Warrior Call

by Janime Lee

A trip to Japan is just the opportunity for American students. But when the Ronin Warriors become involved, they realize that they may have found more than just an overseas education.

5. Sworn Silence

Ronin Warriors

Warrior Call

By Janime

Part Four - Sworn Silence
**********

The next day, Mia drove to the hotel where Jessie, Casey, Joana, Gwen, and Twyla were staying. She went up to their room and knocked on the door. Casey opened it.
"Oh Mia," she said surprised. "We thought it was the hotel clerk. Come in."
"What's going on?" Mia asked, entering. "Why are you packing?"
"We've been evicted," said Jessie as she zipped her suitcase.
"The hotel's being fumigated for termites and they're kicking everyone out." Twyla explained.
"Where are you going to stay?" asked Mia.
"We don't know," said Joana, "if we don't find a place, we're going to have to go back home on the next flight out."
Mia thought frantically. She couldn't let them go back to America, especially Jessie. Fate had brought her to Japan for a reason, and if her destiny was somehow connected to the Ronins and Warlords, Mia would see it through. "Why don't you stay at my place," Mia said.
"But you've got five guys living there already," said Casey.
"Since when would that bother you?" asked Jessie. "But she's right. Wouldn't it be a little crowded with all of us sharing your home?"
"There's plenty of room," said Mia. "It's going to take a while to set up a guest room, so you'll have to sleep in the guys' room tonight."
"Won't they get upset?" Joana asked.
"They won't. Trust me."
"Are you sure?" Twyla asked.
"Don't worry," said Mia. "They'll understand."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" the five Ronins shouted.
Mia had called them from a pay phone in the lobby and Ryo had turned on the speakerphone so that the others could hear. "I invited them to stay with us," said Mia.
"We got that part," said Rowen, "but you gave them our room!"
"Listen," Mia hissed, "there are two reasons why I asked them to stay with us. One, Jessie has to see Kayura so we can find out why the Nether Soldier was after her. Two, you guys don't pay rent. So unless you want to start paying, don't complain. It's my house." Dead silence came from the other end. "I thought so," she said. "Kento, bring your van. My jeep won't hold all their luggage."
"Okay. I'll be there shortly," he said.
The conversation ended. Kento happily grabbed his keys and put on his shoes and coat.
"You lucky bastard," Cye said with a grin.
"I'll tell Joana you would have come, but you gave up your seat for her." Kento teased. "How does that old saying go? 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'?"
"Just get into the van and bring them here," said Sage.
"Aren't we anxious?" Kento shut the door.

"Thank you so much," said Joana for the hundredth time.
"You're welcome," said Mia for the hundredth time.
"Last one inside sleeps on the air mattress!" said Casey as she bolted towards the house. The others followed, leaving Jessie outside alone with Sage.
"Looks like it's me," she sighed.
"Don't worry," said Sage, picking up a suitcase. "When the room is finished, you'll get a bed."
Jessie shut the jeep door. She picked up her other suitcase and carry-on bag, and they headed for the house.
"Hey Jessie!" Yuli shouted.
"Hi Yuli!"
"I want you to meet someone!" He disappeared into the house.
"He brought a friend over?" Jessie asked.
"Maybe," said Sage. He had no doubt that Yuli's "friend" was large, white with black stripes, walked on all fours, and had a tail. They entered the house and set the luggage next to the rest by the stairs.
"Where is everyone?" Sage called.
"In the living room!" Rowen answered. "You gotta see this!"
They walked into the living room and saw Gwen, Twyla, Joana, and Casey, huddling in fright. Gwen was protecting Joana; Casey was using Twyla as a shield.
"What is your problem?" Jessie asked.
Twyla said nothing, only pointed to the other side of the room. Jessie looked in the direction her friend was gesturing to, and saw Yuli standing next to a large white tiger. "That's a big kitty," said Jessie.
"He won't hurt you," said Sage. "Go on, pet him."
Jessie slowly walked over to Yuli. "His name is White Blaze," Yuli told her.
"Hi White Blaze," said Jessie and held out her hand. He sniffed it and purred. Jessie knelt down and scratched between the tiger's ears and his purring grew louder.
"Come on," Jessie said to her friends. "Don't be afraid."
"Is it safe?" Casey asked.
"Just think of him as a cat."
"Yeah," said Joana, "a really big one."
Twyla walked over to White Blaze. Casey was still clutching onto her for dear life. Gwen and Joana cautiously walked over to their friends, and they all gently started petting White Blaze.
"Jade would kill me right now to be here," said Twyla. "She loves tigers."
"And he loves attention," said Ryo. "Don't you, White Blaze?"
"Well, we'd better get settled in," said Jessie as she stood up.
"I'll show you to the boys' room," said Mia.
Everyone took a piece of luggage (even White Blaze took a carry-on) and headed upstairs.
"Here we are." Mia said.
They put the luggage by the closet. Jessie quickly dove onto one of the beds, which just happened to be Sage's. Twyla jumped onto Rowen's bed, Joana took Cye's, and Gwen sat on Kento's bed. Casey walked over to Jessie.
"Off," said Casey.
"Dibs."
"Don't think so. You were the last one in the house, so you have to sleep on the air mattress."
"Fine," said Jessie as she got off the bed. "It's all yours." Brat.
"Come on, Yuli," said Ryo. "You've got a soccer game at two. I'll take you home."
"All right," said Yuli. "Bye everyone."
"Bye Yuli," they chorused.

