Summary – It's been just two and a half months since Ryo Sanada's untimely death, and as the other Ronins are trying to return to normal lives, they are interrupted by two unearthly beings who are not yet ready to be forgotten and set aside.

Disclaimer I do not own Ronin Warriors and their related universe. I am simply borrowing them from Sunrise Inc. to fulfill my desire to write. Chances are, any names that you don't recognize belong to me.

Unfinished Business

Chapter 3: When Good Meditations Go Bad

By: Marie Kenobi

Hey Ryo-o-o?

Yea-a-ah?

Do you have a crush on anyone?

I do-o-o...

Who is it?

Well it's not Mia, 'cause she's got a crush on you-u-u...

Sage awoke with a snap. He held his head briefly before laying his forehead on drawn up knees and breathed in deeply. He was trembling and unsure if the moisture sliding down his cheek was from sweat or if he had been crying. His dream: it was from a conversation he had had with Ryo...

It was the younger boy's 16th birthday and the five friends had the house to themselves. By the time the clock struck 11:30 P.M., the birthday boy was sprawled out on a couch, tuckered out from the day's numerous activities. Rowen mentioned something about making people talk while they were asleep—

With a dare from Kento, Sage snuck over to Ryo and knelt beside the couch. "Ryo-o-o?" he began, letting his friend's name drag out.

"Yea-a-ah?" the other boy responded, drawling the word in his sleep.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" Behind him, Kento, Cye, and Rowen practically choked as they attempted to keep their snickering to a minimum.

"I do-o-o..."

"Who is it?" Sage turned to the others briefly and winked in a conspiratory sort of manner.

"Well it's not Mia, 'cause she's got a crush on you-u-u..."

Sage's one visible eye widened in abrupt shock and he rocked back on his heels. Kento, Cye, and Rowen began to choke, loosing their ability to keep their laughter silent until—

"...Rowen and Cye on the other hand..." the black-headed boy smiled and sighed almost pleasantly as he let his sentence go unfinished. With a twitch his face twisted in distaste. "But Sage and Kento: ugh!"

"Hey!" Kento mouthed offended.

Rowen and Cye looked at each other, their cheeks having flushed a deep red. They blinked rapidly, unsure of what the statement was supposed to mean.

Suddenly, Sage pulled the pillow out from under Ryo's head and smothered the boy's face with it. The other three could hear muffled laughter seeping out from under the sack of feathers. "He was awake the entire time!" Sage squeaked.

Kento raised a quick eyebrow at this before he ran over and sat on the bearer of Wildfire, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling. Even with the added weight, however, Ryo's body shook in humorous delight and he was so overwhelmed by laughter that he never tried to escape. After another minute like this he decided air would be a nice thing to have and blindly reached up, waving his hands around like a blind man in a room with no walls, searching helplessly for Kento. He had hoped to put the other boy in a headlock, but he had to catch him first and it didn't appear that he was going to be able to do that anytime soon.

"Uh, uh, uh," the younger boy mused, waggling his finger although he knew their prisoner couldn't see it.

Finally, Ryo somehow managed to slither out from under his captor and proceeded to immediately jump into Sage's lap, throwing his arms around the blonde's neck and puckering his lips in the process. Exaggerated kissing noises filled the air, persuading his friend into making a rather peeved, yet comical face.

Kento burst out laughing, his mirth causing him to roll off the couch and forcing the other teen to move quickly or be smothered as the bearer of Hardrock landed with his head precisely in Sage's lap. A quick replay by the larger boy of what Ryo had done ensued in the next instant, much to the amusement of all save for one particular blonde Ronin. Feeling powered by the sugar cookie birthday cake that Cye had made him, the birthday boy leapt at Rowen, forcing the other to catch him or be knocked to the floor. As it was, he was barely caught, but this did not prevent him from making 'googly' eyes at the older warrior sitting across from them.

Rowen promptly dropped Ryo, lowering his arms just as quickly as he had raised them. With a devilish tint in his blue eyes, he gave a single, mad cry:

"Dog pile!"

