Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend Of the Solar Whip ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

The Legend of the Solar Whip

By Wildfire
Chapter Two

Mr. Date sat in the hospital chair by Ryo's bed. Ryo was sound asleep; it had been two days since he had brought him here. Ryo turned out to be a lot worse than they had thought. His bloodloss was low enough that at one point they thought he was going to die from the loss of blood. His wrist, though, wasn't that bad, it was just a really bad sprain.

His back and side had been the worst. His back still looked like raw meat! Ryo could not sit up on his own without being in a lot of pain, and yet he knew he wasn't showing a lot of his pain; Ryo could somehow hide it.

Mr. Date frowned; he felt like he should have done something sooner, like he should have seen it. He knew he couldn't have done anything, though; there was no way he could have known.

He sighed as he heard the door open, but he already knew who it was. "When can he be let out?" he asked the young woman.

Mrs. Date smiled. "Never could surprise you! Have you eaten anything today?"

Mr. Date turned towards her. "Do you realize what kind of danger this boy is in? That man is still loose! And this boy is near death! I want him in a protected surroundings! Now, when will he be released?"

"JOHN! He's not going to die today!" Mrs Date smiled. "Plus, you have this place surrounded as if it were a police station! John, you can't help the boy if you're too hungry to walk! I want you to go down to the kitchen and get some food!"

"Oh, come on! Hospital food is worse than yours!" Mrs Date's eyes widened. "WHICH IS REALLY GOOD! I'm going to go get that food right now!" John scrambled out the door.

Mrs. Date smiled at the door, then turned back to the sleeping Ryo. "Come on, I stay in a hospital all day, which is full of people who are really sleeping! Stop faking!" Mrs Date turned toward the window and opened the blinds.

Ryo opened his eyes, and sighed. "When WILL I be released? I'd like to get outta here!" Ryo said, looking at her.

"I bet you would, which is exactly why I won't release you! If I have my way, you'll be here for a month! If not longer!" She looked at Ryo. "Ya know, they miss you! They won't say it! But Sage's concentration bites, Kento's eating even MORE than usual, and even when Rowen is over at our house he is reading or zoning out! And Cye, well, Cye is just a mess. He keeps trying to soothe over the fighting that's going on between them all, and, well, he's having problems with that."

Ryo's head shot up. "They're fighting?"

Mrs. Date laughed. "Yes, they're fighting! They saw you that night, and they have no clue what's going on! It's driving them all nuts! They're worried about you." Ryo's eyes widened a little, Mrs Date laughed again. "And, no, they didn't see you go out, just you coming in! I don't even want to imagine how they would be if they saw you leave in John's arms like that!"

"HA! They would have flipped!" Ryo looked at Mrs Date. "And that's the last thing I want them to do! Cause then they would try to be my friends outta pity!"

"AHH! You are SO like Sage! Never force people to do stuff, only if they want to do it! That's why he hates asking for help! It's also why he hates it when people break promises to him without a good reason. Was it fair to him not to give him a good reason!"

Ryo looked down. "Let me out of here! That way I can reunited with them my own way! I'll talk to them!"

Mrs. Date looked at Ryo. "All right, I'll see what I can do! I might be able to get you out in a week or two."

Ryo shot up and instantly regretted it. Mrs. Date helped him back down so he was laying down again. "Two weeks? That's too long! I can't stay in here any longer! PLEASE," Ryo pleaded.

Mrs. Date closed her eyes. "All right, I'll talk to John; I'll see what I can do!"

*****

Sage sat meditating in his room, he was so confused. On one side he was angry at Ryo for just ditching him without an explanation, and on the other hand he was worried about Ryo; he was kinda pale that night, and his father never did say what happened to him.

He sighed; he just couldn't concentrate. He stood up and walked downstairs and walked outside and started towards the woods. The forest always helped calm him. He walked for about a mile before he reached what he wanted, 'his meditation rock'. He sat down and with a sigh he started to center himself. He eventually centered himself enough to fall into a meditation.

