Shadow within the Darkness

(Day 13 – Part 3)

By: Little Ucchan

"Did you like breakfast?"

"Uh huh! It was good!"

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Thanks again, Satsuki-san!"

Satsuki smiled, rubbing the girl's head affectionately. "It was nothing. Just remember to eat before you leave the house."

"But…" Sammy pouted. "I wasn't hungry."

"Still, you should eat something," she reprimanded the girl gently. "Even if it's a small snack. At least you'll have something in your tummy so it won't growl so loud next time!" As Satsuki said this, she bent down to tickle her in the stomach.

"Stop it!" she cried in between giggles.

"Let that be a lesson to you," she smiled along with her. "Eat something when you get up okay!"

"Kay!"

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Both girls stopped playing around, Satsuki shooting up at the yell. "What was that?!"

Sammy looked worriedly towards the dojo. "That was Oneesan," she spoke quietly.

Satsuki blinked a couple of times, her mind not believing what she had just heard. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking down at the redhead for an answer. But she didn't respond, another battle cry ripping through the air. This time, the older girl had recognized it. It was her brother's.

"Sage nii-chan!"

Satsuki bolted towards the dojo, sliding open the door without regard of how forceful she had done it. The wooden frame slid, jolting roughly with a loud crash as it reached its end. But she didn't mind the noise. Or her grandfather's stares at the sudden interruption. Only aware of the two figures standing on opposite ends of the dojo. Frozen in place in their respective ending moves, their backs to each other. Neither moving. Aside from Satsuki's grand entrance, it was deathly quiet.

And that's how everything remained. Until Sammy had approached the older girl from behind and quietly tugged on her sleeve. "What's going on?"

Laura was the first to move, standing up straight and lowering her considerably shorter bokken to her side. Turning around, she located the broken piece of wood lying a few feet from Sage and remembered how it had all happened. It was just an instant, but she saw it clearly. How her wooden sword snapped backwards when it collided with Sage's own, clattering noisily against the floor as silence befell them all.

Laura laughed to herself, a smile forming on her face despite the fact that she had lost. "Well, I guess we know who won that one, ne?"

"I'm not too sure," came Sage's unexpected reply, which forced Laura to look up from staring at the broken blade on the floor, eyes confused.

Sage was examining his own sword, running a hand across the length of its edge and then turning slightly so Laura could see it. "You did a lot of damage yourself."

She caught sight of the front blade, badly cracked and chipped, the point where their weapons crossed having had received the most damage. But it wasn't that that had made Laura go wide-eyed with surprise. What drew her attention was the tear on the upper arm of Sage's kendo gi, a few red lines on his skin visible underneath the fabric.

Looking down at the remainder of the bokken in her hand, she stared at it unbelievingly, eyes fixated on the splintered wood turned razor sharp at the weapon's severed end. I did that? No way.

But she did. It had taken Sage by surprise. He didn't think her sword would break like that. And he sure wasn't expecting to feel a sudden stinging sensation in his left arm when, now that there was no longer any resistance between them, they had passed right by each other, the damaged end of the Laura's bokken cutting roughly through his sleeve and scratching him. He was so startled by the force that he almost yelped when it had happened, but bit back his tongue, falling into silence with the rest of them. One loud bang and two female voices later, he finally stepped out of his stupor, realizing the state of his practice sword. Two lost in less than an hour. Must be some record.

"I still think you won." She gestured towards the sword in Sage's hand. "I mean, you still could've fought with that."

"Maybe." He then turned to his grandfather. "What do you think, Ojiisama?"

"Well…" The old man cleared his throat. "It depends on how you look at it. Laura's fighting style had Chinese origins, correct?" He received an affirmative nod from the girl. "It had some hand-to-hand combat mixed into it and didn't rely heavily on the sword. So technically, she could still fight."

"So could you," he added, looking at his grandson. "If this was a real fight, even if your weapons were damaged, Sage, you'd still use your bokken, and Laura, you'd make due with the hilt."

They both nodded to him, rather solemnly actually. Grandfather Date noticed this and smiled inwardly to himself. "But I'm going to interject here and declare the match a draw. I think both of you should be proud of yourselves. You did very well today."

