AUTHOR NOTE 1: Just incase if you didn't catch on in previous chapters, the dust that was blown on Ryo is what is keeping him from using his armor. Soylaberst used it, and his power, to prevent our little Ronin in red from armoring up. I hope you'll understand better with this chapter.
AUTHOR NOTE 2: I'm also going to use the Japanese virtues. They make more sense than ours do. SAGE is COURTESY and ROWEN is INTELLEGENCE. Why? Because Rowen is the genius of the bunch so it fits better. : P
AUTHOR NOTE 3: Just to let you know, I SUCK at fight scenes. There will also be more torture to Fireboy. Isn't he lucky? I know he has to hate me at the moment. :shrugs: Oh well, Garuru will protect me.
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The Test of Strength
Chapter 4: Is this the end?
"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" a boy screamed out in pain while grabbing ahold of the chains that extended from his wrists; his body was shaking uncontrollably. The boy opened his eyes and looked through the hair hanging in his face to see Zual smiling up at him.
The armor saw the internal fire leaving the tiger blue eyes. 'The boy is loosing his will to live,' he thought smiling. He punched Ryo's face, almost causing the young teenager's neck to snap as his head went to the right. Zual enjoyed watching the boy's breathing become erratic and as tears of pain streamed down his bruised face.
Ky appeared, and without hesitation, jabbed one of his pointed fingers into the wound he'd created in Ryo's side. Fresh blood poured out and ran down the boy's already blood-covered body. Ryo's head flew back as he screamed for all he was worth. It came out hoarse since he'd already screamed too much and his throat was raw from lack of water. Hot tears ran faster down his face and neck; mixing with the blood. The green armor smiled at the sound of agony the boy released. And he laughed as he pulled his finger out halfway, and then pushed it back in repeatedly. Ky drank up the screams as they grew louder.
When Soylaberst appeared beside him, Ky jerked his finger out so harshly that it opened the wound up more. Ryo cried out again and his head fell limply to his chest. His body shook harder, and his breathing became worse as he tried to get air into his lungs. Soylaberst placed his hand under Ryo's chin and lifted the boy's face. Their eyes met, and he smiled as he saw the life, no the flame, was extinguished. Only darkness, shame, and sorrow remained. The blood-red armor caressed the boy's face with his cold fingers.
"Wildfire," he said gently, "you are strong; just not strong enough. You've failed everyone you have ever loved. You are such a disappointment to all of them. Don't worry; it'll all be over soon. They won't have to worry about you screwing up anymore."
He released the boy's face, watching it fall back to his chest, and then stepped back. A ball of energy appeared before Soylaberst, right over his chest.
Ryo hadn't heard what Soylaberst had said; but he knew what was coming. 'Get it over with.' he thought as he closed his eyes, readying himself for the final blow.
The three armors smiled in unison. Soylaberst raised his hand, which held an electrical ball. "Goodbye, Wildfire," he laughed.
Before he could release his ball, Soylaberst was tackled to the ground. He tried to fight off his attacker, but he couldn't get it within his range to do so.
Whiteblaze was furious. He swiped his huge razor like claws at the armor, and snapped his jaws down repeatedly on what appeared to be vulnerable spots. He took the rage within him and poured it out on the armor.
Soylaberst, once he got a good look, recognized the beast; as the boy's tiger. He slammed his fist into the tiger's jaw, which sent the creature flying backwards. Before Whiteblaze could charge again, Soylaberst released a ball of electricity. It hit the tiger, which gave a growl of pain before he collapsed. The armor turned to see the other four Ronins appear.
Arrows flew through the air towards Ryo and the other two armors. Ky and Zual jumped out of the way before they became pincushions. The chains holding Ryo shattered, and the boy fell to the ground, groaning due to the pain the drop had caused.
"You bastards better get away from him!" Kento shouted.
"Or what?" Zual taunted.
"You'll hurt us?" Ky added.
Soylaberst joined his comrades; and all three armors approached the Ronins.
