Robyn stumbled into her apartment, hardly able to see as her eyes filled up with tears. She was not sobbing at the moment, but her eyes were watering. Her chest hurt something awful and her feet felt heavy. Almost too heavy to move any further. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. The pressure building in her heart was almost too overwhelming and she could hardly move.
"Robyn, is that you?" Natalia asked as she poked her head out of the hall. The blonde young woman was quite surprised to see a downtrodden Robyn leaning there, alone. "Robyn! Honey, what happened?" she wondered, coming quickly to her friend's aid.
Robyn sniffed and rubbed her face. It hurt even too much to really cry.
"They didn't come to see me," she related softly. "They just wanted stuff from me. They're caught up in certain things and they wanted me to get involved, too."
"Those bastards!" Natalia instantly cursed.
Robyn looked up at that remark. "But...they're not bad people. I–I don't know what I'm thinking right now. I'm just going to bed, okay?"
Natalia watched her go, a bit confused.
"Okay," she relented. "We'll talk in the morning if you want to."
"Okay," Robyn replied as she stumbled off to her room. Everything was so confusing right now. Did she really say the right thing? It was so hard to think. She hoped everything would straighten out in her head as soon as she got some sleep.
*****
Mia looked up when she heard the scuffling of several people down the hall and the opening of the door across the way of hers and Miniko's. She turned from her book to the younger woman who was watching tv. Miniko was instantly a bit tense about the situation. Who knew how Robyn, the girl she had constantly tortured in high school, would react to her now.
Mia smiled at her.
"I'll go talk to them. I bet Robyn still has questions. Don't worry, everything will work out."
Miniko gave a weak smile to that as Mia left the room. When she was alone, a calm, male voice reached her ears above the American program she was watching.
"The girl Robyn...she isn't with them."
Miniko's face shot over to the empty corner as if someone were standing there.
"What?!"
*******
"What?!" Mia was repeating in a similar tone in the next room.
"She didn't come with us," Ryo repeated.
"But...but why?" Mia floundered. Of all the things she tried to plan on, Robyn's rejection of all five Ronins wasn't even close to being one of them.
"She didn't want to do it," Rowen answered for Ryo. He sounded more than a little cranky about the whole thing. "She couldn't leave it all behind."
"That–that's horrible!" Mia insisted. "How can she be so selfish? After all we've done to get here! I can't forgive her for this!"
"Look Mia," Kento took his turn to talk. "I think it's partly our fault, too. Robyn's feelings were hurt because we didn't come because we wanted to see her, we just wanted something from her."
"But, that's not true!" Mia argued. "You--"
"I know," Kento continued. "But we were so bent on the thought of her just coming without question, we forgot to consider her feelings. Now I think it's best we all got some sleep. Everyone is very tired and we can give it another shot tomorrow, okay?"
Everyone thought that was a fabulous idea and all within the party was soon participating in Kento's plan. All except Kento.
For some reason, even though he had been tired earlier. The bearer of Hardrock now lay in bed wide eyed and unable to sleep. Something was nagging at him; something important. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Did he leave the stove on at home? Did he forget something at Mia's place? No. None of those things seemed likely. So what was it?
‘Tell me,' Kento thought to his armor. ‘What is it? What do you think I should be doing?'
The answer came to his head as if it had been his own idea. But Kento knew better. He knew what influence his armor had on him. And by now, after all the many battles they had been in together, he knew when to listen.
Quiet as a shadow, Kento slipped out of the covers, careful not to wake the sleeping Cye he was sharing the bed with. There was a long, stretched out form snoozing on the floor. That was Ryo. Careful not to step on his friend, Kento was almost at the door when something grabbed his foot. He was so surprised, he almost fell over on the second bed where Rowen and Sage were slumbering. Luckily, he caught his balance just in time and vengefully looked back at who dare to stop him.
Ryo, laying on his stomach still on the floor, had Kento's ankle in his clutches. Kento glared at him while Ryo gave him a knowing grin. Several years ago when they had first used their armors, Kento had stopped Ryo from slipping away from the group alone in the same fashion. Now, it was Ryo's turn.
"Where do you think you're going?" Wildfire asked in a whisper only loud enough for Kento to hear.
"I have to go back," he replied with the same volume.
"Back?!" Ryo cracked, almost being too loud.
