Time
By Quiet Chaos
Chapter Three
A/N: Oh, don't you hate it when deadlines sneak up on you? One minute it's ten days to the due date, and then before you realize it, it's now. Well, on with the story; same rules and disclaimers apply.
"You lose," droned the flashing television screen. A slew of indistinct curses followed as Kento let the video game controller slide out of his hands. He stretched his aching back, moaning as the bones popped and the pressure on the large bruise marring his backbone subsided. With a grunt of frustration, he let gravity pull him onto the soft living room carpet; from there he stared moodily at the ceiling.
"You're losing your touch."
He rolled over to find Rowen smirking down at him from where he lay on the couch across the room.
"That's the seventh round in a row that you've lost." Still grinning, he shifted under Hardrock's glare, propping his blue head up onto the cushioned armrest.
"I thought you were asleep." Kento rolled onto his stomach and laid his chin on top of his folded arms. "You've been out all day."
"I was, until you lost the second round. I got tired of dreaming that I was being knocked around in some digitized arena." Rowen cocked an eyebrow as Kento dropped his gaze. "You all right, buddy? It's not like you to be so glum."
"I guess I'm sore." He shrugged, turning his head away from the inquisitive dark blue eyes. "And I don't mean just my back."
"What? You mean your pride's hurt?" He couldn't help but grin as Kento jerked up into a sitting position and made a pouting face.
"Well yeah! We're the Ronin Warriors!" Flailing his arms around for emphasis, he ranted, "We're the guys that saved the earth, like, ten trillion times, and yet we get all five of our butts handed to us on a silver platter by some girl!"
"I see your point," Rowen snickered as the warrior of justice slouched with his arms folded and an exasperated look on his face. He continued to grin at his friend's antics when a thought struck him. "Hey, care to fill me in on what happened after I passed out?"
"Well, it took us a while to get to you 'cause Ryo was shooting off a ton of arrows with your bow, but when we did get there…"
Closing his eyes, Rowen listened carefully as Kento rattled off the morning's ordeal.
Five minutes later…
"…Luckily the sun had just come up so Sage got a bit of a power boost. He healed up Ryo's shoulder and other big wounds, but he said he didn't want to do anything about the bruises, and then he went and healed most of the girl's injuries. That left him kind of tired, so we decided to take everyone home."
Midnight blue eyes snapped open, and Rowen struggled to sit up. "Everyone? You mean…" Kento was nodding even before he finished the question, "…that girl's here too?"
"Yeah, well, we couldn't just leave her. Plus Sage said she shouldn't be too much of a threat for now 'cause she lost a lot of blood. But, yeah, she's in the guest room. Mia and Cye are keeping an eye on her."
"And Sage?"
"Cye pretty much ordered him into bed, but he didn't want to leave Ryo alone, so both of them are in your room."
"So that's why I'm on the couch." Leaning back into the sofa's cushions, Rowen sighed. "And I take it you're babysitting me?"
"Yeah, but I'm not getting paid enough to take care of such a big baby!" Kento laughed and rolled around on the floor.
"Kento, if I weren't so tired right now, I'd rattle the rocks in your head." Though annoyed, he still smiled as he watched Kento writhe on the floor from laughing so much. "But at least you're not sulking anymore."
Kento wiped a tear from his eye. "Yeah. But you know, you totally set yourself up for that one!"
"Oh shut up already!"
xxxxx
Cye smiled as he listened to Rowen and Kento's bickering turn into laughter. 'Sounds like they're feeling better.' Shaking the auburn locks from his eyes, he glanced down the hall to Sage and Rowen's shared room. Though the door was open, no sounds or movements were made, as the occupants were sound asleep.
From there sea-green eyes meandered to the closed door beside him. Behind it, Mia was addressing the assassin's more minor injuries.
He took a deep breath and massaged the bridge of his nose. It wasn't broken, but it was still sore from when the girl had rammed her shoulder into his face. "Amazing," he sighed. 'One human girl, no older than any of us, was able to do so much damage.' He leaned against the wall, lost in his thoughts.
