Chapter Six

Upon approach, Sage could already tell that something was wrong. Be it the air, the armor nudging him in the back of the head, all he knew was something was off. He had been walking at a checked gait before, but now he picked up the pace.

As he did so he could feel adrenaline start to pump through his veins, and what was more, Cale was keeping pace beside him. Both men stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led up onto the porch, the grave look on Kayura's face was hard to overlook.

"What happened?" the Winter Seasonal asked.

Kayura pursed her lips before answering, "Ryo collapsed."

"What?" Sage was quick to make the demand, "How bad?"

"Over exhaustion, and dehydration according to Ami's diagnosis," the Lady Ancient murmured out with a frown, biting on her bottom lip.

"Kayura, you know there is nothing that can be done to stop this," Cale was obviously worried about her, worried about the guilt she was feeling.

"Yes, but-" she started, only to fall silent when he held up his hand. She tilted her head, eyes filled with a great amount of emotion though confusion was quick to cross her features.

"Universe said to tell them, if he was getting worse, and it is more than a safe assumption to make that he is getting worse," the Seasonal commented, watching as relief seemed to flood into her features. "Halo and I will go and get the other three." He gently grabbed Sage by the sleeve of his jacket and tugged him along.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sage protested, yanking back his sleeve from Cale. He raised a fine blond eyebrow, "What was that about?"

"The Lady Kayura is unsure of her duties as the Ancient, and Kaosu cannot be of much help to her because he is preoccupied. She has no one to go to for guidance, because when she tries to go to Kaosu the other elder is always there. Kaosu and Serenity do not get along, and disagree on much." Cale paused for a moment to catch his breath, before continuing.

"At least Anubis could meditate and try and connect with the monk that way, but it is not as easy for Kayura. Anubis is being as helpful as he can, but he is not a guardian and Kayura is. She has only her own instincts to rely, as a warrior that is not a problem, but being someone others turn to is."

"Basically," the swordsman of Halo was trying to see if he understood this right. "Kayura has no one to give her a hand, point out to her how to do it? So whenever she makes a judgment call and it doesn't quite pan out she instantly regrets it?"

"More or less," Cale said with a nod, "That is why she has been relying on Universe so much for guidance."

Sage merely gave a snort querying, "Kayura isn't related to Ryo by chance is she?"

The question was so perfectly timed that the Seasonal of Winter could only gape at the young man, before offering a shrug of his shoulders; he had no idea. Anything was possible though.

'Somebody out there give me strength to get through this,' Kayura silently pleaded with whatever force happened to be out there watching. This was not going to be pretty, she was going to finally tell the Ronins what was going on with their leader...And, she was the one in the direct line of fire.

Why? She just knew she would be the target, knew the words that would come would be blame for not telling them sooner...That if they had known, what they were about to learn, this could have been prevented. However, they would know the truth just as she did. Even if she had told them earlier about this, just like with Elayne, the damage had already been done.

All that could be done now was to try and pick up the pieces, and make things get back to as normal as was possible. Not like anything was ever normal when it involved them anyway. Still, they could at least try and get some order back into this chaos.

Kayura shifted her weight, her nervousness increasing with each passing moment...Then the four Ronin Elementals came out of the house and that nauseous feeling was back. She shivered from the cold, but turned her attention onto the four young men that now stood before her. This discussion certainly wasn't going to be easy

She could already feel the tension in the air, and her stomach suddenly gave an uneasy lurch. She closed her eyes and let out a loose breath, calmed herself down...Okay, it was time to treat this as though she were describing a war plan.

Kayura the warrior had more backbone than what an Ancient's descendant did, and it was that strength, the one she had gained through fighting in Talpa's ranks, that got her through everything.

"You had questions about Ryo," the Ancient's descendant finally spoke, voice cool and calm. "About why he is ill. You four are smart enough to know when something more is going on, and you are right. The cold he has is not a normal one."

"You're telling us this now why?" Kento inquired. He was just being curious, there was no accusation in his tone at all.

"He still has not said a word to you, therefore someone else has to step in," Kayura drew a breath, before letting it out slowly. "Back when Kali enacted that spell upon you four, the virtues reacted by latching onto Ryo, leaning on him, since they were being kept from helping you. At that time the armors were drained of most of their strength so they relied on Wildfire to regain that strength."

She ran a hand through her hair, pushed a stray lock back into place, "No one realized what had happened, until Thanos and Kali almost killed Ryo back in November.

When the armor of Wildfire was drained to near completion, Universe was able to see the damage that had been caused due to the earlier spells. At that time she was concerned about it, and told me to keep an eye on him. So I did."

