Ronins Interrupted
By: Ghost of the Dawn
Chapter Six: Switching Cities
"Guess who?" a light, feminine voice sang.
Robyn stopped walking as a small pair of hands covered her eyes from behind.
"Hmm, let's see," Robyn wondered, dragging out the answer even though she knew very well who it was. "Who do I know that always has cold hands? Well, unless Sage recently had a sex change, I can't say it would be him so it must be Kami."
The dark haired girl removed her hands and laughed. "How did you ever guess it was me?" Kami asked, playing out the joke.
"I don't know. I mean, I know soooo many people. It was just a lucky guess."
Kami laughed some more as they proceeded together outside to the lunch tables.
"Are you going to eat with us today?" Robyn then asked.
"Might as well," Kami conceded.
She had actually been eating with them quite regularly for a while. Ever since Ryo had taken Kami to the prom they had gotten closer and become better friends. And, as Robyn joked once, you can't have one without having all five. In all actuality, there was more truth to the chiding than fiction. They were a package deal and one just had to live with it. Robyn did.
The two girls sat down at the table Cye, Kento, Ryo, and Sage were already occupying. Kami smiled at them while Robyn voiced her greetings before digging through her usual lunch bag. Cye wasn't paying much attention to the two girls' arrival at first. Not until he was about to take a bite out of his sandwich, then something about Robyn caught his attention. He paused with his sandwich halfway to his mouth and stared at her.
"Robyn," he called.
"Yes," Robyn replied in kind of a kindergarten teacher tone, not even bothering to look up.
"Where did you get that shirt?"
She never skipped a beat and there wasn't a hint of guilt in her voice. "From your closet."
"Did I say you could borrow it?"
"Nope."
"Then why did you take it?"
"Because I wanted to wear it."
"Robyn!" Cye whined, frustrated that this conversation was getting him nowhere. "I don't want you wearing my clothes!"
The young redhead finally looked up at him. "What are you going to do Cye? Are you going to come and take it off me?"
Cye jerked back in his seat and his face paled at the notion. Kento chuckled at him while he entertained an amusing mental picture in his head.
"Oh, did you see that?" Kami joined in, referring to Cye's response. "He acts like that because he really wants to do it."
Robyn turned to her friend wide eyed. "What was that?"
"You heard me," Kami shot back. "They say it's always the quiet ones who have like all these bizarre sexual fantasies or something. Maybe you're in them."
Robyn gazed at her now ex-friend. Her expression showed that she was not amused. Across from them, poor Cye was mortified and on the verge of having a severe nose bleed.
"Oh yeah?" Robyn countered. "So doesn't that put you into the same category?"
Kami huffed at the insinuation. "Hey, I don't think about those sort of things. I'm a good girl, okay?"
"Not from the things I hear you say about you-know-who," Robyn whispered.
Kami's gaze shot over to Ryo and her face flushed instantly. Fortunately for her, he was engaged in a conversation with Sage and didn't notice. Kami glared at her female companion.
"I hate you."
Next to Cye, Kento shook his head. "And here I thought you were always such a nice girl, Kami."
"She got corrupted by hanging around Robyn too much," Rowen announced as he approached the table and sat next to the said bad influence. He hadn't caught the whole conversation, but he had a feeling that statement was given with perfect timing.
"Oh yeah, right. I'm the bad one," Robyn said in an accusing tone.
Rowen shrugged and turned his attention to the soda can in his hand.
"Man, it's getting hot, isn't it?" he announced. "I'm so thirsty." He popped the lid and started taking huge gulps.
This was about the time Kami came up with her coup de graze.
"So Robyn, how did you know Sage has cold hands anyway?"
That question didn't so much affect Robyn as it did the person sitting next to her. Rowen suddenly choked at the mental picture that forced its way into his thoughts from the question. He immediately spat out the liquid before it had a chance to go down the wrong tube. Even Ryo and Sage were paying attention now. Cye looked mad; especially since he had just been splattered with Rowen's backwash. Everyone was staring at him now as if waiting for the judge to proclaim his sentence.
"Rowen, you idiot!" Cye protested. "You ruined my shirt!"
Once again, Robyn never skipped a beat. "Not this one," she beamed, tugging at her own shirt collar.
Several of the table's occupants were choking back their laugher as Cye stormed off to the bathroom to clean up.
