Of all the Friday the Thirteenths I've ever had, that one was the worst, hands down. That day's always had a bad rep in the U.S., but I didn't expect that one to outdo 'em all. 

First was the weather. Everything was coated over in ice and the morning was dreary, nasty, bitter, whatever you want to call a really wretched winter day. I almost didn't come to school, but I didn't want to get an unexcused absence; I was still proceeding on American school-system rules, where three unexcused absences earn you an automatic failure for the year- unless your parents intervene with a helluva good excuse. I also told myself that since we were starting two hours late, the day would go faster, which turned out to be totally not true.

I still don't know why I brought up the question about flowers during lunch. I had been meaning to ask about it, but there's no denying it was kinda odd timing. And I don't know what made it so imperative to visit the Date garden that day. At the time, it was just an idea that was interesting, as opposed to the rest of the day, which had been mind-boggingly boring. So I pounced on it. To his credit, Sage seemed as interested as I was and didn't give me the feeling I was making a pushy and unwelcome guest of myself. I did spend a few moments speculating what would happen if his grandfather got wind of my visit, but that didn't really trouble me long. It wasn't gonna happen.

I was right about that, at any rate.

The Date garden itself was as bare and depressing as I had expected, which made the rose house all the prettier. Mind you, I'm not a major flower-child or anything, but it was so good to see color and growing things. It was like a little piece of springtime. It would have been even nicer if the sun was out, but of course there was nothing anyone could do about that. And even without sunshine, it was warm enough in there to sit on the edge of the fountain and watch the fish (just like Sage had said) without going numb, so I did that for a while, thinking what a good thing it is that I don't have pollen allergies!

My first hint that something wasn't right was the distant sound of clanging- metal on metal. I couldn't figure out what it was; it didn't sound like a gong, and I didn't think it was the noise of swords clashing. It seemed more like the noise a blacksmith would make, banging on his anvil. So, being naturally curious, I got up and slipped out through the garden, following the sound back towards the house. It was coming from the practice room, and I had just about decided it must be some part of sword-training when the sound stopped. I edged back behind a large tree, just in case, and sure enough, the door opened and a tall man came storming out. 

General Date- it couldn't be anyone else- was a surprise. For one thing, he was wearing slacks and a sport-coat, and from what Sage had said, one didn't wear regular clothes in the practice room. For another thing, the General himself did not resemble the 'old man' I had envisioned him as in any respect. I'd pictured him as a dried-up little wisp of a man, going bald and beard-y, wrinkled, maybe wearing glasses, walking with stooped back and bandy legs. This man was tall, straight, almost distinguished-looking- or would've been, if he hadn't been wearing such a nasty expression. 

Fortunately, he didn't see me skulking beside one of his cedar trees, and soon disappeared around the corner of the house. I figured he'd gone inside and wondered what to do. The enraged expression on his face made me worried for Sage, but I wasn't sure whether I should try to check on him or not. If the General had just gone to change his clothes and meant to come back, I'd likely be caught, and that wouldn't improve his mood. And if the practice was already over, Sage would surely be out in a minute or two... I was still weighing the matter when I heard a car start and zoom off down the gravel driveway at a surprisingly high speed. That made it easy and I jogged over to the practice room to ask Sage what all that had been about. 

My first thought when I walked in and saw Sage lying on his side on the floor was, 'He can't be sleeping...in this weather?' My second thought- after seeing the blood on the tatami- was not too coherent but the word 'dead' figured prominantly. He wasn't, but he was very badly hurt and hypothermic. I knew he needed medical help right away, so it was something of a shock to me to find myself almost automatically obeying his feeble order to get him some charm or other from his room. I ran into the house figuring I'd call emergency first and bring him the ball second, and the only reason I didn't was because I couldn't find a damn phone. So, for whatever it was worth, I did what he wanted: opened doors until I found his room, found the green-glass orb, brought it back to him- and watched in shock as a sword as tall as me materialized out of nowhere. 

At that point I discarded logical expectations completely and simply helped Sage hold the sword against his body so it could envelope him in green light, wondering all the while what in the hell was going on. (I'd love to say I immediately recognized the similarity with my own Inochi orb, but I I hadn't thought about Inochi for weeks, so I didn't. Just as well; I needed my mind on what was going on, not wrapped up in useless speculations.) I got the general idea when he quit spitting blood, but since he didn't stop shivering, I figured cold didn't classify as an injury, therefore couldn't be healed, which meant I'd better get him inside quickly. 