Cye watched as the Lady Ancient now agitatedly paced back and forth on the porch, he moved to try and calm her, "You mean he has been sick since then, and none of us noticed?"

"Basically," Kayura quickly rubbed at her temples. "He has just been hiding it; either that or his body is only now starting to realize what has happened. The latter is just as possible as the first. When we went to the Nether Realm, for that break...Universe was aghast that Ryo had not recovered."

"Hold on," the blue-haired archer broke in. He had been quiet, but his eyes flickered with distaste and the irritation was present in his face but he did not let it reflect in his voice. "She was in the Nether Realm?"

Sage answered that for the Strata Ronin, "Cale told me that her powers are not limited there like they are here. She was there trying to recover, apparently we've been putting her through her paces."

Kayura would have chuckled at that comment herself, but right now her mind was too focused on what she had to tell them. "According to Universe, he's suffering the after affects of poisoning. His powers being relied upon that heavily for such an extended period, and then losing them completely when he was already weak, just allowed this to occur."

"Sort of like a secondary infection," Kento offered up, ignoring the raised eyebrow he got from Rowen. "It's like his immune system being too weak to fight off a virus, so it's lead to a worse cold?"

"Exactly," the woman nodded, though she had to ask, "Where'd that analogy come from?"

Kento gave a sheepish grin and scratched at the base of his neck, "Hang around those in the house aspiring to be doctors or nurses, and you pick up quite a few things."

Cye had been reflecting on what Kayura had told them, and quietly inquired, "What can we do?"

"I've looked, the Seasonals have looked at my request, but we can't find anything. There seems to be nothing to do, other than let it run its course and hope he makes it through it," Kayura bit her lip. "I'd ask Universe, but she can't do anymore. Not until the seal is gone, if she keeps up at the rate she's going I'm fearful of the consequences."

"It's okay Kayura, we can't keep looking to her for help," Sage brought in, looking over to the woman. "She is a guide and helper, but it is wrong to take advantage of that. I know we really have not asked her to do anything for the most part she comes in at the last minute if we can't rebound. But, even with that seal gone she's still worse off than Ryo."

Kento raised an eyebrow at the Halo Ronin, "Seen her recently?"

"This morning in the midst of that snow war," Sage had a grave look on his face. "She's been taking care of the Raikken. And even with that break she seemed to have taken, it was not enough. At any rate, if there is a solution to be found to this, we will find it."

Kayura gave a nod in understanding to this, and let out a sigh. Well, it was over for the most part. She was just waiting to get the comments that she knew were coming.

"I realize Ryo should have told us this himself," Cye eyed the Ancient's descendant. "But, I appreciate you telling us. We have been worried about him."

Rowen gave a derisive snort to this, and scoffed, "What would have been nice was someone having bothered to tell us. Oh, I don't know? Back when it was first discovered actually. In fact, it'd be really nice if someone around here would bother to include us in things instead of leaving us to wonder what is going on till the very last minute."

"Rowen," Kento's tone had a warning note in it. He knew the archer had been uptight for weeks, for some odd reason, something had gotten under Strata's skin. It was just a matter of time before the blue-haired man exploded.

Kayura shifted uncomfortably yup she had expected this...She had known all along she was going to take the heat from this one. Yet, she couldn't help but want to avoid a confrontation with Rowen, it wouldn't be fair to Ryo...Not after she and the Seasonals had promised to avoid a confrontation with his friends.

Ryo had chuckled at them, told them not to worry about it, and that at sometime a confrontation might be avoidable. If it were to happen, he would get into the middle for the way he saw it they were part of the team.

The sentiment had been nice, but Kayura and the Seasonals Ronins were not fools. They knew that if Ryo were to get in the middle of such a fight, it could possibly damage the friendship he held with the other four. And right now? Well, with him sick in bed, it certainly was not appropriate.

"If somebody dies when are we going to find out?" Rowen continued with his tirade. "A week after it happens?"

That demand caused the Lady Ancient to flinch, and Sage turned his eyes onto his best friend and gave him a glare. Rowen was not about to have any of this either.

"You-"

"If you want to find fault with someone," a voice abruptly broke in, effectively cutting the archer off. "Then find it with me Touma. I was the one who told Kayura that her thoughts to leave this to Rekka, were correct."

"Uni?" Kento queried, recognizing the voice instantly. He looked all around though, since she did not seem to be in his direct line of sight.

"Here," the Scout sighed out, she was leaning over the railing on the second floor...And in a moment she had landed before them, and slowly got to her feet.

