Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Melancholy of Flowers ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

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

Chapter 7
*Syara is my friend's character. I’m just using her for my story.

Silence was all that could be heard as the young man stood in the middle of the room. With his legs spread apart, his bare feet planted firmly on the waxed wooden floor, sword in both hands and his eyes closed, he concentrated. It was only him and his sword in the room. He opened his eyes and shouted as he moved the sword in different angles in the air. His feet danced on the floor as he spun a few times. He stopped with one knee on the wooden floor and the other bent with his arm extended to his right. His lavender eyes looked to the side and saw a light-haired girl standing by the doorway. Her thin frame was leaning against the door frame with a smile on her face. He stood up and placed his sword back in its sheath.

“So, this is where you go every time you have time off from class,” she said. “The master swordsman, Sage Date.”

“I come here to train and to improve my skills, Syara,” Sage said simply. “I put all of my frustrations into training.” He took a white towel and dabbed his face with it. “My statistics class is giving me a hard time. I wanted to clear my mind before starting the homework.”

“It’s not an easy class,” Syara agreed. “I had to take it two times until I passed and even then, I barely made it. You should try getting a tutor.”

took a swig of his water and looked at his female friend. “I don’t need tutoring. I’m doing fine. It’s just stressful.”

shook her head and smiled. “Okay, okay.”

She met Sage a couple of months ago in one of her classes. The blond-haired man mainly kept to himself while other people in the class engaged in conversation. It was his eyes that grabbed her attention. Sage was, of course, a very handsome man and many girls in their class would stare at him from afar. However, it was his lavender eyes that she liked the most. It was the first time she saw someone with such beautiful eyes of that color. Trying to befriend him was hard because he seemed uninterested in trying to make new friends. It wasn’t until she found out that his family was part of Date clan that she really got interested. Her grandfather knew everything about swords and was an excellent swordsman. When she was little, he would tell her stories of the people he met during his lifetime, and one of those people happened to be Sage’s grandfather.

Syara sat down next to Sage one day in class and told him about her grandfather and how he met Sage’s grandfather many years ago. She told him that she always found swords fascinating and wanted to learn more about them. This got Sage’s attention, and the two started talking. They soon became friends after that.

“What are your plans for this weekend?” Sage asked as he gathered his things.

“I’m not completely sure yet. I know my mom wants me to stop home,” Syara said with a sigh. “Apparently my big brother is coming home after his big trip from London. He’ll most likely brag about it. He has such a big head it’s not even funny. He knows he’s the success in the family and loves to rub it in my face.” She pouted for a moment at the thought then looked at Sage. “What about you?”

“I’m actually heading back to Shinjuku for a bit. There are some things I want to check up on,” Sage said. For the last couple of weeks, he felt strange energy flowing through the air. The energy made Sage uneasy, which was the real reason he was training earlier. He somehow knew the peace was about to be disturbed.“I notified my teachers about my trip.”

“But the semester just started,” Syara said.

“I know, but it’s something that I can’t avoid,” Sage explained. “I can’t tell you any details. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. Okay then.” Syara felt a little hurt that Sage didn’t want to tell her what was going on. She didn’t want to pry into his business either.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to your next class,” Sage said with a small smile. Syara smiled at him and nodded; the two of the walked out of the room and to their next destination.
Ryo and Kento were both in the dining room with textbooks spread out on the wooded table. The semester started up and already they were bumping into problems. Hana attended her classes, but avoided the two men as if they were strangers. Ryo didn’t want Cye to be left out, so he invited him and Natsumi to eat lunch with them. Kento was still upset about the whole situation, but was slowly coming to terms with things. Even though things were moving along, they still worried about Hana. That worry plagued their minds and as a result, schoolwork was becoming impossible to concentrate on.

“Did you see her today?” Kento asked Ryo as he jotted down some notes from his math textbook.

“Yeah. I tried waving to her, but she totally blew me off,” Ryo said. He sighed through his mouth and rubbed his temple with his hand. “I’m still trying to grasp on what happened between the two of you that day.”

Kento stopped writing and focused his attention on a spot on the wall in front of him. “Nothing really happened,” he said softly. “I went to check up on her and found her awake in bed. I told her that I was relieved to see her up, but she gave me this look. It was a look that I never saw before on her.” Kento closed his eyes as he tried to picture the events in his head. “Her eyes were so cold that when she looked at me, I felt the coldness pierce right through me. It was frightening, to be honest. I kinda figured she would withdraw herself, but this is something completely different.”

