Chapter 10
A cool breeze rustled the white curtains on the open windows, causing them to sway up and then fall back against the window. Crickets chirped outside somewhere in the night, their sounds floating through the open window. Rylea sat cross legged on her queen size bed in her wife beater and black sweats, a lap top sat in front of her, its screen lit up with the beginnings of her homework and internet explorer.
Whiteblaze dozed at the foot of her bed, half watching the girl as she examined the flame pendant Leinto had given her. The orange and red flame blazed as if it were a burning fire every time her flesh came in contact with it and it even felt warm to the touch. It's beautiful, but what exactly is this thing? Rylea pondered while turning the thing over and over in her hands.
A knock at her door jerked Rylea from her thoughts momentarily. She looked up at her door briefly to say, "Come in," before going back to the necklace and her thoughts, her tiger blue eyes set into a piercing frown of concentration on the necklace in her hands.
The bedroom door opened and closed, but Rylea didn't bother to look up to see who the person was that had just entered her room, she was too engrossed in the necklace to even notice that her father was now sitting on her bed positioned in front of her.
"What's that?" he asked her, now too, looking at the necklace she held in her hands.
Rylea jumped, startled by his voice. She looked up at him, blinking as she now noticed him sitting on her bed. "What's what?" she replied back with a confused expression, wondering how he had appeared in her room.
Ryo pointed to the flame pendant she held in her hands again and repeated his question, "What's that?"
Rylea glanced down at her hands and then held up the necklace for him to see, "This? It's just something Leinto gave me."
"Really," he replied and looked it over critically before then glancing at his daughter. "Any idea why he gave this to you?"
Rylea put the necklace back over her head where it came to rest against her chest, next to her Mother's pendant. "He gave all of us one," she explained. "Each one matched our attributes. He said something about them enhancing our elemental magic or something along those lines."
"Elemental magic?" Ryo repeated with a raised dark eyebrow.
"Yeah," Rylea replied. "How did Leinto Explain it? Ok, each of our armors derive from an element. Mine is fire, hence the flame pendant, so my elemental magic or power would be fire." Handing the flame pendant over to him she said, "Here, I wanna see something."
Ryo took the flame pendant in his hand, the flame coming to life as it had when Rylea had touched it, crackling and blazing as a real fire would. He blinked as if surprised that a necklace could do that. Rylea smirked and took the necklace back from him, "I guess that means only Wildfire bearers can make this thing glow."
"Nani?" he said, not quite getting what she was saying.
"Ok, whenever I touch this thing, it does the same thing and I was just curious to see if it would react the same way to you," Rylea replied logically to her father. "And it did, which proved my suspicion right."
Ryo blinked several times as his brain slowly digested and comprehended what all his daughter had just informed him of. Most of it made some sense to him, but other parts of it he wasn't too sure about. "Right, ok I think I got all that," he said with a smile at his daughter. "I'm surprised that you actually paid attention to Leinto for once though, Lea."
Rylea glared at her father's smiling face, playfully shoving him away from her, "Shut up, Dad," she told him, feeling insulted by his teasing.
Ryo chuckled at her antics, knowing that she was playing with him and really wasn't all that mad. A soft smile came to his face as he studied Rylea for a moment or two, actually taking the time to notice just how much she had grown and how much she reminded him of her Mother at times. Yes, Rylea was a female carbon copy of himself, but at times she acted more like her Mother with her sarcastic attitude.
He smiled softly at the pendant dangling from her neck as his eyes came to rest upon it, gently taking it in his hand, smoothly running his thumb over the top of it. "Your Mother almost never took this off," he told her, letting it go to fall against Rylea's chest.
Rylea looked down at the pendant, cradling it in-between the palms of her hands as if it were some fragile thing, as she looked it over. She looked up at her father with beseeching eyes now while saying, "Dad, tell me something about Mom; something nice."
Ryo eyed his daughter for a moment, not quiet understanding her sudden interest in memories of her Mother. She never asked about her Mother and he wasn't really sure that he even wanted to go back and drag up memories, even if they were good ones, of Luna ---it was still too painful for him.
As if reading his thoughts, Rylea piped up apologetically, "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked... I know it's hard for you."
"No," Ryo replied, pulling his daughter into his lap. "You want a memory of your Mom and a memory you shall get."
Rylea smiled up at her father, snuggling closer to him. "You sure?" she asked him hesitantly. "I mean, I understand if you don't want to."
