Shadow within the Darkness

(Day 10 – Part 4)

By: Little Ucchan

"I'm home!!!" Sage called, opening the front door.

"You're back early," Yayoi greeted, seeing both boys at the doorway.

"Early?" Ryo inquired, looking at Sage.

"Well, yeah. Your sensei called today telling us what happened. So I thought you'd be home a lot later than this."

Sage definitely did not miss the 'us' in his sister's sentence. He groaned aloud in remorse. That means that Ojiisama already knows about today. I'm really in for it.

"Sage. Are you going back into your rebellious stage?" Yayoi questioned him with a grin. "You've been getting into a lot of trouble lately. It isn't like you."

"Oh no. He's like this all the time," Ryo answered instead and received a quick jab to the side from Sage.

"Ow!! Hey!"

Yayoi began to laugh. "Oh, is that true Sage? Ojiisama will have your head if he heard that!!"

"Oneesan!!" Sage pleaded just as the phone rang.

Turning her attention to the phone, Yayoi picked up the receiver on the second ring. "Hello? Date residence." She paused, listening to the person on the other end. "Yes, he's here. Hold on."

Covering the receiver with the palm of her hand, she looked towards Sage and Ryo. "Sage, Cye's on the phone for you. It sounds urgent."

Both boys tensed on the spot, looking at each other with uncertainty. Sage already had a clue as to the outcome of the battle. It didn't go as well as he had hoped.

"Thanks Oneesan. I'll take it upstairs." Quickly kicking off his shoes, he motioned for Ryo to do the same. Both were up the stairs and in Sage's room before Yayoi could say anything else.

"I have it Oneesan," Sage spoke into the phone once he picked up the receiver. He waited, until he heard the familiar "click" on the other end before speaking again.

"Hello? Cye?"

"Hey Sage," Cye greeted on the other end. But Sage could already tell from the tone of his voice that something had happened.

"What's wrong?"

"You ok Cye?" Ryo called over Sage's shoulder before he was able to respond.

"Ryo? You're there?"

"Hang on you two," Sage interrupted, looking towards Ryo and motioning to his open door. He took the hint, getting up to close it. While he was doing that, Sage placed the phone on speaker mode. Hanging up the receiver, he sat down casually at the edge of his bed with Ryo standing nearby, his arms crossed.

"Alright Cye. Go ahead."

"Um…" he began, but sighed soon afterwards. "There was a battle today."

"What happened?" Ryo immediately asked in concern. "Are you guys alright? Is anyone hurt??"

"No. We're all fine Ryo."

He sighed in relief, the worried look he had on his face slowly washing away. At least his friends were ok. But this fact still had Ryo a bit antsy. If the guys weren't injured, then why did Cye sound so distressed?

"That's not why I called…" Cye found it difficult to continue with his next sentence. How could he possibly tell them, especially Ryo, of what happened today? He sighed again. Well, here goes.

"Our armors…have been stolen."

***

There was a long drawn out pause immediately after Cye spoke those words. It had taken Ryo and Sage by surprise. After all the times they had kept the armor safe from Talpa's hands, all of a sudden…they're gone? Both knew that when Cye called, something was wrong but neither one of them was expecting to hear something like this. And Ryo, apparently, wasn't ready to hear it.

"Wh…WHAT?!"

"Ryo!! Shhh!!" Sage cried, already feeling Ryo's infamous temper beginning to rise.

"How can I 'shhhh!?!?' Did you hear what he…"

"Cye, who took it?" Sage cut him off, trying to get Ryo to focus on something else.

No one replied on the other end.

"Cye?"

"…That's what we need to talk about," he informed them. "We're having a meeting tonight at 8:00 in my apartment."

Ryo started walking around the room, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He stopped at a corner and then started cursing under his breath. Sage remained silent.

"…You coming you guys?" Cye asked when no one responded.

"Yeah…" Sage replied, not taking his eyes off of Ryo. "We'll be there."

The blonde hung up the phone, saying goodbye to his friend before doing so. He didn't speak to Ryo yet, and instead settled for watching him pace back and forth in front of him, muttering various curses every now and then.

Sage sighed to himself. He understood what Ryo was going through, but now was not the time. He didn't need to be dealing with his leader's temper and his occasional guilt trips. Not when they had something like this to take care of. And, assuming that Kento's already pissed off about what happened today, the last thing they needed tonight were two hotheads in the same room.

