Chapter Seven:
Elayne slowly walked down the stairs, still trying to fight off the sleep that so desperately wanted to take over. Her body was pretty well fed up with her; apparently it did not agree with her that four hours of sleep was enough.
Oh well, she would live through this too. She let out a low moan and rubbed at her head. The headache was still there, it had not gone away yet though the pain had faded to a dull throbbing now.
"Peachy," the girl mumbled in irritation. "I guess that means I wasn't dreaming."
Of course, she probably should have suspected that the conversation between her and Neo was real from the start. As had been the case for most of her teenage years, and up until this point, whatever she dreamed either had happened, or would eventually happen.
Granted, she did not make that part about her widely known...The people she knew might be warriors but she didn't feel like coming across as even more of a freak. So, basically, no one knew what Elayne was truly capable of. There had been a time where the girl, herself, had not known how far she could go.
Well, that had changed. Elayne knew exactly what she was capable of now, and knew exactly how to keep that fact away from the others. Part of her reason for avoiding them so much lately, that and guilt...A lot of guilt.
"Stop dwelling on it," she gritted out in irritation, making her way towards the Ronins room. "Worry about Ryo, and save your personal pity party for later."
The girl hesitated just a moment before opening the door and walking inside. It might have been polite to knock, but she already knew the only occupant was sound asleep. She let the door close behind her with a soft click, however the frame did not sit quite right so it popped out a moment later...Elayne never noticed.
Her attention was already focused, not so much on Ryo, but on that of his armor, Wildfire. A frown crossed her face as she looked past what was visible to the normal eye, finding little comfort in what reached her vision.
Kayura and Sage, back in November, had made it so that the line was again strong...But here, it was starting to fail again, as it slowly frayed around the edges.
"Oh boy this is worse than what I thought," she quickly kneeled next to the bed.
Then Elayne placed a hand to Ryo's forehead, murmuring, "Don't wake up on me, okay? It'll be a lot easier on you, and for me, if you stay asleep." The crystal around her neck hummed softly, and then went quiet and still.
She let out a nervous breath, "That part's done. Now, let's see what I can do to help Wildfire." The girl closed her eyes, and let herself slip into a meditative-like state.
A few minutes passed, and nothing changed...The only sound was that of their normal breathing. Ten minutes passed and a frown formed on the girl's face, her breathing becoming slightly uneven.
After fifteen minutes her skin had become pale, her brows were creased and her jaw was set in concentration. Elayne's breathing had become more irregular now, and then suddenly the crystal made a sharp chime and lit up, before falling quiet.
The girl slowly opened her eyes and pulled her hand away. It took her a few minutes to get her breathing back under control, but soon enough she had managed to get herself back together.
She gave a wry smile, and brushed Ryo's bangs away from his face, "You should stop playing the tragic reckless hero, and just stick to being a hero."
The girl had done what she could to restore Wildfire's strength, and cut into her own energy in order to give Ryo a needed boost in order to beat his illness. The rest was out of her hands, and she had no allusions about that.
Elayne got to her feet and sighed, "I wish I could do more, Ryo. I simply can't."
All of a sudden her eyes shot to the window and they narrowed, "Raikken again. When are they going to learn?" With one last glance to the sleeping Ronin, the girl exited the room via the balcony. She had more work to do.
Violet eyes watched the girl from the noticeable crack in the door, as it had slid open before. They widened slightly when she leapt off the second floor and disappeared onto the ground below. As silent as he had approached, Sage closed the door and then walked away.
The Next Day
The air in the room was slightly chilly, and that was probably what awoke Ryo the next morning. He opened his blue eyes and blinked slowly, before getting up into a sitting position.
For the most part his thoughts were all a muddle. All he could remember was being slightly exhausted one minute and then nothing. The Ronin of Wildfire let out a low groan at that, he had collapsed again. This time, within full view of everyone else something he had been trying to avoid.
It was odd though, and a frown crossed his face. Truth be told, he actually felt better today. Maybe getting the extra rest had helped? Ryo shrugged it off and got out of the bed, not failing to notice that the others were long gone.
"Were they going to let me sleep all day?" He scoffed out as he grabbed fresh clothes. The Ronin Leader was going to have a chat with his friends about that, the minute he found them anyway. That wouldn't be too hard, especially seeing as how he could more easily sense their locations now.
Who ever said falling into a coma was worthless obviously had no idea as to what they were talking about.