"You'll pay for hurting Ryo!" Sai exclaimed. Raising his weapon, he called upon his sure-kill, "Super-Wave-Smasher!" It was the strongest blast he had ever been able to created; fueled with his emotions. Before the blast could reach the armors, they vanished.
"Whe'ah'd they go?" Rowen asked, looking everywhere for their enemies. When he turned back to his front, he found them; right in front of them by about twelve feet.
"What the hell?" Sai shouted when he saw them.
"That's cheating!" Kento snarled, making a run for them. The other three followed his lead.
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The sounds of shouting made Ryo open his eyes. He turned his head just enough to see his friends, in full body armor, running for Soylaberst, Ky, and Zual. He looked passed them to see, in a far distance, Mia and Yuli stood by Kento's van. He didn't see Whiteblaze anywhere, so he turned his head some more, only to find that his friend was lying on the ground. The only indication that he was alive was the slow rising and falling of his side. Ryo felt his heart fall at the sight; the visions came back of Whiteblaze growling at him and blaming him for his pain. Silent tears rolled down Ryo's already tearstained face.
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"You'll pay!" Kento shouted as he attacked Ky again. The armor merely laughed as he threw the Warrior of Hardrock into the closest building. Sai soon joined Kento, landing on top of him.
Rowen called upon his sure-kill, which knocked Zual off his feet; while Sage went to help their friends. The blond used his sure-kill to sent Ky flying 20 feet away from them.
Soylaberst appeared above Sage and Rowen, and blew dust on them. He smiled and his energy ball-the one in front of his chest- grew bigger, drawing more power out of himself. The two Ronins went to use their sure-kills again, but were shocked instead. They dropped their weapons and fell to their knees. Kento and Sai rose from where they had been thrown and ran to their aid.
"You two okay?" asked a worried Sai.
"Yeah," Rowen panted.
They didn't see Soylaberst blowing more dust on the two new Ronins; causing his energy ball to grow bigger.
Zual looked at Ky as the green armor approached him. "He's using too much of his life force," Zual said while looking at the blood-red armor.
"He knows what he's doing."
"If that ball shatters, he could die, Ky!"
"I know. But there's we can do to stop him, now is there?" The two dropped the subject and made their way to their comrade who was blowing dust on the orange and light blue Ronins.
Sai and Kento ran to attack Soylaberst physically, but he easily batted them away. They stood and called upon their sure-kills, only to be shocked like their friends had been. They both fell to their knees panting. Sage and Rowen ran to them and helped them stand, but they all fell to their knees as they were pulled back to the ground. Ky and Zual stood beside Soylaberst, joining him as he laughed.
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Ryo looked up, only this time due to the sound of laughter. When he saw all his friends down on their knees, faces showing they were in pain, his anger flared. 'Guys…hold on. I'm coming.' The fire came back to his eyes as he thought of them. He stood, pushing all the pain he felt down as he ran to help them.
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"Time to die, Ronin brats!" Soylaberst laughed. "Lightning from Hell!" he cried. Lighting shot out from the ball of energy in front of him. It was the same energy he had been using on Ryo, only a lot stronger. With Ryo, he had only wanted to inflict pain, but now he wanted to kill. No more games were to be played.
"Looks like this is it, doesn't it?" Sage asked. The others could only nod in agreement.
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Ryo jumped between his friends and the armor's sure-kill. He pulled his kanji orb out of his pocket and threw it at the energy ball in front of Soylaberst's chest. "FLARE UP NOW!" he shouted just before the lightning hit him. Ryo bit down on a scream and held his ground, feet digging into the ground beneath his bare feet. He refused to let it get passed him to the others.
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The other Ronins watched desperately as Ryo was hit by the blast and as he was shocked. Once the call had ended, their leader's body fell to the ground, not moving. They also watched as Ryo's kanji orb hit the ball in front of the blood-red armor, causing it to explode. Soylaberst fell to the ground with a scream; the other two armors rushed to his side.
