Title: Lonely Heart (Chapter 12)
Fandom: Ronin Warriors
Characters/Pairing: All five Ronins, Cye/Kento, Ryo/Luna, Sayoko Mouri, Dais
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Alluded to trauma and mentioning canonical parental death. Canon typical violence. Possibly some disturbing imagery at points (about the same as canon IMO, but YMMV).
Notes: More slice-of-life/remake AU!

--

Sayoko was crying. Cye didn’t know the cause behind her sorrow, but he knew that he had to make her feel better.

He walked toward her; his hands outstretched. “It’s going to be okay, Sayoko. I’m here.” She didn’t even look at him. “Sayoko? Big sister?” His voice sounded as small as he felt.

Now she did look at him, with a mix of rage and sadness. “You’re why he’s dead.”

“No, I would never do something like that.” He stumbled backward, wishing he believed what he was saying. “That’s not me, I would never be so cruel.”

His appeal did not sway her. She approached him methodically, a tanto knife in hand. “Your selfishness not only killed him; you can’t even be bothered to remember him.”

“I’m trying to remember him, I promise,” he gasped. His back was against their living room wall. There was no place to run. “Please, please, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for what I did. I’ll make up for it. I’ll make it right.”

“Liar.” She pointed the knife at him, black bangs hiding one eye. “You say you’ll help others, but all you care about is your security and comfort. You’d let anyone die for you if it meant you could stay locked away in your castle. You don’t trust anyone.”

He was crying, because the person he loved more than anything was telling him that all his darkest fears were true, and he agreed with her.

No. If Sayoko felt like this, a blunt person like her would have stated all of this ages ago. She loves me. This is just a nightmare.

“That’s not true,” he whispered fiercely. ‘Sayoko’ brought down the knife.

--

Then he woke up.

The first thing Cye did was grab his pillow to muffle his voice as he screamed out his frustration. He was sick of it. Dreams and nightmares that kept hinting at the things he never dared to ask about. But this had been even more than that. It was like someone else was with him and… he couldn’t remember. The dream was fading.

He wanted to scream into his pillow again but didn’t dare to risk it one more time. Sayoko was a light sleeper. If she suspected he was upset, she would barge in and try to comfort him. She was already dealing with enough with apparently fighting demons like that Dais creep in secret. He didn’t want to burden her with a little brother who was crying because he felt useless and selfish.

What he wanted to do was sneak out and see Kento. He always made Cye feel better, but it was two in the morning and Kento had just accepted that weird Armor and destiny a few hours ago. He supposed he could sneak out and see Rowen. Not only would he still be awake, but he understood both Cye and this whole Ronin Warrior thing. Maybe they couldn’t solve it all in one night, but they could generate some ideas.

Can you trust them after they lied to you?

Cye grimaced as his head began to hurt. He meant to get up and go to his bathroom’s medicine cabinet for the pain medication but found himself grabbing his good luck charm from the night table instead. He held it close to his heart, breathing deeply… and the pain began to recede.

They didn’t lie to me. They kept part of the truth hidden to protect me. And they said they’ll tell me everything from now on.

“Wow,” he whispered to the pale blue orb as he relaxed, “you really are lucky.” He didn’t feel instantly better, but he felt stabler. He could probably try sleeping again soon. “Maybe I should show you off you to Sage or Ryo. They could probably…” Wait. Of course.

Still holding on to the orb, Cye resolved to talk to Ryo as soon as Sayoko dropped them off at school. He slipped into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

--

“Ready to wrap up exams?” Ryo smiled at him as Sayoko drove away.

“I am.” Ryo was saying something about how Cye and Luna needed to start getting ready for high school entrance exams soon, but Cye held up his hand. “Ryo, I need to ask you a favor.”

“Sure, man.” Ryo was smiling. “What do you need?”

“Do you remember when you said you were willing to help me learn more about my father and I told you that I might take you up on that one day?” Cye took a breath. “I’m taking you up on that.”

“Ah.” Ryo wasn’t smiling anymore as he led Cye to one of the larger trees on campus, away from the students. “Okay. I have some mystical items at home that can bring memories to the surface.”

“Perfect.”

“But it takes a lot out of the person trying to remember. I’ll accompany you.”

“Not perfect.” Cye touched Ryo’s arm. “I appreciate you trying to protect me. But this is something I’m going to need to process on my own.”

Ryo furrowed his brow. “That’s a bad idea.”

“Maybe, but I have to do this on my terms.” Cye squeezed Ryo’s arm gently. His sister and his friends wanted to protect him. They wanted to protect him so much, Cye was sure that they would try to interpret the memory for him in some way that would make him feel less horrible about whatever truth he would reveal. But he didn’t want to feel better; he wanted to know how and why his father died. “Ryo, please.”

“Okay. But Sage and I will be there the moment you need us.”

“Thanks. Ask Sage to drive us home, okay? I already told Sayoko we’d be going to your house after school today, so don’t worry about that. Oh, and I think I need to be alone for lunch. I want you to take the food I usually give everyone and guard it from Kento and Rowen with your life until then. I’ll give Kento his onigiri before classes begin.”

“Wow.” Ryo ran a hand through his hair. “You, ah, had this all planned out, didn’t you?”

“I did. And I’ll see you after school.”

--

“I was hoping we could vent about exams during lunch.” Kento looked so broken-hearted that Cye desperately wished he could eat lunch with his friends after all.

“I’m sorry, Kento.” Cye tried to smile as he pushed the onigiri into Kento’s hands. “I’m doing something personal after school, and I have to get ready for that.”

“No problem.” Kento cheered up a bit. “I’ll go with you.”

“Kento, please understand I said it’s personal for a reason.” It seemed like all he could do was break his boyfriend’s heart today. “But I’ll tell you what. As soon as I wake up tomorrow morning, I’ll call you and tell you everything that happened.”