Ryo was rather surprised not to see anyone in the living room, or in the kitchen for that matter. He shook his raven head, sometimes living in a house with this many people was practically impossible.
The Wildfire Ronin sighed through his nose and grabbed something to eat, then plopped down in the living room chair and waited for someone to show up. Not to his surprise, White Blaze was the first to find and come across him.
"Hey buddy," Ryo greeted his lifelong companion, smiling when the tiger rubbed into his hand.
'You look better than you have in a while,' the tiger noted, thoughtfully tilting his head.
"Feel better too," the man admitted, looking up when the front door opened. He slightly smirked, "Well, what do we have here?"
It never failed to amuse him, seeing his teammates with the Sailor Elementals. Not only was it cause for entertainment, it was an awful lot of fun to pick at them and see what kind of reaction he would get.
Maybe, Ryo thought with a grin, hanging out with Elayne way back when had some sort of influence on him. That or he had always been this way and just never liked to show it.
Kirstin did not bother to rise to the bait, nor did she permit anyone else too, "Look who finally decided to crawl out of bed."
Ryo gave a sheepish grin, "I'm trying hard to keep Rowen on his toes, here." He then turned his gaze to his four friends adding, "It would have been nice if someone bothered to wake me up."
"Ha ha," the blue-haired archer grumbled, adding, "We figured it best to leave you alone. Plus, if I can wake up whenever I feel like it, you have the same right."
Kento smirked, "Yeah, but just don't get too used to it, pal. You're the one who has us up at the crack of dawn most times."
"I'll bear it in mind," the Ronin of Wildfire snorted out, rolling his eyes at them.
The four Elementals merely shook their heads and excused themselves, immediately heading to the basement. With any luck the Seasonals would be down there to irritate, and if not they could always start working on their music.
Cye flopped down on the sofa, rolling his shoulders, "Still having no luck finding out where that source of negative energy is coming from."
"Oh?" Wildfire's bearer straightened up. Three days ago, they had felt this unusual energy come up and it had yet to dissipate. So in the meantime they had been trying to track it down, in order to identify it.
"No, but we have come closer," the swordsman of Halo was quick to point out.
Sage took pause then looked at the other three Ronin, asking them a silent question to which they nodded yes in agreement. He let out a sigh, closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them.
Halo's bearer looked to his leader then, and said, "We had a talk with Kayura."
"About?" Ryo queried tilting his head.
"You," Kento answered, sparing Sage from having to do most of the talking. "She told us what was going on."
"Ah," the raven-haired man blinked his blue eyes. "Why'd you bug her about that?"
"Because it's been two weeks and you still have not said a word," Rowen pointed out. "Anytime we tried to bring it up, you shot us down."
"Are you serious? It's been two weeks?" He looked baffled, and the other four could only stare at him in exasperation. By their silence and stares, Ryo was aware of the fact it had been that long.
"Gosh, I had no idea," the Wildfire Ronin sounded sorely embarrassed. "Sorry guys."
"Only you Ryo," the Ronin of Torrent grumbled rubbing at his temples. Before quipping, "We forgive you this time, though."
"Yeah," Kento commented with a wide grin, before pulling his leader out of the chair and getting him in a headlock. "Next time, we'll noogie you to death."
Ryo merely chuckled and managed to get out of Kento's hold, but he soon frowned as a thought came to him. He looked over his four friends with a critical eye, "I hope you guys didn't take this out on Kayura."
He was looking for something in particular, a certain reaction to confirm what he thought. For a while now Ryo had been able to sense the growing unease in the house.
Knowing that the Christmas break they had taken had done very little to dilute the feelings that were already there, he was being cautious and observant. Granted, with him being as sick as he was it had been difficult to keep an eye on things.
But, his mind was clear today and he could clearly sense what was lying just beneath the surface. It wasn't the Scouts that were the tension problem this time, it was going to be the Ronin, and he knew it for a fact.
Rowen gave a light snort, "What are ya worried about her for?"
The Wildfire Ronin's eyes narrowed slightly as his suspicions were confirmed. He had known the problem would eventually escalate, and it was something he was still going to try and avoid at all costs. At this point though, a confrontation seemed almost inevitable.
"Firstly, she's the Ancient now," Ryo replied keeping himself in check. "Second of all, the way I see it-"
The blue-haired archer was quick to cut his leader off, "There's still a difference between us and them."
