The New Generation

A Ronin Warriors Fanfic

Prelude Part 1: Not Over Yet

Narrator: It's been two years since the defeat of Talpa. The Ronins have finally been able to return to their normal way of life, but they now face and even greater fear…

"Graduation in two weeks!" Kento exclaimed. "Two weeks, that's it!"

It was a beautiful May afternoon, and Sai and Kento were walking home from school. The two had been asked by Mrs. Mouri to baby sit Sai's younger brother and sister. They also had plans to go to a movie that night once their baby sitting job was over.

"It's hard to believe that it's only that long until we're going to be out of high school and on our way to college," Sai said looking at the ground in front of him as if he was still trying to grasp the thought of being out of college.

"Yeah," Kento said, shaking his head in similar disbelief.

"We'll be leaving home and having to fend for ourselves."

"Yeah."

"Get a job"

"Uh huh"

"Find our own place to live"

"Mm hm."

"And having to make our own food."

"The worst part of it all!"

Sai chuckled. "Of course," he said. "You always have to think of your stomach first, don't you Kento?"

"Hey, a guy's gotta eat!"

"More like a pig's got to eat. I think you past the point of being human long ago."

"Hey, you're just jealous because I can eat more than you!"

"Is that what it is? I always thought it was gratefulness. Plus I'm sure my mother enjoys the fact that I don't eat as much as you."

Kento just shook his head. They continued to walk on in silence. Finally Kento said, "It's hard to believe it's been two years since we defeated Talpa too."

"I know," Sai said.

"At least we can get back to leading our normal lives."

"Mm… I don't know…"

"What do you mean? Are you saying that you actually liked fighting the dynasty?"

"No," Sai replied defensively. Kento took a slight step back, surprised at how quickly his normally good natured friend jumped to the defensive. Sai looked down at his feet as they walked. "I mean that I don't know if we're ever going to be the same as we were before fighting Talpa."

"What?"

"Think about it Kento. We weren't all really friends before Talpa and the ancient. Now that we've gone through all of that, we're better friends than we'd ever thought we could be."

"True."

"Also, I don't think we had those horrible memories of fighting Talpa before we met him, do you?"

"No, I see what you mean now."

The two continued on in silence. Finally Kento spoke.

"We'd better hurry. The sooner we get to your house, the sooner your parents can go to their movie, and the sooner we'll be able to hit the pool hall."

"Yeah," Sai said, and the two friends quickened their pace as they turned onto Sai's street.

Rowen gazed out the window. He had a book open in his arms, but it had been nearly fifteen minutes since he had looked at it. Too many things had been going through his mind for him to be able to simply read and understand the AP Calculus homework he'd been trying to finish.

The door to Sage's bathroom opened and he came out wearing a white t-shirt and khaki pants. His hair was still wet from his shower, and his feet were bare.

"How's the homework comin'?" he asked as he sat down on his bed and began to put on his shoes.

"Not so good," Rowen sighed. "I can't concentrate long enough to finish a problem."

Sage looked troubled. He had never known Rowen to have difficulty with his homework. Even when they were fighting the Dynasty Rowen seemed to always be able to get through his homework in a flash.

"What's wrong?" Sage finally asked.

Rowen was silent. He didn't know how to explain what he was feeling to Sage. The battle against the Dynasty was over, so why should Rowen be worrying like this. HE sighed, and then said, "I've just been really worried."

"About what?"

"Lots of things; graduation, going to college…"
"I know what you mean," Sage said as he finished tying his last shoe. "It's going to be weird leaving home and going off on our own, but I don't think that's what you're really worried about."

Rowen's head snapped up. It upset him that Sage was so good at sensing these things. "You're right," he said, returning his gaze to the scene outside. Sage waited patiently for him to explain, and Rowen could feel his eyes boring into his back. "I've been sensing that something bad is about to happen," he said, not taking his eyes off of what lay outside. "With each passing day the feeling of dread grows stronger, and I don't know what to do about it. I mean, I've felt this way before, but now when I feel it I get an anxiety attack, and I feel like I won't be ready when it comes. Something's going to happen, something big, and I don't know if I'll be prepared for it."

Sage stood up and walked over to his friend. He placed a hand on his shoulder in a brotherly way. "I know what you mean," he said quietly.

Rowen's head turned on Sage. "You do?"

"Yes, I've been feeling it too. I think that we should talk to the guys about it. If they've had this feeling too, then we've got to start preparing for whatever it is that's coming."

Rowen stared at Sage. This young man had grown not only in height and stature, but in great wisdom as well, and Rowen admired him for it. "Yes, I think we should talk to them as well. Better that we all prepare instead of just the two of us."

