Courting The Jester
Chapter Thirteen (Part One)
Mia sat back in the large wooden reclining chair and adjusted her sunglasses. She gathered her long red hair in one hand and twisted it around itself before resting her head once more on her folded towel. She sighed in pleasure. Beside her Nikki lay sprawled on her stomach, the hot sun beating down on her back. She was starting to sweat and her already brown skin was turning pinker by the moment, but the American girl looked in heaven.
"This, my dear friend," Nikki drawled, her words muffled from her face being buried in her own towel, "is why you should have come to stay with me longer as opposed to me coming to stay with you. The weather is like this every day, not every so often. Imagine the tans, Mia. Imagine them."
Mia chuckled and looked over at Nikki.
"True, but imagine the skin cancer Nik, imagine the skin cancer."
Nikki grunted a bit sourly, as she had been doing more and more often lately. Sometimes Mia wondered at how different Nikki seemed compared to the joyful, laid back grad student she'd met at UCLA. This Nikki was growing meaner and unhappier by the day.
"Mia, in America you die from opulence. Skin cancer from lying out in the sun all day instead of working. Obesity and heart disease from enjoying way too much really good food. Strokes because we refuse to give up our tasty nicotine addictions. We don't exercise because we have liposuction to do that for us. So we die. But here in Japan? No, you die from evil demons that come to terrorize you in the middle of the night while they whisper they want to eat different parts of you. Demons obsessed with odd numbers that leave strangled bunnies on your front doorstep like some sick demented cat; one, three, five in a row. No, here in Japan you have to die in mind-numbing terror, not of a good old heart attack." Nikki grunted again and rolled onto her back, the imprint of the wooden slats of the chair reddening her stomach.
Yes, Nikki was growing more unhappy by the day.
"Nikki, it could be worse," the blonde on Mia's other side spoke up in her soft voice. Cassie had been convinced to join them, after much pushing from the other two girls. Cassie was almost painfully shy, and was wearing shorts and a tee shirt to sunbathe in instead of the offered spare bathing suit.
"How's that?" the dark haired girl asked grumpily. A small smile graced Cassie's face.
"You could have five boys all staring at you because your bikini top just slipped."
Nikki jumped and grabbed her top, before realizing that her bikini was just fine, and there was no way Cassie would have been able to know anyway. She blushed, then laughed despite herself.
"Okay fine, I'll try to be in a better mood, if that's what you're trying for Cass," Nikki said, still hiking up her top just in case. "Gee Mia, these things are a little skimpy don't you think?"
Mia grinned and looked at Nikki over her glasses.
"The better to confuse them with my dear," she intoned. Nikki rolled her eyes.
"Confuse whom with? Not one of the guys, definitely. Those boys don't even recognize you as being female. You're like a skinnier smarter version of, well, them."
Mia gave Nikki a mildly offended expression.
"They know I'm a female," Mia argued. "They just look at me more sisterly than anything else. Stop looking at me like that! Just because they think of me as a friend instead of a-"
"Girl. Woman. She who has breasts and needs too?" Nikki supplied. Mia gave Nikki a mean look.
"I don't see why it should matter anyways," Mia replied, aloof. "I'm not interested in any of them."
"No?"
"No!"
"No."
"Exactly."
"Bullshit."
"Nikki, if you're implying that I'm secretly lusting after one of these boys, who I might add are several years younger than me, then you have definitely fallen off your rocker. I'm more interested in the older scholarly type." Mia adjusted her sunglasses again primly.
Nikki gave her a wicked grin.
"Ohhh, Mia. You horrible thing, you! Lusting after your professors. Which one was it? It was the Urban Myths prof wasn't it? He was pretty hot if you ignore the fact he was in his early sixties. But hey, I hear they're doing great things with herbal performance enhancers-"
"Nikki!" Mia's yell cut her off, as did the following whack of a towel.
"Okay, okay," Nikki laughed, holding up her hands for protection. "I'll leave you and your beau alone."
"Dr. Chiang was a very nice man I'll have you know and there was no sort of impropriety ever in our relationship," Mia informed them.