"No, Jouchan, it's ok. Its been too long and I think it's about time that I started letting go," he replied thoughtfully as he stroked his daughter's hair softly and began to think of a memory for her. There were so many good memories of the times he hadspent with Luna that it was hard for him to pick just one. He smiled and looked down at the girl in his arms as a memory came to him.
"You know, you were your Mom's pride and joy," he said to her. "She was always dressing you up in the cutest outfits, even though you hated them, and parading you around like a gold medal. You were her, little Lea angel, as she used to call you."
Rylea smiled at his words, glancing up at her father with a shy smile, "Really?"
"Yeah, really," Ryo replied with a fond smile down at her. "She loved you more than anything in the world, Lea. From the time they brought you in that room for her to see you, from the moment you laid those pretty blue eyes of yours on her and smiled, she was forever hooked."
Then he added off hand, "As was most of the staff who worked at the hospital."
Rylea laughed at her father, wrapping her arms around his chest in a hug. "So I've heard," she said with a smile, trying to picture her Mom and that day in the hospital. "Dad?"
"Hm?" he replied with a glance down at her.
"Do you," she started and then rethought what she was going to say carefully. "Do you think Mom's proud of me? Do you think she still loves me even though I can't remember her anymore?"
Ryo stared down at his daughter, taken back by her question. He knew that she probably didn't remember her Mother as well as Ryu or he did, but didn't think that she had completely forgotten about her. Smiling in understanding as to why she had all of a sudden requested memories of her Mother, Ryo replied, "Yeah, Lea, I know your Mom does."
Catching her chin with his hand he tipped her face up to look at him, "I know your Mom is proud of you because I'm proud of you, Lea and it doesn't matter if you can remember her or not because as long as you think of her, she'll always love you."
Rylea eyed her father silently, contemplating what he had said to her. His words made sense to her and almost filled that empty place she felt, but not completely. She didn't think anything would ever fill that empty hole she had, that nagging feeling that she was missing a big part of her. "Thanks, Dad," she said with a smile. "I feel better knowing that, even though I don't believe a word you said."
Ryo chuckled and hugged her close. "Oh Lea, Lea, Lea," he mumbled with a smile.
"Oh Dad, Dad, Dad," she mumbled back mockingly with a broad grin. "How you annoy me to no end."
Ryo smirked more in mirth than anger, finding his daughter's sarcastic teasing amusing. "I annoy you huh?" he replied back, snuggling his daughter like she was a teddy bear.
"Gah, Dad! Let me go!" Rylea protested adamantly to his snuggling, trying to pry herself from his grasp.
Ryo laughed, but did as she had requested letting her go as she was in the middle of pushing herself from his grasp and watched her fall back onto her bed. Whiteblaze lifted his large white and black striped head to glare at the two, annoyed that he had been disturbed while trying to sleep. He didn't appreciate it one little bit and wished that they would stop it.
Rylea glared up at her father angrily as he laughed at her, not finding what he had done funny in the least bit. Growling she kicked him in the leg and yelled moodily, "Shut up!"
"Ow, hey now," Ryo mumbled through his chortling mirth, wiping the tears from his eyes from his laughter. "You don't have to be abusive, Lea."
"With you I do," she retorted, sitting back up on her bed on crossed legs and stuck her tongue out at him.
Ryo smiled at her, amused thoroughly by her antics. He was glad she was acting like her normal, playful self instead of like her demonic twin, like she had been for the last couple of weeks. Smirking he flicked his gaze from his daughter to the lap top that sat open on her bed turning it so that he could see the screen better. "Doing homework?" he asked wryly when he found the open internet explorer and mailbox on the screen.
Rylea glared back at him testily and grabbed the laptop from him, shutting it so that he wouldn't be looking at it. "Does it matter to you?" she asked back.
"When your report card comes in and I don't see good grades it will," he threatened her, knowing full well that he'd just lecture and never discipline her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she replied nonchantly with a disinterested wave of her hand. "You always say that."
Ryo smiled at her reply as he petted the white tiger lying next to him on her bed scratching him behind the ears as Whiteblaze purred in response. Stopping, he lazily got up from where he had been sitting, stretching his arms over his head. "Ok, Jouchan, time for bed. The laptop needs to be turned off and you need to be in bed in ten minutes, wakatta?" he told her as he leaned down to give her a good night kiss.
Rylea slanted her dark eyebrows into an agitated glare at her father and moved her head away from him irritably. Ryo only smirked at her actions, he had annoyed her and this was her way of getting back at him. "So is it gonna be like that, huh?" he asked her in a playful voice, trying to act mad even though he really wasn't as he grabbed her into a hug smothering her face with kisses as Rylea protested angrily and tried her best to wriggle free from her father's grasp. Laughing, Ryo let his daughter go and smiled happily at the glare she gave him, relishing in the glory of his triumph.
