Sakura walked calmly towards the familiar waterfall where she had met that boy so many years ago. His face plaguing her memory. I wonder if he still comes here.' She thought to herself, but then pushed them aside. She had a job to do. "Ironic," She thought with a smile. "Father has always forbidden me to even think about going anywhere outside the neutral area, now he can't wait for me to break that rule." She giggled inwardly.
"I wish he would have let me bring Kero," Sakura said aloud. Drawing near the waterfall, Sakura jumped to the same the middle rock as she had the last time. Fingering her crystal around her neck it started to glow with blue magical energy. Then she called out in a loud voice.
"I wish to speak to the guardian of the waterfall in the Ronin lands." Suddenly a column of water shot up in the air next to her. When it disappeared a griffon stood in its place. The griffon slowly turned it's beady eyes on her, inspecting her. "It has been a long time since a magician has asked to speak to me, and even longer since it has been a pretty one." The guardian walked over to her and spoke again. "What is it that you seek?"
"Great guardian of the waterfall…" Sakura began.
"Please, call me Oris." The griffon interrupted. Sakura blinked, trying to hide back a giggle.
"Um…yes, Oris, I am here on behalf of my father, Talpa…"
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"Ryo!" A blond boy yelled. "Why do you insist on coming up to this waterfall all the time? It's not like that girl you saw is going to be there."
"That isn't the only reason I go up there Sage!" Ryo said indignantly. "And she could be there, you never know."
"Oh, please, Ryo, you saw her once, and that was eight years ago!" Sage commented. Ryo sighed, Sage didn't understand, he hadn't been the one to see her. Ryo couldn't explain it, but he had felt some sort of connection or something with her. He had thought of her often, he just couldn't seem to get her out of his head. Suddenly a scream pierced the air as the two boys turned their heads in that direction.
"Did you hear that?" Sage asked.
"Yeah, I think it came from the direction of the waterfall. Let's go." Ryo said. With that the two boys took off towards the waterfall. They got there in time to see a griffon towering over a girl lying on the bank.
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"No, Oris you don't understand, you have the wrong idea!" Sakura tried to explain. Sakura had inadvertently touched upon a subject that made the griffon upset. He glared at her, his eyes ablaze with fury. Suddenly a boy came flying through the air kicking the griffon in the side of the head sending him into the waterfall.
"Looks like I got here just in time," Ryo said as he held his hand out to help Sakura up. Sakura stared at Ryo. It was him, the boy that she met here eight years ago.
"Ryo! Look out!" Sage yelled as the griffon recovered and charged at him. Ryo turned and leapt to the side, the griffon missing him by inches. The griffon turned and charged at Ryo again. Ryo jumped out of the way as the griffon ran under him and hit a rock, head on, knocking him unconscious. Sakura stared at the unconscious griffon in shock, what was father going to say when she told him.
Ryo turned around and faced Sakura, getting a good look of her face, and stared. 'It's her!' Ryo thought. He knew it was, he'd remember those eyes more than anything. "Are you okay?" Ryo asked her as he helped her to her feet. Sakura stared at the unconscious griffon then at Ryo. It had all happened so fast, and she was still in a daze; there was no way that guardian was going to join her fathers team now. 'Father is going to be mad.' She thought.
"Hey, are you alright?" Ryo asked again snapping her back to the present. Sakura turned her head to glare at him.
"What did you think you were doing?" She said with fire in her eye.
"Saving you from that griffon," Sage answered.
"Listen, I didn't need you two to save me." Sakura answered haughtily folding her arms over her chest.
"Are you kidding me?" Ryo asked incredulously. "That thing was about to rip your head off."
"He was not." Sakura said weakly trying to hide the fact that she had been scared. "And even if he was, I can take care of myself. You two aren't the only ones who know how to fight ya know." It was then that Sakura noticed that the two boys were wearing sub-armor.* 'They're wearing sub-armor?' she wondered. 'But I thought only me and the other warlords had armor.'
"Well," Sakura said aloud her tone changing from anger to curiosity, "so tell me, Mr. Red Warrior, what is your name? I must know who it is that thought they needed to come to my rescue." She uncrossed her arms as she began to inquire about them, it seemed as though her father had neglected to tell her certain things.
"I'm Ryo, Ryo of the Wildfire." Ryo proudly said.
"And I'm Sage of the Halo." Sage added. "And what might your name be?"
"Sakura," she said off handedly. 'There is no need for them to know that I am a warlord in my father's army, but I do have some questions for him when I get home.' She thought.
"Pretty name," Ryo said, 'For a pretty girl.' His mind added.
Sakura awarded his comment with a smile when she turned to go 'there is no more need for me to be here anymore, I might as well go home, I'm going to have to tell him sooner or later.' She thought to herself. Aloud she said, "Well, I must be going now, see you later, Wildfire."
The two boys watched as she walked into the forest and disappeared from view.
"Well, that sure was interesting," Sage commented. "Let's go back Ryo we better leave before our new friend wakes up," he said gesturing towards the unconscious griffon.
"Yeah," said Ryo slowly, still looking at the spot he had last seen Sakura. "Yeah," he said again more firmly. "Let's go."
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* For those who don't know or aren't sure sub-armor is the armor that the Ronin warriors wear before they transform into the actual armor.