Ransom

The large figure stared at the sleeping boy. It walked softly over to him, and stared down. It waited a few minutes. Nothing. "ROAR!"

Ryo Sanada, AKA Ryo of the Wildfire, leader of the Ronin Warriors, gave a cry of surprise and shot up in bed. He glared at his tiger. "White Blaze!"

The large black and white tiger stared at him, then looked toward the open window. Ryo looked too, then glanced at the clock. It was after 8:00 A.M.

"OK, so it's morning," Ryo said as he climbed out of bed. He pulled down his scrunched up pajama shirt, then headed over to his dresser. There was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?"

"Ryo?" A boy poked his head in the door. "Oh, you're up. Good."

"What's up, Cye?"

"We're all leaving for today. Kento's going to his family's restaurant, Rowen is going with Mia to the University, Sage is going with his family to his Aunt's, and I'm going to visit my sister and her husband. Were you planning on doing anything?"

Ryo pulled off his pajama shirt, threw it on the floor, and then opened his dresser drawer. He found a nice blue T-shirt and slipped it on. "Nah," he said. "I think White Blaze and me will just stick around here. I really don't feel like going anywhere."

Cye nodded. "Well, see you later then, Ryo."

"Sure."

Cye left, and Ryo finished getting dressed. He picked up his dirty clothes and left his bedroom with White Blaze following him. Ryo headed to the bathroom while White Blaze went downstairs. A chorus of, "Bye, Ryo!" echoed through the manor.

White Blaze heard the front door open and close. And then there was silence.

Ryo came downstairs a few minutes later. "Peace and quiet, uh, boy?"

White Blaze rumbled happily, then plopped himself down in front of the couch. He closed his eyes.

Ryo gave him a strange look. "Oh, I get it. You get me up, and you decide to take a nap?" He was being sarcastic. The tiger opened one eye and just gazed at him, before shutting his eye again.

Lazy tiger!" Ryo mumbled as he headed off for the kitchen.

Outside, a black car pulled up. Three men stared at the large mansion. It was quiet, and they did not see any vehicles.

"They're gone," the one sitting in the front passenger's side said. He had pure white hair and dark brown eyes. He was eyeing the mansion greedily.

"No, wait!" the one in the back said. "There's someone in there!" He had long brown hair in a braid and wore sunglasses. He could see a black haired figure moving through the kitchen.

"So what do we do?" the white haired one asked.

The driver had been silent until now. "I know what we can do," he said. He had short, thick, wavy black hair, and black eyes. He had a smile on his face.

"What?"

"Yeah, tell us, Sama."

"We kidnap him, and tell the people here that if they want him back safe and alive, they pay us."

The two thought about it for awhile and nodded their heads in agreement.

"So how do we get him?" the brown haired guy asked.

"Like this..."

Ryo carried a bowl of Wheaties and a glass of orange juice into the living room. White Blaze was asleep now, and the boy rolled his eyes. He placed his breakfast on the coffee table and looked around for the TV remote control. There it was, stuck behind the cushions. He grabbed it, turned on the TV, and then flopped down on the couch. He grabbed his cereal and took a bite while he searched for something to watch. Let's see, Gremlins. Nah, seen it yesterday. Wrestling. Nope! Mary Tyler Moore! Too pathetic. Aha! Friday! Love that movie! Don't smoke that stuff, but it's still great, and I haven't seen it in awhile.

Ryo grabbed his drink as his eyes were stuck on the movie. White Blaze woke up. He thought he heard something. He let out a slight growl, getting Ryo's attention. "What's the matter, boy?"

The tiger growled again. Ryo set his breakfast down on the coffee table and got to his feet. He stared curiously at his tiger. There was a knock at the door.

White Blaze growled again, and followed Ryo to the door. He stayed right beside him. Ryo opened the door. "Yes?"

A man stood at the door. "Ah, hello," he said in very poor Japanese. "I was wondering if I could use your phone. You see my car broke down, and I need to call a towing company."

White Blaze growled again, and the man looked down at him. He jumped in surprise. "A tiger!"

"Yeah, you can use our phone," Ryo said. "But hang on a second. White Blaze is acting funny, and I don't want you bit. Let's go, White Blaze. Outside."

The tiger glared at the man. He obeyed, but he would be listening for any sounds of trouble. He went out the back door, and try to listen to the conversation going on inside the mansion. Something didn't feel right.

The tiger paced back and forth, getting agitated. He knew there was something not right about that guy.

Ryo showed the man where the phone was, and left to go do something. As he wandered through the mansion he did hear the man talking to someone. Wow, that was fast, he thought. He returned to the couch and finished off his breakfast while he watched Friday. By the time he finished his breakfast, the man came into the living room.

"Arigatou," he said. It came out egiatou, but Ryo understood what he meant. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Sure, no problem. Are they coming here?"

"Yes, would you mind if I waited here?"

"No, go ahead and have a seat," Ryo said. The man did so and looked toward the TV. Ryo stood up. "I'll be back. Have to take these out to the kitchen. Want anything to drink?"

The man shook his head, and Ryo disappeared.

Outside, the other two men were just about to go up to the mansion's front door, when they caught sight of a large tiger.

"Oh, shit!" the white haired man whispered in fear. He grabbed his accomplice’s hand, and pulled him down behind the bush.

White Blaze's ears twitched. He thought he heard something. His nose sniffed the air. He could smell someone. They were close by. He followed the scent, and the two men's eyes widened with fear. The brown haired man spotted a metal pipe lying next to him. He smiled and picked it up. The tiger got closer and closer. He held it tightly, waiting. And then WHACK!

White Blaze fell limply to the ground, out cold, blood seeping from a slight wound on his head. The man dropped the pipe. "Takes care of him."