Rylea glared at him angrily as she wiped at her face, trying her best to rid herself of the kisses he'd left there. Ryo only smiled more at her, "Oyasumi nasai, Lea," he told her, ruffling her hair before walking out of her bedroom and closing the door behind himself.
"Good night, Dad," she mocked at the closed door, sticking her tongue out and pulling down on her bottom eyelid as she did so. Whiteblaze stared at her as she grumbled things to herself while shutting her laptop off and placing it on her nightstand before climbing under her covers.
He shook his large head at her in mirth and laid it down on his paws, finally thinking that he could fall asleep since she was now going to sleep herself. The room fell silent as sleep settled over the two occupants of the room. The curtains on the windows continued to billow out as the breeze blew outside ruffling Whiteblaze and Rylea's hair in the process. The chirping crickets outside went eerily quiet though as if they sensed an unseen presence amongst them in the dark.
-
Rowen walked into his house, closing the door behind him as he leaned against it with a heavy sigh. He looked as if his day had not gone good and had a lot of bad news kind of like when you've had one of those days where nothing goes right and then you get the worst news of your life.
Kiylee came around the corner from the front room, smiling when she saw who had come in. "Konnichiwa, koibito," she greeted him happily, her smile turning into a frown at the look on his face.
"Hey, Kiy," he replied back glumly and tried to force a smile at her he didn't manage to though, he had too many thoughts on his mind.
"Ok," Kiylee said as she placed her hands on her hips. "What happened? Did one of your patients die?"
Rowen shook his blue head, a smile coming to his face at her. He took a deep breath and a ran a hand through his already messy cerulean blue hair. "Where's Rona?" he asked her simply.
Kiylee frowned at her husband in confusion, pointing back down the hall from where she'd come. "She's in her room. Is this about, Lea, Ro?" she queried of him.
Rowen gave her a solemn nod before stepping around her to walk down the hall towards Rona's room. What he needed to tell Rona did concern his niece and keeping to his promise, his daughter was going to be the first to know about it. Coming to her door, Rowen stopped outside it and knocked on the door waiting outside it for the "come in" before he entered into her room.
"Hey, Rons," he said as he walked into her room, trying to act as cheery as he could so as to not alarm her.
Rona looked up at him from where she was lying on her bed doing her homework, "Hi."
"I've got something I need to tell you," he told her, taking a seat next to his daughter on her bed.
Rona peered at him in confusion as she sat up, sitting on crossed legs now. "Yeah? What would that be?" she asked him back, closing her books and giving him her full attention.
"Yeah, um," he stuttered out, trying to figure out just how he wanted to word what he was about to tell her. "Lea's blood work came in today."
"And?" she replied, now intrigued as to what the results had been.
Rowen took a deep breath before he said anything, making sure he knew just how he was going to say it. "Rona, what come back didn't make any sense to any of us," he told her, frowning lightly as he remembered the conversation he had had with his colleagues about her results.
Rona's face took on a blank look as she stared at him, not really understanding what he was saying to her, "What do you mean it didn't make sense?"
Rowen sighed, rubbing the back of his head in thought. "Rona, what came back is something that none of us have ever seen before. Her blood is a type that doesn't even exist."
"How-" Rona started and then rethought what she was going to say. "How is that possible? Explain a little more for me, Dad."
"Ok, Rona this doesn't make sense to me, but I'll try and explain to you just what I saw," he told her, clearing his throat before he continued. "When her blood results came back, the lab technician actually came and found me to show me what he had found. He kept rambling on about how it didn't make sense that her blood would look like that and seemed very intrigued and almost worried. At first I didn't believe what he was saying and thought that maybe he was just making it up but when I saw her blood-"
Rona's purple-blue eyes slanted into a frown at her father as he trailed off in thought, stopping mid sentence to almost rethink what he was saying as if he still didn't believe what he was saying was true. "Dad, what did you see? What is wrong with her blood?" she asked her father, snapping him from his thoughts.
Rowen looked over at her, studying her face for a moment before he responded to her question. "Rona, her blood looks as if it is something right out of a science fiction movie or has been mutated in some way. It's something that I've never seen before. I can't even explain to you what it is, because I myself can't think of a way to explain it," he told her, his voice letting on how confused and almost scared he was. "That's the best that I can say it."