Yuli's team was victorious and they celebrated at Hanza's Pasta House Restaurant. Everyone was laughing, telling jokes, and bragging about Yuli's kick, which won the game.
Only one man, dressed as a monk, stood silently. He was happy that Yuli had won, but couldn't share the celebration, because no one could see him.
"Congratulations Yuli," said Anubis.

Jessie groaned.
"What's wrong?" asked Twyla.
"I have a headache." Jessie said.
"Aw, poor sis," Joana said.
"Do you want an aspirin?" asked Ryo.
"No," said Jessie. "I'll go sleep this off. Wake me up later so I can take a shower."
"You'll have to use the one down here," said Sage. "The upstairs one is broken."
"And we just got the one downstairs fixed," said Kento. "If it's not one thing, it's the other."
Jessie stood up from the table and walked upstairs. White Blaze followed her.
"Looks like White Blaze found himself a new owner," said Rowen. "You just lost your tiger, Ryo."
Ryo sent a forkful of green beans in Rowen's direction.
Upstairs, Jessie put her necklaces and earrings in the box and took a nightshirt and shorts out of her suitcase and set them on the dresser. She was tempted to lie on Sage's bed, but decided not to. Knowing Casey, she would push Jessie off the bed onto the floor.
"Oh well," Jessie sighed as she lay down on the air mattress. White Blaze settled on the floor next to her. "You're a good boy, White Blaze," Jessie said and scratched the tiger's chin. White Blaze purred and licked her hand. Jessie drifted off into sleep.

"Man, am I tired," Casey yawned as she and her three friends walked upstairs.
"I wonder if Jessie is feeling better," Gwen said, opening the door. White Blaze lifted his head.
"Cool," said Twyla, "a watch-tiger."
White Blaze stood up, left the room and headed downstairs.
"Jessie's still asleep," said Joana.
"Let her sleep," said Twyla. "Her headaches are bad. I can't do anything for her."
"Your incantations don't work?" asked Gwen.
Twyla shook her head. "I've tried every healing incantation I know, ever since she came out of her coma seven months ago. Nothing. She still gets those headaches."
"Ah, just let her sleep and listen to her bitch in the morning," said Casey. "I'm first for the shower."

