Title: Batter and Battle
Fandom: Ronin Warriors
Characters/Pairing: All five Ronins, Cye/Kento implied
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Mentions of canonical familial death.
Notes: More slice-of-life/remake AU!

Ryo let out a yawn as he petted White Blaze one more time. “Okay, boy, I’m about to head to school. Have fun exploring, okay?” White Blaze gave him a sullen look. “Look, I know you want to meet the new people. But I don’t think they could handle seeing a white tiger, no matter how friendly you are.” White Blaze huffed but rubbed his face against Ryo’s hand before wandering off into the woods. Ryo wished that White Blaze could walk with him to the outskirts of Tokyo like he used to, but that wasn’t possible now that the Mouris were giving him rides. Well, at least he got to school on time now. He was getting a little tired of getting reprimanded on a nearly daily basis for lateness.

Speaking of the Mouris, the familiar white station wagon came to a stop. “Milord, your chariot awaits,” Cye sing-songed as he held the door open for Ryo. He was in the back seat instead of in the passenger seat next to Sayoko to make conversation easier.

Ryo gave him a look. “No one should be that cheerful before dawn.”

“How can anyone not be cheerful about making a black forest gateau today?”

“Me, for starters.” Ryo yawned. But when Cye’s face fell, he amended, “This early at least. I’m sure once we’re baking the ol’ teenage appetite will kick in and I’ll be as hyped as you are.”

“I’m just so excited. I’ve been wanting to try making something like this for ages. Do you remember what I said after class yesterday?”

“That I don’t need to bring anything, because you already got all the ingredients.”

“Exactly!” Cye held up one bag. “This is everything we’ll need for the cake, and this,” he said as he held up another, heavier bag, “is filled with after-school snacks so Kento and Rowen won’t wolf down the ingredients before we even begin.”

“I don’t suppose I could ask you to save me a slice of cake?” Sayoko asked. Her eyes were fixed on the road but her voice was full of hope.

“I’ll try, but when those two bottomless pits converge, I can offer no promises,” Cye responded.

Sayoko sighed glumly. “I know. Guess I was hoping for something to make going through Ophelia’s notes less of a chore after class.”

Ryo felt like he’d known her enough to ask. “Is that a classmate of yours, Ms. Sayoko?”

“Nah. Ophelia helps run the foundation while I’m working on my med degree. To be honest, I should probably just hand it all over to her.”

“Yeah, right,” Cye said in that tone that Ryo now knew meant ‘it is my duty as your little brother to mock you.’ “You? Give up control of anything? Not in this timeline.”

Sayoko laughed lightly, while Ryo wondered what they were talking about… and then realized that they were talking about that Mouri foundation, the one that was always in the news. He’d noticed that the names were similar when he met them of course, but between Sayoko’s well-worn station wagon and Cye attending public school, he’d assumed it was just a coincidence.

(Then again, they could afford a very nice apartment in Tokyo, so maybe Ryo should have seen this coming.)

Ryo was jolted out of his thoughts as Sayoko suddenly swerved, cursing as Cye yelped. It was hard to see from where he was sitting, but Ryo could make out an expensive-looking red sports car racing away.

“Hey!” Sayoko screamed out her window. “If you’re gonna play speed demon, do it at the arcade!”

“You do realize that he can’t hear you from that far away, right?” Ryo asked.

“Yeah, I know,” Sayoko grumbled. “Everyone okay?” Both boys nodded, and she began to drive again. “It just grinds my gears, you know? Some rich punk decides to make the road his playground. Oh, well.” There were more stores and houses, which meant they’d be on the edge of Tokyo where their school was located soon. “Good luck with school and baking club, guys. And please, please try to save me a slice of cake.”

--

Speed demon aside, Ryo did love getting rides to school now. Usually at this time, with the bell ringing, he’d be climbing the locked gate (and hope no teachers saw him do that). But now? He was relaxing at his desk before classes had even begun, chatting with Kento and Rowen.

“Okay, people, we have a lot to do today, let’s get started.” Ms. Akagi said over the murmur of voice as the bell finished ringing. “I have some business first. We are lucky enough to have a transfer student this year. At least, I thought we did.” She frowned at the door. “You ever coming inside?”

The door opened, revealing a young man with a shock of blond hair. The man stood before them with a gaze that even as his bangs partially hid his face was quite intimidating.

