Angels of the Past 2/? (Ronin Warriors)

[C.G]

One review. . . oh well, thanks.

Author's Note: This is something I must bring up. Now, I know that in the English version of the "Ronin Warriors" Wisdom is Sage's symbol, and Rowan's is Life, but in the Japanese version Rowan is Wisdom, and Sage is Grace. So, I am basing this fact on that version, since the English version often will change small details like that.

"Angels of the Past"
By C.G.

Chapter Two

Silence at one point was a rare thing to have at the Koji Manor, but as the morning light slowly entered the windows of Mia's room, silence was the only thing that was heard. Everything was calm, until a very annoying alarm clock broke the peace with its violent ringing.

"BBBBRRRIIINNNGGG!!" The ear-shattering sound awoke Mia from her once-quiet rest to a disturbing wake.

"What time is it?" Mia groaned as she reached out to turn off the irritating machine. She glanced over with sleep-blurred eyes, and was able to make out that her alarm clock promptly read six AM. With another frustrated groan, Mia let her head fall back to her pillows. "Way too early," she whined, placing her left arm over her eyes to block out the light of the incoming sun.

Spring vacation had finally arrived to the patiently waiting students at Mia's university. This meant that for two whole weeks school was out, and a well-deserved rest for students and teachers alike. But, unfortunately for Mia, she had forgotten to reset her alarm for a later time so that she could have been able to sleep in. It could have been possible for Mia to fall back asleep, if it wasn't for the persistent nudging of a certain white tiger.

"Mmmh... White Blaze... let me sleep," pleaded Mia to the large cat.

White Blaze, who was also awoken by the alarm, was now completely awake and determined to make sure that Mia was as well. White Blaze started his task by pressing his head against Mia's arm, trying to reawaken her as gently as he could. When his cold, moist nose met the exposed skin of her face, Mia let out another muffled groan as she turned over so that her back was now facing him, and pulled the covers over her head.

White Blaze was not one to give up so easily, though. Clamping his powerful jaws on the corner of Mia's blanket, he pulled it completely off Mia and her bed. Automatically, Mia pulled her form into a tight ball, trying to regain the warmth that was now lost to her.

White Blaze then walked around the bed to the side where her face laid unprotected. Placing his large paws on top of the bed, he then leaned forward to start his assault on Mia's face. Mia felt White Blaze's rough, wet tongue giving her face an early morning wash.

"Oh, White Blaze! Stop that!" she cried, trying to pry the tiger off her face with her hands, but that didn't stop White Blaze. He continued to lick every inch of Mia's face until she decided to wake up.

Finally, after a few moments of White Blaze's 'tongue bath', Mia eventually gave up on her attempt of slumber. "Okay, okay, I'm up. I'm up," the defeated Mia whined as she sat up in her bed, confirming that she was now awake.

White Blaze then lowered himself off the bed and back onto the floor of Mia's room, as a still-disoriented Mia tossed her legs over the side of the bed and stared down at the white tiger, wondering why he was in her room in the first place.

"White Blaze," she yawned, "what are you..." Mia was just about to ask the tiger why he was in her room when she remembered the events that had occurred during the night. The nightmare from her youth at one point in her past had brought her much pain, and now had returned to haunt her. Mia gave the tiger a warm smile as she reached her hand down to stroke his black and white head.

"You stayed with me all night, didn't you, White Blaze?" He nodded his head and gave Mia what only could have been a grin for a large cat. "Thank you, my friend," Mia said, still smiling. "How about some breakfast? Sound good, White Blaze?"

The great feline's brown eyes lit up and grew wide as he once again leaned forward and started to lick Mia's face affectionitely.

"I'll take that as a yes," Mia said while giggling. "Okay, go downstairs. I'll meet you down there in a minute." With that said, White Blaze raced out of the room like a kitten that was just promised catnip. Seeing this, Mia couldn't help not to giggle at the tiger whose true age remained a mystery.

Yawning once again, Mia rose from her bed and stretched, awakening the tired muscles in her body. After slipping on her peach-colored robe and slippers, she went over to her balcony and opened the French-style doors to allow the morning air to fully awaken her.

The smell of water from the early morning dew greeted Mia as she inhaled deeply, enjoying the odd sense of peace it gave her. Mornings like this were a time she could just think to herself and remember nothing of the plans ahead of her, a time that Mia was most grateful for.

With her job as a teacher at her university, she rarely had the opportunity to enjoy the morning. Instead it was rush, rush, rush just to wake up, get dressed, have a cup of coffee, and still get to work on time. Mia had taken over her grandfather's position as the mythology teacher, and now taught the legends he had told her as a child.

