Dragonia
By Dixxy
Prologue Four: I'm With You
(Yuli)
I don't believe you're really dead!
I'm standing on the bridge
I'm waiting in the dark
I thought that you'd be here by now
Mia, Ryo and I were all pretty relieved when we found Rowen waiting for us at home. Naturally, Mia made a fuss over him while the Warrior of Air insisted he was fine. Ryo had Rowen in a hug (read: death grip) as he expressed his worry, which was when Rowen decided to give up. That, or he ran out of air to breathe.
I told him I'd been worried, but I knew he'd come out okay.
"Thanks Yuli," he said after Mia and Ryo left. He ruffled my hair and I left. "Glad to see you still have some faith In your old pal, Rowen." He winked at me, clicking his tongue as he snapped his fingers at me. "After all, even a tough guy like me should have someone who believes in him."
I nodded, and Rowen stood up, stretched, and left the living room. I watched him go, reaching for the end table next to the couch I was sitting on. My fingers found what I wanted and I dropped the object into my lap, looking at it. "Rowen. . . I have faith that all of you are okay."
But the smiling picture did nothing to bring them back.
There's nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I'm listening, but there's no sound
Mia had gotten a beautiful white frame for the picture- Ryo had taken it the last day of the camping trip that spirited Sage, Cye, and Kento away. It was such a nice picture of the guys. Ryo the epicenter of the picture, holding the device that controlled the camera. He was waving, a carefree smile on his face. Sage and Rowen had they arms around each other's shoulders, the latter flashing a peace sign over the shoulder of the former. Sage was looking slightly towards his best friend, a light-heartened grin on his face. Kento and Cye were both sitting on the ground, partially back-to-back. Cye was shyly smiling at the picture with his legs drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped loosely around his knees.
Kento has crossed his legs and arms, his face plastered in a dopey grin as he tried to look cool. He looked so happy and at peace that moment, like all of his problems were worlds and world away. My heart sunk as I realized the whole trip had been because of one of his problems, and now. . .
Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?
All of the Ronins and Mia had made a fuss over me, Little Orphan Yuli, at the end of the first war. At the time we were all hopeful I'd find my parents, but as time rolled on it became a distant dream. Even after they liberated the city after the first war, I couldn't find them. They weren't home, the car hadn't moved from where my father parked it, and they weren't anywhere that they went on a normal basis.
I was alone.
It's a damn cold night
Trying figure out this life
Won't you, take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I
I'm with you
I'm with you
There was a week right after the first war during which nothing happened. Ryo was sleeping off the Inferno and still doesn't recall too much of it. The other Ronins, meanwhile, had agreed to stay with Mia for a while and spent time making arrangements with their parents to do this )Sage was the sole exception- he wrote them a very BRIEF letter and sent it in the mail). They were all bonding, and none of them wanted to go their separate ways. Everyone lived so far away from each other it seemed, and the armors were too strong of a force to ignore.
Mia, meanwhile, seemed very happy to have six brand new roommates. . . seven if you count White Blaze. She let us choose our own rooms. I selected a very small room because I didn't really want to stay. They represented a difficult time for me, and the memories hurt. Besides, I had a home to return to, right?
I'm looking for a place
I'm searching for a face
Is anybody here I know
After all, I really didn't KNOW any of them. Rowen and Sage would share inside jokes and go into town together. Cye and Kento were rarely seen apart, and the way they spoke to each other reminded me of the way two brothers might speak with each other. I felt like an outsider around those four, but the other creatures in the house were a world away at times. Mia had a lot of things to take care of around the house and was generally left alone. Ryo was still recovering from the Inferno. White Blaze was a near constant companion of mine, but he couldn't talk to me, really, and it was sometimes hard for us to communicate.
So who did I really have?
Cos' nothing's going right
And everything's a mess
And no-one like's to be alone
Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody take me home
About two days before the battle with Sarenbo began, a horrible storm was brewing outside. Thunder, lighting, rain, wind. . . you'd thing that Cye, Rowen, and Sage had just gotten into a huge argument with each other, Kento had joked. I had only smiled weakly at the joke before I retreated back to my room. I just felt uncomfortable.
Okay, I know I liked the Ronins a LOT. They had been really nice to me, but I still felt like an outsider. They were teenagers, after all- moreover, teenagers who were now veterans of a fairly violent war against a demon army. What would they want with a little kid like me? They all did teenage things that I didn't really understand. Sure I tried to involve myself with them, but no matter what I always felt like I was being treated like a child.
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you, take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I
I'm with you
I'm with you
"Yuli, is everything all right?"