Kento quickly shushed him.
"I have a bad feeling. It's not going to leave me alone until I go check on Robyn."
"I'll come, too," Ryo insisted. "Just let me find my pants."
********
So it was, in the middle of an Oregon night, two young Japanese men drove their rental car back out to the small town in search of ...who knew what. They weren't sure why they had started off, but things soon became alarmingly clear when they reached Robyn's apartment complex.
"Ryo, I wasn't sure earlier, but I definitely have a bad feeling now," Kento said in such a way that the mere tone itself made Ryo uneasy.
Even more so when Hardrock pointed to the level Robyn's place was and there was a broken window. Both Ronins knew for a fact that the window in question had not been broken earlier that afternoon, having been in the apartment themselves. Despite the late hour, it did not sit well with the two that there were no lights on either.
"Let's go," Ryo announced. "Even if we get yelled at again, I just want to make sure."
Kento nodded and followed Ryo as they raced up the stairs to the third floor. Wildfire's words were hopeful, but Kento silently doubted they were going to find everything safe and sound. Another lecture from Robyn would be the least they would get. He knew it deep down in his gut. He was called here for a reason and he wasn't going to like what he saw in that room.
Upon reaching the door, Ryo hesitated. Should he knock? It was so late. He didn't want to wake anyone up if there really was nothing going on. For a moment, he stood there with his fist poised to knock, but Kento quickly made the decision for him.
Without even waiting for a second to consider what he was doing, Kento rammed his shoulder into the door, surprising Ryo completely. So much so, the raven haired young man could hardly move. He just gaped as Kento charged the door again, making quite a bit of noise in the process. The door was cracking at the hinges, and after one last demonstration of Hardkrocks's strength, the previously locked door flung open.
Kento was instantly in the doorway, trying to see what the darkness held inside. Ryo was behind him, cautiously peeking and ready to blame it all on Kento if angry women suddenly appeared from within and yelled at them for breaking down the door in the middle of the night. But no such things were revealed from the dim light of the hallway. Instead, they could barely make out the remains of a once neat apartment, now torn to shreds.
Kento sucked in a breath. Somehow he knew. Deep down, his armor knew this was going on. He didn't know how or when his armor could see such things, but it had been right.
Once Ryo had seen that they were indeed needed in this situation, he too stepped into the doorway and reached for the light switch, flicking it a few times. Nothing happened.
"It's not working," Ryo repeated what was obvious. "But there is still power in the building." There was broken glass on the floor. Whoever broke in, broke all the lights from inside the apartment.
"Shit! I can't see anything in there!" Kento cursed. "Robyn! Are you in here?"
Ryo was desperately wishing for a flashlight as well. But since they had none, he pulled out the best thing he had on him.
"Man, forget all the times I hassled you about carrying that thing," Kento grinned as Ryo flicked on his lighter. It wasn't much, but it was something at least.
The two stepped bravely in, more broken glass crunching under their shoes. All their senses were on alert. Anything could happen from here on in.
"Kento?" came a quick call from the darkness.
"Robyn!" Ryo exclaimed.
"Robyn!" Kento called back, a bit relieved. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
The reply was silence, which confused the two warriors. They looked at each other by the light of the single flame. What was going on? If Robyn heard them, why wasn't she answering?
"Be careful!"
Robyn's second reply was also very quick. And now the two Ronins were very much alarmed. It seemed that Robyn was in the dark somewhere, afraid to reply because her voice would give her position away. If she was afraid of being found, that meant there was still someone in the room with her.
No sooner had this information processed, than the two Ronins felt their sub armors call themselves up. Each jumped to either side as they felt an attack at their backs. Once forced into the dark room, they looked towards the lit doorway to find two hulking silhouettes looming there.
"It's those guys again, from Mia's house," Kento hissed. "How did they get over here?"
Ryo eyed the two figures, noticing that each one had a large sword in their possession and they currently had no weapons at all.
"I think that question is the least of our worries right now," he pointed out.
Without a word, the two figures were upon them and the Ronins were forced further into the dark apartment to avoid the attack. Ryo dodged and jumped each swing, trying to remember what Robyn's apartment was like in the dark. She had two couches, he recalled. Where were they? Ryo soon found out when he backed up into one of them. Another swing from the enemy sword and Ryo jumped on top of it, letting the blade bite into the back of the couch.