"A draw?" Sage glanced over at Laura.

She smiled approvingly, nodding her head. "I think I can live with that."

He chuckled to himself. Sage had just begun to see a whole new side to this strange girl who had demanded that he hit her and had an unusual tendency of switching personalities as easily as she had switch fighting techniques. And what made it even worse was that he had started to understand her weird approach to life, seeing possible patterns in her actions. And maybe even start to see her company as… pleasant? Is this why Ryo seemed so attached to her?

"Seiji Date!!"

Sage immediately snapped out of his reverie, hands growing cold and back stiffening when he heard that voice. For it wasn't his grandfather or Laura who had shouted at him. But the girl he had never thought would use his full name to call him.

Satsuki.

***

Brows furrowed, eyes set ablaze, and lips pulled tight into a straight line, Satsuki stomped up to her brother in a huff. Her angry approach directed at him, being a foreign experience to Sage, had caused the young man to take a step back when she had stopped in front of him, glaring straight into his eyes.

"Sa--Satsuki?" He stuttered under her gaze. "W-what? What'd I do?"

"You know exactly well what you did!" she answered hotly. But when her brother's face betrayed only pure confusion, she let out an exasperated sigh. "Didn't we just have a talk earlier this morning about you practicing today?" she demanded. "Well?!"

Sage's brain drew a blank for a second before retracing what had happened earlier that morning. He had risen from bed at eight o'clock, relatively early compared to how late he'd been sleeping in recently. The remnants of his dream still in his mind, he quickly dressed into his kendo gi, deciding to meditate at the dojo and maybe work in some practice as well. Passing by the kitchen, Sage stopped to eat a small breakfast before continuing on his way. Satsuki had caught sight of him from the doorway while he was making some toast. Looking at her brother once, she had automatically placed her hands on her hips, a sour expression on her face.

"You're not going to practice are you?"

Sage raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong with that?"

"Nii-chan!!"

"What?"

"There's no way you're up to that!!"

"C'mon Satsuki. It's just practice. I do it everyday."

"Yeah, but you normally don't need so many extra hours of sleep, everyday."

"There's nothing wrong with getting a little rest."

She sighed, exasperated. "Don't play dumb, Sage. You and I both know that the reason you've been sleeping in late is because you're tired and you're trying to recover from… whatever it is that's eating up your energy," she ended a little vaguely, not knowing the exact reason behind his recent morning habit. "And, until you do gain your strength back, you shouldn't be practicing."

"It's not as if I'm on doctor's orders, you know."

"Nii-chan—"

"I'm fine," he cut in, hoping that abrupt reply would snuff out any would-be arguments from his sister.

Not a chance.

"How can you say that you're 'fine' when everyone else in this house states otherwise?" Satsuki asked, frustration scratching beneath the surface of her usually cheerful face. "Even Oneesan mentioned something, and that's saying much. And you know Dad'll notice once he gets back from Kobe."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Sage asked directly, finally giving up with trying to convince his stubborn sibling that he felt absolutely fine, even if the statement was far from the truth.

"Don't practice today."

"Satsuki…"

"Grandpa doesn't require that you train the whole day…"she reasoned.

"Satsuki—"

"…And most of your time spent in the dojo is of your own choosing anyway."

"Satsuki!"

She sighed, recognizing a losing battle when she saw one. "Alright. But just don't overdo it. Promise me that if you get tired, you'll stop okay?"

He smiled. "Sure thing."

Sage cringed. He had totally forgotten. His dreams were the only thing that had occupied his mind once he had entered the dojo that morning. And the frustration, along with the pain of seeing his visions again kept him mentally busy until Laura had stepped in and that incident with his grandfather occurred. One thing led to another and suddenly Sage found himself fighting a match against Laura. Now the fight, not his dreams or what his grandfather had told him, filled his brain to the brink of its capacity. So with so many things cluttering his mind, it was no wonder that his conversation with Satsuki had completely eluded him! But now, he was about to pay the consequences.

"You remember… don't you?" his sister asked again, her voice lowered in comparison to before, but still angry with him. "Nii-chan, you promised me this morning!"

"I know," he sighed guiltily. "I just… Satsuki I completely forgot."