They could feel the spell, which Soylaberst had placed upon them, leave suddenly. Rowen was the first one to his feet, running towards Ryo, with the others right behind him. He watched as the Wildfire kanji orb appeared in Ryo's hand that lay limp on the ground.
"This isn't over, Ronins. We will get revenge!" Ky yelled.
"You were lucky Wildfire saved you, but next time you won't be so lucky!" Zual threatened, then disappeared with the other two.
Rowen turned his attention back to his friend. He knelt down and placed two fingers on Ryo's throat searching for a pulse only to discover... "He's not breathin'!" he shouted.
"Do something!" Kento and Sai yelled.
"Move!" Sage barked and pushed the others out of his way. Once he put his hands on Ryo's body, his armor began to glow, which spread into Ryo. Sage's kanji symbol started to glow on his forehead as well. Then the others began to glow, lending Sage their power.
"Courtesy."
"Intelligence."
"Justice."
"Trust."
After a few seconds, Rowen had to grab Sage's shoulders to keep him from falling on top of Ryo. The Warrior of Halo lent against his friend feeling very drained. "I could only heal the damage from the last blow. I'm not strong enough," he whispered.
The others looked at him and nodded slowly in understanding. Then their eyes went back to Ryo when they heard him gasp for air.
"Sounds like it was enough t' save 'im, Sage!" Rowen exclaimed with joy and patted the blonde's shoulder. Sage smiled and nodded.
They shed their armors and crowded around their fallen friend. Sai gently turned him over on his back and laid Ryo's head in his lap. Ryo's eyes fluttered open half way, and looked around at his friends. His vision was blurred, but he could tell it was them.
"Guys?" he asked in a hoarse whisper, before he passed out.
"Ryo!" Sai shouted, and looked at the others for help.
"We have t' get 'im t' the hospital, now!" Rowen ordered.
Whiteblaze approached them and nuzzled Ryo's hair before Kento gently picked him up. They ran to the van, loaded up, and rushed towards the hospital.
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"Is he still breathin'?" Rowen asked as Kento ran another red light.
"Yes, but it's getting slower," Sage answered from his place in the back beside the Ronin of Virtue.
"Step on it, Kento!" Sai exclaimed.
"I'm already pushing it. She can't go any faster and be safe," Kento said gently. He knew his best friend was worried. Sai hated fighting and seeing people getting hurt. It being one of his friends just sent him into an even worse worrying fit.
"I know, gomen. It's just…" the British boy trailed off, not really knowing how to finish.
"He'll be okay, Sai. I know he will. Ryo can live through anything." The young boy's faith in his hero made the others smile; but Yuli just didn't understand that even the strongest people in the world could lose a fight. Though they all hoped that this fight wouldn't be the one to cause their leader's downfall.
Sage looked out the window to see Whiteblaze running along side the van. He shook his head gently. Then he turned his attention back to his friend lying beside him. Ryo was covered with blood, cuts, and bruises. His raven hair was matted down with sweat and blood. His normally tanned skin was pale, almost matching Sage's own. The blond could see where the chains had been around his ankles and wrists due to the rawness of the flesh. 'Please be okay, Ryo. Please.'
The van came to a sudden halt and everyone quickly got out. They made Whiteblaze get in so he wouldn't be seen by anyone. Besides, he wasn't allowed in the hospital anyway. Kento held Ryo close as he ran through the doors that Sage and Sai were holding open. Mia, Rowen, and Yuli followed close behind him.
"Help us!" Yuli screamed.
"We need a doctor!" Sage added. He had calmed down and now was able to act normally. Three nurses and two doctors ran over, taking Ryo's limp body away from Kento and placing him on a stretcher before running him into the emergency room.
The other Ronins, along with Mia and Yuli, watched as he was taken from their sights. Then the boys went to wash the blood off of their hands. Once they were done with that, they silently went to the waiting room, found Mia and Yuli, and set down. Yuli was curled up in Mia's lap trying not to cry.
Fifteen minutes later a voice asked, "Are you the one's who brought the boy in?"
Rowen looked up to see that it was a nurse. "Yeah, we brought 'im in," he answered.