Cye's sea-green eyes went to the archer, and a frown slid across his face. He had noticed it little by first, but now it was hard to deny the fact about how extremely agitated Rowen was.
It was hard to see something when you were with someone everyday for almost all your waking hours, but by taking that break like they had it was so much easier to see. In a way, the Warrior of Trust felt as though they were all still a little keyed up. The past few months had been extremely trying and November had almost been devastating.
But, Strata's bearer just seemed way too uptight. His fuse came across as being extremely short, but that was because he had little patience left. Rowen had never much enjoyed being pulled around, and that's what he felt like...A puppet on a string.
Add to the fact that he had never talked with Kayura, like the others had, however begrudgingly done, with their former foes and it was just a recipe for disaster. Ryo knew that fact all too well, which is why he was doing what he could to remedy the situation.
"Stop stewing over it Ro," Ryo calmly stated having gotten back to his feet, after having sat down. "You aren't doing anyone any good with as uptight as you are."
Rowen's eyes flashed with a dangerous light then, and he cynically queried, "So what do you want me to do, eh Ryo? Go up, say I have no problem at all, and then instantly forgive?"
"No," the Wildfire Ronin let out a sigh. He knew that would be impossible, he had watched Rowen and Kayura fight. The times where he was unconscious he had heard their battles...Especially, the one where she had knocked Rowen right out of the sky.
If the Jewel of Life had not decided to take that moment to intervene and transport into the Nether Realm with Anubis, Mia, and Yuli, Rowen would have been dead. Ryo knew that just as well as the archer did, and it was something the two of them never talked about.
Ryo looked the archer square in the eye, "I want you to talk with her, politely."
"WHAT?!" He indignantly sputtered out.
"Ryo, buddy," Kento began, he did not think that was such a good idea, but seeing his leader's blazing gaze he instantly quieted.
Wildfire's bearer proceeded to warn Sage and Cye off as well, before focusing his attention back on Rowen. Not once did his burning blue-gaze fade, he just stared down the archer, "You are still holding a grudge, and the only one you are going to hurt by doing so is yourself. Take a look in the mirror Ro, I might be sick but even I can see the fact you're two seconds away from blowing up."
Oh yeah, he was angry...The archer's eyes were narrowed into thin slights, and a scowl was on his face. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and he was fully prepared to snap back at his leader, but he refrained. That was only because Elayne decided to walk in at that moment.
A frown plagued the girl's features, "Okay, what's the major malfunction this time?"
"You felt all the tension from over a room away?" Strata's bearer dryly queried.
"No duh, genius," Elayne gave a snort, and rolled her eyes. "I'm a sensitive remember? Plus any idiot could hear you bickering, I thought Aurora-tachi were loudmouths. Boy was I sorely mistaken."
Ryo eyed the girl warily as he didn't want her to get in the middle of this. He did blink though when she merely winked at him, obviously she had caught the stray thought.
"An," Sage gave her a warning, which she dutifully ignored by sticking her tongue out at him.
"You!" She commented to Rowen before halting directly in front of him, arms crossed in front of her chest. It was a few moments of a stare down contest, before she unfolded her arms, took her one hand and grasped his ear giving it a twist.
She acquired a very loud yelp from the archer, and spoke overtop of his yowl. "Stop being such a jerk. What are your boxers in a bind about this time?"
The Ronin of Hardrock snorted at the action and the comment, "Mei mei, you're too much."
"Am I really? Thanks!" She chirped, slowly letting go of the archer's ear. "Really Ro, you're going to end up blowing a gasket if you keep it up with the silent snappy archer routine."
Rowen merely blinked at her, not sure he had heard her right, "What did you just say?"
"Hmm," the Ronin of Torrent brought in now, playing with the wording. "Silent snappy archer. I dunno, has a nice ring to it Ro."
"Oh ho cute, very cute Cye," the Strata Ronin groused. "Wishy washy fish."
"HEY!"
Elayne felt like sitting back and smiling at her handiwork. The anger and raw emotion had all too easily slipped across her lines, and she had been unable to ignore it. Ryo, or so she felt, was in no shape to be trying to deal with an aggravated teammate; especially when it was Rowen.
Plus, the girl felt like she had become quite the professional at diffusing potentially hazardous situations...And when she couldn't prevent them? She most certainly knew how to effectively end them.
