Courting The Jester

Chapter 12

Sage drifted in and out of the memories.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you're saying we're trapped here?" Ryo asked bitterly. The redhead seated near him said nothing, staring at the ground in front of her. The Warrior of Wildfire cursed and leaned back against the wall of cavern. They had moved away from the place they had been attacked, away from the chasm and the rock the enemy had appeared to them on. The cavern still stretched on in front of them in darkness but now they had a wall behind them and less sides they could be attacked on. It was scant reassurance, but anything was better than nothing. Mia was fidgeting with her hands but otherwise seemed to have regained her composure. Near them they had laid Nikki down, her head resting up on one of Mia's packs. The dark haired girl had yet to regain consciousness.
The two warriors standing in front of Ryo looked distressed. Kento had his helmet tucked under his arm and was scanning the area warily while Cye talked to Ryo.
"We tried to get out to the entrance of the cave, but it seemed that no matter how far we went, we couldn't find it. It wasn't as if we got lost, Ryo. There was only one tunnel leading down and the same leading back. I know we didn't go that far to get here, but after an hour of running at top speed, we just gave up and turned around. It only took us fifteen minutes to get back." Cye expression was grim, worry etched in his eyes. Kento however looked spooked.
"You know, I'm fine being surrounded by earth and all, Ryo," Kento said, eyes on the stone ceiling high above them, "But I also like knowing that I can get out when I want. I don't like this."
"So we're trapped here," Ryo repeated, shaking his head angrily. White Blaze lay at his feet, growling deep in his throat, his eyes flicking back and forth as fast as his tail.
"I told you that and hour and a half ago," Mia spoke up calmly. "We're wasting time."
Ryo leveled a hard look at her, saying, "You're not exactly on the top of the list of who to listen to right now, Mia. So far all you and Nikki have done is lead us around in circles by our noses. You'd earned our trust and respect for many years now, but you're losing it fast. You know more than you've said and for the life of me, I can't figure out why you refuse to explain more. So, yes Mia. You told us we'd be trapped. But half the stuff out of your mouth these days are lies, so forgive me if I didn't listen."
Mia managed to look momentarily hurt before the cool distant look fell back on her face.
"Be that as it may," she said, passing over Ryo's words as if they didn't matter, "we can't leave. He won't let us. It's a game now. We could try to find the exit to this cave for days and it wouldn't do any good. So let's stop wasting time and keep going."
"We're not going anywhere until Sage is okay," Rowen growled from further off to the left. "Nikki too." He was crouched warily in front of his friend, looking for all the world like a blue-armored guard dog. Behind him, his back against the wall like Ryo's, Sage sat cross-legged, his face relaxed into meditation. He'd been like that ever since the attack, refusing to speak to anyone including Rowen.
"We can carry Nikki," Mia dismissed Rowen's concern. "And Sage is fine. He's just pouting. He'll get over it. Now we need to go."
"Just pouting?" Rowen's voice cracked incredulously, his eyes widening. "Are you insane? He just almost got strangled to death!"
Mia turned her cool look to Rowen.
"He almost strangled himself, Rowen. Sage let himself get too worked up and emotional. If he'd kept his head he never would have fallen for it. He can sense this thing's tricks. He knows better," she concluded with a small shake of her head, her red hair falling back.
"Someone just slipped up," Kento muttered from behind Cye. Ryo's eyes got bigger and he wheeled on Mia.
"Wow, Mia. You sure do know a lot! Tell me, how the hell was Sage supposed to know that?" Ryo demanded. Mia closed her eyes as if gathering her patience.
"Because, Ryo, this thing was tricking us at the house. Sage knew it was playing games with us. He should have-" she got cut off.
"Not good enough," Rowen challenged, standing now. "My patience has officially reached its limit, Mia. All of ours has."
He sat watching them as they struggled among themselves. The dark-haired girl was still unconscious, her mind not ready to wake up and acknowledge the previously occurred events. He crawled over to where she lay, and almost tenderly placed her head in his lap, shifting the pack aside. He stroked her hair and brushed a kiss across her brow. Then He turned again to watch the others, the dark haired girl limp in his arms.
Rowen was still confronting Mia, his arms in fists at his sides, fingers clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
"It was one thing when you were leading us all in a wild goose chase, but now people are getting hurt. My best friend is getting hurt." Rowen said, voice dangerous. "Start talking now."