"Oh. Okay," Nikki said. She sat quietly for a moment before a small smile snuck on her face and she added, "So you're admitting you DID have a relationship though-"
Cassie laughed at the following sounds of Nikki yelping and a towel repeatedly smacking something. When the two girls had finally settled down, Cassie asked curiously.
"Mia? May I ask a personal question?" Mia gave the blonde a surprised look.
"Sure, Cass. What is it?"
"Well, isn't it hard being friends with so many guys when you're the only female? Or not being uncomfortable around them? It seems like it would be weird sometimes." Cassie stared straight ahead at nothing and Mia couldn't help but follow her gaze to the water. She wondered if Cassie had any idea the beauty of the world that she was missing, and she desperately hoped not. Mia shrugged and thought about the answer. Generally if someone asked they would get the regular 'nope, they're like brothers to me and life's always peachy' reply, but Mia didn't want to brush off one of the few female friends she had.
"Yeah, it can be hard. For instances, they all are so tightly knit together. It's kind of like being the team mascot, you're there and involved but not really part of the group. You're needed, but...not really necessary. And they are guys. So it's not really an option to go see a movie on Saturday nights that doesn't involve explosions or gore or crude humor. Except for Rowen that is. He'll go to a chick flick just for the opportunity to make fun of it the entire time. We don't go shopping unless it's for car parts or weapons or videogames. And sometimes I'm completely out of the loop because they all have a general idea what each other is feeling and doing. It's like I'm the only one who's clueless.
"But there's some really great parts about it too. They always have my back, and I know I can go to any of them if I have a problem. They listen, even if they don't always understand. Ryo especially. He'll sit there for hours listening to me rant about things that I'm upset about. And Kento seems to always instinctively know if something's wrong. He'll come up a give me these great big hugs and it's so hard to be mad after that. Sage seems quiet and withdrawn but he can be very protective.
"We all went out one night to this club, since I'd been bugging the guys to go with me for weeks. It was a lot of fun, even if not all the guys felt comfortable dancing. It was pretty late when we finally left, and I have to admit that I'd had a little too much to drink. I was kind of drifting as I was walking and accidentally ran into this guy. I apologized but he didn't take it very well; he might have been a little drunk too. Sage stepped in and politely told the gentleman to go about his business. I'm not sure exactly what the guy called me, but one moment he was standing there arguing and the next Sage had laid him out cold in the street. A bit overboard maybe, but it was still nice to have someone stand up for me. I grew up pretty solitary and that's a relatively new thing for me.
"So yeah, it can be hard. But I wouldn't change my relationship with them for the world. Those guys matter more to me than anything, Cass."
"You're lucky to have friends like that, Mia," Cassie smiled gently. Mia reached over and squeezed her hand.
"You're right about that, Cass."
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Mia seemed to be oblivious to the glares coming from the others, her face frozen in an uncaring grimace. Nikki had migrated to her side and the two girls remained silent, something they were all getting pretty used to, Ryo thought. Sage had positioned himself in the center of the group, holding out his sword to illuminate the area around them equally in all directions. They had formed a loose circle with the girls in the middle ahead of Sage.
Kento was leading them deeper into the cavern, having placed himself securely between Nikki and Mia and anything that might come out of the darkness ahead of them. Cye and Ryo had taken opposite sides to keep watch and Rowen was bringing up the rear with White Blaze. Each made sure they didn't step out of the nonexistent protection of the light. It was purely psychological, and they knew it, but they still did it anyway.
They moved because they had no other choice, really. Either they could stay in one place and hope that they would somehow magically escape this cage of darkness, or they could do something about it. Ryo figured Sage and White Blaze had bought them some time but not much. For now they had to move as fast as they could.