Robyn looked up at the wall of the public library to check the time. She had ten, maybe fifteen minutes until Kento was coming to pick her up. Letting out a deep breath, she blew some of her bangs momentarily from her face. She was sick of studying for those stupid finals coming up and was ready to leave now. She glared up at the slow ticking clock.
Oh well, back to physics.
She lifted her school book and went back to skimming through the highlighted parts. Minutes later, she managed to notice that someone had taken the seat next to her. Robyn didn't think too much of it at first. With graduation coming up fast, the library was full of students scrambling to finish term papers and the like. She was no different.
"Wow, looks like you've got quite a work load there."
Robyn looked up from her formulas to the person who had addressed her. He had to be older than she was, a college student probably. He was quite possibly even taller than Rowen with thick raven hair that was short cut in the back and fell over his clear blue eyes. In short, he was gorgeous. Robyn blinked dumbly at his smiling face and then looked around to make sure it was her he was addressing.
"Are you studying for finals?" the handsome young man then asked.
Robyn quickly shook herself. "Uh, yeah, kind of. I've been working on this history paper and now I'm brushing up on physics." She said the last word with an odd accent so it sounded more like "physiques" than "physics". She and Rowen always called it that.
The blue eyed stranger just smiled at her.
"What about yourself?" Robyn asked, noting the books he had as well. "Do you go the college extension here?"
"No, I'm not from this city. I'm just visiting some relatives here. But that doesn't mean I don't have to prepare for my own final exams."
"Cool," Robyn nodded, not being able to think of anything more intelligent to say.
"By the way, I'm Darien," the older student held out his hand.
"Robyn," she replied, taking it. She was about to make further conversation when the silent lull of the library atmosphere was shattered by the noise of an unmuffled engine as it approached.
"What on earth was that?" Darien wondered as the engine died down like a squealing pig as it got butchered.
Robyn sighed. "That's my ride," she said as she started to pack up all her study equipment. She set about filing her notes from her research paper into her notebook and then into her back pack it went. Next, her school books were put away.
"Hey Robyn, I'm here," Kento called as he swaggered up to her. "Grab your stuff and let's go eat."
"Sure thing Kento. But first, I'd like you to meet--" Robyn turned around only to find the chair next to her now vacant.
"Huh? Meet who?" Kento wanted to know.
Robyn blinked in confusion. "He's gone."
"There they are!" Rowen announced as Kento stepped into his own living room. The rest of his team were already making themselves at home when he and Robyn arrived. Not that he was surprised. The Rei Faun house was practically a second home to all of them.
"Did you get your paper done, Robyn?" Ryo asked as he raced his car on the tv screen. Sage was his opponent and, of course, was winning. Funny, racing games were the only type the bearer of Halo would play without constant prodding.
"Yeah, it's pretty much finished, thank goodness," Robyn replied as she plopped between Rowen and Cye on the couch. "Now all I have to worry about are those math and physics tests."
"Woa, you need to slow down," Rowen told her. "It's only Thursday. We've still got another week. You don't need to do it all right now.
"First of all, the finals are next Tuesday and Wednesday. And unlike you, Mr. Photographic-Memory, the rest of us actually have to study to get good grades."
"Hey, I study, too! I just don't do it obsessively like some. It's not even the weekend yet!"
"Yes, but I'll get all my work done now and then I'll have my whole weekend free."
"Hey, that's actually a pretty good idea," Kento said from the recliner he was sitting in.
"Too bad the rest of us are such horrible procrastinators," Sage admitted.
"Even you, too Sage?" Robyn grinned, not being able to picture such a short coming to fit with such a thought to be perfect individual. Sage just nodded.
"Well then, it looks like I'll be off having fun this weekend while all you guys are stuck inside studying. So there." Robyn finished her sentence by sticking her tongue out at Rowen.
"Well aren't we huffy today," the bearer of Strata shot back. "See? All that studying has made you cranky."
"I doubt it," Kento suddenly put in. "She's still doting over that mysterious invisible man she met at the library."
"Who?" Cye asked. This conversation now had his full attention.
"For the last time, he was really there!" Robyn yelled at him. "And he was super cute, too!"
"Robyn, did you find another boyfriend?" Chun Fa, Kento's little sister suddenly popped into the room.
"I wish," Robyn said ruefully. "But your big, noisy brother had to scare him away."
"HEY!"
Chun Fa ignored her oldest brother's out burst. "Was he even cuter than Cye?"
Robyn didn't even need to think twice about that. "Oh yeah," she said, a dreamy look in her eyes as she remembered him. "I was about to ask him if he had any over due library books because he had "fine" written all over him."
