Ronin Warriors: Blizzard

By: Chibi Shadow Chaser

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A NON-PROFIT STORY AND THE RONIN WARRIORS BELONG TO NAGOYA AND SUNRISE.

"Looks like it's really going out there," Rowen commented as he looked out of the window of Mia's house, "I can't even see the grass anymore."

"The weatherman says that the snow should stop soon," Kento commented. He was sitting on a couch in Mia's living room, watching the news on TV.

Mia wasn't at home. She was out shopping, getting food and other stuff. The boys had the house to themselves and they were enjoying some relaxation.

"I don't think the weatherman is correct. I mean, the snow started to pick up about an hour ago. It looks like a major blizzard out there."

"I hope Mia and Yuli make it back all right," Ryo said as he came from the kitchen with some food in his arms.

"Food!" Kento cried as he saw what Ryo was holding. He immediately abandoned his position at the couch and rush to Ryo, who was quick enough to evade the trash compactor as he barreled through. "Hey!" he shouted.

"Cye is cooking some more, Kento. Go to the kitchen, will ya?" Ryo proclaimed. Kento proceeded to the kitchen.

An instant later, the three boys in the living room heard Cye shout, "It's still raw! Do you want a stomach ache? Out now! I'll let you in after it has been cooked!"

"But Ryo got some food!" the whining voice of Kento sounded through.

"That's because he asked nicely and waited patiently," Cye explained.

Rowen grinned, Patience is not Kento's virtue, he thought. He glanced out the window once more and it seemed that the snow had intensified greatly in the past few minutes. Rowen frowned, This is bad driving weather.

"Yuli, where are you?" Mia called out from where she was.

"Right here, Mia," a small brown haired boy answered from behind her.

"Oh, good, I was beginning to worry about you. So, what else do we have to buy?" she asked the young boy.

Yuli looked at the list Mia had given him earlier, before they left. "Um, we need some bread and vegetables," he told her.

"Come on, then," Mia pushed the shopping cart through the supermarket, heading towards the bread section. When she got the breads, they headed to the vegetables section.

"Hmm," Mia said, as she picked up and examined some bock-choy (it is a Chinese veggie).

"What Mia, what's the matter?" Yuli asked her.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that we've been gone a long time and I'm worried about all that snow out there," Mia said, gesturing towards the large open window at the far side of the supermarket. "We'd better hurry. Come on, let's go," she said.

They made their way to the cash register and paid for their groceries. When they left the protection of the building, they were hit full force by the 30-mph wind gusts.

"Yuli! Hold on to me!" Mia shouted, as the harsh wind bit into her face. She felt the boy's small hand grab onto her coat. Even with their winter gear, they were no match for the intensity of the wind chill, which was 30 below and the gusts. Slowly, they made their way to Mia's car, which was the winter transportation, instead of the jeep, which was the summer transportation. Mia managed to get her car key out and unlock the passenger door to let Yuli in first. Then she made her way back to the trunk and opened it. Immediately, a pile of snow landed in the interior of the trunk, but Mia didn't pay any attention to it. She placed the groceries inside and shut it and made her way to the driver's seat.

"Are you alright?" she asked Yuli when she got inside.

Yuli nodded and chattered, still feeling the effects of a piercing cold. Mia started the car, which was a miracle, since they had been in the supermarket for over 2 hours. She slowly pulled out of the parking lot and into the road, which was covered in white, despite how much the snowplows did. They began the long journey home.

"They've been gone too long," Sage said, as he paced around the room.

"You're right, it isn't like her to shop for so long. She should've given us a call or something," Cye agreed.

"I'm going out to see if they are alright," Ryo said.

"No way! You are going to freeze to death! Besides, maybe they got caught up in traffic or something and are going slowly," Rowen objected.

"Yeah, and how are you going to face the snow when it hasn't even stopped yet?" Kento chimed in.

"Okay, we give them 2 more hours, since it usually takes Mia 2 hours to shop. If she is not back by then, we go look for her," Ryo suggested.

"Providing that the snow stops," Cye said.

Ryo turned and faced his friend and said, "We go look for them even if it doesn't stop snowing."

"Oh, no," Mia groaned. The car was stalling and stopping again. It was the 3^rd time the vehicle had stopped on their trip back. "Yuli, stay here, I'm going to see if I can get it working again," she instructed the boy.

"Okay," Yuli replied. Mia got out into the blinding snow and went to the front of the car. She popped up the hood and peered inside the car. She fiddled with some things then closed the hood. She made her way back. The snow was being blown in all different directions, making it impossible to see more than 1 foot. Mia pulled her scarf around her nose and mouth tighter as the howling wind tried to take the breath from her. When she got inside the car, she sighed with relief.