Unfortunately for her, she was unable to enjoy this peace for much longer because of a loud roar that had erupted from somewhere downstairs. "All right, I'm coming!" she yelled as she headed for her staircase to prepare breakfast for herself and White Blaze. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw an impatient White Blaze waiting for her. The excited tiger pushed on her lower back, trying to hurry her into the kitchen as fast as possible.

"Easy, White Blaze; you don't want me to trip, do you?" she questioned the white tiger as he steered her in the direction of the kitchen. "Urg, I swear, you are just as bad as Ryo," she groaned as the pair entered the kitchen.

Mia had a simple kitchen with all the basic items: a stove, an oven, a sink, a fridge, and in the middle of the room was a small table that could at least fit six people at a time.

"Let's see what we can get for you, White Blaze," she stated to the tiger as she headed towards the fridge.

White Blaze normally caught his meals instead of begging Mia for them. For White Blaze, his breakfast, lunch, and dinner were usually whatever he was able to catch outside in the forest around the Koji Manor. This helped Mia a lot by not having to worry about feeding the tiger when she wasn't home. Besides, he was technically a wild animal. Even though White Blaze could have still caught his breakfast that morning, Mia had to find some way to reward him for protecting her from her nightmares last night.

Mia searched her fridge for something that would not only appeal to the feline, but something enough to keep him satisfied for a while. She had to keep in mind that even though White Blaze acted more human than a normal tiger should act, he was still a tiger, and needed to be fed like one.

So, after scanning her fridge from top to bottom, she eventually found something suitable for the tiger. What would be White Blaze's breakfast was her dinner from the following night: leftover roast beef and potatoes. Placing the remaining meat in a large bowl, and pouring some milk in another, she placed them on the floor for White Blaze.

"There you go, White Blaze, enjoy!"

Now, some people would have thought it may have been rude to feed your guest leftovers from last night's dinner for breakfast, but White Blaze didn't seem to mind. The large cat devoured his meal in a matter of seconds. Ryo's impatience, and Kento's appetite. What a combo. Mia giggled at this thought as she prepared herself a cup of tea.

When the water was boiled and the teabag was strained, Mia sat herself down at her kitchen table and began to read the morning newspaper. When the Ronins still lived at the Koji manor, Mia normally didn't read the paper. That was Sage's job. She would usually ask him what the weather was going to be like, and asked for updates on world events.

Sage... Her home felt so empty now since her friends had moved away. Mia stared at the teacup in her hand as the memories of her companions drifted in her thoughts. One year ago felt like yesterday to Mia. All of the Ronin Warriors decided that it was time to move away from the Koji Manor, the place that they had called home for so long.

In truth, they really didn't have a choice in the matter. Each had a family to return to and college to start. But it wasn't like they just packed up and forgot about her, though. One of the five would give her an occasional phone call (or e-mail) every so often just to see how she was doing, and to make sure she didn't overwork herself like she would do too often when they did still lived with her.

But, as time went on, the phone calls became less and less. Mia could understand this, though. She remembered how busy her college life had been before she graduated. It was either study for this or research for that.

The one who had kept in touch with Mia most often was Cye. Cye Mouri, the water-loving chef of the group, who to Mia always acted like the older brother she never had (even though she was three years older than him). Whenever she just needed someone to talk to, he was there to lend an ear. The most caring and the gentlest of the Ronins, Cye was the oldest of the group and started college before the rest.

Cye's best friend, and fellow Ronin Warrior, Kento, was also like a brother to Mia. The strongest of the warriors, who always seemed to be able to cheer Mia up, no matter how bad she felt. Always good-natured, even though he could be a bit pigheaded at times, the 'Human Garbage Disposal'. To Mia's knowledge, he had moved back with his parents and younger siblings, and helped manage the family restaurant.

Then, of course, there was Rowan, the blue-haired Ronin Warrior of Strata. It bewildered Mia that, even though Rowan had been the youngest of the Ronins, he acted as though he was the oldest. Rowan had to be one of the most mature people Mia had ever met. She would often find the warrior of wisdom with his nose either in a complex novel, or studying for some faraway test or quiz. She knew that Rowan's father was a university researcher who specialized in physics and astronomy, so she figured that his intelligence could have been inherited.

Sage, Rowan's best friend, was also mature beyond his years. The violet-eyed young man always was very polite, but often very silent at times, having not much to say, but would be more than willing to give his opinion when asked. Mia remembered seeing him in the early mornings out in the woods meditating.