*****

"KENTO! Dinner!" Mama Fuan yelled upstairs; a second later she heard a door slam and heard heavy footsteps running down the stairs. Kento rushed past his mom and was sitting calmly at the table as soon she turned around. Mama Rei Fuan laughed to herself, "I always call you to the table last, and yet you always get here first!" Kento smiled sweetly at his mother.

Kento's five-year-old little sister, Chan, ran into the dining room, smiling big. Chan ran straight to Kento, and Kento picked her and tickled her. Chan laughed into his big arms and held her older brother closer.

Kento sat her down. "Go sit down!"

Mama Fuan walked back to the stairs. "Yasho, Tonmuy, get down here!" Mama Rei Fuan waited a second; she then heard yelling and fighting. She sighed and started to walk up the stairs.

Kento jumped up, and ran past her. "I got it, Mama!" Kento yelled behind him.

Mama Fuan laughed, then went to help Papa Fuan set the table. When the table was set, Mama Fuan looked up the stairs. "Come on, Kento!"

Then, a second later, Kento again came barreling down the stairs with a little boy under each arm. Kento sat each boy down into a separate chair. He looked at each of them. "NO fighting! You understand me?" Both of his little brothers nodded. "Good." Kento smiled, sat down, and started serving himself some food. Before anyone else could even get any on their plate, Kento was halfway through his first plate.

"Kento, my boy, calm down! If you ever took a girl out and she saw you eat like that, she would run out screaming!" Papa Fuan said with a smile.

Kento looked up and around. "Don't see no girls!" He again started chowing down on his food.
Chan looked up. "I a girl! Momma girl!" Chan pointed to herself and Kento smiled.

"Yes, you are! But you don't care how I eat. Do you? I mean, you're cool about that, right?"

Kento smiled. Chan nodded fiercely. Kento laughed, "Kay, thanks!" and again started digging into food! Mama and Papa Fuan shook their heads and smiled.

A knock came on the front door of the restaurant. Everyone looked at the door. Papa Fuan got up. "We're closed!" The knock came again and Papa Fuan approached the door and opened it a crack. "CYE!"

Kento jumped up. "Hey, man, what are you doing here, and why didn't you say it was you! You scared us!"

Cye smiled and shook his head "I lost my voice," he said in a very quiet whisper. "Me and my sister were yelling all yesterday at the kendo match. We both lost our voices." Cye turned to Papa Fuan. "Sorry." His voice cracked a little as he whispered it.

Mama Fuan laughed, "You lost your voice? Well then, come in, I'll make you a nice hot cup of tea! It'll clear that right up!" Cye nodded and stepped more into the house/restaurant.

Kento looked at Cye. "So, what brings you around here?"

Cye shrugged his shoulders. "Just walking around and thought I'd stop by." Mama Fuan came back in and handed him a cup of tea. Cye bowed his head a little, and Mama Fuan smiled and ruffled his hair.

Papa Fuan put his arm around Cye's shoulders. "Cye we just sat down for dinner, I do hope you well join us?" Cye nodded. "Good! Do we need to call your mom and tell her you're here?"
Cye shook his head 'no'. "She knows I'm here."

Kento winced at Cye's voice. "Damn, Cye, you sound AWFUL!" Kento said, and Cye smiled.

*****

Rowen sat in front of his computer; he had been staring at it practically all day! His eyes were starting to really sting. His history teacher had assigned that everyone was to write a report on either America, China, Canada, or Mexico. He had chosen America, and he had really gotten into it! He discovered this myth that was really odd, something about a whip! He knew this wouldn't help him on his report, but it sounded a lot like their armor.

Rowen sat back in his chair and sighed, I wonder if this whip is real like our armor is! What if this thing really exists! What if the enemy gets a hold of it! We'll all be dead! This is annoying!
Rowen heard the front door open and close. "Rowen, you home?" came his dad's voice.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm up here!" Rowen yelled back.

