Disclaimer: *sigh* I do not own these five lovely boys. They're the property of Sunrise and whoever else...*sniffle* I'm jealous! So, please don't sue. I'm poor.

No money, see? *turns out empty pockets*

Shiroi Arashi(White Storm)

Parts: 1

Author: ~Hikaru~

"I can't believe this is happening again." Ryo's tiger blue eyes slid closed as he sighed and leaned his forehead against the cool glass. His skin felt hot and tight, another one of his tempers had seized him this morning. After crying for an hour straight he felt drained and exhausted. "We destroyed Talpa. We beat the Warlords. We forged the Inferno together??? Why can't they just leave us alone now?" He pounded his fist helplessly against the window pane. After so much pain and suffering why couldn't it just be done with?

He hadn't gotten much sleep last night either, ransacked as his brain had been by dreams. Although nightmares was more like it. Heh, nightmares. I'm almost fifteen years old, I've faced a demon emperor and his warlords, and defeated them. I've experienced things that people haven't even dreamed about. I'm not supposed to have nightmares anymore. There's nothing left to have nightmares about. Besides, you're supposed to have someone there to comfort you when you wake up. Except there's no one here to run to for comfort. I'm supposed to be a leader, leaders aren't supposed to need comfort. I don't even really have Blaze anymore, he spends so much time with Yuli. Not that I blame him, Yuli actually plays him. And Yuli would never lie to him.

But he did need comfort and that was just another one of his faults. Last night he hadn't just dreamed rehashed images of the war they had all survived. There had been one about the Inferno. Once again he was immersed into that almost tangible heat, feeling it scorch and overwhelm him. He had been a hairsbreadth from completely losing it this time, and that damned helmet's unwavering smile had seemed almost malicious, taunting. It's just a damn hunk of metal! It can't do anything on its own, can it? Gods, it holds so much power though. It feels like it's trying to get away from me, trying to use me instead.

Sighing again, he turned away from the bright sunlight shining outside his bedroom window, and the image of the tiger and the younger boy rolling in the long grass. A rumpled bed, an empty bookcase, and a pair of battered sneakers lounging haphazardly on the floor half buried under a dirty tee-shirt made up the room's interior. A normal boy's room. A normal boy's room for a not so normal boy.

He and his friends Sai, Kento, Sage, and Rowen all had magical suits of armor. An evil spirit named Talpa had styled himself to be emperor of the Netherworld and the human world and tried to take over. He had kidnapped, as far as Ryo knew, the entire population of Japan and used their fear and hatred to fuel his own powers. It sounded like a fairy tale, except for the new scars on their bodies and hearts that testified to its reality. Together they had battled Talpa's four warlords who had nicknamed them the Ronin, or masterless samurai. Anubis had meant it as an insult, but the five of them had taken pride in the name because they did not bend knee to a sadistic tyrant.

Heedless of the Ancient's warnings and knowing only that they must somehow defeat Talpa and his minions, they had charged headlong into the Dynasty and challenged their enemies on their own ground. It was an arrogant action, and they had paid dearly for it. The five of them had been forced to join their powers and spirits together to form a weapon strong enough to take Talpa down for good. They had formed an extremely powerful suit of armor called the Inferno.

The Inferno armor was a combination of their five elemental powers and blazed with all of that barely controlled energy. Ryo, as their leader, had been landed with the responsibility of bearing it. He had readily accepted, he had had to or else they all would have died. He had accepted it, but that didn't make dealing with the consequences of that acceptance any easier, didn't lessen the burden of guilt on his shoulders.

It had come down to crunch time and he had balked, had behaved like a coward. He hadn't wanted to take the chance of hurting his friends, and had nearly lost them completely as a result. Except, somehow, they had reached him and given him their energy. Ryo still couldn't grasp the idea of why they would entrust so much power, indeed their very lives, to a hesitant coward. But they thought that he had knowingly destroyed Talpa, and he couldn't bear to tell them the truth. The truth that he had been overwhelmed by all that power, out of his mind with pain, and had just struck out blindly at the thing that had caused him so much grief. That thing had incidentally been Talpa.

