Chapter Four: New Enemies and Allies Arise
By: Winter Peacecraft-Yuy
With additional help from: Meilin Rae, Trowa'sgal2004, and MiMeQ
Disclaimer: MiMeQ:
"Ronin Warriors and co. are © of Sunrise and Bandai entertainment. Rekino Sanada,
Hana Rai-Utano, Ameko Amaya Kazeno, Josephine Rei Faun, and all of the other
characters that you do not recognize belong to MLR, TG, Winter,
and myself."
I didn't have to type that over. I can copy and paste.
*~*
"Ummmm…" Rekino had to choose her words wisely or she would end up giving
everything away. She blinked and smiled at Ryo, "I beg your pardon?"
Josephine, having taken noticed of the situation, decided she had to do
something to get Rekino out of this mess. She glanced around the table. Food…nah!
She wouldn't use that unless she was desperate. Forks and knives…well, she
could just start throwing them at Ryo, but that would be too stupid. Josephine
sighed as she looked around the table for something to use. Her eyes glanced
over a glass then stopped and went back. That was it! Josephine looked to her left and noticed Hana was wearing a silk,
white t-shirt. PERFECT! Oh God, she's probably gonna kill me for this, but
oh well. I'll pray to the Ancient's I'll survive the night.
Before anyone could say another word, Josephine "accidentally" moved her hand,
knocking over her drink, and landing right into Hana's lap. The blonde moved
her chair back and shot up, holding her arms out a little.
"Son of a bitch!"
That's when Amaya jumped out of her chair and glared daggers at Hana, "I beg
your pardon?! Hana, you know that it's not very ladylike to use curse words!"
Josephine grabbed some napkins out of the holder, "I'm sorry Hana! Here!" Just
as she jumped up, she ended up knocking over another drink onto Hana, which
caused the blonde's rage to flare up higher.
Hana seemed like fire would start shooting out her eyes at any moment, "Dammit
Josephine! Can't you watch what the hell you're doing?"
While cleaning up the mess, Amaya still continued to berate her friends, "Hana,
you shouldn't curse! What would God think of you then? And Josephine, you need
to learn to watch what you're doing!"
Meanwhile, Sage's eyes roamed over Hana's body as he realized he could see
through her shirt! He's mouth opened slightly and he let out a small whimper. I
see boobies! She has a nice pair! OOH! I love the color of her bra! As it
so happened, Hana was wearing a bra that was dark green. She's so sexy…
"Here, let me help you with that." So I can get a better look.
"Yeah, thanks." Hana said quietly. Touch me all you want, baby. I'm yours
for the taking.
Ryo and the others had opted in helping with cleaning up the mess. Just as
Rekino was about to help, she felt Josephine grab her wrist. The raven-haired
woman looked up at her friend long enough to see Josephine mouth GO!. Rekino nodded and, quickly and quietly, made
her escape from the table and out into the parking lot.
Once outside, Rekino dug her keys out of her pocket, unlocked the door to her
4-Runner, and jumped in. She didn't even buckle her seatbelt before the keys
were in the ignition and she had put the car in gear. As she was backing up,
she noticed that the car on the right side of her belonged to someone. The tag
on the back said Tenku. She smiled knowing it belonged to the Strata
warrior, but what the hell kind of car was it? She shook her head of the
thought and put the car in drive, slamming her foot on the gas.
*~*
Back inside the restaurant, everything had seemed to settle down. Hana was
cleaned up and drying slowly, Amaya was calming her nerves, and Josephine was
apologizing profusely.
Just as Ryo was about to turn his attention back to the girl he was talking to
earlier, tires squealing on the pavement got his attention. Everyone turned to
look out the window just as Rekino was pulling out of the parking area. She
rolled down her window and waved at them before getting on the highway, heading
east.
"Well, if she didn't want to talk to me that badly she should've said so," Ryo
said in annoyance, "Does she have something against me?"
