Sage sat at his kitchen table, slowly picking at his food; Rowen was
supposed to call when he and Ryo were home.

Chessica walked in through the door and looked at him. "What's your
problem?"

"I'm tired... and I want to go see my friend, but I don't know if he's
home yet..." Sage said, looking up at her.

"So, why don't you call them and find out?" she said in a 'duh' voice.

"Because they need to figure things out, and I dunno... I just can't...
Ro said he'd call me, and he will!"

Chessica sat down and smiled at him. "Tell me, how long have you known
these four friends of yours?"

"I've known Rowen since I was thirteen, and I meet the rest of the guys
at about fourteen, but it feels like we've been friends for so much longer..."
Sage smiled a little to himself.

"Can... can I ask you something?" she said carefully.

Sage looked at her. "Yeah, of course..."

"What's Ryo really like? I mean, is he mean or something?"

"Ryo? Well, he has a bad temper, but he's the best friend you could
have... he's the kind of guy that would give his life for a stranger at any
time... and if he's your friend..." Sage smiled and shook his head. "He's the
best friend you could have, and he cares a lot. He would never turn his back
on you... and if it looks like he is, it's most likely to protect you. I just
wish I remembered that before!"

"What happened to him?" Chessica asked, looking a little concerned.

"His foster family was abusive, and he wouldn't fight back for other
reasons," Sage said with a little sigh escaping through his mouth.

"Ohh, Sage... do you know a guy named Daller?" she asked, wondering what
he thought of him.

Sage looked at her sharply. "WHO?"

She jumped, her eyes wide. "Daller... he seems to know you guys, and not
like you... I just wanted to..."

He cut her off. "Tall guy? Black hair?" She nodded, and he
cursed. "Chessica, what has he been telling you?"

"Nothing much, just little things. He doesn't really like you guys..."

"No... I'm sure he doesn't! Listen, you HAVE to stay away from him...
he's dangerous..." Sage's eyes were fully of worry, confusion and concern.

Chessica stood up. "Listen, just because YOU don't like him doesn't mean
I can't... he's nice to me... and he's helping me out a lot. He's even going
to help me find my past! He wants me to come live with him... and I almost
have... twice! But I wanted to know what you think of him first! And now that
I know it's just petty guys fighting... it won't matter!"

"Chessica, NO, this is much worse than petty guy grudges! This guy is
dangerous... and I don't know WHY he wants you, but you have to stay away from
him... you understand?"

"NO! You can NOT tell me what to do!" With that she ran out the door in
anger.

Sage was about the follow when the phone rang; he picked it up and was
relieved to hear Rowen's voice. Now they really had to talk.

* * * * *

Alex sat looking down at their motionless 'master', Trots. Daller
appeared behind him. "Has she moved yet?" Daller asked in a low voice.

"No... perhaps she'll die?" Alex turned around and looked at him. "I
suppose if that happens, you'll take control?"

"Well, of course... neither you nor Ryan could handle such a thing! I've
already done all the work so far... now, continue taking care of her!"

"What about the whip?" Alex asked quickly before Daller could leave.

"The Solar Whip? Well, it's as good as ours... the bearer I have found,
and I have it wrapped around my finger..."

"Is the bearer male or female, and are you sure you have the right one?"

"It's a female, and she is hot! And I'm POSITIVE it's the right one...
she matches perfectly, and she was falling for Wildfire... but I put a quick
stop to that!" Daller chuckled a little to himself.

"Don't be too cocky, Daller... she may still... she has in the past,
every time... I doubt you can keep them apart..." Alex said, not at all
sounding impressed.

Daller growled. "I KNOW what I am doing! And Solar will be on our side
soon! She is lost in her own thoughts and actions... in fact, she's so lost
she even thought she was falling for Hardrock for a while! I nearly laughed
right at her face for that one... ohh, and I'm thinking the Moon Spears are
going to start coming to attention with the Solar Whip..."

Alex sneered. "Those weapons are just disgusting! And they'll usually
pick some poor girl that's just sweet as a button! I hate those things! At
LEAST the Solar Whip picks someone with a backbone!"

"Yes, but the Solar Whip will also pick people so pretty or handsome it
makes it quite hard to kill them if you're the opposite sex... but if need be,
I will do it! I will not have the Ronins get either the Solar Whip or the Moon
Spears! They will belong to the Dynasty, or they will not be used at all!"
Daller said, and looked down at Trots and sneered again. "And I plan on having
Wildfire dead before she wakes up! She has grown too obsessed with him... and
isn't thinking of the bigger battle!"

Alex smiled. "Of course... but if you can kill one Ronin, why not kill
them all?"

Daller pierced Alex with a nasty glare, then disappeared.

* * * * *

Cye walked up his stairs and gently knocked on a door. Tina quickly got
up and opened it with a smile. "Yeah?"

"Do you need anything?" he asked quietly.

"Nope, I'm good, just putting some stuff away..." she said as the little
puppy slipped past her and the door and ran for the stairs.