“Oh, good, I was starting to wonder if you were a figment of my imagination.” Ms. Akagi, a teacher with nearly twenty years under her belt, was less phased by a glaring teenager than her students. “Feel free to introduce yourself.”

“I’m Sage Date,” the young man said in a clipped tone. “I like swords. And cars.”

“Oh, how nice, my nephew likes those things as well. There’s a seat behind Fang, so how about you go there?” Date nodded and made his way to the empty seat.

“Hi, I’m Kento Rei Fang.” Unsurprisingly, Kento was already trying to make friends. “Wanna grab lunch later with my bros?”

“I eat alone,” Date whispered, not even looking at Kento. “And I’m currently studying.”

Kento huffed, but since they were in the middle of class, that was thankfully the end of that. Rowen shrugged at Ryo. Ryo shrugged back. Having someone be rude to your friend was not a good way to start the day, but based on this interaction? Ryo doubted that they would ever talk to Date again. And if this Date was always going to have such an attitude, Ryo was fine with that.

--

Cye hummed the theme to the sci-fi show his sister liked as he took advantage of his lunch period to do one last survey of the ingredients. He hadn’t been this eager about the baking club for a long time. While he suspected Ryo had signed up primarily because he went home with Cye, he still gave it his all. And seeing how there had only been three members of the club before Ryo (Kento and Rowen were only unofficial taste testers), even just one more person made it easier to try more ambitious things.

He was examining the cherries when he felt… he wasn’t sure.

He put the cherries down and closed his eyes. His abilities, for lack of a better term, were not strong. He could sense emotions, even if someone was trying to hide how they felt. He could heal hearts, but it always led to exhaustion and a low mood. Being able to feel a presence rather than a person (and as he concentrated, this definitely felt like a person’s consciousness) was new. And scary.

I feel you, too.

What was that? Who are you?! Cye gasped, arms instinctively going out to protect him from—from whatever was in his head. His elbow bumped against the egg carton, which crashed to the floor and made as much of a mess as one would expect.

That brought Cye back to reality. “No, no, no!” It was all over the floor. And counters. And his shoes. He was still trying to decide if he should grab a mop or paper towels first when a blond student that he didn’t recognize came into the cafeteria kitchen.

“Do you need some help?” He spoke as if he didn’t particularly like talking, but there was nothing rude in his tone.

“Yes, please,” Cye said gratefully. “I’ll start cleaning. You check if there are six eggs in the fridge.”

“Of course.” The student took a peek. “I’m sorry. I only see five.”

“Fantastic,” Cye huffed. He decided to check the now drenched carton just in case. He was glad that he did so as he found one egg intact. “It’s a baking club miracle!”

“Good.” There was a pause. “You must feel relieved.”

“Do I ever!” After putting down the towels, Cye decided all he needed was to get some cleaning solution and more paper towels rather than a mop. “Thanks again. You helped save the baking club. If you want, feel free to stop by and try what we’re making.”

“Thank you, but no. However, I will be in the gym practicing kendo if you require my services. I am Sage Date, but please, feel free to call me Sage.” The student nodded his head respectfully, then left.

“Um, thank you?” What a weird guy. But Cye supposed he couldn’t judge.

“Cye, I had to deal with some loser this morning and you have yet to feed me my onigiri. I’m hangry! You have to save the school from my hangriness before it’s too late,” Kento announced as he trudged into the school’s kitchen dramatically.

“My bento is on the counter, you caveman,” Cye grumbled as he kept scrubbing. “And just because I haven’t had my share yet, doesn’t mean I don’t want it! If you eat my half, I’ll destroy you.”

“Love you, too,” Kento said around a mouthful of onigiri. “Hey, are you okay? You look a little rattled.”

“I’m fine. I, um, just had another spell.” Once again, he wasn’t lying, but rather was being very careful with how much of the truth he divulged to Kento. “Almost losing all the eggs for our project later certainly didn’t help calm my nerves.”

The bento box was forgotten as Kento moved closer to Cye. Not enough to make him feel like he was being smothered, but rather supported. “Do you need to sit down or anything? I can get you some water.”