Getting him inside was not terribly difficult, but getting up the stairs took a lot more effort, and in honesty, that was part of the reason why I stuck around once I'd gotten him onto his bed and covered up. I'd intended to leave, but you just can't leave an unconscious friend like that, no matter how spooked you are by the things that are happening around them and to them. Not if you have any kind of a conscience, and especially not if you're totally winded from lugging 'em up a steep flight of steps. And I certainly couldn't leave after he woke up- not when he was far more freaked about the whole thing than I was. That was perfectly understandable: he'd been beaten to within an inch of his life and left to freeze, and had to rely on some very strange magic and me to help him. It was a very troubling thought and I couldn't seem to shake it out of my head as I sat beside him. 

The next totally unexpected thing was Ryo showing up an hour or so later- scared the willies out of both of us in the process, but it was definitely the brightest spot of the day. I was also somewhat surprised to hear myself suggesting that they come stay the night with me instead of trying to get back to Azu; it was a good idea and perfectly logical, but I really hadn't expected to do that. In fact, there was so much freaky stuff going on by then that a good part of me wanted nothing more than to get the hell away from it- and there I was inviting it home with me. I rationalized with the thought that at least this way I could ask them to explain instead of puzzling my head about it all night. Then I put everything on hold to lead the way through the sleet-storm to my parents' apartment. 

When we got there, Sage pretty much collapsed on the sofa. I didn't even get a chance to start the tea or heat up the soup I'd promised him before he was out like the proverbial light. Ryo settled himself on the floor beside the sofa, leaning on the arm of it and focusing on Sage to the exclusion of all else; I flopped down in one of the armchairs and stayed there with my eyes shut for quite a long time. 'Disoriented' is the least of words to describe how I was feeling: I was scared, mad- well, most of the major emotions, in fact. So I sat there working them out and got through fear for Sage, fury at his grandfather, a seriously urgent need to get out of that house before the General got back, astonishment at Ryo's appearance, and relief at getting home. That left me with a nagging unease about that green orb, intense curiosity, basic bewilderment, and something that's hard to describe: a mix of resentful relief and jealousy for Ryo's totally unexpected arrival. 

I was very glad Ryo had showed up. Make no mistake about that. I had been beyond glad to see him, and not just because it turned out to be him rather than the general. It had surprised the heck out of me, but it had also given me a real boost, like everything was under control now. But at the same time, I'd resented that feeling. It made me feel...I dunno, incompetant somehow. Like Fate had said, 'Oh, he can't handle it, better send Ryo in to take charge.' And Ryo himself hadn't helped matters, what with saying stuff like I won't let him hurt you again. Sage hadn't helped matters either: the minute Ryo walked in, Sage's eyes were practically riveted to him. Hell; Sage was practically riveted to him. The mitigating point was that Sage'd had the grace to acknowledge what I'd done for him, and Ryo had more or less praised me for it. Praise wasn't what I was looking for, but it helped some.

The jealousy- that was simpler. Granted I hadn't been through the sheer terror and pain that Sage had, but it had not been a pleasant day for me, either. I needed some reassuring- needed someone to acknowledge that I'd seen some pretty awful and frightening things, allow that it was all right for me to be scared and shaken and horrified. So watching Ryo hover over Sage- who was sound asleep and totally oblivious- like a hen with one chick was just a little hard to take. If he was really so determined to comfort somebody, he could just turn a one-eighty and pay a little attention to me...

I've always had a reputation for being too detached and logical, for shutting off my feelings, seeing only the facts and reacting to those instead. That's only half right. I don't 'shut off' my feelings- they aren't like a dripping faucet that you can adjust so it doesn't leak anymore. I feel things as much as anyone else; what I don't do is talk about them. Dealing with the facts and ignoring the emotions behind them is how I keep from busting out my feelings all over the place- like a safety-valve or a circuit-breaker. But that habit, meant to keep me from overloading over things I didn't feel comfortable talking about, was how I got nicknamed 'the walking supercomputer' and it's probably why everyone started treating me like one. And it didn't help that I'd never really picked up the knack of making friends. Most people just weren't interested in the things I was, so talking about them got me the 'boring' label- until exam time started looming and everyone needed the super-tutor's help. The end result was that I pretty much gave up on socializing entirely; and forget anything as delicate and daring as actually telling someone how I honestly felt. 

