So I've really gotten back into Fire Emblem, having an emulator to play those 3DS games and all I never could before, but seriously Nintendo: can we please get another Advance Wars? Please?

As the days of the Yellow Comet theater came to a close, Ryu found it harder and harder to get any time with Sonja to himself. With the final battle close at hand in removing Black Hole from their country, Sonja was busier than ever gathering intel on the enemy factory and coordinating with COs from Orange Star and Blue Moon. And while Ryu knew this was all important, he still couldn't help but feel a little bitter about it.

Actually, he realized that he was even feeling possessive. He was kind of mad that other people were taking Sonja's attention away from him. And though he recognized logically that this wasn't healthy in the slightest, there was nothing he could do to quell the feeling.

Besides, it was hardly the worst thing he had thought or felt in the past week or so. Since Sonja had made it clear she thought he was attractive. his thoughts had dived into distinctly dark territory. He wanted her. He wanted to know what she looked like without her uniform. Wanted to know how she tasted, how she moaned and screamed when brought to the edge. He wanted to know it all.

Of course, it wasn't love. He knew that. What he had right now was not love, but desire. Lust. He did not want these things so he could make her happy. He wanted to own her, conquer her. Perhaps that was simply that sadistic side of him that had emerged for her since his injury. Perhaps it was that desire to hurt her. Yet somehow he still had enough sense to feel guilty for his thoughts and desires. Somehow, even alongside those impure thoughts, he wanted her to smile and be happy in an innocent sense as well. But even so he could not quell the thoughts of domination he had for her. He could do nothing but entertain them when they arose.

Such was the root of his selfishness. Truth be told it scared him. It was strange, to know that such thoughts were your own but to still feel like they belonged to someone else. Ryu knew these were his own sins, but they still felt alien. He knew for a fact they would have never crossed his mind before his injury. Then again, a great many things had changed that day, including his psyche. He had of course heard tales of men changed by combat injuries, but he had never known just how powerful such an effect could be.

He wondered if it would affect his life forever. Would there be any reconciliation for him? Would he ever get better? It seemed doubtful. He could not even control his own thoughts and impulses, how could he possibly improve?

In an effort to dwell on literally anything else, Ryu tried to think of the war's progression. Ironically that was more comforting than his own dark thoughts regarding the only woman in his life. Yellow Comet was on the verge of pushing Black Hole out of their country. With the armies of Orange Star and Blue Moon now supporting them, they would crush the invaders at the factory that had been fueling their conquest. Unfortunately Green Earth was still suffering extremely heavy losses.

If they were not reinforced soon, Green Earth would be completely obliterated by Black Hole. Reports already proved that their military had suffered sixty percent casualties. With such severely diminished forces, they could never initiate a counter-attack campaign that would actually work. Cut off from most of their own territory, supplies and munitions were hindering their success just as much as troop morale and the number of troops themselves.

Thankfully all of those problems could be solved once Yellow Comet was free of the invaders. While the Yellow Comet Army themselves would need some time to recuperate from their very recent campaign, Orange Star and Blue Moon could move on almost immediately to assist Green Earth. Needless to say they could rectify the aforementioned problems, from morale to supplies.

Ryu wasn't sure how long Yellow Comet would stay out of the fight before moving along as well. Knowing the Emperor, he would refuse to wait for long before joining the Green Earth campaign. And not that Ryu had any issue with assisting their allies, but after the numerous battles they had waged on their own soil, Yellow Comet would need some considerable time to get back on its feet: a few weeks minimum.

More importantly, Ryu didn't know what would be done with him. He was effectively allowed to stay on base here because it was convenient enough to not pose any problems. But when the army deployed overseas to Green Earth, he probably would be forced to stay here. After all, he wasn't a combatant right now and he certainly wasn't essentially personnel. Logistically there was no reason to bring him at all. Rather, there were just reasons not to.

But there was no question that Sonja would be going. And though he hated to admit it, Ryu didn't know what he would do without her at this stage. Most of his life after leaving home had been the military. In the past few months, his life had become little more than his insane game with death that he couldn't participate in any longer, and Sonja. It was weird how she had become such a critical factor in his life considering her role in ruining it, but perhaps it was a poetic irony.

It was more of the fact that without Sonja Ryu didn't have anyone that actually cared. The members of his squad that had been worth more than a pile of shit were all dead. Other soldiers would be sympathetic to his situation, but they wouldn't truly care about it on a personal level. He refused to place this burden on his aging mother yet, and that left no one that actually gave a damn besides Sonja. She cared about him in some capacity, certainly beyond a professional level, and that made Ryu's uncontrollable thoughts even worse. The one person he had right now that cared about him, and he wanted to do terrible things to her. By now, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe it would have been better for him to die in that tank with the others.

"Brooding as always I see."

Glancing up from his bunk in the barracks, Ryu found the girl that clouded his thoughts standing at the door. He had not even heard her come in. "S-Sonja..."