“Thanks, but I’m fine.” Cye was relieved. While Kento had a rightfully earned reputation for being obtuse… when it came to his friends, he was almost frightfully observant. And not just about if they were feeling bad; he could tell what they needed at that moment as well. Cye loved Sayoko, but if he had told his sister about what he had experienced, she’d be having a heart attack that someone was trying to kill him psychically or whatever. “It wasn’t draining. It was just a weird feeling. It’s over now.” He tossed the now gross paper towels into the trash can. “Thank goodness Sage was here to help.”

“Wait.” Kento stopped mid-bite. “Thin guy, blue eyes, fluffy blond hair that’s never seen a brush?”

“I would say so, yes.”

“That’s the guy who ruined my morning!”

“You don’t say.” His cleaning and ingredient inspection complete, Cye decided to help himself, even if all he had time for now was his orange juice. “He didn’t seem rude to me. A little blunt, perhaps, but he was very helpful.”

Kento snarled as he wolfed down his onigiri. “He’s my eternal rival, Cye. I can feel it. And he’s pretending to be your friend so he can kidnap you and make you evil!”

Cye gave him a look as he popped open his juice can and took a sip. “You stayed up all night watching anime again, didn’t you?”

“… Maybe.”

That was when the bell rang. “I hate that I’m a grade above you,” Cye huffed as he grabbed his things. “I don’t like being alone.”

“I know.” Kento patted his shoulder. “And we miss you during the day, too. But we have the baking club to look forward to, at least.”

“Yeah,” Cye said as Kento disappeared into the crowd of students rushing to get to class on time.

… Cye had felt someone reach out to him. But the presence hadn’t been evil or even mischievous. He shut the kitchen door and closed his eyes so he could better concentrate. The presence had felt direct. A little blunt. Curious.

Like Sage, to be honest.

Cye frowned as he left for his classroom. It didn’t matter if it was Sage or someone else. The presence hadn’t been malevolent and didn’t seem to want to reach out again. So, Cye was willing to leave things alone at that. He just wanted to live his life.

--

It wasn’t fair to say that Cye was completely alone in his second-year class. He wasn’t as close to his fellow baking club members Emi and Keiko as he was to the guys, but he was friendly with both of them. As for the rest of class… well, they mostly left him alone, which was still leagues better than his old school. And he even had a best friend now, even if Kento was a grade below him. Still, he wished he could make some jokes to Kento and Ryo or talk about video games with Rowen to pass the time on slow days like today.

“Cye,” Keiko whispered as their teacher was too excited about his math lecture to notice kids in the back talking. “Did you see the new first-year student? Date? Oh, he’s so handsome,” she breathed.

“Sage Date? Yes, I did, and yes, he is. But I thought you were still working up the nerve to ask Ryuji out?”

“I was, but he and Ann got together while I was working up my nerve.” Keiko’s round brown eyes were regretful, but her tone was accepting. “I’ll just have to be braver this time.”

It was at this time that class was dismissed, so Cye was a little louder as he said, “You could, or you could let me finally introduce you to my friend Rowen.”

Keiko frowned. “I’m sure Hashiba is nice, but—”

“But?”

“Well,” Keiko giggled as she hid her face in her hands, “I can’t help but love bad boys, you know?”

Cye frowned. “Sage is a bad boy?”

“Of course he is,” Emi said as she slid into a chair next to Keiko. “That hair, that attitude? Half the school’s already in love with him. The other half thinks he’s slime with an attitude.” After making sure the teacher was gone, she propped her feet up on a nearby desk. “I even heard some guy screaming about how Date is his eternal rival or something.”

“Intriguing. Well, ladies, as much as I love gossiping about Keiko’s love life, I need to run an errand before I get baking. Will you two be all right until then?”

Keiko blushed fiercely as she insisted that they were not talking about her supposed love life, Sage wasn’t even her boyfriend, she just thought he was handsome and dashing. Emi said they’d be fine.

--

Cye’s errand was that he wanted to get to know Sage better. He was dying to know who the real Sage was. Was he the kind young man who helped Cye today, the bad boy who won Keiko’s affections, or some poor bloke who Kento decided was now his eternal rival? He was willing to wager he was somewhere between the three. Sure, he could sense Sage’s emotions (calm, quiet, strong), but that wasn’t the full picture. And he wanted to know how someone who felt so bright could cause such a polarizing reaction in the school population.