All of which is my way of explaining why I didn't get Ryo's attention and tell him how conflicted and strung-out and damned well useless I was feeling. It was one thing to overhear him and Sage talking in the hall and join in with a few relevant facts of my own- not to mention offering some logical solutions. It was a totally other thing to contemplate spilling out a bunch of random, intense emotional reactions to someone who wasn't paying me one bit of attention- and therefore could safely be described as 'not interested'. I have my pride, and I wasn't going to risk getting condescended to or casually dismissed.

In my own defense, it hadn't occurred to me that sometimes I might have to do the approaching, instead of expecting to be the one approached all the time-

Okay, that sounds bad. What I mean is, sometimes instead of waiting for people to notice that you're quietly freaking out, you have to bring their attention to the fact. Especially if you're being quiet about it. Not knowing what was accepted or expected in a friendship, I drew my own (erronous) conclusions, didn't like them, and clammed up in resentment. And got even more offended when Ryo didn't notice how quiet I was. Logically speaking, being quiet made perfect sense; Sage was asleep and talking might disturb him. I, however, chose to take it as Ryo's single-minded focus on the person most important to him, and sulked. Quietly. 

Quiet describes the rest of the night reasonably well. After a while, I got up and made something to eat, automatically reminding myself to triple the portion. I brought Ryo some; he thanked me and asked if it was okay to eat at the coffee table- near Sage. I nodded; I frequently ate there myself when I was alone. We talked a little while we ate, discussing homework, speculating about the probable lack of school in the morning, and listening to the gusts of sleet battering the windows. After we were done, I cleaned up, then buried my nose in homework, foregoing the TV. The rest of the evening was silent until about ten-thirty, when I started to notice how tired I was. I put my book away and did my host-duty by showing Ryo the bathroom and my parents' bedroom (custom in Japan is to give up the best bedroom if you don't already have a guestroom). Then I made sure the front door was locked and bolted and told Ryo I was going to turn in. 

"I'll probably just grab a blanket and pillow and sleep out here, if that's all right with you," he murmured, glancing over his shoulder at Sage. 

"Fine," I replied- that, I had expected!- and turned to go down the hall to my room. 

I had just flicked on my light when Ryo spoke again from behind me, asking, "Rowen? Are you okay?"

"What? No. Should I be?" I retorted crossly, and started as he took hold of my shoulder and pulled me around. 

"Are you- I guess you're upset about Sage?" he offered, sounding puzzled.

"This just occurred to you?" I inquired sarcastically. 

"Why didn't you say something? I thought-" Now he looked a little indignant, a look I recognized too well.

"Why didn't you notice?" I interrupted. "Or are you immune to how it feels to walk into a room and find someone bleeding on the floor? Done it often, have you?"

"What? No, of course I haven't- I know it's-"

"No? Well that's odd, given his reaction- and your own- I woulda thought you'd done it at least a dozen times." I managed to keep my voice low, but I didn't try to keep the venom out of my words. 

"Reaction? What're you- I only- he needed- " Ryo stopped and a new expression crossed his face. Realization. "You- Rowen! Don't tell me you're-"

"You're damn right, I am," I broke in, knowing what he was about to say. In a way, I was glad to get it out, since I had promised to tell him if/when I ever got jealous again. But I was also pretty angry about having given the fact away before I was ready to. It made my already strained mood that much worse; I like to choose who and when I'll confide in, not have someone guess it and force me to acknowledge it. "You've provided me with some really grand reasons to be jealous tonight...friend." I shook off his hand and turned to go into my room, then spun back and pointed at him. "You... weren't... there!" I hissed, cryptic as any native-born Japanese, and before he could answer I had the door shut- quietly- and sank down on my bed, shaking. 

'No, you weren't there,' I thought savagely. 'You didn't see it, hear it, deal with it. You didn't help him. You didn't save his life! But the minute you walk into his room, it's Ignore Rowen, comfort Sage. Tell him he'll be fine; tell him you won't ever let anything like it happen again. He's safe, now that you're there. And the worst of it,' I concluded, flopping down on my back and staring up at the ceiling, 'the worst is, Sage believed it. It's what he wanted to hear. He didn't want me there; he wanted you.'

It was about then that I started wondering what was really between them, and that speculation added to my others kept me awake most of the night. I did spend some time trying to read myself out of my funk- my anger wore off pretty fast, as it tends to, but the depression remained- without success. 

