The rain had turned to cold mist and neither Ryo nor Kye-Ren could really

see where they were going. They knew that they were in a forest, and that

they were traveling on a path, since the trees grew on either side, and

nowhere in the middle. But it was a strange path, completely smooth, without

so much as one stick or leaf on it. Even the mist didn't seem to settle on

it as it did everything else. It unnerved Ryo, and he suggested that they

leave it and move along the trees instead. Kye-Ren was reluctant to do so,

but agreed when Big Black started off the path, and Naaki turned to follow.

They kept moving until they reached a river that was too swift moving and

too wide to cross safely.

"We'll rest for a bit," Kye-Ren said, sliding down from Naaki's back.

Ryo dismounted as well, a soft groan escaping from his lips. The riding had

been tough for him, he was barely healed from the crash. So Kye-Ren laid her

cloak out of the ground and told Ryo to sit so she could change his bandages

again. He shivered in the cold air, for he had had to take off his shirt and

cloak so she could put the medicine and clean bandages on his chest wounds.

She finished quickly, for she didn't want Ryo to catch a cold. She didn't

worry about herself, she'd been in colder places without a cloak or fire.

And she didn't think a fire would be a good idea right now, either. They

were in a strange realm, one she didn't know, and who knew what kind of

creatures lived here. That was one question they would soon find out.

They were first alerted to the creature's movement when the two horses began

to shift nervously. Kye-Ren pulled out her sword and took hold of both

horses' reigns, Knowing full well that Ryo wouldn't be able to hold Big

Black if the horse panicked. They waited, and soon they could hear what the

horses had, large thudding footsteps coming through the forest. Before long

they could see an outline of something, a human-like thing with a very

shaggy head...

"Who is there?" It called out in a deep booming voice.

Both horses reared, and it was all Kye-Ren could do to hold them still! Ryo

grabbed her fallen sword and held it up in a stance that was odd to Kye-Ren,

but it was clear he had some experience in fighting. The creature moved

closer until they could see it, and it was harder to say who was more

startled, the beast, the horses, or the humans. The 'creature' was neither

human nor animal, but something in between, and it stared at Ryo and Kye-Ren

as a cat would eye a mouse. It didn't seem phased by the sword Ryo held, nor

Kye-Ren's statement that she could use magic.

"What are you humans doing, trespassing in this land? This is not your

realm!" It spat.

"We are lost," Kye-Ren hissed just as severely. "My friend is hurt and we

need a place to rest. He will catch a fever if he stays out in this cold."

"What realm do you come from?"

"Ayriss and Earth," Kye-Ren answered. "I am Kye-Ren, and he is Ryo."

The creature looked at both of them for a minute, flexing his long, sharp

claws. It seemed as if it was deciding whether or not they were telling the

truth. Finally it sighed and shrugged.

"You can come to cabin for the night. But in the morning you must leave.

Understood?"

"We understand, Sir," Ryo said quickly before Kye-Ren could protest, for

that's what she was about to do. "What may we call you?" Ryo asked politely.

"You may call me Thæn. Follow me."

Thæn didn't wait to see if they were following, he just headed off into the

woods. Ryo and Kye-Ren followed quickly, taking only a moment to mount onto

Big Black, since riding bareback was getting to both Kye-Ren and Naaki. As

they rode behind Thæn, Kye-Ren whispered in to Ryo's ear, "Why did you agree

so quickly? We need more time to rest than that."

"Because I know what he would do if we disagree. It'd take him only a few

seconds to tear us apart and be done with the job. His manner reminds me of

someone, but I can't think of who. It hurts too much."

"Well, you'll have to remember your past sooner or later, or it will put you

in danger," Kye-Ren whispered back.

"What is it you two are whispering about?" Thæn demanded.

"I was telling Kye-Ren that some of my memories were trying to come back,

but something is blocking them," Ryo quickly explained. He hoped that Thæn

would believe him.

"You have no memories?" Thæan sounded surprised by this. "You are not the

only one suffering of such an illness. There are quite a few who have lost

their memories after the Great Demon was vanished."

"Great Demon?" Kye-Ren asked. "Then he was seen in this realm as well?"

"Hmmm... I pity the realm that had to actually deal with him, rather than

just see him. That was bad enough for our people. Here is my cabin. You can

put the horses in the barn."

Kye-Ren and Ryo did so quickly, wanting to be out of the cold as quickly as

possible. Once the horses were settled they entered the cabin, and were

nearly knocked over by the wave of heat. Thæn was making the fire larger,

and then lit several lamps that were scattered about the cabin. In the light

they were able to see Thæn clearly, and his appearance was an odd one, to

say the least. It stood upright and wore clothes like a human, but his body

was that of a very shaggy wolf. His long fur on the backside of his head was

bound back in a loose ponytail, and the rest of his fur hung down like a

shaggy beard. His hands/paws, while rather large, were quite agile, and

could do anything that a human's hands could do, possibly more. He gestured

for them to take a seat in two of the wooden chairs, and they were happy to

do so. He took a seat in another chair and stared at them as they were doing

to him. After a length of time he spoke.