"Hey, Rowen, I picked up some food; have you eaten? If not, come on down here!"

Rowen sighed; he put the site into his favorite spots and signed off the web. "Coming," he yelled down and headed downstairs.

Rowen's dad turns around and smiled at him, then handed Rowen a plate. "What were you working on?"

"Nothing, just a report for school." Rowen started fishing the rice and noodles out of the little containers.

His dad looked at him. "Need any help?"

"Nah, I got it! It's pretty easy. I just got kinda absorbed into it!" Rowen smiled, and his dad did as well.

His dad wrapped his arm around Rowen's neck and laughed. "Come on, YOU! Let's go watch a movie!"

Rowen laughed and let his dad drag him into the living room.

*****

Ryo carefully put on his shirt, every once in a while looking at the door. He know, all too well, that it was dangerous to leave without permission, but he had to get out of here. He needed to see if he could still fight. He felt SO weak! He also needed to get his friends to forgive him.

He just couldn't stay here anymore. He had too many things he needed to do. Plus, he hated the thought of that murderer knowing where he was. It might be more dangerous to go out into the open, but he had to try it anyway.

He quickly looked at the door and made sure it was locked; it would buy him a little bit of time. Ryo stepped closer to the window; he opened it and looked outside. It was a beautiful afternoon, but that didn't make him happy. Ryo carefully removed the screen. He looked, regretfully, once more at the door. "I'm sorry," he whispered to no one in particular. Then he jumped outside. He was luckily on the first floor, so the height was no problem.

Ryo ran away from the hospital as fast as he could. The first thing he wanted to do was to prove to himself he could still fight. He had to be able to still fight! He ran through the town, not caring who he ran into, just wanting to get away! Away from it all!

*****

Tina sat in her bed staring outside. A couple of weeks ago she had written to Cye, saying she could no longer be with him. Chi Chi and Brittany said it was the right thing to do, but it tore her up to do it.

She really did care about Cye more than she had ever cared for any other guy. Cye was sweet, caring, and just lovable. He wasn't like other guys, he was just somehow different!
Tina wanted nothing more than to just call him and get back together. But she was too afraid that he wouldn't take her back! Or that he had found someone else!

*****

Kento and Cye walked down the city's streets; Cye had ended up spending the night last night. He had, also, somewhat gotten his voice back.

"So, Cye, anywhere you want to go?" Kento asked him, staring into the crowd. Cye shrugged his shoulders, then his eyes got a little big; a huge smile appeared on his face. Kento looked at what had caught Cye's eyes. He groaned a little when he saw the beach shop, but more importantly, the surfboards. "Ah, come on, Cye!"

Cye ignored him, and walked straight into the store. Kento growled; he was about to follow but then something caught his eye. He turned around just in time to see some boy rush around the corner. His eyes widened a little when he noticed who it was. "Ryo? What was he doing here?"

Some part of Kento wanted to follow Ryo, but another part knew he would never be able to catch up to him. Kento sighed and went into the surfing shop. He found Cye drooling over some long surfboard. "Hey, come on, Cye; we got to meet Rowen at the match thing! Sage will kill us if we're late! And his first match starts in one hour!"

"Dang, we better get going! Sage wants us there like forty minutes early!" Cye grabbed Kento's arm and pulled him out of the store. He paused only a second and looked at the person at the register. "Don't worry, mate. I'll be back!" The lady at the register laughed a little and Kento rolled his eyes. Cye pulled him out the door.

*****

Ryo had seen this dojo before; Sage used to have a lot of his matches here. They sometimes allowed people to just come in and sign up. Ryo hoped today they would let him. There was no way he could pass an examination. Ryo shouldn't be fighting in his condition anyway; he could easily rip open the wound on his side again. He knew that sometime during today (if he got to fight) his back would start to bleed and he would probably have to change the bandage's on it at least twice today.