The next morning was pretty lousy, both in the apartment and outside of it. The weather remained miserable, and I was pretty miserable myself. I would almost have welcomed the chance to go to school, even alone- for it was a good bet Ryo wouldn't leave Sage by himself, despite his visible improvement- but the school system thwarted me by closing down for the day. My friends were both subdued, too; Sage was still tired and a little jumpy; Ryo was withdrawn and looked like he hadn't slept any better than I had. He offered to help me fix breakfast, which softened my mood a bit, but I declined on the grounds that he didn't know where anything was and it'd be faster for me to just do it myself. "And breakfast is not something one wants delayed," I added, for Sage's sake. I wasn't about to discuss my feelings around him. Even if I had felt like doing so, I didn't know how he'd take it and I did not want to upset him. 

They both insisted on helping me with the cleaning up, and then I retreated to my room while they worked on their homework in the living room. I wasn't in any mood to read, so I sat listening to music and practicing my kanji. Writing kanji is an art, and I was determined to improve my characters from 'toddler scribble' to at least 'elementary' level. I got pretty absorbed in what I was doing, so when someone tapped my shoulder, I nearly knocked my chair over backwards in shock. Fortunately, someone grabbed it and saved me from a painful fall, and when I turned around, Sage was standing behind me. "I'm sorry," he said when I pulled off my headphones. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Well, you got my pulse up good," I remarked. "What's up?"

"Aside from your pulse?" he replied with a faint smile. "I- was thinking...there's some explanations due. I'm sure you've got a lot of questions about- what happened yesterday." 

I looked at him warily, wondering exactly what 'happenings' he meant. To begin with, I wasn't altogether certain I wanted to know, but I also hadn't wanted to ask any awkward or inconvenient questions until I knew where Ryo was in the equation. "I'm not sure it's my business," I replied after a moment, politely indicating that if he didn't want to talk about it, he need not. 

"You were there," he replied, shocking me momentarily- had Ryo told him-? "That makes it your business." He glanced at my unmade bed. "Will it be all right if I sit down?"

"Sure," I agreed, turned in my chair to face him as he sat heavily on the edge of the bed, and resigned myself to hearing what he had to tell me. Which was plenty.

Somewhere in the recitation of a world of demons, a particular demon who had broken through to Japan intending to conquer the Earth ("There's a lot of demons in folklore, but those all get summoned to Earth by various idiots. This one didn't wait to be invited, just showed up on his own."), a 'mystic' ("Something like a magician, only they use mind powers.") who banished it, and the armor this magician had created to protect the world from future invasion.... somewhere in there, I noticed Ryo had come to stand in the doorway and was leaning against the frame, his arms folded and his eyes on the floor. It made it a little hard to concentrate on what Sage was saying, but I narrowed my focus and made myself pay attention. 

Sage eventually wound up his explanations with the fact that this 'dynasty' of evil was bound to rise again soon, and the rueful remark: "But we don't know when. In fact, there's more things we don't know than we do know."

"And...no one can tell you?" I asked, wondering exactly why he had told me this and what it had to do with the previous day. It didn't occur to me to doubt that what he was telling me was true, thanks to the events of the previous night. Clearly, there was a lot more to 'magic' than I had thought... and suddenly, an unwelcome memory started to nag at me. 

Sage was shaking his head. "It all happened back in the Time of Warring States, so sources are pretty limited. There are a few books that do mention the armor, but they all stop at the fact that the warrior-monk created it- there's nothing about who he gave it to or how it worked. We're not sure if that means it's been used but never documented, or if it just hasn't been used at all until now."

Until now? I frowned, my gaze drifting to my closet. The door was partly open, and I could see a corner of the box on the top shelf. The box that I had left Inochi in. Inochi. A glowing ball that summoned armor and...and did other, more magical things. This was not encouraging. "So- you're saying that that sword is- is part of your armor?" I asked hesitantly, looking back at Sage. "You're- if the demon comes back-?"

"That's right." Sage looked wearily amused. "Though it's more a matter of when than if."

"You didn't mention that part," I felt compelled to point out, trying not to sound irritated. "You said there were five armors, but you didn't say one of them belonged to you."

"Oh...I didn't? I guess I talked around it," he murmured, blinking. Ryo, still standing in the doorway, made a wry face. "Yes, that's what I mean. And that's what's behind this," he added, holding up the green orb. "I used some of the power in the armor to heal myself. But I couldn't...couldn't connect with it until I had the orb. I could have called the entire armor, but I didn't need it all, and it takes energy to do that..."

