Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Melancholy of Flowers ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter Four



Dimly lit candles filled the room with a soft glow. The air was cold and damp. The old and worn out curtains covered the only window in the room. Dust blanketed the antique objects on the dresser. A figure sat on the bed in the shadows. Her breathing was slow and shallow as she closed her eyes. Her long, dark hair framed her small face as she lifted her head up. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing her dark red irises. A scowl formed on her tiny lips as she stared across the room.

“The Ronin Warriors,” she said quietly. The words were covered in venom. Her fists tightened on her lap with anger. “You will pay for what you did to my father.” The images played in her mind like a short movie. During Cye’s battle with Akui, she watched helplessly at the iron door. The pain she felt when she saw her father get blasted into nothing but dust made her blood boil. Back then she couldn’t do anything to avenge her father’s death.

Weakly getting up from the bed, she slowly walked over to the window. She pushed the curtains back, the tiny lights of the city coming into her view. “Shijisha had failed in the attempt to bring Cye of Torrent over to our side. That Hana girl is the reason behind all this. She was in the way, and for that, my father paid the price. Cye of Torrent won’t get off so easily either, for he is the man behind my father’s death. I will get my revenge and obtain all five armors and carry out my father’s legacy.” Her hand gripped the curtain tightly as she fell to her knees, her other hand clenched at her chest. A set of coughs escaped her mouth as she tried to compose herself once again. “I’m still too weak… I don’t have the strength to carry out this mission alone…” She looked out the window once more before closing the curtains.

Tiny rocks surrounded with purple aurora circled Hana’s stilled form. She sat with her legs crossed and her hands on her lap. Her eyes were closed as she focused her energy onto the floating objects. The warmth of her power surrounded her every being. The faint sound of the waterfall could be heard behind her, as well as some birds singing in the tree. It had been four weeks since she started her power training. The days of fainting because she used too much energy decreased with time. While she was alone, she would try to move things around in her house. At first she broke countless objects, but now she could move things with somewhat ease.

She opened her eyes, and the rocks fell to the ground. Cye sat across from her with a smile plastered on his face. Hana took in a deep breath through her nose and out through her mouth. “What’s my time?”

Cye chuckled and checked his watch. “You’ve been at it for thirty minutes.” He stood up and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “This has been the longest you’ve gone without getting tired.”

Hana wiped the sweat from her brow as she looked up at Cye, the feeling of success swelled up inside her. “That’s good to hear. If I keep this up, I’ll be able to go on for hours.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but you would be able to use your power without fainting.” Cye helped Hana to her feet. “Let’s try some object moving to see if we should move on to the next step.”

She looked at him with a confused look on her face. “What next step?” There possibly couldn’t be another training session after this. She was pretty good at meditation by now, and her levitation skills had improved. What did Cye have in store for her?

“Hana, you need to control your power when you are upset. So far you have it down for when you are calm and collected.” Cye’s expression hardened as he placed both hands on her shoulders. “When you are angry, your power gets the better of you. If you don’t learn to hold back when you are upset, it could be very damaging.”

The thought of her aunt’s dining room made a shiver go down her spine. Cye was one hundred percent right. What if she was in a public place and something or someone got her so angry that her power blows up an entire building? Fear struck her as she began to think of all the horrible possibilities. Could she destroy buildings? What if she killed innocent people?

“Hana?” Cye asked as he saw her face drop and tears started to brim her eyes. “Hana, what is wrong?”

“What if I destroy buildings and people?” Hana said as she looked at Cye in horror. “I don’t want that to happen…” She wrapped her arms around her body. “What if I can’t control my anger? What if I fail?”

“That’s why we are going to train, Hana. We are going to go somewhere else for this though. I don’t want this place to get ruined.” He hugged Hana tightly with his strong arms. He knew for a fact that the task ahead wouldn’t be an easy one. He knew she had a fiery spirit and a short temper. If anything, he sometimes thought she could pass off as Ryo’s sister; they both had similar personalities. He also knew that if she put her mind toward something, she could achieve it. She just had to believe in herself first. “Let’s start the levitation session, okay?”

Hana nodded slowly and broke from Cye’s embrace. “Stand over by the big rocks. I’m going to pass the smaller rocks to you,” she said. She picked up some small rocks while Cye moved to his location. A small pile lay before her as she concentrated on the center of her being. The warm, tingling sensation filled her body as she focused on the pile before her. The aurora appeared around the rocks as one by one they lifted off the ground. With a hand out, she pushed her energy forward, making the rocks move toward Cye. He held out both hands as the rocks reached him. He looked over at his girlfriend with a smile on his face. A couple of weeks ago, that girl couldn’t even move a rock without using so much energy. Now it was like she was a professional. Once all the rocks made it over to the other side, she took a deep breath and relaxed.

