Unforeseen Circumstance

Q&A

(Day 16)

By: Little Ucchan

"You know, just by looking at her, you wouldn't imagine that all that went on in her life."

"Not many would, Kento," Rowen remarked, the conversation between the five soon starting after Laura had left. "How many people in the world population today actually believe in demons and the supernatural? Let alone have concrete proof?"

"I know. But that's not exactly what I meant." He sighed, shoulders sagging. "Sometimes when you see her, like right now, you can't tell that something's wrong."

"And I think that's how she wants it to stay."

Kento raised an eyebrow at Sage, as if to challenge him. The blonde's expression remained cool. "She wants to come off as being strong," he stated simply. "It's a matter of pride. I don't think we should interfere with that."

The large boy sighed again, this time in resignation. "Pride's fine. I just don't think that she should go on believing that no one understands or relates to her."

A hand fell on his shoulder. Cye was looking at him cheerfully. "Somehow, I don't think that's an issue anymore." Kento smiled.

"So what now?" Ryo asked, looking to each of his friends. "Things are starting to settle down, but we're still in quite a predicament. You and Laura—" he motioned to Sage, "—need to recover your strength. And your armors—" his eyes met with the remaining three Ronins, "—aren't at full power. Added the fact that Laura can't mask her aura right now and the demons practically have a bounty out for our heads, we're in a really tight spot."

Rowen started to massage his temples. "Ugh. I don't even want to think about that yet." He stopped short of his next thought. "Wait a minute. What was that last part?" Last he recalled, their run-ins with the demons had almost been by choice. And Laura had said they weren't after them and their armors. Now the demons were actively hunting them down?

Ryo had forgotten that Rowen, Kento, and Cye didn't know about the 'Warlord' reference made the other day, and the vehement, almost immediate reaction their armors had elicit from the demon. He nodded shortly to Rowen's question. "About the battle yesterday, the demon had called Sage a Warlord, and immediately tried to kill him, as if he was spurned on by revenge."

"Warlord???" Kento blinked, eyes wide. "As in, the Dynasty Warlords??"

Warlord… Cye closed his eyes, as if the world had just stopped spinning and the jolt of it dislodged his senses. You can't win, Warlord… You can't win.

Rowen leaned his chin thoughtfully against his fist. "So, our new enemies have an unsettled score against our old ones. Looks like this really is Dynasty related after all."

"Just not in the way we first thought," Sage put in. "They obviously hate Talpa and the Warlords with a passion that would drive them to attack anyone who resembled their enemies."

"That's going to be a problem," Rowen sighed. "From what you're telling us, it sounds like they know nothing about the recent war and its outcome. They wouldn't be talking about revenge if they knew that we killed Talpa. This has got to go farther back than what happened last year."

"How far, do you think?"

"Maybe four hundred years, when the Warlords first came to Talpa," he shrugged. "It could have been right before the invasion of the Mortal realm, but I somehow doubt it."

"I guess that's where the Warlords' battle scars came from. Dais had that eye patch on since day one. Ain't that right, Cye? …Cye??"

"Huh?" he blinked, startled. "What is it, Kento?"

He frowned, giving his friend a concerned look. Cye never used to space out like that. "Something wrong?"

He waved it off, putting on a reassuring smile. "It's nothing really. I guess I'm a bit tired."

"Aren't we all?"

"I don't get it," Ryo said after a short lull in the conversation. "They never did this before."

"But we never wore our armors till recently," Rowen pointed out. "We always went sub armor. And even then, like during the battle last Wednesday, they reacted to us trying to call our armors. Almost as a reflex. It makes the possibility of them having had fought against Talpa before us more probable."

"Well," Kento folded his arms behind his head. "If they hate Talpa, they can't be all that bad."

Both Ryo and Sage scowled at the boy's leisurely comment, startling him with the dark glares. "They are," Ryo snapped. "Don't even joke about that, Kento. They've killed hundreds of civilians in less than two weeks. That's more than Talpa did in one year."