But tangling with Ryo when he was frustrated like this…it wasn't something Sage looked forward to. However, it was something he had to do.

"Ryo…will you calm down?"

"…Calm down?"

That did it.

"Calm down?!" he lashed out suddenly, turning to confront Sage. "Let's see YOU try and 'calm down' when you realize that the reason why your friends' armors were stolen was YOUR fault!!!"

"But it wasn't your fault!!"

"Yes it was!!" Ryo yelled back, causing the room to grow quiet. He bit his bottom lip to try and restrain the tears forming in his eyes.

"Yes it was," he repeated again, this time more softly. "Anyway you look at it, it was my fault. The Ancient…he trusted us with the armors. To keep them safe from evil. And what did I do? Let them slip away."

"Ryo," Sage began. "The Ancient didn't just leave the armors in your care. He gave each of us an armor to use. Each of us has a responsibility. It doesn't solely rest on you."

"You may be right about that…but I'm the leader!" he cried. "It weighs more on me than anyone else!!"

"Ryo you're—"

"Not the leader," he finished for him. "I know. No one really said it flat out that I was. So I shouldn't worry about it. Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

Sage remained silent.

"Even if no one did say it, everyone treats me as if I were. You. The guys. The Dynasty. Even the Ancient. They always saw me to fulfill the role of 'leader,' so naturally I started to believe it myself," he confessed. "It's a part of me now. So you can't just tell me that I don't have that responsibility resting on my shoulders, Sage."

The other man sighed, considering Ryo's words thoughtfully. It was the truth. Everyone had their own role to play during the war with Talpa. And Ryo had taken up the part of leader. No one stated other wise because in reality, no one else could fulfill that role. It was a thankless job. And yet…Ryo took it on without even thinking. But how did he really feel about it?

Sage didn't really know what kind of thoughts ran through his friend's mind, or what weighs down on his heart because of his duty. Ryo was always too hard on himself, but this time, Sage was determined to spare him a little grief.

"Fine. I understand that as leader, you have certain responsibilities to us and the armors," he said. "But…I don't understand how you can take the blame for what happened now."

"Sage, if I had listened to you in the first place about going then—"

"Then you would have been able to do something. Right?" he finished instead, which now left Ryo speechless. "But you didn't listen to me. And why was that?"

"Because…I was worried about you. I didn't think you'd make it back safely."

"And?"

Ryo sighed, smiling a bit. "And I had a feeling that the guys were going to be ok…no matter what."

"That's right," Sage repeated. "No matter what."

Ryo closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax. Letting go of the guilt and sorrow he had only moments ago. Sage was right. He remembered it clearly. That reassuring feeling that his friends were going to come out of it alive. That they were going to be safe. It's all that really mattered to him.

"Thanks," Ryo finally said, a small smile forming on his lips. "I needed that."

 "…Any time."

***

"God it's cold out."

Pulling his school jacket tighter around his body to block out the wind, Ryo shivered.

"You okay?" Sage asked, glancing over at him.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"You know… my mother did offer you a warmer jacket."

"…Don't rub it in Sage. I'm beginning to regret not taking it."

"Sorry," he chuckled. "At least it'll be warmer at Cye's place."

Ryo nodded, grateful that they only had to walk one more block to get to Cye's apartment.

"You think everyone's there already?" he asked, trying to get his mind off of the fact that he couldn't feel his toes.

"It's possible."

"…You think Kento's pissed?"

Sage exhaled, a puff of smoke coming out of his mouth and then dissipating into the atmosphere. "I just hope he remembers not to throw anything this time."

***

"Shit!! Couldn't you have used your armor?!"

"Calm down, Kento," Cye told him as he watched him pace back and forth in an effort to 'safely' release his anger. The man Kento had addressed was sitting at the dining table. His elbows propped on the wooden surface and his hands folded on top of one another, Rowen thought about what he was going to say.

"Lady Sierra wasn't aware that we had real samurai armor."

"So what's your point?!" Kento yelled, dissatisfied with his excuse. "You think you wouldn't be playing fair if you used it or something?!"

"It's not that," he answered. "There was no way that I could have completed the transformation without Sierra attacking me first, like how the demon did."

"Rowen! You don't know for sure that she would have attacked you!"