A smile formed itself onto Mia's lips when she remembered how shy he was as well. She seemed to recall the others teasing him about what would happen whenever a girl would ask him out or someone would start flirting with him, that he would try to avoid that person as much as possible. His actions in these matters often made others believe that he was a cold and a distant person.

Mia had a hard time believing this, because he never seemed to be that way around her. The only conclusion that she could come up with was that maybe he didn't act that way because he knew her so well. She knew that Sage had also gone back to his own home at his family's dojo.

After taking another sip of her tea, Mia gave a long sigh as her memories came upon the last of her friends, Ryo of the Wildfire, the hotheaded leader of the Ronin Warriors. During the great battles with Talpa and his minions, Ryo, along with the others Ronin Warriors, combined their powers to create the powerful white Inferno Armor which destroyed the evil Dynasty once and for all.

Out of all her friends, Mia worried about Ryo the most. Since Talpa, she had seen a change in Ryo. She wasn't sure if it was because of what happened in New York, or the encounter with the Black Inferno, but ever since the battles occurred she saw that Ryo's expressions and attitude had darkened greatly. He cloaked it enough so that it was hard for some to tell, but for some reason she was able to. Call it maternal instinct, but she couldn't help but worry about her friend.

She didn't know much about his past. From what the others had told her, his mother died when he was still very young. His father, who had been a wildlife photographer, was killed by some wild animal. To Mia, this had explained why he cared so much for his friends. They were the only family he had now.

A gentle push to her leg brought Mia back to reality. White Blaze had rubbed himself against her leg, signaling that he had finished his breakfast. With that, Mia also noticed that her tea had been completed as well.

"Looks like it's time to get to work." Standing up, Mia retrieved the two bowls from the floor and placed them, along with her teacup, in the sink. After opening the back kitchen door to let White Blaze go outside for his daily run, Mia made her way upstairs again to prepare for the day.

Once she had taken her morning shower and dressed, she began the work that had been set for her. From seven-thirty AM to noon, Mia had locked herself up in her study, busying herself by grading countless papers of tests, reports, and homework she had assigned just before break let out. Her fingers ached as she finished inputting the last of the test grades into her computer.

"Finally finished..." she declared, leaning back in her chair. Mia stretched out her arms above her head as far as they could reach and felt the relief it brought to the stiffen muscles in her back. "Now all I have to do is grade these reports, and I have the rest of the break off." Before she could even pick up the first report off her desk, the echoing sound of her doorbell had rung through her ears.

"Hmm? Wonder who that could be." Normally the only person who had ever visited Mia unannounced was Yulie, but he normally didn't ring the doorbell to come in. Instead he'd go around and use the kitchen door. When the doorbell rang again, Mia made her way to the front door to greet her unknown guest. When the doorbell rang a third time, Mia began to grow a little annoyed at her unexpected visitor.

"All right, I'm coming!" she said while climbing down the stairs, heading towards the front door. When she now stood directly in front of the door, she reached out for the doorknob to finally greet the stranger on the other side.

"Yes, can I... Ryo?!" she gasped when she saw the familiar face of the blue-eyed warrior.

"Hey, Mia, what's up?"

Mia couldn't help but be shocked at Ryo's sudden appearance. She studied his face carefully: jet black hair, still at shoulder length, tiger-blue eyes, and a cheerful sideways grin on his face. Even though it had been only been a year since she had seen him, she noticed that certain body features had matured somewhat. The most obvious one had to be that he now stood a few inches taller then Mia. Changes or not, Mia was still very happy to see him.

"Oh, Ryo, hi... what brings you here?" Mia couldn't help but ask. She also couldn't help the warm smile that had found itself on her face.

"Well, I had some free time on my hands, so I thought that might drop by and visit White Blaze... and you, of course," Ryo quickly added, seeing a slight glimpse of sadness in her eyes as he spoke those words.

"Sure, please, come in." She moved aside from the door to allow him passage into her home.

Ryo entered the place where, at one time, he and the other Ronin Warriors had stayed. With his hands tucked in his coat pockets, he carefully scanned the household, looking for any traces of his feline company. "Where is he?" he asked as Mia shut the front door behind him.

"He's probably outside. I'll call him." Mia motioned Ryo to follow her to the kitchen. Once there, Mia went to open the back door and called for White Blaze. "White Blaze! Come in, you have a visitor!" With this she also gave a loud whistle using two fingers. After a moment, she saw a familiar black and white blur running towards the house. "I would move aside if I were you," Mia said over her shoulder to Ryo, who only stood a few feet behind her.

"Why?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"You'll see." She gave him a small wink before moving to the side herself.