It was strange, though. Even just a few months ago, Cye would not have particularly cared about what happened to Sage, or anyone else that wasn’t his immediate family. He supposed getting away from his old school helped. Not to mention Ultimate Extrovert Kento Rei Fang rubbing off of him in some ways. Cye never would have had the courage to join the baking club or the knitting club before meeting Kento, Rowen, and now Ryo.

And also having the courage to try to learn more about the school’s new bad boy. He peeked into the gym. Sage was in full kendo gear. He took a moment to appreciate the student’s form. Cye wasn’t fond of fighting, but Mum had made sure he was trained in both the spear and aikido (and Sayoko made sure they both trained even while living in Tokyo), so he could tell when someone was skilled.

Cye waited until the student was done, and was about to approach him… but then a girl in a high school uniform walked past him, approaching the student.

“Hi, Sage.” Despite her youth, she had a professional air about her as she reached into her side bag. “My grandfather finally finished his work, so here’s a copy of his findings for you and your grandfather. The data can get dense, so feel free to call me if you need help understanding it.”

“Thanks, Mia,” Sage said with a smile as he removed his mask. “How is your grandfather, by the way?”

“Now that you’re part of the project, happier than I’ve seen him in my life. Hey, are you still coming over tonight?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Mia beamed at him. “I’ll see you then.” If she noticed Cye as she headed out, she didn’t show it. As for Sage, he smiled as she left, then took a deep breath before he put his mask back on.

How very, very interesting…

“Good afternoon, Sage.” It was nosy, but Cye had to know. “Is she a friend of yours?”

Sage frowned, and Cye realized why he had the reputation of being a bad boy already. “I suppose the appropriate term would be ally.” But then his expression eased. “I am glad you decided to visit after all, Mr. Mouri. I was hoping to speak to you again.”

Hm. Someone must have told him Cye’s name. “Please, just Cye. I just wanted to remind you that you’re more than welcome to try out the cake we’re making this afternoon. If baked goods aren’t your thing, we have some snacks. You may have to fight some of my friends for that, but seeing how you have a sword, I think you’ll be okay.”

“Thank you,” Sage replied. “However, I assure you that I do not require such indulgence.” His tone was confident and resolute.

So, of course, that was when Sage’s stomach growled loud enough for Cye to hear.

Sage cleared his throat. “Maybe just some snacks.”

--

“My eternal rival!” Kento stood up, placing himself between Sage and Ryo. “Don’t you have anyone else to be rude to?”

Sage blinked. “Your… what? Is that some popular music band?”

Usually, Cye was amused with watching Kento make a fool of himself, but he had a cake to bake today. “Kento, he’s the reason you’re having cake at all today. So, I expect you to be civil.” He wasn’t yelling, but it was extremely clear that his word was law. “As for you, Sage. I don’t know what happened this morning. I don’t care. But please understand that while Kento is a blockhead, he is my blockhead. I expect you to be civil as well, or no cake.”

“Yes, sir,” Kento said. Dazed, Sage nodded and took a seat between Kento and Rowen.

Sage took a seat between Kento and Rowen. “I… I know I haven’t known him for very long, but I wasn’t expecting him to be so stern with us. He seemed so gentle.”

Rowen shrugged, already digging into the snacks. “That’s Cye. All sunshine one moment, storm clouds the next. Sometimes both at the same time.”

“I see,” Sage said more to himself than Rowen.

“Shh,” Cye insisted. “The meeting is starting.”

“Good afternoon, everyone!” Emi had rolled up her sleeves and her hair, which usually hung loosely around her shoulders, was up in a bun. “The oven is currently pre-heating. Ryo, you’re shaving the chocolate. Cye, you’re making the syrup. Keiko, you can help me get the remaining ingredients together, okay?”

“Man, it’s scary how professional they are,” Kento mused as he grabbed a bag of convenience store brand peanuts and dug in. “I wish I could bake.”

“It would be a useful skill,” Sage admitted.

“Guys,” Rowen reminded them. “Nothing is stopping you from learning. You could probably ask one of them to let you help.” Kento shook his head at that idea, only too aware of his past mistakes in the kitchen. Sage, however, stood up. “Very well.” He approached Cye. “Excuse me.”

“Woah, sorry, friend,” Emi wedged herself between the two of them. “If it’s baking business, you gotta clear it with the captain, and she happens to be me.”

Sage turned bright red. “I. Um.” He looked away. “Baking. I want to learn.”