Kento's eyes darted from Ryo, to Sage, to the last two occupants of the room. He muttered an apology, slumping back against the wall, chastised.

Ryo loosened his expression. "It's alright Kento. It's just, you saw what that demon did yesterday. It burns me up just thinking about it. All those people…"

"All the more reason for us to move quickly," Rowen interjected. "We need to know exactly who we are dealing with. Anything less could get us killed."

"So what do you suggest?" Cye wanted to know. "We can't exactly ask them ourselves."

"No. But we could ask Kayura."

Before anyone could even nominate him, Sage had thrown his pillow over his head, burying himself deep under the covers. "Forget it," came the muffled voice from underneath. "I'm not doing it."

"Sage…"

"Can't really blame him," Ryo chuckled, looking at the mass of linen sympathetically. "He's had enough bad experiences with trying to contact the Nether realm already."

"Well, who else is going to do it then?" Rowen demanded.

"Going to do what?" It was Laura who had spoken, just returning from her short trip outside.

Sage sat himself up properly, putting his pillow back behind his head. "Laura, how good are you at traveling through the astral plane?"

Dang, that was quick! Rowen was surprised at how determined Sage was not to do this.

She thought about it for a moment. "It's not my field of expertise, but I can manage. I need an anchor to link me back, though."

Kento blinked quizzically. "Anchor?"

Sage seemed to know what she was talking about. "An anchor is a second person that stays in the physical world, sending out their aura as a beacon for whoever's wandering around the astral plane. It's a safeguard against getting lost while traveling."

"And you don't need one?"

"Well," he looked embarrassed for a moment. "No, not really."

Laura suppressed the look of surprise that was starting to form on her face. He doesn't need an anchor? …How interesting. Yet another one of the blonde's mysterious quirks that she needed to look into.

"Laura, do you want to take a break?" Ryo asked, a bit concerned. "You've been talking for a while."

"No, it's alright," she declined, reclaiming her old spot against the wall nearest to the door. "My story's almost finished anyway."

Kento sat back down on the floor, now that his legs had a good stretch. "So what did Naru end up telling you?"

"Well, I'm sure you might have guessed by now that it had to do with my rune." A short series of nods followed. "Its power is not demonic by nature. But it attracts demons like a moth to a flame. The Elders, and many of the other slayers with strong spiritual backgrounds, had sensed its power the moment it came to me. But my mother somehow knew that its true existence wasn't evil, and so the village elders left it in my care."

"But didn't keeping the rune mean putting your whole clan at risk?"

She frowned slightly, nodding to Kento's question. "The rune lead all sorts of demonic creatures straight to our village. They really should have gotten rid of it. They were going to, actually. But an oracle reading made the Elders change their minds."

"Oracle reading?"

"Think of it as a vision of some sort. Or a prophecy, though I think that's too fancy a word to use for it."

"What did the reading say?" Cye asked.

"Well…" Laura searched through her memories, coming up empty handed. "I really don't know the exact words. Naru never told me. And I don't think even he knew exactly what was said. He was only supposed to make sure I got to China, after all. …But," she paused, "I do remember something about the rune being user-specific and that I'll need it to save… Save…"

"The world?" Ryo finished in an ironic sort of tone. Ah, prophecies… They were all alike. Just describe an upcoming even of impending doom and slap someone's name on as the savior. How he hated the fact that he happened to be in that 'savior' category.

Laura sighed. "I'd rather not think that sort of responsibility was placed on my shoulders. I'm already having enough trouble as is."

"Is there anything else you remember?" Rowen asked, mind already working with what she had disclosed to them already.

"Something about light…" Sage's eyebrows furrowed. "Though I can't be sure."

Cye frowned. "That's not much to go by."

"I know," Laura agreed, crossing her arms in a frustrating manner. "I've been thinking about it for years and it hasn't gotten me anywhere. I know that the assault on my home village wasn't just some random demon invasion. It had to be planned."

"Meaning that the demons weren't just drawn there by the power of the rune," Rowen threw in. "They came there to take it for a specific purpose."