Cye had an unreadable look on his face while any expression Rowen was making was covered up by one hand. Chun Fa just stared with wide eyes. Anyone being cuter than Cye was almost uncomprehendable to her.
It was after dark when Kento's guests started for home. Cye and Robyn, as usual, were the last ones out the door with Chun Fa hugging Cye's leg as long as she could. But they eventually made it out of the house and to the street and were now heading for the subway.
As they were strolling down the sidewalks, Robyn suddenly stopped in mid stride as that horribly familiar feeling hit her again. It had been almost a week since they got back from Tokyo. She didn't expect to have any experience like that here. But there it was again. Cye stopped and looked at her curiously as she gazed around the city streets.
"What is it?" he asked.
Robyn shook her head and hurried to catch up. "I.... thought I heard a weird noise, but it was nothing. Come on before we miss the 7:30."
Across the street a tall figure leaned against the side of a building in an alleyway. He gazed up at the over cast sky. No stars could be seen. The sky had been covered by thick clouds for two days now. That wasn't natural weather. He had been sensing a strange energy ever since he got here and it seemed to be the heaviest on this side of town.
Clear blue eyes silently watched the two teens as they left. He was surprised to notice the girl had sensed something as well. Though he still wasn't sure what it was. Robyn she said her name was. That's all he had to go on for now. Darien shook his head to move the thick hair out of his eyes. There was a connection to this dark essence somewhere around here and he had a feeling no one would be safe until someone got rid of it.
"WAAAH! I can't do this!" Serena cried as she let her face drop in her open math book. She and her friends were all stationed around the small table at Rei's place where they usually got together to study.
"Of course you can, Serena," Ami consoled. "It's really easy once you know how to do it. See? You just take the reciprocal of the first fraction and then--"
"No!" Serena jumped back to life. "No no no! I'm so sick of studying my head is going to explode!"
"We have been at this for a while," Lita admitted. "Maybe we should take a break for a few minutes."
"How about a few days?" Serena argued. "We don't have finals for another two weeks so why bother?"
"With your grades?" Rei retorted. "You'll be lucky to get by with this much of a head start. Remember Serena, you're not going to get into a good college--or any college at all if you can't even pass high school."
Serena whimpered and went back to reading her book at point blank range while the others sighed. That was about the time the phone rang and Rei got up to answer it.
"Well, at least we can take a break now," Mina said as she flopped over backwards to lay on the floor. "I hate to admit it, but I gotta agree with Serena. It's time to do something else for a while."
The others nodded.
"Okay, when Rei gets off the phone we'll go out and get ice cream or something," Lita suggested.
"Hey Serena," Rei called from the door way with the phone still in her hand. "It's for you. It's--"
"DARIEN!?" Serena screamed as she jumped to her feet. "Is it Darien?" She scrambled over the table, messing up everyone's papers and earning a few colorful insults for it. But Serena cared not as she raced for her dark haired friend. Rei calmly held out the phone before it was snatched from her.
"Darien, is that you??"
"Boy, I can just imagine the tongue lashing he's going to get," Mina commented before they all went quiet to listen to the conversation.
"DARIEN! WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN!? HOW DARE YOU NOT COME HOME OR AT LEAST CALL EVERY DAY!? YOU TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW OR I'LL-- huh?"
She paused and blinked as the voice on the other end started talking. All ears in the other room were listening intently.
"You want us to meet you where? Toyama? What the heck is in Toyama?"
"Hey, isn't that where those guys were from?" Lita asked.
Ami nodded silently.
"And how to do you suppose we get there? What do we tell our parents?" Serena then sighed. "Fine, we'll do what we can. Love you, too." She mumbled the last part before heavily hanging up the phone and trudging back into the other room.
She had everyone's undivided attention as she plopped down in her usual seat. "Well gang, it looks like we're going on a road trip this weekend. Any ideas how we're going to pull that off?"
"Well, we did it," Rei announced that Friday afternoon. "I don't know how, but we did it."
"Yes, lucky for us Lita has an aunt that lives in Toyama," Ami said as she gazed out the window at the new city.
"Though if my parents found out she's not in town at the moment, they're going to have a cow," Mina worried as she looked around the apartment.
"No time to worry about that now Mina," said the white cat as he poked his head out of her travel bag. "First thing's first."
"Yes, I agree with Artemis," said Luna as she perched on the window sill. "We need to meet Darien as soon as possible and get to the bottom of this."
