We tracked Wildfire for almost an hour before we lost his trail where he had crossed a stream.
     "Now what?" Sage asked throwing up his hands.
     "Listen," Sai said holding up his hand, "I heard something."
     We all quieted and in the distance we could hear the sound of metal clanging against something hard.
As we neared the noise, it seemed to grow in passion. We came up behind Wildfire. He stood in a small
clearing and in front of him was a giant boulder with deep gashes gorged into its side. The enraged teen
struck the battered rock once more and the boulder exploded.
     Sage stopped Rowen from going first and then, after motioning us to stay in the shadows, he neared
Ryo. The now exhausted Ronin had let his swords fall to the ground. We could all hear the anguish in his
voice as he cried out, "So much power . . . how am I suppose to be able to control this? I could have
killed one of my frien . . . allies today."
     His hesitation over calling us friends did not go unnoticed. "You could have," Sage said making his
presence known, "but you didn't and wouldn't."
     Wildfire turned to face Sage. I expected to see the rage I had seen earlier but tears had replaced it.
"How can you be so certain?"
     "Armor down, Ryo," Sage said, still hanging back and giving the confused warrior space. He told
Ryo that wearing the armor took a lot of energy and he shouldn't push it the first time.
     I thought Wildfire was going to refuse but then he picked his swords up and slid them back into their
sheathes. Crossing his arms, he sent the armor back to its resting-place. The now drained teen dropped to
his knees exhausted, dressed once again in his body armor.
     "Easy does it," Sage said reaching for Wildfire, but a glare from the downed warrior made the blond
teen pull his hand back. "Oops, sorry," he mumbled.
     Wildfire sat back and shook the hair from his face. The tears were gone. "Okay," he said drawing a
ragged breath, "now tell me why you guys are constantly protecting me? I am a warrior, I'm better trained
then all of you put together . . ."
     Only Rowen's stern look prevented me from laughing aloud. "Yeah, right," I mumbled softly.
     "We were told to," Sage said reaching out once again. Ryo shoved the offending hand away but Sage
caught his wrist and held on. "Stop fighting with us . . . you have to trust us to make this team work."
     Trust . . . you would think we were asking for his sword arm. "I can't!" he screamed throwing Sage
aside. "Don't you understand to trust you guys would leave me . . . vulnerable."
     "In what way?" I asked stepping out of the shadows. I walked over and helped Sage to his feet. Ryo
looked up with a trace of panic in his eyes. I crossed my arms and waited.
     I knew an internal battle was going on inside Wildfire. After a few moments, he put his feelings into
words. "I've been alone all my life . . . yes, I had my uncle but I was still isolated from other people. I
never had the urge to seek out friendships and prefer it that way. The only person I was responsible for
was myself."
     He could have been describing me . . . before joining the Ronin and that was no way to live. "I really
pity you then, Wildfire," I said turning away to walk back toward the woods. Rowen's hand on my
shoulder stopped me.
     "Ryo," Rowen said stepping forward, "last night when you called out for help, it seemed to me you
gave a damn about someone . . . maybe even Kento here?"
     I nodded at Rowen and stepped closer to the still kneeling Ronin. "You felt responsible for me . . .
didn't you?"
     "Maybe I did feel obligated to get us out of that jam, but remember I was there too and needed help
getting out."
     "Help," Sai said adding his voice and presence to the small circle we now formed around Wildfire.
"That is what we did . . . we helped you, Ryo."
     "And you helped us," Rowen said moving slowly closer. "If you hadn't called on your armor, who
knows what would have happened."
     "We're a team," Sage said, "and you are a vital part of that team . . . the leader. And that is why the
Ancient told us to protect you. Maybe, we've taken it a little too far, but we can't lose you."
     He wanted to believe us, trust us, I could see the hunger burning in his eyes. I knelt down in front of
him and said softly, "I trust you . . . with my life, and you can do the same with any of us . . . we won't
betray you."
     He searched my face for a moment. Then his head dropped and he began to back away. "I'm not
sure I can do this, guys," he said shaking his head.