"So, the boy has no memory? It seems that most of those who were close to

the Great Demon when he appeared lost their memories."

"With all do respect, Sir, Ryo's memories were lost when he crashed into a

bolder, not from seeing the Great Demon," Kye-Ren chided. Thæn took the

rebuke with good humor.

"Is that so? So he doesn't know what we are talking about?"

Kye-Ren and Ryo shook their heads. Thæn laughed even louder. "Then allow me

to explain it to him."

Ryo nodded at Thæn to show that he was paying attention, and Thæn began his

explanation.

"Well, about 4 months ago we all saw another Realm appear in the skies, a

realm different from all the others. This was the Nether Realm, what we all

call the World of the Dead. We don't know if that is its true nature or not,

but when we saw it we felt death within its air, so that's what we called

it. Any way, the Great Demon inside of it was attacking another realm, I

believe it was yours, Ryo, the Earth Realm.

As far as we all knew and could see, the Great Demon was succeeding until so

humans not unlike yourselves showed up. Had some sort of armor that had

powers of some sort. Beat the Great Demon to pieces, far as anyone can tell.

Then everything was peaceful, so it seemed anyway. But we still feel strange

vibes from that realm, my people do. Hope those warriors still guard your

realm.

That reminds me, you appear to be a warrior yourself, judging from the way

you held that sword. Makes me wonder if you somehow are connected to those

other warriors..."

"I wish I could tell you, Thæn. What did you say that realm was called?"

"The Nether Realm. Why? It ring a bell in you mind or something?"

"Yes, but everything is so fuzzy. Its hard to see anything, and it hurts

when I try to make it clearer."

"Well, my answer to that it stop trying. When you're ready to remember your

mind'll clear up. But enough chatting. You two look tired enough to sleep a

week. I have a spare room in the loft you can use, straight up that latter.

I'll leave you two alone now."

Thæn pretty much did ignore them after that, and Kye-Ren used that time to

usher Ryo up into the loft, since he looked about ready to pass out from

fatigue. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the hay, and Kye-Ren covered

him with his cloak before settling herself down next to him. She listened to

Thæn working down below, and wondered what he was up to. He certainly wasn't

what he seemed to be. Just like Ryo. She hadn't known he was a warrior, for

he certainly didn't look like one. But she had a feeling he was stronger

than she knew, maybe more so than he himself knew. All she did know was that

she was falling in love with him, even though she had only known him for

less than a day. But still, it was possible, and it was happening to her.

That was all she could thinking of before she was fast asleep.

Despite Thæn's threat the night before, he didn't make Ryo or Kye-Ren leave

right the next morning. In fact, he was letting them stay as long as they

wanted. For Ryo this was a good thing, for his health had taken a turn for

the worst last night, Kye-Ren had woken up to find him with a high fever.

Thæn had her move Ryo downstairs and laid him on the bed that Thæn had used

the night before. There Thæn and Kye-Ren both used what healing skill they

knew to help bring the fever down. In any event, Ryo would be bed-ridden for

some time.

"The river moss will bring the fever down," Thæn assured Kye-Ren as she

watched him grind the plant into a thick paste. She doubted it, but none of

her medicine had worked, so it was up to Thæn now. He didn't seem too

concerned about it, though. As he had explained it to her, fevers were

common this time of the year, and Ryo would recover soon.

"He's going through so much. Why must things get worse for him?" Kye-Ren

asked herself.

"Sounds like you have a great deal of feelings for this boy. How long have

you known him?" Thæn asked.

"Not very long. Yet I feel as if I have known him forever. And I do love

him. More than I love my own life. I would do anything to give him his

memories back and heal his fever and wounds..."

"I believe," Thæn said after a brief pause, "that the reason Ryo does not

remember his past is because the Great Mother has a plan for him, and you."

"Great Mother?" Kye-Ren asked, confused. Thæn smiled.

"The Great Mother is the spirit who watches over all the realms. She is the

one who brings life, and makes things grow. She protects life, and she has

plans for everything and everyone. I believe that she has special plans for

you two, and I am a part of that plan as well. I sense things sometimes, it

is a Gift given to me from Her. You two may stay here as long as you like."

"You know, last night, when we first met, you were mean to us, ready to kill

us, and now you are welcoming us into your home like lost family. I do not

understand your kind."

"Nor I yours. But we will see. Who knows what She has planned. We must

merely go along with it."

Thæn turned back to his task and left Kye-Ren to watch over Ryo. She gently

placed a cool cloth on his forehead, humming a soft lullaby as he slept. He

was very restless, as if he was having a bad dream. And as much as Kye-Ren

wanted to wake him up from such a dream, she didn't, because he might have

been remembering something of his past, and she did not want to interfere.