Josephine shook her head, "Not really, it's just more complex than that – OW!
Why'd you hit me Hana?!"
"Because!" The blonde changed attitudes and looked towards Ryo, "She told me
she had a meeting with someone this afternoon at the University."
"Oh," Ryo took quick notice of Hana's actions. Josephine was about to say
something she shouldn't have said, but Hana stopped her before she could. If
I want to find out more about her, then I'll have to confront each of them alone.
If I don't, then something else like this will happen.
Amaya raised one of her delicately shaped eyebrows, "Do you gentlemen want to
join us?"
"SURE!" Kento exclaimed and pulled up a seat between Amaya and Josephine.
Oh, this is going to be looooooovely. Josephine thought but forced a
smile on her face. She looked towards her other side and saw that Cye had
pulled up a chair beside her.
"Is this seat taken?" He asked politely.
"Nah uh," Josephine replied in a dreamy like state. He's so cute! God, I'd
love to get a piece of that.
Sage had taken the safer route and sat in-between Hana and Amaya while Rowen
sat on the other side of Amaya. To Rowen's left was Mia and next to her was
Ryo. The girls actually enjoyed being able to sit with the other guys, but
Rekino was all on their minds.
*~*
Damn, I'm surprised I haven't gotten a ticket yet. Rekino had found it
humorous that she had never encountered a cop while she was on the highway.
Currently, the raven was in a fifty miles an hour speed zone while the
speedometer on her dash read about seventy-five miles an hour. She cringed at
the thought of being pulled over right now. She had already ran five red
lights, so what was next? Rear ending someone? God, she hoped not.
Rekino actually stopped at the next red light while she was deep in thought
about her brother. She couldn't help but think he was probably probing the
other girl's minds to find out why she had left so soon. But then again, she
had no other choice in the matter. She looked off to the side and closed her
eyes slightly, that's when she heard it.
"Turn left at the next intersection."
Her head shot up and she looked around in a dazed state. What the hell was
that? More importantly, who the hell was that? She was about to shake
the thought when she heard it again.
"Turn left and all will be revealed."
"Who the hell is that?" Rekino questioned to nothing. She looked ahead and saw
the next turning lane was not even sixty feet in front of her. When the light
turned green, she hit the gas and put on her blinker. Carefully crossing
traffic, she went down this road that some strange voice had told her to go
down. Normally I don't do anything for a spooky voice, but why do I do this?
Why am I going out of my way to see nothing but freakin' nature?
Just as she was turning around, a sound echoed in the air as the ground shook
with immense force. Rekino slammed on the brakes, her head flying forward and
hit the steering wheel. The smell of
fresh blood and fried human flesh filled the air. Nature had been set on fire
as tree's were caught a blaze. Birds and other woodland creatures sought
shelter elsewhere as they were forced to leave their homes.
Rekino's arms rested at her sides as she forced herself to move. Pain shot
through her neck when she tilted to the side. Good thing I was wearing my
seatbelt. I'd probably be out in the burning forest - WAIT! Rekino looked
around in amazement. She jumped out of her 4-runner to grasp the bigger
picture. She looked around the area for anything out of the ordinary.
"What could have happened to cause so much damage?" Amethyst eyes scanned the
premise as she was walking. She gasped in shock as she came across dozens and
dozens of dead Japanese men and women. She didn't need to check for any signs
of life; they were already dead. More than likely dead on impact from that
blast, Rekino thought. She bowed her head and sent a silent prayer for the
souls that were lost when she heard a very angry and high-pitched shriek.
The thick blanket of smoke covering that area made it hard to get any visual.
Rekino stepped backwards, but fell as she had tripped over one of the body's.
She could hear the footsteps of whatever was behind the smoke coming closer.
She closed her eyes as her virtue appeared on her forehead. Grabbing the
necklace around her neck, Rekino pushed herself up and performed a backhand
spring in the air as a red light surrounded her. Red and white metallic armor
formed around her feminine body as she slipped into a fighting stance.
"Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing here?" Rekino asked into
the smoke.
There was a slight hiss as the demon appeared from the smoke. Rekino would've
gagged right then and there, but held it back and kept her 'fighting' mask on.
The air grew stale as the demon drew out his sword. Slime dripped from his body
and sharp, vampire like teeth hung over his bottom lip. His eyes were pure
black, not an ounce of light shined within them.
The demon stepped forward and pointed his sword at Rekino, "We've come looking
for the Balance and food. My men and I got hungry so we decided to snack on the
souls of these humans, but I'm in the mood for desert and you look mighty
delicious."
"Oh yeah?" Great come back, Rekino. She criticized herself in knowing
that she probably could've of come up with anything better than 'oh yeah'? But,
did it matter? She was facing one enemy who looked like Swamp Thing, only
uglier and smellier. She smirked and started to attack, but suddenly stopped.
She was standing in the middle of a circle full of demons. Only looked like
about ten or eleven, but these things looked powerful. Okay, so maybe they
can take my soul.
"So maybe you have big, tall ugly guys but that doesn't mean you're not gonna
get my soul without a fight!" Rekino said defensively.
The demon licked his lips, "We were hoping you'd say that." The demons chorused
together in laughter as they all advanced on Rekino.
"Okay…I'm in trouble," Rekino said sarcastically. I've got no other choice.
I have to save my life and avenge the death of those people they killed.
"Well, here goes nothing."
She ran forward, straight towards the leader. The demon leader raised his sword
as he prepared to strike the red metallic clad woman. The air filled with dust
suddenly as Rekino hopped into the air and slid under the demon's legs in an
un-noticeable fashion. Rekino stood up quickly and performed a couple of back
flips as to give herself some distance from those demons.
"It's show time, baby!" Rekino raised her right arm in the air and leveled her
left arm with her shoulder as a red aura formed around her. The demons stopped
in their tracks to watch the show. "Prepare to be burned!"
"We'll see about that, little girl!"
Oh, that is so it! The aura around Rekino's body started to emit a
brighter shine. "BUSO! LADY REKKA!"
The smell of cherry blossoms filled the air as Rekino's transformation took
place. Her body bent backwards as the arm gauntlets formed when she touched the
ground. She kicked back and stood straight up on her hands as the chest plate of
the armor formed. Lastly, she pushed herself in the air as the leg gauntlets
and her helmet formed. Rekino landed and unsheathed the Rekka Ken from her
sides and spun them expertly.
The demons wasted no time. They each flew for Rekino head on, not one caring
whether they died or not.
*~*
After about two hours at the Omelet Shoppe, the girls and guys said their
goodbye's and departed. Sage had pulled Hana off to the side and kissed her
lightly on the lips, promising to call her that evening. Hana hadn't said a
word or moved a muscle. Josephine had laughed at her blonde friend, but quickly
shut her mouth when Amaya told her to stop being rude. Mia and Ryo shared a
quick kiss before Ryo had pulled out of the parking lot and made his way
towards their home, Mia quickly following. Kento gave Josephine a quick bear
hug and told her to call or visit sometime. She smiled meekly and nodded her
head. Cye and Rowen had said their goodbyes and shook hands of the new women
they had just met. It wasn't long before the Omelet Shoppe parking lot was
almost completely deserted.
As Hana was driving home all she could think about was how soft Sage's lips
were. She touched her mouth lightly and smiled contently. Of all the men she
had seen in the past, she had never just touched lips with someone and felt
such electricity coming from him. The way he looked into her eyes just sent
chills down her spine. Sage was a man all right; more of a man than she could
ever imagine.
