Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Ronin Warriors: Dragon's Wrath ❯ To Mend a Broken Heart ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"I'm so stupid...so stupid to believe that I could have him...SO STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!" Ayame cried as the hot tears trickled down her face. "I thought I could have him...but I was wrong...so wrong...he loves her...he's always loved her...he doesn't need me!!!!!!!!!" she sobbed.

She dove onto her bed, and began to sob, the tears flowing...and with them...the remnants of her broken heart.

Navcase rushed towards the palace as fast as he could, after observing the upset he had managed to cause Ayame. As a Seishi, his duty was to protect her and the others. How could he do that if she hated him? He wished he had found a better place to share his love with Yuriko. But it would not matter. She would have found out one way or another.

How could this have happened? When he asked for her help early on in the conflict, he had appeared to her. Perhaps she took that as attention, which she seemed to get little of? He had to know. He had to try and help. He hurried up the stairs and knocked on her door.

"Ayame? We need to talk." Navcase stated.
"Go away." She replied between sobs.
"Please. I'm sorry." Navcase said, trying desperately to apologize.

Ayame swung the door open, tears flowing down her face.

"Why didn't you tell me about her...?" Ayame said, with a touch of anger in her voice.
"Yuriko?" Navcase asked.
"Of course. Who else would I mean?" Ayame responded coldly.
"Why didn't you tell me how much you loved her!?" Ayame shouted. "Why didn't you tell me you were engaged to be married?! That would have been very USEFUL information, before I devoted my heart to you!" Ayame cried, choking on her tears.
"I'm...sorry if I hurt you...I didn't mean to..." Navcase replied.

Turning away from the warrior, looking towards her closed curtains, she asked another question.

"What about the astral projections. Why me?" Ayame asked, still angry. "Is it because my sisters blocked you, or is it because you genuinely needed my help alone?"

Navcase's heart pounded. He had to tell her the truth...but he knew she would not like his answer.

"Ran's resistance to my probes was weak...but her innocence is what protects her from the world...You're right...Yuri and Sakura did resist me...and Suiren's mind was too scary...I found out why later." he said.
"So you chose me..." she said, her anger starting to flare up again. "Because you KNEW I wasn't a warrior, so I wouldn't give you any trouble to enter, is that right? Not because you cared about me or anything like that, am I right?" Ayame shot back.
"Ayame...I do care about you..." Navcase started to say.
"YEAH RIGHT!!!!" She said, storming towards him. When she reached him she pushed him to the side.
"Out of my way!" she shouted before storming off elsewhere.

Amaterasu, as luck would have it, was walking around the palace when Ayame crashed into her.

"Ayame?...I thought I told you to stay in your room..." Amaterasu began before she noticed her daughter was sobbing. "Ayame, what's wrong sweetheart?"
"Navcase doesn't care about me..." Ayame started.
"No, no, he does care about you...he cares about all of us..." Amaterasu said, trying to calm her down.
"No he doesn't! He only cares about me because he has to care about me because he's a Seishi!" Ayame protested, just as Navcase caught up to the two. "Get rid of him...I hate him..." Ayame said.
"Ayame...you're wrong. Your mother is right. I do care about you. Because of Ceiphied, I lost my humanity...and my one true love...and now I have both back. My life now has purpose because I realized my duty as a Seishi of Amaterasu. You helped me to reunite me with Yuriko...I thank you for that. I care for all of you, very deeply. All of you make my life...interesting. Your friendship with me is true because you gave me your necklace...Isn't it?" Navcase said.

At this Ayame, who had turned towards him to sort of listen, now turned back to her mother and began sobbing again.

"I see what is wrong now..." Amaterasu started to say. "Navcase, when I gave those necklaces to my daughters at a very young age, I instructed them to only give them to the person they intended to spend the rest of their lives with. Because of the seal on the Heavens, they allow those who have not died to enter the Heavens without the permission of myself, Kaosu, or my daughters. It is why you were able to teleport here without having to die first."