"Would you mind filling this out?" she asked, handing them a clipboard.
Sage took it and the pen she offered. "How is he?"
"They don't know. He's in the OR right now. From the way he looked, I'd say you'll have a long wait," she replied gently. "I'll be around if you need me. Once you're done with the form, hand it to Suki." She pointed a finger to a curly red head behind the desk. "My name is Akuji."
"Okay guys, you heard her; we'll be here for a while," Mia began. "Rowen, why don't you take Kento, Yuli, and Whiteblaze back to the house. Drop Whiteblaze off; he can't stay in the van, and get some cash and a pair of clothes for everyone."
Rowen and Kento nodded in agreement. They didn't want to leave, but they had to. Besides, Yuli needed to get away for a while. Kento picked the boy up and walked beside Rowen as they left the hospital. After they got in the van, Yuli sat down next to the tiger.
"Listen, Whiteblaze," Rowen began, "Ah know ya want t' stay wif Ryo, but ya can't. Animals aren't allowed in th'ah. And ya can't stay in the van 'cause people would get suspicious." He looked at the tiger for the next part. "Gomen, but ya'll have t' stay at home."
Whiteblaze looked away and whined, dropping his ears to his head.
"Don't worry, Whiteblaze, Ryo will be fine. And besides, we'll be with him," Kento added from behind the wheel.
Yuli looked at the tiger, which lowered its head and growled softly. Not much later they were at the mansion, and Rowen opened the side door. Whiteblaze jumped out and quickly ran for the trees.
"Whiteblaze!" Yuli yelled as he got out of the van. "Come back!"
"Let 'im go, Yuli. He needs time t' 'imself. Ryo was 'is family. Is. Ah mean, is 'is family," Rowen corrected himself. "He'll be okay. Now let's go get ev'ahthing and get back t' the hospital."
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Meanwhile, Whiteblaze ran through the forest towards the cabin. He wanted to be in a place that smelt of his charge. Being in the cabin would be the closest thing he would be able to get.
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It had been two hours since the three boys had left, and the other three had filled out the form, gave it back, and sat there in silence, looking at the floor. Kento, Rowen, and Yuli came in and saw their friends off in their own little worlds, getting a little scared with the looks on the others' faces.
"Sage?" Rowen asked gently as he shook his friend's shoulder.
"Huh? Wha-" Sage looked up to see Rowen staring at him and snapped back in to reality. "Hey."
"Any word?"
Sage just shook his head as the others sat down. The next three hours were spent waiting for information on Ryo's condition. They sat in complete silence, except for Yuli asking if Ryo was going to be okay every now and then, or when Kento would ask if anyone wanted something when he made a trip to the smack machine. The funny thing was that Kento never came back with any food in his hands, or crumbs on his clothing.
It was after the three hours that a doctor approached the group. "Excuse me, but are you with Mr. Sanada?" he asked.
Sage and Rowen jumped out of their chairs, while the others just jerked their heads up to look at the middle-aged man in a doctors outfit.
"Yes," Sage answered. "Is he okay?"
"Please come to my office," he answered.
The group exchanged looks then followed the man to his office down the hall. They entered the small room and took seats; Mia and Sai sat in the chairs, Kento, Rowen, and Yuli sat on the couch, and Sage remained standing by the wall. The doctor sat down behind his desk and looked at them very seriously.
"May I asked what happened to him?" the doctor asked. He watched as they exchanged looks again then they all found the floor interesting.
"We were suppose to meet at my house two or three days ago, but Ryo never showed. We finally decided today that we needed to find him; he was like that when we did," Mia answered.
The doctor shook his head, taking in what she said. He picked up a folder and started to flip through it. "And where is his family. Are any of you related to him?"
"His dad's out of the country. We're all he has. There is noone else," Sage replied. "Is he going to make it?"