An hour later and still feeling the effects of laughing nonstop for an insane amount of time, Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Cye, and Kento climbed out of Wildfire's window and onto the roof. Together they watched the stars, making comfortable small talk whenever the moment called for it until eventually all had fallen asleep to the sounds of a peace-filled country night...

It was tears, Sage realized, that were rolling down his cheeks. Ryo's last birthday had been a memorable one and it made him wish all the more that their blue-eyed friend was still with them. Nevertheless, he had the memories of the good times and always would. Wasn't that the point? Everyone always said it was all that mattered.

No, he thought with a growl, that wasn't the point. That's not all that matters...The point is, Ryo shouldn't be dead!

With a heavy sigh he stood and headed to the bathroom, running a hand through his vibrant, golden hair. Oddly enough, during the short time he had been with his companions, it looked the best it had since their leader's death.

When he was refreshed from throwing water in his face, Sage glanced at the clock. It read 6:45 A.M. Taking the handrail in his grip, he slowly began to descend the stairs. Halfway to the bottom he stopped and turned in the direction of Ryo's room. A grimace filled with distaste shadowed his handsome features when he recalled the previous day's events. He made a mental note to file it away in the back of his mind where he kept a 'bad memories' folder. He would, however, reflect on it the next time he meditated. The sword-weilder never let anything go without having put it under great scrutiny first.

A smile lit the naturally pale face as another thought came to him. The next time I meditate will be after I eat Cye's wonderful breakfast this morning. I can't wait to see what he cooks up.

Sage took the rest of the stairs eagerly and arrived in the kitchen with a spring in his step. He watched Cye stifle a yawn. "Good morning."

"G' morning, Sage. How did you sleep?"

"Better than you, I imagine." Sage grinned, knowing that Cye would realize he was referring to Kento's freight train snoring.

"No, it's not that. I'm used to that. I just haven't gotten used to the idea of there being ghosts around the manor, is all." He waved it off quickly, eager to change the subject. "What should breakfast consist of today? Your choice."

"You haven't made scrambled cheese eggs in awhile. Mom used to make them all the time."

"Well, cheese eggs it is! Though I doubt they'll be as good as Mrs. Date's."

Sage smiled. True, his mother's were good, but...while he would never admit it to her face, the warrior of trust could easily out-do her. Or anyone for that matter.

"Want any help?"

Cye glanced up briefly; he had already started cracking eggs into a bowl. "I've got it. Why don't you go into the den and check the morning news?"

There was a mischievous glint in Sage's one visible eye that Cye did not catch with his back turned. "I have a better idea," he said sweetly. "Perhaps Rowen would care to watch it with me..."

Sage set a new record that morning: The record for how fast you could wake Rowen, although it was not entirely of his doing.

When he stepped into the room they shared, it was only a matter of shutting the door to bring Rowen back to the world of the living. The bearer of Strata bolted awake, nearly rolling out of bed as he did so. He grabbed a wooden cross from his nightstand and held it up blindly, still trying to get his eyes to focus in the light of the morning sun. A great sigh escaped his lips when Sage snatched the cross from his hand and out of his face.

"As smart as you are Rowen, and with as much research as I saw you do yesterday, I would have expected you to know better. Crosses don't affect ghosts." Sage handed the wood object back. "And keep it out of my face, okay? I don't think the other guys would appreciate it much if you accused them of being vampires, either."

Rowen nodded, his face remaining neutral. His eyes, however, revealed to Sage an entirely different story. He was tense, sad, tired, nervous...scared?

Rowen?

Sage, Ryo's a ghost...Cye and I could have been killed yesterday...Did Ryo try to, I mean, does he want us—

Sage wasn't sure what to think as he listened to his best friend's apprehensive words. After all, Rowen had been the first to see Ryo's spirit. He would most likely know more of the light's intentions out of any of them. But still...Sage could not think of any reason as to why their deceased friend would be trying to kill them. It had to be the other spirit Rowen had seen that was trying to take them out. With no answers to give, Sage did the only thing he could think of and pulled his best friend into a hug, gently rubbing his back. No Rowen, no. Don't ever think that. Ryo protected us in life, and he'll continue to do so in death. Everything will be okay. We'll figure this out...