     Sai, who had moved behind him, stopped his retreat by placing his hands on Wildfire's shoulders. I
reached over and cuffed Wildfire on the side of the face. "Come on, dufus. When are you going to figure
this out? You're not alone."
     His eyes found mine and I saw the walls fall. He opened himself to us and I could sense all five
Ronin were now one. I closed my eyes and let the warmth I felt sweep over me.
     "Wisdom, Trust, Justice, Life . . . Virtue," Wildfire whispered.
     I opened my eyes and saw the symbols of the armors, shining on my friends' foreheads. "Jeez, we're
doing it," I whispered afraid to speak too loud.
     "The Circle of Power," Rowen said, ". . . is completed."
     Ryo looked up and smiled and then called the armors to us. "RONIN WARRIORS, TO ARMS . . .
DAICHI!!!"
     I was surrounded by darkness. Then a bright beam of light broke through and in middle of the void
was the mystical armor. It slowly moved closer and then broke apart, the pieces merged with my body
armor. As the armor fastened down, the fearsome Hardrock helmet appeared in my hands. I placed it over
my head and it locked . . . completing the transformation. The darkness fell apart and in my hand was a
halberd with blades on either end.
     I looked up. All the other warriors were also dressed in their chosen armors. "Awesome," I said
turning around so the others could view my armor. The Hardrock armor was the most fearsome of all the
Ronin Armors. It had spikes on the helmet around the mouth shield, they lined the knuckles of my
gauntlets, and there were even spikes on my shoulder pads. "Whoa," I said to Sai with a grin, "I won't be
kissin' any girls in this outfit."
     Sai's ocean blue armor looked like a great sea beast. The Torrent's armor had a single dorsal fin
running down the middle of the helmet and in his hand was a wicked trident. With a flick of his right wrist,
a set of iron claws fell down and covered his hand. He reached out with his weapon and caught the golden
bow that Rowen was flashing around. The blades of the trident clamped shut and Sai pulled the weapon
from Rowen's hand.
     "Man, that would be a cool trick," I thought as Rowen retrieved his bow. Then caught my breath as
the curved blade at the end of my weapon began to shift and change. In a moment, I had a small claw at
the end of the staff instead of the blade. I looked up at the sharp blade at the other end of the weapon and
wished for the curved blade back. In a few moments, it appeared taking the place of the straight blade.
     I brought the weapon down to block a blow from Sage's sword. "Got to do better than that,
blondie," I said with a laugh. After a few minutes, I looked over at Wildfire. He stood off to one side and
watched us as we experimented with our armors. "So, you think you're better than all of us?" I asked with
a grin.
     Wildfire held his swords down at his sides and shrugged. "Don't think . . . I know."
     "We'll see about that!" I cried attacking. I had taken my weapon apart and now charged swinging
two nunchucks. Wildfire was fast and I soon found myself airborne. I pulled myself up and watched as
Wildfire took the other three down as well. Frustration built up inside me. There was no way this kid
could be this good.
     Suddenly my sight blurred and I was surrounded by ghostly beings. There were four of them and
they floated around me chanting. A voice whispered in my head, "KENTO OF HARDROCK, YOU ARE
THE STRONGEST OF THE RONIN WARRIORS . . . LET ME SHOW YOU THE POWER YOU ARE
CAPABLE OF . . ." Then my vision cleared, but I had no control over what was happening. I could only
watch through eyes I no longer commanded. I walked toward Ryo with my weapon raised. "Stop this,
Wildfire . . . IRON ROCK CRUSHER!!!" I watched in horror as I struck the ground with the blade of the
halberd. At my feet, the earth broke apart and rushed toward Ryo and Sage, who was standing between
us. I struggled against the hold of the armor and broke free in time to see Ryo and Sage disappear under a
shower of boulders. This was my first run in with the Dark Realm, but I didn't figure that out until much
later. At the time, I could only scream in denial.
     I watched a streak of red launch itself out of the storm. Wildfire and Sage crashed to the ground at
my feet. Rowen pulled Sage off and I bent down over Ryo. After a few seconds passed, his eyes slowly
opened and he looked up at me confused. I offered my hand and he took it as I pulled him into a sitting
position. "What did you do?" he asked.
