Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Family ❯ The meeting and helpful advice ( Chapter 21 )

Okay, so I wasn't lying about the cell phone or the Christmas break thing yesterday. Give me a break, alright? Yesterday I was messed up and that sucked. Kento's called me “jitters” about 60 freakin' times this morning already and I'm about to throttle him the next time he does.

The bell rang right as I finished my previous thought process and I reached down to grab my bag. The entire classroom is buzzing about it being the last day of school so everyone is particularly happy today. Yay, Christmas spirit!

Kento caught me in the hall. “Hey there jitters!” Gah!! I hate that name! Remind me to hit him later. I started to make a rather nasty reply back but noticed that the smile had fallen from his face and he was staring down the hall at someone I didn't recognize.

“Hey, uh, what's up?” I asked softly, noticing how his fist clenched as the person turned around. A tall boy with short black hair came up to us, a cocky smirk written across his face. Kento growled softly and pushed me behind him a little, acting as a human shield between me and the other guy.

“What are you doing hanging out with the shark bait, Kento?” the kid asked, smirking at me with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“None of your Goddamn business. Now move!” Kento retorted, grabbing my arm and shoving past the boy, making sure to bump into him hard as he passed him.

The black-haired boy laughed mockingly. “Aww, you trying to make up for past sins? Repentance? How fucking adorable.”

Kento ignored him and dragged me along behind him, his grip on my wrist tight and angry. I winced a little but didn't say anything, knowing he was way too angry to bother right now.

He pulled me through the halls until we were outside in one of the courtyards. I looked back towards the building we'd just come from as he let go of my wrist and offered him a wary glance. “You alright, mate? You look kinda pale…”

Kento nodded after a minute, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, sorry for jerking you around like that.”

“It's okay, no harm done. Mind if I ask who that was?”

He sighed slowly and looked down at his still-clenched fist. “He used to be a friend of mine but he kinda turned into an enemy.”

I nodded a little and shifted my bag on my shoulder. I knew there was probably a lot more to that story but I wasn't about to pry and make things worse at the time.

Kento took another slow breath and grinned the way he always did. “Come on, it's almost lunch time!” He grabbed my arm again and began dragging me toward the cafeteria.

 

Apparently, we were having a meeting today that I was not aware of until I sat down. Ryo, Rowen and Sage were waiting for us when we got into the lunch room and waved to us to come sit down.

“Heya Cye! We're having a meeting!” Ryo quipped happily as we sat down.

“Are we now? That's pleasant to know…how long has this been planned?”

“About 3 days. Kento suggested it.” Rowen added helpfully.

“Really?” I shot Kento an “I'm-going-to-lynch-you-when-we-get-out-of-here” look and settled back into the plastic chair. “So, um, what is this meeting about?”

“Kento told us you have one of the little glass balls as well.” Sage said softly, leaning forward across the table. “We're trying to find out what they all have in common.”

One again, I swore to God I'd beat Kento for everything he was worth and pulled the little ball out of my backpack, placing it on the table and letting it roll into Ryo's open palm.

“See, his is light blue. He said the same creepy hat guy gave it to him when he went to the pool on the first day school.” Kento chattered on excitedly and I punched him hard in the shoulder. Well, tried at least; it was like punching a futon. He laughed and swatted me away like I was an annoying little bug.

Ryo examined the little ball carefully, rolling it around in his hand and watching as the color mixed with red, green, dark blue and orange. “Hmm, looks about like the others. And you said you got this by the pool?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, the guy threw it at me. I thought it was a bomb at first.”

Sage laughed a little and watched as Ryo continued to play with the ball. “Did he call you anything when he threw it?”

“Uh, yeah. Torrent. He called me Torrent.”

“Hmm…” Rowen mused, looking at the ball carefully. “Torrent is a reference to water and since he gave it to you in the pool area, it only seems fitting. Hardrock is linked with earth just like Wildfire is related to fire. Strata associated with space, or wind, and Halo could be related to the spirit…”

“So…elementals?” Ryo asked, looking away from the little orb.

“Most likely…but the real mystery is what it all has to do with us.”

An ominous silence fell across our little table and we all stared at each other as if the answer would suddenly appear on someone's forehead.

“Do you think there could be anymore?” Kento asked from beside me, looking around the cafeteria. “I mean, chances are that if there are anymore we could probably find them. I shouldn't be that hard.”

“It's a possibility.” Rowen answered, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. “I mean if we have elements, there's always the possibility of others having something like seasons or something around that nature. However, there are only so many elements that can be used. There's just the five basic; fire, earth, water, wind, and spirit. If any other orbs exist, it'd have to follow the basic principals of the elements. You know, like a universal rule.”

I nodded and pretended like I understood. Actually, it made a lot of sense when it came right down to it. We had all been brought together because of our orbs relativity to nature and the universe so it only seemed natural that these five were the only ones that were meant to exist.

Rowen shrugged slowly. “It's just a thought. I can research it a little more deeply over the holiday break and see what comes out of it.” The bell ringing interrupted his train of thought and we all jumped a little at the intrusive noise. “Well, that was surprising.”

I vaguely wondered why all of our classes seemed so short (Me: Heh) and grabbed my bag again. Then I began to wonder why I ever set down my bag in the first place and why I didn't just hold it constantly. Oh well. Everyone got up to part their separate ways and I started my walk towards my next class.

“Hey Cye! Wait up!” a voice called from behind me and I turned to see Rowen jogging over.

“Hey, what's up?” I asked as he caught up with me.

“I've been meaning to ask you…a personal question.” His blue eyes darted around the room carefully and he pulled me behind a door. What is it with me and being pulled around today?

Rowen stared at me hard for a second, looking my up and down as if sizing me up for a coffin.

“Um…what are you-?”

“You're parents are abusive aren't they?” he asked suddenly before I could finish.

I gasped and felt the air catch in my throat. I wanted to laugh, deny it, get angry, anything! But all I could get out was a weak little “uh” noise.

“Uh…?” I managed intelligently.

Rowen nodded slowly and looked around again. “Look, its cool, okay? I know where you're coming from and I know you're afraid to tell anyone. But Cye, listen, it can't go on forever. The longer you keep it hidden the worse it's going to get. Trust me, I know…” his voice dropped at the last part. “Just keep that in mind, okay? All of us would be glad to help you but we can't do anything if you won't let us. Make sense?”

I nodded stupidly, feeling like he'd just shouted it to the entire school. It was an embarrassing, pitiful, and painful thing to admit but I knew that if anyone could understand it would be Rowen. After all, Sage told me that'd he'd experienced it first hand.

Rowen smiled reassuringly at me and patted me on the shoulder. “Just remember, we're you're friends. We wouldn't leave you hangin'.” He grinned and turned, running off just as the tardy bell rang.

I nodded slowly as I watched him run off, feeling like a weight had just been lifted and placed on my shoulders at the same time. The realization that I was now late for class also sunk in about that time and I cursed loudly, taking off in a dead sprint to my classroom.