Rona shook her head, not wanting to believe what he had said to her. How could her cousin, her best friend, have a blood type that was something that was confusing even to the top doctors in the world? What had her father actually seen that could have baffled him to the point of where he couldn't even describe it? "I don't understand," she whispered out in utter confusion.
"I know," Rowen replied just quietly, his brain was still reeling over what he had seen. "I don't understand it either."
Rona racked a concerned hand through her royal-blue-hair. "I've got to tell, Lea. She needs to know," she said and reached out for the phone on her nightstand.
"Rona no," Rowen replied and grabbed her hand before it could touch the receiver. "Let me tell her and Ryo tomorrow."
Rona stared at him a little uneasily, almost as if she didn't believe he would. "Please?" Rowen pleaded with the look his daughter was giving him. "Let me be the one to tell them."
Rona sighed and dropped her hand back to her side, "Alright, you can tell them. It would probably be best anyway."
Rowen smiled at her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Thanks, I get paid to tell people bad news, remember?" he said to her jokingly with a smile.
Rona smiled softly, laughing lightly at his joke, "Yeah, I remember."
Rowen smiled at his daughter, caressing the side of her head softly. He knew she was upset and puzzled just as much as he was over the new events. "Hey, don't worry about this. Nothing is going to happen to her, at least I don't think and I promise that I will inform, Ryo about this tomorrow," he stated, hoping his words would console and ease her worried mind.
Rona glanced up at her father, her purple-blue eyes gave away how desperately she wanted to believe him. Rowen felt his heart break at that look seeing his daughter looking so desperate, so afraid, made him feel horrible. He wished that there was something that he could do, something he could say to take all that pain and anxiety away, but nothing he could do or say would.
Feeling like he had to do at least something, Rowen gathered his daughter into his arms and held her close rocking her back and forth like he had when she was little. Rona just snuggled into his embrace, trying to rid herself of the new problems she had. Rona trusted her father and if he said that her cousin was going to be ok and that he was going to tell her Uncle Ryo tomorrow, then she believed him. What else could she do, but trust him?
-
The sun beat down brightly from the cloudless blue sky above the city, giving no relief to the bustling city and occupants below. Kami held a hand over her sea-green eyes to block out the sunlight as she walked along the sidewalk with Keish and Rylea. It was another hot, July day and the chance of rain ending the tyranny of the sun didn't seem to be in the forecast for a while. The petite brunette of Torrent fanned her face in a futile attempt to cool herself and looked over at her other two friends walking along side her.
Keish seemed to be just as annoyed by the heat as she was, but Rylea didn't seem to be having a problem with it. The fact that Rylea looked to be almost comfortable in the sweltering heat didn't surprise Kami.She was, after all, the Lady Ronin of Wildfire. Keish groaned in aggravation to the scorching heat.
"Man, could it get any hotter? I feel like I'm gonna to start melting here pretty soon," she protested while pulling her ash-blue hair up off the back of her neck.
Kami smiled at her friend's protesting and looked over to Rylea who had her thumbs tucked into the back pockets of her blue jean shorts, walking along next to them as if the heat had no effect on her. "How are you and the heat doing, Lea?" she asked her, already knowing what her answer would be.
Rylea glanced over at the brunette, smiling at her comment. She knew that Kami was trying to be funny. "Heat and I have a beautiful relationship," Rylea replied with a smile at her water loving friend.
Keish snorted at her remark, "Yeah, well tell your lover heat to tone it down a bit. I can't take much more of this."
"I would, but I'm loving this hot weather too much to ask him to," Rylea stated sarcastically back to the taller girl next to her.
Keish smirked and turned her head to glare down at the shorter, dark brown-black haired girl. Kami, sensing an argument might start, decided to speak before it could. "Hey you guys," she said, gaining their attention. "Why don't we get some ice cream or something cold since we're out in the heat. Maybe it'll cool us down."
"Hey, now that's the way to use that brain," Keish replied, hugging the shorter girl around the neck with one arm. "I like the way you think, Kami."
"Thanks," Kami responded, taking the arm of her friend from around her neck. "I'm glad you do."
Rylea shook her head and her shaggy dark hair swung to either side as she smiled in mirth at the two; picking up her pace and walking ahead of them in the direction of the ice cream vendor in front of them. "Come on you two," she gestured with her arm for them to follow her. Smiling to each other, Keish and Kami quickly stepped up their pace to keep up with the girl in front of them.
