Between The Lines
Chapter Three
It couldn't have possibly been a nicer day, the cool breezes, the warm sunshine, the fresh air. And yet the young man walking down the road couldn't possibly have noticed it less. Hands shoved in pockets, head bent down and black hair falling heavily over his face, the man was lost deep in thought. Feet rising and falling automatically, he was oblivious to the large house that rose ahead of him, with its gleaming windows, fresh paint and well manicured lawns. Behind it one could just catch a glimpse of the huge lake that skirted the back of the property, the sunlight glinting off the calm surface. This man couldn't have cared less.
As he approached even closer, the shade of the surrounding trees falling around him, the man stopped at a noise. Deep within the woods to his left came a deep resounding roar of a large animal. Most would have jumped in fear, and fled to the safety of the house in front of them. Not this man. For the first time that afternoon he smiled, lifting his head slightly, relaxing his stance just a little. Another roar shook the foliage and the man's face split into a smile grin. The sound of movement next to him gave the man just a moment's warning, before a huge white tiger came springing out of the trees and into him, knocking them both to the ground.
"Easy buddy!" Ryo laughed, shaking his head as White Blaze gripped his forearm in his mouth and play bit him. "Easy!" The tiger ignored him and continued to gently maul him, whipping his tail back and forth playfully. Laughing, the warrior of Wildfire pushed the huge tiger halfway off of him and sat up, wrapping an arm around the thick white neck.
"Hey White Blaze, it's been awhile, huh buddy?" The tiger growled deep in his throat and Ryo chuckled at the animal's apparent disapproval. "Don't be mad boy, I've been really busy. And it's not my fault that you can't stay with me in the city."
Okay, so maybe it was his fault, but there wasn't written anywhere on the apartment applications ‘Do you have a large exotic pet that will scare the living daylights out of anyone who sees him and cannot be taken to the laundry room with mass quantities of problems?'. No, there wasn't. So Ryo figured that if the landlords had a problem with it then they should have been more explanatory from the beginning. It had taken two apartments and three washing machines before Ryo had given up and left his beloved friend at the Koji mansion. Speaking of which…
"Is she home, White Blaze?" Ryo asked softly, looking for the first time at the structure that loomed over them. The tiger looked at him and did the equivalent of a feline shrug: he yawned and stood up, padding away several feet before sitting down again.
"Guess not. But then again she never is anymore, huh?" Ryo stood and brushed himself off. He walked toward the house, fishing out his key from his pocket, his tiger trailing him. Ryo knocked once and waited. There was no answer, but he hadn't expected any. He unlocked the door and stepped in, glancing around the empty house.
It used to impress him how large her home was, he who had grown up with so little. One day, he had thought to himself, one day I'll have something like this. He'd used to love to be here, the warmth of the rooms, the light of the chandeliers, the hominess that enveloped the entire place. But as normal in his life, the things around him always changed. What was once a home, was now a place he visited to spend time with his tiger. What was once his haven to hide in when the world was too tough outside was now unwelcoming to him. He could never relax here anymore. He hated to admit it but if it wasn't for White Blaze he probably would never have come back here at all.
"For you the world, huh boy?" Ryo joked halfheartedly, moving into the kitchen. "I bet you're hungry." The tiger growled in reply. Ryo smiled.
"Me too. I wonder if there's anything left in here to eat?"
Ryo moved around the large kitchen, poking his head into pantries and cupboards, freezer and refrigerator. There wasn't enough to feed one of them, not to mention two.
"What does she do with all that money I give her to feed you?" Ryo growled irritably. The tiger eyed him then brushed past into a small room connected to the kitchen. Ryo heard snuffling and grunting, followed by a large splat and a satisfied growl. Intrigued, he followed the tiger's footsteps and found him happily munching on a large steak, lying in front of a long white cooler. The aluminum handle had wet nose prints all over it and Ryo went over to try the lid. It swung up easily with a little push. Inside was probably the equivalent of a small heifer, all stacked neatly for easy reach. Ryo shook his head as he closed the lid. Even the floor in this room had a layer of hard plastic mats down to protect the wood flooring from staining. Knowing the voracity with which White Blaze always attacked his food, Ryo could understand why.