Kento was staring ahead with a look of determination on his usually friendly face. His eyes were narrowed in a way that triggered a familiar feeling in Ryo, and not one he was completely comfortable with. Kento's body stance showed he was ready to fight even though he was walking. Kento glanced over his shoulder, giving Ryo a speculative look. Ryo's head swum a moment; déjà vu almost overtaking him before he shook his head to clear it away. Rowen had started muttering angrily behind Ryo, but Ryo didn't catch what he was saying. Nikki's body had tensed and Mia could have had a steel rod running down her spine, as upright as she was holding herself. Rowen muttered again and this time Nikki snapped back angrily. Ryo's eyes caught the flicker of the light off a piece of crystal or shiny rock in the far off ceiling of the cavern, and it twinkled at him like a star up in the sky. Déjà vu hit him again and his eyes stayed on the rocks above him, unseeing.
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"Hey Ryo," Kento said cheerfully, coming up from behind Ryo and joining him on the balcony.
"Hey Kento," Ryo said quietly, eyes glazed off into the distance. The Ronin of Hardrock gave his leader a speculative look then leaned forward casually on his elbows. He didn't say anything, just watched what Ryo was watching. The night sky was particularly clear tonight and hundreds of stars winked in and out at him, making Kento feel small. He wondered how Rowen could feel joy up in all that emptiness. Kento liked having the earth underneath his feet. He liked the reassurance of being able to hold on and feeling grounded. The earth was his anchor, his guide, and sometimes he wondered if it wasn't the constantly changing aspects of the Halo, Strata, and Torrent armors that set him apart from his comrades. The nature of those armors was to flow, the movement of water and light, the shift of the stars. It took his friends in different directions each day, shifting them in minute ways. Kento wondered if anyone else noticed it. Those three were constantly moving and seeking, even Halo. Sage could meditate and center himself all he wanted, but Kento had the feeling that it would never matter. Sage would be pulled out of his comfort zone and taken where his armor dictated. Kento also had the feeling that the outward serenity of his friend was a mask for the uncertainties Sage felt. The three were tied together in ways that they didn't even realize.
Then there was Ryo, bearer of the armor of Wildfire. Kento had his thoughts on his leader's armor, too. He has watched Ryo play with fire, physically and metaphorically. One spark could start a raging uncontrollable inferno, and Ryo spent every day fighting with himself for control. Kento had seen the gleam in Ryo's eyes when he let a flame build a bit too high, burn a bit too hot. He envisioned Wildfire standing at the edge of a cliff, toeing the edge, balanced perfectly and praying a gust of wind didn't come.
What scared Ryo the most? Was it that they all turned to him for the final say? That it was his decision what battles to fight, and that the consequences of those battles would end up weighing the heaviest on him? Or was it himself? The nature of his armor was to burn and destroy, to build and grow until nothing could stand in its path. Kento believed that none of them had even begun to tap their true potential with these armors, but how much was enough? How much were they willing to lose of themselves to find out? The other three's natures might be to flow and change, but Ryo's was to consume everything in his path. Maybe they didn't want to know the true natures of their armors.
Kento stared up at the night sky and smiled at the irony of it all. He was thanking his lucky stars that he'd received the armor that he had. His armor he could understand. But maybe the others were thankful they didn't have the Hardrock armor. Their natures were made to fit their armors and they didn't realize the downsides to the armors. Rowen probably stared up at the night sky and felt at peace. Cye wanted to drift along with the flow of life. Sage felt the warmth of light on his skin and found inner strength. Kento, he needed his feet on solid rock. Only then did he feel like he would be able to get through all of this.
But Ryo…would he ever feel anything but the fight for control? Would he ever be at peace? Would he ever be able to relax and not fight himself? Would he ever go just a bit too far? Was that what all this Damian crap was all about?
It was almost as if Ryo had heard his thoughts, because he stood up and thrust his hands into his pockets, face upturned, tiger-blue eyes large and confused.
"Why does he go after everyone but me, Kento?" Ryo asked quietly. "Why does he mess with every single one of you but leave me completely alone? I don't see things, I don't hear things. Nothing goes bump in the night for me. I don't understand. Why? What does he want with everyone else?"
Kento looked over at his leader and gave him a small rueful grin.