After paying for their ice cream, the three girls continued on their way down the sidewalk of the inner city of Toyama, glancing in the windows of the stores they passed as they licked at the ice cream they'd bought and talked. As the girls rounded the corner on their way back to Rylea's house, a hand came out from behind them and grabbed a hold of Rylea's arm. Immediately the young ninja swung around, ready to karate chop the person who had grabbed her.
"Hey!" a voice of a man shouted at her, grabbing the arm she had tried to hit the person with.
Rylea blinked up at the person who stood before her as Keish and Kami came up behind her, ready to fight if needed to. "Tadin?" she asked, baffled by the appearance of him.
Tadin smirked, his head was leaned away from her outstretched hand that had been aimed at his head, that he now held. "Yeah," he replied back. "Is this how you greet everyone?"
Rylea smirked back at him, amused by his comment as she surveyed his outfit; dark blue jeans with a black muscle shirt. "Only people who sneak up on me like you did," she retorted sarcastically.
"So I see," he said, smiling as if he knew a secret, towards her, Keish and Kami. "I guess asking you what a little thing like you and your friends are doing out walking the streets without protection would be kind of stupid?"
Rylea narrowed her vivid blue eyes into a glare at the dingy blond in front of her while placing her hands on her hips in a threatening manner. "I'm not little and yes it would be," she replied hotly and then noticed that her ice cream was now lying splattered across the sidewalk. "And you made me drop my ice cream!"
Tadin grinned at her, she looks cute when she's mad, he thought. "Of course you're not," he said and then added. "I'm sorry about the ice cream. How about I buy you another one to replace that one?"
Rylea smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, she had heard his little thought about her and didn't like it one bit or at least was trying to act like she didn't. Something about this guy didn't seem right to her and she kept seeing this almost other worldly look about him. Rylea blinked and grabbed the flame necklace Leinto had given her, for a second there it had felt warm against her skin. Holding the necklace, she looked back at Tadin. Is my necklace reacting to him? Is it warning me?
Keish smiled brightly at the two, knowing that Tadin had a thing for Rylea. "Hey, Tadin," she said, joining into the conversation. "We were just about to go back to Lea's house. Would you like to come hang with us for a while?"
"Keish!" Kami scolded the ash-blue haired girl with a scowl on her pretty face.
"Nani?" the ash-blue haired warrior of Hardrock asked back innocently with a sheepish grin at her.
Rylea laughed at her two friend's good natured fighting and smiled up at Tadin. "Well, do you?" she asked him.
"Do I what?" Tadin asked back with a sly grin at her.
Rylea smirked at him, annoyed that he was going to play it dumb. "Do you want to come hang with us at my house for a while?" she asked him, stating each word slowly and carefully for him like he was mentally challenged and needed things said plain to him.
Tadin chuckled at her, "I don't know. Will your Dad mind?"
"Maybe, but do we really care?" she said and turned around to look at her friends for a response. Both girls responded with a shake of their head to signify that they didn't. "Ok then, are you or aren't you?" Rylea asked as she turned back to look up at Tadin with a challenging expression.
Tadin smirked, enjoying her antics and sarcasm. "Alright, I will. Not like I have anything else better to do," he replied finally with a smile at the three girls. "Shall we then?"
"Yeah, come on, Tadin buddy. To Lea's house we go," Keish said as she turned on her heels and began to walk in front of the others with Kami next to her. Rylea shook her head at Keish, following after them as Tadin walked next to her.
-
Ryo sat in his front room with Rowen and even the charge, Leinto was present. Whiteblaze dozed at his master's feet, half listening to the conversation that the three men were having. They had been talking for the last hour about something concerning his mistress Rylea, but the white tiger wasn't too sure about all the details concerning it ---all he knew was that whatever they were talking about must have been very important.
Ryo sat back against his couch, digesting what all he had been told by his brother-in-law about his daughter. He agreed that it was strange that her blood would look like that, but thought that maybe something had happened to it while it was in the lab to give it that effect. When Rowen had assured him that nothing had happened to it and that it hadn't been tampered with in anyway, he then turned to the charge, Leinto for his two cents on it.
Leinto had been very quiet about the whole situation, only saying a few things on it and then going on to tell them that a new demon, a female, had been found. This led Ryo to believe that he knew more than what he was saying. Leinto wouldn't say much on what Rowen had brought to his attention and didn't seem to be bothered too much by it, only someone who knew what was going on would act like that.
The sounds of voices and chatting rang through the open windows, snapping Ryo, Rowen and Leinto from their thoughts as the people they belonged to came up the steps to the porch. The front door opened and Rylea appeared a few seconds later from around the wall that separated the living room from the front door hallway. "Hey Dad, I've got company so blaze needs to go outside or something," she said to him, her eyes glancing around at the people in room, smiling when she noticed her uncle. "Hey, Uncle Rowen."