As Navcase nodded in understanding, Yuriko came running up.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Let me know before you run off like that!" Yuriko scolded. Then, seeing Ayame crying on her mother, she replied. "I'm sorry...I really am. I hope you won't be mad at me or Navcase...I'm Yuriko. You must be Ayame. Pleased to meet you." she said.
"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!!!" Ayame shot back at her, before crying again.
"I know you're upset...you have every right to be. But you're a smart girl...and I know that part of you realizes that Navcase loves me with all his heart, and he decided long before you were born that I was the one for him..." Yuriko said.
"I DON'T CARE!!!!! I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO EITHER OF YOU!!!!!" Ayame shouted back, startling Yuriko, then breaking away from Amaterasu and running down the hall again, slamming the door to her room.
"I'm sorry, your Eminence. I did not think she would react this way." Navcase replied.
"No, don't blame yourself. It's my fault for not realizing this sooner." Amaterasu said.
"No, I should have realized when she kissed me she had feelings for me." Navcase replied.
"No, I'm her mother...I should have spent more time with them, then things like this wouldn't have happened." Amaterasu replied.
"Um, if you two are done placing the blame on yourselves, can I try to talk to her again? Girl to girl?" Yuriko asked.
"If you want. I'm sure there's no harm in doing so." Amaterasu said.

Navcase escorted his beloved to the door of Ayame. He was nervous. She had refused to listen to him. She had lost faith in her mother. Could Yuriko really manage to get through to her? It was worth a try, at least.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Navcase asked. "She was quite angry last time you talked to her. Maybe if we wait until she calms down..." Navcase said.
"Shinta-chan, I know you only want what's best for me, and don't want me to get hurt, but let me try. I think I can get through to her. Oh, can you give me that necklace?" Yuriko asked.

Navcase undid the necklace and placed it in Yuriko's hands.

"Wish me luck." she said.

With that, she knocked on Ayame's door.

"What." she said from within, still angry.
"Can I come in?" Yuriko asked, as nicely and unthreatening as possible.
"Go away. You've caused me enough pain today already. Both of you." she replied.
"Please? I know we can work this out if we just talk about it." Yuriko asked.
"Leave me alone!" she cried out, beginning to sob again.
"Ayame...I know you want to. Can we talk, please? You'll just feel worse the more you push us away. I know deep inside that you want to resolve this. Open up...please?" Yuriko asked.

Ayame opened the door a crack, just enough so that she could see Yuriko.

"Fine. If you want to talk, fine then. Some good it'll do. YOU, can wait outside." she said, pointing at Navcase.
"Good luck." Navcase said, as Yuriko entered the lion's den before Ayame slammed the door in his face.

Yuriko turned on the lights and looked around her surroundings. Ayame had taken great steps to make it her home. There were posters on the walls, a few of Ayumi Hamasaki and Morning Musume, but most were anime related, mostly general depictions of the cast rather than pure bishounen artwork like Suiren. Rising above her desktop was her personal computer, where Ayame did most of her work. The device was strange to Yuriko, as she had never seen one before. Being asleep for thousands of years does that to you. Lying on her bed was a pair of earbuds and her mp3 player. Although most of her surroundings were strange to Yuriko, she could feel an aura of warmth about the place. Ayame on the other hand, was another story. Ayame sat down on her bed, her hands folded in front of her face. Yuriko pulled the chair from Ayame's desk out and slowly sat down.

"You wanted to talk to me, so talk." Ayame said harshly.
"You know...when I was a little girl...I wasn't too thrilled when Navcase came to live with me. I asked my mom, 'Why does this boy have to live here with us? Why can't he stay with his mommy and daddy?' I wanted nothing to do with him. I wanted him to leave. I'm sure when your younger sisters came along, you wanted them to leave too, right?"
"No, I love Suiren and Ran. Ran spends all her time with Yuri, so she leaves me alone, and Suiren keeps to herself. The only one I want to get rid of is Sakura." Ayame answered sarcastically. "There better be a point to all this."
"But as I got a little older...I found out that he lost his parents...and Mr. Hiko didn't know how to take care of him...so he had my parents raise him while he taught him on weekends. It took me a little while to realize it, but I realized that I loved him...in fact, I had loved him from the second I first set eyes on him..."
"I already know how much you two love each other..." Ayame snapped. "Either get to your point, or get out."