"Are you so sure he doesn't go after you, Ryo?" Kento wondered. Ryo turned and gave Hardrock a confused look. Kento looked down at the driveway, absently noticing that the air in Mia's Jeep's front tire was low. He'd have to fix that for her before she got a flat.
"Think about it Ryo. What better way to mess with you than to leave you alone?" Kento reached his hand around to scratch his back, face thoughtful.
"You always take so much upon yourself Ryo. You're the leader, you're the point man. The warlords, Talpa, Kayura, they all went after you. They wanted your armor, true, but the attacks were centered around destroying you. So here we are, being attacked by something that is completely different. Nine times out of ten this thing has done it's damage before we even realize we've been hit. We're scared and we don't trust what we see and hear. And the one person who is the most used to direct attacks is being left alone, like he doesn't even matter. You're just the rest of us Ryo, you want an enemy you can fight. How can you fight something that seems to have no inclination to come around you? It doesn't care about the power of your armor. You don't matter."
"Why Kento?" Ryo asked softly.
"Because I think this thing is enjoying itself. It's upsetting you just as much as it is the rest of us. It's just doing it in it's own way. Pretty fucking effective. It has all our numbers." Kento looked down and studied the railing.
"Except yours Kento," Ryo replied with a halfhearted smile. "You seem to have a pretty good grasp of this thing."
"I'm just as scared as the rest of you," Kento whispered. Then a humorless grin split his face. "But you know what, man? I think maybe it stays away from you for another reason."
"What's that?"
"Could be it's not sure when you're going to snap and bring this place down all around us. You're stronger than you've ever been, Ryo. Could be you have the ability to hurt it more than you know. Play with fire long enough and you will eventually get burned."
Ryo gave Kento a small smile and shook his head. He stepped forward and rested a hand on Hardrock's shoulder.
"Kento, do we underestimate you?" he joked. Kento however took the question seriously, his face echoing the seriousness of his words.
"Maybe. Maybe we all underestimate each other. Those girls in there do."
"How do you know that?" Ryo wondered, glancing over his shoulder to the others seated inside in the living room.
"Watch their faces. Watch Mia's. They try to hide it, but you can see the despair in their eyes. They're on the edge now, and are ready to try something desperate." Kento turned to look in at the others as well. Nikki was saying something to Mia quietly, then looked out the sliding door to see Kento and Ryo watching them. She gave them a small tight smile and turned away. Kento felt his stomach tighten uncomfortably and he faced the railing once more.
"Keep your eye on them Ryo. I love them, but I'm starting to not trust them." Ryo looked surprised then his eyes narrowed. He nodded at Kento and returned inside. Kento waited until the door was shut before hoping up on the railing, lightly dropping down a story to the driveway below. He walked across the loose stone until his feet hit grass. Kento knelt down and shoved his hands into the ground, beneath the grass and into the cool soil below. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. There's more than one way to meditate, he thought to himself.
Kento would never admit it to anyone had they asked, but the earth spoke to him. Well, not exactly spoke, but when he stopped and listened, he could swear he could feel the earth's mood. He knew when it was relaxed and silent and when it felt like shaking itself apart in anger. Now? Now all was calm.
Something sparked unbidden in Kento's mind and he rose, walking closer to the house. Mia had planted a flower garden all around the outside of her home, and he hadn't noticed before but the tiny plants were starting to wither and some had already died. Kento sank down to a knee in between flowers and drove his hand into the recently tilled ground, fingers brushing the foundation of the house. A chill ran through Kento as he knelt there. He finally moved back, soil spilling between his fingers. He stared at the house a long time before he took a deep breath and moved back inside. He chose to not tell anyone that the very earth touching the house was trembling. Not an earthquake, not that violent, but the dirt had shivered beneath his hands.
It was better not to say anything. Everyone was already scared enough.
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Everyone was in various stages of fear and confusion and Ryo knew he was going to have to do something about it soon. They were all fighting with each other, and his instincts told him that this was exactly what the enemy wanted. And the enemy was still out there, Ryo knew it down in his bones, and the last thing they needed to be doing was helping that sick freak any more than they already had. He didn't know why the thing was messing with everyone else so much and leaving him alone, but Ryo was done standing on the sidelines. This had all gone on long enough.