"Who's idea was it to bring those killjoy furballs anyway?" Rei whispered to Mina who shrugged. They usually just took it upon themselves to come anywhere the group went. Like they couldn't handle things on their own or something.
"So exactly how are we going to meet up with Darien?" Lita asked. "Did he give us a place to meet him at Serena?"
Serena suddenly froze and sweat dropped. "Well, not exactly. I guess I forgot to ask him that."
The group all fell over in the usual anime style.
"Great! Now what do we do?" Rei grouched. "We don't know where he is and he doesn't know how to contact us now."
"Well, we can always just go wander around town, scope out the city, and see what we can find," Mina offered. "We'll have the best luck if we go to a place with lots of people--like the mall!"
"Yeah," Lita agreed. "I've always wanted to check out the stores they have--I mean, it's a good place to start looking."
"I suppose," Ami relented. "We could stop there first. Who knows what we'll find."
"Darien could be there," Serena insisted. "After all, the bond of love that holds us together will help us find each other where ever we are. Plus I'm hungry."
"And if we happen to stumble on a few cute boys on the way, that's just a bonus for us!" Mina piped in happily.
The two talking cats merely watched on as the group of girls ran merrily out the door, powerless to do anything but watch them go. The door slammed shut and the feline duo sweat dropped.
"They're hopeless," Artemis relented as he shook his head.
"Completely and utterly hopeless," Luna agreed.
Robyn was at home, sitting at the table next to Kento who was busy with his school work. But she didn't seem to notice or care what he was trying to do as she just kept staring and smiling at him.
"Ask me again, Kento," she finally said.
"No. Go away, I'm trying to do this," the bearer of Hardrock said distractedly as he jotted down a few notes.
"Oh come on, one more time," Robyn pleaded.
"Leave me alone, Robyn."
"Ask me Kento, come on. Please?"
Kento had a slightly miffed expression on his face as he raised it to look at her. "If I do it will you let me work?"
Robyn smiled and nodded vigorously. Kento breathed out heavily.
"Okay. Robyn, is your history paper finished?"
The young girl beamed so bright one would have thought he just asked her if she'd like a million dollars.
"Yes! Yes it is," she said happily. "It's all finished. Ah, it feels so good to say that." She smiled around the table at Kento, Cye, and Ryo. "Too bad you guys can't say the same thing, can you?"
Kento glared at her bragging before going back to work. Ryo looked tolerant while he played with the yo-yo Robyn bought from her trip to Tokyo. He and Kento were always passing it back and forth now. Cye was less than amused as he tapped his pencil on the table impatiently.
"So is Sage coming over?" Ryo suddenly asked. "He's got this history paper due, too."
"Nah, he over at Rowen's," Kento replied. "That guy's the only one who can stand the brainiac during finals. They're working on all their homework over there."
"Well, I think I'm going to go have some fun then," Robyn announced happily as she stood up. "Too bad you guys all procrastinated so now you have to say inside on this beautiful, warm day."
Kento breathed out of his nose loudly as he clutched his pencil. "Robyn, you are really starting to--"
He was cut off as Robyn hugged him around the neck from behind. "I promise I'll bring you back something, kay?" she said as she affectionately ruffled his hair.
Next she moved to Ryo and hugged him in the same fashion. "Bye Ryo! Bye Cye!" She hugged Cye next before kissing his cheek and then bouncing merrily out the door. The three ronins dumbly watched her go.
"Man, it's hard to stay mad when she's so happy, isn't it?" Ryo observed.
Kento had a perplexed look on his face, but nodded.
Robyn trudged through the noisy mall, now in a less than bouncy mood. Kami couldn't go hang around with her because she was home working on term papers as well. Robyn didn't realize how small her list of friends was until they were all suddenly stuck at home. She didn't really know anyone else. Maybe that was why everyone always put off things together. At least if they were studying, they weren't studying alone.
The mall had its typical weekend crowd, but it felt empty to Robyn. She was entertaining the idea of going back home just so she could have someone to be with when she heard a voice call her name. She stopped in her tracks and listened for it again.
"Hey Robyn, over here!"
She looked around and saw a girl with long, blonde pony tails come up to her.
"Hi again!" The girl grinned as several more girls came up behind her. "Remember us?"
Robyn looked them all over skeptically.
"Um, yeah. Yeah I do. What are you guys doing in Toyama?"
"Oh, we just came to visit my aunt," Lita explained.