"But I don't know what that purpose is," Laura sighed. "And now I really don't know what they're after. I mean, yesterday threw me in for a loop. That's the first time since the assault on my clan that they actually tried to kill me."

"What???" Kento was immediately on his feet again. "You mean those large, muscular, blackish-purple skinned things that looked like they just came out of Satan's personal incinerator have only been trying to capture you until now????" This was a notion he couldn't possibly believe.

"Well… yeah." Kento's mouth hung open.

"I think our adversaries don't understand the meaning of the word 'capture'."

"No kidding," Rowen snorted. "Last time I checked, it didn't involve blowing up buildings and setting apartment houses on fire."

"Yes well, demons don't exactly act according to human logic," Cye reasoned, then looked at Laura. "What happened after? Almost three years has lapsed from when you confronted Naru to your decision to leave China."

"To be honest, I had no reason to leave at first," Laura confessed. "Nothing happened till the beginning of this year. After the attack in Japan, the demons had left me alone."

"Maybe because they couldn't find you?" Ryo suggested.

"I guess. But it was this February that I started to sense demonic auras in China. I had numerous run-ins with them, as Lady Sierra, of course. By then, I had almost fully mastered control over my rune and worked it into my fighting style. I was fine for a while, but obviously, when you live with people who are trained assassins and slayers, it's hard to keep something like this a secret."

"So you left before it got out of hand."

"I wasn't going to have a repeat of what happened four years ago," she responded, confirming Sage's assumption. "Xiang-Quon was not prepared for it, regardless of their demon hunter status. After a few incidents, I decided it was best that I didn't stay. You know the rest from there."

Rowen nodded. "Thanks for tell us all of this, Laura."

She waved it off. "I needed to do this. No thanks needed." She then cast a sideways glance towards Sage. "So, are they any other questions that require longwinded answers?"

"Just wanted to clarify a few things," he replied coolly and shrugged his shoulders. Although, there were a few things that were still a mystery to him. Sage resisted the urge to frown. She doesn't know where the rune came from. Any anyone else who would know or who could give him more clues were dead. Aside from Naru…

Wait a second. His eyes moved towards the ninja, who was talking to the guys, mainly Ryo, about something involving her rune. She didn't mention Naru again after she spoke of their confrontation. Sage found the omission outright suspicious. And that she was here in Japan without him when Sammy's here… Something else had happened. And she's not saying.

"—by Thursday," he heard Laura say, dropping back into the conversation. "My rune should be restored to full strength come Saturday morning."

"Man, that's a long time." Kento frowned. "A week?"

"I haven't been at my best since I fought you guys last Saturday. And yesterday, I could hardly draw out it's power," she explained. "Your orbs call on an entity that already exists, right?"

"That's true but," Cye looked at her, confused. "How is that different from what the Darkness Rune is capable of doing?"

"I think I know," Rowen volunteered. "Our orbs hold our armor's power inside, like a seal. Once we call on it, the seal's broken and our armors materialize. But with Laura's rune, it's just pure energy. Elemental energy, to be precise, since it's properties are shadows and darkness."

"And you came up with this…" Ryo waved his hand idly in the air. "How?"

Rowen shrugged. "Observation."

"You mean speculation. Although… you are right." Laura confirmed, astonishment written clearly on her face. She turned towards the others curiously. "Does he always do this?"

"Oh, you should see him when he's had coffee," Kento offered. "It's amazing what kind of connections he'll make when he's wired."

Rowen decided to ignore that last comment, continuing on with his findings. "Since you have the power to manipulate energy, as was demonstrated by the sesshoku no kyuuketsuki and how you handle your shuriken, an energy-based weapon, you are able to transform the power within your rune into tangible weapons and battle armor, namely your ninja gi and your wakizashi. But, since you ran into a problem when you used the Vampire's Touch on Sage and you had to pull up that shield to fend off Ryo's surekill, the amount of energy available to you was extremely limited, leaving you unable to use your weapons or techniques. And regaining spiritual energy, like what Sage will have to do, takes some time. So I'd say a week is pretty quick, all things considered."