"Come on," said the white haired one.

And the two stepped onto the porch. The door opened....

Ryo was still in the kitchen. He had seen the dishes and wondered why nobody had chosen to do them before they had all left. And then he remembered. It was Saturday. His turn. He already had three plates, two bowls, and five glasses washed. He still had two more plates, three bowls, two pots, a skillet, and a baking sheet to wash, not to mention all the silverware.

"Hey!" a voice called from the living room.

"Yeah!" Ryo hollered back.

"I'm stepping outside for a bit, OK?"

"Sure, go ahead. Oh, and don't mind White Blaze. If he gives you any trouble, just tell me!"

"Sure thing!"

The door closed.

It was silent, now except for the TV. Ryo listened to the sounds. Smokey was trying to get Craig to smoke with him. He tried to picture the movie in his head, but it was difficult. He'd rather be in there, watching it.

He rinsed out a bowl and stuck it in the drainer.

Someone crept up behind him. Ryo saw the shadow of the figure and the pipe as well. His kanji flared on his head. Virtue! He turned around so fast, and kicked the white haired man into the back wall.

The man laid there, stunned. Ryo stared down at him and glared. "Who the hell are you?!"

The man had no time to answer, when someone tackled Ryo from behind. Ryo instinctively punched out, getting the man in the stomach. He used his foot to kick the man in the chest, then flipped over him. He considered using his subarmor, but these were just normal men. Weren't they?

Ryo landed on his feet and stood ready in a fighting stance, his eyes never leaving the two men, and following their every move. TWHACK!

Ryo felt pain against his head, and then he blacked out. He fell limply to the floor.

The black haired man stared down at him, a small thin pipe in his head. "Get some rope," he ordered. "We don't want him fighting us while in the car."

"Sure." The white haired man left, while the other two guarded the unconscious boy. The man returned, and they tied Ryo's hands and feet. The white haired man found some paper and a pencil, and wrote a very special note. And then all three left taking Ryo with them.

The red and white jeep pulled up. A young woman with long auburn haired and a boy with blue hair stepped out. Both were talking excitedly about their trip to the University.

"I can't believe he let us use that telescope," the woman said. "I never thought the stars would look so beautiful."

"Yeah, but it's just too bad we can't see them with a plain eye during the day," the blue haired boy replied. They were walking toward the mansion.

"Rowen, only you would say something like that."

Rowen smiled, then noticed a still figure on the ground. "What the?"

The woman stared as he headed closer to what he was seeing. He stared down and gasped. "Mia, get over here!"

Mia hurried over and looked down. She gasped. "Oh, White Blaze!"

Rowen bent down and checked the tiger. There was a small wound on his head. The tiger was unconscious. He looked up. "Get the first aid kit, and see if you can find Sage." He looked around. "And where is Ryo?"

"I don't know. Surely he would know that White Blaze is hurt, unless...."

Rowen felt something was not right. His kanji appeared on his forehead. Life. Mia stared at it. "Rowen, your kanji...."

"Get the others now!"

Mia ran into the house. She called out Ryo's name, but there was no answer. She made her way into the kitchen. She saw the sink filled with a few dishes and soapy water. The water was still running. That was odd. Ryo never left his chores undone, and he certainly never left water running. She shut the water off, then caught sight of the note on the table. Hm. Maybe Ryo wrote it. She picked it up, and began to read. Her eyes widened. "ROWEN!" she screamed.

Rowen jumped to his feet when he heard Mia screamed. He saw her run out of the house, with a note in her hand. Uh, oh. Mia stopped before him. "Read this!"

Rowen took the note. 'We have the boy. If you want him back safe and sound, you will gather at least 1, 000, 000 yen and pack it in a briefcase. You are then to wait instructions when we shall call you and let you know where to bring the money. And don't call the police. We will kill him if you do.'

Rowen crumbled the note in his hand, and his dark blue eyes flashed angrily. "Get that first aid kit. I'm going to use the mind link to call the others. We've got to find Ryo."

Mia nodded and went inside the mansion. And then Rowen closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could.

Ryo slowly opened his eyes and was met with a rewarding pain. His skull ached, and so did his hands and feet. He looked around, and noticed he was in some kind of room, lying down on a double sized bed. The room was made out of logs which looked to be a few years old and never tended to. It was small, about 4 by 5 feet and practically bare with one small window that had a black blind pulled tightly shut over it, and the and never tended to. The smell of wood filled the atmosphere, and the light about him hung a few inches below the ceiling.

Ryo tried to get up, but learned that he was tied down. His wrists were tied to the front posts, and his ankles were tied to the bottom posts. Great. Just what I needed.

His temper went off, and he struggled futilely against the binds. It was no use. He was stuck. Ryo groaned and laid his head down. It hurt. He had to get out of here, before.....

The door opened, and Ryo looked to see a black haired man step into the room. Ryo glared. "YOU!"

The man smiled. "I see you're awake," he said, as two more men joined him. Ryo narrowed his eyes. He remembered them too. He suddenly felt stupid. Why hadn't he listened to White Blaze?! And furthermore, why hadn't White Blaze come to help him when he was fighting against those two men. He could have least scared them off. Unless.....

"I suppose you want to know why you're here," the black haired man said with a wry smile.

"Duh!" Ryo retorted.

"But first I think introductions are in order here. My name is Sama, this," he said gesturing to the brown haired man, is Gono, and this is Tomo. And you are?"

"Pissed off!" Ryo cried, while struggling. "Now let me go!"

"Temper, temper. And no, we're not letting you go. You're here for a very special reason."

Ryo stopped struggling and glared at him. "And what reason is that?" he demanded.

Sama smiled evilly. "Ransom. Pure ransom."