“Okay,” Kento said without a glimmer of distrust in his heart. “I’m holding you to that.”

--

“What do you think you’re doing?” Luna said sharply, hands on her hips.

Cye opened his eyes. “I was trying to meditate.” He frowned at her. “Didn’t Ryo tell you that I wanted to be left alone?”

“That’s the last thing you need right now!” She stalked over to the grassy meadow where he had been attempting to prepare himself for the evening. “Look, the boys all love you, so they’re not trying to push. I, however, both love you and have known you long enough to know that sometimes you need a bonk on the head before you make a poor decision!”

He smiled at that. “You’re talking like you did when we were twelve.”

Luna huffed gently. “Yeah, well, twelve-year-old Luna was pretty smart.” She sat down next to him. “Cye, I’m not psychic. But I’ve known you long enough that something is wrong.”

He didn’t want to hide the truth. “Ryo said he’ll help me remember how and why my father died today after school.”

“Seriously?!” Luna’s eyes were huge. “I’ll go with you.”

“No. This is something I need to do on my own.”

Luna grabbed his shoulder. “I am going with you. Deal with it.”

“No, you’re not!” Cye broke away, standing up. “Stop acting like I’m going to die if I do one thing on my own!”

Luna stood up as well, eyes bright with anger. “I’m sorry.” Despite the heat in her tone, she was sincere. “It’s just…”

“Your brother died when he was working alone, and you’re still scared everyone else you love will die if you’re not there to protect them,” Cye finished for her. “You’re feeling that pretty strongly.”

“Well, that’s one good thing about all of us knowing you’re psychic now. You don’t have to come up with some weird excuse when you know everything.”

“It’s gonna be okay,” Cye promised, hugging her. “I can heal the pain if you want.”

“I appreciate that, but no,” she said against his shoulder, hugging him back with all her heart. “I hate it, but you need your energy for tonight.”

“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. Hey, Ryo and Sage will be on standby, just in case. Why don’t you join them?”

Luna laughed/sobbed. “Okay. But if you so much as sneeze, my knives and I will be there.”

--

“Mr. Hashiba,” Aikawa said formally if a bit coolly (Rowen couldn’t blame her if she was still mad about him tricking her when they first met). “Ms. Mouri is waiting for you in her office.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your help.” He stepped into the office, only to find it was empty. Undeterred, he pulled out the book in the bookcase that opened the passage to her other office. “Ms. Sayoko?’ He headed down the stairs. “I’m officially done with the semester, so any time I’m not fighting demons or with my parents, I can help you with your armor. By the way, good job with PR after last night. One would think a disappearing restaurant where lots of people were in danger would be front-page news, but instead, all I saw was an article buried in local events about several wealthy locals being duped by a fraudster who promised them a fancy dinner.”

“It’s not a skill I’m proud of but will use, when necessary,” Sayoko said, bent over a suit of black armor. She was in a faded green shirt, jeans, and a white lab coat. Her eyes were hidden by thick goggles. “How did exams go?”

“I aced them.”

Sayoko didn’t look up from her work, but she did give him a thumbs-up. “I expected that, but I’m still proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Rowen frowned at the armor. “Are you sure that the best way to test your armor is for me to fire Strata’s arrows at you after you suit up?”

“Of course!” Sayoko took off her goggles, brown eyes eager. “What better way to see if I can take a hit than to have a Ronin Warrior attack me?”

“Yes, but arrows can, you know, kill people.” Rowen rubbed the back of his neck. “Surely there are other ways to test the armor?”

“Well, we could spar!”

“It’s like talking to Kento.” And like with Kento, he would have to be direct. “Ms. Sayoko, I am more than willing to help you test the armor. However, I am too uncomfortable with the idea of attacking you for such a test to provide any useful data.”

Sayoko frowned but nodded. “Well, if you say so. I apologize for making you uncomfortable. I guess I’m just so stressed with protecting Cye, I let my feelings get the better of me.”

“Speaking of Cye…” It was time to be direct again. “Ms. Sayoko, Cye knows.”

“What does he know?”

“Everything. I’m sorry, he swore me to secrecy, but I’m tired of hiding the truth all the time.”

Sayoko sighed heavily. “I know.”

“But how?”

“Psychics are terrible liars. I mean, seriously. He supposedly got so lost he wandered outside into the woods? And he never tells me about his spells unless he has to.”

“I will admit, I was surprised you seemed to fall for something so obviously false.” Rowen straddled the computer chair. “I had assumed that you were just so relieved he was safe, that you didn’t think about it too much. So, if you knew he was lying, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because my brother is like my father. If anyone is struggling in any way, he ruminates and stresses because he’s naïve enough to think that he can save everyone. He’s hoping that if he keeps things as normal as possible, I’ll have some refuge from all of this.” Sayoko’s tone was between fondness and regret. “I’m on a vengeance quest. I chose this path, but I admit it’s not the healthiest path. Cye is trying to keep things as normal as possible so that I don’t falter. I have to respect that, at least until this armor is ready… and his abilities fully mature.”

“Like healing physical wounds? Kento mentioned that Cye was able to heal what was almost definitely a fatal wound on his back in the last battle.”

Sayoko shook her head. “Not just that. You know how there’s still one Armor missing, and it’s conveniently the Armor linked to healing?”

“That can’t be.” Rowen refused to accept that someone as pacific as Cye deserved this. “He’s sickly, he hates fighting, he—”

“Saved Kento’s life with his healing abilities.” Sayoko sighed heavily, looking older than she was. “I hate it, too. I denied it for as long as I could. After losing my father, all I wanted was to make sure that Cye would never have to deal with the Dynasty. I planned to awaken the Torrent Armor myself, but after years of nothing on my end while my brother has slowly become as strong as our father at least psychically, it’s clear that he will awaken Torrent.” She returned her gaze to her untested armor. “All I can do now is my best to protect him, and to trust him.”