By this time, everyone was gaping at Rowen, including Sage, who knew more than half of this information already.

Laura blinked, staring hard at the genius boy sitting across the room. "What's your IQ?"

"250," the rest of the guys answered simultaneously, Rowen not even given enough time to open his mouth. He made an indignant 'hmph' and slumped back against his chair.

"Well," Laura clapped her hands together. "At least that saves me the trouble of explaining it myself." She then paused, recalling something Rowen had said. "Sage, how long will it take you to regain your strength?"

He didn't answer at first, mainly because what he had to say wasn't very good. "I don't know. I can't estimate it right now."

He can't? As she recalled it, he's only fought three times, one of them with her. I didn't take that much energy when I fought him Saturday, did I?

"It's not just yesterday and our duel that I have to make up for," Sage told her, sensing what was on her mind. "I haven't been feeling well lately." He almost tacked on 'because of the dreams' at the end of his sentence, but stopped short. He didn't want to get into that subject just yet.

"Ah." She decided to leave it at that.

"Don't worry about it." Kento was the one who spoke up, tossing his armor orb up and down in idle playfulness. "Even if Sage takes a while to recover, we can make up for it. No sweat!"

Laura was about to smile, but caught sight of everyone else's expressions. Apparently, they didn't agree with Kento's declaration. "What's wrong?"

Rowen sighed, suddenly feeling worn out. "Laura, what exactly was that spell you cast on Kento, Cye, and I supposed to do?"

The question had succeeded in alarming her. "Why? What happened?"

So she really doesn't know about it. Rowen frowned. He was hoping she did. Then it'd be easy to correct. "I don't know how it happened, but when you separated the armors from us, you ready did separate it. You dissolved the spiritual link we had with our armors. And now we can't use our armors' powers to the extent we could before."

Silence followed, Laura mulling over what Rowen's words meant. "I had no idea that you were that deeply connected to your armors," she spoke softly, still thinking.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up." Kento was staring directly at Rowen. "What does that exactly mean for us?"

"Our power and speed have been cut. And our surekills are probably at the same level they were at in the beginning of the Dynasty war." Though Cye's surekill was at it's max the second time around. Even more than that, Rowen mused to himself, ignoring Kento's gaping look of horror.

"Don't forget that our connection with each other was lost as well," Cye pointed out. "Before, we could sense each other's presence and, to an extent, pick up on emotions."

"You mean that all five of you have some sort of telepathic link with one another?"

"Well, yes and no. We can't read each other's thoughts." Not really anyway. Cye decided to leave out the possibility of actually communicating their thoughts to each other through the armor. Besides, it wasn't one of their strong points.

"Maaaan," Kento groaned, banging the back of his head against the wall. "This sucks."

"Is there a way to reverse the effects?" Ryo asked.

"Well, when someone's power is taken away from them, and then returned…" Laura began, grabbing everyone's attention. "…If the power's not fully restored to its original state, then what that person has to do is re-familiarize himself with its source."

Re-familiarize himself with its source? Rowen had suddenly remembered a little fact about last night's battle that he had completely overlooked before. It was raining when Cye used his surekill. "I got it!!"

All eyes were suddenly on Rowen. "It's so simple!" He smiled triumphantly, marveling at his own brilliance. "All we have to do is recharge our armors at their places of origin."

"That's a great idea!" Kento exclaimed.

"Where the armors were created?" Cye inquired.

"Well, that would restore your powers…" Laura started.

"Then that settles it," Ryo declared, glad that they were getting somewhere. "We're going on a little vacation."

Kento gave a whoop and holler, excited about the whole deal as the others started to coordinate plans for this weekend. Laura, however, frowned. That would restore their powers, she privately continued her sentence. But it won't restore the link between each other.

"Something wrong?"

She gave a start, forcing out a laugh in order to drive away the worried look she had on her face. "It's nothing, Sage."

