The Arising

Chapter 31.

His eyes fluttered several times. A moan came from slightly parted lips. He shifted slightly and struggled to come back from that dark world that had encased him. His first initial thought was: where was he? Upon opening his eyes, he found himself in a familiar place. He was home, lying on his own bed. Struggling to sit up, he frowned as he wondered how that had happened. He tried to recall what had happened earlier, to give reason as to why he might have been out cold. But he couldn’t think of a raison d’être.

He forced himself to relax and think back as far as he could remember. But again, nothing came to his mind. Would meditation help? No. For he now had a headache.

Turning his head in another direction, he was surprised to see Rowen underneath his own blanket with his blue hair sticking out from under it. As far as Sage could tell, Rowen was fast asleep. Come to think of it, what time was it anyway? A quick glance at the clock told him it was well after ten p.m.

‘It’s rather unusual for Rowen to be asleep at this hour,’ Sage mused to himself. ‘Something must have happened to us. But why can’t I remember it!? I remember myself, my friends, but of today and yesterday, I remember nothing. Not to mention I feel like someone gave me some Tylenol. But I’m not sure they did. What’s the matter with me?’

Feeling as if he was not going to be satisfied, he struggled to get out of bed. It seemed foreign to him that though his body did not hurt, it felt literally weak and exhausted. And on the other hand, he thought that was somewhat funny. In truth, he wanted to laugh out loud.

He nearly stumbled upon standing up, but caught his balance by placing one foot forward, the other backward, and by grabbing onto the footboard. He brought his feet together and held onto the footboard. He was tremulous. He took deep even breaths to see if that would help him regain his ease and stamina and at least his control over his inner thoughts and feelings. When at last he felt ready, he carefully let go and stumbled toward the door.

Ryo had not gone to bed yet. Having decided to stay awake and think things over, he reflected on what had happened prior to their return home. The trip home had not been easy. The flight across the ocean had been somewhat chaotic in which Rowen had nearly fallen off Firestorm, and had it not been for Kento grabbing onto him, would have done so. And even after landing, the rest of the journey on foot did not abode too well in favor with the Wildfire Ronin.

For one thing, after carrying Sage for six miles straight he had begun to feel like dead weight. And then Rowen began to beg to carry him, but again Ryo had refused him, insisting he was too weak at the time. Rowen had gotten angry this time and snapped at Ryo, before he had suddenly passed out himself.

It was Cye who had lifted and carried Rowen. The trip through the woods again and down the highway back to Mia’s house seemed to take forever. In fact Mia had almost been hit by a racing sports car.

By the time they had made it back, everyone had been extremely tired. Cye and Ryo had carried Rowen and Sage to their rooms as everyone else went to their own rooms. And now Ryo was still awake, glad the trouble was over, and mostly glad his two friends were safe.

He was focused on getting some relaxation when he heard a thump above him. Turning his head over his shoulder, he looked toward the stairwell and immediately let out a gasp. “Sage!”

Ryo immediately hopped over the couch and ran up the stairs where his friend was just barely standing on his own two feet. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

Sage clung desperately to the banner and gave Ryo a weak grin. “Hi, Ryo. Just thought I’d test out the banner. Yeah, it’s sturdy enough.”

“You should be in bed sleeping!” Ryo admonished.

Sage tried to straighten himself, but his knees gave out on him. Letting out a moan he found himself sinking toward the ground until he felt Ryo’s arms wrapping around his waist. “I’m fine,” Sage insisted as he did not even attempt to pull away.

“No, you’re not!” Ryo declared. “Sage, you can barely even stand! I’m not even sure how you made it this far from your room.”

“Sheer power of the mighty Halo!” Sage weakly declared.

Ryo grunted impatiently as he began to carry his friend back to his room to get much needed rest. “I’ll give you sheer power,” he retorted. “I catch you out of bed again on your own, and I’ll Rage of Inferno your ass. Understood?”

Sage was silent for a moment as if taking in the threat. Finally he nodded his head, letting out a meek, “Yes,” and then closed his eyes. There was no use in arguing with Ryo.

Ryo put Sage back in bed and covered him. Under normal circumstances Sage was quite mature and often did not joke about such precarious matters. Could his illness contribute to his bizarre behavior just moments ago? It was within reasonable certainty that it was very likely. Perhaps by tomorrow Sage would be back to his normal self.

Leaving the room, he headed downstairs and plopped himself before the television. He would catch a movie and hope to become tired enough to sleep. Finding a detective movie on, he settled back against the couch and allowed himself to be captivated by it.

