Disclaimer: I do not own Ronin Warriors or any of the characters.

Pairing: RyoxMia

Summary: Who would have guess that snow could be so deadly? Yuli runs off in a tantrum and Ryo goes after him.

Frozen Hearts

By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)

"It's not fair!" Yuli shouted, eyes clenched tight with tears gathering on his lashes. "You guys are the Ronin Warriors! You have to stay together! You're a team!"

"Yuli," Cye began in slow, soothing voice.

Sage cut his friend off, "Our job was to defeat Tulpa, and we did that. We may be the Ronin Warriors, but there isn't a threat anymore to the world. We need to move on with our lives." He calmly stated.

The ronins had broken the news to Mia and the visiting Yuli about how they were planning on going separate ways. Kento was planning on returning to his home and attending school as well as assisting in his family's restaurant. Cye had been accepted into a nearby university that Rowen was also planning on attending. Sage planned on returning to his family dojo to help his grandfather and mother while attending classes at a local university. Ryo hadn't announced any decisive plans yet, still wavering between returning to the mountain he grew up on with Blaze or attend a university and play soccer.

Yuli's reaction was much more severe and violent than Mia's, who merely nodded with a sorrowful look on her face. She had taken to writing historical fiction books, which were becoming quite popular. Her interest in researching lore and history blended with the 'fantasy' in her novels, which often stemmed from her experiences with the Ronin. She had strayed from her teaching position to stay around the house more with the Ronins.

"The house will certainly be quiet without you." Mia noted with a deep sigh, wondering what she would do with all the spare space in her mansion now.

Yuli looked at her, affronted at her words. "Mia?" His voice was seeped with betrayal and his eyes flashed at her with the same emotion. "Tell them that they're wrong! They can still attend a school and live here, all together!"

Mia bit her lower lip. Obviously, with the experiences they all went through, Yuli shared a strong attachment to his saviors, particularly Ryo. To have his hero leave was certainly a heavy blow to him. "Yuli…" she started, trying to reason with the distraught child.

"Ryo!" Yuli yelled, "Tell them that they're being stupid!" Kento scowled at being called this, opening his mouth but stopped any potential tirade at the angry child when Sage put a soothing and restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Yuli…" Ryo sighed. "We weren't always ronins. We did have lives before the Dynasty attacked. It's time we moved on to new stages in our lives." Sage inclined an eyebrow at this statement that seemed rather uncharacteristic of Ryo. He wondered how long the ronin spent rehearsing those lines. His words seemed detached from any feeling, as if his heart wasn't into the statement.

'Ryo never protested to our decision…' Sage pondered, 'Does he want us to stay together? I mean, he hasn't made any definite plans yet for what he wants to do…'

Sage was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard Yuli yelling once again. He tuned in just in time to hear the kitchen door slam open and then shut. He glanced at Ryo, who looked slightly pale and taken back, obviously affected by whatever words Yuli had shouted at his hero.

"Yuli!" Mia cried, swiftly moving away from the stunned ronins towards the kitchen door.

"Mia," Cye started, grabbing her arm, "Maybe it's best if it was one of us who went out to go and get him. Maybe we can calm him down—" Ryo was already outside by the time he finished his sentence.

"Well I guess that solves that question." Sage bluntly stated.

"Ryo…" Mia held her hand to her chest, looking wounded and worried at the same time.

"He'll be safe." Kento comforted. "He's a tough cookie. Plus, he's got his orb with him."

"But it's so cold outside… and his armor—"

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Mia." Sage's statement, so full of confidence, seemed to ease her worries.

"If you guys say so." She cast one more look at the kitchen door before turning towards the stairs. "I'm going to go and turn up the heat in Ryo's room for when he gets back, and let Blaze know that he's out. If Yuli's parents call, let me know." The other men nodded their heads in affirmation.

When Mia exited, the others migrated to the nearby living room, with a large bay window showing the blanketed outside. The world was an icy, crystallized landscape. A blizzard had swung through over night, closing many roads and forcing Yuli to sleep over at the mansion.

"Ah feel kinda bad for the kid… But he didn't need to go and say those things to Ryo. 'S not his fault. It was all uh our decisions." Rowen sank into a nearby chair.

Kento snorted, his frame sinking as all the tension from the situation left his body. He swung his arms behind him, stretching them behind his neck. "He didn't have to be such a brat about the situation."

Cye was worrying his lower lip as he assessed what had transpired. "Maybe he's right. Maybe we should just attend classes here. I mean, a lot of them are offered at the nearby university. There isn't any—"

"No way man!" Kento jumped from his chair, emphatically stating, "If we cave on this, he can know what he can pull with us. We made a decision and we're gonna stick with it. We'll still be connected through our armors anyway."

"True." Rowen added.

"Did anyone think that Ryo seemed off?" Sage's question drew the other three's attention to him.

"Well Yuli did say some—" Cye began.

