Shadow within the Darkness

(Day 14 – Part 2)

By: Little Ucchan

He couldn't really believe it. Sage had always played with the possibility that what he was seeing at night was not exactly a dream, but events that had really happened at some other time and place. None of what he saw had the dreamlike qualities that he was used to. Or the added mystery of the surreal.

It was straightforward. Almost like a memory…

But this speculation, like the rest of his ideas, had no proof. Until now.

Takeru's in Japan.

That was real-time Tokyo he just saw. And that fact had changed everything.

"It all happened…" he breathed. "But that world… It's not…" Sage shook his head. "It's not the Nether realm. Or here."

'Third realm…'

"A third?" he asked incredulously. "Are you serious?!"

Halo did not answer, which translated to an unmistakable yes.

Sage took in a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. Another world? It was too hard to grasp. All this time, he's only known two realities. Nether and Mortal. The fact that a third world existed unknown to him… Unknown to any of them…

"Did Talpa know?"

He felt an affirmative nod.

"And the Ancient?"

Another.

"But…" Neither one mentioned anything about it. "Why all the secrecy?"

'No access.'

Sage blinked. "They couldn't get in?" Beings as powerful as those two, and they couldn't get in?!

'Sealed,' the armor replied. 'From within.'

"Sealed from within…" he repeated to himself, crossing his arms over his chest in a thinking mode. He'd have to find out more about this new realm. Obviously, Halo knew about it, but he couldn't actually rely on the armor to tell him everything. Why are mystical entities always so mysterious?

Sage blinked back tired eyes, yawning a bit.

'Rest.'

He shook his head. "I still need to think some more." He had already exhausted the topic involving Takeru. He couldn't figure out anything beyond what he already knew since a lot of the information he still needed was missing. But then there was the issue of Maya and Celine and the almost identical pendants they wore. And then the demon's mission. Sage's eyes furrowed in concentration. "It seemed like the demon had no qualms with trying to kill Takeru or Celine, but…"

…No! Not the child!!!

He frowned. That phrase… He remembered it clearly.

'Mistake,' Halo confirmed. 'Not kill.'

"But why?"

Sage's head was starting to hurt. He had come to grasp too much information at one time. And far too many loose ends still remained.

'Rest.' He felt Halo urging him along, making him smile a bit. Sounds like it's worried about me.

"There's one more thing." Sage could have sworn he heard the armor groan.

"About Lady Sierra…" He was talking more to himself than directing the conversation to Halo. "Obviously, if all of this happened, then Maya's really dead. And so she and Sierra can't possibly be the same person." He was pacing now, a hand under his chin as he walked to and fro. "But then how did a demon hunter from the Mortal realm come to possess a magical pendant from a sealed, believed-to-be 'unreachable' world?"

'Light Bringer… think too much.'

Sage chuckled lightly, sitting down on the floor. "I'm just wondering what her role is in all of this. There's a connection somewhere. I know it."

"And there's another thing that's nagging at me," he added. "It's that feeling that… everything's just started."

No matter what has happened so far, Sage knew that what he and the guys were going through now was nothing compared to what was ahead. Even the Dynasty war, for some odd reason, seemed like a walk in the park. His instincts kept warning him about a time up ahead that would try and push all of them to their limits physically, mentally, and emotionally. It would put their ideals and most cherished beliefs to the test. Leave them tottering uneasily on the brink of hell. And would they come out of it victorious like they always have?

He sighed, lowering his head. "The future is so uncertain. Especially ours. One person can change it for us all and not even know it."

Sage smiled ruefully, drawing his knees up to his chest. What does my future have in store for me?

***

"Did you try a feather duster?"

"Didn't flinch."

"Shinai?"

"Not one move."

"Try screaming?"

"Tone deaf."

"How about ice water?"

Satsuki paused. "Now there's a good idea!" she beamed. "I'll go get the bucket."

"Wait." Rowen grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "Maybe we shouldn't."

"Why not?" she asked innocently. "Seems like it just might work."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sage would be royally pissed. That's for sure.