Cye awoke with a startled gasp. The room was still dark and he could still hear Kento’s snoring wafting across the room. But that was not what woke him. Sitting up in bed, he allowed his other senses to focus on what might have caused him to rouse so quickly.

It was quiet. Shadows danced across the room as the moon shone overhead, casting its eerie light through the drapes. Cye turned his head toward Kento, wondering how he could sleep so deeply. His head then turned toward the window and strangely enough he felt beckoned to it.

He climbed out of bed and grabbed his orb just in case. Softly treading toward the balcony windows, he opened them and stepped out onto the balcony. He looked upward into the sky and realized what a beautiful night it was. There were many stars out that night and it made the sky looked enchanted. He remembered that Rowen once told him that each star had a special purpose, and that no two stars were exactly alike. It was no wonder Rowen was fascinated with them.

But then Cye suddenly felt his attention drawn away from them. Pausing to wonder why, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Keeping his orb ready just in case, he forced himself to look down toward the ground. He nearly jumped backwards. ‘What is that?!’ he wondered to himself as he dared to look closer.

Down on the ground was a figure on horseback. It was seemingly male with long azure hair tied in a pony tail. As Cye continued to watch and wait, the figure suddenly looked toward him and the Ronin of Torrent held his breath. “Dayu?” he whispered, scarcely daring to believe it.

The figure on horseback said not a word though. He simply turned his horse around and began to trot off until he suddenly vanished before Cye’s eyes.

Cye frowned deeply with a lack of understanding. He tried to think of why Dayu had appeared to him and why he had beckoned him to come out there. But then what if he hadn’t? What if the spirit of the armor had somehow told Cye to go out there? It was hard to determine which one was right, but Cye had to admit that Dayu had some kind of power.

A cold wind suddenly blew causing Cye to shiver. He stepped back into the room and closed the balcony doors. A quick glance to his right confirmed that Kento was still asleep. That was alright with him.

He laid down on his own bed and covered himself again. Staring at the ceiling he reflected on what just happened. Sage had always told him there was a reason for everything and that everything had a true purpose. He wanted to talk to somebody about this. And Sage seemed to be the best one to do so, but what if Sage was still weak from his ordeal? He didn’t want to pressure him anymore than had been done to him. So then, who could he talk to?

Kento was the first to be awake at 8:00 a.m. in the morning. Deciding not to disturb Cye, he headed to the bathroom where he used it and then jumped into the shower. After he finished, he donned on a towel and returned to the room. Cye was still asleep. That was rather odd. Cye loathed to sleep in later than 8:30 a.m. It was now 8:45. Shaking his head dubiously, he proceeded to dress. Looking out the window, he grimaced. It was somewhat cloudy. He hoped it would not rain. He wanted to go rock climbing. Maybe even Ryo would go with him if the weather fared nice. He would have to ask sometime after breakfast. Speaking of that, Kento decided he was hungry and hurried out the door again, and went downstairs.

Upon coming downstairs, Kento was surprised to see Ryo asleep on the couch. Debating whether he should wake the Wildfire bearer, Kento stared long and hard at the black haired Ronin. What had possessed Ryo to sleep on the couch anyway, especially with the TV on? Stepping forward, he picked up the remote control and shut the television off. He then hurried into the kitchen. Okara sounded perfect this morning, and his stomach growled in anticipation.

After preparing the ingredients to make his breakfast, he kept his eye on the clock. The newspaper should be coming soon and he wanted to be the first to get it, especially before Ryo woke up. Ryo had the tendency to snatch the paper just so he could look at the sports sections, and once he had it there was no letting go.

While his breakfast cooked on the stove, Kento heard a thump at the front door and hurried to open it. Lying bundled before it was the newspaper. He snatched it up and quickly went back inside. He checked his cooking breakfast and added some spice, then stirred it. He then turned to the newspaper and opened the bundle.

 Ryo awoke to the smell of food. His stomach growled and he slowly sat up and looked toward the kitchen. Was Cye in there already? But wait, why didn’t he hear yelling? Traditional mornings usually consisted of Cye hollering at Kento who would pester him for something to eat while cooking over a hot stove. But the house was silent.

Could Mia or one of the other girls being cooking breakfast? It was possible. The curiosity got to him and he stood up from the couch. As he walked to the kitchen, the aroma became stronger and he realized what was cooking. Okara. Pushing open the door, he expected to see Mia or even Star, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks with wide eyes. “Kento?