"Even though she's not home," Mina piped up.
Rei immediately silenced her.
"So, you here with anybody?" Serena asked as she eyed the crowd.
Robyn smiled, she could guess what they were looking for. "Nope. I'm here by myself."
She got mixed expressions from the girls with that answer. It seemed she had caught them off guard because they were now looking at each other, wondering what to do next.
"Hey, you want to hang out with us for a little while?" Mina offered.
"Yeah," Lita agreed. "We're not really doing much, but you're welcome to join us."
Robyn looked around at four hopeful faces and one skeptical one. She had never met the dark haired girl that was with them, but she figured all she would have to do is say yes and she would find out soon enough.
"Sure, okay," Robyn shrugged. "Got nothing else better to do."
"Yay," Mina cheered. "Come on then, I heard there was a great sale going up this way. Let's go!"
She eagerly grabbed Robyn's arm. The red haired girl had a sparse moment to wonder what she had gotten herself into before she was dragged off through the crowd.
"Are you sure we should let her hang around with us?" Rei whispered to Lita as they followed.
The taller girl shrugged. "We do need to find out just how much she knows and what her relationship is with these guys. If she's a victim, Rei, we need to protect her."
That answer satisfied the fire senshi enough for the moment and she kept any further doubts and suspicions to herself.
"Do you guys mind refreshing me on your names again?" Robyn asked as she pretty much just followed the other girls around while they looked at clothes.
"What? You don't remember them?" Serena asked absently as she admired a blouse while sucking on an ice cream bar.
"Not really," Robyn admitted. "I remember Ami, but you three all sounded the same. It was like Lina, Mita...then something with an S..."
"Close," Mina laughed. "I'm Mina, that's Lita, and then Serena."
"And this is Rei," Lita introduced. "I don't think you met her."
"No, I didn't. Hi Rei," Robyn smiled.
The dark haired girl gave a tight smile before returning to her browsing.
"Just ignore her," Serena whispered. "Rei's always been the cranky one."
"I heard that Serena!"
Robyn laughed. "I'm sorry guys, I've always been bad with names. You should have seen me when I first met Rowen. I couldn't remember his name for like a week. I had to write it down on my hand to get it right. It was pretty sad."
"How long have you known Rowen and the others?" Lita probed, trying to sound casual.
"Only since the beginning of the school year. Except for Cye. He and I have been friends since we were little kids."
Mina turned around from where she was trying on sunglasses. "Cye was the one...."
"With the sandy hair and green eyes," Robyn clarified. "He talks with kind of an English accent."
"Oh yeah, I remember him," Mina beamed. "He was cute!"
She was immediately rewarded with a warning nudge from Rei. But all Mina did was stick out her tongue.
"So why aren't you hanging out with them today?" Serena wondered. "Are they all out with their girlfriends or something?"
Robyn smirked. "No. They're all free for the taking if that's what you're wondering. Most of them are over at my place right now working on their term papers. I'm the only one who got on the ball and finished it before the weekend and that's why I was stuck cruising the mall alone."
"If they're all at your place, shouldn't you be there, too?" Ami asked.
"Nah. I live with Cye, it's really his place."
She paused when the other girls started looking at her funny. "No, not like that! I just sleep there--not in the same bed or anything! Wait, hold on. See, I'm staying with Cye and his mother. Like renting a room there. They're like family to me."
The girls finally nodded in understanding. That was about the time Robyn decided to keep her mouth shut about anything else concerning the guys.
Later that evening found the group of girls in the food court. Robyn was the only one who didn't have shopping bags scattered around her. But that suited Robyn just fine. She hadn't gone there to shop. Plus she was having a fun time just hanging out with these strange girls. Sometimes they kind of reminded her of the guys the way they acted around each other. But they were also different in so many wonderful ways.
"This was really fun hanging out with you today. I've been spending time with the guys so much I've almost forgotten what it's like to do things with other girls," Robyn admitted. "Thanks for letting me tag along."
"Hey, no problem," Serena grinned. "It was fun having you. Even if you didn't buy anything."
Robyn shrugged. "I didn't really bring that much money."
"Hey, you should come stay with us at my aunt's place tonight," Lita announced. "It'll be fun. An all girls night."
Robyn instantly looked hesitant at the proposition. "I dunno if I should. And I really ought to be heading home soon."
But Lita was not going to be turned down so easily. "Well here then," she said as she scribbled something on a piece of paper. "In case you change your mind you can call at this phone number. Or just come right over to this address whenever you're ready, okay?"