"So when are you going to call the Warlords?" Mia asked Ryo.
"As soon as the girls fall asleep," he said.
"Do you have to bring them here?" Kento asked. "Why can't you just take Jessie into the Dynasty?"
"And scare her more than she already is? No, we have to tell her what we know first."
"I'd rather they stayed in the Dynasty," said Cye.
"Listen," said Ryo, "I know you guys are still uneasy about them-"
"'Uneasy' is not the word," said Sage.
"They've changed," said Rowen. "But still, I don't trust them completely."
"Where was that opinion when Anubis helped us?" Ryo asked, glaring at Rowen.
"Anubis is a different story!" said Rowen, his voice rising.
"Keep your voices down, please." Mia begged. She looked at the clock. "It's almost eleven. I'll go check on them." Mia went upstairs. She opened the door and peeked inside. All five were asleep. Mia sighed and closed the door. She went back downstairs into the living room. "They're asleep," she said.
"All right," said Ryo. He took a crystal orb out of his pocket. "Kayura," he said, "you can come here."
The Warlords appeared. "Hello Ronins, Mia, White Blaze," said Kayura. "I take it you found the girl."
"Even better," said Ryo. "Her name is Jessie and she's sleeping upstairs."
"She's here?" Kayura exclaimed and headed for the stairs.
"No, Kayura," Ryo said. "Her friends are here, too."
"They're up in our room," said Kento.
Kayura sighed. "I have to talk to her," she said, "and soon."
"I know," said Ryo. "But there's something I want to show you guys first." He walked over to the TV and took Jessie's sketchbook off the shelf next to it. "I didn't show it to you guys," Ryo said to the other Ronins. "I decided to wait until all of us were here. This is Jessie's. She let me borrow it."
"What is it?" asked Cale.
"Her sketchbook."
"Probably just a bunch of stick figures," said Rowen.
Ryo flipped through the book and stopped. He held it out, showing the picture. "Pretty good for stick figures, wouldn't you say?" Ryo asked.
Rowen stared wide-eyed at the hand drawn picture of the Armor of Strata.
Ryo put the sketchbook on the coffee table and turned the pages, showing all the Armors.
"She drew all of those?" Cye asked.
Ryo nodded. "Look at the date here." He pointed to the bottom right-hand corner of the first picture in the book, which was of the Ancient One. "It's dated April 20th."
"That was six months ago," Sage said.
"Somehow she learned about the Armors," said Kayura. She picked up the sketchbook and turned the page. "What's this?" she asked, pointing to the page that was filled with astrological symbols.
"I don't know," said Ryo, "I didn't ask her."
"Sooner or later we'll have to tell her," said Kayura, turning the book in her hands. "This may be part of the reason why the Nether Soldier chased her."

Jessie woke from a dreamless sleep. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
At least my headache is gone, she thought and looked at the clock. 11:30! I said wake me up before they went to sleep!
Jessie sighed, deciding not to give her friends a rude awakening and disturb the rest of the house. She stood up, took her nightclothes off the dresser, and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her. She tiptoed down the stairs towards the bathroom.
"But that still doesn't explain why," Kento said.
Jessie stopped. They're still up? She put her nightclothes in the bathroom and crept towards the living room.
"I know," said Kayura, "but it's just a theory."
Why does her voice have an echo? Jessie asked herself. That's not humanly possible!
"She's strong," said Sage. "When our hands touched in the library, this feeling went through me. I don't know what it was."
You're not the only one, honey, Jessie thought.
"Maybe she has a lot of power, but doesn't know about it," said Dayus.
"You could be right," said Kayura. "But we won't know for sure until we talk to her."
"Want to know what I think," said Cale, standing by the doorway.
"Not really," said Cye, "but go ahead."
Cale reached around the other side of the wall, grabbed Jessie's arm, dragged her into the living room, and flung her to the floor. "That we have an eavesdropper," Cale said.
"Watch it, you big-" Jessie stopped when she saw the Warlords. "Jerk." It was barely a whisper.
"This is the girl?" Kayura asked.
"Yes," said Ryo. He stood up, walked over to Jessie and helped her to her feet. "This is Jessie," he introduced her. "Jessie, this is Cale, Sekhmet, Dayus, and Lady Kayura."
"How do you do," said Kayura.
"Pretty good despite the graceless entrance," said Jessie, glaring at Cale.
"You shouldn't allow your presence to be detected so easily," he said.
"Thanks for the tip," Jessie muttered.
"Explain this," said Kayura, holding the sketchbook open to a picture of the nine helmets of the Armors on the page.
"That's my sketchbook!" Jessie said, walking over to Kayura to take it, but she held it behind her back.
"Why did you draw those pictures?" Kayura asked.
"What's it to you?" Jessie demanded.
"Oho, cat fight," Kento whispered to Cye and grinned.
"Watch your tongue," Dayus warned Jessie.
"Tell me about the pictures," Kayura said.
"If you really want to know," sighed Jessie. "This past March, some guy ran me off the road just to get away from the cops. Even though I had my seat belt on, my head hit the steering wheel when I smashed into the telephone pole. I was in a coma for twenty days and during that I dreamed about the pictures."
"Describe the dreams."
"Some of them were still," Jessie continued, "but they told a story of some sort. Five were good. Four were evil. But in the end, the four changed."
Kayura gave Jessie the sketchbook. "Show me which ones."
Jessie flipped through the pages and pointed out the Armors. "The red, green, light blue, the orange doubted for a while, but regained his belief, and the dark blue. They were good. These four," Jessie pointed to the Warlords' Armors, "were evil but they changed in the end."
"Anything else?" Kayura asked.
"The five draw their power from the elements," said Jessie, "and I can't remember anything before my thirteenth birthday thanks to the accident."
"You can't remember anything before that?" Sekhmet asked.
"Nope, I have no recollection of my childhood whatsoever." Jessie shrugged. "Oh well. The past is the past. Leave it behind you and move on. That's my philosophy."
"The symbols you drew in the beginning of the book," said Kayura. "What are those for?"
"It's a secret code my friend Twyla and I use when writing notes to each other in class." Jessie explained. She pointed to the page. "This is a poem that relates to the pictures."
"Tell me the poem." Kayura said.
"If you insist," said Jessie and she read the poem:

