"Lonely Heart," chapter 17

Title: Lonely Heart (Chapter 17)
Fandom: Ronin Warriors
Characters/Pairing: All five Ronins, Anubis, Mia Koji, Professor Koji, Sayoko Mouri
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Canon-typical violence. Mentions familial deaths.
Notes: More slice-of-life/remake AU!

“Thanks for taking Ryo and me to school, Sayoko,” Cye said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Ryo had gone off to say good morning to his girlfriend Luna. Cye took a moment to compliment himself for knowing from the very beginning that they were made for each other. “You won’t need to pick us up since Sage is driving us to Professor Koji’s house after baking club today.”

“Yeah, okay,” Sayoko said.

Cye gave her a surprised look. “I can’t believe it. I said that a thirteen-year-old boy is going to drive me to visit a guy you hate and you didn’t pop a vein or anything.” He grinned wickedly. “Did you finally fulfill your lifelong dream of replacing your brain with a computer?”

“Ugh!” Sayoko thwapped his arm. “You would think the psychic kid would notice that I am trying to give him that independence he keeps screaming about. Professor Koji isn’t my favorite person in the world, but he was right about you. And Mia is a good person who’s also your friend. As for Sage…” Sayoko shrugged her shoulders. “He really shouldn’t be driving, especially a sports car that I’m not entirely sure how he managed to afford, but unfortunately it’s not the most dangerous thing he does.”

“See?” Cye stepped out of the car. “Baby steps, Sayoko. You may even learn how to relax one day.” She rolled her eyes and drove off before Cye realize he hadn’t asked his question.

“Wait, what was he right about?” He shouted as loud as he could, but she didn’t hear him.

Oh, well. He’d ask Professor Koji this evening. For now, he needed to get his final year as a junior high school student started.

Mr. Aoyama had been Cye’s second-year homeroom teacher, so he had given his younger friends a summary of his pedagogical style. Mr. Aoyama was friendly and passionate about what he taught. Perhaps a little too passionate: Cye assured them that once he started talking, he would be oblivious to everyone else in the room. This meant that as long as you weren’t too loud and/or horrible in your behavior, you could do what you wanted.

“Hey, Rowen?” Kento whispered from behind his desk.

“Yes?” Rowen whispered back.

“Listen, I got a huge favor to ask.”

“Don’t worry, you can look over my notes during lunch.”

“Not that. Well, that, but something else.” Kento took a deep breath. “I want you to teach me how to cook.”

It was one of those rare times Rowen was glad that he wasn’t effusive by nature. If Kento had asked Ryo, the yelp of surprise would have startled even Mr. Aoyama mid-lecture about quadratic equations. Instead, he paused for a moment, then murmured, “I thought that you had given up on that.” Not to mention since he wasn’t going to inherit the family restaurant anymore, he didn’t need to learn.

“So had I. But I guess with the pressure of trying to please Pa off, it seems… I don’t know. Less scary. Not to mention that while I love my Uncle Shuu, I am sick of leftovers for all my meals.”

“I understand. And I’m willing to teach you, but I am curious that you did not ask Cye instead.” Cye was Kento’s boyfriend. To be honest, he was probably Kento’s soulmate. Not to mention he was the best cook any of them knew.

“I want to surprise him when I can make a good meal.” Kento’s tone made it clear that this was more than about being able to feed himself.

“Ah, this is part of courting him. Very well.” Kento couldn’t see it, but Rowen smiled. “I may not have learned my culinary skills from a butler, but rest assured you will be a competent chef once we’re done.”

Kento thanked him and went back to his studies, which meant Rowen had time to observe Sage. He’d been quieter than usual ever since Cale had tried to tempt him to his side back in Osaka. Rowen didn’t think Sage would betray him or anything melodramatic like that—Sage was the most dependable man in the world. But it had upset him, and he had yet to discuss it beyond the basic facts.

But he needed to discuss it. Rowen just wished he knew how to approach the topic.