"I hope it works," Yuli said. Mia started the engine. It still stalled. She tried it again. It still stalled. She tried it a couple of more times and both times the car stalled and wouldn't start.

"We are in deep trouble," she whispered. She glanced over to Yuli. The boy had fear plastered against his face. They couldn't get the car started, there fore they had no heat and no way to turn on the headlights to call for help. Mia reached under her seat and grabbed the two blankets she placed under there for emergency. She handed one to Yuli, who understood what they had to do.

"Whatever you do, do not go to sleep, Yuli," she warned him with dead seriousness. The boy only responded with a knowing look on his face. Mia stared out into the white oblivion and wrapped the blanket around her self. She didn't know how long they could survive.

"We go now," was all Ryo said. The 2-hour limit had passed and the snow had intensified as well. The Ronins nodded and got into heavy coats, boots and the rest of the winter gear. They opened the door and were greeted by a blast of wind and the white stuff. "White Blaze, you stay here," Ryo instructed his tiger. White Blaze gave a look of pure concern as the Ronins trekked out and was enveloped into the raging snowstorm.

"Do you have the rope?" Sage shouted to Rowen over the howling wind. Rowen responded by holding up the brown rope and tying it to a lamppost securely. The rope had a length of only a few yards but they had tied other ropes and stuff to it, making it a very long guideline. They struggled through the blizzard, occasionally stopping when the wind was too powerful for them to even move. Inch by inch, yard by yard, mile by mile, they made their way on the road that Mia took to get to the supermarket. An hour later, the rope had come to its end.

"Ryo! We have to turn back!" Rowen shouted.

"No! I'm not abandoning Mia and Yuli! They need help!" Ryo shouted back. He wasn't about to let a blizzard prevent him from reaching the people that he cared.

"But the guideline…"Kento started.

"Forget about the damn guideline!" Ryo interjected. The wind was howling at the top of its lungs, making it hard for the 5 boys to speak. "I'm not giving up on them, just because the stupid guideline is finished. I'll continue on, you can all go home!" he shouted.

"No way! Ryo, you'll know that you'll freeze to death if you continue alone," Sage said.

"So will Mia and Yuli, if I don't get to them!" Ryo retaliated.

"So what do you plan to do, if you reach them?" Kento said, pissed of at Ryo's stupidity.

"Use my Wildfire armor to help them!" Ryo proclaimed.

"Ryo, this is impossible!" Cye said, trying to convince his friend out of his suicide mission.

Ryo stood there for a minute, letting the snow swirl around him as he contemplated his friends' advice. Yes, even he knew it was impossible to find Mia and the boy without freezing first. He hung his head low and said, "Alright, we'll go back, but as soon as the snow stops, we go out again and find them." Cye walked over and placed a comforting arm around his friend. Hold on, Mia, Yuli; just hold on, Ryo thought as they used the rope to guide them back to the house.

"Yuli, are you alright?" Mia asked, her teeth chattering from the bitter cold that was starting to trickle in. They boy did not answer. "Yuli," she called again. Still the boy did not answer. Mia reached out with a shaking hand and gave a gentle push.

"What?" Yuli said, sleepiness in his voice.

"Don't fall asleep," Mia said, very concerned. It was nighttime and the snow was still falling.

"But I'm so tired," Yuli complained.

Mia sighed, she knew that even if she tried to keep him up, he would eventually win out and sleep. "Here then, take my blanket," she said and covered Yuli with her blanket. She shivered as the cold hit her. She rubbed her arms; even with her coat, the cold kept coming in. So far, they had made it though the rest of the afternoon and into the night, and she prayed that the snow would stop in the morning. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. Mia knew that the boys at home would be worried about her and Yuli. Only time would tell on how long the two could survive.

At Mia's house Ryo sat next to a window ledge, staring out into the unending whiteness. He didn't even respond or move an inch when Cye told him it was dinnertime. He just sat there, staring, wondering, thinking, and praying.

"He's never been like this before," Sage said, as he looked occasionally at Ryo's hunched back.

"I hope the snow stops soon," Rowen said, concerned about the way Ryo was acting all distant towards them.

"If only that stupid blizzard wasn't here, we'd be alright," Kento said. He hadn't touched his food yet, which was amazing, and yet acceptable. It showed that he was very worried, worried enough to not think about his favorite thing.

Cye came down stairs with a blanket and placed it over Ryo's hunched form, then went back to the dining table.

White Blaze went up to his master and nudged him. Ryo put a hand on White Blaze's head without turning and whispered to him, "One of us should have went with her." The tiger growled back in agreement. He to was worried about his master's friend. Man and tiger stayed like that for the rest of the night and into the morning.