     "I don't know," I admitted. "Everything seemed so clear . . . but like someone else was pulling the
strings." The Wildfire armor was blackened from the energy blast. "Are you okay?"
     "Sure, nothing a few million aspirins won't clear up." He glanced over his shoulder at Rowen and
Sage asking, "How's Sage?"
     Sage was already on his feet and walked over to help Ryo up. "I'm fine, thanks to you."
     "I think Kento found the next level of our armor," Rowen said coming up to the group. "I also think
it's time we retire these, until we talk to the Ancient."
     "Yeah," I agreed, "I don't want any more nasty surprises." I crossed my arms and sent the armor
away. As soon as the light faded, I felt a little weak in the knees. Wildfire fell to his knees exhausted.
     "Hey guys, do you mind if we relax here for a while?" Ryo asked, "I'm beat."
     "Sounds like a good idea to me," I said stretching out onto the ground beside him. Then I rolled over
on my side and looked up at the other three. "Does anyone have any food? Wildfire and I haven't had
anything to eat since this morning."
     Sai smiled and lifted up a small pack I hadn't noticed earlier. "We were coming to rescue the king of
food. Do you think we'd dare to come empty handed?" Everyone joined in on the laughter except for the
silent one behind me.
     "Kento?"
     I flipped back over and faced the teen that still knelt on the ground. "What's up, Ryo?"
     "Why do you still call me Wildfire sometimes?"
     His question caught me by surprise. "You've never given me permission to call you otherwise," I told
him.
     "Kento, my friends call me Ryo."
     "Alright, Ryo." Ryo smiled and then got ready to stand to help set up camp. I reached over and
touched his arm. There was one more thing that needed to be done. "Ryo, I'm sorry for what I did to your
hair."
     The teen in red raised his hand to cut off the apology. "Forget it, you were mad. At least my hair
was all you cut."
     "Please," I pleaded. I needed to hear him say it aloud. "Please, Ryo, forgive me."
     Wildfire nodded his head. "Alright, Kento of Hardrock, I accept your apology."
     I smiled and then dropped back down into the grass. I would help in a few minutes, right now I just
wanted to rest. A gentle hand shaking me brought me out of the land of slumber. I opened my eyes and
noticed it was now dark and a large fire was burning in middle of the clearing.
     "Hey, if you want supper, I suggest you get up sleeping beauty," Sage said backing away.
     I sat up and looked around. Ryo was asleep huddled next to White Blaze and Sai was also using the
giant white beast as a pillow. Sage walked over and sat down next to Rowen. I joined them at the fire and
took some of the meat offered. "It's rabbit," Sage said.
     "I don't care what it is as long as it ain't fish!"
     We all awoke the next morning early and after a light breakfast of fruit and bread, we got ready to
head back to the temple. Sai came over to me as I knelt beside a nearby stream refilling the empty
canteens. "Ryo still doesn't trust us . . . not one hundred percent."
     I tightened the lid of the last canteen and shook my head. "You can't blame him, but he will learn to
trust . . . give him time."
     "But we don't have time . . . we need to prove to Ryo we can be trusted."
     "How do you plan on doing that?"
     Sai outlined his idea as we walked over to where Wildfire knelt putting out the last of the hot embers
of our fire. "Hey, Ryo," I called out as we neared.
     The dark-haired teen looked up and for the briefest moment I could see the distrust in his eyes but
he quickly hid it. "Whatcha' kids up to now?" he asked standing.
     "You trust us . . . don't you?" Sai asked.
     "Yes . . . why?"
     "Prove it," I said with a smile.
     "Why," Ryo demanded, "should I have to prove anything?"
     "Because I don't think you do," I admitted. "Trust us, that is."
     Wildfire was ticked. "Well, let's see: you broke my arm, cut my hair, purposely hurt my arm again,
got me stuck in the middle of nowhere with the hillbillies from Mars, and then almost killed me last night
with your Iron Rock Crusher." He paused to catch a breath and then pushed on, "So yes, Kento, I'm
ashamed to admit it, but I still don't trust you." Last night he had said he'd forgiven me, I guess he hadn't.