"Well?" Satsuki pulled her arm free, looking intently at him. "What should we do then?"

"Um…"

"Is he still at it?"

Both teenagers turned back to the dojo door just as Grandfather Date stepped inside, carrying a paper bag in one hand. He gave his grandson a peculiar look. "I don't believe I had trained him to meditate for this long."

"Grandpa…" He looked at the youngest of the Date children. "What are we going to do? Nii-chan hasn't eaten anything at all today! He has to snap out of it!!"

"Don't worry yourself so much, Satsuki," he told her, walking deeper into the dojo. "Your Grandpa has a solution for everything." Picking a nice spot not too far away from where Sage was, he sat down on the floor. "Even for odd situations such as this one."

"What do you plan to do, Date-sama?" Rowen asked curiously.

"Oh… just an old method." Grandfather Date opened up the bag he had been carrying with him, pulling out a small plastic jar, followed by two palm-sized glass bottles (one empty, the other filled with a clear liquid), and a Q-tip.

Rowen raised an eyebrow at the old man as he unscrewed the jar and, with the Q-tip, scraped some of the cream out of the container. He then smeared it on the inside of the empty bottle, making sure to coat it well with the white substance. Taking the other bottle in his hand, he poured a little bit of the liquid into the first and swirled the contents around for a good minute before handing it over to Rowen, who had been watching over his shoulder the entire time.

"Make him smell this," Grandfather Date instructed as he began to put everything away. "Wave it in front of him a couple of times. But make sure his skin doesn't touch it."

Rowen turned the bottle over in his hand, bringing it up to his face to examine it more closely.

"And don't smell it yourself."

"Why not?" He asked distractedly, taking an experimental whiff of whatever it was inside. "Ugh!" Rowen immediately reeled back, his hand moving to his nose while the other held the bottle as far away from him as possible.

"Ancient Japanese remedy," Grandfather Date spoke calmly, rolling up the paper bag as he got up from the floor. "Used to wake people up from comas."

"I'll bet!"

Satsuki began giggling to herself.

Rowen pinched the bridge of his nose with his knuckles, his eyes starting to water. An obvious side effect, no doubt. "Man… That went right up to my head."

"Of course," Grandfather Date nodded. "The vapors created from the cream and the alcohol were meant to shock the brain back into consciousness. It would be similar to what you teenagers would call a 'brain freeze.'"

"Yes, except this is much MUCH worse." He closed his eyes, his hand moving up to massage his forehead. No brain freeze could be this bad!!

The elder man chuckled to himself. "I had warned you."

Rowen decided not to reply to that, watching as Grandfather Date made his way to the exit. He stopped at the door. "Are you coming, Satsuki?"

"Oh! Um…" She glanced over at Sage, and then at Rowen, indecision written clearly on her face.

Rowen nodded to her, signaling for her to go if she wished.

Satsuki gave a tentative nod, remembering what they had talked about earlier. It'd be better this way. She mouthed the words 'thank you' before turning to leave. Both she and her grandfather silently walked out the door.

Alone at last.

But as to why he was able to be alone with Sage… that was still puzzling to Rowen. He understood Satsuki's reason based on what they had talked about after he had comforted her. But he had surely thought that Grandfather Date would want to talk to his grandson first before he did. However his actions right now suggested otherwise.

Maybe the elder man knew that whatever it was that prompted Sage to meditate for so long was a subject that his grandson was not going to tell him under any circumstance. Or rather, he was aware that Rowen would have better luck in coaxing out the truth and aiding the young heir to the Date dojo better than he could. In either case, it worked to the blue-haired boy's advantage.

Looking at the bottle, and then at Sage, who had such a calm expression on his face, Rowen sighed, kneeling down in front of him. Sage is not going to be happy with me when he wakes up. He hesitated/stalled for a moment longer before positioning the bottle under his friend's nose.

***

It took longer than he thought. But it worked nonetheless.

Sage jerked back, his hand moving to his nose while the other moved back to brace his fall backwards. He cringed as his head started to surge. His eyes began to water and his nose felt raw. "Geez! What the hell was that!?"