He didn't look all that convinced, but decided not to press the issue. "What excuse are you going to use?" he turned to Rowen.

"Mia," the blue-haired boy replied, as if it were obvious. "No one but us knows that she's still in France with her parents. I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a problem to say she invited us to go somewhere for the weekend."

"Let's go to Izu," Kento volunteered. "They have great seafood there."

"We're not really going to the Izu Peninsula, Kento," Cye sighed. "It's just a pretense."

"It's possible to make a detour…"

"So we're going to visit the locations where our armors were created," Ryo cut in, getting an affirmative nod from Rowen. "Since I don't have to go, I'll stay in Tokyo with Laura. But Sage, I think you should visit the Akiyoshido Cave. It would help you out in your recovery."

"Aki…yoshido??" Laura gasped. "That's at the far end of the mainland!"

"Close to two days travel by train, if I'm thinking straight." Sage frowned. "Not exactly a trip I'm willing to take." Ryo then gave him a speaking look, one that Sage wasn't too appreciative of. "I don't even know if I can go, Ryo. Not with the story you told my parents. I'd be lucky if they let me see you guys off at the station."

"Unfortunately, he's right." Rowen gave his friend a lopsided grin. "Looks like you won't be leaving the house anytime soon, other than to go to school."

"Oh joy," came the dry remark.

"So, what are the other four locations?" Laura asked, curiosity peaking her interest.

"Ryo's at Mount Fuji. Rowen, at Amanohashidate. I'm at the Naruto Whirlpools. And Kento…" He couldn't help but snicker. "Kento's at Hokkaido."

"Daisetsu-zan National Park, to be more precise," Rowen added quite unnecessarily, also sporting a smug grin.

"That…" Laura had started to say, but found that her voice was stuck on the word 'that.'

"That's farther than Akiyoshido, I know," Kento gritted, glaring at both Rowen and Cye. "I'm painfully aware of that."

"Well, I guess we should just be thankful that all our armors are in the same country, ne?" Ryo was immediately on the receiving end of a not-too-happy glare from Kento.

"Mount Fuji, Amanohashidate, Naruto, Daisetsu, and Akiyoshido…" Laura had her arms crossed, contemplating her thoughts. "All are locations connected to the five elements of your armors: fire, wind, water, earth, and light respectively. How interesting."

"Exactly how much do you know about our armors?" Rowen asked, remembering quite clearly that they did not tell her about the armors' elemental properties.

"Enough," came her reply. "If you're familiar with the legends and then connect them to what happened in Shinjuku last year, I'd say I know a lot more than the average citizen." Speaking of which… "Why is it that no one in Tokyo remembers what happened?"

Ironically, the others suddenly found interest in something else, turning away from her gaze. Unfortunately, Ryo wasn't fast enough. He grinned sheepishly after being caught, Laura looking pointedly at him for an answer. "Unwanted side effect," was all that he could say for an excuse.

"Unwanted?" She looked like she was about to laugh. "You know what I'd give to have people's memories wiped every time I'm caught in public fighting a demon?"

"Well," Cye cleared his throat. "As interesting as this conversation is going, I think we should wrap it up and let Sage have his rest. We've been here—" He quickly checked the time. "—for two hours."

"It's closer to three, actually," Rowen corrected, looking at his own watch. "Cye's right, though. We all know what needs to be done. The last thing on our agenda is where Laura's going to stay. Obviously, being by yourself is not going to work right now."

Laura looked ready to argue, but clamped down on the impulse. After arguing about it all day with Ryo, she wasn't up to getting into that debate again. "Fine, but I'm not staying with Ryo. Doing that is just as bad as getting my own apartment."

"Well then—"

"Laura can stay with me."

It wasn't the offer (for it was expected that at least one of them would have volunteered), but the person who offered it that had everyone in the room with their mouths hanging open. Laura, for the most part, looked about ready to have a heart attack.