Ryo tapped his pen on his notebook as he took everything he just heard in. She was hurting, but they couldn’t do anything for her. The sound of the doorbell rang, which got the two boys’ attention. Mia, who was in the living room reading a book, walked over to the front door to see who the visitor was. When she opened the door, a man, who she never saw before, was standing there in front of her. He was wearing a simple black suit with a red tie and looked to be about his late forties.

He smiled warmly at Mia. “Good evening. Is this Mia Koji’s place?” he asked.

“It is. I’m Mia Koji. Can I help you, sir?” Mia asked.

“I hope you can. My name is Take Wakayama. I’m Hana’s uncle,” he said softly. “I’m looking for Hana.”

Mia’s eyes grew wide with surprise at the answer she got. “Please come in, Mr. Wakayama,” she said as she opened the door all the way for the man to enter her home.

“Please, call me Take,” he said as he stepped into the house. “I’m actually here to check up on Hana.”

“She’s not here at the moment,” Mia said. “Please have a seat. I’ll put the kettle on.” Mia made her way into the kitchen as Take took a seat on the couch.

Ryo and Kento emerged from the dining room and joined their guest in the living room. “You’re Hana’s uncle?” Ryo asked as he sat down in the armchair that was next to the couch. “Sorry. We overheard from the other room.”

“Yes, I am. And may I ask who you two fine gentleman are?” Take asked.

“I’m Ryo Sanada and that’s Kento Rei Faun. We’re friends of Hana,” Ryo answered.

“Hana made some friends? That’s good to hear. I’m happy that she’s adjusting.” Take crossed his long legs and smiled. Mia entered the living room with a tray carrying four cups and a hot tea kettle. She placed the tray on the table that was in the middle and poured green tea into each cup.

“Hana told us that her family rejected her,” Ryo said as he took one of the cups off the tray.

“Thank you, my dear,” Take said as Mia handed him a cup of tea. He took a sip of the hot liquid and sighed. “Hana wasn’t exactly the easiest child growing up with. Her mother was the younger sister to my wife. She was the one who banished Hana from our home.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I believe a family should always stick together,” Kento said from the other armchair. He crossed his arms and looked at Take. “Regardless of how the person is, they are still flesh and blood.”

“You are right,” Take agreed. “I guess I should explain more thoroughly. See, when Hana was growing up, she was a bit of a troublemaker. She would cut classes, sneak out of the house late at night and gave her parents a hard time. She would talk back and yell if they told her to do something. She was cold towards her family, and my wife didn’t like that. She thought it was disgusting how she treated everyone. Her mother would call at night in tears. Then her mother got ill and that changed her attitude. Hana became friendlier and stopped her rebellion. However, tragedy struck and her family died.”

“We were aware of the passing of her family,” Mia said sadly. She was sitting next to Take with her hands in her lap as she listened.

“When my wife and I got there, the entire house was burnt to the ground. The firefighters found bodies amongst the debris. My wife was devastated that something like that happened to her sister. We thought Hana died as well until she came to our house. My wife went ballistic and blamed Hana for the accident. She said that Hana was putting on an act the whole time and set the house on fire. I told her that Hana was just as upset as she was. I convinced her to let Hana stay with us because she had nowhere to go. It was okay for a couple of weeks, but then my wife said some awful things to Hana and the next thing we knew, our dining room was destroyed. She called Hana the spawn from Satan and told her to never come back.”

“Not to be rude, but your wife sounds like a bitch,” Kento said flatly.

“Really, Kento?” Ryo said from across the room.

“It’s okay,” Take said. “She can be overbearing at times. Anyway, I gave Hana the car and told her to keep in touch with me. I wanted her to know that I still cared about her. She wrote to me every week to update me, but the letters had ceased. I grew worried that something happened to her. That’s why I came here tonight.”

looked at Ryo then cleared his throat. “Well, something did happen to Hana.”

“What?” Take asked as he sat straight up in his seat. “Is she okay?”

“Hana was seeing one of our friends. They recently broke up, but it wasn’t mutual,” Ryo said. “She took off and hasn’t spoken to anyone for a couple of weeks now. We think she’s back at her apartment.”

“Hana grew very cold and distant,” Kento added.