He blinked away enough moisture out of his eyes to catch a glimpse of shocking blue hair.

"Rowen…" Sage growled dangerously, still keeping his thumb and index finger pressed firmly against the bridge of his nose.

The subject of the blonde's aggression quickly jumped to his feet, hastily stuffing the bottle into his jacket pocket. "Sage! Glad you're awake buddy!" He took a step back, his mind trying to determine the likelihood of him making it out the door before Sage pummeled him into the ground. He gave the kendoist a nervous smile. "You had me worried there for a moment."

Sage slowly rose to his feet, keeping cold eyes fixated on the boy. "You have five seconds to explain yourself."

"Ah…" His mind quickly searched for something to say. "It's three o'clock." Rowen slapped himself mentally. What kind of lame excuse was that?!

Luckily, the phrase had served its purpose rather well. Sage's hand limply dropped down from his face. I didn't just… I've been meditating for… It's three o'clock?! "No way!"

"Yup." Rowen nodded his head, relieved that he no longer saw the tint of cold steel in Sage's eyes. "Ten hours. Straight." He gave him a curious look. "You didn't notice?"

Instead of answering, Sage plopped back down onto the floor, crossing his arms over his chest in a reflective manner. So that's why I was so tired towards the end. He frowned. Ten hours nonstop? You've got to be kidding me.

"Sage?"

No answer.

Rowen shot him a disapproving look when he had caught sight of the expression Sage had on his face. Three possibilities entered his mind. Sage was either thinking about something he had learned, still in shock about the time, or… He's not fully conscious yet.

The last idea was rather far-flung but, all things considered, it was possible.

Well… He eyed the abandoned shinai that Satsuki had brought out earlier. Let's see which is correct.

Walking around Sage --- who had, for reasons unknown, fallen into a deep pensive mood --- Rowen made his way off to one side of the dojo. He stopped, nudged his foot under the bamboo sword and, with one deft movement, tossed the weapon up to easily catch it in his hand. Leaning it against his shoulder like how an army officer would hold a rifle, he casually strolled up behind Sage, whistling an aimless tune. And in the time it took the average person to blink, Rowen had brought the shinai straight down on his unsuspecting victim.

Almost simultaneously, Sage jerked one of his arms up over his head, blocking the supposed surprise attack with his forearm.

"Do you mind?" he asked over his shoulder, an irritated edge creeping into his voice. "I'm trying to think."

"Oh, obviously," Rowen replied sarcastically, lifting the shinai from Sage's arm and walking slowly around him. After a slight pause, he said, "You know, the best way to solve a problem when you're stumped is to get a second opinion on the matter. Say… oh I don't know. From your best friend, maybe."

"…I can't tell if that's bitter sarcasm I'm hearing or just one of your odd moods."

"Maybe it's both," Rowen replied with a shrug, sitting down on the floor in front of Sage. "So, you care to tell me what happened or should I use my impeccable insight to draw the information out of you? Slowly. And painfully."

Sage gave him a weird look. "Am I a captured spy from a hostile country?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "No. No, it's just… I don't know. My brain's not exactly at its best right now. I haven't eaten lunch yet."

"Well I beat you on that. I haven't eaten breakfast."

"I know. Satsuki told me." With a last chuckle, Rowen sighed, remnants of a smile still on his lips. "Man, if we're going to be like this all day…" He let the sentence hang, knowing that he didn't have to finish it in order for Sage to know what he was talking about.

With a slight nod, Sage beamed at a sudden thought. "Maybe we should eat first."

"Oh, I don't think so!" Rowen cried. "You're trying to avoid the subject at hand."

"Am not. I'm just hungry! C'mon, Rowen. It's three o'clock."

The boy shook his head firmly, a few stray strands of hair falling into his face. "Not until I know what happened last night."

Reluctantly sighing, knowing that there was no way out at the moment, Sage took a deep breath, calming himself before beginning. "My dreams ended last night," he informed him solemnly. "The little girl that I've been telling you about… she died because I couldn't protect her. I couldn't protect the eldest princess, Celine. And I couldn't save her sister, Maya. Nor myself, in the end."