Mia looked over at Sage, then turned to where Nikki lay. She stared at her friend for a long time before her eyes finally slipped away. He winked at her as she did.
"You might as well tell them Mia, because if you don't then I certainly will." A deep soft voice spoke from behind Rowen. Sage's eyes remained closed.
"Fine," she whispered, sounding beaten. "I wish you all would just trust me that it's better not for you to hear this…"
"We're past that point, Mia," Cye said firmly. The redhead shrugged, turning her face away.
"I don't know what you want to call him. It. Whatever. But he's evil. He likes to play with your thoughts and get in your head. He likes to watch. He likes to listen. Then he likes to turn it against you. He wants you to doubt what you know and what you feel. He wants you to be so confused that you have no idea how to fight him. He basically wants to screw with your head. He makes Dais at his best seem like a child."
"Why?" Cye asked, shaking his head. "What does he gain from it? Damian, right? That what he said his name was. What does Damian get from messing with us?"
A small twisted smile crept onto Mia's face, but her eyes were cold.
"It's fun."
"Fun? All this is so that some freak can have a good laugh?" Kento raged. Mia sighed and turned to look at Hardrock.
"It's not that simple, but yes Kento. Its main purpose is to amuse itself. It will go to amazing lengths to do it. So we're here in this cave, and we're trying to find something that will help us beat it, so what's more amusing than to keep us here? To trap us in?" Mia kept her eyes locked on Kento's for a moment then turned away again, rising slowly to her feet.
"You think that there's something here that can destroy it?" Ryo asked, also rising. He started to pace back and forth, the subarmor on his feet clinking against the ground. "Is that why you came here?" His eyes narrowed.
"You knew about this thing, all about it, all along didn't you Mia?" Ryo accused. Mia didn't answer.
"Yes, she did," Sage said, voice disturbingly serene. "She knew much more than she's saying."
One violet eye opened and locked onto Mia.
"Keep going," he commanded. Mia glared angrily at him but continued talking. Sage closed his eyes as another memory took him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's Nikki doing?" Cye asked Sage in amusement. Sage crossed his arms and leaned back, blonde hair falling over one eye heavily.
"I think she's dancing. That seems logical. This is a party."
"Yeah, but Nikki? Normal fun activities seem beyond her. This is wildly out of character."
"Who says any of you know her character?" Mia asked, coming up from behind, smiling. She looked relaxed and happy, and she slipped her arm through Cye's familiarly. "There's a lot more to Nikki then you guys give her credit for. Just because she's got a dry wit doesn't mean that she isn't social."
"Define your meaning of social, Mia," Cye laughed. "I always got the opinion that Nikki would rather spit then talk to us."
"Hey, blame most of that on Rowen. He's constantly trying to irritate her."
"Can you blame him?" Sage murmured. Mia shot him a look, then slipped her other arm through Sage's.
"Come on Sage. Nikki isn't that bad. Stop being so grumpy."
"I'm not grumpy," Sage said, calmly. "I'm deep."
Mia and Cye were silent a moment then both started laughing.
"Suuuure, Sage," Mia said, "Gotcha." Sage looked at her seriously, eyes widening slightly.
"What?" he asked, sounding slightly insulted. "I am!" Cye and Mia just kept laughing and moved off, heads tipped together conspiratorially. Sage grunted and recrossed his arms. He looked out at the dance floor and saw that Mia's American friend did certainly look like she was having a pretty good time. A rare smile was on her face as she was swung around the floor. It made her almost look pretty for a moment. Sage shook his head ruefully. He must be getting bad if he thought Nikki was pretty. He usually found her completely unattractive, mostly because her attitude was so bad. Sage didn't know how someone would ever want to put up with that. But then again, he and Nikki hadn't gotten along from the start. The only one she was worse with was Rowen.
Speaking of which, Sage hadn't seen Rowen around for a while. He searched the room but came up blank. He concentrated and got the feeling his best friend was somewhere outside and was uncommonly irritated. Sage skirted the room and left through the main exit, waving off a waiter offering him hors d'oeuvres. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a redhead now cheerfully chatting with a group of men, sipping champagne. At this rate Sage knew one of them was going to have to steal Mia's keys from her before she went home. At least she was having a good time too.