The Senshi seemed to appear to be as bad off as Sage had implied, the color of her skin was paler than what they were used to seeing. Her fuku was riddled with bloodstains from her earlier fighting, and Sage noticed that she still did not have full function of her one arm

"What are you doing here?" the Ronin of Halo sounded aghast. "I thought you'd go and rest!"

"Well, I might have done that but Cale suggested I check on Rekka, so I did," Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she directed her gaze to the archer. "Plus, I know full well of your unbridled annoyance towards your former foes. I was not going to leave Kayura to stand accountable for my decision."

"Universe, you don't-" the Lady Ancient began, but fell silent when the Scout raised her usable hand.

"It was my call, and not yours Kayura," Universe answered in a calm tone. "You asked me for my thoughts, and I gave it. I won't allow you to take flack for something that is not your fault."

She then turned her attention back to the Ronins, sighing out, "If you feel the need to blame someone for not telling you, then please blame me. I had thought it best for Ryo to tell you of the issue himself, I never expected him to go this long without saying anything. Though, I suspect I should have known better."

"What do you mean?" Cye inquired, tilting his head to look at her.

"He's a lot weaker than what he should be," Universe was leaning against the porch railing for support. "Kayura told you what happened, but the fact is Wildfire has yet to bounce back from the attack as well. With the enemy influencing this part of Japan, they are making it colder than normal; putting the armor at a high disadvantage."

As had become the norm, Rowen's anger had dissipated for he queried with a smirk, "All of that just to say Ryo isn't thinking clearly?"

Universe let out a chuckle and gave a nod, before it faded and she became grim. "That, and until he gets normal strength back you need to keep your leader out of fights, if at all possible. Wildfire, in it's current condition, might not be able to protect Ryo if Inferno takes a hold."

All eyes were on her now, and Kento queried in disbelief, "You know?"

"As you did, before anyone said a word, yes. Except, unlike you, I didn't deny the possibility it could come through," her voice was calm and even as she spoke. "Keep in mind too, that if I seem to know more than you it is simply a matter of my having complete memory. Yours should comeback in time."

"Okay, before I completely forget," the Strata Ronin decided to change the topic. "How come you're in Scout form? I thought that wasn't possible during daylight hours."

Universe gave a light snort, "Ignore whatever you heard or read. As long as the sun isn't out, I can transform. And until the seal is broken I should not have access to anything more than my minimal power. However, I can use it just as long as I don't mind almost killing myself to do it."

She took a pause then, fingered a strand of newly silver hair, knowing they'd catch that hint. "You guys are smart enough to figure out whether or not I mind."

"And your assessment of Wildfire?" the Lady Ancient softly queried, subsequently reminding the Ronins she was still there.

"Bad," Universe closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't do anything, seal in place or not, my hands are tied either way. However, you might wish to ask the girl about it."

"Elayne?" Cye was frowning at hearing this. "Why her?"

Universe lightly shrugged her shoulders, "She's the one with the Cimmerian Crystal. I realize you four are protective of her and all, but she isn't a child and she's not helpless. Give her chance, she might surprise you." Universe swung herself over the porch railing then, landed on the ground and began to walk away.

"I'll keep my involvement from here on in, limited," She remarked over her shoulder. "I really can't do much with as weak as I am, but I will keep watch."

"Still haven't shown yourself to the other Senshi yet, have you?" Sage queried with amusement. "We're starting to think you're purposefully avoiding them."

Universe's laughter drifted back to them, "Am I really that obvious? Oh come on, Guardians are not meant to be seen. And, since I'm secondary guardian for you Ronins, I feel I have exclusive bugging rights."

"Lucky us," Cye dryly remarked, rolling his eyes.

"The Senshi were never like you. The groups were close to those within the group, not ones on the outside. And, I would be as much of an outsider as it gets. They know I am here, that's enough for all of us. Until the next time, minna." The moment she crossed over into the shadow of the forest, she was gone.

Kayura let out a loose breath, thankful for the Scout's timely intervention. But now she had to wonder just what they were supposed to do about Ryo; she was not left to ponder it over for Anubis asked for her. She quickly excused herself from the Ronins presence and left.

"What do you plan to do about Wildfire?" a voice inquired, startling her slightly.

"Don't do that," Elayne ridiculed looking over her shoulder to glare at the Neo-Scout that was now standing there. "I don't like the whole sneak up and scare people thing."

"Sorry," Neo-Universe sounded anything but apologetic. "You'll learn to appreciate it though."

"Yeah, sure." the girl mumbled as she slipped off her glasses and got to her feet. She knew any further attempt to work would be useless with the Scout here. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you'd have left by now."

"No, I told Uranus I planned to linger for a bit," Neo admitted, sitting on the girl's empty desk. "I wanted to see what you planned to do for Rekka though."