Rowen remained quiet, recalling what they had talked about last night over the phone. He had insisted, since Wednesday, that they talk regularly about the dreams every day at some time in the evening. Regardless of all this business with Lady Sierra, Rowen had taken upon himself to find out more about what Sage was seeing, and hopefully help him in any way possible. Last night, after they had discussed the issue about Ryo, Rowen was a bit shocked to find out that Sage was playing the role of someone else. But as he thought about it more, it made sense in a strange way.

Going over the last sentence Sage said, Rowen looked him straight in the eyes. "So, Takeru died then."

Silence.

He blinked twice, startled at the sudden stillness of the room. "He did die right?"

Sage remained silent, not because he was reluctant to tell him, but because he didn't know how to word it right, or where to begin for that matter.

Before Rowen got another word out, Sage raised his hand to silence him. "Let me just tell you what happened first. Hold all questions till later, okay?"

Slowly, he nodded.

***

Sage was able to get through the dream relatively quickly. Less than five minutes of nonstop talking. But that's as far as he got.

"Wait, go over that last part again."

"I thought I said no questions."

"This isn't a question. It's a request," Rowen retorted smartly.

"Smart ass."

"Why thank you."

Sage rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Alright. After the demon spoke those words, there was a bright red glow. That's all I would see, even during my meditation when I would sometimes separate myself from Takeru and watch as a spectator. A red light that started from the demon's eyes and then spread out through both of them. But when I remember the actual dream, I distinctly remember… pain."

"You mean it wasn't that bad when you were meditating?"

"No. When I kept going over it, the pain was there, and so were the emotions. Not as intense compared to the actual dream. But going back to last night, I felt a combination of the wounds Takeru received and…" Sage sighed, a bit frustrated. "I don't know what it was actually. I've never felt it before. You'd think that with being captured and tortured by the Dynasty and all that other crap we went through, I'd know but… it was new. It was a change I felt inside of me that just ripped at my soul and hurt me in a way I didn't think possible." His eyebrows scrunched together as he frowned. "I didn't know what was happening. Or how to pull out of it if I could. I think right when I realized that, my mind panicked."

Rowen looked up at his friend, startled. He… panicked? That was rare. Very rare. Okay, he knew that Sage was no different than himself, but for him to actually feel that way and admit it…

"And this is when Halo intervened, right?"

Sage nodded. "The armor came to me and brought me out of the dream by force, and I woke up with my grandfather and the rest of my family by my side. I was pretty shaken up, and I don't really remember what happened after until I was in the dojo, meditating." He unexpectedly smiled at the thought of his next sentence. "I guess my brain decided to perform a mental shutdown for a while without giving me prior warning."

Rowen chuckled at the remark. "Looks like it. But let me ask you something. Right after you woke up and before your brain took a hike, how did you feel?"

"How did I feel?" Sage repeated and got an affirmative nod from the younger boy. "I…" His mouth hung open for a moment longer before he quietly closed it.

"I was…" He tried again, but stopped for a second time, looking down at the floor. Could he admit to Rowen that he was truly and utterly…

"Angry?"

"What?!"

He blinked. Okay, maybe that wasn't what he was trying to say.

"Rowen, where'd you get that idea from?" Sage demanded.

"Satsuki."

He blanked for a moment, confused. "My sister?"

"I had a talk with her when I first got here," Rowen confessed. "She… told me what happened last night. And there were a few things that she said that I was concerned about so I wanted to know what you had to say about it first before I jumped to any conclusions."

"But since you told me that you hardly remembered what happened after you woke up then—"

"What did she say?"

The soft-spoken question made Rowen stop mid sentence. "Uh… She said that…"

Sage stared at his friend for a moment, noticing his hesitancy. "Just tell me Rowen," he said, earning him a surprised look from the boy. "I'm not going to be upset, if that's what you're thinking."

Oh yes you will. He knew that Sage wasn't actually going to take this as calmly as he had. Although the two of them were very close in temperament, the older Ronin tended to visibly react more to surprises than he would.