“We should probably ask Mia what entrance exams are like.” Luna nibbled on her onigiri nervously. “I want to be prepared as possible.”

Cye nodded as he fed Kento. “I know what high school I want to get into—that nice one I was talking about with the pool and the orchestra, remember?” He sighed as he pretended to tease Kento by withholding food (Kento, taking this seriously, started to yell). “Now I just have to do well enough to get in there.”

“You were pretty excited about it.” Luna smiled a little. “I’ll put that school on my list, too.”

“Man.” Ryo ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not going to be fun when we’re all attending different schools.” Not to mention discussing Ronin Warriors matters would be difficult if they weren’t able to gather for lunch like they did now.

“Why don’t we all go to the same high school?”

“Sage?” Rowen blinked at his friend. “Isn’t it a little early for us to think about that?”

“No,” Sage insisted. “We may not have known each other for long, but my bonds with the five of you rival that of my family’s. I’m not foolish enough to think that we can be together forever, but I know that we can all get into that school.”

Ryo brightened. “Yeah. Yeah, we could! I mean, Kento and I will have to work our butts off for the entrance exams, but I know we can do it.”

“Maybe you can do it,” Kento said glumly after Cye finally relented and fed him again. “I just barely squeaked by this year.”

“You will do it,” Sage said so suddenly that everyone else fell silent for a moment. Sage was blunt, but this was something else. “I… I don’t want us to fall apart just yet.”

“We wouldn’t fall apart even if we all went to different schools. But we’ll all get in this one,” Cye promised. “And Kento, give yourself some credit. Maybe you squeaked by, but it was still enough to become a second-year student. Not to mention you had to deal with becoming a Ronin Warrior right before exam week.”

“I’ll start amending our study group with this goal in mind,” Rowen added. “Sage, Kento, Ryo? We’ll all need to start prepping now, but I know we can do it.”

Kento gave Cye a look. “This is how much I love you. I’m studying for exams way earlier than I absolutely have to.” Cye kissed his cheek as lunch ended. Sage left them first, almost running down the stairs from the roof to their classroom.

“Sage, wait, I…” Rowen fought to keep his breath steady as Sage left without a word.

“Let me try,” Cye offered, one hand on Rowen’s arm. “I have a free period coming up, and I have a feeling that he’s going to cut class.”

“… Okay,” Rowen said guiltily. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

He couldn’t find peace in the classroom or even with his friends, so Sage had found a spot on the edge of campus to meditate. The trees and bushes sheltered him from civilization. He couldn’t even see the school anymore. Yet meditation still eluded him. He had been so selfish earlier, so… so scared. He had even lied to his friends. All that talk about how their bond was strong? How could he believe that when he was terrified of losing them? He could barely stay friends with them now. What would he do when the Dynasty was defeated, and they had no reason to talk to him anymore?

Maybe Cale was right.

“This seat taken?” Not that Cye was waiting for an answer. He was already sitting next to Sage.

Sage frowned. “You shouldn’t be missing class. You have exams soon.”

Cye made a thoughtful sound. “You know, I’m liking this honesty rule we have now. It means that I already know that you had to deal with Cale trying to get you on board with his schemes. So, I already know why you’re upset. Now we just need to remedy it.”

Sage kept his gaze on the budding branches overhead. “Not every problem can be remedied.”

“Maybe not, but when negative feelings make you nauseous and fainty, you’re inclined to try regardless.” Cye took his hand. “Sage, please. Let me help. Rowen is worried about you. Do it for him, if not for yourself.”

He didn’t want to hurt his friends. “Very well.” He didn’t resist when Cye placed Sage’s hands over his heart. “I don’t know if I can say what I’m feeling, though.”

“You don’t have to,” Cye assured him, eyes closed in concentration. “That’s just to help me focus.” Sage couldn’t stop the wave of guilt from crashing over him, but that eventually ebbed. So did the fear and darker memories.