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Aware that interest in baking was the first step in having a new recruit for her club, Emi grinned charmingly as she handed Sage the bowl. “You can start with mixing.”

“Yes.” Sage did just that. Or at least so he thought until Ryo stood behind him.

“You don’t have to handle it like a sword, you know,” Ryo told him gently.

“I’m not,” Sage insisted as he kept stabbing the mix.

“Here, let me.” Cye took the bowl from Sage gently, stirring with even strokes. “See? Just go with the flow. It’s a batter, not a battle.” He handed the bowl back to Sage. “Now you try.”

“That is better,” Sage said as the mix evened out. He gave Cye a small smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re doing so good, Date,” Keiko dared to whisper, then hid back behind her own bowl.

“Thanks,” Sage replied, face somehow even redder. “I will keep mixing now.”

“You see?” Emi clapped her hands together in triumph. “We’ll make a baker out of you yet, Date! In fact, I think I have the paperwork for joining our club in my desk!”

“Don’t get too excited, Emi,” Cye warned her. “Sage is more into kendo.”

Emi groaned in disappointment, but Ryo wanted to know more about his experience with the sword. The conversation went there, some bizarre mix of baking, kendo, and judo (thanks to Kento). Yet somehow it was the most fun any of them had all day.

--

The cake was almost done cooling when Kento frowned. “Dang it.”

“What’s wrong?” Rowen inquired.

“This Date guy. I was all ready to hate him but look at him. He’s not rude, he’s just super awkward with everyone.” With a put-upon sigh, Kento said, “I guess we’ll just have to be friends after all.”

“I believe I would like that,” Sage said as he was getting out the paper plates.

“Really?” Kento glared at him. “Then why were you so rude this morning?”

Sage’s expression fell a little at that. “Ah, yes. I am not the most sociable person ever, and sometimes it’s easier to lean into that than make oneself vulnerable. But I’ve enjoyed myself, and if you’re willing, I would like to spend more time with all of you.”

“Sure thing, bro!” Kento wrapped an arm around Sage’s shoulders. “Don’t even worry about making a bad first impression. I’m used to it ‘cause all my friends are tsunderes. Except for Ryo, he’s just a sweetheart.” Ryo waved, then began slicing the cake.

“Hrn. Well, at least I’m in good company.”

--

“Cye!” Sayoko burst into the door, chest heaving. “I managed to wrap things up early, so I’m here, I’m hangry, and I’m ready for cake!”

“Uh-oh,” Sage said around his last mouthful of the last slice of cake.

“Hey, Sayoko, don’t cry,” Cye murmured as he patted his despondent sister on the back. “I’ll get the cookies we made in the last meeting.”

Sayoko sniffled. “The mint ones?”

“Yep,” Cye promised her cheerfully. “And on that note, we need to get going home. Ryo, I’ll meet you and Sayoko at the car, okay? I’ll join you once I get the cookies.”

--

Sage was waiting for him in the kitchen again. “Cye.”

Cye grabbed the leftover cookies from the pantry. “Sage.” Thankfully, the cookies were already in a container so all he had to do now was head to the car. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

There was something in his expression that made Cye assume Sage was going to say yes, there was but then Sage shook his head. “I merely wanted to thank you. If it weren’t for your insistence, I would be going home friendless.” He looked away. “Again.”

“Well, as someone who has struggled to make friends himself, I’m happy to have helped. Will we see you at the next meeting?”

“Perhaps not as a baker, but if you need one more taste tester…”

“Fantastic! Let me know what your favorite treats are, okay? We should probably start making some tea, too.”

“That would be lovely. However, I also wanted to reinforce that if you need anything… or have any questions about anything strange happening, I am more than willing to assist you.”

Oh. “Thanks, Sage. Maybe one day I will come to you with questions about those things. But for now, I’m just trying to keep a low profile.” He smiled. “See you tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Sage disappeared into the shadows.

Well, there’s one conversation I can never tell my sister about ever, Cye thought as he took the cookies and left. Sage knew. He’d all but said it. But… Cye wasn’t worried about that. While his ability to detect others was new and weird and the healing powers were high-risk/high-reward, sensing emotions? That he was confident in. He saw the light in Sage’s soul, radiant as a sunrise, and trusted him to keep his secret.

That said, if there was even just one other person aside from Cye and his late father that had abilities, maybe it was time to start asking some questions.