“I suppose that’s all I can do as well,” Rowen said reluctantly. He didn’t want Cye to be Torrent. But… his parents always looked worried when he stepped out the door these days. He felt terrible about that, but that didn’t him from being Strata, because he had chosen this fate. “But what now? I know things are difficult with him somehow awakening an Armor he’s not aware of, but we still need to tell him.”

“I would love to let him think he’s protecting me a little longer… but I’ve learned the hard way that hiding the truth is not always protection,” Sayoko said as she began to pack her armor into a small briefcase. “Whelp, I was hoping to test this first, but I guess that I don’t need to do that to show it off to my baby brother and his friends. Cye told me he was going to hang out with Ryo and Sage at Ryo’s house after school today. Which means he’s probably ruminating about everything that’s happened.”

“He was rather quiet today, yes.”

“Exactly. So, you and I will stop by Ryo’s house and tell him everything. Once he sees that I’m not going to run in and try to kill every grunt I see with no armor, I think that will make him feel better, which should keep him calm enough to properly awaken Torrent.”

“Yeah, just don’t tell him about how you knocked the head off a Dynasty soldier while you had no armor on last night,” Rowen replied dryly. But he was so relieved. Finally, he didn’t have to worry about what secret he was keeping from which sibling anymore. And yet… “I suggest that we pick up Kento on the way. He can help us keep Cye from ruminating. Also, while I’m not psychic myself, I have this gut feeling that if Cye is awakening, then the five of us should be together.”

--

“If you’re psychic, recalling a memory is simple enough if you have the tools,” Sage said as he pressed an aquamarine stone into Cye’s hands. “Take this to any body of water. Douse your hands and the stone in the water. Concentrate on the memory you want to manifest.”

Luna was sharpening one of her knives. “Cye, it’s not too late to change your mind. Or to ask any one of us to go with you.”

“No. I’m sorry, but this is something I need to experience on my own.” Cye attempted to smile. “It’s selfish, but after a year of other people telling me what to think and feel, I need to make sure that anything that happens tonight is because of me and no one else.”

“I understand.” Sage placed a hand on Cye’s shoulder. “I don’t like it, but I understand. Just be careful. Recalling the memory is easy. But interpreting it? Not becoming overwhelmed by it? That’s something even experts struggle with.”

“I will be.” Cye smiled for real at Sage. “Thanks.”

When he was gone, Luna looked at Ryo. “You’re quiet.”

“Yeah,” Ryo said guiltily. “That’s because I had White Blaze shadow Cye, just in case. Psychics can’t detect animals, so he’ll never know.” Sage nodded.

“Ah, White Blaze. The tiger you’ve told me about, but I haven’t had a chance to meet yet.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Ryo said with a wave of his hand. “You can meet him when Cye comes back.”

Luna gazed out the living room window. “He better come back.”
--

Cye approached the stream, oil lamp in hand. He found a spot to sit and put out the lamp. He was going to be here a while and didn’t want to risk starting a fire.

After all of his nightmares, he couldn’t help but be terrified of what he would see. But the desire to have something more than half-memories and faded dreams of his father overrode that fear as he plunged his hands into the cold water. He closed his eyes and willed the stone to bring forth any memories of his father that it could.

--

When Cye opened his eyes, he was greeted by the Yamaguchi shoreline on a brilliantly sunny day.

“Wow. The beach. There’s a place I’ve never been to before. Thanks, magic memory stone,” he grumbled to himself, standing up. He shielded his eyes from the sun, frowning when he saw a toddler trying to play with the seagulls. Where were the child’s parents?

“Cye!”

“Yes?” He said automatically to the woman in a white sundress walking toward him… and went cold as she walked through him and to the toddler. “Honestly, Cye,” she scolded as she picked the toddler up. “You know Mummy has trouble running.” Yet she smiled, stroking his hair. “I know you love the beach, but you’re too little to go exploring alone.”

It wasn’t the memory he was looking for, but Cye still felt a peace he hadn’t felt in weeks wash over him. It was strange, in a good way, to see his mother when she was younger and more relaxed. As for toddler Cye’s behavior… well, it seemed like something he would do.

“Cynthia!” A tall, muscled man with messy black hair and blue-green eyes waved. A girl about Cye’s age accompanied him.

“Sayoko,” Cye whispered. “Dad.”

“Hey, there, big guy!” Dad tousled the toddler’s hair. “Giving your mother grief again? Well, good. All kids should terrorize their parents a few times. It keeps us on our toes!”

Mum rolled her eyes. “Shin, you are incorrigible.” Yet her tone was gentler than Cye could remember it ever being. Toddler Cye was squirming, so Mum set him down. He immediately ran to Sayoko, who suggested they go find seashells together. Carefully, Sayoko led her brother by the hand away from their parents.

Dad turned to Mum, any levity in his tone long gone. “What did the doctor say?”

Mum shrugged. “I’m not getting worse, but I’m also not getting better. She suggested that I may want to leave my position at the clinic. She thinks the stress is aggravating my condition.”

“That’s not fair, Cynthia. You love being a doctor.” Dad took her hands in his. “I’ll try healing you again. I’ve been training for it. I know I can make you better.”

“Shin, this is more than a broken bone. This is something I’ve been dealing with for my whole life.” Mum’s voice was steely. “And every time you’ve tried, I’m the one who’s had to nurse you back to health.”

Dad sniffled, which surprised Cye. Every picture and story about his father he knew was about a happy, brave man. But happy, brave people had the right to cry as well. “I just want you to be healthy.”

“Here’s a secret, Shin: I want to be healthy, too. Unfortunately, life doesn’t care about what we want.” Mum pulled him in close. “I’m not dying, Shin. I just have to be careful, that’s all.” Dad gave her a watery smile. “I’m not going to let you get sick over me, especially with those demons getting bolder lately.”