I cannot wait to see how he actually kisses. Mmmmm… not any of the pecking
lips shit, but the whole nine yards. Hana pulled into her regular parking
spot at the apartment complex and noticed Rekino's car wasn't beside her. That's
strange. She should've already been home by now. She remembered that by the
time the girls had gotten to the Omelet Shoppe, it was ten after two. She
glanced at the clock on her dashboard and did a double take. It was 4:20 P.M. I
hope nothing happened to her…
Hana got out of her SUV before locking the doors and headed up to the apartment
she shared with Rekino. She unlocked the door still with her feeling of worry.
She dropped her purse beside the door and picked up the portable phone, dialing
Rekino's cell number. All she got was the voice mail.
"Hi, this is Rekino. I've probably got my cell turned off right now, but
leave a quick message and I'll try to return your call."
"Hey Rekino, it's Hana. Call me as soon as you get this message please. Bye."
She turned off the phone and sat down on the couch. As the clock chimed
four-thirty, Hana drifted off into a sound sleep, cradling the phone in her
lap.
*~*
Rekino screamed in pain as she fell to the ground with a loud thud. The battle
hadn't gone as well as she thought it would. Her eye was cut and her armor had
been chipped off or dented in by the force and power of these unknown
creatures. Her amethyst eyes squinted in pain as she tried to pick herself up
off the ground with her swords, but it was no use. One of the demons kicked her
in the chin, causing her to fly backwards.
Damn! She pulled herself up to her feet but knelt back down when she
realized there was no power left in her body. She glanced up to see the demons
readying to kill her. Why did I listen to that voice? I'm going to die here
because of it. I'm going to die alone.
The demon leader raised his sword to glance down at the helpless victim, "Now,
you die!"
Rekino bowed her head slightly. Girls…I'm sorry. She closed her eyes as
she waited for the final blow, but, instead, she felt a pair of arms wrap
around her from behind. Amethyst orbs opened slightly and turned to the right
as she saw the face of a man, and he was holding her gently. She noticed a
jewel on his forehead flicker slightly, and before she knew it, the horde of
demons she was fighting completely vanished.
What the hell was that? Rekino stared in disbelief.
*~*
"Girls…I'm sorry…"
"REKINO!" Hana shot upright on the couch and glanced around. It was just a
dream, but was it real? A knock at the door startled her slightly. She got off
the couch and unlocked the door. Outside was a rather worried looking Josephine
and Amaya.
"Something's wrong with Rekino," Amaya said before she walked into Hana's
apartment followed by Josephine. The French woman sat down on the loveseat
while Josephine opted for the recliner.
Hana locked the door back and sat on the couch, looking at her friends before
she spoke, "I know. Something doesn't feel right. She wasn't here when I got
home and she didn't have her cell turned on."
Josephine leaned back and closed her eyes before she spoke in a very solemn
voice, "Do you think it's another enemy? Could she have been attacked?"
Hana and Amaya just stared at Josephine for a minute before the Chinese
descendent opened her eyes and stared at them right back.
*~*
The man laid Rekino down on the ground gently and touched her forehead. A
slight red and white glow surrounded her body as all her injuries were healed.
Rekino opened her eyes and looked into the one's of her savior. They were a
beautiful, white-ish blue color.
"I'm sorry about that," The man stood up and smiled sweetly before turning on
his heel and walking off.
Rekino sat up quickly, "Hold on just a minute there, bubba!" She used her
swords to pick herself up off the ground before standing and sheathing them.
She had noticed the man kept walking so she just decided to put her voice to
good use. "You can't just walk away from me like this! First of all, you show
up and complete destroy those ugly looking, psychotic demons with just a
flicker of that thing on your head. And then you have the nerve to just tell me
'Sorry about that' and walk off? Aw hell no! I want an explanation! Who the
hell are you?"
The man turned around and smiled at Rekino again, trying to keep his cool, "All
will be revealed soon. Don't worry."
Rekino rolled her eyes and mocked him again, "What kind of excuse is that? 'All
will be revealed soon.' Why don't you just tell me now?!"
"Rekino," He took in a deep breath and looked at her in a slight annoyance,
"You needn't worry about it now. Just go home and talk to your friends. They're
worried about you." He turned around again and started walking away.