Exhaling deeply, Rowen decided to comply. "When you had opened your eyes last night, I'm not sure if you were conscious or not at the time, Satsuki said that… She…" He frowned. Damn. Why's this so hard for me to say? Sage was waiting patiently for him to continue. "She said that… Well your eyes, they were… They weren't—Aw shit!"

"Rowen…"

"I'm sorry!" He quickly apologized, sensing the irritation in Sage's tone. "I honestly didn't think it was this hard to say. Gomen," Rowen apologized again with a rueful smile. Now I know how Satsuki felt. He decided to take it slow this time.

"When she had looked into your eyes… they were different. They weren't yours. I mean, they were your color and all, but… Satsuki had phrased the look you had as being 'wild.' Somewhat, untamed and fierce if you will. That's why she said that it wasn't yours and that's why I had asked if you were angry when you woke up."

He stopped for a moment to try and read Sage's expression. The boy had fallen into another pensive mood, but he could see something more than just that. He's shocked. Rowen's lips pulled tight into a line. He really wasn't aware of it.

"There's more," he decided to continue, knowing that, even with the glazed over look he had, Sage was still paying attention. "At the same time she saw that look, she admitted to seeing something else there. A frightened, trapped kind of feeling separate from the first that gradually took over as you came to. Simultaneously with that, there was energy present in your room. Two in fact. The first being very oppressive and dangerous. The other, now that I think about it, resembled your armor's battle aura."

"My theory…" he moved on, not missing a beat, "…is that first pair of aura and emotion had to do with something that happened in the dream. I don't know exactly what, but I do know that the second aura had to be Halo. And the emotion…"

"Came from me."

He paused when Sage had spoken up. Rowen honestly didn't know what had brought about the second emotion. But now… "You were scared?"

"I was. Maybe, even more so now when I think about it," he spoke quietly. "Halo had told me during my meditation that if it didn't wake me up when it did… I would have died in my sleep."

Rowen took in a deep breath, not even realizing that he had suddenly forgotten how to breathe after Sage had said that. Just to imagine that he might have come to his friend's house today not to visit, but to attend a funeral… "Shit."

"That's what I thought," Sage agreed. "I didn't think the armor was lying to me. Regardless, I was still a bit skeptical. But from listening to what you just said… I believe it."

"So that first aura would have…"

Sage nodded, drawing his knees up to his chest, a sad look crossing his face. He looked so vulnerable at that moment. And the sight of him like that made Rowen's heart grow heavy.

Getting on his hands and knees, Rowen crawled over to him, taking a seat by his side. He stretched out his legs in front of him, using his arms as a support from his upper body while Sage had leaned forward to rest his chin on top of his knees. They sat like that for a moment in perfect silence.

"You alright?" Rowen finally asked.

"…Yeah."

A pause. "Liar."

Sage laughed a bit at the remark, shaking his head. "Really, I'm fine."

"You sure."

A nod. "I guess I'm just tired. Too much has been going on this weekend."

"Yeah…" Too much has been going on. And the day wasn't over yet. "You know, I sometimes wish we were back fighting the Dynasty."

Sage turned to him. "Why's that?"

Rowen shrugged. "Things seemed a lot simpler back then. Well…" he decided to correct himself. "The beginning of the war was simple. It got really complicated in the end with everyone switching sides and all."

He chuckled. "That's true."

"But, I don't know. I always did a lot of thinking and planning back then. But now it hurts my head!" Rowen cried. "Maybe it's just because we've got so little to work with and it's just driving me in circles."

"I know the feeling," he nodded. "Maybe we're getting old."

Both teens looked at each other for a moment, contemplating the thought. "Nah!"

"You know, I'd hate to spoil possibly the only peaceful moment we've had all day, but—"

"No, go right ahead," Sage urged with a mock smile. "Be a killjoy if you want. Don't let me stop you."

"…Thanks," Rowen replied dully.

"Hey, you left yourself wide open."

He sighed in defeat. "I guess."

"Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Right. There's something that was bothering me about that first pair." Seeing that he had Sage's full attention, Rowen continued. "Obviously, the second aura was coming from you, since it was Halo. And the emotion was yours. But, where did the first aura come from? They don't just pop out of nowhere without a source. And why did Satsuki see that dangerous look in your eyes, especially when that aura was supposed to kill you?"

Sage folded his arms on top of his knees, looking pointedly at Rowen. "Why do I have a feeling that you have a proposed answer for this?"

"Because I do."

"And I'm not going to like it, am I?"

"Nope."

With a frustrated sigh, Sage threw his hands up in the air. "Alright. Just say it."

"I think the aura came from you."

***

Well that was direct! Sage was very much aware of Rowen's straight forward, no bull tendencies, but the quick response still caught him off guard. Although he would have been angry at just the suggestion, some odd whim came over him and he found himself calmer than he would have been on any normal day. He deduced that he was just too tired to yell.

"So Rowen, are you saying that I tried to commit suicide?"

The almost playful response had made Rowen's brain stall for a spit second. He too was expecting something more heated than that nonchalant reply.

"Not exactly. It's just that Satsuki was scared, Sage. I'd hate to say it but she was scared of you. Your twelve-year-old sister, who loves and adores you, at that moment when she walked into your room, was scared of you. And that's got to say something."

It did. It meant that the aura that had almost killed him came from his own soul. And his sister had felt it. Did Ojiisama and Okaasan feel it too? Were they afraid of him as well?

"Is there anything that you possibly remembered that could explain this?"

Silence.

"Sage, please. I'm not trying to make things harder for you. And I'm not blaming you for anything either."

"I know. I just wished that I was able to see more of what happened in my dreams," he said. "I have a feeling that the aura has a direct connection to what happened to Takeru. And if only I was able to finish the dream, then I'd know what it was."

"And you'd also be taking that newfound knowledge to your grave," Rowen added. "Personally, I'm glad you don't know."

"Yeah but it'd be really helpful now."

"Well, what do you think of the situation? Any ideas?"

Releasing his knees, Sage fell back onto the floor, arms spread out eagle-like around him. "I think the reason why I had that aura to begin with had to do with the change I felt in the dream. You know, the odd pain that I felt for the first time. It probably has to do with that because I know that demon did something to Takeru. Something worse than death."

"Worse than death, huh?" Rowen echoed, looking up at the ceiling. "It seems like the demon wanted revenge on Takeru for interfering the way he did. But what I don't understand is how it could have almost killed you but leave Takeru alive. I mean, he would have lived a hour, if he was lucky, with those injuries he had."

"Actually, he's just fine."

"Right. I guess the demon must have done something to make sure that he—what did you say?!"

Wow. Sage blinked, quite amused. Rowen was really slow on the uptake on that one.

"Sage, did I just hear you right?" the blue-haired boy demanded, turning half his body back to look at the blonde lying on the floor. "Did you just say that he was fine?"

"Yeah," he replied casually, still gazing up at the ceiling of the dojo.

"Meaning that you saw him?"

"Yeah," came the second reply, followed by a yawn and a stretch. Man, I'm getting sleepy. Maybe I shouldn't have lied down…

"Where? How?!"

"Rowen, calm down."

"When did you see him?" he shouted. "Didn't you just find out that he existed yesterday?! How the hell did you—"

"Halo showed me."

He stopped his tirade upon hearing that simple answer. "The armor?"

"Yeah. We were talking a bit, and it showed me an image of real-time Tokyo. Takeru was there, just walking around."

'How long ago was this?' was the question that Rowen meant to ask, but something else came out of his mouth first. "The armor talks to you?"

Sage sat up suddenly, his eyes going wide for a moment. Did he just let that slip? "Well I… um…"

"You mean, as in you can hear it? It has a voice?"

"Well, not exactly," he tried to explained. "There's no definite voice. More like a thought impression in my mind. You mean Strata doesn't talk to you at all?"

"Sage, I only know three ways the armor communicates: Ancient, Anubis, or dreams and picture images." He counted off each item on his fingers. "I didn't think the armor could talk. How long has this been going on?"

