Chapter 13 sickness and nightmares
There was another flash of light in the small bedroom and four Ronins took a deep breath. They all felt like they had been holding their breaths to long. Then they all looked as one down at the form on the bed. Everyone was wondering the same thing, was he still alive. Rowen reached out hesitantly and touched Ryo's neck. Everyone gave a sigh of relief. They could tell by the look on Rowen's face that Ryo was still alive.
"Kento go start a cold bath. It can't be warm that would only make him worse. Cye, Bed Now." Sage was barking out orders. Kento moved to follow right away. He knew that if Ryo stood a chance it was only with Sage's help. Cye on the other hand turned to argue with Sage and as he did he realized how tired he was and how much his head hurt. He turned to leave. Bed sounded great and he knew that he would only be in the way. "Rowen we need to get these wet clothes off of him."
Sage turned to the closet to get some of the thick extra blankets that were kept on the upper shelf. Sage smiled slightly when he remembered why they were put there. Ryo got cold easily during the winter but he didn't want to bother any of them with his problems. When they had realized his weakness to cold they had moved all the heaviest blankets in the house, even if they had been on beds, into Ryo's closet telling him it was the only place that they could be stored. He was glad they had done that now.
Sage brought them back and set them on the floor. Rowen had already found a pair of scissors that could be used to cut through Ryo's clothes. This was another reason he had sent Kento away and not Rowen. Rowen thought about things before he leaped. Ryo's clothes were so wet that trying to pull them off would have caused even more discomfort to Ryo.
Rowen cut through Ryo's jeans and Sage gently pulled them off. Neither one was surprised at what they saw. Ryo's legs were covered in multicolored bruises and looked like they belonged on a skeleton. They cut through his shirt and were surprised to find the bandages that were wrapped tightly around his ribs.
"Sage you don't think…I mean his birthday was today?" Rowen cast an anxious look over at Sage.
"I don't know." Sage reached down and gently began to unwrap the bandages. He was trying to be as gentle as possible but even so Ryo still tried weakly to push Sage away and cried out softly in pain. When Sage was through they both knew that Ryo had in fact been given his birthday present.
"I don't care if they are his parents, if I ever catch them any where near him again I swear I am going to kill them." Sage was shaking with rage now. Ryo had been through so much, the fight with Talpa, a new armor, and another battle. Sage had seen him injured so many times but never had he seen him like this.
Kento came in and gently picked Ryo up saying that the bath was ready. If Ryo's condition made him angry he didn't show it. The only sign was a barley perceptible clinching of his hands that quickly disappeared when he remembered what condition the person he was carrying was in.
"Rowen I need you to go through Ryo's things and find him some clothes and if you could get his bed ready. I am going to go with Kento and see what I can do to heal Ryo." At Rowen's nod Sage turned the other direction and quickly caught up with Kento.
As they placed Ryo in the water he showed signs of waking.
"Ryo? Ryo can you hear me?" whispered Sage. He wasn't really expecting a response and was surprised when Ryo's eyes opened just enough for him to see out of and then his head nodded slightly. "I am going to try and heal some of your more serious wounds can you tell me what hurts the worst?" Sage didn't really need Ryo to tell him. His healing gift always pointed him towards the worst injuries but he wanted Ryo to stay awake for as long as possible.
"Cold." Ryo started to shake.
"I know Ryo but I can't fix that. We're working on it though. Tell us when the water feels cold to you. Ok?" Ryo slowly nodded his head "Now can you tell me what hurts the worst?"
Ryo's eyes started to close. Sage reached down and gently shook him till his eyes opened again. They were glazed and unfocused. Sage knew he wasn't going to get an answer from him in this condition but he wanted Ryo to stay awake. Kento, taking the hint, began talking softly to Ryo in an attempt to keep him awake.
Sage reached out with his gift and began searching for the worst of the injuries. The worst he could find were Ryo's broken ribs. He quickly fixed those and then worked on healing some of the bruises on his chest. He did everything he could and then dulled the pain from what he didn't have the energy to heal right then.
"I wish I could do more Ryo." Sage wasn't sure if Ryo could even hear what he was saying but he felt the need to apologize anyway. He still felt guilty for what had happened and not being able to fully heal Ryo was making him feel even worse.
It's ok Sage. You did your best. Tell Kento to shut up I'm tired and besides he has told me this same story twice already.
Sage was startled at first when he heard Ryo's voice inside his head but then he remembered that Ryo now had the same gifts that he did. He could tell though that despite the humor that Ryo was trying to create that he was actually feeling really weak and cold. He wasn't out of the woods yet.
"Kento, Ryo wants you to shut up." Kento sent Sage a confused look and Sage tapped his head. Kento nodded in understanding. "He also wants to sleep but I think we will keep him awake for a little while longer." They carried Ryo back to his room.
"Do you think he'll be ok?" asked Rowen as they helped Ryo get dressed. At first Ryo had tried to get dressed himself embarrassed at being so helpless but it was apparent that he couldn't do it. The effort of just lifting his arms over his head had exhausted him. They couldn't keep him awake anymore after that.
"I don't know. I healed what I can but it's the cold that we really have to worry about." Sage answered.