Kento glanced up from the paper and flashed a grin. “Hey, Ryo! What’s up?” He then noticed the surprised look on Ryo’s face. “What?

Ryo shook his head and managed a smile. “Ah, nothing. I just wasn’t expecting to see you in the kitchen.”

Kento grinned. “Hey, man. It’s close to nine and Cye isn’t awake. I’m not waiting to be fed.”

Ryo managed to smile back, then sat down at the table. “And you didn’t think to fix the rest of us any.”

Kento laughed as he tended to his food. “Hey, man.. In order to feed all of you, I have to keep my strength up!”

“Right,” Ryo said as his eyes glanced toward the newspaper. Without another word to Kento he took the paper and flipped it to the sports section and began to read what had happened during the game, who scored what, who had a foul, and who saved the game when it was nearly lost.

Kento finished making his breakfast and set it down. Seeing that Ryo now had the newspaper, he shook his head. It might be a while before he got that paper back. Glancing toward his okara, his stomach growled. He did not want to seem rude by eating in front of Ryo, but he felt so hungry. He had an idea. He took one bite, then turned back to the counter and began to prepare the ingredients to make a second okara.

The spirit of Rowen’s father heard scratching and weakly lifted his head. He was startled to see Yata coming into the room with a giddy look on his face. What had happened? Where was Leokoni? Why was Yata so happy? He watched as the demon cackled and twirled like a ballerina, and then leapt into the air, laughing as he landed on the floor again. The spirit, though in pain, could not hold back his curiosity. “Yata, why are you so happy?” he barely got into a whisper.

Yata stopped jumping and looked toward him with a half genuine smile and with half of a sneer. “You mean you don’t know? For shame!”

The spirit raised an eyebrow, trying to determine what the little monster meant by that. So far his mind was drawing a blank. Yata began to skip about the room then, singing loudly to himself. It was in a language that the spirit knew not, and he was not about to ask what the words meant.

It was then that the spirit realized Leokoni had not come bursting into the room to grapple Yata. But why not? Surely he was still around, wasn’t he? Looking back toward the little demon he dared to ask, “Where is Leokoni?”

Yata was still jumping up down wearing a feral grin. “Guess!”

The spirit sighed heavily. He did not like guessing games, and the weaker he felt, the more agitated he became. “Yata, just tell me!”

“Guess!” Yata exclaimed again. This was a game to him, a simple plan to vex the mind of the prisoner. It was what he loved to do, and it delighted him to see the spirit slowly loosing control over his own emotions.

“Yata, just tell me!” the spirit demanded with a higher voice. That was a mistake. He immediately began to cough violently, and as he did so, green, putrid vomit came out of his mouth and dripped to the floor. He let out a groan of despair.

Yata finally stood still and stared at him for a long while. Then he began to speak. “Once upon a time there was a fly who thought he’d go for a flight. He flew happily, boasting he was the best bug in the world. Then along came a spider who had built a web, and he laid in wait for the so called best bug of the world. The unsuspecting fly immediately flew into the trap and struggled to get loose. But the spider descended upon him with a cackle, and now the once best bug in the world was no more.” The little demon then stuck his tongue out at the spirit and turned to leave.

The spirit watched him go with a dumbfounded look on his face. He spent the next several minutes trying to analyze what was just said. Suddenly it dawned on him. Leokoni was dead!

One by one at the Ronin house, everyone else woke up. Cye was surprised to see that Kento had cooked breakfast for everyone, and that Ryo had helped keep things straightened up. The Ronin of Torrent smiled at the bearer of Hardrock and the bearer of Wildfire in appreciation of their work, and sat down to enjoy his breakfast.

Star took one bite into her okara and her eyes widen with delight. “Hey, this is pretty good!” Swiftly she took another bite.

“I agree. It is delicious,” Mia said as she ate hers.

Kento beamed proudly. It wasn’t often he got a compliment like that. It felt good. Maybe he could cook breakfast again tomorrow.

Rowen was barely touching his food though. Instead he was staring off into space. He barely noticed the others talking or taking delight in their breakfast. Something weighed heavily on his mind and he struggled with his own inner conflict. How could he tell the others? Would they accept it? Would he be able to move on if he told them? Why was he thinking of saying anything at all? Perhaps he should just forget the entire thing and move onward with his life. But the guilt struck him and he felt despair. What was he to do?

Ryo noticed how sullen Rowen had become. Frowning with worry, he called him by name. After three times with no response, he finally tapped him on the shoulder. That got his attention. Rowen looked at Ryo with surprise, then with sadness.