"She thinks of everything, doesn't she," Ryo murmured to himself, returning to the kitchen to find something for himself. He finally found a couple bags of tea and a half full container of pretzels. Next to that were a few cans of vegetables. Nothing overly appetizing, but at least it was food. It wasn't as if he had much better back at his apartment. Briefly Ryo let himself reflect back on those wonderful days when Cye and Mia and Kento all tried to outdo each other in cooking the best meal. He and Rowen and Sage had all enjoyed that time, Rowen especially.
After setting the water to boil, Ryo left the kitchen to wander around the house. He always did this when he came over; walking through Mia's place to check to make sure everything was okay. Not that it was likely that anyone had broken in at all. She kept the whole house locked when she was gone except for one balcony door that involved climbing high up on the roof to get to. Hard for a burglar, easy for a large tiger. Had anyone managed to break in, they definitely had a nasty surprise waiting for them in White Blaze. The tiger could be as territorial as the rest of them.
"As territorial as I am," Ryo muttered to himself irritably. It bothered him that he still looked to this place as somewhere he needed to take care of, especially when he knew he wasn't truly welcome. But still…Mia let him keep his tiger there and that was a huge favor on her part. The least he could do was make sure her stuff was in order.
It didn't take long to check the rooms and windows, to make sure the heat was still on and that no light bulbs were out. He didn't like the idea of her walking into a huge dark house all by herself. Yeah, she had White Blaze usually, but lately he'd been disappearing for lengths at a time and no one ever knew when he'd be back. Ryo had received a couple worried phone calls from her about it in the last year. But those were the only calls he'd received from her at all.
What had gone wrong between them? Sometimes, when he was being extra honest with himself, Ryo admitted that perhaps it had been his fault. They'd all been together through so much. And when the armors had disappeared after facing the Black Inferno armor, they had thought that their lives were going to be back to normal. That they would be going somewhere. Then they hadn't. They stood still. They waited and waited and life continued to move around them with its every increasingly faster pace. And they still stood still. Then Suzunagi had come. Then they had reconciled it in themselves that they once again needed to take up arms. They received their new armors and had waited to use them to fight for good.
A year later they were still waiting.
Somewhere between then and now things had changed with them and Mia. Or maybe just him and Mia. She was withdrawn when around him, quiet. When he was around, she found excuses to leave. He missed her sometimes, and the open honest friendship they had once shared. He missed staying up at night and talking about dreams and fears and the future. But her future had come and his had not. She was off jaunting around the world in jets and meeting with important people and he was still…waiting.
Maybe he was just angry that her life went somewhere when his did not. Maybe he was angry that she had left him behind. Maybe it didn't really matter because it couldn't be helped. Like it or not, Mia wasn't one of them. No matter how much they had depended on her, it never changed that at the end of the day, she could always walk away from it if she chose. They never were given that luxury. And maybe he was angry because she had walked away. Maybe…
A brilliant white light flashed in front of Ryo's eyes, and he suddenly felt as if he was being twisted and spun until he couldn't breathe. Pain ripped through his body and intense heat, which he could ignore, but the pain grew until he cried out. He fell to his knees, gripping the thick carpet with shaking hands until the feeling suddenly passed and the light returned to normal. Breathing heavily in uneven gasps, Ryo remained on his knees until he felt a warm body press against him and a worried face covered in whiskers push up into his.
"It's okay White Blaze," Ryo gasped, shaking his head. The tiger remained close to him, and Ryo leaned against him for support. The shrill noise of a teakettle, announcing the boiling water startled him and made him move to stand quickly. Pain shot through his head and Ryo groaned until it cleared away. Ryo stumbled into the kitchen and removed the tea kettle before leaning back against the counter. He shook his head again. Something wasn't right. None of that had come from him.
Ryo pulled a small phone out of his pocket and looked at it. For the last couple weeks around this time Rowen had always called him, just to check up he had said. Ryo had chalked it up to being nervous and over strung, especially since Rowen had been taking some pretty hard classes this term. But now, Ryo didn't know…
He stood there for a long moment before opening his phone and dialing. They had all been waiting. But Ryo wasn't sure that he was ready for what might be coming next.