Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Requiem of Summer ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

Heavy fog rested upon the cemented floor in a dark area. Footsteps could be heard as a figure, its back slightly hunched over, arms wrapped tightly around its body, walked around the darkened room. Shallow, shaky breaths escaped through lightly pink, parted lips. Natsumi stopped in her tracks as the fear took over her body once more, her nerves acting up to the point of nausea. She swallowed the huge lump that had formed in her throat as she forced her legs to move on.

A small light appeared in front of her as she continued walking. Her slim legs moved faster as she approached the desired light, eager to escape the darkness of which she feared. A figure with light-brown, wavy hair came into view within the light. Her heart raced within her ribcage as she got closer to the mysterious being.

“Who’s there?” she asked, her voice small and fragile. She took smaller steps as she approached the woman whose back was facing her. “Can you tell me where I am?” The woman didn’t make a move nor uttered a single word. “Please. I need to get out of here.”

Natsumi clutched her hand hard against her chest. The figure turned its body to face the young woman. A gasp escaped from Natsumi’s throat as hazel eyes met with her Persian blue eyes. She felt her heart skip a couple of beats as her mouth suddenly became dry like the desert. “M-Mommy…” The word was no more than a whisper.

A smile formed across the older woman’s lips, the smile sincere and comforting. “My sweet, little Natsumi,” she said softly. The soprano voice rang within Natsumi’s head. “You have turned into such a beautiful young woman.” Mai held both arms out, inviting her only daughter into her arms. Without a second thought, Natsumi raced into those arms as if she were a little girl again. Warm arms embraced her small frame as she snuggled against her mother’s bosom. She finally felt safe.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Natsumi said as tears slowly trickled down her cheeks. “Father tried to kill me.” Mai stayed silent as she stroked her daughter’s light-brown hair, the hair that Natsumi inherited from her. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Natsumi picked up her head and clasped both of her hands over her mouth, letting out a muffled scream. The loving, familiar face she once knew was now just a skeleton. Horrified, she pushed the bones away from her. She hunched over toward the ground, the contents in her stomach forcing them up her throat.

An evil laugh could be heard as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. A sharp pain shattered upon her hand and arm as blood gushed from the open wounds. She looked up to find her father, cloaked in the shadow and a knife in one hand. A sinister smile was plastered on his lips as he lurched forward, aiming for her other arm.

“You will never be like your mother,” he sneered, the shadows fully covering his eyes.

Natsumi barely dodged his attack. With her legs shaking with fear, she hastily got to her feet and ran across the dark room. At this point, tears rained down her cheeks. She wanted out; she wanted to be free of this nightmare. She shut her eyes tightly and let out a scream.

A pair of gentle hands appeared out of nowhere and placed themselves on her small shoulders. Her eyes flew open, only to find herself in a bed. Gentle beams of sunlight were peeking through the yellow curtains within the room. She looked to her left, eyes wide with fear. In front of her was Ryo, who had concern plastered all over his face. Her erratic breathing was slowly returning to normal once she figured out where she was. Her bangs were clinging to her face. The bedsheets and the t-shirt she was wearing were soaked with cold sweat.

“Ryo…” she whispered. Even though her breathing was slowly returning to normal, the nerves in her body were still rattling at full force. The images of her mother being nothing but bones still played in her mind like some sort of horror film.

“It’s okay, Natsumi. I’m right here,” Ryo soothed as he pushed some of the wet strands of light brown hair away from her face.

Natsumi looked at her hand and arm, realizing that they were no longer bandaged up. Fear struck her hard as she looked back at Ryo, wide-eyed. “What happened to my cuts?! Did you take me somewhere?!” Her voice was shaking as she rapidly contorted her arm and hand in different directions, as if to see if her abrasions were located somewhere else. However, there wasn’t a single marking anywhere on her skin.

“I didn’t take you anywhere,” Ryo reassured her. “I actually called Sage to come over and heal your wounds. It was the only option we had left.” Natsumi’s eyes never left her bare arm as tears slowly ran down her cheeks. Ryo gently sat on the edge of the mattress and wrapped his strong arms around her small, trembling frame. “I’m right here. I won’t go anywhere unless you tell me to.” He felt moisture on his cotton shirt as she buried her face into his chest, sobbing quietly.

“Table twelve!” shouted the young chef. His brown hair was tied into a short ponytail with a hairnet surrounding the top of his head. His brown eyes glared at the female standing before him, not paying attention to a word he was saying. She was just standing there, looking out into space. “Hana!”

