***
There were definitely no tracks leading out of the water.
"No." Rowan insisted, shaking his head and stepping away from the others. "No." He repeated. "Sai wouldn't do something like that."
"Rowan," Ryo tried to console his friend.
"No! I'm not going to believe it!"
Seiji grabbed Rowan's shoulder, span him, then slapped his face. "You're getting hysterical."
Rowan glared at all of them. "I AM NOT! Sai's not stupid! He knows how important he is to saving the world! How important he is to us! He would NOT do THAT!"
"At least he *would* have known how important he is to us," Kento murmured. "If we hadn't always been acting like total jerks. I know if you guys all decided to constantly take big chunks out of me, I'd sure feel pretty damn unimportant."
They were all quiet. Rowan paced nervously.
"What if he really couldn't take it any more?" Ryo asked quietly, eyes wide, looking towards the lagoon. "What if he really did-"
"He's not dead okay!" Rowan insisted angrily. "I know it!"
"How would you know it, hmmm?" Ryo snapped. "As soon as he left the manor the link was cut!"
Rowan glared back accusingly. "Maybe from you, which I really don't blame him for, but not from me. Not completely. I know he's alive. I know he's here somewhere. And if he's alive then we can't give up!"
"And if he really is in *there*" Seiji started to undress. "we need to get him out." Rowan was quicker than him and was wading out into the inky liquid still fully clothed.
"I'll look, since I can still sense him."
"Be careful!" Ryo called out.
Rowan swallowed his fear and revulsion, and ducked under, feeling around with his hands. The water was thick and almost jelly-like. Heavily polluted. The mud at the bottom was soft and slimy. He fought back the nausea he felt. He came up for air spluttering and gasping.
He dived several times, making his way back and forth in zigzagging lines. Once in the center, he broke surface again turning to look back at the others, and spitting out the revolting... fluid... that had found its way into his mouth.
"This is really weird." He called back.
"Why?" Kento called back. "What have you found?"
"I don't think he is in here."
"Dear God, I sure hope not." Kento breathed.
"Why is that?" Seiji called out.
"Because..." Rowan stood. At the center of the lagoon the water only came up to his chest. "I can stand."
"Get out of there before that water makes you sick." Ryo ordered. Rowan nodded and dragged himself out. He stood in the edge of the water and looked back towards the center.
/I can feel you out there, Sai. Please come back to us. Please come back to me.../ The wind blew and he paused. He thought he heard someone whisper his name, but then, like the wind, it was gone. He wiped and shook off the slop that coated his skin in distaste, then marched back towards the manor. "I'm taking a shower." He disappeared from their view.
"Where the hell could he have gotten to?" Kento asked the forest when Rowan was out of earshot.
"Most likely he is already back at the manor, laughing at us for worrying over him." Seiji answered him. "Especially after-"
"Yes." Ryo interrupted. "Let's go back home. And if he's not back in an hour we can call in some extras to help search."
When they arrived home, Sai was not there. All of his things were still there, even his little blue armor orb, but no Sai.
They called the police to help search, but even after a long search through the forest, nothing turned up. The only evidence they really had that he had even been out in the forest was his foot prints in the mud. They knew they were fresh from that day because of the rain that morning.
A day passed with still no sign. They had called Sai's family, and no one there had heard anything from him. The police still searched.
Ryo stayed beside the phone, desperately hoping for some word. Any word, as long as he knew... Dear God, he was such an idiot for being so harsh with Sai! He would give just about anything to have the chance to apologize.
Kento stopped eating, he just stared blankly at the TV screen trying to ignore the anger and fear he felt.
Seiji locked himself in his room and meditated.
Rowan paced about the lounge room, arms drawn tightly around himself shivering. It was so cold in here! He had washed the foul stuff from his skin, but he could still taste it and smell it.
/Where is he?/ He thought. /Why hasn't he made any contact? I know he's still alive and out there some where, I just can't place it. Why? Why? WHY?/ Rowan squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold in the tears. /Don't cry. Not yet. He's not dead so there's no reason to cry. Sai's not stupid. He'll be okay. I just wish he would let me know that he IS okay. I feel so helpless!/
A week passed and still nothing.
Ryo had locked himself in his room and refused food.
Kento paced the lounge room.
Seiji was sitting at the table, trying to catch up on what study he had missed over the last few days. O_o
Rowan sat shivering, wrapped in a blanket, curled up in the corner of the couch watching Kento pace back and forth.
"Where the HELL IS HE!!!" Kento burst out. "Man! This is driving me CRAZY!!"
"Look on the bright side, we know he's not dead. His orb would have gone to find a new wearer if it was so." That was Seiji.
"And you call that the bright side?!" Kento shrieked. "What if he was captured by the Warlords? Ever thought of that?!"
"They would have come gloating by now. Which they have not. We can always hope that he has just decided to take a break from our crap. I know he sure deserved one."
"Some break!" Kento growled. "If only we hadn't been so-"
"There are always 'if only's' Kento." Seiji interupted. "We don't live there though. We live in the right now. We have to deal with this in the now, not in the 'if only'."
Rowan's teeth started chattering. Quite loudly actually. He was surprised. So were Kento and Seiji. They looked over at him.
"I just can't get warm." He whispered to no one through blue lips. "It's so cold. Ryo should get down here and start a fire or something."
Kento started mumbling something about Ryo that was not at all nice, but could not be heard. Seiji watched Rowan with concerned eyes.
"I'm going to have another shower." Rowan announced, attempting to stand up. Unfortunately as the world around him dimmed into swirling blackness and he began to float around, he didn't go very far.
Kento caught Rowan as he fainted. It was only then that he noticed his friend's fever. /Shit./ He thought lowering him back to the couch, Seiji right there helping him. /This is what happens when Sai disappears on us. We can't do anything. We can't even look after ourselves! Sai, come home soon!/
Seiji used his armor to try to heal Rowan, and was able to put him to sleep and bring his temperature close to normal, but not completely. He and Kento piled blankets on top of him. He left Kento there to look after him, then went up stairs to get Ryo. Ryo was going to come down stairs even if he had to knock him out and carry him over his shoulder. Seiji dearly hoped it would not come to that.
Seiji knocked on Ryo's bedroom door then let himself in. Ryo sat on his bed staring at the opposite wall, tears streaming down his face. He looked up at Seiji with large, miserable eyes.
"It's my fault, Seiji. It's my fault. I drove him to leave. Now I may never see him again! I can't even apologize!"
Seiji growled to himself. "It's not just your fault. We also had a hand in it. I know you being the leader means you can go on guilt trips when ever anything happens to any of us, but come on. Pull yourself together!"
Ryo stared at him like he had just become a giant pink bunny.
"Rowan's sick." Seiji announced in his tactful way.
Ryo stared some more.
Seiji grabbed his arm and dragged him to his feet. "Come on. You're the one who controls fire, and he needs some heat." Seiji ignored his leaders protests and virtually carried him down to the lounge room.
Rowan did not look like he was having a nice dream.
to be continued...