"Rowen," Ryo said in a deceptively quiet voice, stopping short. "Stop talking."
Rowen turned his glare to Ryo and started to open his mouth in protest, but the dangerous expression on his leader's face stopped him in his tracks. The others turned as well when Rowen went silent.
"Mia," Ryo said to the redhead. Mia looked at him warily. Ryo motioned for her to come closer. The look on her face said that she would rather do anything else but that, but she hesitantly stepped forward. Ryo waited until she had reached his side before taking her arm and guiding her a few paces away from the others. When they were out of earshot, he leaned down and spoke quietly in her ear. The woman's face was a myriad of emotions, flashing between anger and embarrassment to shame. Her face paled at one point and she pulled back, but Ryo's hand on her arm kept her close. Finally she bowed her head and nodded. Ryo returned to the group, Mia at his heel. She kept her eyes firmly on the ground, gripping her pack with white knuckles.
"Here's the deal guys," Ryo said firmly. "The fighting stops now. I don't care who is angry with whom, and who wants to yell at whom. I don't care who lied and who left what out. I don't care whatever the hell it was that led us to where we are right now, all I care about is creaming this asshole and getting everyone home in one piece. If anyone suddenly out of the blue remembers something weird, deal with it. If it could help fight this guy, then share. If you remember that you used to be in loving relationship with White Blaze, or something else equally screwed up, keep your mouth shut until we're home. We'll figure the rest of it all out when we get back."
"Mia's agreed to help by telling us everything she knows about this guy," Ryo looked back at her pointedly. Mia's eyes hardened but she remained silent. "If you ask her something, ask nice. She'll tell you what she knows so don't push her. And she will tell you everything she knows so if it isn't enough, deal with that too."
At the emphasis in his sentence Mia flinched but Ryo's eyes were now fixed on Rowen's. The blue haired man stared back a long moment before looking away. Ryo nodded in satisfaction as he finished with, "I'm only going to say this once."
No one said anything.
Ryo motioned for Kento to continue into the depths of the cavern, the greenish white glow of Sage's sword reflecting off of the Hardrock armor. Kento cast a look at Mia, not quite sympathetic, and continued on. The others retained their loose circle and followed. Ryo kept Mia close at his side, an act that once would have given her comfort, he knew. Now she looked like she'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Her hand kept straying to the necklace she wore, and she stared off into the distance. Ryo reached over and grabbed her hand. Mia looked up at him in surprise.
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Ryo reached down and grabbed Mia's hand. She looked up at him in surprise as he pulled her easily to her feet.
"Come on," he said, blue eyes twinkling, heading off into the woods, half dragging her with him.
"Ryo," Mia laughed, "stop pulling me so hard. Where are we going?"
Ryo just shot her a grin over his shoulder and continued into the vegetation. Once Mia's large house and all the guests roaming around outside were out of view, Ryo stopped and stepped away from her. There was a soft clicking noise as Ryo's white and red subarmor wrapped itself around him, and he stood there smiling. Mia however was not amused.
"Ryo! Quick, take it off! What if someone saw you! There's plenty of history enthusiasts here that might be able to figure out-" Mia started in worriedly, but Ryo just reached out and took her hand again. He wrapped an arm around her and laughed, planting an armored foot into the ground and pushing off. Mia yelped in surprise and threw her arms around Ryo's neck as they flew through the air, bouncing from one tree limb to the next. Mia had never been that crazy about this form of travel but kept her mouth shut until they finally landed on real ground again. She schooled her face into composure, but was a little late from the amusement on Ryo's face. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay," Mia said, looking around. There was nothing different about where they were except that the trees were taller and further apart. Ryo had taken her deeper into the forest than she normally went. "So you have me here. What's so great about here?"
Ryo ran a hand through his messy black hair and looked a little sheepish.