Ryo turned to leave. "Come on, let's get going."
     I reached out and grabbed his arm. "No, I want to prove to you I can be trusted."
     "How?"
     I took off the bandanna that held my hair and walked behind the wary teen. I tied the cloth over his
eyes and told him of Sai's plan. "Now you follow me," I said tugging his arm slightly. "You duck when I
tell you to duck and jump when I tell you to jump. You turn left when I tell you to and stop when I say."
     "You're kidding, right?" Wildfire asked reaching for the bandanna.
     I caught his hand. "Nope," I told him tugging a little harder on the hand I held. "Come on, we're only
a half of a day walk from the temple."
     Wildfire finally conceded with a slight nod. "Alright, Hardrock, but if you run me into one tree . . ."
     "Hey, come on, would I do that?" I asked starting out. We walked in a single file line with Ryo
directly behind the first Ronin. "Move to your left," I said as I worked my way around the first tree.
Wildfire slammed right into it with a yell.
     "Damn it, Kento!" Ryo jerked the cloth off his eyes. "We haven't even taken ten steps and you ran
me into a tree!"
     Rowen took the cloth and placed it over Wildfire's eyes again. He tied it and then took Ryo's left
hand to place it on my right shoulder. "He's new at this, Ryo. Give him a chance. This time hold on to
Kento. You can feel when he turns and when the ground dips."
     We tried again. As a group, we also decided it would be better to place Ryo in the back of the line
with his guide, so we would have plenty of time to warn them of the changes in the mountain. We made it
almost ten minutes before I forgot to warn Wildfire about a fallen branch. It tripped him, throwing him to
the ground. After that, the other guys took turns and Ryo kept the blindfold on. We made pretty good
time and were a little over halfway home when we stopped for lunch.
     "Leave the blindfold on, Ryo," Sage said as we all sat down in a small clearing.
     "Oh, come on, guys," Wildfire said with a groan. "Haven't I played your game long enough?"
     "Nope," Rowen said moving in front of the Ronin in red. "Hold out your hand, palm up."
     Ryo did as he was told but his hand shook slightly. Rowen took out some berries he had picked
earlier and placed them into Ryo's palm. The second Rowen touched his hand Ryo jumped and berries
flew everywhere. "No," Rowen said with a sigh, "you still don't trust us." He reached up to pull the
blindfold off.
     Ryo caught his hand as it touched his face. "Try again." He held his hand out once more. This time
there was no shaking.
     Rowen shrugged his shoulders and reached into the bag. He came up with a couple pieces of smoked
meat. Ryo took the offered meat and bit into it. The next second he turned and gagged, spitting out the
food he had just eaten. His shoulders shook and a moment later, he got sick.
     "What in the world did you just give him?" Sai demanded as he reached over and offered Ryo a
drink from his canteen.
     "It was just some smoked fish. It was cooked . . . not like it was sushi or anything," Rowen said as
Wildfire took a drink of water.
     "Fish . . ." I groaned.
     "I'm sorry, Rowen . . . I don't know what happened," Ryo said wiping his mouth. "The second that
food hit my taste buds . . . I . . . don't know . . . I just couldn't . . ."
     Wildfire didn't even know why the taste of fish sent him over the edge. "Fish was all we had to eat
those days you were unconscious," I explained reaching up and undoing the blindfold. "I couldn't touch
fish right now either. What else do you have to offer?" I asked the others.
     We ate a lunch of berries, bread, and honey cakes. Afterwards the blindfold was once again placed
over Ryo's eyes.
     "Hey, guys," Sage said as we moved down the mountain, "do you think we can defeat this Dynasty?
I mean there are only five us."
     "We have the Ronin Armors . . . the Ancient thinks we can do it," I said.
     "But are the armors enough?" Sai asked. "Remember that picture, the Dynasty looked pretty
intimidating."
     "With our armors, we look pretty intimidating," Rowen said. Then he added, "Duck, Ryo."