As soon as they had put Ryo under the blankets Whiteblaze had jumped up on the bed. Ryo as if drawn to the heat turned and snuggled into Whiteblaze's fur. It would almost have been cute if it wasn't for Ryo' uncontrollable shaking and small bruised frame.
"I don't think we all need to stay. We can take turns doing watch." Said Rowen
"I don't want to leave him now, I mean didn't Sage say that he was some sort of telepath. Wouldn't he sense us if we left? What if he thought we were abandoning him again? Nope I am definitely staying here." Said Kento
"I guess I am with Kento too." Threw in Sage
"I guess I will go get the sleeping bags." Rowen sighed "Cye will probably end up in here so he can have the extra bed." Rowen left shaking his head.
Later that night
"His fever has gone up again." Sage said as he stood up next to the bed.
Ryo had gone from being extremely cold back to almost normal temperature at about 2:00 A.M. They were all relieved thinking that this was going to be the end and Ryo was now out of danger but it wasn't long until Ryo started burning with fever. They were doing everything they could think of to bring it down but so far nothing was working.
"Maybe we should wake him up." Said Kento
"What good would that do?" replied a frustrated Cye
"I don't know but he doesn't look like he is having peaceful dreams right now."
Ryo was tossing and turning on the bed. Occasionally he would mumble something incoherent and then continue his fretful sleep. They all felt so helpless. They couldn't do anything for their leader except sit and watch him suffer. They wanted to help so badly.
"I don't think we could wake him up now even if we tried." Said Rowen
Sage could feel something changing within Ryo. Something was breaking. When he realized what it was he tried to warn the guys before it broke totally.
"He's about to start pro…." Sage never finished. Ryo's shields had broken before he could warn them. Ryo was now projecting his nightmares into their minds.
They found that just like the memory that Kento had accidentally activated that they once again could not move. They could feel everything that Ryo was feeling and they could hear his thoughts. They were watching Ryo as he woke up and the pain that was in his head. They watched him muffle a scream when Kento's voice went through his mind. They understood now why Ryo tried to stay away from them. He could hear their thoughts and every time he did it was causing him extreme pain.
Sage felt terrible as he felt Ryo's insecurity and anxiety at trying to talk to him. He felt Ryo's need for help and fear of what his reaction was going to be. Then he felt Ryo's dismay as Sage yelled at him and told him to leave him alone.
They saw Ryo's version of their picnic. During the ride their Ryo had been tormented by their thoughts and feelings. Many of them were not kind thoughts about him and he was glad when the trip was finally over and he could get away from everyone. They felt his relief as he walked down the path towards the lake. Then they felt another voice invade on his mind. The ducks thoughts were overwhelming Ryo in his weakened shape. The duck's constant repetitive thoughts were distorting his mind. They watched as Ryo walked mindlessly out onto the ice and then reacted to Cye with the fear the duck was projecting into his mind. They felt his confusion at what had happened. They watched as Cye told him to leave and felt the destruction it caused.
They witnessed everything that had happened to Ryo over the last few months from his point of view. They saw how their own reactions made Ryo's pain even worse. They watched as he was beaten by his father and felt his shame. They watched as he worked relentlessly to learn to control his powers so he could return to them even after everything they had done to him.
The nightmare changed and it went to his surprise birthday party. They heard Cye's panicked thoughts and felt Cye's fear as they seared their way through Ryo's mind. They watched in horror as Ryo reacted and stuck his hands in the fire in an attempt to save Cye. They felt the pain of the burns. Then they watched as they made him leave again and felt Ryo's control break. Then it was over. Ryo wasn't projecting his dreams anymore and they were once again aware of the room they were in.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just…I couldn't…They fell and…I'm sorry. Don't make me leave. Please.
"He thinks we're going to make him leave again just because he accidentally projected nightmares we caused? What have we done?" Cye asked. He looked at everyone. They all looked equally shocked at what Ryo had said to them.
"Sage tell him! You have to tell him that we aren't mad at him anymore. We can't let him keep thinking like this." Kento was practically begging Sage to do something.
"I'll try but I can't promise I'll reach him. With his mind so confused and hurt right now I'm not sure he'll hear me." With that Sage reached his mind out trying to connect to Ryo.
Ryo? Can you hear me?
S..Sage? Don't let them make me leave again, please!
Ryo it's ok. We're not mad at you. It's our fault that you are like this.
I can stay now…not mad? I didn't mean to.
We know Ryo. You can stay. We won't hurt you anymore.
Sage I don't feel so good.
I know. Just rest now. We'll take care of you.
Sage opened his eyes and looked into three sets of worried eyes.
"I reached him and I think I was able to convince him that we aren't mad at him. He sounded so lost. I can't believe that we did this to him."
"Yeah I know what you mean. He was in pain just being around us and we didn't even try and help. Just pushed him away. We owe him a huge apology for this." Said Rowen
Whiteblaze began to purr silently. They watched in amazement as Ryo's hand shakily reached out to pet Whiteblaze's head while he still slept. Sage took his temperature again and was relieved to find that it had gone down some. Maybe the worst was over.
"His fever is down some. Its still high but I think its starting to break." Everyone was very relieved to hear this news. " I think we all need to get some sleep now. Ryo is going to be very weak and is going to need us. We are going to need all the rest we can get." Everyone realized how tired they were and headed towards sleeping bags.