Torch and spirit sought through five,
The last defense to keep humanity alive.
The quest begins in the hour most dire,
Drinking strength from immortal fire.
Evil pressures good with all its might,
From the darkest prison sheds the light.
Find the third Warrior, for evil must halt,
Sleeping beneath a churning pillar of salt.
Time is running short; it's escaping the clock,
Seek the next Warrior, buried within a throne of rock.
Find the fifth Warrior, when hope seems to die,
Floating among the eyes of the ages, unmourned in the sea of the sky.
Unite them together, five to make one,
Then bring back the other four, and victory is won.

Jessie looked up and noticed that everyone was STARING at her. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
"How did you learn that poem?" Kayura asked calmly.
Jessie turned to the picture of the Ancient One. "He was in my first dream and he told me to memorize it because it's not finished yet."
"Not finished?" Mia asked.
"Anything else?" asked Ryo.
"Double the number and the Circle shall be complete," Jessie answered.
The Ronins and Warlords looked nervously at each other.
"What if I told you that the poem you have written is actually a prophecy," said Kayura. "And the Armors in your pictures do exist."
"I'd say you're pulling my chain," Jessie said.
"She doesn't believe you," translated Ryo.
Kayura looked at the fireplace. "Where's the picture?"
"It's upstairs. I'll get it." Ryo ran up to the study and came back down with a picture frame in his hand. He gave it to Kayura.
"Mind you," Kayura said to Jessie, "this picture was taken six years ago."
She gave the picture to Jessie and watched, as her eyes grew big. In the picture, from left to right, stood Rowen, Kento, Cye, Sage, Ryo, Kayura, Sekhmet, Cale, and Dayus, in their full Armors, holding their helmets above them.
"How?" Jessie whispered. "I dreamed about these seven months ago."
"You'd better sit down," said Ryo. "It's a long story."
And they told Jessie about their battle against Talpa, the powers of the Armors, the Ancient Clan, and the Jewel of Life, Anubis, and everything else that had happened during that period. All the while, Jessie stared at the picture.
"If your story is true," she said, "how did I know?"
"That's what we have to find out," said Kayura. "But not now. It's late and I believe that everyone is tired. We'll continue this tomorrow."
"I guess this means that I have to get the others out of the house tomorrow," Mia said.
"That won't be a problem," said Jessie. "They've decided to hit the mall again."
"Including you, Jessie, how many are there?" Kayura asked.
"Five," Jessie replied.
"I see," said Kayura. "Before we leave I have something to give to the Ronins. You know what it is and we might as well show Jessie." The Ronins walked over to Kayura and she gave them their Armor Spheres.
Jessie walked over to Mia. "Mia, when they put their Armors on, there's a lot of energy going off, isn't there?" Jessie asked.
"Yes."
"Powerful, isn't it?"
"Very," answered Mia. "Why? What are you getting at?"
"Look at where all nine are standing."
"Ready?" asked Ryo. They held the Spheres above them.
"Before you do anything," Mia interrupted. "Much as I love to see you put on your Armors, but could you do this outside?"
"Why?" asked Kento.
"I'm not going to have much of a house left, that's why," Mia said.
They lowered their hands.
"Not to mention that you'll have four more people to swear to secrecy." Jessie reminded them.
"They're right," said Kayura. "Would you mind taking a walk with us?"
"And see all the fun?" asked Jessie. "Sure."
"I'll stay here in case the others wake up," Mia said.
"Just one more question before we go," said Jessie, "Kayura, why do I get the feeling that you and… Dayus… are together?"
"We've been married six years." Dayus said cautiously.
"Are you psychic or something?" asked Cye.
"How do you do that?" Rowen asked.
"I don't know," said Jessie. "You tell me."