"Uh, we're straying off topic here."

"Oh, right!" Rowen decided that he'd talk to him about this at a more convenient time.

Watching as the blonde reclined back onto his resting place on the floor, Rowen asked, "How long ago did you see this image?"

"About…" He paused for a moment. "Over half an hour ago."

"And you were sure it was of today?"

"Yeah."

"…Can you recall the image?"

Sage closed his eyes, lowering his breathing to soft, small breaths. "Yeah," he said after a moment's concentration.

Realizing that Sage was seeing the image right now, Rowen softly asked. "Can you see what time it is?"

Silence.

"4:00," he reported, opening his eyes. "Why'd you ask?"

"That's the exact image you saw before?"

"Yeah."

"And you sure that's the time?"

"Rowen, what are you getting at?" Sage asked, sitting up for a second time.

"Was that the time?" he repeated.

"Yes it was the time."

"How'd you know?"

"Look. It was on one of the clocks that are practically on every street corner!" Sage cried, fully irritated. "Rowen! Can you please explain to me—"

"We gotta go."

"What?!"

"We gotta go," he repeated, getting up from the floor and, in the process, grabbing hold of Sage's wrist. "We don't have much time!"

"Time for what?! Where are we going?!" Sage demanded to know, pulling back on his weight in order to resist Rowen, who was trying to get him to stand up.

"There's no time to explain!" Rowen shouted, pulling as hard as he could towards the general direction of the door. But his socks kept sliding on the wooden planks and Sage was a lot stronger than he was. "Sage! Quit being so stubborn!!"

"Only if you will!" he countered, yanking back on his arm and dragging Rowen back down onto to floor with a thud!

He rubbed his sore behind before growling menacingly. "Sage…"

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on," he said evenly.

After a brief staring contest, Rowen backed down, averting his eyes with a frustrated sigh. "That vision you saw of Takeru, if it really was meant for today, was not the present." He then rolled back his sleeve, revealing his watch to Sage. "It's the future."

***

3:40.

It's only 3:40. But what Sage has seen before was…

"Now do you understand?" Rowen asked. "If we can just find Takeru, we'll be able to figure out what the hell's been going on."

"So c'mon." With that, he got off of the floor, looking back down at his blonde companion. "Like I said, we don't have much time."

Sage nodded, getting up as well and dusting himself off. While he was doing this, Rowen sat down on the front steps of the dojo where he had first discarded his shoes. Slipping one of them on, he asked, "So do you know where we're headed?"

"Yeah," he replied, picking up the shinai and rushing to the back room to put it away. "It's on the border of downtown. About four blocks from my house."

"Great." They could jog over there and still have a few minutes to spare. Maybe even run into Takeru ahead of time. That'd be perfect, he thought as he finished tying his shoe and put on the other. If we could just talk to him, at least one mystery would be solved. And that'd be one less mystery for him to rack his brain over.

"I need to change my clothes."

"Oh go right ahead, Sage. I'll be waiting right—" Rowen caught himself mid sentence for the second time that day. "What?" He did not just hear him right.

"I need to go to my room and change. I'm in my kendo gi," he repeated. Yup. He heard him right.

"This is one hell of a time to have a fashion sense, Sage."

"I'll be done in a minute."

Rowen was about to laugh, knowing that to be everything but true. Sage took forever to change his clothes. But he held back the remark that he had in mind, knowing that seconds were ticking away and now was not the time to start an argument. "We shouldn't take any chances," he said calmly, finishing the last knot and getting up from the steps. "We need to get a move on."

"Fine. Let me just get my shoes then. I'm not going in slippers."

He was about to let the blonde pass by him when a sudden thought came to mind, making him take hold of the boy's arm. "Wait. You'd better let me do it."

"Why?" Sage asked, watching as Rowen ran to his house.

One word. "Family."

***

If I'd let him walk in that house, no way he'd be able to get out of there in time, Rowen thought as he picked up a pair of Sage's running shoes and headed back towards the dojo. Especially with how Mrs. Date and Satsuki always worried about him.