At least, they ebbed until Cye’s eyes snapped open. “Oh my God, Sage! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, you were under a curse. I understood.”

“I punched you, and so did Kento! Not to mention Rowen saying those awful things to you.” Cye huffed in frustration. “We didn’t even notice that you were still upset.”

“They were compromised as well. And I wasn’t upset.” Now that his heart felt lighter, it was easier for Sage to put his thoughts into words. “I’m used to fighting. I… I was just scared that I wasn’t able to reach out and connect like I was trying to. That’s all.” He had tried to make Rowen feel better after the argument with his parents, but he had made things worse. He’d attempted to calm Kento’s rampage, but that had failed. And as for Cye, he had been powerless to free his soul from Dais’s grasp. “I felt like I had failed as a friend.”

“But you didn’t. You’re why Sayoko was able to find Rowen at all. Kento came back to himself because you put yourself in danger for his sake.” Cye had done his work but hadn’t let go of Sage’s hands. “And if you hadn’t woken me up, I would have slept my life away. Sage, you understand us better than we understand ourselves. I’m sorry that we weren’t able to understand you in those moments, but I’m going to do my best to correct that from now on, I swear.”

It wasn’t what he yearned for, but it was enough. “Thank you.” He found himself smiling. “We should probably get back to class.”

“Yep,” Cye yawned. He helped Sage up. “Then baking club, then Professor Koji’s place. It’s going to be a full day and we are not even halfway done.”

“We’ve searched every territory, my Lord. Dais still eludes us,” Hikari said regretfully. “Please accept my apologies.”

Anubis shook his head. “I was the one who let my temper get the better of me yet again.” Let Dais cower in whatever dark corner he’d found. Anubis had more pressing concerns. “I was so focused on him that I was not aware that Torrent had awakened until recently.”

Hikari looked up at her lord. The Spring Territory’s intel was not as sophisticated as the Winter Territory or Dais’s web, but all who served Lord Anubis knew of the victory that had earned him fame in the Dynasty… yet also caused him to go into exile. “I recall that Shin of the Torrent had two children. Is the new Torrent the daughter or the son?”

“The son. I can feel it.” Anubis was already in his Armor. The only thing missing was his helmet. “Hikari, you have led this territory well after I went into seclusion. If anything happens to me…”

“My lord, I won’t permit—”

“If anything happens to me, you will become the new lord for the Spring Territory.” She was a stern yet fair leader. Exactly what was needed. “I shall leave for the mortal realm soon and offer this Cye of the Torrent a chance to avenge his father.”

“Yes, my lord.” She hated his decision, but she understood it. “But what if Torrent refuses? That is the Armor associated with healing rather than fighting, is it not?” Someone who awakened that Armor would have a gentle spirit that shunned violence.

Anubis smiled bitterly. “You will find, Hikari, that even the gentlest spirit yearns for revenge against those who would harm their loved ones. I was the ogre that stole his father from him. He will grant me the redemption I seek..”

“Cye, you don’t have to cook us dinner,” Professor Koji said for the second time.

“Yeah, how many books are you letting me borrow indefinitely again?” Cye tied the apron around his middle securely. “Besides, I need to do something to relax after the weird day I had.”

“You relax by cooking yaki nasu?”

Cye commenced soaking the eggplants. “Among other things, yes.”

“You are an interesting child.” Professor Koji took a seat at the table. “Although I must imagine that must be a relief to Sayoko. When she was growing up, she had a healthy appetite, but avoided cooking.” He smiled. “Of course, back then she avoided anything that wasn’t martial arts or mechanics.”

“And that’s why she is the well-adjusted head of the Mouri Foundation today. Hey, do you prefer chicken or beef?”

“Actually, I’m a vegetarian.”