All of that had transpired weeks ago and his body and brain still burned on the inside from the scouring fires of the Inferno, his spirit was still heavy with guilt he just couldn't reconcile. He knew also that the others were still recovering from that intimate joining of souls and combining of powers that was necessary to form the white Armor of Inferno. He knew it as surely as the sun was shining now, could feel them all so close to his heart. That joining had been terrifying to them, none of them had ever experienced such intimacy before, and their fear had only added to his own. Except, Ryo had opened himself to that, had welcomed that ultimately painful joining.

He had vowed silently that he would never let them know just how painful it had been. They didn't need any more pressure or guilt or anything at all forced on them, especially when it was something that was his problem alone. They already all had enough to try and cope with in themselves. Why should they have to deal with his lack of control and cowardice too? It wasn't fair to them, and he didn't want them to know what had happened to him in those terrifying moments when all of time seemed to stop. He couldn't tell them what had really happened, couldn't destroy their faith in him. And he couldn't bear to lose that faith.

Ryo ground his teeth against that admission and slammed an angry fist into the wall. He was selfish. It was as simple and true as that. He enjoyed those looks of admiration they gave him, but knew in his mind that he was unworthy of it. Ryo squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold back burning tears.

The power of the Inferno hadn't left him completely once the armor had dissipated. He could still feel it coursing through his veins like molten lava. It burned his brain and his heart, and tangled his emotions even further than they already were. If the others found out about the things he could do now, they would think he was a freak and shun him. A small sob escaped his throat and that burning power stirred sluggishly inside him, and it felt like he was inside the Inferno all over again.

He could only remember vague flashes of what had happened. It was like it hadn't been him who was fighting, but that the armor was controlling itself, and he was just a puppet body to pilot it. The way it had seared the inside of his head he wouldn't be surprised if it had been directing the fight itself. That blinding white hot light had scorched him to his soul, leaving him trembling and terrified. It wouldn't do for his companions to know how much the armor had affected him or that he was so scared to use it. He didn't know, couldn't even dream, what might happen if he ever lost control of that much power. It was bad enough trying to control Wildfire's battlelust and temper, but the Inferno was exactly that and a hundred times worse. The sheer amount of effort it took to just hold onto himself??? They didn't need to know. He couldn't bear to let them know. The others relied on him to be strong, to be the leader, and leaders just don't get scared and don't lose control! Ryo choked back another sob. He was not going to cry again. He just had to keep this little dilemma under wraps.

Fighting to maintain control, he flung himself onto his half-made bed and buried his head in his pillow. The cotton of the pillowcase was cool and soft against his face. He could still remember the power surrounding him, flowing into him, melting him and reshaping the slag into something more, and his body shook with the force of memory. Each flow had been different; Halo's cool green, Torrent's swirling blue, Hardrock's crushing orange, and Strata's heavenly cerulean. They had all swirled around him, reaching out to him, tearing his Wildfire to pieces and absorbing it. He shuddered at the remembered feeling of vulnerability. Never had he felt so naked in his entire life, like he had been stripped to his soul. He still felt like that.

The way the other powers had all combined together to form a white hot wind, like the heart of the sun, that had swirled up around him and into him, soldering the armor to his flesh. Strange words of summoning had formed in his head, he thought that he had screamed out loud, but the rushing wind of four souls brushing his rendered him deaf and blind to everything else.

Then out of nowhere his subarmor had darkened to solid black and his arms were seized in a grip of white hot steel. Gauntlets and forearm guards, then bracers, greaves, and spurs. Each piece seared itself to the subarmor beneath, the heat seeming to melt his bones, the shock of it almost forcing him to his knees. Next came the blazing white breastplate with its true blue heart, wrapping itself around his chest almost cutting of his breath and stilling his heart. Then the helmet. That horrible viciously smiling helmet.