He picked up the pace, feeling that time was wasting away. We should run over there. Just incase.

Catching sight of Sage standing casually by the door, Rowen tossed him the shoes. "This'll do?"

Sage looked them over, frowning a bit. Can't believe I'm going to go out in public in my work out clothes and a pair of running shoes. But he kept his mouth shut once he took note of the stern glare that Rowen was giving him. One wrong word and he would experience extreme pain at the hands of a very irritated high school genius.

Right. Nodding once, Sage wisely slipped on the shoes as fast as possible.

Seeing that he was done, Rowen turned around and started running towards the front gate at full speed. They didn't have twenty minutes to get there any more. And for some reason, he had a feeling that if they didn't run now, they'd never make it in time. I just hope Sage isn't as tired as he says he is. If it were possible, Rowen would have gone alone and let Sage rest for a while. But he was the only person who knew exactly what Takeru looked like. True, silver hair is a rarity, but amidst a throng of people, that color is rather hard to spot unless you know what you're looking for. And Rowen didn't. So it was imperative that Sage came along.

Too bad the boy wasn't exactly focused on the task at hand.

***

Three blocks down, Rowen stopped dead, whirling on his heels to find that his worst fears were confirmed.

Sage wasn't behind him.

"Of all the stupid—"He broke off, running an infuriated hand through his hair. He couldn't believe this. He just couldn't believe this. Sage was never this irresponsible!!

"He's going to get it once I find him," Rowen growled, stomping off in the opposite direction he's been traveling in hopes of finding Sage. "Just where the hell did he—"

Turning a corner rather sharply, he slammed right into a young girl, both falling to the floor in a heap of arms, legs, and shopping bags.

Rowen placed his head in his hand, shaking it a little in order to drive out the dizziness. Great. This was just great. "I'm sorry," he apologized, removing his hand to look at the person that he had slam into. "Are you hurt? I wasn't watching where I was going…" His last sentence came off rather weak, the pounding of his heart suddenly robbing him of his strength and voice.

The young lady picked herself off of the floor, dusting off her blouse and straightening out her skirt before she spoke, her crystalline azure eyes sparkling with amusement. "Is this how all young men pick up girls?" she asked lightly, lips painted a faint rose pulling up into a smile. "Surely you're more innovative than that."

Rowen was speechless. No matter how many times he had imagined in his head how he would meet a pretty girl, this was NOT one of the scenarios that came to mind! But God was she beautiful. Great legs. Ample breasts. Perfect figure. Not to mention a killer butt.

She stooped down to his level, tilting her head to the side inquiringly. "Are you okay?"

Not trusting his tongue at the moment, Rowen refrained from talking, instead finally noticing the two shopping bags still lying on the floor. Carefully, he picked them up and rose from the floor, the girl following suit as well.

"Um… here." He outstretched his hand, giving the two bags back to the girl and avoiding eye contact with her as much as possible. He was praying that she'd just say thank you and both of them would be on their merry way. But of course, with the way his luck has been going today, that was impossible.

Rowen finally looked back at her face, seeing that to be the only safe place his eyes could rest on. She had that same smile. Mature. Seductive in a way. But yet, cheerful and mischievous. He noticed that he was a good few inches taller than her, realizing this fact when he'd caught a good look at her hairstyle. Blonde. With wavy curls that fell in ripples directly above her shoulders. Was she European or American? Rowen was shooting for the former. She had the remnants of an accent still in her voice. From where exactly in Europe, he wasn't sure.

Rowen backed up suddenly when she stepped forward, still having that same alluring smile on her face. "You're shy, aren't you?"

Before he could get a word out, she brought her face closer to his, standing on her toes as she peered into the depths of his eyes. He felt a crimson flush rising to his cheeks, his body suddenly feeling hot with how close she was to him.

With a final smile, she tapped his nose lightly and backed away. "Shy guys are always cute," she giggled, watching as Rowen's face turned an even brighter shade of red. This girl… what did she want with me? Unfortunately, his answer came waaaaay too soon.

"Wanna be my boyfriend?"