Mia shivered as the morning sun came. Thankfully, the blizzard had stopped, but the car's windows were covered in snow, making the warm sunlight impossible to get though. She knew she had a bit of hypothermia and hoped some one might come soon. She looked over to the sleeping form that was curled up in the front passenger seat. He wasn't as cold as Mia, but still the blankets helped him prevent getting hypothermia.

Sleep Yuli, we might need our strength, if no one comes, to walk to my house, she thought to the sleeping boy.

"Let's go," Ryo said without preamble when he walked into the dining room to where the rest of the Ronins were. His eyes were dark with the lack of sleep but it was the hope and adrenaline that kept him awake and in full motion.

"Shouldn't you have something to eat, first?" Cye asked.

"No, we're wasting time," Ryo answered and left the room to get his coat and other winter stuff on. Rowen gave Cye a look and then abandoned his breakfast. Sage followed him.

"Come on, Kento," Cye said.

"Kay," Kento said, his voice muffled by the food that was in his mouth. He took some of the bagels with him and stuffed them inside his coat pocket.

The 5 boys opened the door and were rewarded with the silence of a winter day. Everything was incredibly quiet and covered in glistening snow. It was like a picture out of a perfect fairy tale. Ryo took a step and sunk quite low. He gave the four other boys that were behind him a look. They knew what it meant, Mia's car could be covered by snow.

"Yuli, wake up," Mia said and shook the boy.

"I'm up," Yuli said, after a few minutes.

"We have to walk to my house," she told him.

"Okay," he answered. Then he took a look at his guardian's face; it was very pale. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm okay," Mia lied. The truth was, she didn't know how far she could make it with her condition. If she fell and passed out, it was up to Yuli to get help. And she didn't know if the boy could survive the harsh conditions without her.

Yuli wriggled out of the blankets and said, "Ready."

"Let's go then," Mia answered. She shoved the door open with her foot and was rewarded with an avalanche of snow coming down.

"Whoa!" Yuli exclaimed when he saw the snowfall. Mia, silently cursing herself for not wearing extra layers of pants, waded into the snow. It came up to her upper thigh/knee. Yuli crawled across the driver's seat and went into the snow after her. Together, they shuffled through. A gust of wind blew at them, making the snow swirl up and bite at their exposed parts of their face.

"Stay close to me, Yuli," Mia told the boy.

"Don't worry Mia, I'm sure we're going to make it," the boy reassured her. To Mia, Yuli was starting to sound like a grown-up.

Mia collapsed three times in an hour. Her condition began to worsen after another half-hour.

"Mia, come on, just a little more and you'll make it," Yuli encouraged her.

"I…can't…go…on…" Mia whispered and collapsed once more.

"Mia…" Yuli sounded very frightened. "Help! Somebody! Help!" he called out into the air. The harsh winds ripped away the words from his mouth, but he didn't care. He continued to call out, hoping someone or something would hear him.

"How many hours?" Sage shouted to Kento, who was the last person in their little line. The winds had not died down and were creating drifts of snow.

"What? I can't hear you?" Kento shouted back, the words lost to the winds.

"Wait, I think I hear something," Ryo said up front, leading the group. Dimly, they heard a small voice call out for help.

"It's Yuli!" Cye exclaimed. Ryo began to run as fast as his frozen legs could carry him towards the source of the voice. The others followed him.

"Mia! Yuli!" he shouted towards to direction of Yuli's voice.

"Guys, Mia's hurt!" Yuli's distinct voice could be now heard even closer. Ryo saw, dimly through the drifting snow, Mia on the ground and Yuli beside her, shouting for help.

"Mia!" he said, his voice full of concern. "Thanks, Yuli," he said to the boy, who was now very worried.

"She has hypothermia," Sage said, when he got there and saw Mia with her pale face and bluish lips.

"Anyone have a blanket?" Ryo asked. Rowen pulled one out from underneath his coat and handed it to Ryo.

"So that's why you looked kinda fat this morning," Kento said as Ryo wrapped the blanket around Mia and lifted her up. They began the trek home with Ryo carrying Mia and Yuli was carried by Kento, so the boy wouldn't have to go through the drifts that were taller than he was.

Mia was placed on the couch and covered with thermal blankets and had a heater besides her. Ryo was sprawled out on the recliner opposite the couch, occasionally looking at Mia to see if she was awake yet and occasionally staring off into space.

A half an hour later, Sage, after meditating, went to check up on Mia. He noticed Ryo sitting on the couch and staring at Mia, trying to will her to be all right and wake up.

"She's going to be alright," Sage told his friend.

Ryo smiled and closed his eyes.