"How the hell do you know my name? And how do you know if my friends are
worried about me? I ain't leaving until I get some answers, which brings me
back to my first question: Who the hell are you?!"
The man stopped dead in his tracks again. This girl was really testing his
patience. He turned around in one fluid motion and started walking back towards
her. The skies grew dark and lighting flashed illuminating the area. His white
hair flew behind him wildly. With each step he took, he spoke to her.
"I am the balance."
Step. Rekino back away slightly.
"I am the power."
Step. She held her arms out in front of her to defend herself from an
attack.
"I am the justice of this world."
He stopped in front of her and looked down, "In short…" The man grabbed her
chin between his thumb and index finger and brought her face closer to his.
Rekino took notice when he spoke that he had fangs. Her eyes held fear. Oh so
much fear…
"I am the thing, no, the God you worship every time you put on that armor."
Rekino opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when the man placed
his lips over hers. For some odd reason, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the
feeling of being kiss, but when she opened them again, the man was gone. She
looked around rather confused.
"I was just kissed by a freaky, powerful guy claiming to be a God. What is
going on?!" Rekino couldn't contain herself as she lifted her head to the
Heavens and screamed.
*~*
Hana sat in the living room with Amaya and Josephine, still staring blankly at
Josephine. "Why did you say that? What do you mean, an enemy? Do you know
something that Amaya and I don't?" Hana was desperate for answers. She was
really worried about her friend now.
Josephine stared at Hana, looking hurt. "NO! I don't know anything that you two
don't! Why would you say that, Hana?" Tears brimmed in her eyes. "I'm just as
worried about Rekino as you two are!"
Amaya looked at Hana and then at Josephine. "I'm sure that she didn't mean it
like that, Josephine. She's just worried, like we are. Don't be hurt." Amaya
turned back to Hana. "Do you have any ideas about where she could be, Hana?
Perhaps we should go to look for her. I am worried as well."
Hana stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know. It isn't like Rekino to be late
without calling me to tell me where she's going to be. I just don't understand
this." Hana was deep in thought for a moment. She stood up, after looking at
her friends. "Let's take my car and go look for her. I'm really worried. Maybe
Jo's right. Maybe she has been attacked. I don't know. But whatever is wrong,
we need to go help her. She's in trouble. I know that much."
Josephine and Amaya stood up. All three of the girls walked out of the living
room. Hana grabbed her keys off of the table in the hall and they walked
outside to her SUV. The green Ford Explorer Sport was still parked in the same
spot, but something was different about the surrounding area. There was a strange
aura around the girls that they didn't like. It felt wrong … it felt evil.
The girls were surrounded suddenly by smoke so thick that they couldn't see
anything for at least a foot in front of them. Hana, Josephine, and Amaya
looked around frantically, trying to find one another. They were unsuccessful.
Hana decided to take things into her own hands. She yelled to her friends, "Get
in the Explorer! Now! Hurry!" Hana jumped in the driver's side after finding
it, which proved to be rather difficult. Josephine and Amaya followed suit.
Hana cranked the car in a panic. Josephine was yelling for her to hurry, and
Amaya was breathing roughly. Hana got the SUV cranked and backed out of her
parking spot quickly. She threw the gear into drive and squealed out of the
parking lot, creating smoke of her own. She drove in a straight line, having
driven in the parking lot many times. She knew it like the back of her hand.
After about twenty yards, the smoke cleared enough for Hana to see.
*~*
Rekino sat on the ground, hoping that the man would come back to give her some
answers … or kiss her again. She couldn't get the feeling of his lips off of
hers. Rekino reached up and touched her mouth. "Who are you?" She asked aloud
to no one in particular. The only response she got was the wind blowing back at
her. "I wish that you would come back." Rekino lifted her head back up to the
Heavens. "TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!"