Cye grabbed the puppy by the back of its neck, then gently picked it
up. "This the rascal?" He gently tickled the puppy's tummy and got a nip in
the finger for it, but he just laughed.

"Yeah, this is Niou; he chews on everything..." she said and sighed.

"So get him a toy!" Cye said with a laugh.

"Hmm, I have; he tears the stuffing out of them! Then goes back to
chairs and stuff!" she said a little in defense.

"So, don't get him THAT kind of a toy; get the rubber kind or the tug-of-
war ones... and maybe a bone..." Cye said, still playing with the puppy in his
arms. "I can take you out to buy them if you want... my mom doesn't care if I
drive..."

Tina was about to say no and take her puppy, but decided against it and
nodded. "Yeah. I'd like that... Hey, Cye... is there something wrong with your
mom? Like, you seem to fuss over her... and stuff.."

Cye smiled a little and looked up at Tina. "She has a heart problem...
and needs to be watched..." He handed the puppy back. "Come and get me when
you want to go get those toys.." With that he went back downstairs.

* * * * *

Sage sat in Rowen's house, reviewing the papers he had found on this
whip thing. Ryo was sound asleep on the couch; he had been awake when he had
first gotten here but fell asleep soon afterwards. Sage sighed and looked up
at Rowen. "Are you sure about this stuff?" he said, hitting the paper with the
back of his hand and looking down at it.

"Well, that site was the most accurate of all the Mystical Armor
sites... and it's not like that was the first time I read something on the
Solar Whip, just the first time I read something that had the Solar Whip and
us in it..." Rowen said with a yawn, than got up and headed into the
kitchen. "You thirsty?"

"I'll take a tea," Sage said in an absent voice. "Hey, Rowen, what's
this Moon Spears stuff?"

"Not quite sure, that's my next mystery after this one..." Rowen came in
and handed Sage his tea. "Do you think we know who it is?"

Sage laughed a little. "No... but I will... it i just take me a few days
to figure out which girls hang all over me... that are really annoying and
annoy the hell out of me... and if she annoys the hell out of you, and Kento
and Ryo like her, and Cye won't care... well, then we'll have our girl, won't
we?"

"Sage... EVERY girl in our school hangs all over you! How are you going
to find just one? And how do you know she will even go to our school? I
mean ,we can't even be sure that information is all right... it may be a male
we're looking for, and the site owner got it wrong! It could be US that like
her, and Ryo and Kento that don't! Information can get screwed up..."

Rowen sipped on his juice a little and sighed. "I dunno, Sage... but if
this whip thing does start... then that means fighting will be starting
afterwards! And it couldn't be worse timing!" He looked at Ryo and sighed
again. "We have a leader that's temporarily out of it!"

"Yeah... and we all know what will happen if we lose a fight 'cause he
can't fight..."

"Guilt trip," they both said at the same time, and smiled at each other.
They both turned around when a scratching is heard at the door.

Rowen frowned. "That's funny... there are no animals allowed in this
building..." He stood up and opened the door, and White Blaze trotted in and
promptly laid down by Ryo, not even bothering to look at the other two Ronins.

"Should have known it was him... he would never leave Ryo for too long."
Sage smiled and sipped his tea; Rowen went over and sat next to White Blaze
and gently scratched his ear.

"Hey, Sage... do you know of any other sites about the Mystical Armors
that has correct info? I want a second on this information... it's hard to
trust just one site..."

"Not really... they all have their bad points... but if I were you, just
start checking them all... if enough say the same thing, well, then it must be
true! It's common sense." Sage sipped on his tea again, thumbing through the
papers.

"Well, that is unless they all copied each other! Then they will all be
the same... but not absolutely true... you see what I mean?" Rowen looked at
him, and raised an eyebrow like it was common sense.

"Yeah, I know what you're saying... I dunno... start checking fast,
before they have time to copy each other, that may work? Or you could try
looking up these Moon Spears things... I'm sure they're connected to the Solar
Whip... you may be able to get info for them and this... kill two birds with
one stone!" Sage said hopefully; Rowen had a way of always finding a way to
turn down ideas for logical reasons that he never saw until Rowen told him of
them.

Rowen smiled a little. "You know, it's nearly impossible to actually
kill two birds with one stone! But your other idea might just work... I will
try it tonight..."

Ryo moaned in his sleep, and his eyes slowly opened and looked around.
Sage and Rowen looked at him, waiting.

* * * * *

Kento sat doing his math homework and watching his two younger sisters
play a video game.

"YOU CHEATED!" Chieko said, standing up and throwing her controller down
on the ground.

Chan stood up just as fast. "DID NOT! YOU ARE JUST BAD AT THIS GAME!"

Kento smiled to himself; Chan talked much more clearly when she was mad
than she ever did when she was calm. "Calm down, you two... it's just a game!
And I don't want ANY fighting today... understand?" Kento said, piercing them
with his 'older brother' look.

Chieko crossed her arms. "Just because YOUR life has NO meaning doesn't
mean WE have to be perfect angels! If you don't like the way your life is
going, then DON'T blame US!"