With his attacker momentarily stuck, Ryo glanced about the darkness, looking for Kento. He could hear him somewhere in the room. There were flashes here and there as moonlight reflected off the swinging sword. There was a sound of metal on metal. Kento had grabbed a halogen lamp in the darkness and was using it like a staff. It was the only way to defend himself. There was no way they could call up their armor in such a small room. The power from them would surely shatter the tiny place.
They were just going to have to make due without, which was fine with Ryo. He had maneuvered his opponent over towards the window where he could see a bit better. On a downward swing, Ryo managed to catch the blade between his palms; something he could do because of the sub armor protecting his hands. If he had tried that in the dark without armor, he might have had to say good-bye to his fingers.
The attacker seemed a bit surprised by the sudden block. Ryo took advantage of this and kicked him away, stealing the sword for himself. Another swift kick to his opponent's head and the dark clad figure was thrown back into the wall where he slumped on the floor and didn't move. Ryo cocked an eyebrow at the darkness. This was the same as before. These guys were hardly up to his skill level. Perhaps they were using the darkness in hopes of getting the upper hand.
Feeling a bit braver with his new weapon, Ryo was ready to reveal his position.
"Robyn! Where are you?"
No response. All he could hear was Kento's fight somewhere off in the corner. There was the sound of the lamp shattering and then a heavy thud.
"Man, that was low," Kento's voice announced in the pitch black. "These guys are total punks. That guy deserved everything he got." There was a pause. "Yo Robyn! The cost is clear now."
"I....I'm in the kitchen," came a hesitant voice.
The two Ronins couldn't see where she was as much as they could hear. They followed the sound of her voice, bumping into the counter and then making their way around it. Ryo was in front and his wide, blue eyes barely made out a form huddled in the corner beneath the sink. He carefully approached and knelt down next to her.
"Robyn?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" Robyn suddenly came to life, slapping him away. "You bastard! This all happened because of you! Why didn't you guys say anything to me about this? Everything I had here is gone now, do you understand? I've lost it all! I can't come back to this place--not after what happened here! And Natalia, they have her!"
"They took your roommate?" Kento exclaimed. Now that was something he wasn't expecting at all.
"Yes, they took her!" Robyn practically screamed at them. "How could you let this happen? I HATE YOU!"
Ryo just sat there. Those last three words cut into him and made him go numb all over. He vaguely heard Kento, despite Robyn's outburst, tell her to pack up her things and to come with him. Robyn silently obeyed. As her presence left him alone in the dark, Ryo could feel his internal world spiral. What had they allowed to happen? It was what fate had called them for--to save the innocent. Why did destiny want them on such a calling when they could not do it?
Everything began to pass by like an old soundless movie. Ryo hardly recalled anything but vague images as the three of them got in the car and drove silently back to the hotel.
********
Mia peeked out of her room when there was a knock at the door. What was going on? She was half surprised and half not to see Kento standing there with a sullen Robyn at his side. It was the atmosphere Mia did not expect. In the hall, things felt very heavy and dark. She had a feeling inside that told her something was wrong.
"Here, we brought her," was all Kento said.
Mia blinked at him. Behind them, she saw Ryo enter their room across the hall. He didn't look too good at all. What had happened? She was about to ask when Kento cut her off as he turned around for the room himself.
"We'll talk in the morning," he promised, and then he was gone.
Now Mia was left with nothing else to do but attend to the newest member of the group. Robyn, however, didn't give her much chance to talk either as she just walked inside. A bit flustered now by the way everyone was acting, Mia finally closed the door and put her hands on her hips.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
Robyn turned her head in annoyance and Mia could see a trail of dried blood down the side of her face.
"Look, I just want to shower, okay?" Robyn demanded.
Mia sighed heavily. It was the middle of the night and she just didn't have the strength to fight everyone's attitudes right now. But tomorrow, everyone would get a good grilling, she would see to that.
"Okay," Mia relented. "You can take this bed when you're done."
She motioned to the bed she had previously been sleeping in. It was then Robyn finally noticed there was a dark haired figure sleeping in the second bed. Who was that supposed to be? It didn't matter much to Robyn, she just wanted to get away from everyone and quickly locked herself in the bathroom.