"That's not what I meant." Sage stepped away from the wall her was leaning against. "He just seems off. Like, detached from the situation. He's not enthusiastic over our decision."

Rowen raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, we don't really know about his past. He never speaks of his family either. I think Whiteblaze is all he has—that and us."

Cye collapsed back onto the couch. "Are we sure we're doing the right thing?"

None of the others responded to his quiet question.

…

Ryo ran through the woods, cheeks flush and nose a rosy red already. The cold air bit into him, his warm red sweater barely offering any warmth. Snow crunched beneath his shoes, which were slowly becoming damp. He was, by no means, dressed for the weather. His impromptu exit and subsequent chase left him unprepared for the cold weather as he raced to catch up to the distressed child.

Following the small footprints in the snow, he let himself trek farther and farther into the woods. "Yuli?" He questioned when the tracks began to dwindle. A clearing surrounded by trees greeted his vision, as well as a sniveling child, curled up and shivering in the snow.

"Go away." Yuli cried.

Ryo's eyes softened. "Yuli, we aren't doing this to hurt you." Ryo softly said. He slowly made his way to the younger boy, one step at a time.

"Why are you guys leaving me?"

"We aren't leaving you. We'll still come and visit. The guys just want to go on and start new things in their lives. You know, they had dreams to of what they wanted to do before the Dynasty attacked."

Yuli sniffled. "What about you Ryo? What do you want to do? Do you want to leave me to? What about Mia? You know she likes you! You can't leave her like that."

Ryo's cheeks were flushed, partially due to the cold and partially due to the younger boy's proclamation. Then, his eyes turned sad. "Honestly? I don't know what I'm going to do. The guys though, they want to go off and do other things. I'm not going to go against their wishes and tie them down with my own. If they feel better being separated, then I'm not going to argue for us to be together." 'as a family.' He silently added in his mind.

Yuli looked up, red-rimmed eyes searching Ryo's own tiger blue eyes for something. Apparently, he found what he was searching for as he stood, wavering slightly. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean what I said earlier!" The younger boy cried, fresh tears streaming down his face.

"I've already forgiven you Yuli." Ryo softly said.

The younger boy let out another choked sob as he raced towards his hero with arms open for a hug.

Ryo's eyes widened as he quickly darted forward. "Yuli!" He shouted, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Yuli faltered, wavering as the snow beneath him shifted slightly. He heard a muted crack and looked around fearfully.

Ryo quickly shoved the child as hard as he could off into a nearby barren bush. Yuli fell into it, twigs crushing under his weight. "Ryo!" the boy yelled, looking up just in time to see Ryo fall under the snow and into the frozen lake below.

Yuli never realized that the clearing he had found was actually a frozen lake covered with snow…

…

"They seem to be taking a while." Sage looked out the window once again with the briefest signs of worry crossing his rather expressionless demeanor.

"Whiteblaze?" The boys heard Mia call from upstairs. They stood, just in time to dodge out of the way past a white blur that raced towards the back door. The large white tiger barreled into the wood, knocking it down as he continued his race outside.

The guys exchanged worried glances with one another, sparing but a few seconds to question what would evoke such an intense response from the tiger before they darted out after him, grabbing jackets and their armor orbs as they dashed outside.

A horrible feeling in their gut got worse with each frantic step.

…

"Ryo!" Yuli sobbed, edging his way out onto the ice as fast as he could. He remembered his teachers discussing survival tactics and learned to balance his weight to try and cause any more breaks on the unstable ice.

"Ryo!" The boy cried once again, chest heaving as he slowly began to hyperventilate. He stopped when an arm grabbed him. Yuli saw a flash of blue run by him and dive into the water. Turning, he saw it was Rowen who grabbed the young boy, dragging him off to safety.

Cye emerged from the freezing waters, a soaked Ryo in tow. His armor was steaming slightly, the water colder than the air outside.

"Hurry!" Cye said, clamboring to get Ryo to safety and out of the cold. The dark haired teen was still, lips blue and eyelashes already starting to freeze together. Cye dragged him onto the snowy ground, away from the edge of the lake. Sage quickly took over, performing CPR on the motionless youth.

"Come on Ryo!" Sage panted in between compressions and breaths. Whiteblaze nosed the teen's cheek. Suddenly, Ryo's body jerked and he coughed, water dribbling from his mouth. Sage quickly helped turn him on his side, allowing him to better dispel the water in his lungs.

"Quickly!" Kento then ripped the shirt from Ryo's back, jerking him into the warm orange parka he had been wearing. He bundled his friend up quickly and efficiently, picking him up quickly and climbing onto Whiteblaze's awaiting back.

"Go!" Whiteblaze bound off towards the nearby house.

Sage stood. Cye had already donned his winter gear, armor safely back in his summoning orb. "Let's go!" Rowen, still holding Yuli, began dragging the child with them as they raced back to Mia's house.