Wait. Why would Dad need to worry about demons? Unless…

He was still on the beach, but now it was nighttime, and the middle of a thunderstorm. Dad dashed down the shore, looking like he’d lost his world. “Cye?!” He looked around desperately. “Where are you, Cye?!”

They both turned around when they heard a tiny voice crying out from behind the rocks. Dad immediately ran in that direction. Cye followed him.

“Oh, son,” Dad knelt before the sobbing toddler. “Don’t cry.” He laughed weakly. “If you cry, I’ll cry too, and then we’ll never get home because we’ll both be bawling.” He examined the toddler’s right leg, which was badly swollen. Dad muttered something about how Cynthia was going to kill him, but that didn’t stop him from hovering a hand over the toddler's leg.

“Dad, don’t,” Cye gasped. His chest felt like someone was stomping on it, and he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs. Something was going to happen, something terrible, if Dad did this. “Please, just leave me alone.”

“Don’t worry, I can patch up any hurt.” Dad’s hand glowed, and several moments later, the swelling was gone. He gave the toddler a tired smile. “There, see? Good as new. Let’s go home before the storm gets worse.”

The cruelest laugh Cye had ever heard in his life echoed in the distance.

“Not now, Anubis,” Dad said darkly, scooping up the toddler in his arms. He smiled when Sayoko, yari in hand, dashed over to them.

“Dad!” Cye had never seen Sayoko look so scared before. “M-Mortimer says that Anubis is attacking. What should we do?!”

“You are going to take your baby brother and hide. Protect him no matter what, okay?” Dad instructed her as he handed her the toddler. “I’ll hold off Anubis.” Sayoko nodded tearfully, and she dashed off with her brother. His father was exhausted but still pulled a blue orb from his pocket.

“Please don’t,” Cye begged his father. “If you do this, you’ll die. I don’t want you to die because of me.”

“Armor of Torrent.” Dad disappeared into a sea of cherry blossoms.

No!

The stone was lost to the stream as Cye yanked his hands away. His dad—he was fighting Anubis, Cye had to stop him before he died—

“I’ll make it right.” He staggered upright, leaning against a nearby tree. “Mum will be so sad if he dies—”

(It’s too late.)

He managed three steps, but then his legs gave out from under him. “I’m not giving up,” he gasped even as the rocks and branches on the forest ground cut into his hands and knees. “My friends. If he dies, if he can’t protect them, they’ll have to fight all alone—”

(He’s been dead for years.)

“Please don’t be dead because of me,” he pleaded as the exhaustion won and he collapsed on the bitterly cold ground. He was too tired to even cry. All he could do was accept the bitter truth that his selfishness had killed his father, made his mother a widow, caused Mortimer to lose a surrogate brother, meant his friends were one warrior short, and Sayoko… she hated him. She just pretended to care because that’s what you were supposed to do. How could she love someone who killed her father?

(He never should have remembered, never gone to the beach that summer, never gone to Tokyo. At least before, he could pretend his sister loved him.)

My poor boy.

“…Dad,” Cye whispered reverently to the starless sky. “I’m so sorry.”

I forgive you for killing me. But you know you can’t live with yourself knowing this.

“I want to forget it again, Dad,” he confessed. Forget that he murdered his father. Forget that his friends were facing the same fate. “Please let me forget it again. Please let me pretend my sister loves me.”

Of course. But you’ll have to do what I tell you to do.

“Yes,” he said immediately. “I’ll do anything you want. Be anything you want. Just let me pretend.”

In fairy tales, monarchs sleep until their problems go away. You shall do the same.

“I’ll sleep forever if I have to.” He shut his eyes gratefully.

Good boy. You’ll awaken when I’ve solved all of your problems for you. Because that’s all you’ve ever truly wanted. Just to be comfortable and safe.

“Yes.” He didn’t resist at all as he slipped further into his trance. “That’s all. Please make everything quiet and safe for me, I beg you.”

Of course. And if the Ronin Warriors try to wake you up without my permission… well, you’ll know what to do.

“Yes,” he murmured sleepily, feeling better than he had in ages. It was so quiet tonight. “Good night, Dad.”

--

“I’m shocked.” Dais gazed down at the tanto knife in wonder. “Strata and Hardrock both at least tried to resist my illusions. You, however, were eager to embrace them. I suppose the horror of realizing why your father died might have played a factor. The psychic abilities might have made you more suggestible as well. I should torture Halo at some point to know for sure. But I know the primary reason you gave in. The real reason.”

He smiled savagely as he took the knife. “You’re weak. You’re letting all of them die for you while you sleep your life away because you can’t deal with sad things. You’re just like him.”

“Anubis is going to kill you for manipulating Torrent,” Cale warned him from the shadows.

“Once I’m done, Anubis will no longer be a concern,” Dais replied almost breezily as he left to battle the Ronin Warriors who would do anything, even sacrifice themselves, to awaken the prince from his curse.

--

Luna had sharpened all of her knives, so all she could do now was wait. Sage was meditating. She hoped that meant he was keeping a metaphorical eye on Cye, but she was too tense to ask. Ryo sat next to her but wasn’t trying to offer her empty words of comfort. She appreciated that.

“Cye’s mentioned that his sister took their dad’s death hard,” he did say, however. “But I’m starting to think Cye did as well. He just shows it in this weird ‘I want to know more, but only if I don’t stress my family at all about it’ way.”

Luna nodded. “I got the same feeling as well when we were growing up in New York. He’d complain that no one would tell him anything… but would also bristle if I suggested he confront his sister.”

“Well, that is our Cye for ya.” Ryo smiled sadly. “He’d rather wander off in the woods and re-live his dad’s death than maybe make his sister sad by asking questions.”

“It’s selfish, and I’m furious with him,” she finally said out loud. “He’s going off, nobly taking on all this grief so the rest of us can supposedly be happy.” She glared down at her hands. “How am I supposed to be happy when he’s going through this?”