The five of them had easily switched back over to bantering, and the lingering tension in the room subsided. Elayne let out a sigh of relief at that, and gave a grin, saying, "See, I knew I could con you guys out of killing one another."
This got her a few chuckles, and Rowen merely huffed at her, giving her a light push, "Yeah, yeah. Now beat it squirt."
She arched a dark-eyebrow at him, saying with a challenge, "Oh? You and what army is going to make me?"
Rowen gave a widening smirk and jerked his thumb at the other four Ronins.
Elayne snorted at this, but inwardly smirked, "Oh, okay. The Eyecandy Brigade, gotcha."
She watched with a small grin as the five of them nodded, then shook their heads and outright gaped at her. The girl sniggered, man talk about a picture being worth a thousand words.
"What did you just say?" Ryo sputtered his eyes wide in disbelief.
Oh this was way too much fun! Elayne simply smirked at them, "I don't mince my words."
"Mei mei," the Warrior of Strength began, but she knew that tone and that look on his face.
So the girl easily cut Kento off. "Oh please, spare me. Come on you guys, how clueless are you?" She sounded exasperated. "It's not a tease, it's a compliment. Honestly sometimes I wish you guys were a little more, oh bah I don't know hung up on yourself or something. You five really aren't normal."
Elayne shook her head again, "I swear, if it weren't for me, you guys would have never dated, at all." She took a pause there, and looked to see what kind of reaction she got. Ha! Red faces all around, she did so love being a pain, it was really rewarding sometimes.
"Okay, I'm done harassing, later," She chortled at them and walked out of the room. Well, at least diverting their attention onto something else had worked. However, she knew she was not good enough to prevent a confrontation from happening. Oh well, she had tried.
"We're not normal?" Rowen queried arching an eyebrow. "Like she is? What a nut."
Ryo flopped back down into his chair and let out a groan, "I swear, she lives for the sole purpose of embarrassing us."
"Don't you mean you," Cye lightly teased, watching with slight satisfaction as his leader's ears went red.
Kento chortled at his friends' antics, but frowned as he looked to Sage. The man had not said much of anything, and was seemingly lost in thought. He raised an eyebrow when the man came out of the stupor, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," the swordsman quietly replied. "You'll have to excuse me a minute, I wanted to ask her something." He did not wait for a response, he simply walked after the girl; easily catching up to her in the hall.
Being as quiet as he was, Elayne had no idea he was there until she felt someone grab her arm from behind and tug her into the laundry room.
The girl spun, fully prepared to strike out, only to instantly deflate upon seeing who it was. "Nii-chan!" She grouched at him, "You scared me."
Sage could only chuckle at the look she gave him, and remarked, "You really do look like Satsuki when you glower." He snorted in laughter when the scowl on her face deepened; obviously she had not appreciated that praise.
"What was that?" He quietly inquired, titling his head that way so he could glance at her with both eyes.
The girl had no idea as to what he was really referring to, but she would when he later clarified, "I know Ro's been agitated lately. He's starting to worry me, because when he lashes out, though I hope he doesn't, he could do it at one of you. When he gets that angry, he doesn't think about what effect his words will have on the other person."
Elayne paused for breath, "Normally, I can tell just when he is about to go off, and diffuse him. It took a lot of years of patience and practice to get to that point though."
"Ah, you have more experience with that then you'd like to admit?" Sage gently queried. No this was not what he was asking her about, but while they were on the subject he might as well let her talk about it.
"Rowen and I, our friendship was, different than others," She sighed, tried to figure out the right words to say. "He and I argued a lot, even after we became 'friends.' It was mostly about his parents, but every now and then I'd get into it with him about his not taking care of himself."
She ran a hand through her hair, her apparent hesitance suggesting she really didn't want to talk about this, "He always came up with biting remarks, and being as old as I was, I didn't get why he said such things. Then all of a sudden it hit me, and I felt like such an idiot for not seeing it."
"Biting remarks?" The swordsman of Halo echoed her earlier words softly. "More like hurtful ones, ne?"
Yes, even he had arguments with his best friend, though they never lasted long or were about important things. But, there was one time where they had gotten into a heated argument...And Rowen had said some very insensitive things.
A day later the archer had apologized and begged for forgiveness...Of course it had taken Sage more than a day to forgive him for it, but that was par for the course.