Yuriko sighed. This was harder than she thought. Looking into her eyes, they were staring daggers back at her. But as she looked closer, she saw a girl, who was trying so hard to hate her.

"Ayame? Other than Navcase, is there any other guy you care about?" Yuriko asked.

Ayame started to tremble. Yuriko had no right to know. This was personal. Navcase was hers. She did not care if he was already reserved. He would be hers. There was no one else for her...except...

Except Rowen. Her first love. They had so much in common...they both loved to sleep late, they both were intelligent, loved to eat sweets...but that did not matter now. Navcase was refined, dignified, honorable, noble...Rowen could not hold a candle to him. But Yuriko's eyes told her she wanted an answer.

"Rowen...His name is Rowen...we have so much in common..." Ayame said, starting to smile a little. Yuriko breathed a sight of relief. Perhaps she was getting somewhere. "BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER NOW!!!! NAVCASE IS TEN TIMES BETTER!" Ayame shot back.

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to ask, Yuriko told herself. Perhaps there was something less threatening she could ask.

"Ayame?...Why is it you like Navcase so much?" she asked.

Ayame started to smile a little at this. She started to blush too. "Well...he's a great swordsman...he's noble...honorable...so sure of himself...not to mention handsome." Ayame said.
"A girl after my own heart. Those are the exact same reasons I fell for him in the first place..." Yuriko said, trying not to sound too excited. She looked fearfully at Ayame, anticipating her reaction, fearing she would snap at her again. But her eyes remained opened, as she asked in a slightly more curious voice, "Really?"

Yuriko nodded. At last! She was starting to get through to her. Taking the necklace, she gave it back to Ayame.

"I know you're jealous...you have every right to be. But there are plenty of great guys out there...you know that guy you mentioned, Rowen? I think you should give this to him. My best guess is he's still waiting for you."

Ayame nervously took the necklace back and placed it back around her neck.

"Maybe you're right...but I still love Navcase..." Ayame said. "I'm sorry."
"Ayame, I know this is hard. But you have to realize that you still love Rowen too, and that's who you're meant to be with. Just think about it for a second."

Ayame closed her eyes and thought hard. She saw image after image of Navcase...fighting...her kiss with him...his appearances in her mind...

"I'm trying...but all I see is him." Ayame said.
"Can you remember him as a child?"

Ayame searched her mind again...she saw herself as a child, playing with Sakura, before she started to be mean to her. Suiren as a little girl, crazy about little boys...Ran sleeping as a baby with Yuri...but still, no Navcase.

"No..."
"What about when he told you he loved you?"

Ayame looked again...she tried...and tried...but there was nothing there...Navcase had never said how much he loved her...ever. She started to cry again, realizing the truth. He did not love her. She was not even sure if she loved him.

"Rowen, do you really want to do this?" Ayame asked.
"WHAT?" Anubis shouted.
"Sshh. Something's happening." Kale whispered.
"No. You?" Rowen said.
"No." Rowen said.
"You know what I think?" Ayame said.
"What?" Rowen asked.
"I think the girls convinced me that you wanted to do this, and the guys convinced you that I wanted to do this.
"Remind me to hurt Ryo and the others." Rowen said.
"Ditto for Sakura and the others." Ayame said.
"That's good to know." Rowen said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Um Rowen, you can let go of my bra now." Ayame said.
"Oh sorry." Rowen said, extremely nervous.
"That's okay." Ayame said. "I was nervous too."

She remembered that. How she and him sat in the dark and watched anime...how they playfully fought with pillows...when they made the others feel bad and pretended to fall asleep on the couch...he felt so warm...so comfortable. So comfortable she had nodded off that night cuddling with him. She remembered the first time they met...she was sitting in a chair reading a book, when this blue haired guy had walked over to her. When he introduced himself, he sounded so intelligent, so much like she was...not to mention gorgeous. Mom had told them about the Ronins, but she had no idea they were so cute in person. She remembered how angry she had been when they pretended to be sick...how surprised they were when they found out who the five of them were...working with Rowen to find something to defeat the Saiyans...so many memories of him. But only a few of Navcase. Nothing really substantial. Not enough to condemn him for life like she had done recently. Yuriko was right...she still loved Rowen.