“You’re getting the hang of it,” Cye smiled. He dropped the rocks from his hands and moved toward her. “You did it with such ease. I’m amazed.”

Hana blushed at the comment. “I did some practice of my own while you were at school. I wasted a lot of glassware during the process.” She laughed at the thought. “It’s much easier now, but I do get a little shaky from time to time. It takes a little bit more effort to move the objects than to just have them float from the ground.” She stretched her arms over her head, enjoying the feeling of her muscles being relieved of the tension. “Anyway, speaking of school, I was doing some thinking. I would like to go back and continue my studies. It would be good for me. I was thinking of enrolling at your school.”

“I think that’s a great idea. We can spend more time with each other; not just you and me, but with Ryo and Kento, too.” He took Hana’s hand in his and gently squeezed it. “It’ll be a great start for things to go back to normal for you.”

Hana looked at the ground, focusing on a random spot. The word ‘normal’ was something she felt she could never go back to. After all that had happened to her in her life, was it even possible for her to go back?

Cye stood outside the door of the counselor’s office. Hana had asked him if he would accompany her to the school for her appointment. A smile formed on his lips as he recalled how excited she was about going back to school. In the car, she listed all the things she wanted to do but didn’t know what to pick as her major. To hear her sound so positive made him feel like everything was going to be okay for her. He snapped out of his stupor when he heard the door open. Hana emerged with a sigh and a smile etched on her face. “How did it go?” he asked.

“Really well,” Hana said with a sound of relief. “I told her that I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a major, and she suggested I take on liberal arts in the meantime. She even helped me pick out a few classes for the semester.”

Cye embraced Hana’s body tightly. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart. You are moving forward and sounding more positive.” He broke the hug and looked at his watch. “Hungry? I could go for some burgers.”

“That sounds nice.” The two of them started down the hall, hand in hand. Hana stopped short as she saw a familiar figure heading their way. “Hi, Natsumi. What are you doing here?”

Natsumi gave a small wave as she approached the couple. “Hello, Hana. Hello, Cye,” she greeted in her normal soft voice. “I’m here for an appointment with my counselor. I have questions about this upcoming semester. What are you two doing here?”

“I just saw a counselor, too. It’s been awhile since I stepped foot inside a classroom, so I decided it’s time to go back to school,” Hana replied. “I start next semester, so I’ll be able to hang out with all of you.”

Cye kept an eye on Natsumi’s features. He could tell she wasn’t excited about the news. A hint of sadness could be seen in her eyes as she said nothing in return. He cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. “Well, Hana and I were heading out to get something to eat. We don’t want you to be late for your appointment. We’ll catch up soon, okay?”

Natsumi nodded her head and gave a small smile. “I would like that. Enjoy your meal together.” She gave a small bow and walked past the two slowly.

Cye let out a sigh as soon as Natsumi disappeared from view. “This is going to be tough,” he said in a low voice. “School is the only place Natsumi and I really get to hang out together. It’s going to change now that you are joining us.”

Hana looked at Cye as he looked down the hall in the direction Natsumi was walking. “You said she has a crush on you. I guess the news I just told her didn’t make her feel good. I’ll be taking the time she has with you away.”

“She needs to accept the fact that I have someone,” he said. “I know it’s sort of harsh for me to say, but it’s true. I’m sure she’ll find someone who will make her happy someday. Don’t worry about it, okay?” Taking Hana’s hand once again, he led her out of the building with both stomachs growling.

Natsumi walked the deserted campus alone after her meeting. She stopped when she got to the big tree where Cye and his friends ate their lunches. The school was the only place where she felt content and the only place where she could be alone with Cye. Now that Hana was attending the same school, things were going to change. The mixed feelings of sadness and anger swelled within her. “Does she… does she know that I like him?” she asked herself. “Is that why she is coming here for her schooling? There are so many other schools. Why this one?” Tears started to fall uncontrollably down her cheeks.

“Aw. Don’t cry. You have a good point there. Why would she choose such a school like this one? She should have chosen a cheaper school if she didn’t know what she was going for,”said a smooth voice.