The thing had settled around his head like a stone, like white hot magma, stealing what little breath he still possessed. A wave of thunderous heat had rolled over him, filling his ears, nose, and mouth, spilling into his brain and burning pathways meant to hold this new power. That raw burning power had rent his soul to pieces then melted them back together, and he had stood there, shining like a young sun, full to the brim with that blazing hot power, ready to strike and destroy the evil, and utterly overwhelmed by it.

When he came to, he and his friends had been lying scattered on the ground like rag dolls. Limp, near lifeless, and past the point of exhaustion; Talpa and his warlords were nowhere in sight. It had been a long fight and nearly cost all their lives. He hadn't remembered anything of what had happened for almost two days afterward, except that his skin felt tight and hot like he had been burned, and then it dropped on him like a ton of bricks. He had taken their power, leaving them defenseless. He had hesitated to use it because of fear. He had endangered their lives.

Yes, their lives. Especially theirs. Not only did I let Talpa take them, but I took their power, left them defenseless and nearly killed them myself!! He squeezed his eyes shut against the tears that now threatened to spill over again. Now we have to deal with this Saranbo jerk who's trying to get me to summon the Inferno again. Why? WHY?!

Ryo growled in frustration and slammed his fist into the oblivious mattress. "Why?" Savage anger bubbled up from his middle, and he caught himself before he blasted the bed into charred embers. His emotions were so out of whack it wasn't even close to funny. His temperament had always been mild, he could weather anything, but now he was just as mercurial and unstable as his trademark element. He didn't know if it was just a delayed reaction to all of the fighting or if the armor had done something to his mind. He was convinced it was the fault of the armor, but couldn't be sure and that was just another burden stacked on top of the others he already carried. Not only was he a coward, a liar, and utterly contemptible, but he was on the road to dementia as well.

His sensitive ears caught the sound of soft laughter drifting up the hallway. The melodious sound softened the raw edge he was clinging to and tamped his anger. That cool blue aura could extinguish any flame. The laughter belonged to Sai; sweet, gentle Sai. He could always be counted on to be the peacemaker and smooth over ruffled feathers. Now his mellifluous British accent gave his words a musical lilt as he jokingly admonished his friend. "Kento! It's just a video game. Don't take it so seriously."

He smiled slightly. Sai was the only one who could say anything to Kento about his video games without receiving an ear filling tirade on the vast amounts of skill and hand-eye coordination required to play the digitized modules. That was because Sai was so sweet that no one wanted to say a harsh word to him, or it could be because of the tighter bond between those two that Kento would never raise his voice around the bearer of Torrent.

Ryo could also hear Kento's good natured grumbling about Sai "You just don't understand how hard this is man!" And he could feel the more than friendly warmth between them as Sai just rolled his eyes and smiled. Their closeness warmed his heart and made him ache with a hollow jealousy he'd never felt before. He was happy those two were so close. Sai didn't handle fighting well and needed Kento's rock solid comfort to keep him from guilt tripping himself into oblivion.

Kento was the gentle giant of their little group. He was the epitome of what his armor bearer should be: big, strong, gentle, and possessed of the infinite patience of the earth itself. He was strong and liked to show off, but he never used his full strength unless he absolutely had to. Sai was perfectly right in calling him "a big teddy bear."

Ryo wished that he could be as endearing or gentle, but he was all flash and action. He could never stand still long enough to listen to both sides of an argument. He was too impatient to hold anything back. How did Sai manage to fight as well as he did? It was obvious how much he disliked it. He's just an excellent warrior and will do what he has to do, no matter the consequences. These four were so much more than he could ever be.

Closing tiger blue eyes, Ryo turned his focus inward and looked for the other two bonds tied to his heart and soul. There was Sage, glowing cool green and warm gold, practicing out by the lake. His aura flowed exactly as he did; cool, serene, perfect. There was nothing that Sage wasn't good at. He didn't even have to try, everything came naturally to him, fighting, grace, control. Ryo wished that he could siphon off a little of that control for himself, maybe if his blood ran a little cooler the Inferno would be easier to handle.