By the time the rest of the lagging ground had entered the house, Mia had managed to do a patch job on the door, sealing off the cold air as best as she could. The heat was blazing in the house, fighting off any remaining cold air that entered the house from the broken door.

"Up here!" Mia shouted, letting the others know where they were located. The new arrivals darted up the stairs towards Ryo's room.

"We have to warm him up slowly," Rowen said, "Otherwise when the cold blood reaches his heart, it could be too much of a shock and send him into cardiac arrest." Mia quickly shed her shirt.

The other men flushed red. Kento quickly grabbed his nose. "Uh, Mia…" Kento awkwardly noted, "I don't think you being in a bra will help Ryo right now."

Mia quickly clambered under the covers, making the other teens flush even brighter. They had all known about her crush, yet hadn't realized the levels of her desperation.

Quickly, she rearranged Ryo so that he was completely covered by the blankets and heat pad she had dug out. She wrapped her body around him, her breasts flush against his torso. "I saw this in a movie once." Mia said from under the covers, "Body heat is another good way of keeping someone warm!"

Ryo seemed to relax, as if sensing her presence. His body melted into hers and she felt him slowly get warmer.

Mia felt herself drifting slowly off to sleep despite the low murmur of voices from the other ronins that would occasionally check on their leader. Yuli was asleep in the room next to Ryo's, wiped out from the ordeal and his emotional distress.

Slowly, everything faded into a comforting sense of nothingness.

…

"Mia?" The auburn haired woman stirred from her slumber to meet tiger blue eyes. She quickly flushed, but didn't move from her position.

Ryo's cheeks were flushed himself. "Um… what happened Mia?" His eyes drifted down from her face to her chest before another blush sprang across his face and his eyes darted off to her face once again.

"You fell into an icy cold lake." Mia said, staring at him. "Your armor didn't help, being of the Wildfire." Silence fell between them. "You almost died."

Ryo's heart pulled at the sight of her gathering tears and the emotion behind those words. "Mia…"

Mia chuckled to herself, wiping away the tears from her eyes quickly. She then put on a smile and looked at Ryo. "I'm glad you're doing better. We were really worried about getting you warm…"

"You could have dumped me in a volcano." Ryo joked underneath the bundle of covers and the heating pad under his back.

Mia lightly slapped him on the arm. "You were unconscious so you couldn't call forth your armor. And, we had to warm you up slowly." She pulled the covers up to partially cover her face. "Hence, me." She said, trying to explain the situation as quickly and with as little embarrassment as she could.

"Oh." Ryo said, face still flush as he looked away from her. Mia didn't say anything in response. "So…um…" Mia blinked, looking back at Ryo who was avoiding meeting her eye. "Would this be as good of a time as any to ask you out on a date?"

Mia was stunned. A slowly, happy smile slid across her face before she wrapped her arms around Ryo, pulling him closer to her. "You don't know how long I've wanted to hear those words…" she drew him in for a slow, sensuous kiss. She broke apart. "I want you to stay here with me, even if the other guys leave."

Ryo looked at her with sad eyes. "You know I will."

Mia smiled, cupping his cheek with one of her hands and directed him towards her face. "I know that you consider us all the family you didn't have. I'll have you know I heard the guys talk last night. After what happened, they notified the right people to transfer their acceptance to the local university. They want to stay here, with you and us. Time is too precious for us to waste."

Ryo grinned, a happy laugh bubbling from his chest at the news. He leaned in and kissed Mia passionately, to which she responded with equal fervor.

"Hey Ryo, my man!" Kento announced his presence, simultaneously opening the door. His eyes widened at the sight of Ryo and Mia in the bed, lips locked in a heated battle.

"Oh—um…" He quickly shut the door, turning away and heading back down stairs to the other ronins and a subdued Yuli.

"Hey Kento," Rowen took a drink from his milk, "Did ya check on Ryo?"

"Oh… uh yea." Cye raised an eyebrow at his distracted friend. Kento was scooping more food onto a plate.

"And?" Sage prodded, "Does he need anything else to warm up?"

Kento let out a deep chuckle at this statement, confusing the others as to what he thought was so funny. "Oh, trust me. I think Mia is doing a fine job with that."

FIN

Author's note:

Getting back in the swing of writing. This was a story concept I had saved for a while but never got around to writing. It's rough, but done on a very sleepy night with tired arms. My first published Ronin piece, though I have seven others that I've been working on simultaneously for the past year or so. A little wintery angst and fluff for the season. There was a story somewhere relating to a frozen lake a Ryo, but I can't remember it for the life or me (nor can I find; to those who know, it is a spectacular piece). I made assumptions with the boys' pasts since I haven't had to joy of reading the (out of print and non-English translated) manga.

I hope all who read this story enjoyed it. I was rather surprised with how fluffy it turned out (and the romance! Egads!). Maybe this fic will inspire others to write more Ronin Warriors (there never seems to be enough Ryo angst/hurt/comfort fics to feed my apetite). Enjoy the holiday season!

in Liebe, Red Tail