Angel's Past
"What do you think I mean? Didn�t you notice that she has no pupils?" Mia exclaimed.
"She doesn�t? I didn�t notice." Sage stated.
"No, she doesn�t. And if you don�t have pupils, you�re blind! The pupil is the part of the eye that takes in light. If you don�t have them, you can�t see anything." Mia explained.
"We know what the pupils do, Mia. But�one question." Cye began.
"What?"
"If she�s blind, how and why did she act like she could see so well?"
"People who are blind can�t use their sense of sight, of course, so they have to develop their other skills. She�s probably already memorized your voices and knows who is talking to her. Her sense of hearing, touch, and smell must be extremely sharp." Mia hypothesised.
"Why don�t we go talk to her?" Ryo suggested, changing the subject. "Maybe we can find out a little more about her past. And try to lay off the b-l-i-n-d word, alright?"
"Yes. She was acting as if she could see you earlier, so she might not want you to know." Mia agreed.
* * *
"Karen?" the angel turned at the sound of her name. It was Mia�s voice. She could hear the other four�s footseps behind her and knew that the five Ronins were behind her.
"Yes?" Karen now heard that they were walking to various places around the porch. As soon as they sat down, she heard Ryo�s voice.
"So, Karen, we were wondering, about, like, where did you come from? What kind of background did you have?"
"Well� uh." Karen stopped her answer for a minute as doubts began to flood her mind. Do they kow that I�m blind? Can they see it? If they can, what do they think of me now? They might think that I�d be useless in battle. Or they might not worry about it. But, yes they will! I won�t be able to battle as well as them. But�I�ve had plenty of training in martial arts, and master said I could battle just as well as any of the Ronins, but how would he know that? As far as I know, he�s never seen them. Oh well I guess I�ll�
Ryo again asking about her background interrupted Karen�s thoughts.
"Huh? Oh. Um�I was born in the late 1920�s in a lower class. I wasn�t in the middle class, yet, I wasn�t in the lowest class either. Anyway, I grew up without a father, and with a single mother. My father died about a month before I was born. I had a younger sister, two older brothers, and an older sister. I died young. I was about fourteen and a half years old when I died. I know that sounds weird doesn�t it?" Karen cast her empty eyes downward.
"Oh, well. So, um� how did you die?" Sage asked quietly.
Mia elbowed him in the side. Sage grunted a bit and put a hand to his side.
Karen noticed the action and continued. "Oh no, it�s alright. I don�t mind talking about it. It�s all in the past now. Nothing to worry about." The Ronins noticed that even when she was relaxing, her white wings remained behind her back. "I don�t remember too much right before I died, but I do rememder how. I was working in the gardens, which were on either side of the mailbox, and I remember hearing my little five-year-old sister run out into the middle of the street to get her ball. I tried to tell her to get out of the way, and that a car was coming, but she didn�t quite understand what I was saying. So I rushed out into the street and pushed her out of the way of the car. And�you can probably guess what happened after that." Karen put a hand to her stomach, obviously where she had been hit by the car, so many years before. "I was rushed to the hospital, but the only thing I heard of the diagnosis was that I had internal bleeding. I don�t remember anything after hearing that. But, it was kinda like I fell asleep and just never woke up."
Karen finished her long story and sat back, feeling rather akward.
"Anyway, you have very nice eyes. Did they come from your mom or your dad?" Ryo complimented.
"My mom always said that I had my father�s eyes. So, I guess from him. However, I doubt he had exactly my eyes. He could probably see better." Karen dropped her tone.
"What do you mean?" Rowen asked.
"Did you notice my eyes? You know, that I�m�" Karen trailed off.
"Yes. So?" Cye wondered.
"Was it that easy to tell that I�m blind?" Karen asked sadly.
"No. Mia had to give us clue after clue to get us to guess that you were blind. You�ve adapted extremely well." Kento answered.
"You mean, that it isn�t a problem?" Karen asked hopefully.
"Of course not!" Ryo exclaimed.
"You mean that you don�t think that I would be useless in battle?" Karen querried.
"Of course not! We trust the ancient and if he says you�re a good enough fighter to be with us, then, well, we�ll believe him thouroughly!" Cye assured her.
"Really?" Karen asked with growing excitement.
"Sure! So, since you�re the angel Ronin, what kind of powers do you have?" Ryo wondered.
"Well, I�m much like you. I don�t completely know the extent of my power yet, but I�m learning. So far I know that my powers can control each of the elements, yet, not a well as you. You guys have more control over them than I do. I believe I can also add my strength to one or all of you." Karen told them the extent of her knowledge.
"So, the ancient told us that you would know all about the evil coming. What�s all that about?" Kento wanted to know.
"Well, the evil that is coming is similar to Talpa, yet, not as powerful. He is simply known as Kaldra. He has regained control of Talpa�s old Warlords and is absolutely obsessed with killing you, Ryo, because you defeated Talpa twice. He also wants your White Armor of Inferno. He hates you for killing Talpa and now he wants revenge." Karen warned.
The five Ronins looked at Ryo for a response. Ryo saw the expressions they wore and spoke. "Don�t worry about it. This isn�t the first time I�ve had someone on my tail bent on killing me. This bimbo doesn�t scare me. Anyway, why is he so angry that Talpa�s dead? Was he related to him or something?"
"No. Not related. I don�t think. We don�t really know why he�s so angry about it. I guess we might never know. Cause I don�t know about you guys, but I�m not going to stop fighting to ask." Karen wore a michievous smile.
As soon as the boys saw this, they mirrored her action.