Feeling out of place, and maybe a little grumpy but he'd never admit it, Sage stepped outside. He searched for Rowen and found him sprawled out on a park bench, long legs crossed, fingers entwined behind his head, staring up at the sky. His sports coat lay carelessly next to him, and a scowl was on his face. Sage moved over and picked up Rowen's jacket, giving it a professional shake before folding it neatly and sitting down. He waited. Rowen stayed silent. Sage started to count down from ten. When he reached two, Rowen grunted irritably, stamping his foot down.
"I don't know why she drags us to these things," Rowen suddenly complained, voice grouchy. "It's not like we belong. Everyone in there either works at a university or is a scientist. Or unbelievably rich. We are none of the above. I had a guy in there ask me for a martini."
"Did you get it for him?" Sage asked innocently. Rowen shot him a death look but continued.
"No, I didn't get it for him," Rowen mimicked Sage. "The asshole seemed shocked, too." Sage fought the smile starting to form.
"Plus it's not like Mia's incapable of handling herself," Rowen continued. "She's got Nikki. That one could scare off a rabid brussel sprout with one twitch of her tiny little nose. Twitch. Boom! Evil ones dead."
"Ummm, Rowen? Rabid brussel sprout?" Sage asked, confused.
"You think of something scarier," Rowen dared him, voice flat. Sage held up his hands in supplication.
"You're right, your right," Sage pacified his friend. "Nothing's scarier." Sage was quiet a long moment before gently asking, "Rowen, what's wrong?" Rowen didn't respond at first, then sighed and crossed his arms in front of him.
"You wouldn't understand," Rowen muttered. Sage looked at him surprised, and a little hurt.
"What wouldn't I understand?" Sage asked, confused. His blue haired friend shook his head.
"Never mind Sage. Let's just go back inside." Rowen stood up and took his jacket back. Sage stared at him for a minute, then his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Rowen? It's not about Nikki, is it?"
"Drop it Sage," Rowen said shortly, turning his back and heading towards the building. Sage shook his head, following.
"Is it because she came too?" Sage asked. Rowen merely grunted his ‘I want you to drop it now' grunt. Sage moved to his shoulder, whispering low now that they were back inside. Mia was still talking to the group of men but now the dark haired girl had joined her side.
"Rowen you're really going to have to get over this whole Nikki hatred thing," Sage said firmly. " Yeah, I don't like her either, but you're taking it way too far…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sage shivered as another memory took hold of him. They were coming one after another and it was hard to focus on anything else. Ever since he had delved Mia, it was as if a floodgate had been opened. They came randomly, without any sense of time or order. But he had to concentrate on what Mia was saying too. He had to fill in the gaps. He had to know…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What don't I know, Cassie?" Sage asked, taking up the girl's hand in his. "What aren't you girls telling us?"
The blonde started to cry silently, but she took her hand out of the protection of Sage's. Sage's heart sank at the same time his temper ignited.
"Damn it Cassie, I can't protect you if I don't what to protect you from! Is it Damian? Has that sick bastard come after you? What aren't you telling me?" he demanded. Cassie just turned around, as if to hide from him. Sage growled with frustration and followed her, reaching for her arm.
"Don't hide from me, Cass! What is it? What's wrong! You're driving me crazy here! Look at me!" he fastened his hand around her forearm and swung her around. "Look at me Cass! Look at me!"
"I CAN'T!" Cassie suddenly cried, and slapped him. "Stop it Sage! Stop trying to get me to explain things I can't! Stop trying to force everyone into compartments that you can understand! That's what you're all doing! You're all trying to make us into something that you can control and it doesn't work that way! We don't work that way!"
Sage stepped back, stunned she had hit him, and surprised at the strength of her blow. Tears still leaked down her cheeks, but ones of anger.
"What is wrong with you guys! Are you so hell bent on controlling everything around you that you couldn't care less what it does to us? Go here, stay there. Don't move, don't breathe, don't think!"
"We are trying to protect you girls," Sage said slowly, astounded. "We are trying to keep you safe in a situation that none of you are prepared to or capable of facing. There's nothing wrong with that!"
The expression of fury on her face almost made him step back.