     "Man, I'm really looking forward to this, guys," I said with a grin. "Rowen, there's a dip up here.
Make sure you hold on to Ryo on your way down."
     "Kento, this is not a game," Rowen scolded. "You should be scared to death. Okay, Ryo, this part is
a little tricky. You better give me your . . . uh, Ryo?"
     I jerked around. The Ronin in red was nowhere to be seen. "Okay, Rowen, whatcha' do with him?"
     "I didn't do anything with him," Rowen said looking around.
     "His hand was suppose to be on your shoulder," Sai said with a sigh. "Didn't you notice when he
took his hand off?"
     "I don't even remember putting his hand . . . ON!" Rowen turned and raced back the way we had
come.
     The four of us ran back to where we had eaten lunch. Wildfire still sat where we had left him. He
looked up at us when we broke through the bushes. "If you want my opinion," Ryo said with a grin,
"we're going to send the Dynasty packing back to the Netherworld."
     "You could hear us the entire time?!?" I almost screamed. "Why didn't you call out?"
     "It wasn't part of the rules. You said for me to duck when you told me to, go when you told me to,
and stop when you told me to. No one told me to go."
     "Very cute," Rowen said, pulling him to his feet and slamming Ryo's hand on his shoulder. "We're
G-O-I-N-G now, okay?"
     "Sure, lead on," Ryo said with a grin. "And don't worry, Rowen, I'll be careful when we get to the
dip in the road. By the way . . . why is Kento laying in the road?"
     "Very funny, let's go," I said leading the party off once more.
     We got back to the temple shortly before sunset. Ryo tore the blindfold off with a shout and handed
it back to me. "Your game is over now, anymore tricks?"
     "Nope, you did it. Admit it, you even enjoyed yourself."
     Wildfire nodded his head and then raced into the temple. We were all at his heels. The Ancient was
actually in the temple, which surprised me. Usually we had to wait for him, or track him down. Something
was up.
     "Teacher, we did it!" Ryo cried as we barged in. The five us tried talking at once and the Ancient
raised his hand to cut us off.
     "I must speak to Wildfire," the old man said turning. "Everyone else retreat to your huts."
     "I've got a bad feeling about this," Sai said walking toward the door.
     A strange coldness settled into the base of my spine and a sense of dread worked its way up my
back. I looked over at the Ancient as I walked out of the temple but couldn't read his face. The four of us
went out into the courtyard, then turned around to face the door and waited.
     "Nooo!" Ryo's cry of betrayal broke through the silence.
     Something was wrong. The feeling of terror and hate escalated. They weren't my feelings, no . . .
thanks to the Circle, I was feeling Ryo's pain. I couldn't fathom what the problem was. "Did the Ancient
take his armor away?" I thought. "No, this is another kind of pain . . . a very familiar pain." There was no
more time for questions. Ryo came running out of the door. His armor was gone and he was dressed in
only the jeans he had worn earlier. He looked up, saw us, and changed his direction. I was quicker in my
armor and quickly sidestepped to catch him.
     He struggled to free himself as the others closed in. He was sobbing uncontrollably, his body shook
from rage and sorrow. "What is it, Ryo?" I asked pulling him closer.
     "Let me go!" he begged. When I didn't comply, he slammed a fist into my shoulder. The blow had
no effect on me and he quickly tried again. I grabbed the hand and pinned the other, so he wouldn't hurt
himself. Unable to get away, he gave in and his legs collapsed. I dropped to the ground, still holding him.
     Rowen bent down and placed a hand on Ryo. "Please, tell us what has happened?" he asked. "Take
your armors off." The last part came to me in my head, but I did as he'd said. The dampness of Ryo's
tears was the first thing I felt.
     "They killed my uncle." It was barely a whisper, at first I wasn't sure he had said it, but then he went
on. "The Dynasty . . . killed him, because of me . . . because I'm a Ronin . . .I killed him, just like my
parents." Fresh tears fell.
     Sage reached out and touched the sobbing teen's shoulder. "I know what you're going through . . .
we all do."