Rowen was in the shower, shining like the nighttime sky and singing slightly off key. He was the genius of the group, and it showed in everything he did, from perfect marksmanship to brilliant tactics pulled out of nowhere, Rowen was cool and analytical, even in the middle of a pitched battle, but he also knew when to joke around and have a good time. If Ryo could maintain a steady mindframe like that he would have no problem keeping himself together in that blazing heat.

Ryo felt each bond separately and together, like a patchwork quilt. Each piece was different and unique, but together they formed an inseparable whole. That joining had strengthened all of the bonds between them, and now he doubted if he could live without them or they without each other. They could read each others' minds it seemed, and they always knew when one or another was in any kind of trouble.

He felt so privileged to have that intimate of a relationship with these four amazing warriors that not telling them the truth was nearly killing him. Literally. He could feel their minds and emotions, but it felt like salt being rubbed into raw flesh. Holding things back just made the pain worse. Plus, he was selfish, and he knew it. He couldn't bear to lose to their trust and friendship. He had never had friends like this before and he didn't want to lose them. He wanted to keep them this close to his heart forever. Gods, they deserved a better leader than him, a better friend. Someone who wasn't a coward and wouldn't lie to them.

In the aftermath of the battle, when they were all gathering their scattered wits, he had felt their half-formed feelings for each other. Sage and Rowen. Kento and Sai. Ryo and? Ryo and??? his armor. He didn't want to taint them in any way or have them figure out that he was "spying" on them, so he closed himself off from those warm flows and separated himself from the others just enough to keep almost everything out. It wasn't easy to be privy to such intimate secrets and not be part of them.

But he had felt them, their desires, and their growing love for one another. He had felt it even if none of them had previously acknowledged these emotions out loud, in front of him or each other. He kept himself open a little to these transactions, which probably made him a pervert of some sort but he couldn't help it. All of that trust, friendship, warmth, and love made him smile like nothing else ever had before. It also made him so miserable with jealousy it was amazing that the others didn't question him about it.

Ryo gave a mental shrug and clutched his pillow a little tighter. They have their own problems to worry about right now without trying to deal with my jealousy as well.

The melding required to form the Inferno must have kicked things completely over the edge because ever since then the two new couples were spending godsawful amounts of time together. And it was obvious in little ways that Ryo hadn't noticed before. How Sage smiled a little more, especially at Rowen, and how Sai added extra little touches to Kento's meals that he didn't put on the others'. Or even how Rowen was able to tease Sage more without fear of getting his head torn off. It was like staring through a hazy miasma whenever he looked at them, but he wouldn't say anything, even if he did feel completely ostracized by all of the secret smiles and warm looks.

It didn't help either that Kento and Sai's relationship had escalated to the next level. He had just had to pick a room next to theirs. The gods only knew how many nights he had lain awake listening to them. The squeaking mattress and soft moans were easy to ignore, but the pleasured overtones that seeped into his mind every night were impossible, making already torrid dreams sweat drenched visions of what had to be pure sin.

Sage and Rowen were just a thumbs breadth away from the same thing. That was even worse! Dealing with their unsated lust for each other. Even he could feel it grinding at their insides, and just couldn't understand how they could be around each other and not do anything. He was already moody enough having to deal with the aftereffects of the Inferno without that squirming around in his mind too. He was also afraid that if he closed himself off altogether they would become suspicious of him and start asking questions, so he continued to suffer in silence.

He was sure that he wasn't supposed to know what was going on and he carried on the charade, letting them believe that he remained innocent of the whole thing. After all, what place did he have saying anything to them? They could at least exercise some control. Besides, they fought hard and made each other happy. After everything that they had already been through, they would be hard pressed to find anyone who would understand them half so well as a fellow warrior. Even so, he was ready to barge into their room and tie them together just to get things done and let him get back to sleep!

