Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Ronin Warriors: Dragon's Wrath ❯ Ryo's Reckoning ( Chapter 11 )

Sakura stood there, shocked at what Ryo had just said. Did he really mean to marry her? Or had all those blows from Hiko given him a concussion? She had to know.

"Ryo..." she said suddenly, getting the attention of the hero. He looked towards her. "Did you really mean..."
"Yes...I love you, Sakura Kamino." Ryo said.

Sakura's heart stopped. Ryo was serious. This was not good. Turning, she ran off, past her sisters who were enjoying themselves, a million emotions running through her head. Ryo had asked for her hand in marriage...she had no idea what to do. Accept? Decline? Tell him he had lost his mind? She had no clue. She ran to Amaterasu, who embraced her scared, yet confused daughter.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Amaterasu asked.
"Ryo...Ryo...Ryo...he asked..." she said, sobbing.
"What dear?" Amaterasu inquired gently.
"me to marry him..." Sakura explained. "We've got to convince him otherwise..."
"Yes. I know. My latest reconnaissance has shown that the Draconai grow stronger and larger by the day, especially with the aid of Navcase. Their only hope right now is Ryo." Amaterasu explained.
"But how are we going to make him realize? Cooping him up here for the past few weeks has just made him rekindle his love for me...same for me. But I can wait...he can't...There has to be some way to get him to go back to Earth..." Sakura thought.

Meanwhile, back on Earth...

"Okay, let's recap the situation. Ryo doesn't want to come back, Anubis has a dangerous power, Ceiphied's got Navcase, which is a major problem, they're getting stronger, their base is more fortified, we're all screwed..." Kento said before Rowen stopped him.
"Kento, I said recap, not catastrophize." Rowen commented.
"I don't think we should bring him back yet. We bring Ryo back now, he's in a worse situation then we were back when the Mystic Knights showed up." Sai said.
"Yet on the other hand, Ryo's probably much stronger now after training up there, so it would be good if he came back." Sage said.
"Thus far, our trump cards, despite Deathscythe Hell being extremely dangerous to me and us, are getting weaker against them. In many cases, it has been the only way we have survived. Perhaps White Neo Mega would allow us to even the score, as the Forgotten Souls should remain here to protect Mia and Yuli." Anubis explained.
"Yeah, but to summon him, we need Ryo, and Ryo's kinda dead right now." Kento said.
"We need Ryo back...soon." Rowen said.

Meanwhile, up in Heaven...

"Ryo..." Sakura said as she entered his room again.
"Oh, there you are Sakura. What date should we do it?" Ryo asked.
"What..."
"When should we get married? Do you have any ideas on what color the dresses should be?"
"Ryo...you're done training...your friends need you there..." Sakura tried to explain.
"Sakura...you don't understand...I'm happier here...no fighting...for the first time in my life I'm truly happy...I don't have to worry about anything...I'm in a beautiful place, With a beautiful girl...you..."

Now Sakura understood why he did not wish to go back. He wanted to stay here, away from all the cares in the world. He seemed not to care. There was only one thing to do.

It was worse than she had anticipated. Something had to be done. Something she wished she did not have to do. She walked up to Ryo, and did the one thing she thought she would never do.

She slapped him. Ryo reeled from the blow, and tears began to come to her eyes...

"You're nothing but a self-centered jerk!" she said, sniffling. "The Ryo I know, or should I say, knew..." she said, sniffling more, "fought alongside his friends, even though he knew it was hopeless...even gave his life so that they would live..." she said, trying to fight back the tears. "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MAN I LOVED???" Sakura screamed, her screams turning into sobs as she broke down crying.

"Sakura..." Ryo said, as her face sank into his shoulder, placing his arm around her, trying to comfort her as she continued to cry.

She pushed him away, with an angry look on her face. He hated that icy death glare, the one that made her the Devil Girl.

"Do you have any idea what's going on down there? Well, you're gonna find out."

Sakura grabbed Ryo and dragged him to Amaterasu's vision room. There, he saw all that had transpired between the Ronins and Draconai, and far beyond that.

"The Draconai are cursed Nether Dragons that were thrown out by Drakka. Ceiphied for centuries has wanted a rematch with Drakka." Amaterasu explained.

Ryo stood there in shock. Drakka?

"Yes. That Drakka. You know full well he cares nothing for the Mortal Realm. Ran tells me you read the Legend of the Seishi...were you aware that there are seven Seishi for Drakka as well?"

Ryo shook his head.

"The Seishi may be the key to victory in this fight...we must hope they show themselves soon." Amaterasu said.

She waved her hand, changing the image to Ceiphied's base, where a massive offensive was being organized, led of course, by Navcase.

(Ryo's Theme kicks up)

"I have to get back...they're in trouble! I have to save them!"

Amaterasu smiled.

"How could I have been such an idiot...Sakura, I'm sorry...I still love you, to that point, as I said...but I can wait until this is over...I want my friends at the wedding." Ryo said.

Sakura began to cry a little.

"Very good Ryo. Then let us prepare for your departure." Amaterasu said.

A particular mantled individual entered and handled Ryo a scroll.

"This contains the manual for the counterattack to the ougi. Perhaps you'll be able to pull it off, unlike my stupid pupil." Hiko explained.

Back at Ceiphied's...

The hundreds upon hundreds of Draconai knelt before their master in homage.

"My loyal Draconai...now is the time we exterminate the sole opposition to our resurrection of Drakka! Kill them all! Especially the one who has the power of a demon! Fight to the death! Let nothing stand in your way! Fly now! Fly now to the Isle of Mists!!! AND DESTROY THEM ALL!!!!"

One by one, the clans arched their backs, their wings breaking free of the membranes and extending outward, before they flapped them and rose into the air, in a huge Pearl Harbor-esque swarm, with Navcase in the lead, clad in Ryuujin. Off in the distance, the Isle loomed, its inhabitants unaware of the incoming attack.

Next Episode

Hey Everyone! This is Ryo! Amaterasu gets me back to Earth, but can I get to the guys before Navcase and his group kill them all? Huh? What's this weird feeling? It's like when I fought Amaterasu...

It's the next episode, Wings of Flame. Don't miss it!