No Hero

Chapter 4

 
 
 Rowen furiously packed all he could into his knapsack and handbag. They had to go, for Talpa could come any minute! ANY minute! But the question was… why is Talpa after SAI? That was very strange. Talpa would most likely be after for Ryo who is the bearer of the White Inferno, right? Kento gathered enough rations of food right then to get going for at least a week. Taking their bags, knapsacks, satchel, and other stuff, they headed out the door. At first, Sage was taking the lead, but many times were blocked with an obstacle. It was like the city was trying to defeat them! This was absurd. Kento, rashly, nearly exploded and took his own path, leading them to a highly trenched area. "Kento! You know the waterfall isn't that way!" Sage hollered, stumbling after him. Kento called back, "Well, your way is even harder than mine! We're going to the river!"
                    

Ryo and Rowen were so tired (well, they ARE the ones who are practically carrying Sai so what else?) that they were nearly to fall over. Laying Sai onto the ground, they collapsed onto the rocks, staring. Rowen panted, "If… if we go to the river… where will we settle?" Sage then suddenly calmed and quietly answered, "What Kento has in mind is to hide him INSIDE the water." Kento sarcastically pointed out, "Well, he's safer in water than he is on land, guys! You know that!"
                    

Ryo putted in, "Well let's get into shelter before it starts to storm! You know the clouds are ready to pour! Let's get to the river!" Sailing the decisions to himself, Ryo knew only few precious hours were left and time was being wasted with arguments. He knew if Sai were to get conscious and better, he knew Sai could hear them, even without notion. Then, three ninjas were ahead of them with swords in their hands. One had a chain lapsing in the air in a circular movement. One of them spoke, "We came to collect the Torrent/Suiko. It has come to the time we should."

"That is not true!" exclaimed Kento, with one of his arms on Sai's shoulder protectively, "You came to kill him! You want to torture him to collect his Armor!"
                    

The other replied harshly, "We have more business than to claim his powerful Suiko/Torrent Armor. You know that." He peered over his head for cue from his fellow ninjas. Ryo blurted, "WELL ATTACK FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Yes, indeed they did once Ryo said it. He was just too angry to keep this in him. It was a painful thing to try to do. He summoned his katanas and struck with his heavy strength. Sage carefully went ahead, escaping the battlefield, so Sai would not get hurt. He was in a run for it. One of the ninja, sneakily, tossed a great mist bomb, which exploded, blinding everyone. Rowen echoed, "You don't go hiding now you freaking ninjas! Come and fight us!" Sage, being blinded himself, lost balance and fell. His hand could not stop and anxious arms from taking Sai away. A horse made a call and the ninja who had Sai ordered, "YAY!" and the big stallion started off in full gallop.
                     

Sai came back to conscious… but not for a long time. He scolded, "GET AWAY FROM ME! LET ME GO!" Struggling with all his might, the ninja explained in a quiet matter, "I did not came to take your armor or your friends… we meant no…" Sai interrupted, "No you have not. I know what you guys are up to now let me be!" His arms escaped the ninja's and soon enough, he began to fall backwards… off the speeding horse. The ninja had no reflex to catch Sai before he landed… on a mess of boulders. Rowen had shot a crowd of arrows before he even had the chance.
                    

Kento was first to reach Sai, filled with worries and hatred in his heart; he just knew Sai was a very crippled person and soon will be permanent if they don't be more careful with the weak, fish critter. Sage and Ryo came from behind, very injured but not enough to make them stop walking. "I should of known better. This is my entire fault. I should have been brave enough to stop the ninja while I had the chance." "Nothing worse could of happened," suggested Sage, trying to cheer him up, "He could have been killed by him!" Rowen commanded, "Enough of this! Sai is hurt, so what is the big deal? We all get hurt. It was our entire fault. Simple. We should of all been more successful and careful with him. We all forgot he was still weak. Now let's get going on our path. We might make it before sundown."
                   

Rowen was right. That was the only way around… was to blame on no one but himself or herself. But little did they know that Sai had been bleeding… on the back of his head at the fall. It was rather small to notice such a bump but big enough to cause something that they had never expected. During the walk, a storm became a mild shower. It was very risky for they might catch hypothermia if they weren't too careful or cautious about it. The lucky thing was everyone had a raincoat and the shower only lasted for about ten to twenty minutes, fortunately. On a valley, they wiped the sweat off their brows. Ryo and Rowen took turns giving Sai a piggyback ride since it was the fastest way to carry him. They finally had to stop under a tree and rest.
                    

"Mmm… umm," a voice murmured softly. Sai was conscious! But he just HAD to pick the right time! Sai opened his eyes, feeling his head, "N…? Who bumped me on the ground? Why are we here?" Ryo scrambled to Sai, smiling, "You're conscious Sai! You're conscious! Wow, this will make life easier! We're following Kento to the river! Then… we'll settle there and hide you…" Sai suddenly glared, "Hide me? Where? WHAT are you talking about…?" He dropped his hand to his forehead. "… Man, what's wrong with me…? I can't… I can't… see. Is it really dark, guys? Where is this place?" Kento flared and shook his hand in front of Sai's face, trying to grab his eye attention. It was no use.
                    

Sage cried, "Are you sure, Sai? You can't see me?" Sai squinted and squirmed, forcing his eyes to focus. It only brought worse results. Sage immediately stunned Sai with two fingers; then he looked in the back of Sai's head. There was the problem. His head had a big wound on the back. From what, no one knew. Sage whispered to everyone, "Don't tell him or mention to make him see. We don't want to hurt him…" Rowen, for the first time in his life, pulled Sage at the collar and shook him, "YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT…!" Sage pleaded, "Rowen… please… don't." He shook his head furiously, which made Rowen let go of him. This was the worst thing that could happen! How could this ever happen to him?
                    

Kento, in his calmest voice, spoke, "Yes, it is rather dark… we do not have a lantern or a tinder box. So we are making our way by foot and feel. Sai, not noticing he was blind, "Oh… all right. Just help lead me. I think I could make it around some how." He rose to his foot and took baby steps toward the way he thought was the right way. Kento ended up trading with Ryo and Rowen to help Sai get around and… to not let him know these awful news.
                    

A creepy noise of an owl spoke as they settled near a sheltered riverbank. Ryo sprayed and wiped his face with a clean white towel he brought. Rowen quietly tended a campfire as he rubbed Sai warmly on the back. Kento and Sage were on a blanket, snoozing. They were exhausted after reading and planning out their ideas and routes. Sai had his eyes wide open that moment. He could hear the crackling of the fire and the splashing of the clear water. Sai suddenly buried his face into whoever was near him, which was Rowen, right then. Rowen became startled and scolded him, "SAI! QUIT IT! YOU ARE SUFFOCATING ME! Please!" Then he noticed the tears that rolled down Sai's innocent face.

The words crept to Sai, "If you only had the heart to tell me."