Mia breathed out once again as she slipped over to Miniko's bed. She didn't want to wake the younger woman and simply thought it best to give Robyn her own bed. This would probably be easier on her to wake up to Mia's face than Robyn's. Mia silently hoped everything would turn out okay as she switched off the lights.
********
Once alone in the bathroom, Robyn finally gave herself a chance to think. As she turned on the shower and stepped into the hot water, she thought about how good the day had started. Who would have thought it would end up turning into such a nightmare?
'But how could it be that way?' Robyn thought to herself. 'I got to see them again after so long. There were days when I never thought I would. They came back to me. But why did all this have to happen? Why?'
She fought back the sobs as the hot water ran over her face. What was she doing there? And what about Natalia? The cheerful, blonde girl had turned into her best friend while they had known each other. What happened to her? She didn't deserve any of this. Robyn's fists clenched in sudden anger. Why did they have to come here and bring all this danger with them? What were they thinking?
With this philosophy still in mind, Robyn was even more miffed when she finished her shower. She moodily stepped out and wrapped her towel around her. The towel was hers, but she grabbed another from the hotel to wrap her hair in.
How could she stay here with them? This was ridiculous! Robyn had half a mind to just take off from here and never hear from them again. That is, until she saw herself in the mirror. She remembered when she had bought that towel she was wearing. She had purposefully picked out that light blue color because it reminded her of someone she knew who loved the sea.
Robyn pulled out her toothbrush, a green reminder to brush at least twice a day. The dark blue band on the watch she always wore was never wrong with the time and her sturdy back pack which never let her down was an unsightly shade of orange. Robyn's sweater she wore to keep her warm at night was a brilliant red and she hugged it to her. A sudden burst of realization hit her hard in the chest and she made a sound that seemed somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
"I'm....so stupid...."
*******
Cye was awake now. He had woken up sometime while Ryo and Kento were gone and had waited up until they came back. Now, while Sage and Rowen still slumbered, the other three Ronins were not planning on joining them any time soon.
Kento was reluctant to tell Cye what happened. Ryo was still shaken up from it and it seemed rude to recall it all in front of him. But Cye was insistent so Kento relayed the story the best he could while being mindful of Ryo's feelings. After hearing the story, Cye glanced over at Wildfire who was sitting on the chair by the tv, staring off into space. This made Torrent wonder exactly what Robyn had said to him since Kento had not explained her outburst word for word. Ryo hadn't even spoken once since he got back. Everyone knew he was sensitive this way, but this was almost too much.
There was a small knock on the door. Cye called out that he would answer it, but Ryo, being in the state he was, instantly got up. He was on automatic now. Robyn's words will still swirling in his head and he was left beside himself with the harshness of them. He had rolled them around so much that he did indeed believe that it was all his fault. The only thing that could have jarred him out of such a deep funk was what was standing right outside the door.
Ryo froze when he saw her. Those haunting green eyes; he feared them. He backed away as Robyn suddenly rushed him. The bearer of Wildfire may have been prepared for giant floating heads taking over the world, but he could have never been prepared for this.
"Ryo!" Robyn cried as she trapped him around the mid section in a fierce embrace.
Ryo felt his body grow numb again. He stumbled back into the wall and slowly slid down it until they were both sitting on the floor.
"Ryo, I'm so sorry," Robyn sobbed into his shirt. She was not about to let go of him, no matter where he stumbled to. "I didn't mean what I said. I'm such a horrible person. I'm so stupid! Please forgive me!"
For a minute, Robyn was afraid that he wasn't going to speak to her. Not that she didn't deserve it if Ryo never wanted to speak to her again. But a hand on her head made hope suddenly shoot into her heart.
"Robyn," Ryo whispered has he slowly stroked her hair. "It--It's okay...."
"Not it's not!" she insisted as she hugged him tighter. "This is all my fault! This happened because I didn't listen and because I'm so selfish! You have all done so much for me and when you need my help, I run away. And I say such terrible things! You don't deserve it! I'm so sorry! I--"
She was cut off when Ryo put his hand on the side of her face and then pulled it away. Blood was smeared on his palm. Robyn took her turn to feel the cut that had opened during her outburst. She had got it during that horrible incident. When those people broke into her apartment through the window. They smashed all the lights and attacked them. Robyn had been faster. She had run, thinking Natalia was right behind her. But then she heard to scream and the last thing she saw was her friend being dragged out the broken window and she was left alone to huddle in the darkness.