“Then a salad for the main course it is.” Cye rummaged in the fridge for ingredients. “Sayoko’s doing well, by the way. I don’t think she’ll be stopping by to chat any time soon, but she is willing to admit that you might have been right about me.” And now it was time to ask his question. “Although she never said what. Please tell me.” Sayoko was more open than she used to be, but it was still a pain to try to get her to talk about the past.

“Ah.” Professor Koji’s smile was tinged with regret. “I suggested that you two come live with me after your father died. I honestly thought it was a perfect solution: you would both still be close enough to your mother for visits, Mia could keep you two company, and you would both have the space and security needed to prepare whoever would inherit Torrent. In retrospect, I was asking a mourning teenage girl to leave what remained of her family that was now dependent wholly on her for their health and well-being. Of course she would lash out at me.” He sighed. “The fact that I reminded her that your abilities meant that you would almost definitely inherit the Armor, so you needed to be prepared only made the situation worse.”

Cye washed the spinach and lettuce. “Perhaps you spoke too quickly that day, but I don’t believe your intentions were insincere.” He turned his attention to rinsing the tomatoes. “I do have the abilities that helped me to awaken the Armor. But they also made me ill, especially when I was young. Sayoko was never uncomfortable with them like I was, but she was terrified that I’d die if I became Torrent. I can’t blame her for reacting the way she did, either. But in retrospect, we could have used your more objective voice about those things.” He started to cut up the veggies. “And I’m sure she’ll eventually realize that. Don’t worry. She and Mia get along okay, so I know it’s just a matter of time until she mends fences with you.” Another question came to mind, making him frown. “I hate needling you for more information, sir, but I have a question about my father.”

“Please ask. I’ve missed talking about Shin.”

Well, if he insisted… “Dad was Torrent. But there were four other Armors. Why didn’t you two look to see if anyone could awaken those while he was active? Surely that would have made fighting the Dynasty easier.”

Professor Koji closed his eyes for a moment. “I suggested it, but Shin was adamant that he could protect everyone on his own. I remember that his grandmother was the same way.” There was that regret-filled smile again. “I think it might be a Mouri family tradition.”

“Well, that was foolish of all of them. Especially Dad.”

The Professor made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a cough before he could regain his composure. “You shouldn’t talk like that about your father.”

“I don’t want to, but it’s true.” The eggplants were done soaking, so Cye prepped them for the wire rack. “The only reason that I didn’t pass out from exhaustion in that last battle was that the other four lent me their strength. If Dad had permitted himself to have others to lean on, he might be alive today.” He didn’t like saying that out loud, but he wasn’t going to sugarcoat the truth.

“Perhaps,” Professor Koji conceded. “But what if you had been the first Warrior to awaken instead of Ryo? Would you have permitted the others to join you?”

“… No,” Cye admitted. “I would have acted just like Dad and tried to save everyone on my own so no one had to hurt. But luckily for me, that’s not how it happened. I have friends I can trust now. We look out for each other instead of shouldering the burden alone.” He placed a hand over his heart. “I don’t want them to be in danger. But… but I think we’re supposed to be in this together, so we can look out for each other.”

Professor Koji’s smile had no regret in it now. “I think the same.”

“Hey,” Ryo said as he approached Mia in the library. “Are you as worried about Sage as I am?”

Mia turned away from her computer. “Yes.” She saved her work. “He did seem improved this afternoon, however. He’s even been acting like himself.” Which meant he was in the forest training.

“That’s almost definitely because Cye healed his heart.” Ryo perched on a nearby desk. “Which is good. But it doesn’t solve the problem completely. I need to talk to him, but…”

“It’s Sage.” Mia huffed. “For someone who wants people to understand him, he’s almost obsessed with hiding away from others.”

“Yeah. But I get it.” Ryo wondered if he could phrase this in a way that made sense. “My family situation is weird. We’ve been fighting the Dynasty as long as we’ve been recording our history. Then you add in that I live in the woods with a magic tiger and it’s hard to relate to others, sometimes.”