Kento awoke abruptly when his flailing hand missed the ringing alarm clock and struck his nightstand instead. The boy's eyes grew to saucers. He howled and shook his hand, trying unsuccessfully to make the pain go away. "What a way to start the day," he grumbled to no one but himself. Rising to his feet, he walked to the mountain in the center of his and Cye's room. Stashed somewhere within that large pile was a clean shirt and pair of jeans, he was sure of it. The teen's hand paused when it landed on the white 'MILK BALL' sweatshirt Ryo had often borrowed from it. He picked it up and took a small whiff. It still had Ryo's undeniable scent lingering on it, and although faint, he was still able to pick out the burnt smell. The only reasonable explanation he had been able to come up with for Ryo's odor was his armor element, and while he had been alive, it hadn't been unusual to walk into his room and smell such interesting aromas as roasted marshmallows or...sausages.

No wonder White Blaze loved him so, he thought with a grin.

Grabbing an orange shirt with his name on it instead, Kento hurried through his bathroom routine, before drifting towards the kitchen. The sweet scent of Cye's food put him in a trance and he closed his eyes, letting his nose lead the way.

Sage heard the ringing of an alarm clock followed by a howl from the room next door. He was too preoccupied with Rowen at the moment though to do more than wonder at what Kento had done this time. When he finally freed himself from the other boy's grip, Sage walked over to Rowen's closet and threw a pair of jeans and a dark blue pullover to the disheveled boy. He waited for his friend to change before leading him to the hall bathroom, thinking that Kento may already have taken possession of theirs. He paused just outside the door, a look of inquiry upon his face. "Do you want me—"

"To wait? If you don't mind..." was the slightly embarassed response.

The blonde smiled reassuringly. "Of course I don't."

Sage listened to the normal morning bathroom sounds, then stepped aside when Rowen came back out, still looking as sheepish as he had when he'd first gone in.

The two friends walked in silent tandem together out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Kento was pulling milk from the refrigerator when they sat down. Cye served everyone, filling his plate last before finally taking his own seat.

"Today's wonderful choice of breakfast is brought to you by Sage," he announced, causing the aforementioned boy to blush.

"All I did was tell you what to cook. You're the one who made it, and I must say, you did a superb job. Mmm," he murmured, taking another bite.

Cye's face flushed red at the praise. Through the corner of his eye, he caught Rowen picking rather dejectedly at the food on his plate. It was obvious that it was not the taste, however, that caused him to be so reserved. "So, Ro, how did he wake you up this time?" he asked, remembering Sage's earlier, mischievous words.

Sage peeked through the corner of his eye to see Rowen staring at him. Taking a hint when he saw one, he cleared his throat softly to catch the other boys' attentions. "There's more going on here than we realize, guys. I...we believe there's another spirit lurking around here besides Ryo's and it may be up to no good."

Kento and Cye nodded. They had come to figure as much, what with the previous day's events still fresh in their minds.

"But besides the question concerning who the other spirit is, we have to wonder this: Why is Ryo still here?"

A few moments passed in silence, save for the sound of forks clicking against plates as eating was slowly resumed. Finally, one of the boys risked making his opinion heard. "Maybe he doesn't know he's dead?"

Sage cuffed Kento upside the head. "Please, Kento: some of us are trying to be serious here! This isn't exactly a movie where some kid sees dead people."

Kento rubbed his head, his lower lip jutting out a little. "Yeesh! It was only a suggestion! You didn't have to hit me," he pouted.

"If he didn't know he was dead," Rowen began, trying to ease the tension, "then he would be sitting in his chair at the head of the table, eating, and wondering what on Earth we were talking about."

With not a hint of hesitation, four heads swiveled to face the empty chair. Nervous chuckles filled the room after a moment as they all realized what their reaction had been.

"Maybe we can't see him?" Cye volunteered as normality attempted to resume.

"You mean his spirit? No." Rowen shook his head to the negative. "Sage would be able to," he insisted.

