So far, two of his friends had stomped off and after the second left, an hour ago, the three who were left were still having problems. Rowen and Kento had been involved in video games for a while, with one similar outcome- Rowen almost always won. Even someone as level-headed as Sage would have gotten annoyed at losing all the time, so you can imagine how upset Kento was.

Ryo had pretended that he was asleep, but he had been listening to the yelling, sounds from the game, and Rowen's laughing. The longer the boys played, the less he could feel their bonds. He had his eyes tightly shut under the weight of the pillow, staying as still as stone, but when there was a loud noise next to him, he jumped.

As it turned out, Kento had lost another game, and threw his controller at the wall. It was unharmed, but it had scared everyone else. Kento was now on his feet, pointing an accusing finger at his friend.

"You've got to be cheating, Rowen!"

The other reacted by rising to his feet, also, and yelling back.

"No way! I can't help it if I play better!"

"Bull! You're SO cheating!"

"I don't have to take that from you!"

"I should be saying that! I'm done messing around with a cheater like you!"

Kento turned on his heel and stomped away, heading for the basement. Ryo turned around, leaning on the back of the couch. He tried to talk to his friend, but Kento refused to answer. He got to the basement door and slammed it behind him. The leader of the ronins turned back around when he heard Rowen sigh and run his long, thin fingers through his deep blue locks.

"Damn… I can't take this another minute…"

"R-Rowen!"

Rowen was walking away now, and Ryo stood up and called his name. He was desperate now. The link was so weak, and so when he turned, there was a look of desperation and inner pain. Rowen seemed to see this as he looked his friend in the eyes, and looked away a moment later with a lowered head.

"Ro… you don't have to leave…"

"Sorry, Ryo…"

And he left. Ryo was alone, and he felt empty inside. He frantically searched his memory for a clue as to why his friends were so divided, and could find nothing. They had been such good friends a month ago, and now, just a short while after he regained consciousness, everything was falling apart. Ryo lowered his head. Somehow, he was sure it was his fault, and he could do nothing to fix the mess.

The tired, sad ronin was about to sit down again, until he heard the front door squeak open. He hadn't noticed anyone leaving the house, and Mia wasn't due to return for a while, so… who was out there? He put on his fighting face and stood ready for anything, but he was relieved to see that it wasn't an enemy, but his loyal white tiger. Well, almost relieved.

The big cat must have been rolling around in the mud, because he was completely filthy! Even when Ryo had taken him out earlier, he hadn't gotten as messy as he was then. The tiger looked up at his master for a moment, then a guilty expression fell on his face as he turned away and tried to scamper away. Unfortunately, he was heading for the kitchen! If Cye came down and saw that 'his' kitchen was wreaked, there would be hell to pay!

So, Ryo quickly rounded the house and walked towards the doorway where the cat had come in from, and that's when he heard White Blaze running. Ryo quickened his pace, trying to catch up, but he hadn't anticipated the floor in front of the door to be so wet and slippery. Before he could register what was happening, his vision was climbing the wall until he saw the ceiling and then nothing.

It felt as if he had been hit by a truck. If his previous head injury was bad, the current pain in his head would rival it. He couldn't see, and he was cold as ice. He could feel himself shiver, but not much else aside from the pain. In his mind, he yelled for someone to help him out of the darkness, but the darkness itself was what he saw through the link. Losing hope, he intended to give himself up to the dark, until a sudden wave of energy surged through him.

The wave was hot as the magma from an active volcano, and it wrapped around him like a tight embrace. Ryo caught himself shivering again, despite the warmth. His lips quivered, and he could feel his ehad being lifted slightly. The boy heard voices, and once all of the cold was gone, he opened his eyes. The sight he saw before him brought even more glorious warmth into his heart.

"Ryo?"

"Oh my goodness… is he alright?"

"Calm down… I'm sure he's okay! …Right, Sage?"

"Ryo, can you hear me?"

All of his friends were together, gathered in one place, and they all shared the same expression. Though they showed worry, Ryo could see that they had forgotten their fights, and the link was stronger than anything. Then, a face with amethyst eyes and blond hair came into view, and he was holding a flashlight into his eyes.

"Ryo? Hey…"

"Sage? Guys…?"

"Ah… welcome back!"

"Ryo!"

"He's okay!"

"That's great!"

Ryo smiled, contentedly. And then, he heard something like a grunt from Sage, whose lap he was resting on, and opened his eyes again. Everyone was smiling, even though serious Sage was shaking his head at him.

"Honestly, Ryo, how many head injuries do you have to receive to get a point across?"

"Well, only two, hopefully. They really hurt, you know!"

"I bet."

"Hey…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you guys finally noticed."

"Noticed? You mean that the link was breaking?"

"Yeah. I was worried that I was the only one. You must have realized it was broken when you all left, huh?"

"Actually…"

As the others exchanged glances, Ryo rose an eyebrow, confused.

"The first thing we noticed was a loud banging noise down here. When he found you on the floor, I tried to heal you, and that's when we all felt the separation."

"Well, I'm glad to have you all back!"

"Likewise, Ryo!"

Everyone was smiling now, even more so when a muddy tiger leapt into the area, tackling Kento and getting the ronin messy, too, and as Ryo was helped into a sitting position, he looked to the side. The door had been open when he fell, and he remembered the cold. However, he now had a blanket over him, and the door was closed, and he thought of the warmth. But, he knew it wasn't as simple as that.

Ryo knew that the cold was the loneliness inside his heart, and the broken bond between his comrades, and the warmth came from them, when they finally came back together. It was a warmth that he had known for a long time, and he would die to protect that warmth. Just… he hoped he could go a full two weeks without getting another head injury.

Owari.