Reunion

By: Lady Ava

Disclaimer: I don’t own Ronin Warriors

The steak house that the Ronin had decided to go to was the Outback Steak House. They thought it would be fun only because it was a pretty new place and thought Sai might get a kick out of it. Ryo, Kento, Sai, Rowen, and Sage were sat in a large round booth in the corner of the busy restaurant. They were in the perfect sight of the television that had ESPN on. To their luck, the program on happened to be the Honolulu Surfing Composition.

“This is great.” Kento said happily through a full mouth of steak. Swallowing hard, he grinned. “Good food, cute waitresses, and the best view of the surfing championships in the entire place.”

Glancing over at Sai, who sat on the outer part of the booth, Rowen asked. “Well Sai, your our expert here on down under food. So, how do you rate it?”

Taking a sip of his soda, Sai cleared his throat. “On a scale of one to ten, I give it a 9.5.” He laughed as he cut himself some more steak from his plate.

“Why the .5?” Ryo questioned.

“There aren’t enough people working here that are actually Australian.” He told the rest of his friends flatly, causing the table to break out into a fit of laughter.

Suddenly, a hand rested on Sai’s shoulder. “Excuse me?” A husky Australian accent asked. Quieting their laughter to a dull roar, the group of teens looked up to see a tall man standing next to their table. He had a dark tan from being outside a lot and very brown hair. He was dressed in a blue surfer shirt with khaki shorts and sandals. His blue sunglasses hung from his shirt collar as he stared at Sai with his blue eyes.

“I’m sorry if my friends and I were too loud sir.” Sai quickly stated.

Suddenly, the man burst of laughing, causing the teens to raise their eyebrows. “I knew I recognized you. You look just like your father did when he was your age.”

His eyes widening, Sai jumped out of his seat with a big grin across his face. “Len! Oh my god! It’s you!” He shouted happily as the man got him in a death grip of a hug.

“Ah Sai, you seriously do look like your old man.” Len laughed. Pulling the youth away from him, he looked Sai up and down. “Identical. Unbelievable what the years will do.”

The four remaining Ronins stared at each other, looks and shrugs being exchanged between them. Turning from his uncle, Sai was still in shock. “Guys, this is my Uncle Len from Australia.” He said, sounded exasperated.

Sliding over, the five teens made room for Len at their table. “It’s nice to meet ya.” The older man said as he sat down next to his best friend’s son. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” He murmured to the excited youth.

“Of course. That’s Ryo Sanada, Rowen Hashiba, Sage Date, and Kento Rei Fuan. They’re me best mates.” He said proudly as his friends shook hands with Len.

Kento leaned over to Rowen and quietly whispered, “Since when has Sai called us ‘mates’?” The question only caused Rowen to shrug.

Turning to the youth, Len smiled widely. “So how on Earth have you been? I haven’t seen you since the day you moved.”

“Life’s been treating me alright, I guess.”

“You here on vacation?”

“Just for the week.”

“Have you seen the waves at the beaches? They’re perfect of surfing. I was out there today. Never have ridden such smooth rides before.” Len said, causing Sai to smile.

“I can’t wait to get out there. I haven’t been surfing in such a long time. What with school and all.” He said modestly.

Grinning, Len suddenly stood from the table. “Well, better be getting back to my table. I left my wife and daughter there.”

“You got married?” Sai asked, shock in his voice.

Nodding proudly, Len smiled. “Yup. Have been for three years now. And I have a beautiful two year old daughter.”

Extending his hand out, Sai shook Len’s firmly. “Congrats buddy.”

“Thanks. Well, better get going. Nice seeing ya Sai.” Len said as he released the boy’s hand. As he turned away, he said softly into Sai’s ear. “When you’re out tomorrow, watch out for the undertow. Don’t want anything to happen to you too.”

His expression becoming stern, Sai told the man. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be careful.” And with that, Len made his way through the crowd and was gone from the Ronin’s sight.

As the group spread out into the booth a bit again, Rowen turned to Sai. “Hey, what did he mean by, ‘Don’t want anything to happen to you too’?”

Sai gulped hard at the question. Then, putting on a fake smile, he simply stated, “Nothing. Just a little thing that we used to do back home.”

As the rest of their meal continued, Ryo kept glancing over at Sai. He could tell that Sai was hiding something, but what was that something was, he didn’t want to bring up.

*****************

Later that night, Sai laid in his bed in an uneasy sleep. The balcony doors had been left opened so that he could hear the ocean crashing on the rocks below. Usually, the sound of the sea would calm Sai down and make him sleep better. But at that moment, it seemed to fuel the teen’s nightmares.

******************

It was a cloudy day that showed signs of an oncoming storm. Thunder rolled across the sky, but there was no lighting in sight. The beach was very crowed, for it was the national surf composition that day. Surfers from all over Australia had come to the beach that Sai and his family lived near in order to compete.