Robyn bit her lip but stuffed the paper in her pocket nonetheless.
"Do you mind me asking about something before you go?" Ami wondered
"Not really. Go ahead," Robyn said. Ami had been quiet the whole day. Robyn was quite curious to find out what was on her mind.
"About...your friend Rowen," Ami went on a bit hesitantly. "Does he....study a lot? Like all the time?"
Robyn shrugged. "I dunno. He does when there's tests and stuff like everyone else I guess. Maybe he does when he's home by himself. But I don't know how much that is because he sure seems to be around bothering me all the time." She paused and looked at Ami's troubled expression. "You're wondering how a goof like that got the highest on that test last week, aren't you?"
Ami bit her lip and nodded. She was aware how petty she was sounding at the moment, but she had to know.
"That's just the way he is," Robyn told her. "Rowen's got like this photographic memory. He remembers practically everything. Plus, I don't know what it is about him exactly, he just likes to learn. It's like he's hungry for knowledge all the time. If there's anything new to learn he jumps right on top of it. He enjoys it. That's why he's so good at it."
The blue haired girl blinked a bit and then nodded in defeat. Robyn took this time to get up from the table.
"Well, I guess I'll be going now. See you guys later maybe."
The other girls called their good-bye's as she walked off.
"Remember," Lita reminded. "Feel free to come over tonight anytime."
But the invitation was momentarily forgotten as Robyn reached home and stepped inside. She paused in the foyer and listened to the unexpected stillness of the house. It felt empty. In the kitchen, books and papers were still scattered around the table but those responsible for the mess were nowhere to be seen. Robyn set down the large box she was carrying and scratched her head. She wandered around a bit and found Cye's mother in the pottery room working on her favorite hobby.
"Anything you're wanting?" Mrs. Mouri asked as Robyn curiously poked her head in.
"Where is everyone?" Robyn wondered.
"The boys went out for a break. They should be back in a little while."
"Okay, thanks."
Retreating back into the rest of the house, Robyn finally decided to go up to her room and do a bit of studying on her own. Sitting cross legged on her bed, Robyn pulled out her sloppy history notes and attempted to go through them. This was the hardest subject for her--considering she had been studying American history instead of Japanese for the last several years. Cye was always suckered into helping her study throughout the year and it probably drove him crazy. But for now she had to go through all the names, dates, and places on her own.
For quite a while, Robyn stayed engrossed with her notes. She finally looked up when her squeaky door slid open a bit. She blinked at the empty doorway, expecting someone to be there. But the house was still quiet and no one seemed to be around. Robyn listened quietly for a few seconds more before returning to her studies. Because of this, she failed to notice she was being watched as a figure crept silently into her bedroom.
"BOO!"
"WAHHHH!"
Robyn screamed. She was so startled she fell right off the bed and hit the floor with a heavy thunk. He legs were still propped up on the bed as she saw a smiling face peeking over the side.
"ROWEN!!"
"Scared you!" he gloated.
Robyn glowered from her place on the floor while another blue haired head poked over the edge to look down at her.
"Hey, are those doughnuts in the kitchen for us?"
The red haired girl sighed. "Yeah Kento, you guys can have them. All except for you Rowen! You don't get any!"
"Yeah, whatever," Rowen said as he offered her a hand. Like he believed any of her threats.
Robyn gave him a half smirk, but then took the offered hand and let Rowen pull her up. He hefted her back up to the bed and Robyn immediately started gathering all her fallen papers. She noticed with a half frown Ryo and Cye in the doorway of her bedroom. Sage peeked out from behind them, peering curiously into the "forbidden territory" of the girl's bedroom. He was brought up better than to go inside--especially with her in there. Kento and Rowen, of course, didn't have such qualms and went in whenever they felt like it.
"Let me guess, a sleep over?" Robyn asked, her voice lacking in any enthusiasm.
"You bet," Kento beamed.
"Guess which movie I rented," Rowen announced proudly. "Tonight we're watching "Strange Brew", eh? Sage hasn't seen it yet."
Robyn had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. As much as she liked the silly Canadian show, the arrangements left something to be desired.
"Well sorry, I'm not going to be watching it with you," Robyn announced as she stood. "Because I've been invited to a sleep over of my own tonight."
"Oh? Are you going over to Kami's?" Cye asked.
"No," Robyn insisted. "She's not the only friend I have you know."
Rowen scratched his head. "She's not?"