"Right," Sage said smiling. "Well, I've got a date and you've got some homework to finish."

"Yeah," Rowen said returning the smile. "I'll see you later."

"See ya Ro."

The sun was setting in the west, and a light breeze was blowing as Ryo turned down the drive to Mia's house. He'd been out for a little over two hours, running alongside the mountain road for forty five minutes and then stopping at a grove of trees to think for a time.

As he ran up the porch steps he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and then entered into the house. Immediately his nose was hit with an assortment of scents that signaled Mia was cooking dinner. He looked at his watch. It was a quarter to seven, and he had left at approximately four thirty. HE knew that Mia would not be happy with how long he'd been gone, but quite frankly he did not really care much about what Mia thought.

As he began to take the stairs up to his room Mia came out of the kitchen and stopped him.

"Where have you been?" she asked curtly. "I've been worried."

"Just out running," Ryo said plainly.

"Well you've been 'just out running' for nearly two and a half hours."

"So?" Ryo asked moodily.

Mia stared at him in shock. "You've never been out running that long."

"What, have you been keeping tabs on me or something? Look Mia, just because you let me live with you doesn't mean you can run my life."

He turned and went to his room. Mia stared off at him and then, in a frustrated sort of way, she walked back into the kitchen.

Ryo collapsed onto his bed. As he stared at the ceiling above him his mind wandered to that dream which had been haunting his sleep for the past three months. The horrible nightmare that would not leave him, no matter how hard he tried to push it to the back of his mind, no matter the extra credit homework he snatched up every day to take his mind off of it, it still lingered there, and it had been replayed in his memory so many times that he could write a detailed description of it. It had even become so repetitive that he could see it with his waking eyes.

He fought the tiredness that over took him, he tried desperately to keep from that horrible nightmare, but just as it did every night, it returned to his mind…

He was sitting on the grass, watching the clouds rolling by. With him were his friends; Sage wearing a green shirt and a blue pair of jeans, Kento in and orange t-shirt and khaki shorts, Sai a baby blue sweatshirt and white cargos, and Rowen in a navy blue shirt with tan colored jeans.

As the five of them laughed and enjoyed each others company, the beautiful blue sky suddenly became dark, and grave. The happily chirping birds seemed to have dissipated into nothingness, and each of the Ronins looked around them.

Without warning Ryo watched as his friends began to slowly flicker, and disappear. Horror stricken, he cried out to them, "Don't leave me! Come back!"

There was a cruel laugh behind him, and Ryo stood, slowly turning to find the face of the evil emperor Talpa laughing at him.

"You are alone Wildfire," he chuckled. "Your friends cannot save you now."

The ground began to shake, and an enormous crack came to view behind Ryo. At the bottom of this large crevice was a river of boiling lava. Ryo tried to keep his balance, but still he fell into it, the face of Talpa looming above him.

Ryo awoke with a start. There was a cold sweat on his forehead, and his hands were shaking greatly. He stood and went out on his balcony. The cool night air tickled his skin as a gust of wind came up from the lake. The silence soon became more than he could bear, and Ryo returned to his room, dressed himself, and then went downstairs. When he reached the front door, he grabbed his sweatshirt of the hook, went out the door, and then began to run towards the road, taking that same path he did every day.

From her window Mia watched as Ryo made a break for the road. She sighed deeply. He had done that every night for the past three months, and it worried her greatly.

The two weeks that separated the Ronins from their high school graduation flew by so quickly that none of them realized it. Kento had been up late that night with his mother double checking to make sure he had his gown, cap, and everything else he needed for the graduation. Rowen and his family had stayed up late discussing college options. Sage and Sai had both gone out to eat with their families, after which they too discussed college options with their parents.

Ryo sat on his bed staring at his cap and gown that hung in his closet. He didn't want to go to the graduation. He'd had a headache all day, not to mention he'd been feeling slightly sick as well. He also wasn't so sure if he wanted to see the other Ronins for a full three hours, not to mention the party afterwards that went until the following morning.

There was a knock on his door and he stood and opened it. Mia was standing there wearing a red sleeveless dress, and she had put her hair up in a clip. She had pulled some of her hair out and curled it, allowing it to outline her face. She looked Ryo up and down, noting that he was still in his running shorts and t-shirt.

"Are you going to get ready for the graduation?" she asked him.

He was silent for a moment. "Yeah," he said quietly, avoiding her gaze. Before she could say anything else he closed the door in her face.

After a grueling lecture from the student body president, and the dean of the school, the graduation finally came to an end. Caps went into the air, clapping erupted, and cheering rang out from every graduate. Every graduate that is, except for one.