Ryo twined slender dark fingers in his tousled hair, half grinning, earlier angst almost completely forgotten. They wouldn't be able to resist each other then. And the looks on their faces! He was almost tempted to do just that. His stomach took that moment to complain loudly about not being fed yet. Snickering slightly, Ryo rolled off his bed and padded silently out to the hallway and downstairs into the kitchen where he came upon a slightly peeved Sai.

"Those two are starting to drive me mad! I don't know what their problem is. They sit and moon over each other day and night, but they're both afraid to either one make the first move!" He stamped his foot and glared at Kento who was pretending to listen and wearing a "nothing I can do about it" look. "Well?"

"Well what," Ryo asked, half grinning at Sai's start.

"Oh! Ryo! I, I didn't even hear you come in." He ran long fingers through thick auburn hair and sighed gustily. Sai almost didn't recognize Ryo standing there completely disheveled, eyes red rimmed, as though he had been crying. Ever since they had returned from the Dynasty something about Ryo hadn't been quite right. If he wanted anyone to know what was bothering him, he would talk to them about it. So Sai just shrugged, "I just don't know what to do with them."

"Do with who?" Ryo noticed Sai staring at him a little harder than usual. Did he know? Then remembering what he probably looked like, decided that it was just a little friendly concern, and brushed it to the side.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm more or less talking to myself," Sai replied with a grin at Kento. Sai watched Ryo's reaction out of the corner of his eye and was surprised by the look of sadness in those bright blue eyes that accompanied the slight smile quirking his lips.

Kento's formidable eyebrows drew downward in a confused frown. "Are you making fun of me," he asked, as he switched off the game console and got up to pour himself a glass of milk.

Sai just rolled his eyes and laughed again. "No silly. I'm just commenting on how no matter what I say to you I'd get more of a response out of a real rock. Anyway, would you like something to eat Ryo? I've already cleared breakfast, but I can make you something." That was another thing. Ryo wasn't eating very well anymore and he looked like he had lost some weight. He was starting to get really worried, but knowing how touchy Ryo was being lately decided against making an issue of it.

"Already cleared breakfast? What time is it anyway?" He hadn't realized he'd been in his room that long.

"It's???eleven thirty right on the nose. It's about time you woke up sleepyhead. I swear, you're becoming as bad as Rowen."

As if summoned the moment his name was spoken, the blue haired archer strolled through the kitchen doorway, drying his mop of blue hair with a fluffy towel. "Am I hearing my illustrious name being taken in vain?"

Sai shook his head and started washing the dishes, Kento snickered into his milk glass, and Ryo just smiled and pulled a cereal box out of the cupboard. "What? What's so funny?" His brows furrowed slightly at Kento's ill-concealed laughter.

"Illustrious???sure! Whatever you say man," Kento returned.

"Hey, you probably don't even know what that word means," he cried and flung his damp towel at the dark haired boy's head which earned him a mockingly dangerous look. "Alright, so maybe illustrious was the wrong word. Hmm, how about???"

"How about pugnacious? That word suits you more," Sage's cool voice was touched with slight amusement as he shut the back door behind himself. Whiteblaze, convinced that he was the size of a housecat tried to walk in behind him.

"Pugnacious?! I'll give you pugnacious blondie," he yelled. Sage just ignored him and moved out of Whiteblaze's way, who promptly went to Ryo and laid his head in the young man's lap. The boys bantered back and forth for a few moments until a wave of energy knocked them all nearly off their feet.

"What the hell was that," Rowen cried, as shook himself free of disorientation. Sage caught his shoulders as he stumbled slightly while running over to the sink. The other four boys crowded around Sai, smashing him into the counter top edge. What was visible through the window held him so enthralled though that he didn't even notice. "It's a gate from the Dynasty," was all he could say through his shock.

Ryo's heart sank to the same level as his stocking'd feet. Not now, please not now. I don't know if I can handle this now??? That thought just triggered more anger inside him and made him growl. This was not shaping up to be a very good day.