“Who said that?” Natsumi asked as she looked around her. There was no one on the campus but her. “Who’s there?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. I can sense darkness in your heart, a darkness that could be very useful indeed,”the voice cooed.

She took a step back. Her heart pounded rapidly against her ribcage. Her eyes darted left to right as she tried to look for the source of the mysterious voice. “Darkness? I don’t know what you are talking about. Who are you?”

“Think about it now. You hate Cye for treating you so nicely, then telling you that he has a girlfriend. You hate Hana for taking Cye away from you.”

“What? Hana has nothing to do with this. Cye and I weren’t even going out.” She started running away from the area, seeing if the voice would disappear. Fear became known as she rounded the corner of one of the buildings.

“But if Hana wasn’t around, you and Cye could have been together,”the voice continued.

Natsumi covered her ears and shook her head. “No! Stop talking to me!” She slid down against the brick wall of the building.

“Now, now. I’m here to help you.”

“Help me? With what?” She took her hands off her ears and continued to look around the area. “What are you talking about? Where are you?”

“I can help you get Cye to be all yours.”

“That’s impossible. He loves Hana...” After wiping the remaining wetness from her eyes, she wrapped her arms around her knees. “There's no way you can change something like that.”

“Now, I wouldn’t say that. I could be very… persuasive. Come to the old warehouse near the school. You know where that is, right?”

“Yes. It’s the place that was on fire not too long ago,” she said as she got up from her spot.

“Go there and I will show you how you can get Cye to be yours.”The voice disappeared with a laugh.

“Hello? Hello?” She walked the premise once more, looking for the person who owned the voice. Was she going crazy and was she just talking to herself the entire time? The conversation left her uneasy. However, she was curious about the whole ordeal.

Night fell and Natsumi went to the old warehouse just as the voice told her to. Only a few lamps were lit in front of the warehouses. A chill ran up her spine as she passed each building. “This is kinda creepy,” Natsumi said to herself. She stopped at the abandoned warehouse that was covered in rust. The place had caught fire, but the building still stayed intact. She opened the rusted doors carefully. A loud screech echoed in the area as she opened them. Candles could be seen standing tall on stands. With one foot in front of the other, she entered the building slowly. “What is this?” A sweet scent hit her nostrils as she looked around in confusion. Candles were the only things that could be seen in the vast area. Was this practice of witchcraft?

“Welcome. I knew you would come,” said a familiar smooth voice.

Natsumi’s head shot forward. “Who are you?” Walking forward, a dark figure came into her view. As she drew near, the light revealed a young lady that looked about five years younger than Natsumi sitting comfortably in a big, leather armchair. The girl had long black hair with pale skin; she looked sickly as she gazed upon Natsumi. She wore a long, plain, black dress with a golden locket that hung from her neck. “You’re a kid?”

“That’s what you think. I’m much older than I appear,” said the girl, her crimson eyes locked with Natsumi’s. “My name is Kurushimi.”

“Kurushimi…” Natsumi tried to absorb everything that was happening at that very moment. “Why me? Why did you summon me here?”

“I needed someone who was close to Cye Mouri. I sensed the darkness that dwelled within you,” Kurushimi said matter-of-factly. “It made me curious, so I did some investigating. You are a very interesting human indeed.”

“Human? What do you mean by that?” Natsumi could feel the fear building up inside of her once again. “Are you a witch or something?”

Kurushimi slowly got up from her chair and walked toward Natsumi. She cupped Natsumi’s face with her cold hands and looked at her. “What a pretty face. Too bad Cye doesn’t realize your beauty.”

Natsumi blushed and then pushed Kurushimi off of her. “What are you?” She took a couple of steps back from the being in front of her. No human was capable of having such cold hands.

“That’s classified information to you,” Kurushimi said simply. “You came here looking for help. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be standing here.”

Natsumi swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “I came out of curiosity.”

A smirk formed on Kurushimi’s small lips as she held out her hand. “I am here to help you get what you want. You do want happiness, right?”
Natsumi hesitated for a moment. Her mind was so clouded that she didn’t know what to think. She slowly nodded her head. “I do want happiness.”

“Glad to hear it, my dear. Come this way.” Natsumi felt a cold hand grab hold of her as she followed Kurushimi through a small door. They entered a room where a glow of green light filled the area. Kurushimi stopped in front of a large tub-like tank that the green light emanated from. Inside the tank were small, thin tubes that were floating in the liquid. “This will help you.”

“You want me to get inside that thing?” Natsumi asked in horror. She tried to escape the cold grasp, but the grip was too tight around her wrist. “I change my mind. I don’t want your help.”