Before Ryo could react to her warning, though, White Blaze appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Almost as soon as Ryo's eyes fell upon his old friend, the great beast pounced upon him, knocking him to the ground. "Ahh, White Blaze!" he laughed as the white tiger licked his face furiously. "It's good to see you too, old pal!"

Mia was also laughing as she watched White Blaze acting like an oversized kitten again, and also seeing someone like Ryo under the great cat's mercy was something you couldn't help but laugh at. A warm feeling entered Mia's heart to see the two of them together again. She knew that Ryo and White Blaze were very close friends, and it must have hurt them both to be apart for so long.

Ryo, upon hearing Mia's laughter, tilted his head to look in her direction. "Umm, a little help would be nice?"

Mia stifled the last of her giggles as she stepped towards the two and attempted to move White Blaze off Ryo. "Come on, White Blaze, time to get off. Unless you want to turn Ryo into a pancake," she said while giving White Blaze several pushes on his shoulders, trying to move him off of Ryo.

At her words, White Blaze gave her a look like he had just been insulted. Giving what had to been a sigh, White Blaze shifted his body weight and moved off Ryo. Even though freed from the feline's weight, Ryo continued to crouch down by the tiger's side and embrace the tiger around his neck.

"Oh, I've missed you too, White Blaze, but next time go easy on the welcome, okay?" The tiger only answered by nuzzling the dark-haired boy.

"What did you expect, after not being able to see you for so long," Mia said, looking down at the two.

"Well, I have been kinda busy, you know," he retorted, scratching the soft spot behind White Blaze's ear.

"I know, I'm just teasing." Leaning down, she offered Ryo her hand to help himself up. Ryo accepted her offer, and rose to his feet once more. "Would you like something to drink?" she asked, moving towards her fridge.

"Sure, whatcha got?" he responded, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen.

"Let's see...." Mia was somewhat embarrassed to find out that her selection of drinks was limited to only a few items. "We have milk, coffee, water, uh... tea?"

"Tea sounds fine."

Mia was slightly surprised at his choice of beverage. Ryo, when he was still a resident at the Koji Manor, was never really the tea drinker. "All right, this will just take a minute," she began as she poured some tapwater into a nearby tea kettle which she had used early for her morning tea.

After letting it sit on the stove for a few moments, she poured the steaming water into two teacups, which were previously set. After letting the hot water absorb the contents of the teabags she had placed inside the cups, she brought them, along with the sugar bowl, to the table.

"Thanks," he said as he took the teacup away from Mia.

"Careful, it's hot," she warned as she placed the sugar bowl in the center of the table, then took her own seat across from him.

"I will."

Mia watched Ryo for a moment as he added a spoonful of sugar in his own tea and gradually took a careful sip. She didn't bother to put any sugar in her own tea, being used to drinking it strong. "So, how have you been?" Mia asked him, trying to start up a conversation.

"Fine."

"How's school?"

"All right, I guess," he said while giving a slight shrug.

"Having trouble with any of your classes?"

"Not really, well... I am having some trouble in history."

"History?"

"Well, it isn't really the class. It's the teacher. All he does is sits there and lectures, 'Today, class, we're going to blah, blah, blah...' " Ryo's impression of his teacher caused Mia to giggle again. He threw his head back and covered his eyes with his hands, groaning, "He is just so darn boring!"

"Well, Ryo, if you need help in history, I could always help you study or something."

"But I thought you taught about mythology?" he asked, cocking up one of his eyebrows.

"I do, but how do you think I got my teaching position in the first place?" she said, then took a sip of her drink. "I probably went though a lot of the same classes you're going through. What, you think I got to be a teacher automatically because of a pretty face?"

"You could have."

Mia's eyes shot open at his response at her comment that was supposed to be a joke. "Pardon?"

"Uh... umm... never mind!" he quickly stated, and stared directly into his teacup.

Did he say what I thought he said? No, I probably misheard. "So, um..." Mia's mind searched for the right question that wouldn't scare off Ryo. "Do you have a girlfriend?" A neutral question. Hopefully.

He was silent for a moment, refusing to look directly into her eyes. She thought that he may not have heard her, and was about to ask again, until he responded, "Hey, Mia, what's up with the twenty questions?"

"Huh? Ah... well, you know. I haven't seen you in a while, and I do get worried. Besides, if I don't ask, how do I know you haven't joined a gang or something?"

"Mia, you don't have to worry about me."

"Sorry, can't help it. It's my job to worry."

He looked up and once again gave her a friendly smile. "Well, I'm not in any gang."