Ryo sighed, then walked inside; he went up to the lady behind the desk. The young woman had a light brown hair that went just below her shoulders, and she was quite thin and looked kinda snotty. Ryo put on his grin that usually made girls blush.

The young woman looked up and smiled when she saw his cute face smiling at him. "Hey, how can I help ya? Need a date, sweety?" she said in an annoying high-pitched voice.

Ryo smiled at her. "Nah, but thanks anyway. Look, I'm new in town and I wanted to see how good the competition is here. Is there any way I could still sign up for today?"

"Well, I dunno, I ain't supposed to! But you're mighty cute! I tell you what! I'll sign you up, but you better not be foolin' me! You best know how to fight!"

Ryo stood there trying to keep a smile on his face, but her voice was so annoying! "Of course I know how to FIGHT, that's all I've been doing since I was like five!"

The young woman put on a huge smile. "All right, sweety! What's your name? And how old are you?"

"Ryo Sanada, ah, seventeen."

The girl smiled and wrote down the information. "Well, Mr. Sanada, your first fight is at twelve-thirty-five in the green circle." She looked at her watch. "That's about a half an hour from now, so I suggest you get ready." The young woman handed Ryo a key. " The locker room is over there; I gave you one of the best lockers there is! And I expect you to rank pretty high today!"

He took the key. "Thanks." Ryo slowly walked towards the locker room; he figured he'd have it pretty much to himself, considering all the other competitors had already changed into their clothes. Ryo was just glad he was able to get a hold of a workout outfit; it was nothing fancy, just a white pair of loose pants and a white t-shirt. He changed quickly and looked at himself in the mirror. It was a little old, but it would work just fine.

Walking out of the locker room, he went a little pale as he realized that Sage might be in this match! Oh, man, Sage would kill me if he got the chance to fight me! MAN, just hope that Sage won't be fighting today; Sage doesn't usually come here anymore anyway. Ryo shrugged the thought off; if he was fighting Sage there was nothing he could do now. If he dropped out now, he would get that lady in trouble, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

He quickly got his head back in what he was doing and went back to the matches. After watching a couple of matches, he realized it was almost his turn. Ryo started to head to the green circle; the guy he was fighting was already there and he didn't seem too tough.

Ryo beat him with ease, and proceeded to breeze through all his opponents. Carefully monitoring his wounds after each new opponent, Ryo was surprised to find that they were all still holding together.

*****

Sage, Rowen, Cye, and Kento all sat next to the ring, watching a fight. "I'm gonna to go check out some of the other fights." Kento stood and stretched as he walked off.

Sage sighed, wiped some sweat off his brow and looked at his watch. "My next fight is in about ten minutes."

Cye looked at Sage. "Hey, Sage, how many more fights you got to go?"

"Well, if I keep winning! Which I will." Rowen hit Sage in the head, and Sage laughed.

"Anyway, about five more! I hope my main competitor will be somewhat good." Sage sighed just as Kento came running up.

Kento stood there a second, trying to catch his breath. "GUYS, you are not going to believe this! Ryo's fighting! HERE!"

Sage jumped up. "RYO'S FIGHTING HERE IN THESE FIGHTS!"

Rowen laughed. "Well, I guess that your last main big fight isn't going to be that easy!" Sage shoot him a glare. "Well, it does."

Sage turned to Kento. "Well, I guess this means he was fine after all! I can't believe I was ever worried about that little jerk!"

Rowen put a hand on Sage's shoulder. "Big jerk, Sage, not little jerk, big jerk! Come on, let's go to your next fight." Sage nodded and walked off with Rowen.

Kento looked at Cye. "Come on, man, let's go see Ryo fight!" Kento pulled Cye in the opposite direction as Sage and Rowen had gone in.

*****
Ryo finished his fight with an upper kick, which he instantly regretted as his leg started to stiffen up. His leg was almost healed, but the constant weight of his body was starting to take its toll. Ryo walked up to one of the judges to see where his next fight would be.