Gently, Ryo took her hands into his. “Everyone’s selfish. I mean, we’re both on vengeance quests even though we know it makes our friends and families worry about us.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” She remembered her mother’s fury/horror when she realized she had stolen the prototype armor to avenge Billy… and Cye’s sorrowful expression when he first saw her in that armor yesterday. “I guess that when he does come back, that’s something we all need to talk about.”

“Yep. I think as soon as he’s back, we’ll call the others and start setting some ground rules for the team.”

Despite everything, Luna grinned. “Maybe we could even have meetings, like the Baby-Sitter’s Club.”

“Um, sure, whatever that is.”

Suddenly, Sage cried out, hands flying to his hand.

“Sage!” Ryo was already by his side, helping him stand up. “What’s wrong?”

Sage was rummaging for his orb. “Cye is in danger.”

Luna bolted out the door, changing into her armor. She was greeted by a white tiger on the porch.

“You must be White Blaze,” she realized. “I have this weird feeling you’ll take me to Cye.” The tiger nodded, so she hopped on his back and they were off.

--

White Blaze stopped at a pile of leaves and branches that Luna really tried not to notice was vaguely coffin-shaped. She hopped off and started moving as much as she could. White Blaze assisted her, removing the larger branches with his teeth. After what felt like forever, she unearthed Cye, corpselike in his slumber.

Just like Billy when he—

“Calm down, Luna,” she told herself. “He’s breathing. He’s alive, but he needs your help.” She gazed down at the tree roots binding him to the ground. “Oh, boy, does he need my help.” She took out a knife and carefully began cutting the roots. When the last one was removed, she took Cye into her arms. “C’mon, buddy. It’s me. I’m here to save you.” White Blaze licked his hands and face. Cye didn’t stir.

“He’s under a spell, Luna.” Sage and Ryo were there, both clad in their Armor. Luna was about to retort that much was obvious… but then Sage took off his helmet, kneeling next to Cye, blue eyes unfocused, and she realized this was eating him up as much as her. “I’ll try to break it. May I?”

She handed Cye over to Sage. Ryo immediately went to Luna’s side, holding her hands, gaze fixed on Sage and Cye. Sage took Cye into his arms with a gentleness that she never would have thought he was capable of, until now. Sage closed his eyes, the kanji for ‘wisdom’ flashing on his brow.

--

Cye. It’s me.

He ignored the voice. Dad said he was supposed to sleep.

Please wake up. Your spirit is warped, but I can’t fix it on my own. I need your help.

His spirit was warped? No, he was just sleeping. But the person speaking felt hurt and he didn’t like it when other people were hurting.

Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if he woke up just long enough to explain that it was going to be okay.

With effort, he opened his eyes and was greeted by Halo. “Cye, I’m so glad—” Halo was shut up when he hit Halo. He bolted upright to run, except Wildfire grabbed him by the arms.

“Let me go!” He screamed, kicking and thrashing. “All of you are horrible and terrible, leave me alone!”

“No.” Despite his name, Wildfire’s gauntlets were icy against his skin. “Dais messed with your brain, Cye. We’re not letting you go.”

“I hate you!” He howled, trying to headbutt Wildfire, but he was shaking too hard to land a blow.

“Cye, stop.” Luna put herself between him and Halo. “You’re too gentle to believe any of what you’re saying.”

“L-Luna?” What was she doing here? Strength gone, he sagged in Wildfire’s grip. “Please, Luna, I have to go back to sleep. Dad said it’s the only way I can forget that I killed him.”

“What?!” Luna grabbed his face in her hands. “Cye, you were three when it happened. There is no way you could have done that.”

He wanted to explain. It made so much sense in his head. It was the truth.

“Oh, Cye.” Then Luna glanced over her shoulder and beamed. “It’s gonna be okay. Kento and Rowen are here. So is your sister.”

… No. No, Sayoko was going to kill him. They all were. The only reason Hardrock hadn’t yet was that Strata was holding him back.

He tried to will himself to sleep as Sayoko grew closer. Become numb to the outside world. After all, she was clad in black armor, which meant she was going to avenge their father. But sobs escaped his body, keeping him awake.

Luna stepped aside and now Sayoko was here. He prepared for her to kill him, but instead, she brushed his hair from his eyes.

“Hey, baby brother,” she breathed. She smiled at him sadly. “I am so sorry, Cye. This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not,” Cye said. “I’m why Dad is dead. He said so.”

“Dad would never say that. Listen to Luna, Cye. You were three.”

“I-I snuck out to the beach—”

“Because you were three, and you loved the ocean. We couldn’t keep you from it.” She made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. “We still can’t.” Sayoko took his hands in her own. “There’s no way you could have known Anubis would have attacked. I know you feel guilty about Dad healing your leg, which left him tired before the battle. But unless you ordered Anubis to kill Dad, it was not your fault.” Her eyes were bright with tears at this point, but she kept talking. “I’m so sorry for not telling you. It was hard when Dad died. Mum was mourning and got worse and Mortimer was trying to find Anubis to kill him. All I had left was you. So, when it was clear that you didn’t remember how Dad died, I never told you. I didn’t want you to feel the grief I felt.”

“… You aren’t mad at me for what happened?”

“Of course not. I was going to tell you when you were older.” She paused only to wipe at her eyes. “But then you got sick, too. I’m not sure if you remember, but sometimes even overhearing arguments would make you ill when you were tiny. I… I was scared that something this heavy would kill you, so I never told you. Which meant that when you went looking on your own, no one was here to tell you the truth when Dais sunk his teeth into you.” She looked at Cye tearfully. “Can you forgive me?”

The man in his head was screaming at him to never forgive, go back to sleep, forget everything… but he knew his sister. He trusted his sister. “Of course.” He smiled through his tears. “I love you. My first memory is begging you to take me to the beach.”