The young woman jumped at the sound of her name. She looked around, startled, until she noticed the chef’s annoyed expression. “I’m sorry, Taka. What did you want?” Hana said apologetically.

“I was shouting ‘table twelve’ at least five times,” he said, annoyed. “You just stood there like a statue. What is going on with you today?”

Hana placed the plates of food onto her open palm. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she felt the heat on the bottom of the ceramic plates. “There are some things going on at home. I guess my mind is wandering more than usual. I’m sorry,” she replied and took the plates to their destination. Hana set the plates down on the white tablecloth in front of her customers, the steam slowly rising from the food. “Sorry for the wait,” she said. “Enjoy your meal.”

The two people at the table thanked her, which brought a small smile to the young woman’s face. She nervously watched as her current customers took a bite of their food, both smiling as they chewed. After slightly bowing, she left the area. Hana went over to one of the other waitresses and told them she was going on break. She needed one badly. She headed toward the back where the small breakroom was. She heavily plopped herself down on one of the plastic chairs, letting out a loud sigh. Taking both of her hands, she slowly rubbed the sides of her temple, her eyes closed.

“Rough day?” asked a tenor voice. Hana stopped her head massage and looked up. She saw Kento sitting in one of the chairs opposite to her. She was so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice her company. “‘Sup?”

“Hey, Ken. I didn’t see you there,” Hana said softly. “It’s been a bad day for me. I messed up so many times. One customer wanted to report me for horrible service. Luckily they didn’t. I don’t know what I would tell your mother if that person went through with it.” She continued with her little head massage while she took slow and steady breaths through her nose.

“My ma is very understanding. I’m sure she would take it easy on you. Did you forget that you are part of the family now?” Kento said in an almost nonchalant voice.

Hana looked at the intricate designs that were on the tiles on the floor. She remembered when Kento took her to his house to meet his big family. At that moment, she felt a sort of belonging, something she hadn’t felt in such a long time. A smile broke out across her pink lips as she looked up at her dark blue-haired friend. The warrior winked at her from across the room.

“You’re right, Kento. I guess I forgot about that little detail,” Hana said.

“It’s cool. No biggie, right?” he said as he flashed his teeth at her. “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

Another sigh escaped Hana’s slightly parted lips. “Natsumi hasn’t come out of her room for four days. She hardly eats anything and I doubt she is showering,” Hana said, a look of frustration plastered on her features. “Ryo told me that she hasn’t been sleeping, either. When she does manage to doze off, she wakes up screaming. I’m sure you have heard her. I’m just worried about her.”

“Yeah. Ryo did mention to me and Cye that she hasn’t been getting enough sleep. He thinks she’s doing it on purpose, which I can see,” Kento said, not taking his eyes off Hana.

“That’s true. I just don’t know what to do for her,” Hana said sadly. She looked at the metal table that was in the middle of the room. Kento had his elbows prepped on the shiny surface. A few water bottles were on the table, and with her left hand extended out, she used her power to bring one of the bottles to her open hand. Kento watched as Hana twisted the white plastic cap off and took a sip of water. “What? I’m feeling lazy right now.”

A chuckle emanated from Kento’s throat. “I can see that. You are getting much better with your powers.”

“Not really. This type of stuff is easy compared to what I really want to do,” she said. She twisted the cap back onto the bottle and looked at the clear liquid within it, thoughtfully. “Maybe after work I will train for a bit, get my mind off the things I can’t control.”

“What kind of things were you looking to do? I know controlling your rage is still in the works, but I can see it getting better,” he said.

“Sometimes I think that something is going to show up. You guys have said that evil lurks in the shadows. I want to be ready for when something strikes. Shijisha had an attack that she used. I would like to create one of my own,” Hana said as she got up from her seat. She placed the bottle gently on the table’s smooth surface. She leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. “Not only that, but when I was being controlled by Kurushimi, she taught me a move where I can merge with another being. I would like to try that again. It could be useful.”

Kento sighed through his nostrils after hearing Hana’s explanation. “Did you mention this to Cye?”

Hana shook her head. “He would be against me fighting if it came to that,” she replied. “You know how protective he is.”

Kento leaned against the back of his chair. “Usually I’m all for a good fight and would totally give the thumbs up, but you could get killed. You don’t have any armor to protect you.”

“I know the risk, but you wanted me to use my power for good. I don’t want to be the one standing on the sidelines when something happens,” Hana explained as she looked at Kento intensely. “I don’t want to feel useless.”

Kento groaned as he scratched the back of his head, thinking about what his friend had just told him. He looked up at Hana and saw the seriousness and determination in her blue eyes. He let out a sigh in defeat. “I know I shouldn’t, but I will help you.”

