I ran upstairs.

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

When I ripped off the wrapping paper, something shiny clattered to the floor.  I put down the rest of the package and felt around for the shiny thing.  It turned out to be a key.  I pocketed it and tore off the rest of the paper from my present.

It was an archery set…Dad had promised me that he’d get me one day.  He’d been teaching me since I was old enough to grip the bow.  I thought the set was perfect.

I carried the set downstairs and put it on the sofa.  I pulled a pixie stick from the bag, which I’d tied to one of my belt loops.  As I walked around the house, I ate one after another of the tubes of sugar.  The quiet was starting to get on my nerves.  So, I turned up Mom’s sound system on some Mozart.

Effectively hyped up on sugar, I started dancing around, conducting an invisible orchestra with yet another pixie stick.  I was halfway through Mozart’s Concerto No. 3 when I felt it.

A sort of pressure in the air.  I stopped pirouetting on the polished-slick coffee table and nearly slipped off, but instead, only landed on my butt.  As I did, the key poked me painfully.  I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at it.  My sugar-high was gone without a trace.

I decided to find the lock to match the key.  With the concerto still sounding throughout the house at full volume, I began yet another search.  I looked everywhere I could think of.

I found the safe in Mom and Dad’s room.  It was buried in the back of the closet under Dad’s old windbreaker.  I sat down on my parents’ bed with the metal box and unlocked it.  Inside was a tiny box, kinda like a jewelry case, and an envelope with my name on it.  I opened the envelope first.

In the letter, Dad encouraged me to live to my fullest.  He then told me a lot about Tenku, his yoroi.  I kept wondering why he would tell me about the yoroi but read it all anyway.  Now, every word my father had left to me was cherished.  There was also a note from Mom in the envelope.  It told me to be brave in life and always do my best.  Both articles stated my parents’ love for me repeatedly.

Setting the papers aside, I opened the jewelry box.  Resting on a pad of velvet was a little blue sphere, almost crystalline in composition.  I went to the window and held the box in the fading sunlight, trying to get a better look into the sphere’s depths.  I saw a glimpse of an inscription inside it.  I turned the sphere’s box at an angle.  The writing flashed again.

A kanji…my dad’s…

I remembered what it stood for: Life.  I gingerly touched the orb, realizing abruptly what it was.  It was the yoroi.

I was unprepared for what happened next.  The kanji ball rose out of its case, completely unaided.  I stared and dropped the box.  The sphere moved towards me.  I stepped back.  It moved forward again.

“No,” I breathed.  “I don’t want it.”  The yoroi—I could feel it—was trying to come to me.  But it was my father’s!  I didn’t want it to be mine.  Somehow, to me, that meant that Dad really was dead and I guess I didn’t want to admit to that.

The kanji orb kept coming.  I kept backing up.  “No, no, no, no, no!” I screamed at it. “I don’t want it!  Lemme alone!”  I turned and ran out of the room as fast as I could…which, I suddenly discovered, was pretty fast.

I knew it was right behind me.  I could feel it, almost like it was crying.  I sobbed at that thought and my feet faltered.  I scrambled back to my feet, running before my fingers left the floor.  I ran into the kitchen and saw that the French doors, the only other way out of the kitchen, and which I’d broken, were boarded up.  I was trapped.

The yoroi ball came through the door behind me.  I jumped into the pantry and slammed the door.  I heard a solid thwunk and then, I could see the blue glimmer through the crack at the bottom of the door.  “Go away!” I sobbed and stuffed the crack with a cloth bag.

Now, I was in complete darkness.  I curled up under then lowest shelf in the pantry, sobbing, as the sphere was still crying.  “Please, go away…I don’t want it, I don’t want it…Nether Realms, I don’t want it.”

I covered my ears against the sound of the orb bumping the door and shut my eyes tight.  I don’t remember anything beyond that for a while.

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

“Dad, can’t we go a little faster?”

“No.  I’m going over 90,” Sage told his son.

Rusty fidgeted and looked out the window again.  “But what if she’s hurt herself?”

Sage didn’t answer but his face was grim and his hands clenched the steering wheel so tightly that they turned white.

It was 9:31 p.m. and Sage had only gotten home 5 minutes ago.  He’d found his wife and son rushing about the house and Ben yanking his jacket on.  Apparently, Ben had drifted off while watching Lessa sometime around 5 o’clock, and now she was nowhere to be found.  Sage and Rusty had gotten in the car and headed for the Hashiba house.  Ben and Maya had begun searching around the Date home.

“What if she’s not there?”

Sage glanced at Rusty.  “I’m pretty sure that’s where she’ll be.  For some reason, it just feels like that’s where she is.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh.”

The clock on the dashboard turned to 9:32.  Sage looked at the empty road ahead and floored the accelerator.

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

The moment his father swung the car into the drive, Rusty jumped out.  He ran for the front door and yanked at the doorknob.  “Dad!  Keys!”

Sage, not far behind, called, “In the flower pot to your right!”

Rusty found the keys and unlocked the door.  He burst through and was assaulted by a pounding onslaught of classical music.  He slapped his hands over his ears reflexively and looked about for the source of the sound.  A big sound system in the corner of the den was issuing the music forth.  Rusty turned it off.