Robyn stared at the blood on her hand and her body trembled.
"Robyn?" Ryo asked.
"It's because I'm such a coward!" Robyn cried, looking at the floor. How could she bear to look at them? "I told you I wouldn't go because I was scared. I'm not as strong as you guys are. I can't help it."
She looked up, surprised, when something warm and wet was pressed against her face. Cye had gone to get a wet cloth and then gave it to Ryo who was currently cleaning her wound.
"Yeah, you're a total brat," Kento told her, sitting next to them on the floor. "But I suppose we'll put up with you a little longer."
Robyn sighed, feeling a bit relieved. Kento knew she wasn't expecting to be forgiven right away. She knew she didn't deserve it. All she wanted was to know that they would still talk to her.
I'm still scared, she thought to herself. But....
"I'll do whatever you need me to," Robyn said out loud. "Anything you need. Just tell me and I'll do it." I'll give up my life if you only ask it. It is yours after all.
Ryo surprised her by pulling her up into his own embrace. "We'll do this together," he told her.
"Yeah, all of us," Kento nodded.
Cye, who was now sitting on the edge of Sage and Rowen's bed, agreed. He then glanced behind him, wondering if any of that woke the last two ronins up. They still seemed to be sleeping. Rowen, of course, could sleep through an earthquake. Sage, however, cracked open an eye when no one was looking. He then smiled to himself before going back to sleep. His armor of wisdom had told him everything would eventually come together. And it was right, as usual.
*********
Sage awoke, not to the usual sunlight, but to someone grabbing his hand. Before he even opened his eyes, he furrowed his brows in annoyance. If Rowen was doing weird things in his sleep he'd let him have it, hurt shoulder or not. Opening his eyes, he was surprised that he was now sharing his bed with a different person than whom he had fallen asleep with. Sage should have realized it wasn't Rowen earlier. The form was too light and the hand that was touching his was small and soft. Now the question was, what was Robyn doing in his bed in the first place?
It didn't look like she had just plopped on the bed recently. She was sleeping soundly under the covers with him. She looked so peaceful there with a serene expression on her face and her hair softly billowing all around her. Sage glanced around him, wondering if this was a joke and if anyone was watching. No one was stirring. With that confirmed, Sage glanced back to the hand touching his. His hand had been laying palm up and Robyn's was sitting loosely over his.
This was a position that Sage would have, in his usual right mind, gotten out of instantly. But whatever reason, be it the fact he had just woken up or because he had been under such stress lately, Sage let curiosity get the best of him. He slowly maneuvered his hand around until it cupped hers, comparing the size difference and the texture of the two. For some reason, early in the morning, this was very interesting. How could she be so much smaller than him? And so soft and smooth?
Sage immediately looked guilty when Robyn stirred in her sleep. Her hand reflexively clutched his and Sage worried that she was awake. But all Robyn did was make a small noise and snuggle up closer to the larger heat source in her bed. Sage's expression was a bit different now with Robyn's head pressed against his shoulder. His curiosity was gone and he was through playing around.
Luckily, he still had some space to retreat and removed himself from her and sat up. He rubbed his tired face as he gazed around the room. Ryo, who had been sleeping on the floor when everyone had retired, was now dozing in the other bed with Kento. Cye was nowhere to be found and neither was Rowen. Sage was trying to decide where to go from there when Robyn opened her eyes.
Sage watched her dumbly as she sat up and stretched. Robyn lazily scratched at her arm before looking around the room. Her eyes went wide when she saw him next to her and she instantly leaned back away from him. Apparently Robyn had not been aware they were sharing beds, either.
Sage didn't know what to say to her. This was, indeed, an awkward situation. At least, to him. Robyn didn't seem bothered at all. After she had looked around the room, she looked back at him and smiled.
"I'm so glad we're all together again," she said.
Sage looked at her for a second, then offered half a smile. He breathed heavily out of his nose as he turned and got out of bed. Robyn followed his example. However, while Sage continued to stand in the middle of the room, wondering what to do with himself, Robyn was already heading for the door. She walked out of the room and knocked on the door across from it, fully expecting Mia or some other face just as friendly and familiar. What she got was a beautiful, dark eyed face with ebony hair.