"Let's get going," said Kayura, wanting to get outside before anything else happened.
"Right," said Ryo. "Mia, we'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay," she said and smiled at him.
"Why don't you just kiss her, Ryo?" asked Sekhmet.
Ryo's face darkened and Mia left the room.
I'm not going to ask, Jessie thought, as they left the house and walked into the forest.
"If it's not one side," said Ryo, "it's the other."
"But we can't help it," said Kento. "You two are so cute together."
They continued with their taunting. Jessie remained quiet. White Blaze nudged her leg and Jessie put her hand on his back.
I don't believe this, she thought, I'm walking through a forest with nine people who claim that the Armors in my pictures exist, and a tiger that is over one thousand-years-old and was also brought back to life. Should I consider myself lucky?
They stopped at a clearing. "Okay," said Ryo. "Ready Jessie? Jessie? Where'd she go?"
They looked around, but didn't see her. White Blaze grabbed Ryo's sleeve and tugged.
"Where is she?" he asked the tiger.
White Blaze let go of Ryo and walked through the trees. The Ronins and Warlords followed him to Anubis's Circle of Stones. Jessie was standing in front of it. Her eyes were half-closed and she was holding her hands out in front of her.
"Jessie, are you all right?" Ryo asked. She didn't respond. Ryo snapped his fingers in front of her face.
"What's wrong with her?" Sage asked.
"I don't know," said Ryo. He put his hand on Jessie's shoulder and the feeling of a massive electric shock went through his body. Ryo cried out and let go at the same time Jessie yelped.
"What? Where?" Jessie looked confused as much as the others.
"What did you do?" demanded Ryo. "Damn! That hurt!"
"Me? What I did!" exclaimed Jessie. "I don't even know how I got over here! Last thing I remember was walking behind you guys and White Blaze was next to me!"
Everyone stared at her and she looked away.
"Okay," said Ryo. "Let's just pretend that didn't happen, all right?"
Jessie nodded. "Fine with me."
"Good. We'll show you our Armors and then we'll get back to the house." They stood in the same order as in the photo and held the Spheres above them. "Here goes," said Ryo. "VIRTUE!"
"WISDOM!"
"TRUST!"
"JUSTICE!"
"LIFE!"
"LOYALTY!"
"PIETY!"
"OBEDIENCE!"
"SERENITY!"
Their kanji glowed and it seemed that they faded into shadows. They reappeared, wearing their sub-armors.
"Holy shit..." Jessie whispered. She put her hand on White Blaze for support.
"If you think this is impressive," said Cye.
"You ain't seen nothing' yet," Kento finished.
"Why don't you go first." Ryo said to the Warlords.
"If you insist," said Kayura. She looked at Jessie. "Don't be afraid."
"Too late for that." Jessie informed her.
The Warlords held out their left hands.
"CRUELTY! TO ARMS!"
"VENOM! TO ARMS!"
"CORRUPTION! TO ARMS!"
"ILLUSION! TO ARMS!"
The helmets appeared in their hands. The Warlords placed them on their heads and their full Armors appeared.
Jessie stood wide-eyed and stuttered.
Kayura's faceplate opened. "Your turn," she said to the Ronins.
"ARMOR OF WILDFIRE!"
"ARMOR OF HALO!"
"ARMOR OF TORRENT!"
"ARMOR OF HARDROCK!"
"ARMOR OF STRATA!"
The energy waves exploded from their hands as the banners circled around them, flying upwards, and turned into glowing cherry blossom petals, which swirled around the Ronins, bringing forth their full Armors. They caught a handful of petals and held it above them. The petals turned into the helmets and the Ronins placed them on their heads.
Jessie's knees buckled and she landed on her backside.
Ryo walked over to her and his faceplate opened. "Well?" he asked.
"H-h-h-how..." she finally managed to say.
"Did you know? That's what we're going to find out." Ryo helped Jessie to her feet. She looked at his Armor.
"How heavy is that?" she asked.
