wide grin. "Resting up before our big fight?" Kyoko grinned broadly.
"Of course. I'm gonna be in top form to beat up that little twerp," she answered, getting to her feet again. Unbidden, the Maiden's words reverberated in his skull, her warning that sounded so cliché and forced and then… her warning about her brother. Her heart had been behind that, and all of the love that she felt towards the brother who protected her. She had placed him in danger, because she had needed him and there was doubt in Ryo that she regretted it everyday. But then, that was something else all together.
They're conscious, in their cages, he thought to himself silently. They're consciously aware of what's happening around them and they can communicate with people on the outside. Or, at least, this girl can. She gave her brother the power to protect her, but she is still aware enough to be guilty about it… He understood that part of her, at least. He too had family that he had placed in danger, more than once, and he, too, had regretted every bit of it. I won't hurt the kid, he promised himself, because I won't be able to get a hit on him, in any case. I just need to stick with my plan. He nodded firmly to himself and leaned back against the couch. Bits of his doubt where beginning to ebb away, but something still caused a twist in his stomach whenever it surfaced, of its own accord, in his mind. The words of the Maiden, delivered with a calmness that was as icy as the color of her eyes.
You must decide your fate.
My fate of what? he asked himself, his frown returning. The other three in the room were now busy amongst themselves, planning and teasing all at the same time. Even quiet Ling seemed to have direct opinions now, ones that made Kyoko laugh warmly. Ryo sat out their merriment in silence, letting the couch envelope him. 'It calls to me, as it called you'… His hand slipped into cargo pocket of his black pants and as his fingers gently touched the reassuring warmth of his yuroi, he relaxed slight. She's wrong. The armor of Rekka can't be calling to her… He pulled his hand back and raked it through his hair. But then, why the hell was she talking about?
There came the loud thud of a door and heavy footsteps outside, on the landing. All sound in the waiting room stopped and gave way to the tension that had been hiding in the teasing and laughter. Their opponent's opponent was done… defeated, by the sound of the steps, which dragged themselves off, fading quickly. All four exchanged glances - by right of placement, Kyoko and the other two in her team were next in line. Ryo would have to wait, by himself, in the waiting room while they went on. Steven and Ling looked to each other, than to her sister, who straightened and turned to face the young man on the couch.
"Come with us, California," she suggested boldly, placing one hand on her hip. "We're all gonna get our asses kicked, whether we go together or separately. Why don't we just make it easier for the kid and take up less of his time?" The suggestion had merit, but interfered slightly with Ryo's plan of "attack". Then again… maybe he could make it that much easier and let these three be the distraction he needed. He looked up at Kyoko and nodded quickly.
"Let's make it easy for him," he agreed, standing. Kyoko giggled and stuck her tongue out at him, her own words sounding stupid coming back to her from a different source. Steven and Ling stood from their couch and each offered a hand to Ryo.
"Come on, "California"," said Steven as Ryo accepted their proffered help, "we'll show this kid what he gets when he messes with real fighters." There was a metallic click, then, with a loud whoosh of air, the wall next to the door slid open, like a door on a futuristic space ship. A woman stood in the door, her brown hair cropped short and streaked with bright blonde. Her eyes reflected something that stirred familiarity into Ryo's blood and when she spoke, the voice was like that of the Maiden, only now bearing the wisdom age brings. She wore only a simple pair of jeans and a white cotton t-shirt, with a pair of cross trainers. She looked, in short, like a "soccer mom". Instead, she was standing here, debriefing another group who were going to attempt to beat up the youngest of her children, while one of her daughters hovered in a state of altered consciousness two miles above the Nevada desert. Ryo suspected the blonde was a cover for stress induced grey.
"All four of you, then?" she asked, crossing her arms over her "Grand Canyon" t-shirt. She looked over each of them. "If you have any weapons, I suggest you leave them here - all knives, swords, and guns included. Darts as well. There are basic rules you need to know and understand before you leave this room - there is to be no death moves permitted by other side, and the money that you paid for this is non-refundable. When you are ready, we will continue on." They glanced at each other, but all confirmed their readiness separately. The woman nodded shortly. "Good. You may go in." She stepped into the room and stepped to the side, opening the way into the next room. Kyoko was the first to go through, pushing up her sleeves and holding her chin high as she passed through the door. Steven and Ling followed her lead, their backs straight, standing as tall as they possibly could, but Ryo stayed back, held by something he could not explain. He felt he needed to… no, he knew he had to, tell this woman who he was and who had sent him. He turned as he stepped up to the door, but there was a call for silence in her eyes. Then the looks softened slightly and she gave him a weak smile.
"You don't have to say anything, Ryo Sanada," she said quietly. "I've known for a long time that you were coming, ever since the rep from the Minami Company came to us with his "plan of attack". Just…" Her eyes fell to sadness and began to shimmer with wet tears, "Just be careful with my babies, all of them," she said, lowering her eyes to the ground. "That's all I can ask of you."
"She asked me to do the same thing." Her eyes snapped up and locked onto his. "Belisma, your daughter," he continued, glancing into the next room. There was only silence from behind the door step, but he could see nothing. "Actually," he corrected himself with a small laugh, "she said she'd make my life hell if I hurt Dakota." He looked back at her and at the tears that now slid down her cheeks. Though she was crying, a smile broke her face and brought new light to the forever saddened eyes. "I promised her I wouldn't hurt him, Mrs. Handover, and I won't. Neither of them." All she could do was nod and whisper what sounded like, "thank you," though it was it was skewed by an unladylike sniffle. He returned the nod and turned into the room.
As soon as he stepped inside, the door closed tightly behind him, locking itself with an impenetrable air seal. The woman who was "Mom" to three of the world's strongest and most unfortunate children collapsed to her knees on the rough carpet and began to sob uncontrollably. Freedom, freedom for her children, had finally come.