"I'm going to be honest with you, on our way up we lost him, but managed to get him back. Then we lost him four more times on the operating table. The last time it took us longer; we almost gave up. Right before I was about to call his time-of-death, his heart started beating again. He's lost a lot of blood and had some internal bleeding, but we took care of it. He has several cracked ribs, and a number of other fractured bones." He stopped to let it all sink in, seeing tears in all their eyes, but they were trying to be strong. He got out from behind his desk and stood between the couch and chairs. "Mr. Sanada's blood pressure is very low. He's in a coma right now. More than likely, he won't make it through the night. I'm sorry," he added.
Kento sprang up from his seat and grabbed the doctor's shirt. The doctor's eyes grew large; he was truly scared of what the boy might do to him. "Don't say that! You don't even know him!" Kento shouted as he shook the man.
Sai and Rowen grabbed Kento and pried him off the doctor.
"Calm down, Kento," Sai said in a soothing voice.
"It's okay. We know Ryo'll pull through and that's all that matt'ahs," Rowen added.
No one bothered to apologize to the doctor. They all had wanted to shake some sense into the man, but Kento had beaten them to it.
"We want to see him," Sage said, looking straight into the man's eyes.
"Of course. But only one person at a time." The doctor led them out of the room and down the hall. When they reached Ryo's room the man looked at Yuli and shook his head. "You can't go in, I'm afraid. Children aren't allowed in the rooms."
"But I want to see Ryo!" Yuli cried.
"He'll be okay, Yuli. If it'll make you feel better, I'll stay out here with you."
"Ya sur'ah, Mia?" Rowen asked.
"Yes. You guys can go. We'll stay out here."
"So who wants to go first?" Sai asked.
"Ah will," Rowen answered. The others agreed, and watched as the Ronin of Strata entered the room. Once inside, Rowen let the door shut softly, as if he were afraid to disturb the person in the bed even though he knew they couldn't hear him at the moment. He walked over to the bed and began to cry as he seen his friend's condition. Ryo had bandages all over his body. The doctors hadn't even bothered to put a hospital gown on him; they just put on a pair of shorts. Bruises were visible where there were no bandages. He had a bluish-purple bruise on the left side of his face. One could tell he was dehydrated, and he hadn't eaten in days. His lips were purple, and they were slightly parted.
The blue-haired boy fell into the chair beside the bed, watching his friend's chest rise and fall. "Why, Ryo?" he began. "Why do they always have t' pick on ya? It can't just be 'cause ya have the Inferno. That can't be the only reason." He clenched his teeth and squeezed his fists tighter. He was so angry; with himself, with their new enemy, with everything. Taking in a deep breath, he tried to relax himself, then let out a big sigh.
"Ya can't die, Buddy. Ya we'ah my first friend. Ya taught me t' allow people t' see beyond the genius; t' show 'um the real me. Ya'ah one of my best friends." Rowen paused, thinking about the last part. "No. We'ah mo'ah like broth'ahs, Ryo. Especially ya and me. Ah learned so much from ya when we went t' save the oth'ahs. Ya nev'ah gave up, o'ah doubted any of us. Please don't leave us, Ryo, tell ya'ah mom t' wait. We need ya. Don't go!"
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Sai entered the room next, quickly taking a seat next to the bed. He looked up at his friend and tears began to roll down his face. "You better pull through, Ryo. I found a new recipe you still have to sample," he joked half-heartedly, more tears running down his face. "I remember when we went to the beach a while back. It was that summer after we became friends, remember? Anyway, I talked you into getting on a surfboard. Boy was that the wrong thing to do. I thought for sure you were going to drown," he chuckled at the memory. "That wave knocked all the air out of you, didn't it? Sage and me had to go in to save your ass. I think next time we'll just build a sand castle," he added before breaking down in tears, laying his head on the bed next to Ryo's hand. "Don't give up, Ryo. Please fight it," he cried. When he calmed down, the Ronin of Torrent wiped his tears away and exited the room.