"You'd be surprised how light it is and it sustains a lot of damage." Ryo said. He took off his helmet and held it out to Jessie. Gingerly, she took the helmet and was amazed by how light it was.
"It weighs like a bike helmet," said Jessie. She held it in her left hand. "This is just too-AHH!"
She dropped the helmet and the smell of burned flesh wafted into the air.
"What's wrong?" Ryo asked, fear in his voice.
Jessie bit her lip and held out her hand. It was covered with red blisters. "Burned," she said, trying to hold back tears.
Kayura gently took Jessie's hand. She whispered a chant and Jessie's hand was back to its pale-peach color.
"Thank you," Jessie sighed, flexing her fingers.
Ryo picked up his helmet. "That's never done that before."
"I guess this means we're even," said Jessie, giving him a little smile.
"You understand, Jessie," said Kayura. "You must be silent about what we have told you and what you have seen."
Like anyone would believe me, Jessie thought. "My lips are sealed," she said.
Kayura held out her hands and the Ancient Staff appeared. Jessie did a double take.
I shouldn't be surprised to see that, she thought.
"The Ancient Staff," said Kayura. She held it in front of Jessie. "Swear on this that you won't discuss anything about the Armors to anyone else."
Jessie touched the Staff and the rings began to clang. She let go and they stopped. Kayura looked at the Staff and then at Jessie. "Touch it again," she said.
Jessie did as she was told and the rings started clanging again. Kayura grabbed the rings. The others started chuckling.
"Now swear that you will not discuss with anyone about the Armors, except those present here, Mia, Yuli, and Dr. Fuji."
"I swear on the Ancient Staff, I will be silent," Jessie vowed. She let go of the Staff. "Who's Dr. Fuji?"
"A friend of ours," said Ryo. "He learned about the Armors like you did. Accidentally."
"Tell me some other time," said Jessie. "I've had enough for one night and I'm tired."
"We all need our rest," said Kayura. "Keep your promise, Jessie."
"I will. It was nice meeting you." She bowed to Kayura. "And you." She bowed to the remaining Warlords. They returned the bow and disappeared.
"You seriously didn't mean that, did you?" Rowen asked.
Jessie turned around. The Ronins had changed back into their normal clothes.
"Yes, I did," Jessie said as they started towards the house. "What's wrong with that?"
"Oh boy," Ryo sighed quietly. "Here we go."
"You don't know them like we do," said Sage. "Stay away from Cale. He's the worst."
"No, Sekhmet is," Cye said. "Voice of experience."
"Dayus is bad," said Kento. "His illusions will screw up your head."
"Kayura is a Class-A bitch," said Rowen. "Don't even think about making friends with her."
Ryo sighed again and shook his head. How many times do we have to go through this?
"But they've changed." Jessie said defensively.
"Over four hundred years in the service of evil," said Sage, "how can one just leave Talpa's service?"
Anubis, there are days when I wish you were still here, Ryo thought, and this is one of them.
"Wait a minute." Jessie ran ahead a little and faced them. "You four don't trust them because you believe that one day when you let your guard down, they'll pounce. The last six years has been nothing more than an act. Or maybe you're mad at what Talpa did to you, and you're just taking it out on them."
Sage, Cye, Rowen, and Kento, tried to say something, but couldn't find the words. Jessie continued walking towards the house, White Blaze next to her.
Ryo smiled. "She has a point," he said as they followed her.
"Ryo you have no idea what happened inside that castle dungeon," Cye said.
"Excuse me," said Ryo, "my power was drained to the point where I nearly died. Several times, might I add? Also, eighteen Nether Spirits possessed me at once. So don't lecture me about pain." He looked at Rowen. "What about you? You were the first one to say, 'Maybe the Warlords aren't as bad as we think they are.' What changed your opinion?"