Sai’s father was going to be competing as well, so the entire Mouri family was set up on the beach, prepared to cheer on the man as he tried to gain his twentieth title. Mr. Mouri stood with his family as he waited to be called out. “Now remember, I want to hear you cheering your loudest.” He said with a smile.

“No problem dad.” Lily told as her new boyfriend wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You can count on me too, Mr. Mouri sir.” The youth said as Lily hugged him back a bit.

Looking down at his ten-year-old son, the man grinned as well. “And can I count on you too Sai?”

Smiling a huge grin, Sai nodded happily. “You bet dad.”

Suddenly, the name ‘Mouri’ was called over the loud speaker. Grinning one last time at his family, Mr. Mouri ran off and entered the water.

The waves that day were the biggest ones that Sai had ever seen. They towered over the usual size ones that he was adjusted to surfing on an everyday basis. Watching the giant walls of water, Sai scanned the area for his father. Suddenly, he saw him on top of one of the biggest waves that he had seen that day. His dad rode the water with ease, turning on a dime and doing the amount of tricks required in order to score high. But that’s when the unexpected happened. The wave began to fall over and closed in upon itself. Sai felt himself hold his breath as he waited for his father to reappear from the water. He saw the tip of his father’s board starting to emerge from the water. But he couldn’t move fast enough. The wave crashed down upon him, throwing him into the water. Sai screamed out for his father as he watched him vanish beneath the rough seas.

*****************

Sai let out a blood-curdling scream as he flung forward in his bed, covered in icy sweat. His entire body quivered under the white sheets as he sat there, panting heavily. Looking around, he saw that he was in the safety of his room. Breathing out a huge breath of air, Sai placed his head into his hands. “It was a dream?” He asked himself.

Suddenly, Kento burst into his friend’s room, concern written clearly across his face. “Sai! What wrong?” He questioned as he ran over to Sai’s side.

“We heard screaming. Is everything alright?” Rowen asked sleepily from the doorway as Sage and Ryo quickly joined him.

Removing his clammy hands from his brow, Sai swallowed hard. “It was so real.” He murmured.

“What was so real Sai?” Ryo asked as he too sat down on the edge of the Torrent warrior’s bed.

“My dream. Actually, is was more of a nightmare.” He managed to tremble out.

Looking over at the digital clock that read the time, ‘6am.’, Sage yawned a bit. “Listen, it is already morning. Why don’t we get dressed and get some breakfast. Then, we can head down to the beach for some early morning surfing. That should get your mind off your nightmare.” He suggested, causing Sai to stiffen a bit.

Averting his gaze to the opened balcony doors, the Australian boy saw that they were in for good weather that day. The sun was beginning to shine through into his room from the other side of the house. Smiling, Sai nodded in agreement to the plan. “Alright. Let’s get a move on then.”

The five Ronin decided to drive down to the beach side town to get some breakfast at a local IHop. Then, after watching Kento pack away three short stacks of pancakes, the boys then went to a surf shop to rent boards for Kento, Sage, Rowen, and Ryo. Sai suggested starting them out on the long board first, mostly because the short boards were for more experienced riders.

***************

Waves broke loudly on the beach when the teens arrived. Setting up a quick lesson for them on the beach, Ryo, Sage, Kento, and Rowen learned the basics in a crash course in surfing. Finally, they were ready to head out into the water.

Sai felt the coolness of the water splash up against him as he entered with his board by his side. The last he had been in the ocean was when he was fighting Sekmete after he was brought back after being reanimated. Sliding his board out in front of him, he reentered his domain. The water was his place. No matter how much people tried to pull him away from it, he couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Paddling out to where the waves were the best to ride, Sai sat up and turned his board around. While he sat there, straddling his surfboard, he watched the others start out slowly. “Come on guys! Do it just like I showed ya.” He called cheerfully.

“That’s easy for you to say torrent!” Rowen called back as he and the others panted. Upon reaching where Sai was, the others turned their boards as well.

“So, now what?” Ryo asked.

Smiling back towards the shore, Sai let the breeze brush his hair around his face. “We wait.”

Kento raised and eyebrow. “We wait? That’s it? We just sit here?”

“Until I say go, you wait.” Sai said firmly. Glancing behind him, he saw the swells of water starting to form in the way that was perfect to ride for beginners. “Ready guys? Cause here comes your wave.” As the water began to move in, Sai shouted. “Go!”

The four other Ronin did as Sai instructed on land without too much difficulty. They all managed to get up and keep their balances all right. But one by one they all soon wiped out. Rowen was the first to go down hitting the water feet first. Then, Ryo went in the same way. Sage fell off on his side while Kento landed in the water on his back. They all broke the surface of the water, laughing their heads off.

