Greetings! Sorry it took me so long to update, my computer got sick and I had to give it a little TLC. Remember: The girls and Hajime are mine, everyone else belongs to Sunrise. :) Enjoy and please review!
Nature's Fury
Chapter 4
Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Rowen's near death experience and the mysterious women had walked into the Ronins lives.
After a lot of arguing and searching, whining and sleepless nights, the warriors finally realized that they still had no idea what was going on. When days turned into weeks, the warriors grew more restless for answers, the stress of not understanding what was going on driving each of them to the breaking point.
"We gotta do something." Ryo muttered.
"Okay, let's go over the facts again..." Sage said
"Sage, we've gone over the facts at least two dozen times since they came." Rowen groaned.
Sage muttered something under his breath and crossed his arms, staring sulkily out the window of the living room.
It was a boring Saturday at the Ronin household. The university had just let out last week for the summer and since none of the Ronins felt like mustering up the energy for a summer job, they basically laid around all day and watched TV. Eventually, however, the call of public broadcasting became droll and the boys were forced to think about other things. Like the strange occurrences that had happened in the last few weeks.
"Maybe we should go try to look for them again." Kento said, drumming his hands on the arm of the recliner he sat in.
"That won't help, Kento." Cye said, sullenly. "We've looked around for them or clues as to where they are so many times I don't think there's an inch of the forest I don't know like the back of my hand."
"Well, at least we'd be doing something instead of sitting here like a bunch of idiots." Kento argued.
"You guys could weed the garden." Mia called as she walked past the door on her way t her study.
The guys rolled their eyes and moaned, not eager for manual labor, either.
"I have an idea!" Rowen cried, sitting up straight.
"What?!" Ryo asked, excitedly.
"Let's go camping!" Rowen said, grinning broadly.
The other's blinked at him a moment.
"Camping?" Cye said, incredulously.
"You want...me...to go camping." Sage said, with a laugh. "Yeah, that'll happen."
Rowen frowned. "Aw, come on guys. It'll be fun!"
"'Fun' he says." Sage muttered.
"Besides, we're obviously not getting anything done here, so why don't we at least try and enjoy our summer!" Rowen said.
"Ro, this isn't the time for camping. What we should be doing is figuring out what's going on with those strange girls." Ryo said.
"Yeah, but it's obvious that we don't know anything. We can't do anything about them until they decide to show themselves again." Rowen argued.
"He's got a point there." Cye said.
"Besides, maybe if we get out of the mansion and go live in the woods for a time, maybe they'll be more inclined to reveal themselves to us." Rowen said.
"You, mean, that maybe they'll follow us." Kento said.
"Exactly. Remember how Electra said she was 'watching' me? Well, maybe we'll see them if we get closer to nature." Rowen said, smiling.
"This mansion is kinda intimidating." Ryo muttered.
"So, what do you say? We get out, have a little fun, and hopefully learn a little more about what's going on while we're at it." Rowen asked, giving them all puppy eyes.
"I am NOT sleeping on the ground." Sage said, glaring slightly.
"My family has an RV. I could see if I could borrow it for a week or so." Kento said.
"There, you see! Alright, then, it's all settled. We'll leave this afternoon." Rowen said, happily.
"Fine. Let's go get ready." Cye said, standing up and walking into the kitchen to pack the necessary food-stuff they would need.
Kento went to call his parents about getting the RV while Ryo and Rowen went to pack. Sage sulked by the window for a moment, but eventually sighed, giving in to his apparent fate and went to tell Mia what they were planning.
"On the road again...I just can't wait to get on the road again..." Kento sang slightly off-key in his strong baritone voice.
Cye, sitting shotgun, rubbed his temples wearily. They had been driving for hours, and having been recruited to be co-piolet, Cye had to listen to Kento sing and hum his way halfway across Japan.
"Okay, Kento. The road should be just up ahead on the left." Cye said, reading a sign for Kyoto National Park. Authors Note: I'm taking liberties. Don't sue me.
Kento, far too happy with the prospect of camping, swung the RV wildly as the road came into view, slamming Cye against the window.
Oblivious to the terror he had caused, Kento continued to hum as he drove down the dirt road. Cye sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt, drawing back the curtain separating the driver's area and the rest of the RV to check on his comrades. What he saw there made him snicker.
Ryo lay on the floor, screaming blue hell as Sage and Rowen lay on top of him. Apparently, Kento's jerky driving had caused them to tumble from the bunks they rested in, resulting in the heap of human body parts on the floor.
Cye walked over and helped a moaning Sage to his feet.
"I'm gonna kill him." Rowen muttered as he got off Ryo, and stalked towards the front of the RV.
Suddenly, the RV stopped, and the four Ronins went down again screaming in frustration.
The curtain pulled back and Kento walking over to them, grinning down at their upturned faces.
"Hey, what're you guys all lying around for. We're here." He said as he opened the door and walked out.
Cye, Ryo and Sage, glared daggers at Rowen as they got up and headed outside after Kento.
"Hey, it was your idea to let him drive, Ryo." Rowen said.
"Yeah, yeah." Ryo muttered, stepping out of the vehicle.
The camp ground was beautiful. Pristine forest surrounded the cleared off camp ground. A canopy of tall trees provided shade for the little clearing while still allowing enough rays of sunshine in to make it warm and bright. Thick vegetation grew nearby and a trail lead into the forest. There was a fire pit and a picnic table with benches there as well.
"Hey, this is pretty nice." Ryo commented, looking around.
"Yep, and there's no one else here to bother us either." Rowen said, happily.
"Really? There's no one else here at all?" Cye asked.
"Well, back at the entrance there's a ranger's station, but there are no other campers." Rowen commented.
"Why is that, I wonder?" Cye said, looking around.
"Most likely because it's still so early in the season. Or we're just lucky, I guess." Kento said, grinning.
Within the hour, the guys had set up the camp. They'd sleep in the RV, but cook outside. Sage was happy to find that the camp provided bathrooms with showers only a short walk away from their camp site, and all were happy to find that the RV had a TV and DVD player for their entertainment.
About four o'clock in the afternoon, Ryo and Kento popped Golden Eye into the player.
"Hey, guys, we're gonna watch a movie, you want to join us?" Ryo asked, poking his head out of the RV where Sage, Cye and Rowen were sitting at the picnic table.
"Actually, we were just discussing going for a walk." Cye answered.
"Oh, okay then." Ryo said, going back inside the RV to watch the movie with Kento.
Sage, Cye and Rowen left soon afterwards, taking the trail into the woods. Walking leisurely and enjoying the beauty of nature around them, the three Ronins discussed everything from movies, to sports to women. After an hour of walking, Sage decided to stop to meditate, heading off the trail into the forest to find a good spot. Cye and Rowen continued walked, absorbed in a conversation about the latest movie.
None of the Ronin's noticed the storm clouds forming on the horizon, even when they began to move closer, the canopy of trees blocking the sky from view. Soon, the clouds were black and ominous, thunder rumbling loudly as the storm's power grew.
Looking up, Rowen sighed as he noticed the dark clouds through the trees.
"Looks like we should be heading back, Cye. It's gonna rain." He said, turning on the trail.
Suddenly, a brilliant light flashed across the sky as lightning struck the tallest tree in the forest, about half an hour's walk behind them on the trail. Rowen and Cye knew nothing of this however, as they walked quickly back in the direction of the RV and the now burning tree between them.