"I see," I replied quietly, ill at ease. In spite of myself, my gaze went back to the closet, to the box there. Sage didn't know it, but he'd just confirmed my creepy suspicion that his green orb and my blue one had something to do with each other. Apparently, when- if- the demon ever showed up again... I shoved the thought and all its implications aside and tried to shift the subject slightly. It wasn't easy to keep my voice casual and calm; my hands were cold and my heart was pounding with fear and dismay. I didn't want to fight a demon! Any demon, ever! And even if I had wanted to, I wouldn't have wanted to use that dratted ball to do it! "I wondered about it, but I didn't like to ask." Now I glanced over at Ryo, surreptitiously rubbing my hands on my jeans to warm them. "Didn't want to maybe talk out of turn." 

Ryo smiled. "That was good thinking. We're really not supposed to talk about it- or, well, we're not forbidden to, but it makes us look less crazy if we keep it private. And it's probably a lot safer." 

"Safer?" I questioned, shifting on my chair so I wasn't looking at the closet anymore. "You don't have to hold the door up, you know, it does fine on its own...you can sit down if you want."

Ryo's smile widened and he came to sit on the foot of my bed. "Safer, yeah," he repeated, flicking his hair back over his shoulders. "Because- well- first of all, you don't want your friends being at risk. See, if no one knows who we are, the Dynasty doesn't know who's close to us and can't use them as hostages, to make us submit."

"Oh!" I felt fairly stupid for not seeing that; it was one reason why I hadn't told my parents about Inochi. Not wanting to get them involved. My preoccupation... well, fear... was clouding my logical thought process. 

"And it's just safer in general if lots of people don't know, because then we avoid a lot of attention. Positive and negative."

"And controversy," Sage put in. "People wondering if it's a hoax; people figuring it's all a publicity stunt; people who think they should have the job..."

"Yyyeaah," I said slowly. "Especially since you don't know as much about it as you'd like. Kinda makes it hard to prove anything." I looked at Ryo again. "I gather you're in on this, too, and not just as support crew?"

Ryo hesitated, then nodded. "I guess my 'we' gave me away... Yes, my element is fire and the virtue of the wildfire armor is jin. It-"

"Er, what?" I interrupted, trying to control a shiver. Elements. That clinched it. I strangled my urge to get up and hurry out of the room; after all, they were telling me what I'd been so curious about. And maybe they'd mention how to control it... Besides, if I ran out of the room, they'd know something was majorly wrong. 

"When the mystic formed them," Sage said patiently, "he did so by using the power of the five elements, and the strength of five virtues. He put one virtue and one element into each armor. So Kourin, Light, has the virtue of wisdom, and Rekka, Wildfire, has jin." He nodded at Ryo.

Air...and life? Was Life a virtue? "Does it make you wiser?" I ventured. 

"I haven't tried that yet," Sage smiled. "I'm still learning to summon it, and to use the sword. Once I can do that, I'll see what's up with the wisdom part." He paused, then added to Ryo, "But you don't have any problem being jin, do you?"

Ryo seemed to blush. "I dunno. Does stubborn jin with a bad temper count?" he asked, laughing a little, and the two of them traded an affectionate look. I smiled, but it faded as a new realization came to me. The two of them- their friendship- I had been right. They shared something with each other that no outsider could hope to match; a secret, a fate. Sure, I ranked high, high enough to be told the secret, but that just underscored the fact that I was an outsider: allowed to observe what they shared, but unable to share it myself.

Inochi. If I brought down the box, showed them the blue glass ball... Inochi could be my pass into their exclusive friendship...

No. There was no way I was going to let that damned orb take charge of my life. Not even for unconditional acceptance from the two friends I had come to respect and admire so much. Besides, it didn't work that way, having a pass didn't mean you were automatically entitled to all the perks. I'd still just be me, the third wheel. 

"Well, it makes a certain amount of sense now," I observed, and my friends looked over at me. "So...getting back to more ordinary things: what next?"

Ryo and Sage looked at each other again. "You're not going back there," Ryo stated, his voice dark with anger.

"I don't want to," Sage agreed hesitantly, lowering his gaze. "But- I can't go back to Sendai, either. She wouldn't believe me, and she'd probably call him to come fetch me..." He trailed off with a shrug that might have been indifferent, if he hadn't shivered right after. 

I wondered who 'she' was. His mother, in all likelihood. And thinking of mothers- "I'd offer you to stay here," I said sheepishly and Ryo glanced at me. "But my mom- my parents wouldn't be exactly, um, supportive."

Sage looked over too, his expression falling a little more. "I appreciate the thought, even so," he murmured. 

"Well, that settles it then. You'll come home with me," Ryo said firmly. "And this time, you'll stay there."

