Stir of Shadows
by Queen of Sarab
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Chapter Twelve

"Now what?" Ryo asked, attempting to peer through the inky, swirling darkness that enveloped them.

"Only one more Ronin to go..." Rowen replied.

"Sai..."

As soon as that name was said, the blackness around them let up a little. It was still too dark to see, but out of that darkness came the sound of childlike laughter.

"That's not Sai," remarked Kento.

The other Ronins nodded absently, not really sure what to make of what they were hearing.

Suddenly, the blackness shifted once more revealing a wide expanse of choppy blue-grey water. An ocean. The Ronins were standing on a deserted beach, under an overcast sky, gazing out at the rolling water. There, in a small boat, was a middle-aged,auburn haired man and a small auburn haired boy, rowing out together. The small child, of about five, was laughing delightedly.

While surveying the scene before them, Sage spoke up, "That's Sai, alright, but it's him as a kid... This doesn't seem so bad."

"Yeah..." Ryo commented slowly. " I wonder what Sai's worst nightmare is. So far, this is pretty nice, a childhood memory..."

"Knowing the ocean lover, it's probably an oil spill or something," Kento said with a laugh.

"Let's just watch, shall we?" stated Rowen, who suspected that the dream was probably going to turn pretty nasty in just a few seconds.

He wasn't disappointed.

The overcast sky around them darkened with heavy thunderheads and the already choppy water grew violent. The man in the boat hurriedly fastened a life vest around his son, not taking the time to secure himself as well. As the man quickly began to row back to shore, the sky let loose and the heavens poured down. From where the remaining Ronins stood, they could see a small Coast Guard vessel, piloted by only two people, speeding out to assist the pair in the rowboat. As the Coast Guard neared the small floundering ship, a vicious wave crashed, toppling the little boat and sending both father and son into the churning water.With the life vest securely around his shoulders, the little boy immediately surfaced, coughing up water and crying out for his father. The man, however, did not surface.

Aboard the Coast Guard boat, one of the guys hastily fastened a life line around his waist and plunged into the swirling sea to retrieve the boy. As, he was being rescued, the little boy attempted to fight his savior, still calling out his father's name.

"NO! Daddy, no! Where are you? Come Back! Come back!!!"

The cries were in vain.

Suddenly, an older, familiar voice joined in with the little boy's cries, soon drowing them out with their sorrow and intensity.

"NO! Not again... Please, not again!"

As lightning crashed and illuminated the angry sky, the Ronins could see Sai--their Sai-- standing on a large outcropping of rock, not yet covered by the swirling tide. His eyes were wide with horror, tears of despair streamed down his cheeks, mixing with the rain.

"Sai!" Kento screamed out.

Sai, too lost in his own grief, didn't seem to acknowledge Kento or the others.

"How do we help him face THIS?" Rowen demanded. "This isn't like the other two. Sage and Kento's nightmares were both about their worst fears, but THIS?!?"

"He's reliving the death of his father," Kento stated numbly, his heart going out to his stricken best friend. "We gotta help him somehow!"

"We will, Kento, we will..." assured Ryo.

Rowen smiled sadly. "But how?"

The other three looked at him. "Thanks for the optomistic outlook, Ro," Sage muttered.

They fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"We have to do something," said Kento softly after a moment.

"Let's go," Ryo sighed, and they began to climb their way over to the warrior of Torrent.

Sai couldn't look anymore. Out on the water, his child self was screaming, trying to go back over the side to his father as one of the men on the boat held him back.

"DADDY!"

Closing his eyes, Sai lowered his head into his hands and began to rock back and forth. A hand lighted on his shoulder.

"Sai," Rowen said softly.

Sai just shook his head.

"Sai...." Kento, Ryo, and Sage moved forward awkwardly.

"I could've saved him...." Sai collaped to the ground in a heap, hands still covering his face.

Taking a deep breath, Rowen jerked Sai's hands away. "Sai, you know that's not true. You were what, 5? If you had tryed, you BOTH would've drowned."

Sai shook his head. "I could've tryed...."

"And then we wouldn't have had the 5th ronin, and Talpa would've won on his first try," Rowen knelt next to his friend. "Sai, you have to come ot terms with the fact this was not your fault."

"I can't..." Sai cut himself off with a bout of sobs.

Rowen stood. "Think, Sai.You know, inside, that I'm right."

"It's cold here," Kento shivered. The four ronins other than Sai had pulled away a little to give him time to think.

"Really cold," Ryo agreed. Falling silent, the ronins stared out over the beach facing away from the sea. Jagged rocks pushed out of the sand, standing tall and dark against the stormy gray sky.

"What do I have to do to get out of here?"

At the sound of Sai's british accent, with an obviously fake cheery quality about it, the four spun around quickly. Sai's face was streaked with tears, his eyes bloodshot, auburn hair wetly plastered to his head, but he held himself straight and calm.

"Well, stop staring and tell me how."

"Well..." Ryo hesitated. "We don't exactly know."

"Um...what?"

"Well, the other times Kento and Sage just beat their dreams, did their attack, and some kinda door or something appeared," he explained. "But..."

"Oh." Sai smiled sadly. "Got it." He thought a moment. "I could... try using my attack?"

"On what?" Sage raised an eyebrow.

Sai looked around, then fixed his gaze on a large rock about 50 feet out in the sea. It was shaped as to where it almost resembled a man in a boat, a wave looming over him. "That."

Rowen stared at it. "That rock is just way too conveniently shaped."

Nodding, Sai walked a little closer.

"Is that supposed to represent his feelings about his dad or something?" Kento muttered.

"I guess so," answered Ryo softly.

In front of them, Sai had called his armor and was slowly advancing towards the edge of the beach.

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the world exploded.

Author's note- Gotta thank Em again for writing the first part of this chapter when I had writer's block...And for helping me come up with the idea for this nightmare, too...As always, e-mail me! [email protected]