"Nii-chan…" she growled, rather irritably.

"What's going on, you two?" Grandfather Date interjected, looking at both of his grandchildren. "Satsuki, I've never seen you so angry."

"Well that's because Nii-chan promised me he wouldn't go overboard during practice." (And, yes, fighting a match against a skilled opponent is considered going 'overboard.')

"You shouldn't be mad at him," the old man said to his youngest grandchild. "I'm the one who set up the match for him."

"You didn't!" Satsuki exclaimed unbelievingly, focus of anger quickly shifting from her brother to her grandfather.

He nodded. "It wasn't his fault."

In reality, Grandfather Date had asked Sage if he felt up to sparring. And the boy had agreed, thinking that it would do him some good to get the adrenaline going. But of course, he wasn't about to tell his granddaughter that. Unfortunately, like Sage, he was not used to hearing the twelve-year-old yell at him, getting an earful of shouting that was less than delicate to his eardrums.

"Grandpa! How could you!?" Satsuki screamed, causing the old man to wince the same way Sage had. She has powerful vocal chords.

"Couldn't you see that he wasn't up to it?!"

"He looked fine to me," Grandfather Date replied coolly. "But if you'd like, I'll just have to confine him to the house—"

"Ojiisama!"

"—Until he gets some rest to compensate for today's match," he finished, nodding towards Sage who immediately stopped his protest. "So I expect you to get some sleep. And if I see you walking around the house before well into the afternoon, I'll ground you for the rest of the day. Understand?"

Catching the hidden meaning behind those words, Sage nodded, a barely concealed smile spreading across his lips. "Yes, Ojiisama."

Missing the transaction between the two men, Satsuki stopped her tirade, taking the bokken away from her brother's hand and speaking as she did so. "Here that, Sage? Don't do anything strenuous today. Just sleep and be lazy for once!"

He chuckled lightly, glad that his sister's usual 'charm' had come back. "Okay Satsuki."

Taking a step towards the dojo's front door, he stopped, looking back towards Laura, who hasn't spoken since that episode with Satsuki began.

"Good match today," he said.

"Sure was." She paused for a moment before speaking again. "You know, if you can fight that well when you weren't even up to it, then I can only imagine what you're capable of at full strength."

Laura smiled to herself, seeing Sage turn away from her, slightly red at the praise. "I'd like to see it someday," she told him.

He fell silent for a moment, meeting her eyes before nodding. "Consider it a challenge."

Laura nodded back to him, the consent of both participants sealing their next match. "I'll be waiting."

***

On his way out, Sage had spoken a few words to Sammy, patting her on the head as he left. The dojo remained quiet; Grandfather Date and Satsuki both moving to the open door to see him go, making sure he got into the house and didn't wander off. The tranquil peace lingered for a good couple of minutes before Laura had broken the silence.

"Did he leave already?"

"Yes, he did."

A smile of relief crossed her face. "Good."

She was vaguely aware of the hilt of her practice sword slipping out of her hand, only seeing her surroundings rapidly rise above her as she collapsed on the floor. Laura heard her sister shriek, followed by rushed footsteps and the sound of Grandfather Date's voice shouting an order to Satsuki. Or that's what she believed. The pounding at her temples, being able to actually feel the pulsing beat underneath her skin, had succeeded in impairing her hearing. Sounds were distant; words, only incoherent mumbles. And, because of a sweltering body heat that created a dull throbbing pain within her skull every time she moved her eyes, logical thought became an abstract dream far beyond the girl's reach. Such were the effects of Exhaustion's relentless invasion. And having it all slam into her at once left Laura gasping for air on the floor of the Date dojo.

Despite all of this, she was aware of someone kneeling over her, speaking. Trying to get her to respond to his questions of concern. Then there was another voice. Shriller, from what she could tell. And… familiar. It must have been Sammy, although how Laura had reached that conclusion with her brain in such a disheveled state was beyond comprehension. She just… knew.

The first voice, which she could now identify as Grandfather Date's, was starting to reach her now. It was still hard to comprehend. But she was able to make out the meaning: Are you okay?