“Sorry, Ryo,” Rowen apologized.

“What’s eating you?” Ryo pressed.

Rowen struggled inwardly. How could he tell Ryo anything, especially when it concerned the spirit of his father? Ryo might not understand, or tell him he was brainwashed into thinking that his father deserved to be free from the hell he was in. And what if it was true? What if he was brainwashed? No, he couldn’t tell Ryo at this time. He shook his head remorsefully. “Sorry, Ryo. I just need some time to sort this out on my own.”

Ryo nodded with an understanding look and turned back to his meal. Rowen sighed in relief. That had not been easy. But it was something he had to figure out for himself before involving the others.

Across from Rowen, Sage, though still weak, was managing to eat his breakfast. He could not help overhearing what Rowen and Ryo said. He frowned as he chewed his food. Whatever was bothering Rowen, he knew it had to be serious. He wondered if any chance Rowen would feel more comfortable talking to him about it.

The doorbell suddenly rang and Mia quickly got up from the table. “I’ve got it!” She hurried to the front door and pulled it open. “Ms. Hashiba!”

“Mia, I’ve told you. Please call me Rachel.”

Mia smiled and invited her in. The two women walked into the kitchen, and Rowen was startled. “Mom!” He immediately stood up and hugged her and she hugged him back. Rowen wasn’t sure if she knew what had happened to him and he was afraid to ask. So he kept his mouth shut.

Rachel did not want to tell him what she had learned while he had been absent. She had been horrified to see her son being tormented through vicious ways, but the red haired man who had come to her in a dream had reassured her that everything would turn out all right. He of course was right. Now what was his name? Oh yes, Anubis.

“Rachel, are you hungry?” Mia asked as mother and son separated. “Kento made a delicious breakfast.”

“Famished,” Rachel said as she sat down. Firestorm got up and fixed her plate and handed it to her. “Thank you,” the woman said as she began to eat. A smile came to her face. “This is good!”

Kento beamed again. “Thank you,” he said. “But if you think I’m a good cook, wait until you taste Cye’s cooking!”

Cye blushed as he finished his meal.

Rachel smiled and said she’d to have to try Cye’s cooking sometime. After breakfast, everyone began to clean up, including Sage who almost collapsed a few times. Ryo shook his head at the bearer of Halo.

“Sage, get back to bed.”

“But I want to help!”

“No way! You won’t do us any favors if you collapse on the floor.”

“Ryo is right, Sage,” Mia said as she wiped off the table. “You should be in bed resting!”

“But, Mia!” Sage saw the firm look in her eyes and the stern look in Ryo’s eyes. He sighed despondently. “Fine,” he said as he turned and headed toward the stairs.

“Someone go with him in case he falls,” Ryo suggested.

“I’m on it!” Kento said as he followed Sage.

“What’s the matter with Sage?” Rachel asked as she helped clean up.

“He’s sick,” Firestorm answered as she stacked the dishes in order on the counter.

“With the flu?”

“Not exactly,” Star replied as she put the food back into the fridge. She wasn’t sure how to tell Rachel what was really going on with Sage. Would she even understand?

Rachel blinked a little with confusion, but then began to wonder if it had something to do with her son. She knew Sage and Rowen were close, practically like brothers. Not wanting to pressure anyone, she simply nodded. “Well, I hope he feels better.”

“Ah, don’t worry,” Cye said. “He’ll be back to himself before anyone knows it.”

Ryo called White Blaze and fed him breakfast. As the tiger munched happily, he looked out the window with a grimace. It looked like it would rain sometime that day, and he had been hoping to play soccer. Oh well.

Once the kitchen had been cleaned, everyone separated to do their own things. Rowen, his mother, Mia, and Star went into the living room to talk. Cye went upstairs to clean his fish tank, Firestorm went back to bed, Kento went down to the basement to lift weights, and Ryo headed upstairs to shower.

Upstairs asleep in bed, Sage was tossing and turning on his bed. Sweat beaded down his face as he whimpered. He cried out in his sleep, begging whatever it was to stop tormenting him. His thrashing became so violent that he nearly fell off his bed. What was worse, long red scratches began to appear across one cheek. What was happening to him? What was this horrible dream he was facing? Why was it so realistic?

A/N: My apologies if this chapter seemed a bit rushed. I’m still coming toward the end, which is why this chapter seems a bit rushed in some places. As for Sage’s dream, don’t worry. That should be explained in the next chapter.