She laughed breathlessly, brushing the tears from his eyes. “See? I told you we couldn’t keep you from the ocean! You belong there.”

“Dais is here,” Sage announced as Kento helped him up. “Get ready for a fight.”

The next thing Cye knew, Sayoko was shoving him roughly aside as a wave of energy struck her hard enough to send her flying and crashing into the dirt.

Rowen was screaming something as he and the others chased Dais into the forest, but Cye was too busy focusing on his sister to hear it. “Sayoko?!” He dashed over to her.

“I’m okay,” she grunted, trying and failing to sit upright.

“You are the exact opposite of okay.” He could see the charred flesh of her shoulder peeking through what was left of her armor there. He placed his hands over the wound and focused on his desire to save her, but it wasn’t like with Kento. He could see the wound slowly healing, but they didn’t have time for this. He needed more power.

The image of his father becoming Shin of the Torrent entered his mind. That was the power he needed… he just wasn’t sure if a coward like him could handle it. But he had to save Sayoko. He had to trust that he was strong enough.

“Okay, Armor of Torrent,” he whispered as he took out his orb to channel his energy. “Show me what you can do.”

Trust.

“You did it,” Sayoko whispered. She was sitting up now, her shoulder healed. “And then some.”

“What do you mean…” Cye looked down at his hands, now encased in Armor the same color as the ocean.

After checking that Sayoko was okay one last time, he said, “I’m going to help my friends. Stay here so you can recover fully.” He managed a smile. “But if I get brainwashed again, feel free to save me.”

“Of course!” Sayoko smirked, flexing her left bicep. “You can’t stop the Mama Bear.”

“Don’t worry, Cye, I’ll keep her safe,” Luna promised. “Be careful!”

--

The fight could be going better, Kento realized grimly as he struggled to break free from Dais’s webbing. It shouldn’t have been like this: there were four of them but only one of Dais. But there was something different in his fighting style. Before, he had been all about schemes—which meant he got angry when those schemes went awry, which meant he left openings for Kento to exploit. Now he was fighting only to subdue and then kill. Seeing how they were all in various stages of being trapped in his expanding web, the subdue part had happened. Kento wondered how long he had to figure out a way to at least save his friends.

“What’s wrong, little man?” Dais said from a treetop. “No banter today?”

“Come down here and say that to my face! I owe you a few bonks on the head for trying to brainwash Cye!”

“I did you a favor,” Dais spoke like they were having a friendly chat as he dropped down headfirst to observe Kento more closely, suspended by a silvery spider’s web. “People who go on and on about gentleness and friendship are always the first to betray you. All of you,” he said to the other three. “Did you know that he was fine with you dying if it meant he could be safe?”

Kento snarled, struggling against the webbing. “I ain’t trusting anything Cye said or thought after you did your hocus-pocus on him.”

“Hmm. And where is he now, while you four are about to die?”

“He’s healing his sister.” Rowen’s even tone contrasted with how he struggled frantically against his bonds. “He has no Armor, he can’t stand fighting, and you attempted to destroy his soul. But he still risked his life to save her. Just like I know he’ll do whatever he can to save us.”

Dais chuckled, but it sounded forced. “I wouldn’t place my trust in someone who hates fighting. He’s a coward.”

“So what if he is?!” Sage screamed. “Only a fool yearns for battle. And yes, he can’t stand fighting, but he still takes care of us and heals us. Even after you tried to twist him against his sister, against us, he’s trying to help. That’s one of the reasons why he’s our friend.”

Ryo smiled at Dais darkly. “Meanwhile, where are your friends?”

“I’ve had enough of this,” Dais said tersely, taking out his blade. “Say goodbye…” Even with the face-plating, Kento saw the horror in Dais’s expression. “What is happening to you?!”

“Don’t look at me, man!” Kento’s Armor was glowing brightly. “This is my second night on the job!”

“Concentrate, Kento,” Sage instructed him sharply. His Armor was also glowing. “Our Armors are reacting to the final Ronin Warrior awakening.”

“Cye,” Rowen said simply as his Armor glowed. “I’m sorry. You deserve a better life than this.”

Ryo’s Armor was so bright, that it was almost blinding. “Wait, did you just say Cye?”

“He did,” Cye said as he approached them quietly, in his Armor and trident in hand. “We’ve met before, but I don’t believe I had the opportunity to formally introduce myself,” he said to Dais. “I am Cye of the Torrent and I plan to end this fight with as few casualties as possible. If you flee now, I will not pursue you.”

Dais gave Cye a cold glare. “Have you not noticed that I have your friends at my mercy?”

Cye’s smile was similar to his sister’s shark grin. “Yes, about that.” He held up a hand and White Blaze struck, fangs and claws freeing each Ronin. The fall was unpleasant, but no bones were broken. Dais retreated to the treetop.

Cye knelt next to Ryo and White Blaze, pointedly ignoring Kento yelling at him to find someplace safe to hide. “Are you guys all right?”

“Yeah,” Ryo grunted. “Although Kento’s got a point. We’re dead weight to you right now. Run and make sure Luna and your sister get out of here.”

“Yes,” Dais hissed from his tree. “Leave them.”

“You are obsessed with proving that I would betray my friends.” Cye’s calm tone rivaled Rowen’s. “You could have just killed me or taken my Armor when I was asleep or despondent over my father’s fate. But that wasn’t enough for you. You wanted to make a point.”

Dais made a disgusted sound. “And what are you going to do about it, boy?”

Cye pointed his trident at Dais. “I am going to challenge you to a duel, Warlord of Illusion. If you want me in your thrall, whatever. But you shall leave my friends and family out of this.” There was the shark grin again. “Let’s see whose will is stronger.”

“If you insist,” Dais agreed.

“Everyone?” Cye stood up, focused on the dark dome Dais was in the process of creating. “Run. I’ll join you once I’m done here.”