At the mention of his name, Sage snapped out of the reflective trance he had been held in after staring at the chair, and pushed himself away from the table. "That was really great Cye, but I have to go meditate now."

Cye noticed that Sage's plate was still half full when he bent down to give the leftovers to White Blaze. The tiger was lying under the table near Ryo's empty chair. An odd place for the tiger as of recent weeks, but then again, nothing seemed normal around the manor anymore.

When Sage appeared from upstairs, he was dressed in one of his thicker winter kimonos. It was a good idea, as when he stepped outside, a wall of solid, frigid air hit him with the force of a determined Nether World soldier. He placed his hands in the wide sleeves of his kimono and looked up to the sky. The temperature as of late had been averaging around 30ï‚F, dipping to well below 10ï‚F at night. The sky had been overcast and dreary all week, threatening to spill all that it was feebly attempting to hold back. Rowen had already tried convincing him to stop meditating outside for fear he would catch cold, but Sage was too stubborn for that. The armor had made him more resilient than he had ever been before and the cold did not bother him as it would a normal human being.

While passing the pond that bordered Mia's backyard, Sage noticed ice beginning to overtake the water. He knew that everything eventually succumbed to the pull of winter, but he also knew that spring would triumph in the end. The thought of the chilly temperatures brought to mind Cale and he wondered if the former Warlord was enjoying the weather. He wondered if...

Do they even know about Ryo? Would the staff have told them? Maybe when this is all over we can pay them a visit. We haven't heard from Kayura and the Warlords in a while, he mused, not sure if that was a good thing or bad.

Sage's favorite meditating ground was about a 15-minute walk from the house. Today, however, he took it slow, and absorbed the sites around him. He wanted to enjoy life now that the fate of the entire world was not resting on his and his companions' shoulders. If only Ryo had been given the same chance...He had barely received four months of real peace and happiness before everything was stripped away. The saying that life wasn't fair couldn't be true enough.

Stopping on one of the taller hills on Mia's property, Sage looked about at the land that was stretched below him. He shook his head, then continued walking. How anyone could like winter is beyond me.

The warrior of light continued at a leisurely pace until he abruptly pulled up short. Right before his eyes was the clearing; he'd been so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed. With a shake of his head he sat down, mumbling under his breath with a hint of anger, "'Life is an adventure, live it to the fullest.' "

Whoever originally said that obviously never had to deal with mystical armor, much less wear Ryo's shoes for a day.

Time passed at a decent pace for the blonde teen as he pulled himself deeper and deeper into his meditation. An hour went smoothly by as Sage shifted through the many events, feelings, and memories he had filed away to be looked at. Without warning, something dropped swiftly from the trees and knocked him to his back. Sage's head spun from having been driven from his meditation so forcibly and against his will. He licked dry lips and discovered something warm and coppery already there. Bringing his fingertips to the chapped skin, he discovered blood.

Sage narrowed his eyes and shakily tried to rise, using his right hand to push himself up. One muffled cry later, he found himself on his back again, tenderly massaging his right wrist. Luckily it didn't appear to be broken, but he had no doubt that it was badly sprained and he hissed when a sore spot was touched.

"All right guys, you can come out now. I think your prank went very wrong." Sage stood to his feet and managed to get in a look at the surrounding trees before the something that had hit him earlier plowed into him from behind. This time he was careful not to land on his hand and injure it further, but he couldn't escape the inevitable. With a strained grunt he landed face first on the cold, hard ground. The bearer of Halo groaned and climbed to his hands and knees, only to be kicked in his side before he could gain his feet. He instinctively curled into a ball to protect himself while he rolled, then knelt on one knee when he came to a halt and placed his right hand on his sore ribs. The left he placed on the ground for additional support. Sage shivered unconsciously. By now, his kimono was in shards, leaving him exposed to the frigid air. Before his invisible attacker could do anything more, he called his subarmor.