"A situation that we aren't capable of facing, Sage? We've been here the entire time! Who do you think Damian is messing with the most! Who do you think he crawls around singing to in the middle of the night, whispering to in the middle of the day?" Cassie yelled, slim shoulders shaking.
"And that puts you in all the more danger, Cass!
"I'm blind! Say it Sage! I'm not capable of helping or contributing or keeping anyone safe because I'm blind! I'm a danger to you and everyone else!"
"I didn't say that Cass…"
"But you think it! Come on Sage, don't be a wuss now. Say it!"
"Cassie, quit it."
"Say it Sage! Say you think I'm helpless! Say you think I can't do anything but hold you back. Say it!"
"Cassie! Stop!"
"Say it Sage!"
"Fine! You want me to be honest? You're BLIND Cassie! You can't see a thing! You can't keep from falling over a chair that's been moved six inches! So yes! You can't help, you can't fight, and you're going to get yourself killed because you're convinced that you're more capable than you are. You're as bad as Mia! The only one of you with a brain is Nikki; she knows she's weak! The rest of you are too stupid and stubborn to get that! Is that what you want to hear!" Sage took a deep breath and realized what he had said. He stared in horror at the girl in front of him. Her face was cool and unreadable.
"Go away, Sage," Cassie spoke softly. Sage inadvertently reached out his hand to her.
"Cass," he started, but she turned her back on him again. With a snarl of frustration, Sage whirled around and left the room, barely keeping himself from striking the doorframe in fury. When the sounds of his footfalls had gone, the blonde turned to the figure she had known was standing next to her the entire fight.
"Did you enjoy the show?" she asked coldly, forcing her voice to stay calm. She couldn't see the grin but she could feel his mirth rising off of him in waves.
"Immensely. You're quite a little actress. I assume you just wanted to get him away from me, my dear child?" He asked politely.
"I want you away from all of us, you sick freak," Cassie replied bitterly. She felt his hand rest on her shoulder and did everything she could not to scream. He started to hum quietly.
"One…two…kick off my shoes…" Cassie went cold.
"Three…four…close the door…" Her bedroom door slammed shut. Inside she screamed for Sage, begged him to forgive her and to come back. For him to rescue her from this. She wanted Cye and his gentle hands. She wanted her mother and her loving hugs. She wanted anything. Anything at all. Anything but this
"Five…six…punish this bitch…" A small squeak of terror escaped Cassie's throat and she told herself that this was all going to be over soon. That she was protecting them, the ones she loved. That she was buying them time. Even blind, she still squeezed her eyes shut.
Seven…eight…open the gate…" The same horrible sound of ripping, of something tearing a hole into the air in her room. And the sounds on the other side…they were almost worse than anything else about this. A strong arm gripped her by the throat and laughed. This time she actually did scream. It pulled her to her feet and across the room.
Then the girl was gone. Her room was empty. No one came to bother her. Sage had told them to leave her alone. After a long while the same ripping noise came back and that same slim blonde girl fell to her knees on the thick carpet, face tear-streaked, body shaking. Phantom fingers touched her cheek lovingly, the voice whispering in her ear even as the presence left the room.
"Nine…ten…do it again…"
Cassie curled up in a ball and cried. Outside her room White Blaze crouched protectively, tail twitching, face on his front paws, eyes riveted on Mia's study.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Part of my job is spent trying to find archeological dig sites," Mia said. "I was sent an article talking about the importance of this area during the same time the Ronin Warriors first were referenced historically. Even though the article didn't mention it, I thought it might be possible to find a site that had relevance to the Ronin armors. I sent a preliminary expedition out and the cave was eventually found. I needed Nikki here to bring more notoriety to the dig, plus I needed her help. She not only understood the history of the Ronin armors, but the danger of the last real threat you guys faced."
"You mean we've fought this guy before?" Ryo asked, already knowing the answer before he asked it. Mia remained quiet for a while before she nodded her head in affirmation.
"Yes. It was right after you guys were done with high school. I had spent some time in the States working in tandem with a research group at UCLA. That's where I met Nikki. She was a grad student too, only she had already written her thesis and was just finishing up some credits. I convinced her to come visit Japan with me and do some independent research. She did, and at first it was great. Her Japanese was horrible but she picked it up fast."
Mia stopped talking and fidgeted with her hair, her eyes glazing over slightly.
"Then it came," she said softly.