Ryo looked up at him sharply. “No. I’m not letting you go alone again.”

“I won’t be.” Cye placed a hand over his heart. “It’s hard to explain, but I can feel you four giving me strength. Besides, I owe you for making sure I didn’t sleep my life away.”

Ryo didn’t like it, but White Blaze headbutted him gently. “Be careful.”

“Cye, don’t do this!” Kento was restrained by both Sage and Rowen. “This guy gets in your head, I-I don’t want you to get hurt—”

“We don’t have a choice,” Rowen told him. “I hate it, too, but if we get caught up in the dome, we’re hostages that Dais can use against him.”

Sage glanced over his shoulder as they fled, taking in Cye for a moment. “You’re a good man, Cye. I know that you will emerge victorious.”

“Thank you,” he said as the dome began to close over him. “That makes one of us.”

The last thing he heard was Kento screaming at him to not lose.

--

Cye awoke with a sharp gasp. Dais hadn’t hypnotized him again, which was a relief. He had just knocked him out and left him on a throne that was made of the same inky material as the dark dome. As he looked around, he realized that everything—tables, chairs, tapestries—were all made of the same stuff. The Warlords could apparently be creative with what these domes could do if they desired. He quickly stood up and took out his trident, scanning the throne room.

“The little princeling is awake?” Dais’s voice mocked him.

“Thanks, Kento,” Cye muttered. “Now everyone is doing it.” He closed his eyes. Cye could detect Dais’s presence in the room, but he couldn’t pinpoint him yet. He supposed it was one of the Warlord of Illusion’s many powers. “So, are we going to fight at some point or what?”

Dais laughed as images of Cye filled the room. “Enjoy seeing yourself betray your friends, over and over.”

The illusion was about what Cye expected. Versions of himself articulating all the fears and hatreds he kept buried down. And perhaps if he hadn’t just seen his father die, fallen under a sleeping curse that he was only truly freed from when his sister cried over him, and then become a Ronin Warrior to save her life that might have impacted him more. But right now? Seeing negative aspects of his personality seemed almost benign in comparison.

“Honestly, Dais,” he grumbled as he was surrounded by a sea of ‘Cyes.’ “I think you’re running out of ideas.” He ignored the ‘Cyes’ talking about how he was a coward and wanted freedom and hated people, focusing on pinpointing Dais amongst the illusions until one of them said something interesting.

“I’m sorry, Kento, but we can’t be together,” ‘Cye’ said sadly. “My mother is demanding an heir.”

“Wait,” Cye said in reply. “I never said that to Kento. And I bloody well know that Mum is not expecting an heir from me—” He cried out as a wave of anger/betrayal nearly overwhelmed him. The illusions of himself disappeared, but Dais was still hidden.

“Don’t you dare poke around in my head!” Dais bellowed.

“Then don’t feel so loudly!” Cye snapped back. He groaned as another wave crashed over him, and images/sensations flooded into his mind. Normally, he would assume that Dais was trying to disorient him—but Dais felt light-headed and sick as well, like Cye when he—

“You’re like me,” Cye realized. “But your family couldn’t tolerate your abilities. They cast you out.”

“… I thought I told you to shut up.”

The images were so strong that Cye couldn’t shut up. “But you found a lord. Someone who seemed gentle. You were his strategist and used your abilities to help him gain unparalleled power. Once he had that, he showed his true self and cast you out. Even with your abilities, you… you loved him too much to realize he was false until it was too late. You were so furious; you awoke your Armor through sheer force of will. That’s when someone called Talpa found you.”

And that was when Dais attacked him.

Not with his blades or webs like Cye would have expected. No, he charged him with Cye’s tanto knife, nothing but rage and emotion. All things that an aikido expert could exploit as Cye disarmed him and threw him to the ground.

The guys would kill him if they knew what he was doing, but Cye had to at least try to save Dais. “What your parents and your lord did to you was wrong. So was Talpa manipulating your grief. I can help you work through the pain.” Cye held out his hand. “Come with me. That’s all I ask.”

Dais swatted away Cye’s hand, staggering upright. “S-stay away from me.” The castle dome began to crack and crumble around them as Dais’s grip on their shared reality began to falter.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Cye said as the Warlord vanished. “If you change your mind, I’ll be here.” But for now, he had to worry about the collapsing dome. It hasn’t vanished once Dais left, which meant it was similar to the one from yesterday that Rowen told him about. Cye would have to blast his way through. He picked up the tanto knife Dais had dropped when he fled and struck a shadowy wall. When it didn’t give, he hit it with his trident. He could see some scratches of resistance, but it wouldn’t be enough before the dome collapsed on him.

“Don’t worry, son! I’ll help you escape!”

Cye spun around and was greeted by a spectral image of his father. “Dad?! But you’re dead.”

“Physically,” Dad explained cheerfully. “But I’ve always been by your side.”

“Yes, I think you have been,” Cye realized with a smile. But then he cried out as the roof threatened to cave in on them. “Dad, I’m going to be joining you unless you make good on that promise to help me escape.”

“Oh, right, sorry! The Ancient One loaned me some power to teleport you away from here. Take my hand and hold on tight.” Cye obeyed. The next thing he knew, they were alone in the clearing where Cye had saved his friends.

Dad smiled at him sadly. “It wasn’t your fault that I died.”

“I know,” Cye could finally admit. “Sayoko said the same thing.”

“That’s because she’s smart!” Dad let out a wistful sigh. “Tell Sayoko that I love her and I’m proud of her. Please send my love to your mother as well. And tell Mortimer it’s not his fault that I died, too.”

“Of course. I just wish you could tell them in person. I understand that the only one at fault for what happened is this Anubis, but it’s still not fair.”