Mia rested her face in her hand. “Yet you don’t run off into the woods whenever you feel sad.”

Ryo chuckled. “Sometimes I have. Just ask my grandfather. But seriously, I think I’m more willing to accept that there are some things about me people will not understand, no matter what. That’s just part of the human condition. For Sage, though… I don’t know. He has this need to be understood. Maybe it’s something to do with being psychic.” Of course, Cye was psychic and hands-down the best-adjusted out of the five of them. But Cye also had a family that understood his abilities and supported him. He… didn’t know anything about Sage’s family, honestly.

He froze when he felt an odd twinge in his heart.

“Ryo, what’s wrong?”

“Shh.” He closed his eyes. “I… I think someone is here.”

Cye groaned, knife clattering to the floor as the pain hit him.

With a speed no one would expect from a man his age, Professor Koji guided him to a chair. “Cye, what is it?”

“I sense someone especially cruel approaching.” Cye took a breath. “Please stay here while I dispatch him.”

Sage snapped out of his meditative trance, orb in hand. “Anubis is here.”

Anubis frowned at the sight before him. Halo and Wildfire, weapons in hand, were much too young for combat. Not to mention foolish—they had permitted a mortal to follow them into a battle. Just a few years ago, he would have slaughtered the three of them gleefully for their mistakes. Perhaps Shin of the Torrent’s final actions had impacted him after all…

“Sage! Ryo!” Torrent dashed over to them… and froze at the sight of Anubis. “I know who you are,” he breathed. “I remember what you did to my father.”

“Excellent. Then no further explanations are needed.” Anubis held out a hand. “If you will speak with me alone, I swear that I will not harm any of your friends.”

Halo, Wildfire, and the mortal woman all began screaming that he was a monster, a murderer and that he could not be trusted. He ignored them even as he brought forth chains to restrain the three of them. They did not matter. Only Torrent.

Torrent closed his eyes as the kanji for ‘trust’ flashed on his brow. “I accept your terms. Now let them go.”

“Thank you,” Anubis said as he summoned a void. He stepped in. Torrent did not, giving him a hard look. Interesting—he was shrewder than he appeared. Anubis dropped the chains. The Warriors and the woman collapsed to the ground. Once that happened, Torrent joined him.

“NO!” Ryo screamed as he jumped in after them, leaving Sage and Mia alone in the forest.

“I’m too late.” Professor Koji’s tone was laced with regret, but that didn’t stop him from removing some stones from his pouch. “Mia, please help me get things ready.” Wordlessly, she assisted her grandfather. “Sage, we should be able to rip open a hole in the Between Realm that Anubis has them imprisoned in. However, it will take much psychic energy.”

“I can do it,” Sage said without missing a beat. After the Koji arranged the stones in a circle, Sage stepped into the center of their work. He closed his eyes, tapping into his need to help his friend, no matter what.

He wasn’t a good friend, but he could save Cye.

When Sage opened his eyes, they were glowing a ghostly blue-white.

Wherever he was, it wasn’t as disturbing as Dais’s mockery of a throne room. Cye’s surroundings were similar to the forest encompassing Professor Koji’s mansion. If it hadn’t been for the oddly muted colors, Cye might have thought they hadn’t left at all. He closed his eyes as he tried to locate Anubis. After some work, he sensed him a few meters away. Not to mention…

Seriously, Ryo? He should have seen it coming. The guy was terrified of losing his friends, after all. Cye appreciated Ryo’s virtuous nature, but this now added the wrinkle of resolving whatever Anubis wanted to resolve before he realized Ryo had broken the terms of their agreement.

He could feel Anubis behind him. Cye willed his body to stop shaking, although he couldn’t bring himself to turn around and look his father’s murderer in the eye just yet. “Hello, Anubis.”

“You’re very polite to the man who killed your father.” Anubis approached him in even strides, gazing at him levelly. “You’re also not nearly as brave as your father, it seems. He fought me even when he was exhausted. You can’t even look at me.”