     A night wind caused Ryo to shiver. I stood easily and carried Ryo back to our hut. The others
followed close behind. We were in for a long night. I just hoped our fragile bonds were strong enough to
help our wounded friend.
     I laid Wildfire on his bunk and before I could pull away his fingers wrapped around mine. I looked
down, his eyes and voice pleaded, "I can't handle being alone, please stay."
     Rowen placed his hand over the both of ours and said, "How many times are we going to have to
say this until you believe it? You are not alone, and you will never be alone again."
     Sai added his hand to ours. "Ryo, we'll face this together."
     Sage completed the pack. "We are the Ronin Warriors . . . one for all and all for one."
     "I think that line is taken Halo," I said with a smile. "How about . . . we are the Ronin Warriors . . .
and we're going to kick your butt!"
     I saw a flash of humor in Ryo's eyes, but then the grief once again took over. He jerked his hand
free and slammed it into the wall. When he pulled his fist back, his knuckles were bleeding and there was
a large hole in the wall. "You don't understand!" he shouted. "Don't you see? Our parents and families
never would have died if we weren't destined to be Ronin Warriors. These armors didn't want us to have
any ties to this world so they took away our support . . . our reasons to not want to fight. I don't want to
fight . . . not anymore."
     "Ryo, you're wrong . . . our families did not die because of us," Rowen said capturing the bleeding
hand. "The Ancient once told me that we were chosen because we each possess an extraordinary power."
     "Wrong," Wildfire snapped. "The old man himself said he's been watching us since we were born.
He's been teaching you for years. There was no choosing . . . it was preordained. Our parents died,
because of US!"
     "Ryo," Sai's voice was barely over a whisper. We backed away slightly as he moved forward to
kneel down beside Wildfire. "I also thought along the same path as you do. I blamed myself, the Ancient,
and even the Dynasty for the death of my parents. Then the Ancient opened my eyes . . ." He raised his
hand to cut Ryo's rebuttal off and continued, "He told me about the Evil Dynasty and the plans it has for
our world. You are right, we would not be here today if our parents had not died . . . but the Ronin
Warriors would also not be here. If you do not accept your birthright, then our parents' deaths and
sacrifices will be for nothing."
     Ryo shook his head but he voiced no more arguments. Sage moved forward and sat down on the
end of Wildfire's cot. Ryo pulled his legs up to make room. "Ryo, I'm so sorry about your uncle . . . he
sounded like a honorable man."
     Fresh tears fell and Ryo nodded. "He was . . ." Ryo started and then stopped as he choked back
another sob. Rowen got up and silently walked out of the hut.
     I wondered where he had gone to but focused instead on Wildfire. I reached up and grasped his
shoulder. I wasn't sure, but I remembered touching seemed to have helped soothe Sai when he had cried
and the Ancient had also kept his hand on me when he had released the grief inside myself. "Ryo, tell us
about your uncle . . . we know so little about him. What was his name? What kind of person was he? Was
he as hardheaded as his nephew?"
     I didn't think he was going to answer but after a few moments he started. "Uncle Benji raised me.
When I was two, my parents were killed in an avalanche . . . my uncle found me buried under my
mother. Uncle Benji came from a long line of samurai warriors. He was the one that taught me how to
fight."
     "But fighting wasn't all he taught," Sage said moving over and making room on the small cot for Sai
and me.
     I shook my head and dragged my bunk over next to Ryo's. Then Sai and I sat down to wait for
Wildfire to speak. He had turned away from us and was crying silently. After a while, he cleared his throat
and continued. "No, my uncle taught me a lot of things. He was very intelligent and tried to teach me all
that he knew . . . maybe he had known that his time was coming to an end. I wasn't big on studying and
got yelled at a lot because of unfinished schoolwork. Sometimes I felt like such a disappointment."
     Sai tried to reassure him. "Ryo, trust me . . . there is nothing disappointing about you. Your fighting
skills are unsurpassed . . ."
     "But I need to be better than a good fighter," Ryo interrupted. "If I am to lead the Ronin Warriors,
there is so much more I need to be."
     "Ryo," Sage said laying a hand on his shoulder, "you have everything it takes . . . you just need to
have faith in yourself."