“Death never is. Neither is you having to take up my mantle” Dad took a breath as if willing himself to cheer up. “But hey, now we’re connected through the Armor!” There was a strangely familiar sound and Dad groaned in resignation. “I have to go. I love you, Cye, and I’m proud of you as well. Take care of everyone.”

“I will. I love you too, Dad,” he said as Dad vanished into the cool night air.

Cye wiped at his eyes. Then he put the tanto knife in the conveniently empty scabbard on his right shoulder. He pinpointed where his friends were located. He went to join them, stopping only to retrieve the oil lamp from the stream.

--

“See, guys? I told you that—” Ryo and Luna both grabbed him in a tight hug. White Blaze butted his head against Cye’s legs.

“New rule,” Ryo said as he pulled away just enough to look at Cye. “Unless necessary, we always go in groups for supernatural stuff. Let’s keep any further kidnapping and brainwashing to a minimum.”

“That’s a good idea,” Cye admitted. “And I’m sorry.” He turned his attention to Luna. “You were right. I shouldn’t have gone alone.”

Luna smirked at him. “I knew that, but I still appreciate it.”

“Also, Sage, I am so sorry about everything I did and said to you.” Cye broke away from his friends to join Sage sitting on the log next to a napping Rowen, trying to hide how badly his sword arm was injured. “You caught a glimpse of how I was last year, always terrified that someone was going to hurt me. And too stressed out to do anything but throw a tantrum.” Sage opened his mouth to protest, but Cye held up a hand. “I’m not being self-effacing; I’m stating a fact. It also doesn’t excuse punching you.” He began healing Sage’s arm. White Blaze sat next to them, purring as he blinked at Cye. “As soon as we get home, I’m making you at least five apology dinners.”

“Thanks, Cye.” Yet Sage frowned. “You shouldn’t be healing me. You just healed your sister and fought Dais.”

“It’s fine,” Cye promised. “The training and the Armor are helping me with my stamina. And again, it sounds weird when I say it out loud, but being with you four makes all of this more manageable. I’ll need to rest soon, but I can do this. I, um, can also heal that bruise on your face after I fix your arm.” Sage gave him a piercing look, like he wished to say more, but relented. Then Cye realized something. “Should I be worried that Kento and Sayoko aren’t here?” No one felt distressed, but still.

“No, you should not,” Sayoko pounded her fist into her right hand and she and Kento strode in to join the group. “Kento and I were saving these waifs from a wave of jobbers Dais sent us before he ran off.”

“Yeah, it was just what I needed to get my mind off my man fighting on his own!” Kento flexed his biceps. “Speaking of…” He wedged himself between Sage and Cye, kissing Cye. “Never do that again!”

“I’ll try,” Cye said, kissing him back.

Sayoko glanced at Cye. “Normally, I’d be more concerned about a tiger sitting next to my brother, but he seems oddly protective of you. And after everything that’s happened today, I’m all for a tiger guarding you.”

“Good, but he’s not just my guard. He’s my friend!” Cye hugged White Blaze’s neck. White Blaze’s purr sounded like a laugh.

“Now to other concerns.” Sayoko chuckled darkly. “Hey, Rowen? The armor works. Once I make the final modifications, I predict that I’ll be helping you boys quite a bit in the future.”

“Yay,” Rowen said in his sleep, head pillowed on Sage’s good shoulder.

“I predict otherwise,” Cye said sternly. “Sayoko, the whole point of me being Torrent is so that you don’t get hurt. Not to mention that precious armor of yours could barely withstand one attack from a Warlord.”

“I’m not planning on fighting Warlords… regularly. Even I’m not arrogant enough to think that I could take on Dais with nothing but human-made armor. I’m planning on using my ability to take hits to protect you guys.”

“That would be helpful,” Luna pointed out.

“Ugh, fine,” Cye said with a roll of his eyes. But that did remind him… “I spoke to Dad in the battle. He loves you and is proud of you.” Sayoko didn’t say anything when Cye brushed the tears from her eyes.

Time to lighten to mood. He turned to address everyone. “One more rule. Now that I’m fifteen and saved all of your butts, I should be allowed to watch all the scary movies I want.”

“Talk to Mum, not me,” Sayoko reminded him.

“I shall. I’m planning on visiting Yamaguchi during the break.” He turned to Kento. “Want to come with me?”

Kento grinned. “Heck yeah, I do!”

“Hunh.” Sayoko gave her brother a thoughtful look. “Here I thought you’d never willingly go there again.”

“I’d rather not, but it is where my family lives. And where your non-digital research on the Warlords is located.”

“What do you mean?”

Cye looked up to the starless sky. “I learned a few things about Dais while fighting him. He’s like me. Talpa found him when he was vulnerable and manipulated him into becoming a Warlord.”

“Perhaps, but that hardly excuses his actions,” Sage countered. “And I’d surmise that he didn’t redeem himself in that battle, either.”

“No, but I keep seeing his reaction after I realized the truth. He looked… scared. Human.” Cye couldn’t shake that he was also looking at what his future may have been if Cye had been as alone in his life. “Don’t worry, Sage. I’m going to fight him if he attacks us again. But I do plan to look into this more.” Maybe they could find a way to stop the Dynasty as painlessly as possible.

He was scared, but he could do this. He was more than strong enough.

--

Final Notes: Man, this is the second time Sage has been punched by one of his bros. This poor guy just can’t catch a break. All he wants to do is help. :(

Cye’s ‘origin story’ is the one I’ve had mapped out in my head the longest, pretty much ever since I apparently decided that I was going to write a Ronin Warriors re-make AU at the beginning of the year. That’s probably one it’s also the longest one at a little over 9K words. However, we’re not done yet. Two of the boys have not had Sad Scary Life Defining Adventures yet and there are some other things that I want to do.

(Randomly, two songs that I listened to a lot to get the tone right for a Certain Scene were “Spinning Wheel” and “He’s Not Inside.” I also fixed the typos in the last chapter. That was embarrassing. -_-)