"I was hoping the Crystal might be able to do something," Elayne said with a sigh. "But, with the seal in place, would that limit its powers?"

"No, not at all," the Scout from the future let out a chuckle. "See, the seal only affects the powers gifted to Universe by the Great Council and the Elders."

"Okay so it won't affect the Cimmerian Crystal, good," the girl sounded relieved, and then something hit her. "Hey wait! That means the powers Universe was born with aren't restricted either!"

"You picked that up quite fast," Neo shook her white head, voice filled with amusement.

"All right, out with it," Elayne had narrowed her eyes. "You didn't come out of hiding just to tell me that tidbit. Why are you here, in fact, why are you still in this time?"

Neo-Universe gave a loose shrug of her shoulders, "You're aware that I can make myself appear to be the current Universe; thanks to paying attention to Dais some odd thousand years ago. I fill in, and you can't say that it hasn't come in handy."

"Avoiding the issue is not going to work with me," Elayne dryly pointed out, raising an eyebrow when the Scout's demeanor changed entirely. Neo was swinging her legs back and forth in irritation, a scowl on her face.

"Why do you care?"

"You're stuck here, aren't you?" a sad smile was on the girl's face. "By coming to the past, changing it to save them from whatever dire fate awaited them; you now are paying the consequences for your earlier actions."

The chuckle that escaped from the Neo-Scouts throat was bitter, "The only thing ever said is that terrible things happen to those that meddle with time; especially those that interfere with the past. No one ever says why it is so terrible, or what the fate is. The consequence is, though, that by being in the past and subsequently changing the future you came from, it leaves you with no place to return to."

"So, then it worked, did it?" she quietly asked, having walked over and sat down on her bed. Her face was relatively emotionless though much showed in her eyes.

"Yes, and then again no," Neo admitted with a sigh. "The future Rini left behind has not happened, yet. But, where as she can go back I can't, because I'm not missing from the time now...Technically, I don't exist." She paused then, looked the girl square in the eye, "You do."

Elayne ran a hand through her hair, and sighed, "Were they worth it Neo? I mean, they are to me because I was family, and I still consider them as such. Were they really worth all that trouble for you?"

"You know me, what do you think?" Neo sassily queried, before laughing a little, though it soon caught in her throat. "They made me what I am; they gave me a name, and made me feel human if only for a little while. I owe them more than they shall ever know just for that. So yes, they were worth it, and are worth it."

"What are you going to do?" the girl quietly queried. "You have no place to return to, but you shouldn't leave here either. The knowledge you have of the future, of all the things that could possibly happen...It's too vital."

"Well now," the Scout slipped down from the desk, a wry grin on her face. "That brings me to the reason I am here now. I was rather hoping to talk to you about my predicament; I should have realized you'd already know about it, though."

For some odd reason, Elayne got the distinct feeling she was the mouse being cornered by a large ravenous cat, "Okay, and you have a plan?"

"Mhm," Neo Universe nodded. "I've picked up quite a few things in my many travels, and years. Since, technically, I am Universe I can merely become memory. When things start to go awry, I can reveal the knowledge I have through visions. Clever, right?"

"Yeah, and how exactly," Elayne nervously shifted on the bed. "Are you going to do that?"

"Oh you'll see," Neo-Universe said in a sing-song voice; as she placed a finger to the girl's forehead. She then smirked, "Actually, you won't."

Before she could utter and exclamation, Elayne felt her body freeze in place, and then she became blinded by a bright flash of light. When it finally died down, the Neo-Senshi was gone.

Elayne let out a low moan as she slowly opened her eyes. Her head was absolutely killing her. Meaning the girl was fully prepared to chew out whoever had woken her up.

Her hazel-violet eyes blinked in confusion, "Yakuen?"

His ears twitched slightly at being called that, and then the tiger rubbed into her, 'You asked me to wake you when the house was quiet.'

"Un, thanks," Elayne murmured, rubbing his head, slowly getting out of the bed after he got off of it. She ran a hand through her hair, the pain in her head slowly subsiding, "It'll be easier for me to help Ryo, if I don't have everyone and their mother's uncle bugging me."

'Agreed,' the tiger chuckled out. 'The Senshi are out on patrol. The Seasonals went into town, and my cub's friends were abducted by the Elemental Senshi.'

"Even Seiji-nii-chan?" Elayne asked disbelief showing in her face.

'Yes.'

"Wow, I am impressed," the girl admitted grabbing a fresh change of clothes on her way to the bathroom. "That had to take a lot of doing to get him to leave Ryo's side."

'You have no idea,' the tiger snorted out.