From the left side of the clearing a loud, unexpected crack range out and shattered the mostly still air. Sage panicked for a split second, then threw his hands up to protect his head as a large, monstrous tree suddenly split in two and fell right at him. His scream ended when the tree slammed into him, knocking the boy to the ground and ridding his lungs of air. Dazed and confused, it took a moment, but his muddled mind was finally able to push the fear away and concentrate on the necessities. He attempted large, deep breaths to get air back into his lungs.

A voice reached Sage at about the time he was finally able to breath his first breath and he nearly choked on it as the fear and surprise all came rushing back to him. It filled him in a way he would never admit to.

"Do you remember little 'ol me? It would be a shame if you didn't. After all, someone very close to you died at my hands."

Sage's heart leapt into his throat and he could feel it constrict at the words. The thought to call for Rowen brushed through his mind, but his attacker obviously had other ideas. Before Sage could blink again, his world went black.

Rowen was in the bathroom, staring at that one stubborn, blue forelock of his. He was trying to conceive a plan of how to move it somewhere else and make it stay thereSo far he had had no such luck. The teen grimaced when he felt butterflies unexpectantly erupt within his stomach for no apparent reason. Staggering out of the bathroom, Rowen stumbled to the den where Cye and Kento were laying near the fire watching TV. "Do you guys sense anything...unusual?" he asked them.

"Like what?" Kento questioned, his mouth full of popcorn.

"Ssh! This is the best part!"

Rowen walked further into the den so that he could see what they were watching. He rolled his eyes. He should have known.

"Yeah! Free Willy! Go Willy, go! Get away from those bad guys!" Cye leapt to his feet, barely surpressing the urge to hop around the room. He settled instead for a few thumps of his foot and a fist that pumped through the air. "Oh, how wonderful," he sniffed, reaching for a tissue when the Orca finally conquered the wall and became free.

Rowen looked curiously at Kento.

The other boy grinned. "I promised that if he made me cookies, we could watch this instead of Shanghai Noon. When it comes to food, even the great Jackie Chan has to wait!"

With a groan Rowen headed up the stairs and disappeared into his room, the previous reason for his distress momentarily forgotten. He hoped that the closed door of his bedroom would block out Cye's sniffling and happy chattering.

A headache like no other woke the bearer of Halo and immediately sent him into a fit of grumpiness. He tried to stand, but to no avail. Sage had forgotten about the tree that pinned him down. At that moment, he didn't care whether or not anyone heard the curse that escaped his lips.

"For shame, for shame. What a mouth for one so young! You remind me of someone I killed once. What was his name? Ah yes, I remember...Ryo Sanada."

Sage grit his teeth. He could feel his ire being raised to an uncontrollable level. "Come out and show yourself coward! Why don't you fight me like a real man!"

"Because I'm not." Just a short distance away, at the front of the clearing, a dark green light trickled into existence. From this, the outline of a boy not much older than him appeared and finally, details began to show up as the figure solidified. "I'm a ghost. So you see, it's no longer possible for me to be a 'real man' as you have desired to see it put. I will, however, as a generous and honest spirit, at least give you a chance to defend yourself."

"Gee, thanks," Sage grumbled as the large tree was lifted off of him by unseen hands. "Dao Chi!" were the words that escaped his lips as soon as he was able to stand. The familiar bolts of silk and cherry blossoms wound around him, creating the mystical armor that had ruled his life since he had discovered it. The many aches over his body swiftly began to diminish.

"I see you don't care for formal introductions, Sage Date." The figure's voice lowered threateningly. "Sage of Halo. But I want you to know the name of the person who will bring about your demise. My name, Halo, is—"

"I know what your god-forsaken name is!" Sage threw at the spirit. He was infuriated by this ghost's self-confidence. "You're Hideyo Hazuki. You killed one of my best friends! And it's you who has been trying to kill the others!" Sage launched himself at the figure, completely unprepared when his sword went straight through without inflicting even the slightest amount of damage. He tried repeatedly to make a mark on his opponent, but each time proved unsuccessful.

Hideyo, unhurt and obviously enjoying himself, punched Sage's unprotected face.