"Well?" Yuriko asked.
"I have so few memories of Navcase...yet I have such vivid memories of when I was with Rowen...I miss him."
"I have lots of memories of being with Navcase...he is like my brother and my lover at the same time...that is why I care for him so much...He does care about you. Other than me, he has never had any younger siblings. That's probably why he gets along with Ran so well. She's never had a big brother, and she looks up to him like one. I'd like for us to be that way too...but I know that won't happen. I want to be your friend...not your rival. I have a duty to protect you...and I can't do that if you hate me. Can you forgive me?"

"I don't hate you...It's just...I wanted Navcase so badly...but I don't think I even deserve Rowen if I forgot about him like that." Ayame said.

Yuriko put her hand on Ayame's shoulder.

"I'll make you a deal. If you agree to be my friend, I'll help you woo Rowen. Deal?" Yuriko said.

Ayame thought about it for a moment, but she did not even need that to consider her offer. Yuriko was right. There was no reason to hate them or to be jealous of them. Yuriko had tried to be her friend, and she had been rude. She owed it to her.

"Deal." Ayame said, shaking her hand.

Just then, Navcase peeked in.

"Is it safe now? You're not saying anything bad about me are you?" Navcase said, nervously.
"No, not yet anyway." Yuriko replied with a smirk. The two girls giggled.
"Yuriko..." Navcase said with funny anger.
"Navcase...I'm sorry I got mad at you...I was jealous...that's all...Yuriko said you gave back the necklace...I'll give it to Rowen..."
"Ayame, I have something to say. When you gave me that necklace...it gave me strength. Your faith in me was why I was able to resist for so long, because I knew someone cared about me. I had no idea at the time that you loved me, and I'm sorry for leading you to believe that. Can you ever forgive me?"
"You're forgiven." Ayame said. "I could never stay mad at such a noble guy."
"Noble? Well, he wasn't always this noble." Yuriko said with a smirk.
"Oh no..." Navcase said, fearing the worst.
"I remember a time when our Shinta-chan was looking around for the bathroom because he really had to go..."

Navcase's face turned redder than Ryo's flame.

"Oh dear...not this...you said you wouldn't tell anyone about this..." Navcase said. However, Ayame's interest had already been piqued, and she was listening intently.
"Well, Navcase opened a door, and I was getting dressed...and he...kinda saw me naked." Yuriko said.
"REALLY?" Ayame said, completely hooked.
"He was so embarrassed! He apologized about fifty times before running down the hall after closing the door behind him. His face lit up. It was soooo red." Yuriko said.

Navcase began to tiptoe away to lick his wounds as Yuriko brought up the time when Navcase was a little boy he wet the bed, as Ayame's laughter was so loud she could not contain herself.

"YOU FOOLS!!!!!" Ceiphied roared at his minions. "Because of your failure, I have lost an important bargaining chip! By allowing those two to save Yuriko, which was the only thing keeping that traitor Navcase in the palm of my hand, I have no means of bargaining with the Sword of Heaven! We are slowly loosing troops, and that is bad. But because you fools have been unable to remotely locate any of the Drakka Shichiseishi, we must kill them before they can find any more of theirs! Kouen, you will lead the assault on the Isle of Mists this time. Rakurai, Koureha, and Gantassai, you will assist him. Gekidoku, while the others divert their attention, I want you to break into the Shrine of Amaterasu and see if there are any items that may allow us to find the Seishi, because I AM GETTING SICK OF WAITING!!!!!!! GO!!!!! AND DO NOT COME BACK EMPTY-HANDED!!!!!!!

Next Episode

AYAKO: Hey, it's me Ayako, you know, Valley girl's cousin? Sure, my cousin gets on my nerves from time to time, but I still love her. Next time, the attack gets so bad that all the Seishi are forced to go into battle, including Youtotsuko. When she cries out to me somehow, I can't help but go to her rescue, but why? It's Next time on Ronin Warriors: Dragon's Wrath; Mistress of Space. Watch for it, okay?