“It sounds like she’s reverted back to her old self,” Take said sadly. “She’s probably acting this way because she doesn’t want to get hurt again. She’s been through so much over the year. ”

“We think that’s the case, too,” Ryo said. “We’re glad that you came, though. You explained a lot to us that we didn’t know about. It would explain why she’s acting the way she is.”

“Please, don’t give up on her,” Take pleaded. “I want her to know that she still has people who care deeply for her.”

“I’m sure she knows,” Mia said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She’s just going through a tough time right now. We’ll look after her. Don’t worry.”

smiled at the trio and got up from his seat on the couch. “I thank you all. I must be going. I’m sure my wife is wondering where I am at such an hour.”

“Tell your wife to take a chill pill,” Kento said as he too got up from his seat. “It was nice meeting you.”

chuckled and shook hands with Kento and Ryo. “It was nice meeting you, too.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Mia said and escorted Take to the front door.

watched as the two left the room then looked at Kento. “At least we know why she’s acting so cold.”

nodded. “We just need to get the Hana we know back.”

           ;Clouds loomed overhead; the smell of rain was in the air. Hana stood amongst a mess of fallen trees. Her breathing was quick as her heart pounded fast against her ribcage. Her long, black hair was tousled and her clothes were covered in dirt. Tears fell from her tightly closed eyes as she fell to the ground on all fours. Images of her aunt and Cye replayed in her mind. It was like her mind hit the repeat button. She could feel the warmth of her power overtake her as she screamed. She stood up and ran through the thicket of trees. With her hands in fists, she punched a few that were in her way. With a loud thud, the trees crashed to the ground. Rain fell from the many clouds in the sky, soaking everything below.

stood where she was, looking at the mess she caused. “Why is this happening?” she asked herself. “What did I do to deserve this?” She slowly walked on, her eyes fixated on the ground. She made a couple of turns until she got the place that Cye showed her when they were still together. Her long, wet bangs covered her face as she walked forward. She looked at the small area of rocks through her bangs. The feeling of sadness and rage swelled as she levitated the rocks with her hands. She clenched her teeth together as her power grew around her. “WHY?!” She used her hands to collide the rocks together, causing tiny rubble to fly in each direction. With her hard eyes she looked at the tiny waterfall. She screamed loudly and smashed the rock formation with her fist, causing the waterfall to fall apart. It was like her mind went blank as the aurora grew around her and with a flash of light, everything around her crumpled.

      & nbsp;    Hana awoke only to find herself in a bed. She didn’t have to look around to know where she was. She sat up slowly and saw Kento sitting in the chair by the desk. He was looking at her without saying a word. “What am I doing here?” she demanded.

“I found you lying in the rain,” Kento simply answered. “We heard commotion coming from outside and then we saw your power from Mia’s window.”

“You should have left me there,” Hana said coldly. She pushed the covers from her body and swung her legs around the edge of the bed.

“Oh, no. You are staying in this bed,” Kento said as he got up from his seat. He walked over to Hana and pushed her back down in the bed. “You need to relax and rest.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” Hana spat as she struggled to get free.

“Hana, you need to stop this! You are worrying all of us to death!” Kento yelled as he tried to contain the moving girl underneath him. “You have friends and people who care about you! You are not alone!”

“Shut up!” Hana screamed. She moved her head up and spat in Kento’s face, making him take his hands off of her. She kicked Kento in the mid-section as hard as she could and escaped. Kento wiped the saliva off his face and immediately grabbed Hana’s arm. “Let go of me!”

“No!” Kento raised his hand and slapped Hana across the face. Hana stopped moving and placed her hand against the hot spot on her cheek. Kento sighed through his nose and lessened his grip on her arm. “Hana, I care about you a whole lot. I hate seeing you like this.” Hana didn’t say anything and looked to the side to avoid eye contact. “Your uncle came by last night.” Hana turned her head and looked at Kento. “He was making sure you were okay. He also told us more about you. Hana, you have family here, and we won’t abandon you.” Tears slowly ran down Hana’s cheeks as she hung her head. “I know you’re hurting, but we are here for you.”

spun around and buried her face in Kento’s chest, hysterical. “Why…” she sobbed as she held tightly to Kento.

“It’ll be alright,” Kento said as he rubbed Hana’s back with his hand. “I’m here. You don’t have to be alone.”

A/N: Well some of Hana's past is revealed. Please review if you have the time. Thank you.