So she sat and thought about what Thæn had told her, about what the Great

Mother might have planned for them. Whatever it was, it had better be worth

the trouble the Ryo was going through.

The storm continued for three days before it stopped, and then the snow

began to fall. The Ronin Warriors had little luck in finding any clue as to

Ryo's whereabouts, but White Blaze found something interesting, a small

piece of metal with something engraved in it. It looked like some sort of

ancient writing, so they took it back to Mia, to see if she could make

anything of it. Now they were waiting, and it seemed like an eternity before

Mia looked up at them.

"Its definitely some sort of writing, but I can only read a little bit of

it," she said.

"Well, then, tell us what you can read," Sage told her.

"Alright, I can make out the words Aja and Healer. Then Ryo's name... that's

about it. This is a message from whoever took Ryo. And Healer is another

word for doctor, right? So he is safe."

A sigh came from the four young men. They were relieved to know that Ryo had

been found by a doctor, but they still didn't know where he was. But with

the winter storms raging outside, searching the mountains would be too

dangerous, even for them. They would have to hope that either the doctor who

found Ryo would bring him back or that Ryo would return on his own. But they

hadn't lost hope. They knew he was alive, and for now that was enough.

Two weeks passed before Ryo was well enough to move around. He had lost a

great deal of weight, and looked rather awful. His clothing hung loosely on

his body, and there was little either Kye-Ren or Thæn could do. They did

help him out as much as possible, for, now that he was able to move around,

they found that he didn't like to sit around doing nothing. He did what

chores he could, and slowly, bit by bit he grew stronger. Some of his

memories were returning, he could remember names, but he couldn't think of

who they belonged to. All he knew is that they were important in some way.

Thæn told Ryo about the Great Mother and Her plan, as he had told Kye-Ren,

and he accepted it as he did any other information that Thæn or Kye-Ren

thought he ought to know. He recovered his strength quick enough, even if he

still was thin from the fever. Thæn taught both him and Kye-Ren about the

area around the cabin where they were staying so that they wouldn't get

lost. They both met a few other people like Thæn, each of them kind and

accepting as the Elders in Kye-Ren's world had not been. They didn't seem to

care that they were humans; if Thæn like them they could be trusted.

That seemed to be the general feeling of things.

And Thæn wasn't the least bit surprised when Ryo announced, rather suddenly

one evening, that he was in love with Kye-Ren. It had happened when Kye-Ren

and Ryo were finishing their dinner; Thæn had already done so and was

working in his workshop, something he always did after the evening meal.

Kye-Ren had been putting the food away while Ryo had been clearing the table

when he suddenly told her, "Kye-Ren, I love you."

She had dropped the loaf of bread that was in her hands, too stunned to

move. She had wanted to hear those words for a long time now, and to hear

them come out of his mouth was a surprise. She had shown some affection

towards him lately, trying to see if he would show any back, but he had

acted as if it was just a common friendship. Now he was telling her that he

DID love her, and she was too surprised to answer back. But Ryo didn't need

an answer. He could see it in her eyes, just as he saw everything else when

Kye-Ren was too shocked or confused to speak. He laughed as he put his arms

around her and rested his head on her neck. Kye-Ren recovered enough to lean

into his strong body and sighed softly, happily. From his workshop Thæn

laughed, startling both of the humans.

"I told you She has a plan. And it’s starting now!"

"Thæn! Must you speak in riddles?" Kye-Ren complained, unwrapping herself

from Ryo's arms and picking up the dropped bread, setting it back in the

pantry. Ryo laughed, as did Thæn. He didn't mind it when the creature talked

in riddles, he enjoyed it, and that bothered Kye-Ren at times. It was as if

he could understand what Thæn was saying, and was leaving Kye-Ren to figure

it out herself. She gave Ryo a dark stare that turned into a grin when he

winked at her. It was just impossible to stay mad at him.

"I'm going to go rest, love," He told her kindly.

"You better before I decide to beat both you and Thæn into a pulp!" Kye-Ren

threatened.

Ryo pretended to flinch with fear as he made his way up to the loft. He knew

that Kye-Ren wouldn't go through with that threat, but he also knew that it

wasn't wise to get her mad. He had watched her practice fighting with Thæn,

and she could usually beat the large creature with little trouble. She was

as great a warrior as she was a healer, and she had a big heart, which was

the reason Ryo loved her so much. It wasn't long before he heard the door to

the loft creak open and then heard Kye-Ren's soft footsteps as she moved

across the floor. She laid down next to him and put her arms around his

neck, kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you finally told me how you feel," she whispered. "I was worried

it was only a one-sided infatuation."

"Well, now you know, Kye-Ren. And even if I never get my memories back, I

don't think it will be too bad, because I have you."

Kye-Ren said nothing to that, instead, she kissed Ryo deeply, and nothing

was said for a long time.

(Yes! My first attempt at romance, so don't kill me!-Kye-Ren)