"Well, Mr. Sanada, you have done very well! You made it to the finals; if you win this next battle you win the tournament. And your next fight well be in the gold circle against Sage Date." Ryo's eyes widened at those words, but the judge didn't seem to notice. "Well, I give you my best luck! Mr. Date has never lost; he is very good. You need to be ready and in the gold circle in ten minutes." Ryo nodded and walked off.

Ryo walked to the locker room; his back was bleeding again, and he needed to change his bandages on his leg and his side. Pushing open the door into the locker room, Ryo froze when he heard the two other voices. Quickly hiding in one of the bathroom stalls, he listened with growing unease.

Rowen sat in a chair as Sage redid his hair. Sage put the comb away. "I can't believe RYO'S here!"

Rowen looked up. "What, you worried that you won't win this time?" Rowen smiled.
Sage glared. "OF course I'll win! I WON'T let him beat ME!"

Rowen laughed. "Come on! Let's go find Kento and Cye." Rowen and Sage walked out of the locker rooms.

Ryo stepped out of the restroom, looked around, then went to his locker and pulled out the bandages, and started taking off the old ones and replacing them with new ones. Ryo looked at his watch and realized he had better get over to that gold circle or he'd be late. Sage would probably kill him just for being late; Ryo smirked at the thought.

Ryo headed out of the locker room and toward the gold circle. When Ryo got there Sage was already there. As soon as Sage saw Ryo, Sage started to glare. Ryo sighed; this was going to be a long fight! Ryo walked up and checked in with the judge. Ryo looked around at the crowd; everyone was there, since this was the last and final fight.

One of the judges came onto the mat and signaled for both Ryo and Sage to come onto the mat. At the center of the mat Sage and Ryo shook hands; the judge stepped out of the ring then shouted, "BEGIN!"

Moving in a circle, each waiting for the other to make the first move...

Suddenly Sage jumped into the air and came down on Ryo with a punch. Ryo, reacting instinctively, jumped and rolled out of the way as Sage tried to punch him again. From flat on his back Ryo flipped forward into a perfectly balanced fighting stance. Both circled again and waited. Two sets of eyes, following each other's every move, both intense and totally focused.

Sage, seeing that Ryo was tired, charged him. Sage aimed a jab at Ryo's right side; Ryo simultaneously lunged backwards and aimed his own jab at Sage's exposed right side, jumping into a one-eighty-degree kick. Ryo aimed straight at Sage's head. Sage jumped back, then swung at Ryo; Ryo blocked his punch, putting Sage off-balance for just a second, but it was long enough for Ryo. Ryo kicked with his right leg, which was odd for him, but with his hurt leg he couldn't put that much pressure on it, even for a second. Kicking with it was hard enough!

Sage fell backwards and landed on his back, The judge shouted "Point!" and pointed to Ryo. Ryo never really understood the whole point thing! Sage had tried to explain it to him a long time ago, but he still didn't get it. He just fought until they said he won!

Sage stood up and walked to the center of the ring where Ryo already was; they shook hands again, and the judge yelled "Begin!" again. Sage was mad at this point for letting himself get off-guard even for a second! Sage decided to do a new move his grandfather had just taught him a couple of days ago. Sage charged Ryo again, throwing punches and kicks at him. Sage then on purpose let his side go open. Ryo took the bait and swung at it, but right before Ryo hit Sage, Sage jumped into the air and behind Ryo. Sage kicked Ryo in the back, sending him crashing to the ground face-first.

Sage expected Ryo to get up right away and be really mad, but Ryo didn't move. A doctor that was always at the fights, made his way onto the mat. Ryo got up slowly and talked to the doctor a little. The doctor sighed, then went over to one of the judges and talked to him for a second. The judge nodded and stood up and yelled as loud as he could, "Point goes to Sage Date! FIVE MINUTE BREAK!"