The warrior stepped back and brought an armored hand to his nose. He wouldn't be surprised if it was broken. In fact, he was fairly certain it was as he opened his mouth to provide entrance into his body for the chilled air. But the thought of Hideyo being able to hurt him and not vice-versa worried the warrior more than any broken bones at the moment.

This will certainly be a short battle, he thought, if I can't figure out his weakness. I could call the others but the armor of Halo probably has the best chance in this battle. There's no sense in getting the others injured, too.

Hideyo mock jumped at Sage and laughed as the other tripped in his haste to get away. "You see?" he asked smugly. "Your opposition to death is just a waste of both of our breaths. Oh wait! I almost forgot! I don't have to breathe anymore." A grin of smug, malicious intent found its way to his lips.

Sage scrambled back to his feet as quickly as he could. This guy was sick, that much Sage was sure of. Holding his no-datchi before his face, he looked across the blade hoping to find an answer. How was he going to get out of this one? Ghosts are just spirits with unfinished business, right? What could Hideyo's be? "What do you want?" he asked the spirit, hoping to lure some sort of clue from the mass of energy before him. "Why are you here?"

Hideyo smirked. "A warrior cannot have honor without successfully finishing that which he starts, correct?"

Sage narrowed his eyes menacingly. He didn't like where this was leading. "Correct..."

"I have come to claim the rest of my honor."

"You have no honor!" So that was it. Hideyo had come to kill the rest of the Ronins, the one thing that would make his revenge against Ryo complete. What else would hurt the now-deceased Ronin more than having his closest friends killed in a feud that they did not even belong in? It was the ultimate maker of self-guilt, and Sage easily remembered how taken his leader had been by the emotion in life. But how could Hideyo call killing someone out of cold blood honor?

"Oh, but I do," the spirit retaliated at Sage's accusation. "And I will get what I want," he hissed. "As soon as everyone is dead that was precious and dear to the scum Sanada's heart, I will have my honor. I will complete my revenge. His death was not enough!"

Whether it was the realization of what Hideyo's unfinished business was, the way he talked about Ryo, or the fact that he was just tired of being pushed around, something inside the usually cool blonde finally snapped. "Even in death you are a madman...Go to Hell: The one place you do belong!"

Sage twirled and controlled his no-datchi with the perfection that came from years of hard practice. He advanced on the ghost, pushing him back, much to the Ronin's surprise. The two danced out of the clearing and away from it until they arrived on the hill that Sage had occupied earlier. With a flip of his wrist, the warrior of light made his Halo sword slice diagonally across Hideyo's chest. Shocked amazement showed on both their faces when the blade made contact and sliced the shirt in two from Hideyo's left shoulder to right hip.

The spirit's eyes widened when he noticed a small trickle of blood seep out of his skin. "Y-You touched me! How is that possible!" he gasped, horrified.

Sage couldn't hide the feral smile that slipped onto his face. He was quickly encouraged by the sight of blood staining Hideyo's chest and pushed him further back, closer to the water.

Hideyo looked down with a panic-stricken expression when they reached the end of the tall hill. "You don't want to do this," he began, stepping slightly to the side. "You are a warrior of honor! You do not kill in cold blood!"

"Protecting my friends speaks of more than cold blood, wouldn't you say?" Sage saw that the spirit was going to attempt an escape and threw his no-datchi to the ground. He leapt forward and wrapped his arms around the other, intent on keeping him where he was. But Sage had forgotten exactly who and what he was dealing with.

Hideyo's eyes took on a deadly, yet pleased look to them. "Foolish boy, don't you know ghosts don't have blood?" He smiled grimly. In that one instant, the dead boy became transparent again before he completely disappeared from sight. "You have been deceived, Sage of Halo! Now, two down, three more to go." Hideyo's unmistakable madman laugher rang throughout the air as he merrily watched his victim tumble head over heels down the hillside and into the freezing pond below. He left upon hearing the satisfying splash of the living boy hit the water, and the popping of bubbles that accompanied it as Sage's body sunk swiftly to the pond's bottom.

COMPLETELY REVISED: 7/19/2004