"I don't know," Rowen said, "I was able to trust Anubis, but I can't trust them for some reason."
They went into the house. Mia was sitting on the couch. "Well?" she asked.
"I have seen it all," said Jessie.
"Kayura made her swear on the Ancient Staff not to tell anyone," said Ryo.
"Welcome to the club," said Mia. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, everyone." She went upstairs.
"Anybody need the bathroom?" Jessie asked. "I'm going to take a shower."
"At this hour?" asked Cye.
"Better late than never."
"Go ahead," said Sage.
"All right, I'm going upstairs." Ryo said.
"Where are you four going to sleep?" Jessie asked the other four Ronins.
"In the living room," said Cye. "I got the big couch, Rowen has the other couch, Sage has the chair-"
"And I have the floor." Kento said bitterly.
"You lost, Kento," said Sage.
"Well," said Jessie. "If you fall asleep before I get out, goodnight." She went into the bathroom and shut the door.
As the water beat on her back, Jessie thought about what had happened.
How did I know? Jessie asked herself. I came to Japan to leave my problems behind me, now I have new ones.
She dried off and put on her nightclothes. Quietly, she opened the door and walked over to the living room. She peeked in and saw that Sage, Kento, Rowen, and Cye were asleep.
"Goodnight." Jessie whispered and blew a kiss in Sage's direction. She tiptoed up the stairs to the room her friends were in.
"Hey, Jessie."
She turned to the right and saw Ryo standing in the doorway to his room wearing sweat pants.
"You can sleep in my room," he offered.
"Uh, Ryo," said Jessie, "where I come from-"
"There's an extra bed in here," said Ryo.
"Why didn't you give it to one of the guys?" Jessie asked. Ryo looked at her. "Oh, I see."
"Come on," Ryo said. "Do you really want to sleep on the air mattress?"
Jessie walked into his room and he shut the door.
"Hi, White Blaze," Jessie said and she scratched the tiger's head. "He stays in here?"
"Yep," said Ryo, sitting on his bed.
Jessie sat on the other bed and braided her hair. "So who's Dr. Fuji?" she asked. "How did he learn about the Armors?"
"I got sick after we defeated Talpa," Ryo explained. "I had to go to Shinora Hospital. Dr. Fuji is our doctor. Kayura had to bring me into the Dynasty to heal me. Dr. Fuji wouldn't let me out of his sight, so Kayura brought him along."
"That must have been one hell of a shock," said Jessie.
Ryo grinned. "He knew about the Legend of the Armors. Dr. Fuji and Mia's grandfather were good friends. After I was released from Shinora, I convinced the Warlords to get immunized from measles and everything else they can give." He chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Jessie asked.
"Promise you won't tell?" Ryo asked.
Jessie crossed her heart.
"Cale doesn't like needles."
"You're kidding!"
"Nope," Ryo shook his head. "He nearly fainted in Dr. Fuji's office."
Jessie giggled. "It's going to be hard not to say anything about that to him, but I'll keep quiet."
Ryo settled into bed. He took off one of the blankets and threw it onto the chair. Jessie also took off one blanket. She looked at White Blaze on the floor. Jessie folded the blanket in half and did the same to Ryo's blanket.
"Move, White Blaze," she said. He got up and Jessie put the blankets on the floor and sat down on her bed.
White Blaze sniffed the blankets, walked over to Jessie, put his paws in her lap, and licked her face. He lay down on the blankets.
'How come you never did this for me?' Ryo read the tiger's expression.
"Oh, sure," said Ryo. "Eat it up and make me feel guilty, why don't you?"
"Poor thing sleeps on the carpet," said Jessie. "Let him have something like that once in a while." She settled into bed and turned off the lamp. "Goodnight, Ryo. Goodnight, White Blaze."
"Goodnight, Jessie. Goodnight, White Blaze."
White Blaze gave a double purr.

February 18, 2001

Minor changes; nothing too big of a deal.