"Robyn," the other person breathed.
Robyn froze, her hand still poised in knocking position. She backed up a step.
"Min...Miniko..."
Robyn backed up a bit more–right into Sage. She looked up at the taller blonde, just to see who it was, before scooting around behind him. Once the Warrior of Light was between them, Miniko started to look a bit intimidated as well. She still had hardly even looked at Sage, let alone talked to him, through this whole thing. She wondered what his opinion of her was now. After all, he knew almost as well as Robyn how cruel and horrible she had been in the past. What was she supposed to say to him?
"Where's Cye and Rowen?" Sage took the initiative to speak first.
Miniko found herself playing with her hair nervously under Halo's sharp gaze. "Um...Cye and Mia went to go get breakfast for everyone. Rowen's in here."
Robyn, for her part, was now very confused. Why was Miniko here? And why was Sage talking to her about the others? While Sage seemed fine with offering her protection, he didn't feel inclined to give her an explanation and walked into the other room as it was offered. Robyn was quick to follow. Once inside, she would have Sage and Rowen with her.
The Bearer of Strata was sitting on one of the beds. He was without his shirt, but there were bandages around his upper torso and over his hurt shoulder.
"Couldn't sleep," Rowen explained. His best friend was giving him a look that accused him of not sleeping like he normally did. "We were just going to–"
"Rowen." The entire atmosphere was cut through when Robyn stepped forth, her eyes wide. "What happened?"
Rowen gave her a guilty grin. "It's....nothing."
"Did those guys attack you, too last night?"
"Um, no," Rowen scratched sheepishly at the back of his neck. "This was before we left."
Robyn stared down at him for a while. Then she raised her hand and promptly slapped him on the arm. Minio gasped. Sage stayed stone faced.
"What's the matter with you?" Robyn cried.
Rowen cried, too. That was his hurt side.
"You mean you were walking around all yesterday with this and you didn't say anything?"
"What?" Rowen demanded. "I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Geeze, you really piss me off, you know that? How can you be this stupid?"
Miniko clenched her fist at the sudden fight. This wasn't right. None of this was Rowen's fault. He shouldn't be yelled at like this.
"Wait a minute–"
She was cut off as Sage quickly grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the room. As he shut the door after them, Miniko was done being timid around him.
"What the hell was that?" she demanded. "Didn't you see how she was treating–"
"Don't worry about it," Sage cut her off again. "You don't understand. It's just their way."
Miniko blinked at him as he leaned against the wall, obviously ready for a long wait. Funny, after the last thing he said to her, all she could think about was what he was wearing. She had liked him so much in high school; that went without saying. Even now, he was still as handsome as ever. Miniko had seen him all the time in his school uniform and, on occasion, in his street clothes. But she had never seen Sage Date standing around in just his pajamas.
Sure, they covered him full body, but just the suggestion of it was somewhat scandalous. These were more personal than every day clothes. Something like that was usually only seen by those close to them. Like family members, or a lover.
Miniko quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head when she felt her cheeks growing warm. This was ridiculous! She wasn't a kid any more! She needed to act like it. So then she turned her thoughts to wondering exactly how long she was going to have to stand out in the hall.
*********
"What are you, my mom?" Rowen insisted from back inside.
Robyn huffed as she plopped herself on the bed next to him. "I just wish you'd take care of yourself more. You're like a little kid. Someone's always got to hold your hand."
And with that, she started, undoing his bandages.
"You know, Miniko should probably do that," Rowen suggested. "She has some medical training. You don't."
"I don't care."
"Well, of course YOU don't care. But I would like to–" He stopped when he felt Robyn lean her forehead against his back.
Suddenly the room went quiet and a different atmosphere took over.
"Is this....how it's always going to be?" Robyn asked softly. "With you guys having to fight all the time–always getting hurt?"
"Robyn," Rowen sighed. The sudden emotion in her voice made the dull ache from his shoulder move to into his chest.
"I don't like it," Robyn continued. "I can't help you any. I don't know what to do. What should I do, Rowen?" She suddenly felt weaker than she had ever felt before. Rowen's back was broad and felt strong. Even though he was wounded, he still felt like he could take on the world compared to her.