Laura nodded once, already regretting the movement when a wave of nauseating pain washed over her. Maybe provoking Sage to fight at his fullest wasn't the brightest of all ideas. But she had to admit… it sure was fun.

***

Grandfather Date sat back on his feet, staring concerned eyes at the girl lying before him. He had expected something like this to happen, especially with how things were developing during the latter half of the match. But after seeing how well they had managed to stay on their feet right after, he guessed he was wrong… until Laura fell.

"Oneesan…?" Sammy asked tentatively, trying once again to get her sister to respond to her call.

Grandfather Date circled a parental arm around the girl, pulling her closer to him from where she sat on the floor. "Don't worry," he assured her. "Your sister's a strong girl. She'll be alright."

The girl gave him a small nod, still keeping her eyes solemnly focused on her sister. The sad, worried expression on her face made Grandfather Date wish Satsuki would come back soon. When he saw Laura fall, he immediately had an idea of what had happened and ordered his granddaughter to go fetch some water. She had complied without hesitation, bolting out the door and towards the house before he had even finished speaking.

Grandfather Date regarded the teenager again, watching her breathing fall back to a steady pace. Strange girl, he thought, smiling inwardly. Regardless of how wearisome she was, Laura had refused to give into her fatigue while Sage was still around, staying firmly on her feet and not showing any outward signs of exhaustion. Only when a good few minutes had passed after his departure did she allow herself to fall back, not caring who was still around and just glad that she could rest on the cool wooden floor. She has a lot of pride. I'll give her that.

***

Sage had a lot of pride as well, managing the seemingly impossible task of climbing up the stairs and reaching his bedroom without any mishap. Only in the privacy of his own room did he deem it safe to fall face first into the soft linen sheets covering his bed. God, I'm exhausted. Sage tried to shift his position so his face wasn't buried in his pillow, but found he didn't have enough strength to attempt such a feat, lying there like a dull piece of lead. Why'd she have to be that good? He sighed. I don't think I've ever used that much strength in a single match.

Finding the pillow suffocating, Sage made another attempt, this time succeeding in rolling over onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, content at the moment with the still silence that filled the room, clearing his mind and leaving it completely empty. He found he liked the feeling of quiet nothingness. It was rather peaceful.

But before he'd allow sleep to overtake him, there was something that he had to do. Sage groaned aloud. He had to move again.

Miraculously reaching over to his nightstand, Sage set his alarm clock to sound at five. It was roughly 10:45 when he had entered his bedroom. So he'd get a good six hours of sleep if he started now. It'd be enough, he'd hoped, remembering that the match was at six. I'd just better wake up, or the guys will kill me.

He suddenly recalled what his grandfather had said at the dojo, the memory causing him to smile all over again. His grandfather knew that he had an engagement to attend with his friends that afternoon. And that Satsuki would not let him leave the house if she was convinced that Sage still needed some rest. So, with only those few sentences, Grandfather Date had fixed the entire problem, arranging it so that his sister would not be mad for his leaving and Sage would have enough energy to make the trip. Not to mention his grandfather's decision had quickly ended their argument and, with him now not being near his sister for a good part of the day, would allow Satsuki time to cool down if she had any excess steam left in her that he wasn't aware about. He's very good at whatever it is that he does.

Sage suddenly yawned, his eyes growing heavy as sleep began to overtake him. Five o'clock would be late afternoon. So no one would mind if I went out then. He yawned again and closed his eyes, drifting into a blissful sleep, undisturbed by anything. Including his dreams.

***

"Grandpa! I'm going out!" Ryo called over his shoulder, tying his shoelace and tucking the excess inside of his sneakers. He checked his wristwatch. 4:45. Ryo had to admit that he was kinda anxious about today. It was an odd feeling to have. To him at least, never experiencing this type of nervousness before a battle before. Maybe because it was set. Ryo knew when it was coming, down to the exact date, time, and location. And he's never known this much information about any serious fight he's faced so far in his life. Well… except for maybe that one fight with Saranbo at the bay, he reminded himself. But he wasn't as anxious back then, the nagging emotion not having the chance to manifest itself. Unlike today's match, which he had to wait about three days for. Plenty of time to be restless, he thought wryly.