"Who, Damian?" Cye asked. A pained look crossed Mia's face.
"Could you please not call him that, Cye?" Mia asked, her voice strained. "Please?" Cye looked at her, confused, but nodded slowly.
"It came. And it was a pretty bad time. Then we found a way to seal it off. We thought that meant destroying it, but we were wrong. It obviously found a way back. So now we're here, and hopefully somewhere in this place is an answer to how to defeat it. Because if there's not, then I have no clue where to look next. I have no idea." Mia slumped against the wall, sounding defeated and exhausted.
"Question, Mia," Rowen spoke up. "Why is it that none of us remember all this? But why do you two girls have no problem recollecting?"
"It had to do with the last fight with it, Rowen," Mia answered, her voice getting even softer. "It affected all of you guys, wiping everything out of your memories that had happened. When we realized that, we left it that way."
"What gave you that right?" Cye demanded angrily. Mia just looked away, closing her eyes. She clamped her mouth tight, indicating she wasn't planning on saying any more.
"No way, don't you do that to us now Mia! Not when you're finally talking!" Rowen strode forward angrily. Cye and Kento intervened, telling Rowen to chill out. Rowen tried to push through them to talk to Mia face to face, but then Ryo started yelling at all of them to cut it out, they had bigger problems to deal with. Mia kept her eyes squeezed shut.
It was Nikki's eyes that snapped open and she stared in horror at the thing above her. He looked down and placed a finger to his mouth. Her lips parted but no scream came out. He ran a fingernail lightly across her lower lip, watching a thin trail of red that appeared afterwards. He leaned over and lovingly licked it off. Then He grinned at her and began humming. Her eyes rolled back in her head and He once more turned to the drama in front of him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sage drifted again, trying to sort and compartmentalize the images and voices being thrust upon him. Some he understood because he was there and involved. Others were harder to place, conversations he'd never heard, things he wasn't supposed to know. Sage drifted…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We need to talk," Cye said quietly, emerging from the trees surrounding the clearing. Here was where Sage went to think, when life got complicated. As it had been so much lately. He hadn't even realized his friend knew to find him here, deep within the Date property. Sage opened his eyes regretfully, still not ready for this conversation. He knew it had been coming, but hadn't pushed the issue. It seemed Cye was willing to do that for him.
"Sure, Cye," Sage inclined his head politely, keeping his limbs relaxed and folded. The rusty haired warrior seated himself in front of Halo, adopting the same position. Sea blue eyes regarded Sage seriously, and Sage pushed aside the temptation to turn away. He had nothing to hide. Neither one of them did. But still…Sage waited for Cye to start. It seemed Cye was as reluctant as he was. Finally Cye grunted and leaned back, fingers digging into the dirt. A small rueful grin was on his face.
"This really sucks, you know that?" Cye said. Sage, caught by surprise, stared at him for a moment. Then he smiled slightly as well.
"I agree," Sage inclined his head once more. A bigger grin stretched out on Cye's face.
"So. You want to duke it out?" he asked playfully.
"Excuse me?" Sage asked, confused. Cye imitated a few boxing moves in the air, then took a pretend uppercut to the jaw.
"You know, duke it out, fight for her honor, beat the crap out of each other until the most masculine and worthy wins the hand of the girl?" Cye's eyes were twinkling. Sage shook his head.
"I can't believe you're making a joke about this all," Sage commented, unfolding one of his legs and leaning forward on it. Cye merely shrugged.
"What do you want me to do? Be angry? Be furious? Hate you and try to hurt you?" Cye glanced away and when his eyes returned they were more serious. "Sage we're friends. Not only that, we're comrades. I adore the girl but what happens if we let it come between us and we can't fight together? There's more than ourselves we have to think about. We both know what the ancient said. There's important battles ahead that we have to be ready for. We both know the consequences of not being ready. I'm not willing to lose her, but I'm not willing to lose anybody else either."
"So we let her pick?" Sage asked his friend. Cye again shrugged, this time the rueful grin back.
"Would it matter? She wouldn't pick either one of us over the other. She wouldn't do that. You know it as well as I do. And she won't turn us against each other."
"So we're at a standstill," Sage concluded.
"Yep."
Silence, then, "this sucks."
"That's what I said already." Cye chuckled. "But I figure all we have to do is get through all this crap with Damian and we'll deal with it then. Until then, we both acknowledge each other is crazy about her and deal with it as best we can."