Kento was immediately on the move, placing his palm against Sage's forehead, holding the blonde's wrist with his other hand, checking his pulse. Sage didn't look too happy. "Hey…"

"I knew it. He's burning up," Kento stated matter-of-factly. "The fever's clouding his judgment."

Sage promptly slapped his hand away, shooting him a warning glare. "Kento, I'm serious."

This statement didn't have the desired effect that he was hoping for. In fact, it made it worse. "My God, he's delusional," Kento cried and shouted towards the door. "Nurse!!!"

His mouth was suddenly clamped shut but a firm hand, Cye shaking his head tiredly. "I think that's enough for one day."

Ryo, Rowen, and Laura were still staring at him. Not liking it when people openly gawked at him, Sage made a point of clearing his throat. Immediately, they snapped out of their daze, Laura speaking first… Or trying to.

"Um… well, uh…" It's one thing to know what you want to say and not be able to say it. It's another when you don't even know what to say to begin with. "Um, alright then… Thanks—You do say 'thanks' right?" She turned to Ryo, who only nodded, dumbfounded. "Right. Uh… wow." A constrained sort of laugh escaped her lips, her expression a cross between extreme shock and utter amusement. "Um, if you'll excuse me." She pointed to the door, uncertain herself of what she was doing. "I need some air." And with that, she had left the room.

***

"Well… that went well," Kento remarked dryly.

"I didn't think she'd react like that."

"Well how did you expect her to react?" Cye demanded. Sage didn't answer.

It was only the three of them in the room. Rowen had decided, at that moment, that he was hungry (not having had eaten lunch), and went down to the cafeteria, post-haste. Ryo had followed after Laura just incase… well he wasn't exactly sure what he was concerned about, but followed her anyway.

"It's not like her reaction was bad," Cye ventured after a moment. "You just… surprised her."

Sage nodded. He didn't know how she would have taken it when he had first said it. Actually, he wasn't really expecting anything, but he did not anticipate the unsteady, flabbergasted response that he had received. It was the first time he had successfully rendered her speechless. And she was even shocked at her inability to talk. Maybe… maybe he was really expecting her to snub him. Like she always did. At least, things wouldn't be so awkward between them.

"She wasn't the only one he surprised," Kento cried. "So, what made you do it?"

"Do I need a reason for everything?" Sage snapped, tired of always being questioned of his actions whenever it involved Laura.

Cye had sensed his irritation, and stepped in before Kento could say anything. "No, you don't," he said, giving his best friend a look that told him not to argue about it. "If you want her to stay, then that's your decision."

He snorted at the absurdity. "My decision? Did you know that my mother asked her already?"

"Did Laura say yes?" Cye asked in turn. Sage becoming unresponsive at the question. "Did she?"

Cye sighed, resisting the urge to massage his temples at his stubbornness. "Sage, regardless of what you may think, if you had said 'no'… she would have honored that."

He remained silent, even as Cye quietly pulled Kento along, both boys exiting the room to leave him with his thoughts, always wandering back to a certain young brunette. After a moment, Sage sighed, leaning his head back against his pillow. I know, Cye. That's what I don't understand.

***

Plop! A small stone broke the calmness of the water, sinking lamely to the bottom of the bed. Yume sighed to herself, taking another rock and throwing it into the lake. Plop! It isn't fair! Plop! Why does this always happen to me?

Before she could even demonstrate how good of an asset she was to the Demon Lord, he pulled her out of the mission. And now, she wasn't even given a second chance to prove herself. 'It's too dangerous' he says. 'Circumstances have changed' he says. Bah! Her twenty-third rock went flying into the lake. Who does he think he is?!

The focus of Yume's anger, ironically, wasn't Lord Tajhinn, but his little messenger boy, who most likely had a hand in her sudden misfortune. Damn you, Maki! She grabbed another rock, this one being the size of her fist, and chucked it at the water, a heavy splash following its descent. Stop acting like a meddlesome, older brother! That wish, however, would never come true. And she knew that.