“Don’t mention him,” Cye snapped, anger overriding anguish so he could glare at Anubis… who was smirking at him. So. That had all been a test to measure his resolve.

Well, two could play at that game. Cye took deep breaths like Sage had taught him to regain his sense of self. “We’re not here to discuss my father. I agreed to speak to you because I hope to end this with as little fighting as possible.”

“There are times when a battle is unavoidable,” Anubis warned him.

“I am aware of that,” Cye replied sharply. “But you could have killed me already. You haven’t.” And he bloody well knew that Anubis was capable of murder. “I demand an explanation. Why spare your enemy?”

Anubis smirked again. “You’re made of sterner stuff than I thought. Perhaps this was the right choice after all.”

“What do you mean…” Cye didn’t react when Anubis was suddenly in front of him. He only frowned slightly when Anubis pressed a sickle into his palm. “What is this for?”

“This is a weapon that was destined for your hand. For this battle. It is, after all, the weapon I used to murder your father.”

Cye’s gasp sounded almost like a scream as he immediately dropped the sickle. It clattered to the ground. He tried to summon his trident so he could blast it into nothingness, but he found himself collapsing instead. For several moments, all he could do was try to catch his breath. Finally, he collected himself enough to snap at Anubis, “Why would you give me something like that?!”

“Because I took your father from you.” Anubis was talking like this was the most obvious thing in the world. Meanwhile, Cye was trying not to pass out. “But not in a fair fight. Rather, I unwittingly took advantage of his weakened state. As his son and heir, it is your right to avenge him.”

“Oh, and it would have been okay if he hadn’t been weak?!” Cye’s fingers dug into the ground, voice raw with something between grief and fury. This was twisted beyond belief. How could he have not picked any of this up?! Anubis was guarded, yes, but surely, he should have felt something this abhorrent when Anubis first approached them. Not that it would have stopped him. “How is fighting you going to solve anything? It won’t bring Dad back. It won’t make you or me feel better.”

“This isn’t a game, boy. Your father’s soul will not rest in peace until you fight me. Would you seriously live the life of a coward rather than avenging him in glorious combat?!” Anubis towered over him. There was rage coming off of him in waves. Frustration. And… and something else entirely. “I murdered your father. Your very blood demands my life. You have no choice but to duel me.”

Cye remembered that Ryo was here. That his loved ones were nearby. He drew on his need to protect them to find his center. “I refuse. I’m not like you, Anubis. Of course, you don’t see anything glorious about this either, do you?”

Anubis eyed him coldly. “What are you insinuating?”

Cye had only done this twice before. The first time had been in Yamaguchi when Inoue had pushed him to his breaking point. The second time had been when he fought Dais, and the feelings were so intense that he had no choice but to articulate them. He didn’t like doing this. It felt intrusive. But Anubis had to understand that whoever he was now, he was no longer the bloodthirsty Warlord that had killed his father.

“These were doubts you were having even before you challenged my father,” he began slowly. “You hoped that a glorious battle against a Ronin Warrior would strengthen your resolve. Instead, you killed a man too weak to give you a proper battle. You… you grieved for him. That mistake also reinforced your suspicions that Talpa doesn’t care about glory, only conquest. That’s why you wanted to fight me.” He looked up, taking in the sight of Anubis hovering over him. He thought he saw a light on his brow just for a moment. “If you truly want to make up for my father’s death, then stop serving Talpa. Help us defeat him.” Oh, his family was going to kill him for this. He wasn’t especially thrilled with himself at the moment. But he could sense the goodness in Anubis, even after Talpa had centuries to corrupt him. He would not destroy that goodness for some pathetic attempt at revenge. “In your heart, you’re tired of senseless fighting. You want to help others, not kill for your master.”

He was so focused on Anubis; he had forgotten about Ryo approaching… and how he was about to attack. “Wait, stop!”