"Well, nothing really," Ryo admitted, looking up at the nearest tree. He walked up to it and ran hand down its rough bark. "It's just you looked really strained there, like you weren't having much fun. I figured you might want to get away for a while."
Mia gave him a smile and shook her head. "Ryo, not all these gatherings I have to go to and host are for fun. Why do you think I always drag you guys with me? You help make the time pass faster. But I have to do them. It's important for my career."
Ryo turned around and leaned against the tree, sliding to the ground and resting his head back. The trunk was four times his width making the warrior seem smaller than normal. He looked away for a moment, then turned back with a small smile.
"I wanted to show you something. Something new. I just learned how to do it," Ryo said, sounding excited. Mia shook her head again but sat down cross-legged in front of him.
"Okay, show me."
Ryo stretched out his hand, palm up and stared at it in concentration. Mia waited. Ryo's eyes glazed over and his hand started to tremor slightly. A small tendril of smoke rose from the center of his palm. Mia looked into Ryo's eyes and could swear that specks of color had stared to swirl, but right then Ryo dropped his arm, hand closing into a fist. He looked exhausted and disappointed.
"It worked last time," Ryo said glumly. "It was really cool." Mia reached forward and patted him on the arm sympathetically. "I can't make a very big flame, but it was at least something."
"It's okay. You can try again later. It's a little cool today, which probably makes it harder," she reasoned. Ryo gave her a thankful look but said nothing. Mia leaned in and fixed him with her ‘teacher look'.
"Okay buster," she said, "now what's the real reason you drug me all the way out here?" Ryo looked down, blushing slightly.
"Am I that obvious?" he asked. Mia chuckled.
"Usually."
Ryo stuck his tongue out at her playfully and she swatted him back. Then his face became serious as he looked at her.
"I heard them talking to you about that job. The one where you'd be working internationally." Ryo big blue eyes seemed sad as he asked, "Are you going to take it?"
Mia sighed and she sat back heavily.
"I don't know Ryo. It would be good for me professionally. But I love living here. My friends are here. It would be hard. I think that I'm going to see if I like being overseas when I go do that project at UCLA. That'll help me make my decision. If I do take it, it wouldn't be for a while anyways." Mia smiled at her friend, thinking about how close they had become.
"It wouldn't be as if we couldn't talk to each other all the time, anyway Ryo. I'd just be a phone call away," she added.
"A phone's not the same as a friend, Mia," Ryo replied softly. Mia reached forward and squeezed his hand.
"Ryo," Mia said gently, "you are my best friend. You have been for a while now and will continue to be for far longer than you might ever want. That's not something you need to worry about."
Ryo looked at her silently for a moment then smiled back. He squeezed her hand in response before standing.
"Yeah I guess you're right," he said, unconsciously going through the motions of shoving his hands in his pockets. Mia hid her amusement as his hands slipped right down his sides and flattened. Ryo already looked a little embarrassed and was pulling back from the moment.
"Come on," Mia said. "I have a party to get back to. And I need an escort to keep me away from all those stuffy suits hanging around." Mia went to Ryo and placed an arm trustingly around his neck. She felt him grip her around the waist and once more they were flying through the air in great leaps. The wind rushed in her ears and whipped her hair into her face, but for once Mia didn't mind. She trusted her friend, and she guessed there were much worse ways to travel.
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When Ryo reached for her hand, Mia looked up at him in surprise. He tugged her closer and tilted his head to the side in a way that hopefully kept any of the others from hearing his words too clearly.
"I'm worried about you," Ryo said softly. Mia tipped her head towards his but kept her eyes straight ahead.
"You shouldn't be, I'm fine," Mia replied stiffly. She tried to pull her hand away but he wouldn't let her. "Plus considering that you have no problem threatening me now, I'm not sure why you should bother."
"I got your attention, Mia," Ryo replied gently. "Nothing shorter of that has." He paused for a pregnant uncomfortable moment, then continued.
"Mia…what happened to us? We used to be so close. Why are you fighting us like this? It's not like you. In fact you haven't been you for years now."