Pulling out the tongue of his other shoe and making sure the knot was on tight, Ryo got onto his feet and was about to open the front door when a quiet 'ahem' caught his attention. Looking back, he spotted Sanada-san standing not too far off in back of him. He waited for the old man to speak, but was only greeted by undisturbed silence. Not knowing what to make of this, Ryo uncertainly waved goodbye, reaching over to the door handle. As he did so, he received yet another 'ahem' from his grandfather, this one being more dramatically over exaggerated than the last. The boy raised a quizzical brow, knowing that Sanada-san was expecting him to do something but was absolutely clueless as to what it was. Silence fell again with no signs of a forthcoming response from the elderly man. Ryo sighed, tired of playing this little game with his grandfather, and opened the door.

As soon as the door clicked shut, it burst open, letting in a strong gust of wind and a very chilled Ryo. Slamming the door shut as quickly as he could, the boy began to run his hands up and down his arms, trying to rub out the goose bumps that had already formed during that very brief confrontation with Mother Nature.

While working feverishly to raise his body temperature back to normal, Ryo glanced over at his grandfather. Sanada-san was now holding up his grandson's jacket for him to see, a smug smile on his face that clearly read, 'What? You didn't notice the weather change?'

Scowling at the old man, Ryo marched up to his grandfather and snatched the jacket from his upheld hand. Sanada-san's grin grew wider, the boy too busy with putting on the jacket and cursing mentally to notice. I can't believe that I forgot about the weather difference between Tokyo and here, he thought indignantly, having had walked out of the house in a short sleeve shirt and jeans. My sub armor would have turned blue by the time I got there!

"So, what time will you be back today?" Sanada-san asked, cutting into his grandson's musings.

"Oh I dunno," he replied, estimating in his mind the possible time it would take to fight a match. Not really that long, he admitted. But there were always those unexpected events to watch out for. "Maybe 8 or 9-ish."

"…We're going to the movies," Ryo explained, catching the look his grandfather had given him. "And possibly dinner."

The elderly man nodded. "Just be careful."

He laughed. "You don't have to worry about me getting lost in the woods like when I was little, Grandpa," Ryo assured him. "I could find my way blindfolded if I had to."

"I know. Just… be careful today."

Ryo caught the worried tone in his voice, tinted with slight anxiety. Was it possible that his grandfather had a feeling that something was going to go wrong today? That thought didn't bode well, especially when Ryo wasn't going to the movies at all, but actually leaving to go fight a battle.

He nodded seriously to Sanada-san, giving him a small smile. Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll be careful, like you said.

The old man nodded back to his grandson, as if he had just heard the silent message that he had sent him. Satisfied, he turned to go back to his room while Ryo gripped the door handle once again and stepped outside into the biting cold.

Still too cold out here, he shivered, pulling up the collar of his jacket to cover his exposed neck. Hopefully, the city didn't have any strong winds blowing in today.

Walking down the steps, Ryo would have just ran off right then and there if he didn't spot something white with black stripes lying languidly on the front porch. He raised an eyebrow at the large tiger, who appeared to raise one right back at him.

Ryo turned his full body to face White Blaze, hands on his hips and a slight smile on his face. "Are you comfortable?" he asked conversationally.

He yawned his reply.

"Guess so," the boy shrugged as the tiger continued to lounge. "Tell me, boy. Do you feel that something's going to happen today?"

White Blaze looked over at Ryo again, his dark brown eyes gazing at his master contemplatively. So far, the tiger hasn't participated in anything involving the new demons the Ronins were up against, only listening to Ryo as he quietly updated him on what's going on in Tokyo. He knew all the information. Heard it countless of times when Ryo was musing aloud. But White Blaze never made a move to get involved… yet. Usually the tiger was provoked to act when Ryo was in danger, or something along those lines. But as of late, his master hasn't confronted a challenge that he couldn't handle himself. Neither have the guys, even if they've had more battle time than Ryo and have experienced a few close calls this past week. There was always someone among them to help the other. And if there wasn't, an outsider might, like how the Ancient or Anubis did during the war with Talpa. And as long as someone was watching out for them, White Blaze wasn't needed.