“Hey Sai, aren’t you coming?” Ryo called out to the Australian youth who was still sitting there.

Looking behind him, Sai quickly got onto his stomach. Then, as he started to approach the standing point of the ride, the massive wave came into perfect view. Sai quickly jumped up onto his board and began to ride. The salt water splashed his face as he started to do some simple tricks like walking the board and turns. ‘Len was right. These are smooth waves to ride.’ He thought as a smile spread across his face. Suddenly, he couldn’t hold onto the ride any longer and fell face first into the water.

Sai broke the surface and shook his head as he reached over to grab his board. He panted for breath as he sat there, floating in the water. Climbing up onto his surfboard, Sai started into shore where the others were waiting for him.

As he came up onto the shore, Kento slapped him on his back. “Sai, where the hell did you learn to surf that well? I mean, I know you said your were good. But I didn’t know that your were that good.”

“Back in Australia. I started when I was five.” Sai told him simply as he grabbed a towel and started wiping the water from his face.

“Man, I wish Kayura and Mia could of seen that. We were actually surfing.” Rowen said with a laugh.

Sage smiled evilly as he came up behind his friend. “Of course you wish Kayura was here.” He joked.

Rowen quickly jumped to his feet. “Alright! That’s it! Enough is enough!” He shouted angrily as he began to crack his knuckles. “I’m going to give you until the count of three to start running. If you don’t move fast enough, you will be thrown into the water. One…two…three!” Rowen took off like a bullet after Sage, who was laughing his head off as his best friend chased after him.

Kento, Ryo, and Sai laughed full-heartedly as they watched Rowen try to catch Sage. Suddenly, a loud crash of thunder roared across the sky, causing the teens to be silenced quickly. Looking up at the sky, they saw that large black clouds had begun to roll in. The wind started to howl as they continued to stare at the sky.

“We should go.” Ryo told Kento and Sai who both agreed. Looking over at Rowen and Sage, Ryo called over to them, “Hey Dumb and Dumber! The heavens could open at any moment! We’re leaving. Come on!”

**********************

Grabbing their stuff quickly, the Ronins ran up to their car and loaded their stuff quickly into the trunk. Then, after making a quick stop at the surf shop to return the boards, Ryo and the rest of the group drove as quickly as possible back to the house.

*********************

The rains came as soon as the garage door shut behind the car. “That was a close call.” Kento said as he helped Sai take his surfboard from the trunk. “We almost got stuck in the rain.”

“Although it really won’t have much mattered considering we are already soaking wet.” Sage told as he walked into the house.

Placing his board against the cement wall of the garage, Sai jumped at the sound of the thunder outside. “Boy, this was certainly a surprise. The forecast said that is was suppose to be clear the whole week.” He told the others.

Placing his hands behind his head, Kento shrugged. “This just proves that you can’t trust weather men or women.” The ash-haired teen started. As he went back into the house with Rowen close behind, he added, “Whatever they say, the opposite always happens.”

Ryo shook his head and smiled as he watched the hardheaded warrior enter the kitchen. Then, turning back to Sai, he cleared his throat. “Hey Sai, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?” The brown haired boy asked a grin on his face.

Walking up to the garage door opener, Ryo pushed it opened. The rain flooded into where the two boys were standing. The entire sky had been completely covered in dark clouds, creating a nighttime feel to so early in the morning. “Sai, are you afraid of something? Something that is happening out there, right now?” He asked, pointing down towards the stormy beach.

Gulping a bit, Sai simply shook his head. “No, why would you ask such a thing like that?”

“Because, you seem high strung about something. Like you’re scared of the water or something.” He said innocently.

Sai felt anger run through his body. It began to course through his blood and then into his hands, causing them to form fists of rage. “Are you saying that I’m afraid of my own element?” He questioned to his leader, the angry beginning to swell into his voice.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that---“

“That you think I’m unable to handle unsteady water? That I’m afraid of storms?” He asked, his voice growing in volume. “Well, guess what Ryo? Perhaps, for once in your life, you don’t know anything.”

Taken aback by Sai’s harsh words, Ryo felt his blood begin to boil as well. “Look, all I asked was a simple question. You don’t need to bite my head off.” He yelled back.

Storming past him, Sai marched over to the door. “Well, guess what? I did. And I don’t want you to come near me until the end of this trip!” He shouted.

“Fine!” Ryo yelled back.

“Fine!” And with that, Sai sprinted past the others at the kitchen table and up to his room, slamming it shut behind him.

Ryo walked into the kitchen and slammed that door shut behind him. Kento, Rowen, and Sage stared at their angered leader and then at the steps that lead upstairs. “Um, what just happened?”

Walking past the small questionable group, Ryo murmured, “Nothing.”