"She's quick Kento," he replied, looking at him directly. "She has to be if she's able to hold her own against those demons." He paused for a moment, looking back down at the table. "She would have played it safe and, if I had armored up, she would have made an offensive move against me. I'm sure of this."

"But…"

Rowen shook his head, making him stop. "Besides, it would have been easier to make a pass at the orbs if I didn't have the armor on. I'm a lot faster without it."

Kento sighed, his anger having had declined with each sentence that came out of Rowen's mouth. He could never figure out how Rowen could calm him down like that, despite how angry he was. He always managed somehow.

At that moment the doorbell rang. Signaling to the others that he would get it, Cye stepped out of the kitchen and walked towards the door. Two familiar faces welcomed him once he opened it.

"Hey you guys," Cye welcomed, moving aside to allow Ryo and Sage to come in.

Sage gave Cye a small bow for acknowledgement while Ryo greeted him with his usual good cheer. "Hey Cye. Is everyone else here already?"

"Yeah. Rowen and Kento are in the kitchen," he replied as the other two boys took off their shoes and slipped on the remaining pairs of house slippers.

"Did anything happen?" Ryo questioned with a bit of concern.

"Kento was venting," he told them. "But the worst of it's over."

"That's good to hear," Sage said. "Hope he didn't break anything."

"Actually, he was very good at controlling himself this time."

"Wow," Ryo smiled. "I'm impressed."

"So am I," Rowen said, appearing in the hallway along with Kento, who wasn't too pleased that he was being gossiped about.

"Well," he spoke, clearing his throat. "Shouldn't we get started?"

"Yeah," Rowen nodded, moving to Cye's living room with the others. Taking a seat besides Sage on the couch, he waited until everyone was comfortable before speaking.

"…I'll start from the beginning."

***

There was a profound silence after Rowen had ended his recap of the events of that day. Cye and Kento had nothing to add to his account, and all three remained quiet, waiting for a response from their friends.

"So… that's what happened huh?" Ryo asked just to confirm.

Rowen nodded. "Now we have to decide where to go from here."

"That's easy," Kento said. "We got to get the armors back."

"It's not that simple."

"Of course it is, Cye. We'll win them back this Saturday when Ryo and Sage fight her," he cried happily. "Right guys?"

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Ryo shouted in alarm.

"When was this?!" Sage demanded.

"Sorry," Rowen apologized. "I forgot to tell you. Before she left, Lady Sierra issued a challenge to the both of you."

"Both?" Sage asked, unbelieving. "She wants to fight us both at the same time?"

Rowen nodded. "She's betting all our armor orbs for the two of yours."

"An all or nothing battle," Ryo said quietly. "Did she tell you the terms of the match?"

Rowen stopped to think for a moment, and then shook his head. "No, she didn't."

"Great," Sage sighed, not liking his answer.

"Hey don't worry about it! If you just focus on beating her in the fight, then the armors are as good as ours," Kento reassured them. "It's two against one after all."

Sage sighed again. That's exactly what was bothering him. The fight was obviously in their favor, so why did Sierra make the challenge? Something's not right. There's got to be more to it.

"So, are we going to use our armors?" Ryo asked.

"You'd better!" Kento cried.

"Fighting in sub armor is not going to work," Rowen agreed. "You'll have to armor up before the fight."

"Why? What kind of abilities does she have?"

"She has a ninja background. And she also mentioned something about shadow magic," Rowen informed them.

"Shadow magic?" Ryo repeated, confused.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "But from what I can gather, it had to do with energy manipulation. You can expect some sorcery to come into play during this match so both of you keep your guard up. There's no telling what might happen."

"You think she's as strong as one of the former dark warlords?"

"I don't know about that Sage," Rowen answered after a bit of thinking. "She's skilled… but we don't know how strong she is compared to the armor."

Sage nodded, hesitating before asking his next question. "So… should using our surekills be an option?"

"No."

The almost immediate response had left the rest of the group in silence, turning their attention to the young man that had answered, as if on instinct, to that question. Cye only stared at the floor, avoiding their eyes. He had remained quiet while the guys had been discussing the upcoming match, debating in his mind if he should state his opinion on the matter. He wasn't planning to, but now things had changed. He couldn't let them use such a deadly weapon.

"Cye…" Ryo spoke, completely at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment's hesitation. "But you can't use them."

"What are you talking about Cye?!" Kento cried, rising from his seat. "Of course they should be able to use them!"

"No they shouldn't," Cye said more firmly.

