Chapter Three

In The Shadows

Rena smiled at Mia. - Thanks for this weekend. I had fun. -

"I'm glad you did. You are welcome to come here anytime you want. I'm use to have the guys around," Mia returned her smiled. Rena nodded her thanks.

"This weekend seem to fly by fast," Kento said as he leaned against his jeep.

"True. But, at least Rena opened up," Cye replied.

"Yeah," Kento nodded. He, nor anyone else, even knew why all of a sudden Rena snapped out of her depression. He was just glad it had happened as he watched Rena pet and give White Blaze a sad puppy look. She was going to miss the big kitty.

Rena looked up to when she sensed Sage's armor power behind her. Shortly after their little talk the other night, the two began to be able to sense the other's power. Rena didn't have a real answer for it. She just assumed it was because Sage had gotten a taste of her powers at the same time she got a taste of his. Sage seemed happy with that answer and didn't question it farther. He like being able to sense where she was. He could keep an eye on her, just in case.

Kento watched Sage say something to her. She nodded then walked over to the jeep and crawled in the back with the blonde haired boy. Kento blinked in confusion at Sage's immediate fondness for his friend. He chose to shrugged and let it go. Out of their group Sage was, without a doubt, the only one he would never fully understand.

"We better get going," Ryo said. "Thanks for the weekend, Mia."

"Anytime," Mia nodded. Rowen and Cye waved to their female friend before piling into Kento's jeep. Kento was about to crawl in himself when he felt like someone, or something, watching him from the woods. He looked over his shoulder. For a split second he thought it was White Blaze. But he was still standing with Mia.

"Hey, Kento? Are we going or not?" Cye's voice interrupted Kento.

"Yeah," Kento took one more look at the woods. The feel had disappeared. He shook his head and got in. Must have been his imagination.

Rena was the first to get dropped off. No one was home.

"Should we come in and wait with you?" Cye asked as he and the rest got out. Rena shook her head.

"You sure? Will you be alright alone?" Rowen asked.

Rena nodded. - If they were going to be gone long they would have called and let me know. I'm sure they just went out for ice cream or something. -

"Alright then," Rowen replied, but didn't sound too sure about leaving her alone. "You have our numbers if you need us."

Rena nodded. She had Kento and Rowen's from the start but the other boys and Mia gave her their phone numbers over the weekend. - I'll be fine, Ro. -

"Chill out, dude!" Kento warned but playfully. "She can't speak. She's not helpless."

"Right," Rowen blushed as Rena gave him a 'that's right' smirk. Rena ruffled up his hair before grabbed her bag. She waved goodbye to her friends and watched them pile back into the jeep. She watched them go before headed to the door. She reached into her pocket to fish out her house key. The key barely got into the slot when she felt like she was being watched.

Rena spun around. The feeling was so strong that she was sure someone would have been there. No one was. She quickly unlocked the door and slipped inside, shutting and securely locking the door. The feeling disappeared just as quick as it appeared. Rena crept over to the window and peeked out. Still nothing. She wondered if she should have had the guys stay over. She quickly dismissed that. She was being so childish. There was obviously nothing there so she let it go and head for her room.

Sage was sitting quietly in the back of the jeep. His elbow was propped up on the door and his head leaning against his fist. The other boys were happily chatting about the weekend and talking about what they should do next. None of them noticed the worried look Sage suddenly got on his face. He could sense Rena getting tense about something. It didn't last long and the feeling was gone. He wondered if he even sensed it at all. Something told him he did.

"Last call for Sage Date!" Kento's loud voice rang in his ears.

"What?" Sage asked, a little annoyed.

"You home, dude. Get out of my jeep," Kento replied.

"Oh," Sage crawled out and was left standing in front of his house. His thoughts wondered back to that feeling he had. "I wonder if she..."

Sage turned and ran into the house.

"Hello, Sage. How as your weekend?" Mrs. Date asked as her son ran through the house.

"Great!" He barely replied as he dashed for the phone. He picked it up and started to dial Rena's number. He got halfway through dialing the number when he felt like he was being watched. He hung up the phone and looked around. Again, the feeling was gone. His hand lingered on the phone as he wondered if he should call her or not.