With a resigned sigh, she fell back against the shore, letting the small waves of water lick at her feet. If Maki would just stop worrying about me for one second…

Yume blinked at the shadow that was cast over her, said boy standing over her with a cheerful smile on his face. "Hey there."

She sat up quickly, scrambling to her feet as Maki watched her in amusement. "Maki—!"

Before she could even begin her tirade, a small box wrapped in gold foil suddenly appears in front of her. "Got you something."

She looked at the gift—which suspiciously resembled a jewelry box—and then at Maki, eyeing him warily. "C'mon," he smiled, shaking the box teasingly to reveal that there was jewelry inside. "I had spent all day looking for the right one."

After a moment, Yume took the gift out of his hands, frowning. "Don't expect this to make up for anything." Maki only kept smiling, watching intently as she slowly lifted the cover and pulled out the little trinket inside.

"Oh, wow…" she breathed, mesmerized as stray rays of sunlight glistened off the gold necklace, her attention focused on the snowflake-shaped crystal dangling from its center. She touched it gingerly, feeling the smooth, cool surface beneath her skin, like ice. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, I thought you'd like it," he shrugged as she clasped the chain around her neck, admiring how it looked on her in the water's reflection. "I had Kurumi mess with it a bit," he added as an afterthought. "You won't need to worry about it breaking."

"Thank you."

He turned around, waving a hand nonchalantly as he left. "Just thought your boyfriend would appreciate it."

Yume swerved on her heels, startled. My boyfriend? She was about to demand that he tell her what he meant by that when she felt a rift in dimensions. Maki had already left for the Mortal realm.

"My boyfriend…" she repeated out loud, holding the pendant close to her. He meant Ryo. But what does this necklace have to do with him?

What did it have to do with Ryo indeed? Only Maki had the answer to that one.

Reappearing in a vacant section of the city park, the nineteen year old straightened out his clothes, satisfied with his work for the day. He strolled out onto the sidewalk where a sleek, 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet languidly waited for him. From how the vehicle shined with flawless splendor, he knew that the yellow convertible had just been polished. A fine specimen to gawk at from afar. Fortunately, Maki didn't have to.

Waltzing right up to the Porsche, he opened the passenger side door and took his seat, giving the owner a quick glance before kicking up his feet on the dashboard. A vein seemed to pop up at the side of the man's forehead, concealed from view by his rough red hair. Maki was slightly amused when the driver asked, through clenched teeth, if he had given Yume the pendant.

"Yup." He rested his hands behind his head and leaned back in his seat, knowing very well that the position of his feet was grating on his friend's nerves. "It'll keep her occupied for a while."

"You mean, out of harms way," the redhead corrected.

Maki smirked. "If you want to put it that way—Oof!!" The seat suddenly fell back, taking him down with it with a hard thud! He groaned, the abrupt fall disorienting his senses as he was now gazing skywards instead of forward. The driver, noting that Maki's feet were now off the dashboard, smiled. He started the engine and shifted into first gear, ignoring the boy's grumbles about customized cars.

***

Laura hesitated in front of his door for what seemed the fifth time. Why she wouldn't go inside, she didn't know. It wasn't like anything had happened, anyway. Well maybe it's because I haven't talked to him ever since I walked out of the room say four hours ago, she told herself sarcastically, knowing that exactly to be the reason as to why she's standing outside of Sage's door like a complete idiot. C'mon! He's never intimidated you before! Although 'intimidation' wasn't really the issue here. Laura took in a deep breath. Okay, you need to get your bag out of his room. Yes. That was it. She'll just say she needed to get her bag, say goodbye for the night, and bolt out of there. Yes, that's what she'll do. Taking in another deep breath, she opened the door and stepped inside.

The room looked dimmer than the last time she was there. It was close to nightfall; only one set of lights were on. Laura glanced over at Sage's bed, realizing that the blonde was asleep. She unknowingly smiled at the sight. No doubt having so many visitors come in and out of his room all day had tired him out. Making her way more cautiously his bed, she bent down and grabbed her duffel bag.

Laura stiffened when she heard the sound of bed sheets rustling, rising to her feet just as Sage opened his eyes.