Ryo didn't clap with the other people in the auditorium. He didn't cheer, he didn't throw his cap into the air, and he wasn't even smiling at the thought of being completely done with high school. There was no happiness in his demeanor, no twinkle of joy in his eyes, nothing.

Mia noticed the unhappiness surrounding her dear friend. As upset as she was with him for the way he'd been acting, it panged her deeply to see him hurting like this. She took a deep breath, excused herself from the company of the other Ronins and Yulie, and walked over to Ryo.

"Hey," she said, offering him a small smile. He didn't even look up at her. "Are you ok Ryo?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah," he replied in a quiet, detached manner.

"Are you sure…"

"I said I'm fine," he snapped fiercely. He turned and left the auditorium, the doors slamming behind him.

Mia stared off at him, a mixture of anger and disappointment welling up inside her. She heard someone behind her and turned to see who it was. Sage, Rowen, Sai, Kento, and Yulie had come over when they had seen Ryo snap at Mia.

"What's going on?" Sage asked, the anger he was feeling clearly evident in his eyes.

Mia sighed. "Guys," she said. "I've gotta talk to you."

Ryo leaned against the school. His head was spinning with so many thoughts that he couldn't stand up straight. He had just realized how horribly he'd been acting towards Mia. He couldn't figure out why. He figured that his daily nightmare was causing him to stress out, and that it was because of this that he was so up tight and in a bad mood. There's more too it than just that, Ryo thought. I don't feel like I'm myself anymore. I feel like someone else…

There was a sudden movement behind him and Ryo jumped into a fighting stance, dropping his gown and cap onto the ground. He looked around him. He was completely alone. He let out his breath and leaned back once again.

"Do you have any idea why he's been acting like this?"

Mia turned from Sai's gaze. "No," she said quietly. "I don't have any idea."

"When did it first start?" Kento asked. "Do you remember?"

Mia thought about it for a moment. "Well, he's been detached, sort of depressed, for about three months, but he's only been in a bad mood for about two. I first saw it after he had gotten back from a run. He'd been gone for nearly three hours, and when I asked him what was wrong, he just ignored me. When I tried to press him on the matter he turned on me like an angry wildcat and said 'What's it to you?' I stared at him in shock, and he just went up to his room."

"Hmm… sounds to me like something serious happened on this run that he went on," Sage said.

A thought suddenly came to Rowen. "Guys," he said. The others turned to look at him. "Sage and I have something to talk to you guys about."

"What is it?" Sai asked.

"Well," Sage said. "We've been getting this feeling, like something bad is about to happen. It's been getting more and more intense as graduation's been getting closer."

"That's not all," Rowen said.

Everyone, including Sage, turned to him. He looked at them for a minute, and then said, "I've been having this dream. I'm leaning against the school, and then I see this light off in the distance. I follow it and find out it's at the top of some hill. When I get to the top I'm drawn to the light, and then I hear someone calling to me. I turn and see you guys, as well as myself, calling to me and telling me to get away from it."

"What happened next?" Sage asked.

"Nothing, I just woke up."

The group was silent. What meaning did this dream have? What was it's purpose? And what did this dream have to do with the feeling Sage and Rowen had been feeling for so long?

Suddenly the auditorium was filled by a blinding light. Just as soon as it had appeared, it dissipated. Rowen looked out the window and saw the same light that he'd seen in his dream. He hurried towards the nearest exit.

"Rowen! Where are you going? Rowen!"

Ryo suddenly saw a light growing off in the distance. No sooner had it appeared than it flickered away. He stared at the spot where the light had been. It reappeared and once more disappeared. He walked towards the light, leaving his cap and gown on the ground next to the school.

After a good ten minute walk Ryo reached the bottom of a hill. The light was coming from the top of it. Ryo used what little energy he had left to pull himself to the top of the hill.

The light was blinding, and yet Ryo felt drawn to it, like a moth to a lit light bulb. He walked closer to it, his mind emptying of all emotion, all thought, all reason.

Rowen's feet seemed to be lifting from the ground. He knew that the light he had just seen was the same as in his dream, and he was desperate to find it. He could hear the doors to the school burst open and then close about ten yards behind him. But he didn't care. HE had to get to the light, and as he got closer to it, dread and fear consumed his body until he finally wasn't sure why he was still running.

When he reached the bottom of the hill he hurried up it as fast as he could. What he saw at the top of it nearly caused him to fall over, and go rolling back down the hill.

Ryo was standing in the midst of the light. He seemed to be in some sort of a trance, engulfed by the light that seemed to be coming from no where. Rowen called out to him as the others arrived by his side.