Sage's eyes went wide; he didn't want any break, he wanted to get this over with! He looked back at Ryo; Ryo was now on one knee, breathing kinda heavy. Sage sighed and walked over to his friends.

Kento stared at Ryo, then looked at Sage. "Dude! What happened?"
Sage shrugged. "Hell if I know! I just kicked him in his back, and it wasn't that hard either!"

"Maybe there is something wrong with him?" Rowen said, still staring at Ryo.

"Mate, why don't you try to avoid his back from now on! Plus, if you hit it again these people are going to start 'booing' at you!" Cye said, also staring at Ryo.

Sage nodded. Sage looked at Ryo again this time, looking at his face rather than his body posture. Ryo looked almost in pain, which probably meant he was in quite a bit of pain. He had always been good at hiding his pain. He never let on how much pain he was really in! Sage shakes his head will if he was hurt that bad he Shouldn't be competing!

Ryo slowly made himself stand up and he cursed slightly. Then made himself stand up all the way. Ryo wished that he could've had ten minutes so that he could have changed his bandages. He knew that his back must be bleeding. If he didn't change his bandages soon, the blood would soak through his clothes and everyone would see it. Then... oh, then he didn't even want to think about that! The guys would freak! The judges would want to 'examine' his back! And somehow it would get back to Mr Date; then it would be a total mess!

Ryo closed his eyes for a second; he HAD to think. If he forfeited the match the guys would know something was up, that and Sage would kill him! Sage was wired in that way he wanted the fight! And if he didn't get it, Sage would be mad, even though he would be the winner!

Sage would say he didn't really win just because he didn't fight the last fight! No, Ryo couldn't forfeit! And the judges weren't about to give him another five minutes to go to the locker room without a damn good reason. Ryo, of course, wouldn't be able to tell them that reason, though!

Ryo sighed; he would just have to fight, and hope it ended in time for him to be able to change his bandages without it bleeding through!

Five minutes passed far too quickly for Ryo, because for the next thing he knew the judge was out there saying for them to both come back into the center of the ring. Ryo cursed to himself when he saw that Sage had a concerned look in his eyes. Well, he would make sure Sage didn't keep that look in his eyes.

As soon as he heard the judge say "Begin," Ryo turned around and spun back around, landing a kick right into Sage's stomach; Sage fell backwards, giving Ryo another point.

Ryo smiled; the only thing that was going threw his mind was, One more point, then I win!

Can't let Sage win! Sage needs two points! I need one! Maybe I'll pull this off after all!

Sage got up and cursed; he looked at Ryo's smiling face. Anger flared through Sage. That JERK! Pain, my ass! He's fine! He was trying to get me to go easy on HIM! Dirty trick! I WON'T BE BEATEN SO EARLY! I may be a point behind him, but it won't matter! I WILL win! Sage stood up and waited as soon as it was good to go. He jumped into the air and aimed a punch start for Ryo's face. As Sage predicted Ryo jumped to the left to avid getting hit. Sage whirled around and planted a kick right into Ryo's right side. Ryo's eyes went wide, then he slammed his eyes shut. He started to sway and for a second Sage thought he was going to fall over.

Ryo tried hard not to fall down, but he was feeling SO much pain. Sage had hit right on his wound on his side. He knew it was gushing blood. He had to get away! And NOW! Ryo grabbed his side to make sure that no one would see the blood that was now seeping through his clothes. Ryo ran past Sage and past the judges. Ryo ran straight into the locker room he took a second to get his stuff. As he cramed the junk in his bag he heard the door bang open. Sage came bursting through the door.

"RYO! What the hell just happened?" Sage yelled, and Ryo hid against a wall. Sage turned around, there were three rows of lockers than a wall of showers. He walks towards the showers. "Ryo? Where are you! I know you're still in here! I didn't give you enough time to escape out the window."

Ryo leaned against the wall more and looked at the closet window. There was no way he could get there before Sage caught him.