Sage nodded and gave his friend a half smile. Cye returned it and looked around, breathing in deeply.
"I can see why you come here, Sage. It's very peaceful." Cye reached forward and clasped hands with the blonde man in front of him, before rising. He turned and started to leave. Right before he reached the tree line he paused. Without looking over his shoulder he spoke softly.
"When this is over, we will end up fighting for her," Cye said, staring off into the distance.
"No we won't," Sage replied, voice firm. Cye tipped his head to the side and thought about it. Then he squared his shoulders and smiled, nodding his head, seeming reassured by Sage's words. After he left the blonde sat for a very long time, watching the place where his friend had disappeared. Unlike Cye, his words weren't a comfort. They had come unbidden, but he had known the truth of them the instant they had left his mouth. He and Cye would never fight over Cassie.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sage opened his eyes and saw the others fighting. As angry as he was with her, he knew Mia was right. He had let his emotions get away with him. He should have seen through the illusion that he was choking to death. Except it had felt so very real. Whatever that thing was, it was a master at manipulation. Sage's head started spinning and he leaned back, closing his eyes once more. He sat down next to Sage and looked at him curiously. Then He too crossed his legs and leaned against the wall, one eye closed peacefully, the other still watching the arguing Ronins with growing interest.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nikki woke up with a start, head amazingly clear. She'd been falling. She'd been screaming. She'd hit the ground but not that hard. She hadn't fallen far, but the shock of it had scared her enough that she'd passed out. She'd woken up. She'd seen him. The humming…
Nikki struggled to sit, pushing her body upwards on shaky limbs. She looked around and saw Mia and the others, Rowen yelling as always and Mia's eyes closed, face turned away. He was there. They had to find him!
"Mia," Nikki said, finding that her voice was small and hurt to speak. Her throat felt torn, probably from the screaming she done. No one heard her. She rose unsteadily and cast around. Sage was sitting by the wall, eyes closed. Nikki turned away to the others. He winked at her as well. Cye noticed the dark haired woman stumbling towards them and he jumped forward, catching her arm to steady her.
"Nikki! Are you alright?" Cye asked, full of concern. She turned huge, scared eyes at him and suddenly Cye reeled back, face shocked. Then he wheeled, yelling.
"He's here! The thing, he's here!" Cye said, causing the others to snap towards him.
"What?" Ryo demanded, "where?" Kento yanked on his helmet instantly and swung around, while Rowen and Ryo called their armors.
"I don't know, but he's here. He was messing with Nikki when she was out. Somehow we can't see him," Cye replied, positioning himself protectively at Nikki's side. Nikki grabbed onto Cye's arm, and the Ronin of Torrent turned to where she was pointing at Sage. The blonde warrior hadn't moved, even when Cye had shouted the alert.
Mia moved from behind the others and to Nikki's other side, her eyes riveted on Sage. He seemed at peace, eyes closed. Then she slowly approached him, one hand gripping the pendent at her throat.
"Mia, be careful!" Ryo said sharply, stepping behind her and drawing both of his swords. Mia didn't reply but she did pause until Ryo had reached her side before continuing. Her eyes flickered back and forth as she looked towards Sage but not directly at him.
"Sage?" she asked gently, voice calm. The blonde warrior didn't move a muscle or acknowledge her in any way. Mia knelt down in front of him, eyes narrowed as they moved across his face, along the stone behind his head, down his arms. She leaned forward, until her nose was almost touching his and whispered almost inaudibly,
"Where are you, you son of a bitch?'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sage drifted faster, until he felt an overwhelming spinning sensation. His instincts told him to fight it, that he needed to get up and out of there now, but the memories wouldn't let him. They kept on coming…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A hand lightly grasped her arm and but Mia still yelped, whirling around and striking out.
"Easy!" he exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder where she'd thumped him. "Relax! It's just me. Relax." She blushed and looked embarrassed, murmuring a quick apology. He gave her a reassuring smile and she smiled back, albeit a bit strained. She relaxed back against the kitchen counter and looked at him sheepishly.
