Disclaimer: Don't own em… Don't sue me, because I'm broke.

Chapter One

What is it to be a leader?

This question often struck the young man sitting on the edge of his bed, arising from his troubled slumber. He rubbed his tiger blue eyes to remove the sleep from them, then ran a hand through his raven black hair. The early morning sun had crept in through the open curtains covering his balcony doors, intruding into his twisted snooze. It was very early in the morning, and he did not get enough sleep to ease his troubled mind. He sighed loudly as he stepped over the white tiger sleeping peacefully at the side of his bed, and over to the balcony doors. He pushed them open with ease, and allowed the fresh air to crawl over his body.

It had been almost two weeks since their return from New York City in the United States, and everyone was still feeling the effects from their latest venture. Rowen was still having difficulty recovering from his wounds caused by Sage's armor, and he seemed to be having problems even talking with anyone about how he was feeling, including Sage. Sage worried about this often, but he was struggling with the fact that the demon had manipulated his armor so easily. Did that mean he was weak?

Cye… He seemed to be having trouble lately dealing with the thought of even armoring up. He didn't want to practice with them anymore, and Ryo noticed that he was trying to pull away from them. Ryo lost track of how many times Kento asked Ryo if Cye had even talked to anybody that day. Kento worried about almost everyone, and felt responsible for Rowen getting injured, and Mia and Yulie being taken from his uncle's restaurant.

Even the familiar, fun-loving glint in Kento's eyes had long disappeared.

And then, there was Luna…

Luna…

His fists tightened as he pictured the young woman… her braided black hair, mysterious eyes. A flame snuffed out too quickly by hate and the need for revenge.

Why had he allowed her to go? What had possessed him to even let her tag along? The same unshed tears of his frustration threatened to spill, but he choked them back. He took in a deep, steadying breath, and leaned against the rail.

Ryo was about to go back inside when he spotted the other young man that seemed to be having the most trouble with their trip. He watched as he strolled with his hands in his pockets towards the hillside overlooking the lake below as it twinkled in the growing sunlight. His head was cast downward, and he sat down gingerly on the grass, still wet with morning dew.

Ryo pulled his hands to his mouth to call out to him, but stopped when he saw the shoulders of this proud Ronin lurch forward with a great sob. He watched, heartbroken, as each sob grew more forceful, and caused him to cover his head in his hands.

Ryo removed himself from the balcony, trying to decide how to best handle this situation. Finally, deciding that he had let things go for far too long, Ryo moved towards the door to his bedroom, grabbing a red t-shirt and throwing it on before walking out.

What did it mean to be a leader? It meant to help your comrades when their pain obviously outweighs yours. It meant to try to help your teammates through anguish, and be strong for them, even though the leader feels like falling to pieces himself.

I'm feeling creative all of a sudden! I guess it must be these hot summer months when you're cooped up inside with nothing to do but write.

Let me know what you think!

Aurora