Ryo was sitting at the edge of the porch now, quietly running his hand through the tiger's thick mane of fur. "…You think we'll win?" he asked absently, too caught up with his own thoughts running amuck inside his brain. White Blaze answered with a soft snort, making the young man look down. "Aren't you even worried?" The tiger's nonchalant gaze, if it were actually possible to classify that look as 'nonchalant,' answered the boy's question.

He began to scratch him behind the ear, which made the feline purr softly. "I guess you don't fuss over a lot of things, huh White Blaze?" The tiger nudged his palm, a gesture that had suggested two replies to his question, or accusation. (1) White Blaze did fuss over some stuff, and (2) one of the things he fussed over was sitting right next to him.

Ryo smiled. "Yeah I know. But I'll be fine. You don't always have to look out for me."

The tiger snorted. He always had to look out for his master, especially with his tendency to jump the gun a little during battle. White Blaze could only pray for a moment when he didn't have to keep his keen tiger eyes on the fiery Ronin leader.

"Well if you're so concerned about me then why don't you come and watch the match today?" Ryo asked, not liking the tiger's reply. White Blaze only looked up at the boy for a moment before settling his head back onto his paws. Translation: 'No. Don't feel like it.'

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, getting up from his seat on the porch and fishing in his jean pocket for his armor orb. Pulling out the small red marble, he playfully balanced the object on the tip of his index finger, glancing over at White Blaze. "Just don't blame me when you're bored out of your mind."

The tiger would have made yet another gesture as a comeback to that remark, but was instead gazing intently at the boy's armor orb. The one that he hasn't seen his master use for so long.

Ryo let the orb roll off his fingertip and caught it with the same hand, flashing a quick smile at White Blaze. "Well, I'm off. Wish me luck!"

As on cue, the boy threw the marble up high, proceeding to follow after it and don his sub armor like he normally would. Unfortunately, no sooner had the orb left his hand did he find himself eating dirt, courtesy of White Blaze. For some obscure reason, the tiger had taken that exact moment to leap out of his resting place and use his master as a springboard to soar through the air, snatching the armor orb in his jaws.

"What the hell was that for, White Blaze?!" Ryo yelled, looking up just to see the tiger land a few feet in front of him. Upon hearing his name, White Blaze automatically turned to look at his fallen master, exposing the armor orb lying snugly in his mouth.

Ryo blinked back in surprised confusion. "White Blaze…" he began. "What are you…?"

He never got to finish, for the tiger had suddenly bound off to the forest, armor orb and all. "WHITE BLAZE!!"

Immediately jumping to his feet, Ryo ran after the tiger. Of all the things that had to happen today! "White Blaze! Come back here!!"

Tigers were faster than humans. And White Blaze was no exception. Even if with his sub armor on, Ryo could barely keep up with the tiger. So now, only in civilian clothes, his companion had already gained a considerable lead. A white blur in the throng of green trees.

"I'm not kidding, White Blaze!" he shouted, hoping that his voice would reach the tiger faster than his legs would. "Give that back! This isn't funny!!" But the tiger had made no signs of slowing down or stopping. Shit! I'll be late to the match at this rate! But Ryo knew that him being late was the best possible outcome of his current situation. At the rate he was going, he'd be lucky if he even made it to the match! The guys are gonna kill me!

***

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Rowen, calm down."

"Yeah. It ain't like you to get angry," Kento agreed then grinned proudly. "That's my job."

Rowen sighed. They were right. He wasn't exactly acting like himself, usually being the patient, levelheaded one. But the waiting had gotten to him. Waiting for this day to come. The appointed match between Lady Sierra and his two friends, Ryo and Sage. The anticipation was putting him on edge, and the fact that Ryo hasn't shown up was not helping.

"But, Ryo's not usually late, you guys," Rowen reminded them. "Living so far off, you'd think he'd be the first one here."

"C'mon Rowen. You know he wouldn't be late if he couldn't help it," Cye said.

"That's the thing. What if something happened?"

"…He'll be here," Cye stated firmly, although in the back of his mind he was starting to have his doubts. What could be keeping him?