"Hey Lea, what are you up to?" Rowen responded to his niece with a smile.
"Nothing new," she replied with a grin at him, ignoring Leinto on purpose. The aging old man didn't seem to have a problem with her not greeting him either as he remained quiet in his seat.
"What do you mean 'you have company and blaze needs to go'? It's not like Keish and Kami haven't seen him before," Ryo stated to his daughter from his spot on the couch with Whiteblaze at his feet. Whiteblaze lifted his head and looked around the room at the people in it when he heard his name said.
"Because," Rylea drawled out, clasping her hands in front of her and swaying to either side. "I have a friend over and he doesn't know that I have a tiger as a pet."
"He?" Ryo repeated with a raised eyebrow to her. "Your friend is a male?"
Rowen chuckled as he folded his arms behind his head and leaned back against the chair he sat in, "Uh oh, it's already starting, Ryo."
"The hell it is," Ryo replied with a smirk over at Rowen. "I don't know what you let Rona do, but I'll be damned if I'm letting my daughter start that dating crap now. I probably won't even let her date when she turns eighteen."
Rowen laughed at Ryo's proclaim, finding him funny, "Yeah, Yeah, we'll see about that in a few years."
"Um, hello, I am still in the room ya know?" Rylea said, waving her arm to be noticed by the two men who were talking as if she wasn't there.
"Hai, I know you are," Ryo replied back mockingly as he flicked his fierce gaze back over onto her. "Who's this 'guy', Lea?"
"His name is, Tadin, he's not my boyfriend, he just moved here and he'll only be staying for a little while," she replied back with a glare at him, his questioning was starting to annoy her.
"Ok, well, he stays out of your room," Ryo retorted, watching her leading his tiger up the stairs to his son's room and then come back down, heading for the front door. "Did you hear me, Lea? He stays out of your room!"
Rylea waved him off as she went back outside to get Tadin and the girls. Rowen laughed at Ryo's antics, shaking his blue head at him. "Ryo, Ryo, Ryo," he said as he shook his head. "Give her a break. I think if he made a move on her she'd be able to handle herself alright."
"Yeah, but I know what boys his age are thinking and he is not going to be doing that with my daughter," Ryo retorted angrily.
"Well," Leinto said as he stood from where he sat. "It has been nice talking with you all and I'm glad that you shared your findings with us, Rowen, but I must be going now."
"Why? We still need to finish our conversation," Rowen spoke up, confused with his sudden need to leave.
"I understand and we can finish it later, but I would rather not finish this conversation with Rylea's presence here," he replied and then turned to Ryo. "We will finish this later. Please do not say anything to Rylea about what we have discussed here today."
Ryo nodded, not understanding why he couldn't tell his daughter about what they had found out about her, but nodded anyway. Leinto took his nod for an answer and with a nod to each of them disappeared from the room before Keish, Kami, Rylea and Tadin had entered.
All four young teens came into the house now. Ignoring the two adults sitting in the front room, they headed straight for Rylea's room. Ryo glared up at the four young people and shouted for them to stop, "Hold it right there."
Rylea growled and turned around with an annoyed glare to stare at her father in exasperation. "What do you want!" she shouted back at him.
Ryo smirked at his daughter, pointing his finger at her threateningly. "Don't get snappy with me young lady or I'll send your company home and you and I can have a little chat about giving your elders respect," he warned her and then added before she could say anything. "Make one sarcastic remark about the 'elders' part of what I just said and I will send them out."
Keish smiled and tried to playoff the tension in the room. "Come on now Uncle Ryo. You're getting all upset about nothing," she told him.
"We'll all be up here so it's not like anything is going to happen," Kami spoke up, trying to help persuade her uncle.
"Dad, you're starting to really bug me," Rylea added from behind gritted teeth with crossed arms.
Ryo smirked indignantly, not being persuaded in the least by their words. He didn't even know who this boy was they were all going to be in the same room with. "Keish, Kami, stay out of this please," he said to them and both girls went quiet. "Rylea, I'd like to at least meet your "friend" before he makes himself comfortable in my house."
"Fine, you want to meet my friend then fine," Rylea grumbled out in annoyance to her father, taking Tadin by the hand and dragging him back down the stairs and over to where her father sat. "Dad, Tadin. Tadin this is my Dad the annoying, overly protective, old man," she introduced, gesturing to each person in turn.