Rowen glanced back at the top of her head.
"It will be fine," he soothed. "You'll do okay. Just stay with us and we'll stay strong together."
Robyn got on her knees so she was kneeing behind him. She draped one arm loosely around his neck while she felt his forehead with the other. She was a bit worried as it felt even warmer than the day before.
"And what about you? Will you be okay?"
Rowen closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply. In truth, he was feeling worse by the hour, but he couldn't say anything. There was nothing that could be done about it, not if even Sage couldn't heal it. So what was the point? He lightly touched the arm around his collar bone. He wanted her to hold him tighter. He wanted to just lay down and rest in her presence without the rest of the world to bother them. He wanted–
"...Yeah, we got fruit, and milk, and doughnuts," Mia was saying as she opened the door. "Enough for everyone."
"Alright, breakfast!" came Kento's call clear from the other room.
Despite the fact he had been so far away, he was one of the first people into Mia's room, ready to relieve her of said doughnuts.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" he wondered, seeing Robyn and Rowen in their odd positions.
Rowen felt his cheeks grown warm after he realized what he was thinking.
Robyn cooly removed her hand from his forehead. "Playing doctor," she replied without any guilt.
"Oh really," Kento replied, not believing it a bit.
Cye came in after him, placing the two bags of groceries he was carrying on the table. Everyone else was filing into the room, sitting where they felt like. Kento made himself at home on the floor out of everyone's way. Miniko walked over to Rowen who was insisting on someone patching him up who knew what they were doing.
"Robyn," Cye called. His voice was laced in disbelief. "Are you wearing my shirt?"
Finally, Robyn did look guilty. "Maybe."
"You took it with you when you moved out," he accused. "No wonder I couldn't find it! Don't you have anything of your own to wear?"
Robyn sighed heavily. "Oh fine, here," she said as she started to take it off.
A few were about to voice against it until they saw she was still wearing a spaghetti strap shirt underneath. She casually threw it at Cye before walking over to get some breakfast. Kento was eyeballing her as she passed.
"What are those?" he asked, pointing to her shorts.
No one had seen them before. They were so tiny and short, even the shirt she had been wearing previously was longer. This was the most revealing thing any of them had seen Robyn wear and, it seemed, everyone was questioning her choice in clothing.
"These?" Robyn asked, motioning to her neon yellow shorts as she grabbed a doughnut. "They're my Batman boxers." She pointed to the small Batman symbol on her right cheek. "I have Superman one's, too. They can make me fly."
"So, are we ready to talk about what's going on now?" Mia asked as it seemed everyone had grabbed something to eat.
"We will as soon as Robyn stops waving her ass in my face," Kento complained. "Hey get me another maple doughnut while you're up there."
"Oh whatever, you like it," Robyn retorted as she grabbed him one.
"Yeah, I do," Kento admitted. "But that's not the point."
Robyn gave a startled cry as Kento suddenly pulled her down on the floor with him. This got him his doughnut faster. Robyn laughed as she lay there, draped sloppily over his lap.
"You two grow up," Cye huffed, not impressed with the display.
"Hey Cye," Robyn called back, patting her own lap with her free hand. "There's room for you, too. Mmm, mmm, you know you want to."
Cye snorted again and looked away, but he couldn't stop the crooked smile from creeping over his face. Yeah, it was funny, but he wasn't about to admit it. Miniko was trying not to smile as well. It seemed rude somehow to laugh. These weren't her friends. She had no right to act like she was one of them.
Mia, however, was not impressed. She cleared her throat loudly to get everyone's attention.
"Now," she began. "We'll start from the beginning for Robyn's sake. Apparently, contrary to our original beliefs that Talpa was the original owner of the nine armors..."
Robyn looked over at Kento. "Should I be taking notes? This sounds like it going to get heavy."
Kento rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."
Mia huffed and Ryo threw a shirt at the two of them.
"Pay attention," he urged.
Robyn sighed. Well, if Ryo was asking her to, she'd give it a try. But first...
"Look Mia," she told the older woman. "You know I love you and all, but could you possibly put it into laymen's terms for me? I don't have a clue what you're talking about."
Mia breathed out again. She got an encouraging smile from Miniko and thus, started her story differently.