They had agreed to meet at the appointed place for the match at 5:30. Now the reason as to why it was necessary to be at the match thirty minutes early was unknown. It certainly wasn't to talk more about Lady Sierra and the techniques of the Kinoku clan that she used, for they had exhausted that topic the night before. The guys just dismissed the early meeting as one of Rowen's precautionary measures. He wasn't taking any chances. And it was a good thing he didn't for, twenty-five minutes past the agreed time, he was aware of the chance that Ryo wasn't going to make it by 6 o'clock. 'He probably missed the bus,' the others had told him. But if that were the case, then Ryo would have used his sub armor to travel into town. 'It's still early, Rowen. Give him time,' they had said. Rowen only shook his head. If Ryo wasn't on time, then he was going to be late. And if something had stopped their leader from coming to an event of this much importance, then he was going to be really late. Rowen was sure of it.

So now, at 5:55, he was faced with the possibility that Sage was going to fight the battle without their fearless leader. And that was not reassuring.

Glancing over at his right, he spotted his best friend leaning casually against the wall, garbed in his sub armor with his arms crossed over his chest and a distant, offhand look in his eyes. In other words, the normal 'Sage position.' On any other day, Rowen would have laughed at the blonde's trademark pose, making a comment about it to draw him into conversation. But not today. Although the remark would release some of the tension building up among the four, he wasn't really in the mood, the prospect of the upcoming battle occupying his mind. Rowen didn't want Sage to fight Lady Sierra alone.

He had to admit, they had gained a lot of information in a day's time. And the new knowledge of their opponent would give Ryo and Sage an edge in battle. But they still haven't figured out what the woman was planning. Or how far her skills went in comparison to the armors. And that uncertainty had convinced Rowen that both Ryo and Sage had to be present in order to win. But Ryo wasn't there. And Sage wasn't up to it.

Rowen tapped Sage on the shoulder, rousing the boy from his meditation/sleep. "Hey, you sure you're up to this?"

"You think I'm not?" he questioned back.

"You tell me. I'm not the one who slept the entire day because you were tired from fighting Laura at the dojo."

Sage blinked. "How did you…?"

"Your sister," he simply replied. "I called everyone before leaving and she told me about this morning."

Sage sighed, tilting his head back against the wall. "You know, I never intended on dueling with her."

"I'm sure. But the facts are facts. We can't take back what happened, and so what I want to know is if you can fight today."

"Without Ryo," he added, knowing that that was the real question Rowen was asking.

He didn't answer, his attention now being drawn to something else. Sage caught onto it too and fell silent. The others, having noticed the sudden lack of conversation, came up to their sides.

"What's going on you guys?" Kento whispered, actually feeling uncomfortable with raising his voice in the quiet stillness that invaded them all. But neither Sage nor Rowen responded.

The blonde uncrossed his arms, getting up from his laidback position on the wall and stepping out into the empty street. "You're early," he called, eyes riveted on one of the corners of the cross street. "Although I wasn't expecting you to be late, I didn't think you'd show up ahead of time either."

A soft chuckle came from that street corner, Lady Sierra stepping out into the open. "I got done with my previous engagement rather early," she replied lightly, looking over the four boys standing on the opposite end of the street. "I see we're one warrior short."

"Yeah, but the match hasn't started yet," Kento reminded her, eyes locked warily on her form. "He'll get here. No problem."

"That is… unless you had anything to do with Ryo's sudden tardiness," Rowen added, surprising himself and the others present with his quick accusation.

Lady Sierra shook her head. "Not that it would matter if I told you, but I don't play that way. I assure you that I have nothing to do with whatever it is that's holding up your friend."

"I see. So what are you planning to do if Ryo doesn't show up?" Rowen asked.

"Well, it that proves to be the case, then it looks like I just wasted my time. We'll have to settle this another day."

"And why's that?" Sage questioned, slightly annoyed with her response. "Don't tell me you really can't beat us in one-on-one duels."

Cye couldn't really see it with the cloak, but he could tell that her body stiffened with the remark. Sage… what are you doing? You can't challenge her now. Not without Ryo!

Lady Sierra turned to glare directly at Sage. "I pity your ignorance."

Pity? Ignorance? Oh no, she did not just go there! "So you're saying I'm wrong?" Sage replied coolly, although that phrase had succeeding in getting his temper boiling.