"People change, Ryo," Mia muttered. Anyone but him would have missed the slight catch to her voice but Ryo didn't. She tugged again at his hand, but Ryo merely tightened his grip.
"Something made you change. I think I figured out what the hell's going on with this thing." Ryo's eyes narrowed and his armor creaked as he tensed. Across the circle, Cye watched Ryo out of the corner of his eye. When Ryo tensed, Cye unconsciously did the same thing. Simultaneously Rowen tightened his grip on his bow and Sage lifted his sword higher. Even in the front, Kento had paused a half step and was watching the darkness with greater concentration. Mia raised an eyebrow at him, having caught at least Cye and Sage's reactions to their leader.
"This thing got to you girls, didn't it? Before? Some really messed up stuff happened, and you don't want us to know about it. Like the girl Sage was talking about. Someone died and you don't want us to know why or how it went down. I think you girls are as scared of us as you are of this Damian thing," Ryo added. Mia's face went even colder than it had been before.
"I asked you guys to please not call it that," Mia said shortly.
"Why not?" Ryo asked gently, deliberately keeping his voice and tone easy. Obviously yelling at Mia hadn't accomplished anything. Ryo was going to try sugar this time to Rowen and Sage's vinegar.
"Because you make it more human than it is. It's a demon, a monster. Nothing more. If you keep that in mind, you can face it easier. When you give it a name, you give it a face, a personality. It's a thing, Ryo," Mia replied, her voice strained. "Never let it be more."
"What did you let it do to you, Mia?" Ryo asked her, voice as tender as he could make it. Mia actually flinched, but she still tried gamely to control her expression.
"Ryo, I said I'd help you but this isn't---" Mia started, words catching in her throat, but Ryo entangled his fingers in hers and pulled her against his side. The contact seemed strange, they had barely spoken for so long, but once upon a time they used to hug and laugh and spend all their time together. Ryo's chest tightened considerably. He'd missed his best friend so very much. It had hurt him immeasurably when she had pulled away from him. He hadn't understood. But he thought he might be closer to getting it now. Ryo did something that he was sure the woman wouldn't appreciate.
Ryo wrapped his arm around her shoulders, letting go of her right hand as he did but immediately catching her left. His armor was bulky, and Mia was even slimmer than she had ever been, so she practically disappeared from view. He had her cocooned and trapped. But the point he was trying so hard to get across was that she was protected. Mia hadn't turned to them for help this entire time. She didn't even ask it from Nikki. Mia was working as if she was completely alone. It was time to get that stopped.
"What did you let it do, Mia?" Ryo pressed again, voice almost completely inaudible to even her. Tears started well up in her eyes but didn't fall. Ryo could see her throat constricting.
"We love you Mia. You're safe now," he told her, trying to get all the concern and care he had in him to come out in his voice. "We're not going to let anything hurt you. Please talk to me. Please…"
The pooling tears started streaming down, but no noise came from her. Mia stared forward, eyes glazed over, looking lost.
"Best friends remember? For far longer than you'll ever want. I'm still holding on to my end of that deal, Mia." Ryo reached his other hand over and kindly touched her chin with his cupped palm. "Where've you been, sweetie?"
A small sob broke out of Mia's mouth, audible to the others, and Ryo drifted away from them as far as he dared, bringing her with him. Eyes strayed their way but turned when met with Ryo's protective look.
"It's a monster, Ryo," Mia whispered, words breaking.
"What did it do to you?"
"I tried Ryo…" Her tears were falling faster now; her eyes clenched shut from old demons Ryo couldn't see.
"It turned us against each other, made us so scared. So…very scared. I tried to fight it, each time I failed. I failed…I couldn't stop it. I tried one last thing… one horrible thing …"
"And?"
"And I were wrong…Cassie, she knew…she tried to get us to stop but we were too far in…it…she…she was ripped into pieces, Ryo. The blood…everywhere there was blood…on the walls, everywhere…"
"You didn't know, Mia. Whatever happened, you've never made a bad decision unless you had bad information. You're too smart for that," Ryo tried to reassure her. From up front Kento kept turning around and watching them, face concerned.