Ryo gave his daughter a glare that said just what he thought about her little comment about him. Rylea closed her mouth at that moment, turning her head away from him to keep from saying anything else. Ryo turned his angry gaze from his disrespectful daughter to the young man standing in front of him. "Whatever she says about me isn't all true," he said and then held his hand out for Tadin to shake with a polite smile. "I'm Ryo, Miss Smart Ass over there's, father."
"Um," Tadin replied with a polite smile back at him as he shook his hand. "Shouldn't I call you Mr. Sanada, though?"
Rylea snickered, covering her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing out loud. Ryo flicked his tiger blue eyes over onto her in a pointed glare before turning them back to Tadin. Rowen smiled from where he sat, deciding it would be better to not say anything at that time. "At least someone was brought up with manners," Ryo said, directing his comment over to his daughter who glanced over her shoulder at him with a smirk. "No, Tadin you said? You can call me Ryo, Mr. Sanada makes me sound old."
"You kinda are," Rylea muttered under her breath. Rowen chuckled at her, hearing what it was she had said and shook his head at her with a smile. Rylea only grinned back at her uncle innocently.
Tadin smiled at Ryo as he retracted his hand from his, sensing the same aura around him as he had around Rylea, "Ok, I'll try and remember to call you Ryo instead of Mr. Sanada."
"Thanks," Ryo replied and folded his arms behind his head. "I'll let you youngsters go on ahead and have fun since someone finds old men to be boring and very annoying."
Tadin chuckled at Ryo's comment, knowing that he was directing it at Rylea. The dark haired girl turned around with a flabbergasted look as she blinked at her father in confusion. "I don't have the slightest idea as to who you are talking about," she replied with an arrogant smirk to him.
"I'm sure," Ryo retorted with an all knowing grin at her.
"Come on you two," Keish said down to them from where Kami and her stood on the steps waiting for them.
"Yes, please hurry before Keish becomes too impatient and starts throwing a fit," Kami added with a smile to her ash-blue haired friend who in turn glared at the petite brunette.
Rylea smiled up at them and gestured with her head for Tadin to follow her as she started on her way up the stairs to her room. "Come on Tadin. Let's leave the old men to their conversation," she said with a sneer over in her father's direction.
Ryo opened his mouth to reply to her comment as the front door opened and closed again and footsteps, along with male's voices, could be heard coming into the front room. Ryu and Hojo came strolling into the front room, smiling at the company they found.
"Well," Ryu started and gestured up to his sister who was walking up the stairs to her room. "I thought I heard someone's big mouth shouting things."
Hojo laughed and grinned up at the glare Rylea was now giving him and Ryu, "Yeah, you can't miss that signature big mouth of hers." Hojo Date was tall like his father and had his father's trademark hair, but his hair was a little longer and not as puffy as his Dad's was. Not to mention that it also swooped over to cover hisleft eye instead of his right like his father's.His lavender-gray eyes twinkled as he smiled up at the glaring girl.
Keish and Kami sighed and groaned as they watched their friend turn around slowly, and almost cockily, as she stomp back down the stairs towards the two older boys. "Lea, let them go girl!" Keish told her, trying to get her to just come on up to her room.
"They're not worth it, Lea," Kami added, hoping she could convince her to let them go.
"Iie, you guys go on up to my room and I'll be there in a minute," Rylea told them as she walked back down the stairs, heading towards the two boys standing in her front room. "I've got two losers to teach a lesson to."
Kami sighed and looked up at Keish for the signal on what to do next. Keish shook her head, but said nothing else to the shorter girl as she continued on her way. "Come on you guys," she said finally and motioned for them to follow her up to Rylea's room, Tadin following after them reluctantly and closing her door after him.
Ryo chuckled in nothing less than amusement as he watched the events unfold, smirking over at his blue haired brother-in-law, "You think we'll get a show today?"
"With the way Lea's giving them those glares," Rowen replied thoughtfully and glanced over at the dark haired man. "I think we will."
"Oh no," Ryu gasped dramatically, clasping his hands in front of his face like he was praying. "I think we're in for it this time, Hojo. It looks like the shortie is going to hurt us."
Hojo laughed along with Ryu as Rylea stopped in front of the much taller boys and crossed her arms, glaring at the two as if she could kill them if she stared long enough. Hojo smiled at her, trying to lighten the mood. "Come on, Lea, we were just teasing you," he said and tried to pull the shorter girl into a hug, but Rylea just moved away from him irritably.