"That's good to know. So, do you have a girlfriend?"

Ryo gave her an awkward look. "No."

No. "How come?"

"I don't know... just been too busy, I guess."

"Oh... really?"

Silence hung in the air between the two again. Only the constant ticking of Mia's grandfather clock was the only indication that time had passed.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?" His question caught Mia off-guard.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No, still single, I'm afraid." It was her turn to look down into her teacup. Come to think of it, Mia had not had a boyfriend for almost two years now. She had been so consumed with work that she had never found the time to go out on dates.

"Oh... hmph."

"What?" she asked.

"Sure is nice to be back here again."

"What do you mean?"

"Being here. It brings back a lot of fond memories. Like coming back home or something." He gave a glance around the room as though expecting something to happen, like it would have if the other four had still lived there.

"You're right." It had been far too long since Mia had a conversation other than on the telephone in her home. It brought back the memory of the joy that was once held there. "All we need now is Kento begging Cye for another helping of food."

"And Rowan complaining about waking up too early."

She laughed. "Let's not forget about Yulie."

"Oh, that reminds me, how is Yulie? Haven't seen him in a long time."

"He's fine. In fact," she leaned back slightly in her chair for a better look at the clock, "...if you stick around for a while, you might see him."

"What do you mean?"

"He comes by every weekend to play with White Blaze; actually, he should be here right about..." the sound of the kitchen door being open echoed throughout the room, "now."

On cue, a thirteen-year-old boy entered the kitchen though the back door. "Hey, Mia, I'm here," he called while entering the room, not even bothering to look at who was at the kitchen table.

"Hello, Yulie," she cheerfully greeted the young boy.

Upon hearing his name, he returned the greeting. "Hi, Mia, guess what? I... Ryo?" For the first time after entering the house, he noticed the other guest at the Koji Manor.

"Hey, Yulie, how's it been?" he said while rising to his feet.

Yulie's eyes lit up, and for a moment Mia thought that he was going to jump on Ryo like White Blaze had, but he didn't.

"Oh, hi Ryo; all right, I guess," he replied as he walked over to exchange a handshake and hug with Ryo. Yulie had always looked up to Ryo like the older brother he never had. One might say that it appeared to be a small family reunion between the two. "Ryo, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I just had some free time on my hands, so I thought I would come over and visit Mia and White Blaze."

"Oh. Hey, White Blaze," Yulie greeted the tiger who was right next to Ryo, along with a pat on his head.

"Yulie?"

"Yeah, Mia?" he asked, turning around to face the older women.

"The soccer ball you left here last time is in the garage," she said as she began to clear the table of its utensils.

"Okay; thanks, Mia. Hey, Ryo, you want to play a game of soccer with me and White Blaze?" Yulie asked with pleading eyes.

"Well, I don't know..."

"Please!" Along with Yulie was also White Blaze's brown eyes, begging Ryo as well.

"All right, all right, I'll play with you guys. Uh, Mia...?" he asked to see if she was all right with this.

"Go right ahead; I'll have something to eat waiting for you two when you get back."

"Thanks, Mia. You're the best. Come on, Ryo," said Yulie as he nearly dragged the Warrior of Wildfire out of the kitchen door and out into the backyard.

Once again she laughed as the two boys left the kitchen. Yulie was the boy who Mia met nearly five years ago when the demon lord Talpa first came from the nether realm and tried to conquer Earth. During the confusion of the first battle the Ronin Warriors were engaged in, Yulie had been separated from his parents, and had stayed with the warriors and Mia until Talpa was finally defeated.

Though Yulie had found his parents, he still continued to visit the family he made during the dark battles. So, for the last five years, unless busy with some other activity, he always came to visit Mia and the Ronins. Even when the Ronins had moved back to their families, it seemed that he could never break the cycle of his weekly visit. Mia was grateful for this. She always enjoyed seeing her young friend, even if only for a little while.

With the dishes cleaned and dried, Mia decided to try and get some housework done before making a late lunch for the others. Housework was a neverending task. Though the amount of work had greatly decreased when the others had left, there was always something to do. From vacuuming to dusting, cleaning the Manor was a task that would never be finished.

"Okay, time to get work." And with that, she began on the first task that came to mind: laundry.

[Eienvine]

Keep up the good work! It's been a long time since I've read a good RW fic, and this one is really great. Update soon!

[GundamVixen]

I like it! I got a bit teary eyes when Mia was Reminiscing. The Ryo and Mia convo sounded just a tad bit OOC, but it's not a big deal. I really like it!!
I can tell you're a Ryo/Mia shipper lol!

I can?t wait for more!