“Don’t worry. You will be able to breathe. All you need to do is put the helmet on that’s inside. The rest will take place on its own.” Kurushimi said calmly. “It’s safe, and it won’t harm you.”

“This is so creepy.” Natsumi could feel her legs shake as she looked at the tubes that were floating inside the tank.

“You want Cye for yourself, no?” Impatience was setting in as she looked at the frightened girl in front of her.

“I do… but…”

“Then get in!” Kurushimi released the grip she had on Natsumi. “Trust me. You’ll be fine. Just take off your clothes and get right in.” She smiled sweetly as she looked directly into Natsumi’s eyes.

Natsumi’s body seemed to move on its own as she did as she was told. She took off her clothes and got into the tank. She grabbed the helmet and placed it on her head. She placed the oxygen mask over her mouth that was attached. As soon as she did that, the tubes that were in the tank with her dug themselves into her skin. Natsumi screamed in agony as she felt lukewarm liquid flow into her. With eyes shut tightly, she could feel her mind go absolutely numb. Her limbs felt like they were on fire. Tears flowed from her eyes as the process continued.

“You know what goes great with hot dogs?” Kento asked as he added ketchup to his dog. After he was done topping that one off, he took another and added mustard. Ryo watched as Kento piled ten hot dogs on his plate.

“I’m afraid to ask,” Cye said as he took a small bit out of his hot dog. He shook his head when Kento’s hot dog pyramid fell over, some falling off the table and onto the floor.

“Chili and cheese,” Kento said. He gathered all his hot dogs back onto his plate and devoured them one by one.

“Well, that’s not so bad,” Hana said, who was sitting next to Mia. The two girls were already done with their lunch.

“Add chocolate to the mix and it’s a party in your mouth,” Kento added with a laugh.

“Now, that’s just gross,” Cye said with shake of his head. “Slow down or else you are going to choke. I don’t know how many times we have to remind you.”

Kento waved Cye off and stuffed two hot dogs into his big mouth at once. Hana laughed at the sight of Kento’s puffed out cheeks that were full of food.

“Thank you for having us over, Mia,” Ryo said. He was trying to tune out Cye and Kento’s bickering from the other end of the table.

“No problem. I wanted to have a small get together before you guys go off to school again,” Mia said. “I know all of you will be busy with homework.” She turned her attention to Hana with a big smile on her face. “Congratulations on going back to school.”

“Thank you, Mia,” Hana said as she felt her cheeks grow warm. “It’s going to be a new chapter in my life.” Hana took a sip of her iced tea. She had to admit that things were looking up, and she had Cye to thank for that. She looked down at her beverage and saw that the two ice cubes that were attached to each other had broken apart and were slowly melting in her cup.

Natsumi emerged from the tank, liquid drippig down her naked body.

“Good. The process was a success,” Kurushimi smirked. “How do you feel, my dear?”

“I feel fine,” Natsumi said in a low voice. She looked at her hands while clenching and unclenching them. A warm feeling surrounded her body as she looked at Kurushimi. “What was put in me?”

“I fueled you with power.” Kurushimi tossed Natsumi a towel. “Your desire is your weapon. However, it’s not permanent, and you will have to keep coming back for more. You can control Cye easily with what I gave you.”

Natsumi looked at her curiously as she wrapped the towel around her waist. “What is your motive? This isn’t just about me and Cye, is it?”

“You are getting brave. That meek, timid, little girl I saw earlier seems to have vanished.” Kurushimi slowly walked out of the room with Natsumi following suit. “You are right about that. I do have another reason.” She sat back down in her chair, releasing air slowly out of her mouth. “I am very weak still. My power isn’t up to its maximum yet. I’ll tell you more on that later. I want revenge on the two people who caused my father’s demise and the Inferno Armor.”

“I’m listening,” Natsumi said with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Cye was the one who defeated my father in battle, but Hana is the reason why the plan fell through. I want you to destroy her by taking away the one thing she has left: Cye. Like I said before, your desire will be your tool.”

“But how do I use it? And what is this Inferno Armor you seek?” Natsumi did feel slightly different and it was true that she had become bold.

“You’ll figure it out when the time comes. The Inferno Armor is something of great power that my father wanted in his possession. Now, I’m getting tired, and I’m done looking at you. Go get your clothes on.” Kurushimi waved her hand in the air, dismissing Natsumi from the room. “I’m going to avenge my father, no matter what the cost.”