Kento smiled again. "Us, is it? All right, then, Chieko, I won't blame
you for my boring life!" He thought that was what she was saying. He wasn't
quite sure; Chieko sometimes didn't make sense in her arguments.

"I am NOT saying your life is BORING... you don't have a life to be
BORED with! All YOU do is eat and go 'hang out' with your friends! You're a
BUM; go get a job, why don't you?!" She put her hands on her hips, trying to
imitate their mother.

"You get a job first, then I'll get one! I promise! And plus, I also
practice kendo... so therefore I do have a life!" Kento smiled and went back
to his math problems.

"I DO have a job; I help MOMMY with the dishes! And she says I do such a
good job that she even PAYS me! Fifty cents every day I help!"

Chan looked at Kento and smiled. "She pays Chieko in two coins! I get
THREE! Two small ones and a big one!"

Chieko sighed and put on her stern face. "You get twenty-five cents! I
get fifty, I get more! You're just too young to understand... maybe someday,
when you're my age, you'll understand important stuff like this... though it's
not easy, and not everyone can do it! I'm very advanced; I can even count
beyond one hundred!"

"Really?" Chan looked quite excited about this. "Can you teach me?"

Kento really didn't hear the rest; he was desperately trying to do his
math homework, but didn't understand any of it; he hated math. He was,
however, surprised when a little girl crawled into his lap with her eyes full
of tears. "Chan, what's wrong?"

"Chieko won't teach me how to count to one hundred!!" She then started
to cry. Kento shook his head and looked around and noticed his other little
sister was gone. The truth was Chieko may not have really known how to count
to one hundred, and didn't want her sister to know.

"Hey, calm down, little girl!" He tickled his little sister's stomach,
and was rewarded by a laugh. "If you really want to learn, I can teach you
how! But you'll have to wait; I really need to finish this math homework..."

Chan hugged her older brother around the neck, then jumped
down. "Okay... I'm going to go play in my room until you're ready! Call me
when you are! I'll be waiting VERY patiently! I promise... You just call my
name and I'll come right down, okay? I'll be in my room!"

Kento nodded, and the little girl ran off. He sighed heavily, then went
back to his homework again; it was due tomorrow, and he wouldn't get a chance
to see Rowen before his math class, so he had to figure it out himself. He
would most likely get them all wrong, but at least he tried.

* * * * *

Chessica walked slowly though the park; Sage had really gotten mad at
her about this whole Daller thing. Is Daller dangerous? What is really going
on... no one in school has ever even heard of him... yet he had claimed to go
there at one time... is he lying to me? And if so, why... he just seems so
nice... why would he lie? Why would he lie to me?

Sage seemed really concerned that he wanted me at all... why? I mean,
that must mean he doesn't go with many girls, if Sage was that surprised about
me... maybe he's gay? But then, why would he want me? These thought ran over
and over in Chessica's head, but she couldn't figure anything out. She was
starting to wish she hadn't run away from Sage like that, though. She turned
to head home and ran smack into Daller. "D-Daller? What are you doing here?"

"What, you're not happy to see me?" Daller smiled a wide smile at
her. "I should ask you the same thing... it's getting late. You shouldn't be
out this late... it could be dangerous!" His eyes seemed to flicker with
something dangerous.

She watched him, as he seemed to be concerned about her, but at the same
time there was something in his eyes. Something untold, something hiding,
lurking. "I was thinking... Sage and I got in a fight..."

Daller nodded. "Yeah, I hear he has a pretty bad temper, or used to... I
hear he used to steal money from younger kids until he got in trouble and was
forced to stop," he said while brushing his hair back with his hand.

"Steal money? But the other day he helped me protect a kid from getting
his money stolen..." Chessica started to notice little things about Daller, a
flick of his eye before he said something, the way he brushed his hand through
his hair when he said something that sounded way off. No, he was a good liar,
just not THAT good; she wanted to hit herself for not seeing it all before.

"Did he really? Well, I'm not surprised; like I said, ever since he got
in trouble for it, he's tried to prove to everyone that he's a changed
person... if you know what I mean. I, however, think it's all just an act!"

"Why... would you say that? Don't you think people can change? Maybe he
has?" she said slowly and carefully.

Daller laughed. "Yes, people can change, but he has TOO much power...
and he's a power-hungry person... I mean, if he would ever find out that
you've been talking to me... he'd flip and say I'm a dangerous person... and
blah-dee-blah..." He laughed a little. "I was the only person who could match
him in combat... and that is one reason why he hates me so much!"

"Who else knows you at school, besides Sage and the guys?" Chessica said
quickly.

Daller frowned at the 'and the guys' statement; usually it was 'and the
others' or 'and his friends' when referring to the other Ronins; this
statement said she was with them, in a way. "Lots of people... Mr. Anderson,
Tiffany, Allison..." He proceed to name off people that she had never heard
of. But she made a mental note to find these people and ask about him.



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That's all, hope you like it... Ja ne!