The choice not to call her wasn't really his idea. He forgot, she couldn't speak. He knew of phone that could clear that problem up. He was going to have to get one. They need to be able to talk over the phone, especially with that thing he met in her fantasy world. He knew she told him it was probably a negative effect of him going there. But, now? He wondered if it followed them back into the real world.

Cye was the next one who felt like he was being watched. He was inside his house when the feeling hit him. His mom was in the kitchen cooking some cookies. He had went in there and grabbed him a couple before heading up to his room. This is where the feeling washed over him. His warrior instincts kicked in.

He almost called on his sub armor out of habit. Hearing his mom singing stopped him from doing so. Instead he left his room and checked the house. Everything seemed fine and the feeling was gone as well. Cye wandered back to his room. He sat down on his bed and grabbed another cookie. His mind wandered if he should call the others. Maybe they were going to be attacked again. But why who? If this was an enemy he felt why did it leave? Why didn't it attack him?

Maybe because of his mother? No. No real bad guy would hold off an attack because of an innocent bystander.

"Oh yeah!" Kento cried as he hopped out of his jeep. "Home at last! I'm starving!"

Kento slammed his door shut and dashed into the house. He didn't show any noticed of his family sitting around the house as his stomach pushed him to the kitchen. His mom grumbled something about him not running through the house like a wild animal as he swung open the fridge door and started grabbing random food items to make him a K.K.S.S, Kento King Size Sandwich.

He was making dramatic gestures as he constructed his sandwich. His mom had walked in to see this. She just shook her head. "Where did I go wrong with that boy?"

"Happy, happy, happy sandwich," Kento sung as he placed a slice of bread on top of his beautifully created sandwich. He continued humming as he munched down and headed for his room. Usually his mother didn't allow him and his siblings to eat anywhere but the kitchen. He had to sneak to his room before she noticed. Lucky for him he didn't get caught this time. He plopped down on his bed and grabbed a magazine to flip through while finishing his sandwich.

He dropped the magazine and sat up when the feeling of being watched reappeared. He looked around his room. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Just like before, the feeling was gone.

Ryo felt uneasy as soon as they had started dropping off their friends at their homes. He didn't know why however. Something just didn't feel right about leaving them. He was now back at his apartment. His weekend bag was dropped on the floor and was sitting on his bed. He also felt like he was being watched by something but like the others, it quickly disappeared. Ryo stood up and wandered out onto this small balcony. He placed his hands on the railing and looked up at the sky. What was that feeling? Do we have a new enemy to fight? Should I tell the other about this?

"You sure you're ok?" Rowen asked. He was the only one of the group to call Rena after the feeling of being watched. He had too. He didn't want to leave her alone anyway. Now that they were on the phone he felt so childish for calling her.

This conversation would have been a hard one for anyone else. Rena had a special phone that was equipped for her type of communication problem but it require the person on the other phone to have one for it to work. But they didn't need it. Rowen, Kento and Rena had their own way of communicating. They didn't have to use words to know what the other was feeling. This was evident in their letters to each other over the years.

Rena remember the letters she got from Kento and Rowen a few years ago. It was around the time they would have been battling Talpa. Rena knew something wasn't right with them through their letters. But she could never get them to tell her why. Now she knew, with what Sage had told her. "I'm sorry I called you. I just...had to know you were alright. I mean...you're real important to me, Rena."

Rowen sensed Rena smiling. She understood and so did he. She was sending him a 'don't worry' vibe. "I know. I'll try not to. I'll see you tomorrow at school. Night, Rena."

Rena smiled again and hung up the phone. Her smile vanished. First, she had the feeling of being watched then Rowen called her about the same feeling? She wondered if the other boys felt that same feeling too.

Meanwhile, outside Rowen's apartment building, something was moving in the shadows. It stayed there for a while before disappearing into the shadows from the settling sun.

Notes: That's it for chapter three. It's a bit short compare to chapter two. Hope you all like it. Also, I want you all to know this is not a boy boy romance, just in case I gave that impression in my information about the story. There will be little romance bits between Rane and the boys. Though I'm not really sure if I'm going to officially put her with one of them. You can give me your thoughts throughout the story on which you mind think I should put her with, if I decide to go that direction or I'll leave it open for you all to decide who she belongs with. Or, heck, maybe I'll write a sequel to it, but that's a long way off. See ya'll next chapter. :)