Shadows on the Wall

Chapter Eight

(A/N: NEED MORE REVIEWS! The more reviews I get, the more chapters you'll get! And I'm sorry for taking so long to put another chapter up. I've moved three times since I started this story, and I'm only now settling down, hopefully for good. That and my bout with writer's block is over too! And if anyone is interested in becoming my beta reader, that would be great! Anyways, on with the story!)

The next morning found Sage sitting at the breakfast table, absently stirring his food. He had lost his appetite, but his mind was sifting through all the facts that had presented themselves, trying his hardest to find the tie that bound them all together. So far, the only tie he could find was the girl, Mina. The night his nightmares had started was the night where the shadow creature had appeared, and he could sense the power of darkness growing stronger, but no enemy had presented themselves- yet. The Ronin was sure that they would soon, and he had the distinct feeling that he and the girl were tied into this somehow… He would just have to find out what.

"Sage!"

Hearing his name being called, Sage glanced up, his solemn expression causing his mother to pause. "We've been trying to talk to you for the last five minutes," she told him with a frown. "Are you feeling all right?"

Sage nodded, taking a bite of his now-cold oatmeal, grimacing a bit. Oatmeal was definitely not good cold. "I'm fine," he replied quietly, but his whole family noticed that the strange teenager was even more quiet and withdrawn than usual. Instead of trying to draw him out of his shell, they left him alone, no longer trying to involve him in their conversation. He made it plainly obvious that he didn't want to be bothered.

Getting up, Sage gathered his breakfast dishes and walked them over to the sink, dumping the food into the garbage and rinsing them out. Once he was finished, Sage sensed a familiar presence drawing closer and automatically tensed as the doorbell rang.

"Sage, would you get the door, please?" Dr. Date called to her son as she rushed around, trying to get ready for work. Sage's icy gaze turned to his younger sister, Yukina, who instantly knew the honor of getting the door had fallen to her and, with one glare at Sage, went into the living room to get the door. From where he was, Sage could hear everything.

"Hi, is Sage here?" It was Mina, which was no surprise to Sage. He had figured that it was either her coming to see him or him to go see her, but the latter hadn't been likely in the first place. She seemed to be the one that wanted answers badly, and so she came to him.

Sage could practically feel his sister's smirk as she sought out her brother, sighing softly before his sister strode into the room. "There's someone here to see you, Sage," she announced cheerfully, her eyes both inquisitive and amused.

Mina waited patiently in the living room for Sage to arrive. She'd told Rowen to stay out in the car and wait for her, but she still wasn't sure how long her task was going to take. When the familiar blond-haired Ronin arrived, she could knew that he knew what she was there for and had been prepared. "Let's step outside, shall we?" Of course, that made his sister even more curious, but she knew as soon as he turned his icy glare onto her that if she tried to follow them, she would live to regret it. Disappointed, she stalked back upstairs and into her room, muttering something about brothers under her breath.

Silently, Mina followed Sage outside, struggling not to hide how nervous she was. Sure, she'd met him before, but that was mostly in dreams. They hadn't really said a word to each other, and she didn't know what to say. Once they were seated on the bench in a grove of sakura trees, they spent a few minutes in a tense silence while Mina struggled for words. Finally, a few minutes later, she spoke.

"What do you know of the Silver Millenium?"

Somewhere deep in Sage's memory, something clicked. He had heard of the Silver Millenium before, but there was a fog surrounding the memory that wouldn't allow him to see it.

"I've heard of it," Sage remarked, his voice devoid of emotion. He seemed like a walking, breathing stone to Mina, who took a deep breath and continued with her questions.

"What do you know of the Gate of Time?"

Again, Sage felt that he knew the answer to that too, but he couldn't quite grasp the memory, which slipped away as if it were water seeping through his fingers. Pursing his lips thoughtfully, his mask breaking, Sage's expression was one of thoughtfulness. Mina held out hope that he would at least recognize the names of the people, places, and things that she was talking about, but she couldn't really tell. Sage's face tended to be like a mask, and just as easily as his mask broke, it slipped right back into place.

"Sounds familiar…"

Sage's answers were non-committal, not telling Mina anything. Frustrated, she clenched her fists, glaring down at her pale hands. "Have you ever heard of Queen Beryl?"

All at once, a rage boiled in Sage and he stood abruptly, his eyes icy and his expression just as cold. "I don't know who the hell this 'Queen Beryl' is!" He glared at Mina who, instead of being surprised, was actually smirking. Very few people that encountered Queen Beryl, whether they remembered or not, were devoid of a deep hatred and rage towards the evil queen that had destroyed everything for everyone. That told her a lot about Sage, whether he knew it or not.

Calming down some, he sat back down, keeping his icy glare on the innocent-looking girl that sat beside him, looking a lot like the cat that ate the canary. "I just have one last question." She paused for a moment while Sage watched her, searching for the green orb, finally pulling it out. "Does this belong to you?"

The look of surprise that passed over his face momentarily was priceless, and Mina smiled. "I'll take that as a yes," she mused with a smile. Sage was quiet for a moment, studying Mina. She was definitely not what he had been expecting. "Where did you get that?" He held her sapphire-blue gaze, watching as her smile widened a bit. "Don't you remember, Sage? You gave this to me, in whatever dream realm we happened to have been in," she replied easily, wondering how she was to put Sage at ease. He was sitting stiffly, absolutely refusing to relax, and she didn't like that any.

"I gave it to you…"

Mina nodded. "Yes, that's right. You gave it to me. I was scared, lonely, and I didn't know what I was doing, and you gave it to me just before you disappeared." She paused for a moment, face red and gazing down at her feet. "And I really appreciate it. You have no idea how much comfort this orb has given me since I came here. I'd never felt so alone in my life, except for when I was in England."

Sage remained silent, staring at the orb with an uncertain expression and his gaze returned to the girl that still surprised him. She felt familiar to him somehow, and he hated the fact that he couldn't place where he knew her from. Mina, on the other hand, was having similar thoughts. "I could've sworn that I recovered all of my memories," she whispered, her sapphire-blue gaze staring off into the distance. Feeling Sage's gaze on her, she flushed, realizing she had spoken that aloud, but whatever she was going to say was broken off by a loud honk from Rowen's car. Getting to her feet, Mina glanced in his direction. "I have to go." Meeting his gaze, she smiled once more. "Meet me at the park at noon today. We have a lot to talk about."

Sage watched as she trotted off awkwardly, her broken arm held close to her body by the sling and her long blond hair swaying in the slight breeze as she headed for her cousin's car, blissfully unaware that Sage was watching her, his violet eyes troubled…