"Ryo!"

Ryo slowly turned and it suddenly hit Rowen. The dream wasn't being shown to him through his eyes, but though Ryo's, and it was more than just a normal dream. Rowen had been allowed a small glimpse of the future.

Rowen yanked himself out of his thoughts and returned his attention to Ryo once more. The look on Ryo's face was that of weariness and defeat. It was as though he'd lost the will to live.

Without warning, and without thinking twice about it, Rowen leapt at Ryo, causing him to be freed from this light. The moment Ryo stepped out of its grasp, the light disappeared, leaving the Ronins and their two friends to stand in the light of a nearby street light.

Rowen looked down at Ryo. He was lying on his face, unmovable. Rowen quickly rolled him over and checked his pulse. It was very faint. Rowen's heart began to race, he didn't know what to do.

"Go get help," he was finally able to whisper. When none of his friends moved he turned on them and yelled, "go get help! NOW!"

Immediately Yulie and Mia hurried down the hill and headed for the school. The other three Ronins came over to Rowen.

"Is he…" Sage began.

"No," Rowen told him. "But he's not doing good."

Ryo could hear his friends talking, although he could not make out what it was that they were saying. HE felt himself begin to fall into unconsciousness. The last thing he heard was the sound of sirens wailing, and then all went black.

The hospital room was small, and with all of Ryo's friends crammed into it, it soon became quite stuffy as well. After a few minutes Mia and Yulie left the room, leaving the Ronins to stay with their friend.

It had been three days since graduation, and within that time frame they had nearly lost Ryo twice, and he'd taken on a fever. It had been only just that morning that the fever broke and began to go down.

"Do you think he'll pull out of it?" Kento asked, worry evident for the first time ever in his voice.

"I dunno," Sage said.

There was a silence between them once again. None knew what to do or what to say. The doctors had told them that they did not know what it was that was ailing their fallen Ronin, and that if he didn't regain consciousness in a weeks time, then it was likely he never would.

Sage was sitting in a chair next to Ryo, the others standing by his side. Rowen looked down at his friend. Sage hadn't left Ryo's side for the past three days. Even though it wasn't official or anything, Ryo had been considered the leader of the Ronins. Now that he was unable to do it, Sage was like the second in command.

Sage didn't know what to do. The others were looking to him now that Ryo was in a coma, and even with all of his leadership roles at school, he wasn't ready to lead these other teens in the way that they needed. He knew that even with all of Ryo's shortcomings, he was a great leader nonetheless. He also knew that there was no possible way for him to amount up to what Ryo could.

Rowen spoke, bringing Sage out of his thoughts. "You should go home Sage," he said in a worried voice. "You're exhausted."

"Nah," Sage said, although Rowen's statement was completely accurate. "I'll be fine. You guys go ahead, and make sure Mia and Yulie get home alright."

None of the Ronins moved. Sage stared at them. "Well," he said. "Get to it."

"Sage," Sai replied. "Let one of us stay tonight. You haven't slept in three days, not to mention your parents are worried about you."

Sage was silent. Had it really been only three days? It had seemed like years to him. HE sighed, finally throwing in the towel. "Alright," he said.

"I'll stay with him tonight," Sai said. "After that we'll switch off."

With that settled, the other Ronins left, leaving Sai alone with Ryo.

It was two a.m., rain was hitting the windows, and the thunder crashed, causing them to rattle. As the thunder rolled outside and the lightning flashed, there was another turbulent storm within the hospital.

Ryo Sanada was having a restless sleep. He began to mutter in his sleep, although the words weren't very understandable. He tossed and turned, and after a few moments he began to break out in a cold sweat.

Sai awoke with a start. "Ryo?" he mumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He looked at his friend, whose face was illuminated by the small lamp over his bed. He could tell that there was something bothering Ryo.

He stood up and tried to wake his friend. "Ryo," he said. "Wake up."

As he listened to the things Ryo said, he distinctly heard the words "leave me alone", "please don't", and "I won't do it." Again he tried to wake him. Before he got the chance however, Ryo suddenly bolted into an upright position.

"Ahh!" Sai exclaimed as he fell back into the chair. He stared at his now fully awake friend with wide eyes.

Ryo was panting hard. It was just a dream, he said. But it felt like…a memory, or deja vou or something.

"You alright Ryo?"

Ryo looked to see Sai. Not sure why Sai was sitting there, he looked around the room. He was in a hospital, that much he could tell.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine."

Narrator: What was the horrible dream that Ryo was having? What happened on that long run, and what was the strange light that nearly took Ryo's life?