Sage was at the open door of Rowen’s old study.  “Go look in the bedrooms, Rusty,” he said.  He headed for the computer, which was spilling a blue glow onto the floor.  He read the birthday message and headed upstairs.

Rusty, meanwhile, had found the letters on Rowen and Allie’s bed and the jewelry case on the floor.  He took both and went back to the den.  “Dad?” he called.

“Here.”  Sage was coming down the stairs.  Behind Rusty, on the sofa, he could see an archery set.  “What did you find?”

“These.”  The teen handed him the papers and the box.  “But I didn’t find Lessa…Dad, what if—what if she…”

“Rusty, don’t think about that.  Be quiet and listen.  Maybe we’ll hear something.”

So they were silent.

Then, there was a soft thud.  And another.  And another.

“The kitchen,” said Rusty and ran for the door to that room.

But in the kitchen, there was no trace of the thudding sound.  Sage entered behind his son, who was standing bewildered in the middle of the room.  “I was sure it came from here,” Rusty mumbled.  “Hey…what’s that?”

He pointed at a strange little crystal ball rolled up against the pantry door.  Sage’s eyes widened.  He picked up the little orb respectfully and tears came to his eyes.  “Rowen’s,” he choked.

Rusty was still listening intently.  Abruptly, he swung the pantry door open.

“No!” the hunched figure inside cried out.  She was scrunched up into a ball, her hands over her ears, her eyes shut tight, and she was sobbing and screaming now.  “I don’t want it, please, no…go away…no, no, no, no, no, no, no!  Leave me alone…Daddy…oh gods, oh God, please…I don’t want it!”

Rusty had to get down on his hands and knees to pull Lessa out form beneath the lowest shelf.  At first, she tried to fight him away and screamed like he was burning her.  Then she actually looked at him, recognized him, and let herself collapse, crying shamelessly.

Rusty pulled her into his arms and held her to him.  He stroked the back of her head and rocked back and forth like a mother with a frightened child.  He murmured comforting sounds—he could think of no words to console her.  She just sobbed into his shirt.

Helplessly, Rusty looked up at his father.  Sage’s face was deathly pale.  The letters were in his hand.  “The yoroi…” he breathed.

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

“What’s wrong?” whispered Rusty.

They were on their way home.  Rusty was sitting in the back seat of the car, Lessa halfway on his lap.  They’d never managed to get her to let go of him so they’d waited till she cried herself to sleep and then carried her out to the car.  They were trying hard not to wake her up.

Sage glanced at his son in the rearview mirror.  “The letter Rowen left for Lessa,” he said quietly, “was encoded.”

“When we were in high school, Ryo and Cye got in trouble once for talking in class.  So, they passed notes instead.  One of their classmates got hold of one note and humiliated them.  Rowen came up with a code so we could pass notes without needing to worry about someone reading them.”

“I follow you so far,” Rusty said.

“Well, all you did was write a harmless letter or note and write the code in as you went.  People saw a normal letter, but if you knew Rowen’s code, you saw another note among the other words…”

“So, that letter Rowen left for Lessa used that code?”

“Yes.  He wrote the regular letter for Lessa…but the coded message was for me and the other Ronin.”

“And?”

Sage looked down at the jewelry box on the seat.  “And Lessa doesn’t want it.”

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

I couldn’t talk.  My voice was gone.  I’d screamed and cried so much the day before that I’d gone hoarse and couldn’t get much sound out.  So, I wasn’t able to participate in any conversation that morning.

It was the day after my birthday and I’d decided to join the others for breakfast.  They’d seemed surprised when I walked in the dining room and sat down at the table next to Rusty.

“How’re you feeling, Les?” Rusty asked.

I couldn’t help it.  I grinned.  I would’ve laughed, but that’s kind of hard when you don’t have a voice.  So, I pointed at my throat and mouthed, I can’t talk.

Rusty smiled and laughed.  Sage gave me one of those soft smiles.  Maya looked very pleased.

I was hungry.  I tapped Rusty’s arm and pointed at the bacon, which was out of my reach.  “Pass the bacon, please,” he said for me.  From then on, Rusty was my translator.

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

“Why don’t you take Les out for her birthday?”

“That was yesterday.”  Rusty looked at his father curiously.

“So?  I doubt you could call yesterday much of a birthday.  She certainly didn’t have much fun.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Lessa had been asleep on the couch, but she woke up then.  She mouthed something at Rusty, her expression sarcastically angry.  Rusty laughed.  “She says ‘Don’t I have a say in this?’” he said for her.

Sage put his arm around the girl’s shoulders.  “You could go pick up Ben and the twins and go see a movie or something.  It’ll be on me.”

Lessa nodded and smiled.  Sage gave her a hug and walked off to the kitchen, where Maya was making phone calls for him.

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

Rusty watched his cousin stoking her bow.  She looked so different from the girl who’d tried to kill herself only about a week before.  Lessa lovingly caressed every inch of the weapon, which she’d insisted on bringing along.

“Lessa?”