"Sorry. I've been a bit jumpy lately," she explained. He shrugged as if it was fine, brushing it off as if it didn't matter. She liked that about him. He never made her feel stupid when she reacted or over reacted to things. He didn't criticize her or give her condescending looks. He'd probably never know how much she appreciated it. Considering she was normally the odd one out, being the only girl of the six-person/ one cat group, she liked feeling as if she belonged.
"Like we all haven't been, too," he replied, moving past her to the refrigerator. He stuck his head inside and poked around. Finally he pulled back, looking disappointed.
"Nothing look good?" she asked.
"Naw," he shrugged. "It's okay. I've sort of lost my appetite anyway. What with everything." He didn't elaborate. He didn't need to. Mia knew exactly what he was talking about. He took a mostly empty jug of milk out and closed the door, leaning back on it. He sniffed the milk twice before drinking it. At the first taste, his nose twitched with displeasure, but he continued drinking it anyway.
"That's almost bad, you know," Mia reminded him, wincing at the motherly sound to her voice. These guys were younger than her, but not by much, and she hated feeling like she was a caretaker or something. They didn't seem to mind when she slipped up, and it wasn't as if she hadn't caught them being protective and overbearing upon occasion. All of them, even the cool and distant Sage.
He shrugged at her comment and took another drink.
"It's either this or one of Kento's soft drinks. I hate that stuff; it's so bad for you." He drained the milk and set the empty jug on the container. Mia curiously watched him open a cabinet and pull out a white folded bag. He carefully measured out a cup and a half of flour and transferred it to the milk jug. He grabbed the saltshaker and tipped in about a tablespoon, nodding in satisfaction. He took it to the sink and slowly added water, stopping every so often to shake it. When the volume was approximately what he'd started with before drinking, he calmly recapped it and placed the concoction back in the refrigerator. He positioned it carefully in the same place, adjusting it twice before he was satisfied. Mia looked at him in horror.
"What the heck are you doing?" she demanded. "The next person that drinks that is going to be disgusted!"
"I know," he said calmly, brushing hair out of his face. "That's the idea. Later Mia." He smiled a small smile at her as he left the kitchen.
"You guys are awful!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. He just shrugged as the door closed behind him. Just then Rowen and Kento burst through the other door loudly. Both boys were bare-chested and slick with sweat.
"Hey Mia!" Kento said brightly, stopping by to give her a friendly sweaty hug. "
Ump! Kendo wor desgusding!" came her muffled voice as he trapped her against his chest. He released her and ruffled her hair as if she was six, causing the now smelly and sweaty Mia to glare at him irritably.
"What?" he asked innocently. Suddenly behind them they heard the most dramatic overdone eruption that Mia had ever heard. Rowen was bent over, spitting violently onto the floor, face an amusing shade of purple, the milk jug clenched in one hand. He spat several times more before throwing the carton across the counter.
"SAGE!" Rowen roared, heading out of the kitchen with a royally pissed off look on his face. The door smacked his back as he went through. "It was just a freaking bamboo flute, Sage! Fine! I'll buy you a new flute! Will that make you happy, you big baby? Will it? SAGE!"
Kento and Mia stared after Rowen, speechless until a blonde head popped through the back door. Sage gave them a grin. Before he disappeared he winked at Mia.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was nose to nose with Sage when his eyes slowly opened and he winked at Mia. The next few moments were a complete blur. Sage seemed to uncoil like a snake, lunging forward and striking out with an armored fist. Being the only one not in full armor, he moved faster than anyone could've believed, striking the side of Mia's face. She cried out as she was hit, crimson speckling the white part of Sage's subarmor. She fell to the side, just as Sage came flying forward, landing face down, his fists closed in around something beneath him.
White Blaze roared and shoved past Ryo, leaping under Sage, claws digging into the dirt beneath him. They heard a high-pitched screech, cut off by the tiger snapping his huge jaws around something none of them could see. He snapped his head back and forth, jaws wide but obviously biting down on something until his teeth suddenly hit together. The large animal jerked back from the force of it, obviously in pain.
Sage moved back. Beneath him there was still nothing, but the warrior of Halo looked more at ease. The tiger too. In fact, Ryo noticed that the slowly building feeling of dread he'd experienced the last two days was lessened. The importance of that chilled him to his bones.
Rowen stood back, a look of amazement, confusion, and relief on his face. He shoved a blue lock of hair away from his eyes and said the only thing his genius mind could think to say.
"Shit."