Elayne wryly grinned she had figured he'd know too, "Yeah, very hurtful. But, what I realized, almost too late, was he didn't know any better. The only interaction Rowen ever had was with his parents, and he gained nothing on how to socialize with others by that. All he had to go on were books, and his parents who were fighting more than half the time. The kids in school always picked on him, so he didn't know how to make friends, let alone keep them."
"And because of all that, he is exceedingly defensive," the blond swordsman finished for her, with a smile himself. "I know. Once you figure out why he makes such remarks, it's easier to take them in stride."
"Mhm," the girl gave a nod. "But where I can handle them now, if he let's loose on Kayura, I know she won't be able to. She may be a strong warrior, but she still feels exceedingly guilty about her past. I also know that Anubis-tachi are very protective of her."
Sage let out a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair, "Meaning, all hell will break lose. And with Ryo being like he is, it's the absolute-"
"Last thing you guys need," Elayne rubbed at the bridge of her nose, chuckling at the shake of the head she got from the swordsman.
"Looks like we're back on the same wavelength," the Ronin of Halo remarked with a grin. While Elayne had started out as being Satsuki's friend, she had easily become one with Sage once he had permitted her in.
Looking back at it now the swordsman still didn't know why he had come to accept her. All Sage knew was that he had, and the fact she was almost as sensitive to the unnatural as he was, certainly helped.
Even if she wasn't from this time it didn't matter to him, it changed very little. The girl before him was still family, and still knew him better than anyone else. There was a connection between them and that wasn't going to go away. His Grandmother at one time joked Elayne was a Date simply because she could pass for his twin.
"I guess we are," She grinned at him, titled her head. "I know that look, you're thinking about Grandma's smart comment to Date-jii-sama."
Sage chuckled at her, shook his head in mirth, "She was right, if you were my age you could be my twin. Especially considering you finish my thoughts before I do."
"I haven't been able to do that in a while," Elayne admitted with a shrug. "It's different being able to see you almost everyday. It's easier."
The smile on the swordsman's face slowly faded, "Imouto, I would rather not ask, but I feel I need to."
"Oh?" Elayne wrinkled her nose. "So you weren't talking about why I interfered just now?" She watched as he shook his head, and she frowned, "Then what were you asking me about Nii-chan?"
"I saw you last night," the Ronin of Halo slowly said. "You helped Ryo, and then took off."
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she took a step back from him. 'I thought I shut the door?' Elayne shook herself, to get a hold on her whirling thoughts. She calmed down and studied him closely, he didn't seem annoyed with her, which was good, but he did seem worried.
"I did do something," the girl admitted with a nod. She knew better than to lie, especially to Halo's bearer. If there was one thing he hated, it was people who lied. "And, I did take off afterwards. You have your secrets, Sage. I'm entitled to mine."
He heard the rebuke in there, and sighed out through his nose, "Look, after all the secrets we've had to discover these past few days, I don't know if I could handle anymore."
Sage saw her wince, but continued as he mistook it for something else entirely, "I just- do you trust me at all anymore Elayne?"
"Of course, I do," she murmured out softly. "But, there are just some things I can't tell you." She looked up at him and offered him a sad smile, "I really want to, but I just can't. Don't worry okay? I'm not going to get in over my head."
Elayne was smirking now, as she commented, "I'm not some fourteen year old who's out to take on the world."
"Oh ha, very cute," Sage rolled his eyes, and then pulled her into a hug. "Just stay safe, that's all I ask. I'm going to worry anyway, brother's privilege, but I'd feel better, if-"
"I've promised you this before, but I'll stay safe," Elayne said with a smile; she'd been slightly taken aback by the hug. Sage had not been that physically open with her in...Well, ages. "And, if I end up getting into more than what I can handle I'll come to you guys. Kay?"
"More than fair," the swordsman acknowledged moving to step back from her when she glomped him.
"I'm glad, ya know?" The girl smiled up at him, "You're starting to act like you again. It's been a long time since you've been yourself." She then teased, "I ought to know."
"All right you," Sage snorted out catching the taunt, "Go on about your business, brat."
"As you command oh great Seiji-dono," Elayne quipped and bowed then cracked up at the look on his face.
She then made her exit, leaving a bemused swordsman behind her. Sage's thoughts soon turned back to the fact that they were with a large problem. Oh there was certainly going to be a confrontation here, and he had this sinking feeling it wasn't going to be pretty.
It was going to happen though....And soon.
A/N: Eyecandy Brigade is probably one of my favorite lines in this story. xD At any rate enjoy your update!
LG