If there was ever a time to say someone's face lit up, Sage's did then. He sat up straight, his eyes shining even as he started to protest. "Niichan- Ryo- I- I shouldn't-"

"Of course you should. You'll be safe, I'll have some company for a change, no one will fuss, and I can finally train you properly," Ryo overrode, with the air of one who has solved all the problems with a single stroke. And it seemed he had, for after that one token protest and adamant reply, Sage said nothing more, just sat and glowed. Figuratively, of course. 

My reaction, peculiarly enough, was a wave of sheer relief. If they hadn't told me about their armor, their mission, I probably would have been unhappy and jealous. Even as it was, I couldn't help envying Sage a little. The two of them would be spending a whole lot of time together- and less of it with me. But in light of what they had just told me, the notion of putting some distance between them and myself seemed like a fine idea. The more distance, the better, in fact. It didn't seem like a very nice thing to say, though, so I didn't. I sat quietly while Sage and Ryo decided to return to General Date's house and gather up the few things Sage wanted from there, thinking how odd it was that one's feelings could change so quickly and decisively within a very short span of time. Even my (theoretically justified) jealousy from the previous night had pretty much gone. Let Ryo take care of Sage, let them spend all their time together. Just so they left me safely out of it all!

Then again, perhaps I should tell them- and hand Inochi over to them? Maybe they'd be able to find someone else to hang on to the dang thing. Someone who actually wanted it. That was an encouraging thought, and my mood lightened a bit.

"Clothes, mainly," I heard Sage say ruefully, and refocused on their conversation. "There's not much else there I value." I remembered his bedroom- the futon lying on the bare floor, covered with the dull gray blanket; the equally bare walls and uncurtained window; the three-shelf bookcase; the ancient desk and chair- and knew what he meant. Depressingly impersonal, a place for sleeping and studying, but never a refuge.

"Do you have anything to put them in?" I asked, shaking off the memory. "I mean, does he- does he let you have a bag or suitcase or whatever?" I was making a mess of it, but Sage understood what I was getting at. 

"I have the bag I brought with me from Sendai...but I was younger and didn't have as much. And smaller, too," he added with an unusual touch of light-heartedness. 

The upshot of that was me digging one of my suitcases out from under my parents' bed. Then there was another discussion about when would be a good time to go over to the house and fetch the stuff- good as in, the best time to avoid the old man. Sage knew his grandfather's schedule inside and out, but he had to admit that the events of the previous day might have made some significant changes to the routine. He also admitted he was concerned that the man might have informed the police that he'd gone missing- yeah, it took me a minute to figure that one out, too!- but Ryo pointed out that, considering the circumstances, the General wasn't likely to have contacted any authorities.

"Why not?" I asked, surprised that he took that view. "He doesn't have to tell them he was involved. In fact, it would be a pretty good way for him to get the heat off himself." I paused as Ryo turned sharply to scowl at me. "Well, all he has to tell the police is that Sage is missing. It wouldn't matter if he got found in not-very-good shape, because obviously whatever happened, happened after he left the house. Or so the General can claim."

"Oh." Sage sighed and leaned back across the bed. "Like I ran into a street gang, maybe, and they mugged me..."

"Right." I shrugged. 

Ryo continued to glower- not at me, I knew, but it was still a daunting look- then turned back to Sage, who had just closed his eyes. "Would he tell that kind of lie? He's supposed to be bushido- I know his honor isn't what it should be for one who follows the Way, but a complete untruth?"

"His honor is..." Sage trailed off, shaking his head. "It varies according to circumstances. And he sees me as dishonorable, so maybe lying about me wouldn't feel dishonorable to him."

That one was a bit too deep for me, but Ryo seemed to understand, if his sharp nod was any indication. "So the police just might be looking for you. In that case, we should wait until it's dark." 

I blinked at the sudden topic-shift; Sage nodded agreement, and no one said anything more for a long time. I became aware of the clock ticking on my desk- it's a very loud clock- and turned in my chair to look out the window. The clouds seemed to be clearing slightly, not revealing any sky, but not so dark and threatening. The glass was icy cold under my hand, though, and I doubted the temperature had risen. If anything, with the cloud cover thinning, it would probably get colder. I turned back again and regarded my companions. Ryo had placed one heel against the mattress, his right elbow was cocked across his knee and his weight resting on his left hand. Sage was still lying on his back, eyes open again, staring at the ceiling, perhaps wondering why I had stuck a poster of the galaxy up there. I tried to keep my eyes off my closet, failed, and dealt with it by closing them. But that just made matters worse; there were too many things I was trying not to think about.