"Give me one good reason why!" Kento demanded.

"Because she's human!!" Cye screamed, getting up. "Since when do we use our powers to kill others?!?!"

Silence overtook the room again. No one was able to speak. Or if they had something to say, it wasn't the appropriate time to say it. Cye's words had made an impact on everyone, bringing them crashing back down to reality. Their opponent… was one of them.

But Kento couldn't accept this. He wouldn't allow it.

"Why… why are you defending her?!" he shouted. "She took our armors!!"

"She saved our lives!"

"She's the enemy!!"

"Then prove it!!" Cye yelled. "Prove it Kento! Name one time she made an attempt at your life!!"

Kento paused, thinking of a way to respond. Lady Sierra never attacked him personally. He knew that. So in an attempt to defend himself, he was about to bring up Rowen's fight with her today. But even then, Kento knew that she wasn't trying to kill him. She didn't even land one single punch on Rowen. So instead, he didn't respond.

"Kento… don't you remember what she said today?" Cye asked in an almost pleading voice. "She doesn't want us to get involved. She doesn't want to make us fight anymore."

"Then what should we do?"

Both boys looked towards Sage, momentarily drawn away from their debate.

"Are you saying we should let her keep the armors?" he questioned.

As much as Cye wanted to say yes and end his life as a warrior, he shook his head. "I just don't want her to get hurt. She's not our enemy."

"But you want us to get the armors back from her?" Sage asked carefully. 

Cye nodded.

"But… why?" Ryo questioned. "I thought you didn't want to fight."

"I don't," came his response.

"But you just said…"

"I don't like fighting. All of you know that," Cye interrupted in order to explain. "I'd do anything to go back to my life before I was a Ronin, but… I wouldn't do it by having someone else take my place. That's a burden that I wouldn't be able to bear."

Smiling cheerfully at the guys, he added. "If I'm going to settle down, it's going to be after my duty as a warrior is fulfilled. Only then… have I earned it."

Ryo chuckled to himself, and then held up his hands in defeat. "Alright Cye. You win. No surekills."

"And during the match, we'll keep in mind what you said," Sage told him. "We won't seriously hurt her. So don't worry."

"Thanks guys," Cye smiled again.

"Well…" Kento started, resting his hands behind his head. "I'd say we're pretty much done for today, wouldn't you?"

Rowen nodded, grinning. "Yeah. Let's go home."

***

A clear sky surrounded the earth in a thick blanked of darkness for the night. Like it always had for centuries. On this evening, one adventurer dared to risk walking out in the open across the empty streets, guided only by the manmade lights and the dim glow of the stars above.

Sage sighed. It was a great night to be out for a peaceful stroll, but his mind was clouded with troubling thoughts of the battle to come. He knew that there was something wrong with the challenge. He had refrained from telling the other guys of his worries, hoping to sort it out on his own. But if he did find out what was wrong… could he do something about it. Or was it too late?

"Thinking hard, warrior?"

Jumping back at the unknown voice, Sage took up a fighting stance, searching around him for the speaker. Up ahead, behind the shadow of a nearby streetlamp, a figure stirred and then stepped out into the open.

"You were off guard," Lady Sierra said, smiling underneath her cloak and mask. "A deadly flaw to carry into battle."

"Did you want to test that theory?" Sage challenged.

"…I can wait till Saturday."

Her response had caused Sage to lower his defenses. "If you weren't looking for a fight, then what did you come here for?"

"…It's an old habit of mine to meet with my opponent before a formal match," she told him. "Find out what kind of man he is. And… if I have anything to worry about."

"So you decide to scope me out now since you couldn't at the apartment."

She paused, slightly surprised. "You knew I was there."

"I had a feeling you were around the area."

She laughed. "You're better than I thought. Looks like I'll have to watch out for you."

"And I for you… and whatever trick you're going to pull on Saturday."

Lady Sierra took longer to answer this time. "…I don't get your meaning."

"Don't lie," he cried. "Why else would you challenge both of us at the same time unless you've got something up your sleeve. You'd have no chance of winning otherwise."

She closed her eyes, and then smiled shaking her head. "So you found me out. But it doesn't make any difference."

"What?" Sage uttered.

"Even if you knew exactly what I was planning, there's no way you and your friend can defend against it," she said with confidence. "I assure you. On Saturday… I'll have both your armors by the day's end."