"NO! My whole world doesn't just evolve around you guys you know. Sheesh!" And with that, Robyn marched out of the room. The three remaining teens scrambled to get out of her way.
"Hoser," Rowen called after her with a grin.
"Take off!" was the immediate reply before Robyn poked her head back in the doorway. "And get the heck out of my room!"
The two didn't look like they were going to move any time soon at the sake of merely annoying their female friend. That is, until Cye's mother called up, wondering what was going on upstairs. Then everyone vacated any place near Robyn's room quick as lightning.
Several minutes later, Robyn was in the kitchen with a fully packed travel bag in her hand. Five curious pairs of ears were listening in the other room as Robyn conferred with Cye's mother.
"I'll be at this address and you can reach me at this phone number if you need to get a hold of me for anything," Robyn said as she copied the information to another piece of paper. She added quietly as she put the paper in Mrs. Mouri's hand "And can we not hand this information out to certain parties tonight?"
Cye's mother smiled and nodded in understanding. "Go and have a good time."
"I will," Robyn nodded. i I guess.... /i
She picked up her bag and prepared herself to go through the short but no doubtably difficult stretch to the front door. And right in the kitchen doorway was her first obstacle.
"Where are you going?" Cye wanted to know.
"A friend's house," Robyn said as she brushed past him. "That's all I need to tell you. Your mom already knows where I'm going and she's the only one who has to know. So ta ta!"
"Hey, you wanna take the movie with you?" Rowen offered pleasantly from the couch.
"I've already like twenty billion times. Let Sage watch it."
"Fine. I wasn't going to give it to you anyway," the bearer of Strata huffed.
Robyn clenched her teeth. She was almost there--almost to freedom. Her hand reached for the door, but was stopped as one more person got in her way.
"Do you want one of us to walk you there?" Ryo asked.
He wasn't so much standing in her way, but the sincerity in his voice was enough to cause her to stop. She looked up into his genuinely concerned and friendly face and some of her hostility left her.
"Nah, I'm good," she smiled. "Later all!" And with that, she was out the door.
Robyn almost missed her stop on the subway, but managed to find the right place. The look of surprise on Lita's face when she opened the door was almost enough to make her want to turn back around and head for home.
"Sorry I didn't call," Robyn quickly apologized. "It was kind of a last minute decision. I hope that's okay. I don't want to be rude."
The tall brunette quickly gathered herself again. "Oh, no problem. I'm glad you came. Please, come in."
Robyn nodded and humbly stepped inside. The other girls were sitting on the floor in the main room and looked equally surprised to see her.
"Look who decided to come over you guys," Lita announced pleasantly.
It took a few blinks and a bit of blank staring before the group jumped to action.
"Hi!" Mina crowed. "Glad you could make it."
"Yeah, and I hope you're hungry," Serena chimed in. "We just ordered some pizza!"
Robyn only smiled a bit uneasily as Lita showed her where she could put her things. By the time she was finished with that, the girls had lost interest in her and were back to staring at the papers and books gathered around them.
"You guys have finals, too?" Robyn asked with a small smile. She passively sat herself slightly between Mina and Amy.
"Who doesn't?" Rei wanted to know without even looking up from her text book.
"But now that you're here, we can all take a break!" Serena cheered.
Robyn smiled a bit more as the girls all showed a little gratitude for her presence giving them an excuse to quit their studies. She was about to comment again when something soft brushed by her arm. She looked down to see a white furred creature with large, bright eyes gazing up at her.
"Oh, a kitty!" she shrieked happily, gathering everyone's attention in the process. "Hey boy, how are you doing?" she cooed as she swept the white cat up in her arms and started scratching his chin. "Oh, you are a handsome young man, you are. And who do you belong to?"
"He's mine," Mina admitted. "His name's Artemis."
"Artemis, huh?" Robyn asked the feline. "It fits you, yes it does." She continued to baby talk and pet the magical cat who seemed to have no objections at the time.
With her curiosity peaked, Luna strolled up to the pair and gave a questioning meow since she would never reveal their secret that they could actually talk to outsiders. Artemis didn't respond, so she called again. Upon further investigation, she discovered her feline companion had long since melted into a furry puddle under the girl's ministrations. He looked up at Luna with almost a drunken expression before his eyes rolled back in their sockets and he slipped into a state of complete bliss, purring stupidly away as he was at it.