She looked up at him with a smile.

“What…um…what happened yesterday?”

Her face went blank, sending a chill up his spine.  That’s what she’d looked like when she got out of the hospital.

Her face went blank, sending a chill up his spine.  That’s what she’d looked like when she got out of the hospital.

She had regained some of her voice and she said quietly, “I don’t want to talk about it.  The only thing important…is that I’ve let Mom and Dad go.”

Rusty grabbed her hand and held it tight.  Lessa smiled softly.  Peering out from beneath her black bangs, her eyes, though cheerful and grateful, still held sorrow in their depths.  “I’m fine,” she said.

He just smiled.

“Okay, guys,” a voice suddenly startled them.  “Sori’s either gonna be another ten minutes, come out right now…or we could leave without him,” suggested Kyri, smiling wickedly as she leaned through Lessa’s window.

“Don’t you dare!” shouted Kyri’s twin as he slammed the door behind him.  Sori stormed down the Mouri house’s front steps.

“Kyri, quick!” Lessa croaked and swung open the car door.  Kyri jumped in and they locked the doors.  Kyri’s elbow bumped Rusty’s head.

“Ow!”

Lessa yanked the car about and sped out of the drive.  “OW!!!” Rusty repeated as he was accidentally slapped.  Lessa and Kyri laughed.  Sori was running behind the car, obviously furious.

“I thought Ryo and Dad taught you how to drive!” laughed Kyri.

“So?  I am my father’s daughter, dammit, and I’ll drive like him if I want to!” Lessa replied.  Her voice was coming back.  At this comment, Rusty looked a bit nervous.  But his cousin was smiling and laughing.

Behind them, Sori finally gave up and sat down in the middle of the road.  Lessa stopped the car and put it in reverse.  When they were alongside the angry boy, she leaned out the open window and said, “Okay, you can get in now.  Don’t take so long next time, though.”

Sori got in back and grabbed Kyri by the shoulders, dragging her over the seat into the back with him.  “I didn’t take a long time!”

“Did too.  We were waiting for at least ten minutes,” exclaimed Kyri, setting herself to rights.  “And don’t drag me over the seat like that!”

“Don’t drag me over the seat like that!” Sori mocked.  Kyri punched him.  “Owww…” He punched her back.

“Okay, you two, break it up…Netherhells, I sound like your father,” laughed Lessa.

“Oh, great!  Two Dads.  Just what we need,” chorused the twins.

Rusty glanced back at them.  “Okay, that’s just weird,” he said.

Lessa just laughed.

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

“Ben, they’re here!” Judah bellowed over the din.  “Rinfi, put that down!”  She glared at the 6 year old, who was holding a glass pitcher.

“Bye, Ma,” said Ben and kissed his mother’s cheek as he tried to get to the door.  A little girl, around 7 years old, hung on his back with her arms around his neck.

“Tess, let go of your brother,” ordered Judah.  Tess stuck out her tongue and ran off with Rinfi.

“Oh, wait a second, Ben…”

Ben halted.  He could hardly hear what else his mother said.  “I can’t hear you!” he shouted over the music that was blaring through the house.

“Lily!” shouted Judah.  “Turn down that music and come here!”

The music died down and then the sound of feet sliding across a wood floor was heard.  “What?” the 15-year-old girl asked.

Ben, could you see if Lily can go with you?”

“Ma!” both teens exclaimed.

“Sorry, but I don’t know what else to do with you,” said the tired woman.  “Your father is going to be gone today and I need to take Tess and Rinfi shopping.  I thought you’d like to go to the movies with Lessa and Rusty and Ben and twins.”

“Oh, fine,” growled Lily.

“I’ll go check,” said Ben quietly.

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

“White?  Why white?” I asked, trying not to stare.

Lily was sandwiched between Ben and Kyri in the back seat.  Sori was squashed against the door.  I was glancing in the rearview mirror.  Ben was smiling at my expression and Sori and Kyri were laughing their heads off.  Rusty was trying to sleep.  Lily was looking pleased with my shock.

Lily’s hair was white.

“I like it this way,” she responded simply.

“But…didn’t your mother freak?” I couldn’t quite believe that Aunt Judah would’ve been so lax.

“Yeah.  She’s getting used to it, though.”

I glanced back out her again, still incredulous.  “White?”

Lily mimicked my tone.  “Blue?”

At that moment, something changed inside me.

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

“See you guys later!” I called to the others.

We were at the mall.  We’d already seen the movie and eaten at a Japanese restaurant.  Now, we were splitting up to hang out in various places.  The twins were headed for the arcades, of course.  Rusty and Ben had mentioned something about a weapon-oriented store.  Lily was with me.

As the others left our sight, Rusty glancing back at me a few times, Lily asked, “You sure you want to do this?”

I pulled at a wisp of my hair, yanking it out.  It was black and soft and so much like my mother’s.  “Yes,” I told her.

“Okay, then let’s go.  The salon closes in two hours.”  And she led the way through the mall.

Both my hands were holding things.  My right one held that wisp of hair.  My left was in my jacket pocket, and it was holding something smooth and light yet heavy and round.