A slight grin appeared across Hana’s pink lips. “I knew you would. Thanks, Ken.”

“Even if I didn’t, you would still do the training yourself, am I right?” Kento grinned. “You are too stubborn to take no for an answer.”

“You know me too well,” Hana said, the grin still on her lips. “We’ll start after work.”

Cye knocked softly on the white-painted wooden door, a small plastic tray of food consisting of bowls of soup and rice in his hand. He heard a very faint “come in.” and slowly opened the door. The lights within the room were all turned on. A frail-looking woman sat up on propped pillows. She looked so sick and fragile that he was afraid that if he gently touched her, she would crumple to pieces. When she turned to look at him, Cye could see the dark bags as they hung heavily from the bottom of her eyes due to lack of sleep.

Natsumi watched him as he made his way to her bedside. After setting the tray on the nightstand, he took a seat on the chair that was usually occupied by Ryo. Cye leaned forward and brushed some strands of oily hair from her face. The stench of body odor filled his nostrils, but he ignored it as he looked into the broken eyes of his friend.

“You need to eat something, please,” he pleaded softly. “It’s been a couple of days and I know you must be starving. I brought you some sweet onion soup and white rice.”

Natsumi’s stomach started talking as if the food was calling to it. She moved her blue eyes toward the food tray. The look of the soup, and the steam slowly rising from it made her mouth water. She nodded her head in agreement. Cye took the ceramic bowl containing the soup and passed it to her. The onions smelled delightful as she took a spoonful of the tan-tinted liquid and placed it in her mouth, savoring the taste. Ryo had previously brought food in for her, but she had no desire to eat it. For some reason, she couldn’t turn down food that was prepared by the Warrior of Torrent.

“It’s good,” she whispered. Her voice sounded like sandpaper due to the lack of use and hydration. She took another spoonful of soup, enjoying the hot liquid as it traveled down her throat and into her empty stomach. She could feel herself getting better already.

A smile appeared on Cye’s features as he took the bowl of rice and offered it to her. “Eat this, too,” he said, trying to hide his urgency for her to continue eating. She hesitated at first, but took the small bowl from his hands. “Good. When Ryo gets home, he should help you shower.”

“What do you mean?” Natsumi asked as she took a small bite of the white rice.

“You haven’t bathed in two days,” Cye stated gently. “You can do a quick wash if you don’t want to take a long bath.” Natsumi stopped eating and focused her attention on the small, white grains of rice in the bowl on her lap. “I’m not pushing you to do anything that isn’t good for you, but we are all worried about you.”

A lone tear fell down her cheek and into the bowl of rice. “I’m sorry,” she said as she choked back a sob. “I’m just so afraid…”

The auburn-haired man placed a gentle hand on her small shoulder. “I know, and we won’t let him get close to you. I’m sure Hana and Ryo would be the first ones to go on the defense. You know those two and their tempers.” A small smile broke out across her chapped lips. It felt good hearing those words. “You are safe in this house and with us.” The sound of the bedroom door slowly opening caused both occupants to turn their heads. Ryo stood in the doorway in grass-stained blue jeans and a sweat-stained t-shirt. “Hey. I assume it was a busy day at work?”

“You could say that. One of my co-workers tripped on a lawn gnome and twisted his ankle, so he will be out of commission for a while,” Ryo replied with a shake of his head. “We told him to watch where he was going.” His tiger-blue eyes spotted the two bowls on his girlfriend’s lap and smiled. “I see you ate something.”

“I guess I did,” Natsumi said shyly, her cheeks turning a light pink.

“You guess?” Cye asked with a laugh. “You drank all the soup that was in the bowl.”

“I’m glad,” Ryo said with relief. “I was worried you would go weeks without food.” Natsumi didn’t say anything.

Cye cleared his throat and got up from his seat. “Can I talk to you for a moment out in the hall?” he asked, motioning for his leader and friend to follow him.

Ryo nodded and followed his friend out into the small hallway. “What’s up?” he asked as Cye closed the bedroom door.

Cye looked at his fiery friend with an expression that was serious, but gentle at the same time. “She hasn’t bathed in days. Do you think you could coax her into taking one? Or maybe you could help wash her or something?” The water-loving warrior could see the hint of pink rise to his friend’s cheeks. “We could wait until Hana get home, but that won’t be until at least midnight. They ended up with a huge party and she had to stay late. I’m sure she’ll be tired when gets home.”

Ryo rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “What do I say?”