"Okay, here it goes. A long time ago, there was a spell put on the armors. This spell bound four priestesses to the armors. Now, for some reason, that binding spell has been activated and the four priestesses are being called up. The problem is, someone is trying to get to those priestesses before us. Which is why we came here."
Mia looked at Miniko, who nodded. That was pretty much the story.
Robyn blinked at them. "Okay, I may need a little bit more information than that."
"Oh for crying out loud," Kento announced.
"Well," Robyn argued. "That didn't answer everything! You still didn't tell me why Miniko's here."
Kento grinned. "She's one of them. She's the Guardian of Strata."
Rowen frowned. Kento just had to rub that in.
Robyn glanced at him. Poor guy. No wonder he wasn't looking too good.
"So now, I guess the next question is, why did you come see me? What can I do to help?"
Everyone looked at her and Robyn's eyes went wide in realization. "You guys don't mean that I'm one of these..priestess guardian things, too!"
Everyone nodded.
"Aw crap," Robyn groaned. "Okay, which one am I?"
"Uh, we don't really know yet," Ryo offered.
Robyn blinked again. "You mean *I'M* supposed to know? Do I get to pick or something?"
"We're still not sure about everything ourselves," Cye took his turn to explain. "We were really more concerned with just getting to you and making sure you were safe first."
Robyn smiled her thanks. Then she remembered something. Someone didn't get saved in time.
"What about Nat? She was taken last night."
That raised a few heads. Not everyone knew about that.
"If they were after me, then why did they take her? Is it possible that she was one, too? Where was she taken? What will they do to her? Can we get her back?"
Kento sighed as he put a hand on her shoulder. "We're all kind of lost on that one, too, I'm afraid. But we'll do whatever we can."
The others nodded.
"Is that it?" Mia wondered.
Robyn raised her hand. "Oh wait, I do have one more question. Who is that guy standing over there in the corner?"
Everyone blinked. Miniko almost fell off the bed in surprise.
"You mean you can SEE him?" she demanded.
"Who?" Kento wondered, moving Robyn off him as he stood.
"He's right there," Robyn insisted, pointing to the empty corner. "You guys can't see him? Miniko, you see him, right?"
The dark haired woman looked guilty. "Well, yes. But I didn't think anyone else could."
"What does he look like?" Cye asked, starting to get worried.
"Hm...he's kind of tall. Sharp face, long redish hair. A bit darker than mine. He looks a bit older and he's wearing these old blue and white robes."
Mia covered her mouth as she gasped. It couldn't be him.
"Anubis," Sage breathed as he, too, stood up. He himself had felt a presence in the room, but not even he could see it.
"Get out!" Kento cried, completely incredulous at the idea. "No way. Anubis is right there?" He strolled over to the corner in question. He looked at it and then waved an arm around in the space, hoping to catch something solid. "He's right here?"
Miniko gasped as she saw Kento's arm go right through Anubis' head several times.
Robyn was stone faced. "You better stop that Kento, he's starting to look pissed."
Kento did stop; and looked at the space again with his hands on his hips. "Well, I'll be darned."
Robyn took a step back when the figure now named Anubis walked through Kento's form and approached her.
"You can see me?" he asked seriously.
"Uh, yes I can," Robyn replied to the air.
Some of the Ronins were becoming alarmed. What had Anubis come back from the dead for and what did he have to say to Robyn?
"I put a spell on Miniko so she could hear and see me," Anubis explained. "But for you to see me without any such help; that must mean you're the–"
He was cut short when the fire alarm suddenly went off.
"Ah, hell," Kento cursed. "If it isn't one thing, it's another."
"Do you think it's just a drill?" Cye wondered.
"If only we were so lucky," Rowen added dryly as he put a shirt on. He felt a little dizzy when he stood up, but he didn't say anything.
Pretty much, everyone but Mia, Cye, and Miniko were still in their pajamas. But, it seemed a lot of other people who were staying in the building were dressed the same as well, so it was no problem.
"Put this back on," Cye ordered, throwing Robyn the shirt she was wearing earlier.
"Aw, Cye..." Robyn complained, but obeyed. He was still like her mom sometimes.
Everyone filed out of the building and gathered outside as was routine. All the Ronins and company were quiet as the alarm sounded through the morning air.
"Well, there's definitely no real fire," Ryo then commented.