It took him a moment to rub out the sleepiness, his vision coming to focus only to rest on a lone figure in his room. It took him another second to realize who that person was. Sage sat up in bed, both teens regarding the other for a prolonged moment before Laura spoke.

"Sorry," she said. "Did I wake you?"

"…No," he fibbed. "I was just resting."

She nodded once, the silence continuing. "I'm about ready to leave. Your father's almost done talking with the nurse," Laura announced, wanting to clarify why she was there, and quickly pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "I just came in for this."

"Oh," was all he could say.

Laura thought he sounded disappointed, but didn't dwell on it, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Damn it! Why am I being such a coward?

"I'll be going now." She pointed towards the door and turned to leave. It's got to be this place, she told herself. This stupid hospital smell is making me feel weird.

"…Laura?"

"Yeah?" she immediately answered. A bit too quickly, she realized, and wondered why she felt relieved when he had called her back. She turned around at the foot of his bed, looking at him expectantly.

Sage didn't say anything right away, instead gazing back at her, as if his mind was trying to come to a conclusion about something. He reached a decision, a suspiciously smug smile coming to his lips. "Don't you dare go in my room. You got that?"

Laura scoffed, sticking her nose up in the air. "Like I'd even want to."

Sage then smiled, a genuine smile this time, her answer the response he was hoping for. She realized, then, that she had been tricked, staring at the blonde unbelieving before she shook her head, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. He's good. She was laughing inside, her soul finally at ease. He's very good.

"The doctor's letting you out at noon," she informed him, her speech now more fluent than before. "I'll be the one to pick you up, if you don't mind being stuck in a cab with me."

"I can manage," he replied coolly.

"Right." Laura walked towards the door. "You are taking me in, after all."

Sage thought she was going to leave, but found himself staring at her for a bit longer, Laura pausing at the door. She readjusted her shoulder strap, mainly as a way to stall, her gaze directed out into the hallway before she turned to meet his eyes. "Thank you."

"I mean it," she cut him off when he started to speak, wanting him to hear her first before saying anything. "I don't think my gratitude really showed earlier today. I was just so surprised that…" She stopped, then nodded to him as a short bow. "Thanks, Sage."

She was sincere, placing herself in debt to him. And not just for letting her stay; he knew. But… was that what he wanted?

It wasn't.

"Laura," he called her back, wanting to make his point perfectly clear. "I'm only doing this for Sammy."

Laura lingered at the door, taking in what he had just told her. And when she looked back at him, there was a smile on her face. "I know," she said. "So am I." With those parting words, she left, knowing very well that he was lying. And that he knew she was lying as well. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Yes I know. This entire chapter was screaming out, 'SHORT!!!" But what could I do? I could leave it on a cliffhanger, but I think you all know how those go. ^^;;

Actually, in all seriousness, this 'chapter' was really supposed to be tacked on at the end of the previous, Recollection. But that would have made that chapter ridiculously long (not that it isn't already), and I couldn't find a break sooner so, viola! Short chapter. In my standards anyway.

Graduation's in two weeks. Prom's this week. And then new chapter!!! J/k. ^^;; Don't know if it'll be out by then, but it should be pretty close, since it doesn't take very long for me to be bored out of my mind. ^_^ Thank you all for your lovely reviews! To all old and new (or newly discovered) reviewers, you have my deepest thanks. Criticism is always welcomed. Oh! Speaking of which… what would you guys think if I rewrote/revised/updated or whatnot Shadow within the Darkness? I've been wanting to for a very long time, since the first chapter basically has a sign tacked on it that says 'Novice Freshman Writer Here!' I've been seriously wanting to correct that, and update my earlier chapters to my current writing style, but ideally I've been waiting for a break in the story, since waiting till I'm DONE with this 'little' piece of fanwork would just be stupid. I'm not very patient, though it amazes me what I'll put up with. ^^;; I'll explain the revision project I want to do in the next author's note. ^_^ Ja ne!