Ryo roared as he struck out at Anubis. “Monster!” He slashed at Anubis two violent times before Anubis grabbed his arms in chains, hoisting him in the air. Ryo didn’t let go of his blades, but he was still held firmly in place. “Let my friend go, now!”

Cye tried to get between them but was blocked by a barrier made up of chains. “Ryo, no! Let me finish talking to him!”

Anubis… grinned wildly. “Your fighting style is wild. Almost barbaric in its ferocity. A battle with a warrior such as you is something I’ve dreamt of all my life.”

“Any time!” Ryo struggled against his chains. They didn’t break, but they creaked in protest. “I’ll kill you for even thinking about hurting Cye!”

“This is why I’m still alive. So I can battle you,” Anubis breathed as he dropped the chains. Ryo immediately flew at him.

“Both of you, stop it!” Cye yelled, for what good it did. Both men were lost to their respective violent desires, completely lost to reason as they dueled from the tree tops. If they kept at this, they would kill each other.

Cye. Sage’s voice was clear as a bell in his head. Several meters away, he could see what he could only describe as a rip in reality. Sage stood in the middle of the rip, hand outstretched, eyes glowing. We can get you out of there, but you need to defeat Anubis first.

“Okay. But I am so tempted just to let them kill each other right now, honestly.” There was no time to persuade or cajole. He threw his tanto knife into Ryo’s right shoulder. Ryo fell with a scream, stopping only when Cye caught him. Cye slung him over his shoulder.

“Torrent!” Anubis smiled widely; arms outstretched. “You finally realized your destiny to face me in combat!”

“Not quite,” Cye said icily, trident in his free hand, channeling his purpose and desire to protect his loved ones into his weapon. “However, I will always stop you from hurting my friends.”

“Super Wave Smasher,” he whispered as the fury of the oceans crashed upon Anubis.

“What were you thinking, running off to fight Anubis on your own?!” Ryo shouted at Cye. “You broke the first rule we made as a group.” Mia paused in the middle of helping Sage up to assess the situation unfolding in front of her. She knew that Cye didn’t do well around negative energy, but he had grown stronger since she had first met him. How was he going to react to Ryo trying to start an argument?

He was going to argue right back, apparently. “I wasn’t going to fight him; I was going to negotiate with him,” Cye shouted even as he healed Ryo’s shoulder. “And what were you thinking by charging in and making me look like a liar?!”

“I don’t know what to do,” Sage confessed to Mia. “If it was Kento, I’d just start sparring with him. If it was Rowen, I could talk him down. But these are the two in our group who usually avoid fighting if they can.”

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Mia whistled as loud as she could. Everyone froze.

“Both of you messed up in your own unique way,” Mia informed them sternly, her hands on her hips. “This occurs when a group of individuals becomes a team. Accept that it happened, apologize, and resolve to do better next time. Or is that too much for the brave Ronin Warriors?”

“… I’m sorry for breaking the rule. And for stabbing you.” Cye’s hand stopped glowing as he finished his work. “I know what Anubis is capable of, and I could not let that happen to any of you. As for stabbing you, Sage could only hold the window open for so long, and sometimes you get so into fighting it’s hard to get your attention, and—”

“I understand. And I’m sorry for making you look like liar.” Ryo took a breath. “But you’re not the only one who lost a parent to the Dynasty. That’s how my mother died.”

Cye’s eyes were shadowed. “I suspected as such.”

“You had to protect us. I had to protect you,” Ryo explained. “It was that simple.”

Professor Koji placed a hand on Mia’s shoulder. “Good job, Mia. You’ll make an excellent teacher one day; your classroom management skills are impeccable.”

Mia grinned. “Thanks, grandfather.” She assisted Ryo up. “What about you, Cye? Do you need to rest?”

Cye shook his head. “I’ll want to go to bed early, but I think I’ll manage.”

Professor Koji nodded. “Good to hear. Shin would have rightfully started haunting me if anything happened to you. But for now, let’s head inside. I need to recast some protection spells.”