"Aw, now what's the matter, Lea. You know you want a hug from, Hojo," Ryu teased his much younger sister and the two older men in the front room laughed along with him.
"Shut up, Rye! I do not!" she yelled back at him, shoving her brother roughly away from her as a light blush crypt to her cheeks, but no one saw it.
"Whoa," Ryu replied, holding his hands up as if to ward off her yelling. "I think I hit a soft spot with her." Smiling he then added in a whisper to Hojo, "I think she likes you, Hojo."
Hojo smiled at the brown haired male next to him as Ryu winked at him with a nudge, looking then back over at the dark haired girl who seemed to be fuming and turning an odd shade of red. "Nah," he pronounced finally with a shake of his blond head. "I don't think so."
"Yes she does," Ryu continued on, poking his sister teasingly in the stomach. "You like, Hojo don't you, Lea. Hai, you do."
Rylea glared at him more, wishing that she could just set him on fire or something to get him to shut up. Her glare only intensified as the sounds of her father and uncle laughing behind her became evident to her; something deep within her began to pace restlessly, wanting to be set free.
Hojo's smile faded from his face and took on a look of concern and worry as he watched the younger girl's attitude become darker and darker instead of her laughing like she usually would have. A burning fire seemed to shine in her eyes, as the necklace she was wearing began to glow red, and before Hojo knew what was happening, a fire had sprung up in front of him and Ryu. Hojo stumbled back from the fire, along with Ryu, barely missing becoming a human fire ball.
Ryo and Rowen sprang up from their seats in a hurried and startled fashion, Rowen rushing to grab something to smother the flames out with. Ryo rushed to his daughter's side, grabbing her arm and jerking her roughly back away from the flames as Rowen tossed a blanket over it and began to stomp it out.
"Rylea!" he shouted at her, snapping her out of the trance she had been in. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"
Rylea blinked several times, examining the scene in front of her before everything began to set in. "I-" she started and shook her head blankly. "I don't know."
"I'll tell you what you were doing!" Ryu shouted to his sister, still in shock about almost being set on fire. "You were trying to set me on fire!"
Hojo blinked as he came out of his stupor, still confused as to how the fire had started and why his uncle and friend were blaming Rylea for it, as if she had done it. Rylea looked around at the people who were now staring at her for an explanation, their glares asking her why she had done it. "I-" she stuttered out and turned her gaze up at her father, hoping to get relief from him. "I didn't mean to do it. Honest! It just happened, I didn't mean for it to."
"What's going on?" came the concerned question from the people upstairs as they came out of Rylea's room and down to investigate.
Keish and Kami looked around at the other people in the room, noticing the blanket on the floor and smoke still trailing out from under it, their eyes immediately setting on Rylea. Tadin blinked, not understanding completely what was going on.
Ryo sighed in provocation, bringing his gaze up from his daughter to look at Tadin. "Um, I think it would be best if you left now, Tadin," he said to him quietly.
Tadin nodded silently, understanding that something had gone on that he just wasn't catching on to. "Alright, I'll talk to you all later," he said and waved to Keish and Kami as he walked out of the house, leaving them all to their situation.
"Lea, what did you do? Try and set Ryu and Hojo on fire or something?" Kami asked, her sea-green eyes scanning over the two boys and the smoking blanket in front of them.
"I-I don't know," she responded and drifted her vivid blue gaze up to the two boys standing in front of her. "I'm sorry you guys, really. I didn't mean for that to happen."
"Hey, it's ok," Hojo consoled, wrapping his arms around the upset girl. "I know you didn't mean to... At least not almost set me on fire anyway."
Rylea excepted his hug, chuckling at Hojo's comment. Ryu glared over at the smile Hojo gave him, not finding the blond funny in the least bit, he knew that his sister had purposely tried to set him on fire consciously or unconsciously because he was teasing her.
Keish looked down at Kami who looked back up at her, neither one knowing what to say about it. Ryo sighed and looked over at Rowen who looked back at him with the same concerned and almost worried expression; both men were wondering the same question as they looked back at the young girl in Hojo's arms: What if what Leinto had told them about the new demon, and her being female, was really being subtly directed at Rylea? What if she was the new demon? Was she going to become a threat to them with her new power and all?
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A/N: Wow, ok this was a long chap. Sorry if it was too long for some of you but I had to get all of this in here so that I could start out chap 11 the way I wanted to. This is gonna be short so let me get my special thanks out here. (clears throat) Gracias to Sifirela, MorganRay and Rogue for sending me a review in or looking it over for me. Fear not, Chapter 11 is on its way.