"I knew…I knew what would happen…but I couldn't choose…" Mia was sobbing harder now and not making any sense to Ryo, but at the last of her words something sparked in his brain.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Pick one! Pick or they both die!"
"I can't! I CAN'T!"
"…I can…"
"NO!"
Ryo's head snapped back at the sudden memory.
"I failed," Mia whispered, head bowed, slim shoulders shaking. Ryo shivered despite himself, thinking back to Kento's words before they had come after the others. Failed.
"But we were so desperate…"
"Watch their faces. Watch Mia's. They try to hide it, but you can see the despair in their eyes. They're on the edge now, and are ready to try something desperate." Kento turned to look in at the others as well. Nikki was saying something to Mia quietly, then looked out the sliding door to see Kento and Ryo watching them. She gave them a small tight smile and turned away.
"Keep your eye on them Ryo. I love them, but I'm starting to not trust them."
Ryo's head snapped again and he almost pulled away from Mia. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to stay by her side, holding her as they walked. She still wasn't leaning into him, but her hand gripped his so tight it hurt. Ryo shook himself, understanding now why Rowen had seemed so confused and angry. So many emotions had flooded in with the memories, but he didn't understand them or know how to deal with them. He had an overwhelming desire to shove the woman at his side away from him, to maybe even shake her or hit her. Never in his life had he ever wanted to hurt Mia before, and it deeply disturbed him. At least not that I can remember, Ryo thought bitterly.
Ryo realized that the others had come to a stop, but instead of watching Mia and him as he'd expected, all eyes were riveted forward. Ryo turned to look at where the others were and for the moment completely forgot everything that was upsetting him. Sage had lifted his sword high above his head and the greenish white light poured all around them, more brilliant than Sage's weapon had ever produced. Ryo's arm dropped away from Mia's shoulders and he stepped forward, past Sage and to Kento's side. The warrior of Hardrock looked at his leader and moved back.
As far as Ryo could see, a hundred feet lower than the ground they were standing on, stretched a great city. The light from Sage's sword was reflecting back and forth between glittering stonewalls and calm fountain pools, illuminating the entire valley.
"Well Mia," Rowen quipped from behind them all, "you found the ‘something more' you were complaining about."
Nikki looked at her friend's tearstained face then back at Rowen.
"You're a jackass, you know that?" she bit.
"You love it, sweetheart."
"I'd love for you to shut up for once."
"You'd miss my sexy voice and you know it," Rowen smirked.
"You're right. What's the fun in that?" Nikki agreed. "I just adore your pointless comments. ‘Mia, why won't you talk to me when I'm being a complete asshole?' ‘Gee, that statue's scary!' ‘I'm soooo confused!' ‘Oh my god, a monster!'"
Rowen gave Nikki a dirty look.
"You're really a bitch you know that?" he muttered. She stuck her lower lip out in a pout, eyes big.
"You mean, big brave Rowen doesn't like me? But I love big brave Rowen!"
Rowen glared at her and walked up to Ryo, looking for a way into the valley. Along the drop off there was a slim path winding down. Ryo had already spied it and was heading down, Kento climbing behind him.
"Just shut up and get down there, Nikki," Rowen growled. Nikki walked past and pouted again, widening her eyes as big as they would get. Rowen flipped her off, but grabbed her hand afterwards and helped her down to the others. Cye came next and gave Rowen an evil grin.
"I love you too, Rowen---" Cye started to say, ducking the swing Strata sent his direction. "Gee, a bit crabby aren't we?" Cye added mildly, a smile on his face. Sage and Mia followed, the tiger not far behind. Before he went down, Rowen looked irritably at the beautiful but strange sight in front of him.
"I'm still blaming this one on you, Ryo," he muttered, shaking his head. "I was perfectly happy letting those two girls do this by themselves." Rowen grunted and began climbing, figuring that while it probably could get much worse than it already had, at least it hadn't gotten there yet.