Cye was draped over a couch. Ryo was by the window star gazing and Mia was attending Sage, which meant he was left alone to ruminate. Anubis was a murderer. He was his father’s murderer. But there had been regret and grief and… humanity. He wasn’t sure if he could ever forgive Anubis for what he had done, but it was apparent that he was not irredeemable. Too bad Cye had messed it up. “So much for convincing Anubis to stop working for Talpa.”

“Actually,” Sage said roughly from the couch where Mia had placed him, “You may want to give it another try.”

Ryo shook his head. “Sage, you weren’t there.”

“I was there near the end of it. And I could sense the turmoil in his mind. Let’s be real, Ryo, we need all the help we can get.”

“Yeah, no,” Ryo scoffed. “He killed Cye’s dad. He almost killed Cye! We could never work with him.”

“This isn’t a tokusatsu, Ryo,” Sage informed him coldly. “We’re not going to win just by believing in each other.”

“Ryo, Sage. That’s enough.” Mia’s tone left no room for arguments. “The fight is over. All we can do now is hope the next one goes better.”

“And she did it again,” Cye said appreciatively. “Maybe you should be the leader of the Ronin Warriors, Mia.”

Mia blushed, then smirked. “What, you mean I’m not?”

She was right, Ryo realized. There was no point in brooding over what had happened. So, he turned his attention to Cye. “I just have one question. Cye, you’re pretty good at throwing knives.” The only person he knew with better aim was Luna. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“Oh, Mortimer taught Luna and me when we were little.” He shrugged. “Psychics tend to get targeted by ne’er-do-wells wanting to exploit us for our powers. Scoundrels like that would have no qualms with endangering our friends and families as well.” Sage nodded in agreement. “Mortimer wanted to make sure we could protect ourselves if necessary. You know how it is.”

“I do.” His mother had died saving him, after all. And that was why he would not permit anyone else to do that for him ever again.

Cye must have picked up on some of that, because he took Ryo’s hand. “We’ll shoulder the burden together.”

Despite everything, Ryo nodded. “Yeah.”

Sage was silent.

Anubis needed to go back. He needed to lay siege to the mansion, tear it apart until he found Wildfire, fight him, kill him, it was his destiny to kill him—

An image of Torrent flitted across his mind, cool and serene even when he was alone with his father’s murderer. “In your heart, you’re tired of senseless fighting. You want to help others, not kill for your master.”

… His father’s face appeared to him for the first time in centuries, just as calm as Torrent. “You’re the most loyal soldier your lord could hope for, Anubis. Just be careful. I know from experience that’s a trait that can be easily corrupted in battle.”

Anubis. Return to me.

Anubis howled to the heavens as Talpa summoned him back to the Dynasty.

“And that’s why I don’t wear my Armor anymore unless I have to,” Cale whispered to the wolf who had been curious enough to investigate what the human was up to. “I had hoped that we could avoid Anubis until I was on the throne, but it’s looking like we’ll need to fight him earlier than expected.” He could rely on Sekhmet. With luck, he could persuade Dais as well. He certainly hoped so, and not just for the extra power. Dais was still hiding from the world in every sense of the word. Cale could protect him, care for him. But he was at a loss to help Dais return to himself. Perhaps fighting would restore his sense of purpose.

But the real test would be recruiting Halo. But it was clear that the young man was much more emotionally fragile than anyone realized. All he needed was to wait for the right opportunity.

He had been plotting this gambit for nearly a century, he reminded himself as he scritched the wolf’s ears. He could be patient for a little longer.

Final Notes: Cye dealing with Anubis and Ryo was not-so-subtly inspired from the DS9 episode “The Sword of Kahless” where Jadzia Dax had to deal with Worf and Kor. Also, hi, this chapter is a day early, so I could spend tomorrow playing/writing fic for Fire Emblem Three Hopes. -_-