"Of course you're wrong."

"Then prove it," he challenged.

"Sage—"

He held up a hand, cutting Rowen short. "If you're so willing to take two of us on, then I'm sure fighting me would be a piece of cake. You wouldn't really pass up a chance to take my armor orb now would you?" He smiled smugly. "Unless you're… afraid."

That did it. There was no turning back now.

"I'm afraid of nothing and no one," Lady Sierra declared firmly, taking a defiant step forward. "And I'm not afraid of fighting you. It's 6:00. And if you still want to make good on your challenge, I'm ready."

She yanked off her cloak and hood with one rushed movement, revealing a black ninja gi underneath. A sole wakizashi was tucked into the back of her sash, the hilt protruding from her left side. She reached behind her, readily placing her hand on the hilt. "Let's go."

Sage couldn't stop himself from smiling. Perfect.

"Armor of Halo! DAO CHI!!"

***

"You know…*pant* I really wish… you could talk so… *wheeze* we don't have to… *gasp* go through all this shit."

The tiger snorted gruffly.

"Oh yeah well… same to you too!" Ryo huffed from where he laid sprawled on the dirt floor. White Blaze seemed unfazed by his master's sour mood, shifting his weight in an attempt to get comfortable on the tree branch he was perched upon. The armor orb shimmered in his mouth, a glittering prize far out of the boy's reach.

Ryo sat up, weary eyes staring directly at the tiger. He had first thought that his companion did not want him to go to the match, although the feline didn't seem to object before. It'd be so easy to lose a human. And if White Blaze really wanted to stop Ryo from going, he would have bolted through the forest without a fleeing glance back. But he had slowed down. Ryo knew it, especially how the tiger made sure that he was always somewhere in his master's line of vision.

He sighed. White Blaze was up to something. No way would he submit to a capricious urge to play around when he knew Ryo had something important to attend to. And even if he were to succumb to such a whim, he'd never use the armor orb as a plaything. So what was it that White Blaze was trying to tell Ryo? …How the hell should he know?! All he did was go on a wild-goose chase through the forest that has yet to meet its end!

Fixing the tiger with an irritated glare he growled, "Do we really have to go through this now?"

A nod.

"Can't it wait?!"

As a reply, White Blaze leaped off the tree and ran off.

"Aw shit," Ryo groaned as he crawled back onto his feet. "White Blaze! COME BACK HERE!!!"

***

"La ah la…"

The quiet symphony drifted upwards…

"La la la… la la…"

…carried on angel's wings…

"La ah la…"

…sung by a solitary figure…

"…La la…"

…alone …at the riverbank…

The girl hummed softly, eyes gazing serenely at the gentle running water at her feet. Ripples of blue curved around her ankles as curious silver-backed fish gingerly examined this new object that had entered its watery home. She giggled when one of the shiny rods, the most adventurous of them all, poked experimentally at the back of her heel. Carefully pulling back her sleeve, as not to get her kimono wet, she slowly submerged her hand in the river, the pale limb gently inching its way forward. The 'adventurous one' recoiled back, as did the rest of the school. But, as the girl waited patiently with her hand suspended in flowing water, the fish moved forward, allowing her fingers to gently brush the scales on its back.

So… you're not afraid of me, huh little one? As if hearing her thoughts, the fish gently moved against the palm of her hand. She smiled. …I'm glad.

She resumed her song, fingernails combing idly through the water's surface, taking in all the peace she was feeling right now. If only life could be this… perfect.

As luck would have it, whenever she would slip into the tranquil embrace of Mother Nature something would happen to disrupt her peace. Ears twitching at the snap of a twig, the girl jumped to her feet, the hem of her kimono dipping into the river as it slipped from her grasp. Lilac turned into rich plum as the water crept up her garments, the cool touch of moist fabric around her legs not bothering her at all. Her attention was focused on the figure standing on the imaginary line where bank and forest met. Eyes riveted on that one person, she had completely ignored the white tiger by his side, for when she saw him, one word and one word alone had entered her mind.

Human.

She hissed vehemently, the act exposing her sharp canines. A warning that danger lurked ahead if he dared to venture forward.