Mia's voice drifted through the door a moment later. "Cye? I'm done."
"Right. I'm coming in." He opened the door and walked in. The guest room faced west, and the evening sun filtered through the windows, casting scarlet shadows along the carpet and walls. Mia sat beside the queen-sized bed; the nearly empty first aid kit lay on the floor next to the assassin's clothing and recovered gear. He pulled up a chair on the other side of the bed. The girl looked so small, pale, and fragile beneath the layers of blankets. "Will she be all right?"
"She should be fine. Sage healed the life-threatening injuries, so all that was left were the bruises and cuts." Mia rubbed her temples. "Still, I'll have to buy some more bandages and first aid supplies. And some more aspirin…"
"Mia." She looked up to see Cye giving her an encouraging, but gentle smile. "Those things can wait. You should rest now because you're just as tired as we are."
She returned the smile. "Thank you, Cye. I'll do that." She stretched as she stood. "Will you be all right?"
He nodded and sat a little straighter. "Don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself right now."
"Okay. I'll come back to check on you in an hour or so."
As soon as she left, Cye closed his eyes and slumped in the chair. The last thing they needed was for everyone in the house to overexert themselves. Groaning, he let his head roll along his shoulders, feeling relief as each bone cracked. He opened his eyes and stared out the window at the rapidly receding sun.
"Cye..."
Torrent nearly jumped out of his skin as the rasped whisper reverberated through the otherwise silent room. He stared at the girl. She was awake and was watching him through locks of ebony and heavy eyelids. "Oh. Uh, yes?"
"May I have some water?" Her voice croaked harshly, and he could feel her straining to annunciate each word.
"Yes, just a second." He hurried into the adjacent bathroom and brought back a tall glass of water. He gently eased her into a sitting position before handing off the drink. She quickly drained it. Still stunned, Cye dropped into his chair and stared.
With the glass emptied, she leaned heavily on the pillows. Looking him in the eye she sighed. "Was it really so fascinating to watch me drink?"
He dropped his gaze instantly. "Sorry, it's just, well, you're awake already. And how do you know my name?"
She turned away from him and fidgeted with the glass. "Detailed information is a necessity in my profession."
"Your profession…" he echoed. "You're an assassin. Why did you attack my friend? Or maybe the better question is, who hired you?"
Heavy silence answered him as the girl simply avoided his eyes and stared out the window instead. The sun had nearly set; the golden orb was blocked by the tree-robed mountain so only the crimson twilight fringes feathered the violet sky.
Cye released the breath he'd been holding. She wasn't going to answer; she probably couldn't because of some oath of confidentiality or tradition. Defeated, he slouched in the chair, but then he perked up again as a new question came to mind.
"Will you at least tell me your name? I feel awkward that you know mine, but I don't know yours."
For a moment he saw her shoulders tense, but it passed quickly. For what seemed like an eternity she made no other move. He sighed again, feeling helpless, he let his head fall.
"Kurari."
"What?"
"My name…" she slowly turned and caught his sea-green eyes with hers, which, in the rapidly encroaching darkness, appeared like glowing orbs of azure and gold, "…is Kurari."
A/N: Waaaaaaaah! Apologies! Apologies! This week in college was crazy, so this was unfortunately left to the very last minute. Sooooooooooooo uber sorry! Sorry for it being late! Sorry for it being short! Sorry for it sucking so bad! Gomennasai! I will make it up to you guys with the next chapter. I swear that Chapter four will be at least 3500 words long!
Shout outs:
TeahLeafs- glomps Thank you so much for your support. I'm so so sorry that this chapter has let you down. I may end up rewriting/reposting it this weekend, so don't feel rushed to review. Like I said, I'll make it up to you and every other reader with Chappy four! I promise!
MorganRay- Thanks to you for the sweet comments. Sorry for the confusion about the battle sequence and the 'death' of the assassin. Hope to hear your comments soon (but maybe later on this chapter ;)