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Sage quietly came into the room for his turn to visit the unconscious Ronin of Wildfire. He lent against the wall, just watching his friend for a few minutes. He was trying to think of a way to put his feelings into words. Finally, he walked over and sat in the chair next to the bed. "I'm sorry I couldn't heal you more, Ryo. I'm just not strong enough right now, but I know you'll pull through. I've never doubted you." The Ronin of Halo took a breath to calm his nerves; he had began to shake and needed to wait until it passed before he continued. "You know," he started, "I think you're still the only one that knows why I flirt with all those girls. Why not, ne? They're flirting with me anyway; why not boost their self-esteem a bit? I mean, it's not like I've ever done anything with them; I'm only fourteen for crying out loud! But…You have to pull through, Ryo. Who else is going to help me with my kendo? You actually bring a challenge, did you know that? So, please, don't walk out on me." He whipped the tears out of his eyes and left the room.
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Kento hesitated at the door. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to see Ryo again. He just wanted things to be back to normal; with everyone healthy and the others picking on him about his appetite. Even though it sometimes got annoying, it was better than this. He took a deep breath and entered the dark room. After he closed the door his gaze fell on Ryo, and tears streamed down his face. He walked over, sat in the chair, and grabbed Ryo's hand up in both of his. Kento looked at his friend's bruised fingers and the bandage around his wrist. He put Ryo's hand, still wrapped in his own, to his forehead.
"They will pay for this, Ryo," he growled. "Look at you, Man." Kento put their hands back on the bed, his left hand left Ryo's and moved up to move the locks from Ryo's face, careful not to touch the bandage. "Look at us. We went to save you, but you ended up saving us. We failed you, Ryo. I'm so sorry," he cried. Just as suddenly as the tears appeared, they vanished from the Warrior of Justice's eyes. "I'm going after those bastards. I'll kill them all on my own," he vowed.
Then he felt pressure around his hand.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" he exclaimed, jerking his hand away as he stood, which caused the chair to fall over.
"Kento! What's wrong?" Sai asked as he and the others ran into the room, seeing Kento against the wall with a look of pure shock on his face. They all looked at Ryo, who was exactly the same as when they had seen him.
"He…he…he squeezed my hand," Kento gasped.
"Really! That's a good thing, right?" Yuli asked. He had run in with Mia, not wanting to be left in the dark anymore.
"It's just a reflex," the doctor replied as he entered the room.
"No, it wasn't 'just a reflex'!" Kento yelled. "He heard me!"
The doctor shook his head, "He can't hear you, young man."
"Yes, he-" Kento began.
"Look doc, Kento doesn't mean any disrespect. Ryo's very close to all of us, and Kento tends to get a little defensive," Sage said politely.
"Could we all be alone fo'ah a while?" Rowen asked.
"Five minutes, but then you'll have to leave," the doctor said before leaving the room.
"Guys, I know he heard me. He had to of," Kento defended himself.
"Repeat it then, Kento. Prove that he heard you," Sage suggested.
"…I can't."
"Ya have t', Buddy," Rowen explained. "It's the only way t' see if he's okay."
"We won't judge you, Kento," Sai added. "We're all friends here, and right now one of them needs your help. It's the only way."
Kento nodded and went back to Ryo's side. He picked up the chair and sat down in it. He took up Ryo's hand once again in his right hand. His face hardened again as he repeated his words, "I'm going after those bastards. I'll kill them all on my own."
Ryo squeezed his hand, only tighter then before. He released his grip and allowed Kento to still hold his hand. Tears came out of everyone's eyes. The others made a circle around Kento and Ryo. Rowen looked at the heart monitor and saw his friend's heart rate was getting slower.
"Guys," he said softly, "Ah think somethin's wrong."
The others followed his gaze to the heart monitor, to see Ryo's heart beat flat-line, making a sharp ringing sound in the room.
"RYO!" they all yelled in perfect unison.
TBC
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I'm mean, aren't I. Leaving you guys with yet another cliffhanger! I love my work. :giggles: I wonder what will happen? Hmmm. Guess you'll just have to wait, ne?
And I don't know jack about hospitals, even though I've spent a lot of time in one. Not because of me, but my family members. Anyway, just go with it. It's a fanfic anyway. And what I say goes.