Cye looked at his friend in shock, but then realized that Ryo never really had any experience with a woman before that was serious. It made sense that he was a little nervous. Out of the group, Cye was the first one to actually have a girlfriend and go through certain experiences.

“Just suggest that you will help her shower,” Cye suggested. “Offer to wash her hair or something.”

“You know I haven’t done anything like this before,” Ryo pointed out, his face now cherry-red.

“And that’s why I’m helping you,” Cye replied in a calm manner, but in the inside, he was smiling. The awkwardness in the air slowly intensified. “Just trust me. It will do her some good, and it would most likely make her feel better.” Ryo just nodded his head. “Good. I need to run to the store real quick. Kento suggested I make this chicken recipe he found. It sounds interesting, and it includes pineapples.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ryo said with a weak smile. “I can’t wait to try it.”

Cye patted his leader on the shoulder with his left hand and headed toward the kitchen. He stopped and looked at his friend one last time. “Don’t think too much into this, okay? It really isn’t a big deal.”

“If you say so,” Ryo said. Cye gave him a warm smile and nodded his head before heading out of the house.

After he heard the front door close, signaling that he was now alone, he opened the door to Natsumi’s room. She was sitting up in the bed, looking at her hands that were resting on her lap; a sullen expression was plastered on her face. He walked over to her slowly and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Hey. Why don’t I start up a bath for you?” he asked, his tone placid and warm. “It will make you feel better.” Natsumi just shrugged her shoulders at the idea. “Okay. I’ll get the bath ready.” He patted her covered leg and got up from his place on the bed.

Warm water gushed out from the stainless-steel faucet like a small waterfall into the empty ceramic, cream-colored tub. He looked around the small area to see if there was any bubble bath that he could mix with the current running water. Luckily for him, Hana had a whole bunch of bubble bath bottles in one of the cubbies. The sunflower scented one caught his eye, so he grabbed it from the shelf. He unscrewed the white plastic lid and gently dumped the liquid contents into the water. Soon the room was filled with a floral aroma.

The bathroom door slowly creaked open, making Ryo look toward that direction. He saw Natsumi standing in the doorway cloaked with her canary-yellow bathrobe.

“Oh, good. I was just about to come get you,” Ryo smiled, his cheeks slowly showing some color. “I found some bubble bath, too.”

Natsumi moved her Persian-blue eyes toward the sudsy tub. “I can see that,” she said in a low voice. “Can you turn around? I’ll tell you when I’m in the water.”

“Of course!” Ryo said in a rather abrupt voice. He turned his back on her, his face now red. He looked at the olive-green wall in front of him as he heard the garment fall to the tiled floor. Small plopping noises were heard along with a small sigh.

“You can turn around now,” she said. The black-haired warrior turned around slowly and saw that the white bubbles were covering most of her naked body. “This feels good.” She relaxed her body against the back of the tub, allowing the scent of the bubbles fill her senses.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Ryo said as he sat on the covered toilet. “I’m sure you feel more relaxed now, right?”

Natsumi looked at the bubbles as they popped one by one. “I guess.” She rubbed her face with her wet palms. “I’m afraid to sleep at night. When I fall asleep, I see the same nightmare. I see my father attacking me with that knife with that look on his face, of a maniac. That’s why I hate the dark, Ryo. My father used to keep me in that windowless room for hours with no escape.”

Ryo looked down at his girlfriend. She looked up at him with broken blue eyes, tears slowly brimming at the bottom. “I know. Your uncle told us about that room. He told us a lot about you and what it was like in that house of yours.”

“He did? He was here?” Natsumi asked. It kind of surprised her that her uncle would spill everything, but at the same time, a feeling of relief washed over her, knowing that there was nothing left to hide.

“Yes. He was the one who brought you here. He was very upset about what happened,” Ryo explained. His hands turned into fists on his lap as he looked away from her, the feeling of guilt rising from within. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”

“Don’t be sorry, Ryo,” Natsumi said softly. “Neither of us knew what was going to transpire. You can’t feel guilty about something you knew nothing about. I didn’t want anyone to know about my family because of what my father put me through. I was happy that I made friends, and I wanted to keep that separate.”

“I know,” he said and he knelt down at the side of the tub. He gently took her face within his hands and looked at her straight in the eyes with determination. “But it’s over now, and I promise you that I will protect you.” He leaned forward and kissed the top of her forehead. “You have nothing to worry about.” Natsumi smiled and nodded her head. “Want me to wash your hair for you? You can just sit back and relax while I do all the work.”

“I would like that,” she said and leaned further back into the tub. For that one moment in time, she felt like nothing bad could ever touch her.