Sage finally saw Ryo; he was looking at the window. Sage frowned. "HI!" Ryo jumped. "So, you want to explain what the HELL just happened?" Sage was concerned, but he was more angry; nobody ran out on a fight, it was dishonorable you Always finished it!

Ryo didn't know what to say. All he knew is that he was in pain, his back was burning and his side just hurt, BADLY! Ryo was starting to get light-headed; he was still short on blood from the last time he was bleeding badly. He felt like he was going to pass out any moment.

"Sage," his voice was strained, "Sage, why are you angry at me?"

Sage stared at him for a moment. "Ryo, are you hurt or not?! Sometimes I think you are, but then you act as if you're not!"

Ryo laughed a little. "You didn't answer my question. Why are you mad at me?" HE was avoiding Sage's own quiston.

"Why do you THINK? You ditched ME and you didn't give me a reason! All you said was 'something came up'!" Sage yelled, staring at Ryo as if he were his worst enemy.

"What if I told you there was a good reason?" Ryo asked him.

"Then I want to know what it is!" Sage said and took a step towards Ryo.

Ryo frowns a little. "All right, I wasss..." Ryo fell forward; Sage caught him, putting a hand on Ryo's side to lift him up more. Sage's eyes widened as he felt the warm sticky fluid on his hand. Sage looked at his now blood-covered hand, then he looked at Ryo. His face was pale and was just leaning against Sage. Sage put a hand around Ryo, then on his back. Ryo hissed in pain. "N-n-not the BACK!" Ryo leaned more into Sage. Sage just stared at Ryo for a moment, then helped Ryo over to one of the benches. He sat Ryo down, then sat next to him, making sure he was steady.

As soon as Sage thought Ryo had gotten some control over himself, he thought he'd ask Ryo what was going on. "Okay, Ryo, spill it; what the hell happened to you?"

Ryo sighed, "It will be easier to show you than tell you. H-help me get my shirt off." Sage looked at Ryo, a little puzzled, but nonetheless helped Ryo get his shirt off. He went in front of Ryo and gently lifted it off of him. Sage cursed a little when he saw Ryo's side; it was bandaged up but the bandage was now just red-soaked with Ryo's blood.

"Dang, Ryo, what happened" Sage asked in a quiet voice, and then looked up at Ryo.

Ryo smiled weakly. "Why don't you look at my back? I think you'll get it then." Sage looked at Ryo's side again, then moved behind him. Ryo's back was also bandaged up and there was blood socking threw it as well.

"I'm guessing this is why we got the five minute break? Cause I hit your back?" Ryo didn't move. Sage gently removed the bandages from Ryo's back. Sage wanted to hurl when he saw Ryo's back. It was all red and puffy. Sage gently touched it. Ryo's back arched away from him.

"What is it with you and your dad trying to touch my back?" Ryo smiled weakly at him.

Sage's eyes widened as he suddenly got it. "THAT'S why you were there that night!" Sage got quiet. "And I tried to throw you out! What would have happened if you would have left?" Sage said almost to himself, realizing he would have bled to death if he would have left.

Ryo smiled. "I didn't have any plains of leaving just cause you told me to!" Ryo's voice was strained.

Sage knew he needed to stop the bleeding. "Where are your bandages?" Sage asked.
Ryo's breath was getting shorter. "Over there in that bag."

Sage got the bag, then went back to Ryo's side. He crouched down in front of Ryo and removed what was left of the bandages on his side. He then got out the other bandages and replaced it back over Ryo's wound.

Ryo's head hurt; he just wanted to sleep, he was SO tired! And he was so dizzy! But he forced himself to stay awake. "S-so, Sage, w-w-why are the judges not h-here? I-I thought they'd c-come running in as well?"

Sage smiled as he moved behind Ryo so he could replace the bandages on his back. "I was wondering when you were going to ask that! I told them I would take care of it and to give us ten minutes. I was surprised when they agreed. I was even more surprised when the judges were able to keep the guys out!"