That was Kento. He'd followed me to my room. By that time I was sitting against the headboard of my bed, curled up and feeling sorry for myself. I looked up at him, unable to give him an answer. How the heck was I supposed to talk to him? Kento raised an eyebrow, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him.
"Okay Yuli, what's going on?" Kento sat down on the edge of my bed, looking at me with a look of sincere concern. This surprised me- that was perhaps the most sincere thing I'd seen from any of them. "You've barely said a peep since the war ended- did something about the battle bother you that you want to talk about?"
I wasn't sure what to say. I looked down at the bed spread and ran my hand over it. "I feel like I'm on the outside looking in. I know it sounds stupid but that's how I feel," I said. "I just don't feel like I'm part of the group. Everyone else seems so close and comfortable with each other. . . I just feel like I'd be intruding."
Kento laughed. "Although you said what you said eloquently, I'll have to disagree with you there, kid. You're one of us. You were pretty brave back there, and you did some pretty crazy things in your attempt to get your folks back. That took a lot of guts- maybe even more than the five of us."
Oh, why is everything so confusing?
Maybe I'm just out of my mind
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Yeah
"More brave. . .?"
"Er herm. The five of us have magic armors. You do not. The five of us stood a much better chance at even surviving against Talpa- you and Mia, though more you, took some pretty crazy risks. You attacked both Cale AND Anubis- both of whom could have probably killed you. You're one bold shrimp," Kento said. He ruffled my hair and put his arm around my shoulder, jerking him closer. "I don't know if we could have done it without you. So why do you feel like an outsider?"
"Because I'm a kid."
"And your point being?"
"I'm just nine years old!"
"I'm just fifteen years old."
I stared at Kento in awe. "FIFTEEN!"
Kento raised an eyebrow. "How old did you think I was?"
I turned away. "I thought you were all at least seventeen or something. . ."
Kento scrunched his nose up. "If I was a woman I'd be offended."
I laughed. "So you're still a kid, too."
"Second from the bottom- Cye's the baby of the group, if you must know. Rowen is our oldest, and he's sixteen," said Kento. He sighed. "Sometimes, I wonder how this is going to affect the rest of my life." He flopped backwards onto my bed. "What happens after this? Are we still going to be able to graduate high school and go to college? Are we going to be allowed to settle down with wives and raise families? Can we get jobs and succeed in life somewhere? Or is this is?"
"I thought you liked to fight."
"Oh, I do like to fight, but after this? The adrenaline rush is like a drug, but. . . this isn't a video game. If I die. . . that's it. My parents and my siblings will be sad, and I don't want them to be sad. And I don't want them to be hurt because I failed to protect this world." He closed his eyes. "I enjoy the fight, but that's not WHY I fight. I fight to protect my family and this world. Not because I'm out to throw my fists around like Sage seems to think."
Suddenly I was seeing Kento in a whole new light. A person I thought to be a shallow jock who liked to eat, fight, and sleep was now so much more. He had depth. He had a purpose. "You fight because you have to fight to protect the people you love." I laid down on my belly next to him. "Deep down inside. . . you're afraid."
"I am."
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you, take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I
I'm with you
I'm with you
After that things changed. I started to accept myself as part of the group and I grew closer to each of the Ronins. Sage and Rowen became invaluable sources of knowledge and advice, as well as the occasional free ice cream. Cye was a person to run to for comfort and to talk because when he wasn't fighting, he was actually a very gentle, calm person. Ryo was like an older brother figure who protected me and made sure I was safe. Mia was almost like a second mother to me, something I needed.
Kento was different- he was my companion. I got closer to him than the others, really. Personally, I think it's because he's always been around younger children, but he's more patient with me- only Cye tops him there, but that's because Cye's such a pacifist. With White Blaze often tagging along, we were partners in crime. We got into all sorts of trouble with Mia, but we didn't care. I didn't care, at least. I don't think Kento did, either.
Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I,
I'm with you I'm with you
Then they went camping, and Kento disappeared.
I took it hard. Somebody took Kento, Sage, and Cye away from me. Away from US. The house felt so empty and quiet like nothing was there. It was like the last time I went to my old house to get the last of my possessions to bring with me. It was like the house itself had died. It didn't feel the same after that, and Mia's house hasn't felt the same since, either.
All of us made up a home. We were a family, and now we're apart. But I refuse to give up on the idea that we're not going to be a family again. Mia, Ryo, and Rowen have all given up on them. They think that Kento, Sage, and Cye are dead. I refuse to believe that! They're out there, somewhere, and I know they miss us, too. I don't care how much time passes- I'm never going to give up hope.
Kento, I know you're out there. Please come back to me.
Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I
I'm with you I'm with you I'm with you