Suddenly, Rekino was engulfed in a strange feeling. She lay down on the ground
and closed her eyes. As she drifted off to sleep, she saw the man who had given
her a kiss. "What … happened?" Rekino said aloud, barely above a whisper. She
remembered that he said something, something that she hadn't caught before.
"Sleep?" Rekino's eyes grew heavier and her head clouded. He had drugged her
with a kiss … or something like that.
*~*
Hana was driving fast … way too fast. She was trying to get away from the
demons that were now in pursuit of her and her friends. She drove frantically,
not knowing where to go. Josephine yelled from the backseat. "Turn left, Hana!
Turn left now!"
"I don't know where the hell that road goes!" Hana squealed to a sudden stop
and threw the car to the left. She was about to drive off quickly when she
noticed that the demons where no longer in pursuit of them. She stuck her head
out of the window after stopping the car quickly. Above them, a strange figure
floated in the air. It looked like a man, but she couldn't quite make out his
face. "Who the fuck is that?!" Hana yelled to her friends … and anyone else
that was around. Suddenly, the man disappeared. "What in the HELL?!" After a
brief pause, Hana brought her head back inside the SUV. "Fuck it."
Hana pulled forward a little and was about to turn around when she spotted
Rekino's 4-Runner. Hana stopped her green SUV and jumped out. Josephine and
Amaya had seen Rekino's vehicle as well and got out with Hana. They ran toward
the vehicle, but stopped when they saw Rekino lying on the ground. She appeared
to be okay, but they ran to check on her anyway.
Rekino was asleep! She was tossing and turning on the road, muttering something
about God. Before Hana, Josephine, or Amaya could awaken her, she shot up like
a bullet. "HANA! JO! AMAYA! I'M COMING!" She jumped up and started to look for
her 4-Runner when she saw that the girls were standing before her. "What the
hell is going on?" Rekino asked with worry in her voice.
"Well, nothing now. We found you. Are you okay?" Josephine was the first to
speak. Rekino nodded in confusion. "We had a bad feeling, so we came to find
you, but we were attacked by some kind of demons and they chased us here. We
didn't know where you were or what was going on! Where have you been? Why
didn't you call?"
Rekino looked at her with confusion in her expression. "What do you mean, Jo?
I've been here. I was attacked, too, but God saved me." She looked at her
friends. "I mean it!"
Amaya smiled at her. "It's so nice that you are affirming your faith, Rekino. I
have been trying to get you to come to church, and now you can come with me."
Amaya was absolutely glowing. Rekino was just staring at her. "What? You said
that God saved you, Rekino. I was just saying that you could join me at my
church some time."
Rekino sighed. "No, that's not what I mean. The man that saved me was a god."
She stared back at her friends, who were looking at her like she was crazy. "He
was! Don't you believe me?"
Hana smiled. "I think that I know what you mean. He was hot, right? Describe
him for me, Rekino. Maybe I know him. Though I don't know many people who are
hot that would rescue women just like that." Hana looked away and thought to
herself for a moment.
Rekino looked at her friend and sighed. "No, Hana. That's not what I mean,
either. He had god-like powers. I mean, he said that he was God. You should
have seen him save me from the demons that attacked me. He healed me, too. I
used to be really beaten up, until he came along …" She looked away from her
friends.
Josephine couldn't hold in her comments any longer. "Um … Rekino, I think that
you might need to lie down." She looked at Rekino and smiled at her. "I think
that maybe you were dreaming. Let's go ahead and get you home, so you can lie
down." She started to approach Rekino, but she backed away.
"I'm fine! Really! This man said that he was God! He saved me from all of these
demons! Look at me! I'm in my armor! I had to fight them! He rescued me when I
was about to die! You have to believe me! He rescued me and then he kissed me!"
Rekino looked at her friends, who all stared at her skeptically.
Amaya tilted her head to the side. "So, God saved you and then He kissed you,
Rekino? I don't think that He would do something like that. He is a very
honorable being. I don't believe that He would do that." Amaya straightened her
head and smiled at her friend.