--

“Thanks,” Sayoko said to the fast-food employee as he handed her their order. “Have a good night.” She grinned as Cye grabbed his burger and chowed down well before they were home. As snobby as he could be when it came to food, his not-so-secret guilty pleasures involved burgers and fries. “I hope Ryo’s okay. I know he only has a little bit of a walk left after we dropped him off, but it’s getting dark fast.”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Cye had already finished his burger and was working on his fries. “And before you say anything: he wouldn’t agree to you walking him to his house. He’s easy-going about everything except that. I don’t know why; maybe he has some bodies buried in his front yard or something.”

“Sheesh, what a morbid streak,” she chuckled as she made the turn. “I don’t know where you got that from.”

They were both quiet after that until Cye broke the silence. “Sayoko, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“… It’s about Dad.”

“Oh,” she said as she gripped the wheel more tightly than she needed to. “What do you want to know?”

“I know he was empathic and could heal hearts. But I was wondering if he could do more than that. Like maybe,” Cye pushed his hair out of his eyes, “maybe sense if someone was nearby or something like that.”

“Yes, he could. It wasn’t something he did a lot, so I don’t know how good he was at it. But he could sense if I was nearby or if Mum was approaching.” She smiled as an old memory when things were simpler and sunnier came to the surface. “One of his favorite things to do was if he’d sense Mum was to yell at me right before she appeared to hide all the sharp objects at the top of his lungs.” Cye chuckled at that and so did Sayoko. “She used to get so mad. Hey, why did you want to know, anyway?”

“No reason. I was just curious.”

Sayoko could tell when her brother was lying. Frankly, it wasn’t hard to do, since he was a terrible liar. But after their last argument, she was trying to focus less on her fears and more on what Cye needed. If whatever he had experienced today was dangerous, he would have told her. She trusted him to have that much sense.

What probably happened, she reassured herself as they made the final part of the trek home, was that he sensed Kento’s presence for the first time and didn’t know what to do about it. They were inseparable, so it was just a matter of time until Cye was as close to him psychically as he was when they were in the same room together. That had to be it.

She had absolutely nothing to worry about.

--

While the afternoon had not gone the way Sage had planned, he had still enjoyed himself. He just wished he had more information to share with Professor Koji.

The professor had been correct in his decision to recommend that Sage transfer to this school. Cye Mouri was the psychic he had been looking for. Sage hadn’t been able to analyze his abilities too deeply, at least not yet, but the preliminary results were promising. He could sense others and was adept enough to know if someone was reading his mind. This was more speculation on Sage’s part, but based on Cye’s behavior—intuitive but also reserved, as if he had to pull away before he got hurt—he would not be surprised if he also possessed empathic healing abilities of some sort. He was untrained, but he would still be a boon for their effort.

However, Cye had pushed Sage out of his mind when he first tried to reach out. And had made it clear that at least for now, he was not interested in exploring his abilities. While Sage would do his best to persuade himself otherwise, he would also respect his decision if he could not. If Sage could not, then he would just have to become stronger.

Still, he felt regret. Not just for Professor Koji, Mia, or even the mission. He was comfortable with his abilities. He took pride in his skill. But it still would have been nice to have a fellow psychic to talk to.

Guess I’m still alone after all. But if that was the trade-off in protecting his new friends and the rest of the world, then fine. He would do whatever it took. He swore it on the Armor of the Halo.

After his customary double-check that he had the small green ball he always carried on his person these days, Sage got into his red Jaguar to drive to the Kojis and make his report.

--

Final Notes: Ryuji and Ann are, of course, a quick nod to Persona 5. Also, is it just me, or are Ryuji/Skull and Kento very similar personality-wise? Speaking of Kento, a lot of his lines here were inspired by Fire Emblem (eternal rivals!) and anime, in this case, the anime this fic is based on. I'm sorry, but his fears that White Blaze was going to get kidnapped and turned evil were so pure I had to include that. ;_;

For those interested: Ryo and Sage have their armors. Neither one of them is aware that the other has armor (yet). Kento, Cye, and Rowen are still more or less living 100% normal lives. Cye's mother and sister are aware of the Armor of the Torrent but have not told Cye. Mia is helping her grandfather earlier than she did in the anime since this story is about the boys slowly becoming Ronins.