Ryo looked up. "Not for long!" Ryo gestured to the window with his head. Sage looked up and he could see Kento's shoes. Sage smiled and finished up bandaging up Ryo's back.

Sage smiled. "What are you going to tell them?" Sage raised an eyebrow at the window; he could hear Rowen yelling at Kento, who was still trying to get open the window. "That is, if they get in here!"

"I dunno... maybe I-I'll tell them t-t-the truth." Ryo laughed a little. "Sage, I've got to get out of here. Those judges can't find me right now!"

Sage nodded and helped Ryo put his shirt back on. "Shall we go out the window?" Ryo nodded weakly; he felt completely drained. Sage helped him up and to the window. He could still see Kento trying to get the window open and Rowen yelling at him to pull the thing instead of trying to push it. Smiling, Sage pushed the window open and looked at the guys. "Hi."

"Hey! DUDE, what happened in there! The judges wouldn't let us in!" Kento said, staring at Sage.

Rowen crossed his arms and glared at Kento. "I told you to pull!"

"Hey, guys, help me get Ryo out!" Sage disappeared for a second.

"Why can't Ryo get himself out?" Kento asked just as Ryo's head appeared in the window. His face was pale, and he looked as if he was going to pass out right away. Kento immediately grabbed him and pulled him up. Ryo's breath was shallow and coming out in short gasps. Kento steadied Ryo.

Sage jumped out of the window and looked around. "Kay, let's go; we need to get him to a bed!" Sage said, brushing his hand through his hair.

"What happened to him?" Cye asked.

"Never mind that; right now he needs a place to rest. Rowen, your house is the closest, can we go there?"

"YA! Of course; my dad won't be home till late!" Rowen and Kento helped Ryo to the apartment place. When they got into Rowen's house, Kento helped Ryo lay down on the couch. Sage walked into the kitchen.

"Okay, now spill it, you two! What happened!" Kento yelled.

Sage walked in and handed Ryo a small glass of water and two pills. Ryo's hands shook as he took them. Ryo looked at Sage. "Man, your dad's going to kill me! ...Unless, of course, your mom gets to me first!"

Sage laughed a little. "You should probably get some sleep; I'll fill the guys in on as much as I know. I'll call my dad too."

Ryo nodded, then laid down on the couch. Ryo closed his eyes and soon he fell into a deep sleep.

*****

A young girl sat in the sheriff's office. She was a beautiful girl; she had long brown hair that was pulled into a high ponytail. Her hair went just past her butt and curled slightly at the bottom. She had DARK brown eyes, and a perfect body that made most guys drool.

Mr. Date walked into the office. "Chessica? How are you?"

"Fine, what do you want..." she looked at his name tag, "John! I'd like to go back to do my nails! They're dirty." She brushed her nails against her shirt.
John frowned at her. "Young lady, you will be staying with me! I do hope we can get along! Cause in my house we don't take kindly to smartmouths!"

Chessica saluted him. "Sir, yes sir!" She laughed at him. "Trust me, I WON'T be staying with you for LONG!"

Mr. Date sighed and looked at the girl. "All right, if that's what you want. We will not force you to come and live with my family. Would you like me to find you a foster home?"

Chessica sat up straight in her seat. "NO! I mean, I guess I can put up with your family for a little while!"

Mr. Date smiled. "All right, would you like to know some stuff about my household?"
"I guess that wouldn't hurt."

"All right, I have three kids, two daughters and one son. My youngest daughter is fourteen and my son is a year older than you, seventeen. And my oldest daughter is nineteen. My wife's father lives with us, and he very honor-bound, as is my son, Sage. I do hope you'll be able to get along with someone in my family. Maybe I can help you find an interest with one of them. What are you interested in?"

"Don't know, I CAN'T remember!" Chessica said, and Mr. Date frowned.

Mr. Date rubbed his head, thinking, This is going to be a lot harder than I thought it was going to be!