Rekino stared at them all in disbelief. "It wasn't really God! What does it
take for me to get you to know that? It was a man that claimed to be God, not
God Himself!" Rekino shook her head. "Nevermind. Let's just go."
Hana stopped her. "Wait! I think that she's telling the truth! Remember on the
way, when all of the demons just like … disappeared? There was a floating man,
who I think made them go away. I think that I know who she's talking about.
Maybe it was the same man!"
Josephine and Amaya just looked at the two girls like they were crazy. "Yes! I
know who you are talking about, Hana! I saw him as well!" It was Amaya who
finally realized that Hana and Rekino weren't crazy. "It does seem as though
the demons disappeared after he showed up."
"See what I'm talking about now? You see, it wasn't God, but the man must have
thought that he was really like a god. Maybe he was just a crazy man … but he
had powers. I can't deny that. All I know is that I want more information and
he has it!" Rekino said to Amaya.
Josephine finally
caught up to speed with the rest of the group. "OH! I get it now. He thinks
that he is God." She looked at her friends with a smile, but was only met with
blank stares. "I know that I'm slow, but gosh! You don't have to look at me
like that," she playfully pouted.
Rekino sighed and walked over to Josephine. "Normally, I don't do hugs,
but in this case, I think that I should. You need one, Jo." Rekino laughed as
she hugged her friend and then patted her on the head as if she really were
stupid.
"Ha freakin' ha. I'm not that dumb, Rekino. You don't have to pat me on
the head as if I'm a child. I know that I'm slow, and that's all that matters."
Josephine smirked at Rekino in a playful manner. "Now, if you guys don't mind,
I'd like to get going so that we can get home. I'm a little hungry, you know.
It's been a few hours since I ate."
The girls all laughed at Josephine's antics and then got into their vehicles.
Josephine rode with Rekino in her 4-Runner, and Amaya was with Hana in her
Explorer Sport. Hana led the way back to her and Rekino's apartment.
*~*
Mia was on the phone with Kento when she got a beep. It was Sage. "Hello?" Mia
answered in a polite voice. "Oh, hi, Sage. … No, I don't know where Hana is. …
You tried to call her house? … Hmm. That is strange. Did you try her cell? …
You don't have it. Okay, I'd just try to call her back later. … Okay … Bye."
She flashed back over to Kento. "Kento? You still there? … No, for the last
time, I don't know where Rekino is. She's probably with Hana, seeing as how
Hana wasn't there either. … Yeah. … Okay, look. Go back there in a little
while. Rekino will probably be back soon. Oh, and Kento? … When you see her,
make sure that she's okay. I've had a really bad feeling about her and Hana
this afternoon. … Okay, I'll talk to you later. Bye."
Mia hung up the phone and walked over to her couch. She had been waiting for
Rekino to call. She normally called to get an update on Ryo, but she hadn't
called tonight. "I wonder if she's okay," Mia said aloud to herself. "Maybe I
should go over there myself to see." Mia grabbed her keys off of the coffee
table in front of her and walked out to her car. It would be more assuring to
know for herself if Rekino was okay. She couldn't rely on Sage or Kento to be
sure of that.
*~*
The girls arrived at Hana and Rekino's apartment to find Kento waiting. He had
been there for quite sometime. After Rekino shut him up, they all went into the
apartment to talk. As soon as Hana put her keys down, the phone rang. "That's
probably Sage, everyone. I'll get it." She walked over to the phone and picked
it up. She put on her "sexy" voice and answered. "Hello?"
However, the voice on the other end of the line wasn't Sage. It was Ryo.
"Hello, Hana. It's Ryo. I know that you've been avoiding me. I want to know
why. Meet me tomorrow at five o'clock in the courtyard at the college. We need
to talk." Without a goodbye, Ryo hung up, leaving Hana with the phone dangling
on its cord beside her body.