Luna huffed at his silly behavior and stalked off. Robyn managed to stroke her once before she left. Serena could be heard explaining her name and that Luna was her cat. But at this point, she cared not what was said about her as she skipped off to perch on the window sill and give the kind of look only cats can give to the rest of the world.
"She's a bit moody sometimes," Mina whispered to Robyn who giggled.
"Man, I wish I had a kitty," Robyn lamented as she continued to stroke Artemis' snow white fur. "I'm so deprived."
"Why don't you get one?" Ami asked.
"I can't," Robyn frowned. "Cye won't let me. He hates cats. And it's his house so there's not much I can do about it."
Artemis rolled over to have his tummy scratched and Robyn was happy to do it.
"So, why did you decide to come over Robyn," Lita wondered. "If you don't mind me asking."
Robyn shrugged. "Cye had all the guys over for the night. I didn't want to stick around."
"You don't like them much?" Amy probed.
"No, I do. They're all my friends. But five guys, one girl--I'm kinda out numbered, you know? I see them so much during the day and then to have them all come over for the night. It can just be a bit overwhelming to deal with all five of them at once, I guess."
Some nodded while others just looked away. It was hard to understand since the rest of them had to admit they never had Robyn's problem before.
"I wish I had five boys coming at me at once," Mina suddenly thought out loud.
Robyn looked at her and then suddenly cracked up, momentarily startling the cat in her lap. Some of the other girls giggled in the humor of the moment.
"What's so funny?" Mina wanted to know, though she was smiling big herself.
Robyn wiped a tear from her eye. "Sorry girl, as much as I hate them, I still love them. They're my friends and I'm not giving them up to anybody."
Going back to petting Artemis, she didn't notice the different looks she was getting from that statement. Rei gave her the most perplexed look of all. This poor girl didn't have a clue what kind of people her so called friends really were. Lita was right; she was a victim.
Any further conversation on that subject or any other was cut off as the pizza guy appeared on their doorstep. Thus resulting in the group moving into the kitchen to perch around the counter and enjoy the piping hot mozzarella and tomato sauce. Sharing food always seemed to bring a sense of comradere to a group and soon Robyn was laughing along with the rest of the girls like she had known them all her life.
"And then Serena's boyfriend comes in and she looks up and she's got cake all over her face!" Mina recalled, barely being able to control her laughter.
"Hey, I remember that," Rei recalled. "You were such a pig that day Serena. But then again, you're a pig everyday."
"That's mean Rei!" Serena whined.
"Hey Rei," Lita announced. And when the dark haired girl turned her head, Lita wiped a finger full of pizza sauce on her face.
"Ew! Gross!" Rei took her turn to whine as she wiped it off on her sleeve. Then, of course, she instantly set about getting her revenge. Lita hid behind Robyn to avoid being painted on and soon a mini war with all sorts of interesting toppings waged in the small kitchen.
"I'll get it!" Lita called when the phone rang. She managed to slip away from the fighting, laughing group and answered the ringing appliance.
"Robyn, it's for you," she announced a few moments later.
The red haired girl gave her a look as if she just asked her if she wanted another head.
"Who could be calling for me?" Robyn wondered. "Cye's mom is the only one I gave this number to unless.....wait. Is it a man or a woman on the phone?"
Lita dangled the receiver in one hand as she placed the other on her hip. "It's a guy," she insisted.
The look on Robyn's face was not pleased when she got up to answer it. Lita handed the phone off to her and she took it and wandered into the next room. In the kitchen, the girls stayed quiet to hear the one sided conversation.
"Listen Rowen," Robyn grouched into the phone the second she put it to her ear. "I'm not interested in your stupid movie so why don't you leave me the he---Huh? Oh, it's you, Ryo. Sorry. Why are you calling? What?"
Robyn moved further into the room and lowered her voice as the bearer of Wildfire relayed his reasons to her.
"Worried about me? Why?"
The girls in the kitchen had, by now, snuck up to the door frame and were straining to hear what she was saying.
"You guys think I'm in trouble, huh? Riiight. And who thought this up? Kento? And now Cye believes it, too? Well of course he would believe it! Anything like that he would--Look. I'm fine, alright? I don't need you guys holding my hand every second of the day. Go watch your movie and don't worry about it. Hey, I heard that! Tell Rowen he's one, too! Yes, yes, I'm sure. I'm hanging up now Ryo. I'll be fine, I'm sure. Bye."
Robyn breathed out heavily as the conversation ended. But the second she returned the phone to its cradle was the second all hell broke loose.