Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Ronins Together Again ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

Back at the house, the five former Ronins are outside waiting for their children to get back from the lake. Quickly, they notice that only four teenagers walking out of the woods, not six.

“Where's Kaida and Kira?” asks Ryo, as he walks down to meet the children.

“Kaida totally forgot that necklace you bought her,” replies Nami.

“Why doesn't that surprise me?” asks Ryo, as he shakes his head and smiles.

“Anyway, Kaida went back to get it and Kira went with her,” finishes Nami.

Just as Nami finishes those words, a shout is heard from the lake.

“Help! Dad!”

A sudden silence follows, but not for long.

“That sounded like Kira,” exclaims Sage, as he takes off for the woods and the lake.

Quick to follow, the remaining Ronins and their children follow as they head in the direction of the shout. Exiting the woods, they all find themselves near the lake. Close to the shoreline, everyone sees the unconscious girls with no one around. Ryo and Sage run over to their daughters and kneel next to them, checking their conditions.

“Unconscious,” says Ryo, nodding toward the girls.

“We'd better get them back to the house,” says Rowen, as he looks around the beach and notices battle signs in the disturbed sand.

Ryo nods his head and he bends down to pick up his daughter. Shifting her into his arms, Kaida stirs for a moment.

“Wildfire,” she whispers, then slips out of consciousness again.

Freezing as he hears his daughter whisper his name, Ryo glances over to see if anyone else heard her. Noticing that Sage has paled, Ryo catches Sage's eyes. Nodding his head, Sage looks at Kaida before returning his attention to his own daughter, who is now in his arms. Turning around, everyone heads back into the woods to walk back to the house. Once at the house, they bring the girls upstairs to their shared bedroom. Placing each girl down on her own bed, Ryo steps back to let Sage look at both girls.

Taking a quick look over his shoulder and noticing that the remaining teenagers followed them into the room, Sage turns back to look over his daughter. Running his hands down her arms and legs, Sage searches his daughter for broken bones. Satisfied with the examination, he checks her pulse and lifting her eyelids. Turning to Kaida, Sage repeats the process. Once the initial assessment is over, Sage turns to Ryo.

“Nothing broken, though they're a little banged up,” says Sage, turning back to look at his daughter. What I wouldn't give for my old armor's healing powers right now.

Nodding his head, Ryo turns to the others.

“I want you four to remain upstairs,” says Ryo, as he looks from teenager to teenager. “The rest of us are going to talk downstairs. Don't come downstairs until we tell you to.”

The five warriors meet in the downstairs living room. Rowen and Cye sit down on the couch, while Kento takes a seat on a nearby chair. For a few minutes, no one speaks, then Cye turns to look at Ryo.

“What did she say?” asks Cye quietly.

“What?” asks Kento, glancing from Cye to Ryo.

“Wildfire,” replies Ryo, as he paces around the room.

“How? How could she know?” asks Rowen, glancing at Ryo.

“It's got to be the Dynasty,” says Cye, shaking his head.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” replies Sage, leaning against the doorframe.

“Maybe we should wait till Mia and the girls get back from town. She might know what's going on,” says Kento.

“Or maybe we should try to get a hold of Kayra. She controls the Dynasty now,” says Cye. “If anyone is going to know what the Dynasty is doing, it'll be her.”

Just then, the phone rings. Cye gets off the couch and walks over to the end table, where the phone is located. Picking it up after the third ring, Cye talks for a few moments and then places the phone back down on the cradle.

“That was Mia. She and the girls are going to stay in town for the night,” explains Cye. “They said they were going to catch a late movie and then crash at a hotel.”

“Probably for the best,” says Rowen. “Last thing we need is more people here when we don't even know what's going on.”

“And Mia could use the break. She works hard at the U.N.,” adds Ryo.

Nodding his head, Cye joins Rowen on the couch again. For a moment, no one says anything. Ryo walks over to the glass door that looks out onto the backyard. The silence getting to him, Kento jumps up from his chair and walks over to a window and back.

“How do we even get a hold of Kayra? It's not like the Dynasty has a 1-800 number,” says Kento, as he sits back down in his chair.

“For once, Kento has a good question,” says Cye.

“Hey!” replies Kento, as he jumps out of his chair again.

“Settle down, Kento,” says Sage, as he moves away from the doorframe.

“What about the Jewel of Life?” asks Rowen. “Mia said that it took the Ancient's Staff to find the Jewel. Could there be a connection between the two?”

“It's worth a try,” replies Cye, as he gets up from the couch.

“But what good does the Jewel do us? We don't have it here,” says Kento.

“Actually, we do,” replies Ryo, turning away from the glass door. “After Mia was finished with it, I gave the Jewel to Cye to keep it safe. It was originally found in a temple under the water. I thought it would be best if kept at this house, since it's the closest of our homes to a body of water.”

While Ryo is explaining, Cye steps out of the room and walks down the hall. Entering his study, Cye walks up to the painting of a setting sun on the ocean and pulls the painting off the wall and reveals a hidden safe. Cye quickly opens the safe and removes the Jewel from its hiding place. Walking back into the living room, he hands the Jewel to Ryo.

“Now what? E.T. phone home?” asks Kento, looking at the Jewel in Ryo's hand.

“Kento, be serious,” replies Rowen.

“Well, the only person who ever made the stupid thing work was Yuli and he's not here,” says Kento, shaking his head.

“What about meditating with the Jewel?” asks Sage, ignoring Kento. “Maybe if we all concentrated on it, the Jewel might open up to the Staff.”

“At this point, anything is worth a try,” replies Ryo, as he moves to sit down on the floor. “Ok, everyone. Get comfortable.”