     "And remember," Rowen said walking in with a small tray, "you're not in this alone. You'll have
plenty of advice when the time comes . . . if you want it or not."
     He placed the small tray on the table. It was piled with cookies and a pot of tea. Rowen poured us
each a cup of the tea and then told us to help ourselves to the sweets. I quickly took a fistful of cookies.
Ryo accepted the cup but just held it in his hands. His shoulders began to quake again. I wasn't sure if it
was from sorrow, exhaustion, or the cold. I could help with one of them. I looked through his clothes and
grabbed a fresh pair of jeans and couple sweatshirts. I pulled the dark blue one on and offered the other
clothes to Ryo. "Here, your jeans are still covered in blood . . . too bad our armors don't dry clean our
clothes."
     Wildfire made no argument as he quickly dressed in the clean clothes. After he was done, Rowen
again offered him the cup of herbal tea. The drink must have had some kind of relaxant in it. It was hard
to stay focused. Ryo took the cup but again made no move to drink it.
     "Come on," Rowen instructed, "drink it. It will help you relax."
     "More drugged tea, Rowen?" Ryo asked flinging his cup to the side.
     Rowen's hand flashed out and caught the glass. I could see the move even impressed Wildfire.
"Drink it," Rowen commanded handing the unspilled cup back to Ryo.
     "It's not drugged," Sai said stifling a yawn. "It's really quite sweet."
     Ryo looked up at Rowen and then took a hesitant sip. "He's right," Ryo said tasting the elixir, "it is
sweet."
     "And he's wrong," Rowen said taking a drink from his own cup, "it is drugged." I choked on a
cookie and looked up at Rowen. "Calm down, guys. It's only a mild sedative. It will help us sleep . . .
which is what we should all be thinking about."
     "Mild, huh? Then what about sleeping beauty there?" Ryo gestured toward Sai.
     I looked over at my companion and laughed softly. Sai was out cold. He had fallen asleep leaned
against the wall. I silently replaced my cot back against the far wall and then moved my slumbering chum
to it.
     Rowen draped a thin blanket across Sai and then turned to Ryo. "Sai hasn't slept well over the last
week. He's been worried about you guys . . ."
     "He should have known," Ryo interrupted. "He can see into the future, why . . ."
     "Not anymore," Rowen said softly.
     "What!?!" I cried standing.
     "The Ancient thought it would be better if he didn't know what laid ahead."
     I walked over to the oblivious Ronin and looked down. I had heard Sai call his ability a curse. I
wonder what he thought about it now that it was gone.
     Rowen picked up a cookie and joined the other two on the cot. "Ryo, do you remember your
parents?"
     Wildfire talked through the night. We learned a lot about our leader. He was stronger than he looked.
About midnight, Sage dozed off. He was stretched out along the back wall. Rowen moved and laid Sage's
head across his lap. He, also, fell asleep leaning against the wall in a sitting position. Soon it was just Ryo
and me.
     The teen was exhausted. He had drunk two glasses of Rowen's tea and was working on his third. I
watched as his head began to nod. I removed the small cup from his numb fingers and gently laid him
down on his bed. His eyes flew open and he started to sit back up. "Come on, Ryo," I groaned. "It's going
to be sunrise soon." I thought he was going to argue but he nodded his head and relaxed with a sigh. Our
eyes locked for a moment and an unsaid question passed between us. I reached down and touched his
shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." To emphasize my point, I stretched out beside him on
the floor.
     "Kento?"
     "Huh?"
     "You scared? About what tomorrow might bring?"
     "Nah, I know whatever it is . . . we'll face it together." I got no answer from Wildfire, except his
steady breathing as he finally slept. I grabbed one of the extra blankets and draped it over my shoulders
and thought about tomorrow. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Destiny had a wild ride planned for us
. . . that much I was sure of.

Kento of Hardrock and the other Ronin Warriors did have a wild ride. Their friendship was
tested, as was their abilities, and their spirits. They prevailed through it all. Next up is the conclusion
of Sai of the Torrent's story. The quiet Ronin is not as tranquil as he appears.