If she noticed anything amiss with him, Sonja did not make it obvious, instead glancing around the rather dull walls of the building. "Don't you ever get tired of sitting in here Ryu? You're going to get a blood clot lying around so much. Besides, how can you paint any of your beautiful landscapes if you do not see them?"

Despite his earlier misgivings, Ryu couldn't help but shake his head in amusement. "To be fair, I did say I was interested in painting some other things..."

Sonja smirked at him, as subtly as usual yet still perceptible by someone that had been around her long enough. "Well I dare say you've seen enough of me by now to make a painting from memory."

"You say that like you're actually eager for me to do it."

"You think I am not? I am eager to see your artistic prowess."

Ryu cocked an eyebrow at her as he smiled, ignoring the moderate pain in his face as he did so. "Or maybe you just want a good picture of yourself to hang on the wall, you narcissist."

The young commander scoffed. "Oh please. I used to think I might have a tinge of narcissism to me, but then I met Lash. A real eye-opener, let me tell you."

Recalling the time that he could have killed that particular girl with a quick squeeze of a trigger, Ryu couldn't help but wonder what Sonja would think if he told her that he had spared not one Black Hole commander, but two. That said, he was eager to divert the conversation away from that particular tangent.

"In all honesty though, it's not like the base carries painting supplies... I wouldn't have anything to paint with or on either way."

Sonja frowned at him slightly. "You could have asked me. Surely you didn't think the commander of the base and the Emperor's daughter couldn't pull enough strings for canvas and a few brushes?"

For some reason this notion made Ryu laugh. "Isn't it kind of wrong for me to take advantage of our relationship like that?"

The words 'our relationship' brought a distinct blush to Sonja's face, a cue that told Ryu he was about to witness one of those rare times when she uncharacteristically stumbled. "W-well, when you say it l-like that it does sound immoral. Just... think of it as using your resources to the best of your ability!"

Ryu smirked as he cocked an eyebrow at her. "Is that so? Well, if you're alright with it, maybe I should do that. But if you're going to, we might as well go for a walk right? Go ahead and get some good scenery in mind..."

Eager to escape the awkward situation she had been forced into, Sonja quickly moved towards the door. "Yes, let's do that... though I believe the cherry blossoms have already passed their pinnacle..."

"I'm confident I can find something out there to appreciate."

Because her back was turned, Sonja didn't see Ryu's gaze on her. If she had she would have likely caught onto his meaning, though she missed it with her current lack of flirting ability. Either way, Ryu followed her out the door, aware that he needed to get alongside the girl instead of walking behind her. From behind, it was far too difficult to avoid staring at the skirt that framed her firm curves so nicely.

Gulping as he tried to drown his thoughts in something other than that particular asset, Ryu did indeed come to walk beside Sonja during their brief foray into the world outside of the barracks. Unfortunately, as Sonja had said herself, the few cherry blossom trees that were around were no longer adorned in pink. The division had moved several times throughout the course of the Yellow Comet campaign, but now that they were closer to the northern coast were the Black Hole factory was, most of the environment had become rocky beaches and cliffs overlooking the sea. Being an island nation a lot of Yellow Comet looked like this, but even so Ryu had not had the chance to experience it too much in his own life. He had been born inland.

"I must admit, this sea air is refreshing."

Glancing over at her, Ryu saw that Sonja was enjoying the change of atmosphere to the fullest, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath of salty air around them. It was probably the most relaxed he had ever seen her.

"Don't you think so?"

Even though she turned to him and he saw her lips move, Ryu barely registered that Sonja had said something to him. He was too busy focusing on many other things, from the her obsidian hair fluttering in the wind to those soft yet calculating hazel eyes.

"Ryu?"

Caught unawares, Ryu's response was far from intentional. "Y-yes, you are refreshing! I-I mean, your body is- I m-mean, the breeze is refreshing! Y-yeah..."

Resisting the urge to face-palm right in front of her, Ryu caught the shocked expression on Sonja's face as she stared at him slack-jawed. He kind of wanted to crawl in a hole and die at that exact moment, but he knew it was pointless. Either way, he was sure Sonja would be displeased with his words just now...

"Ryu..."

He said nothing in response, for fear of what she might say, prompting the girl to continue.

"Ryu, do you, um... what you just said, about my body..."

"N-no Commander, that's not what I meant to say..."

Finally looking at her after staring at the ground, Ryu saw what he could only decipher as disappointment in Sonja's eyes. "I see... so you don't think I'm... s-sexy...?"

While he had trouble registering what Sonja was asking of him, Ryu nevertheless managed to pass his mental block and formulate some sort of coherent answer. "N-n-no! I mean yes! I mean, no, that's not what I meant!"

Sonja cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly confused by his reply.

"W-what I mean is... I-I-I think you're very...v-v-very attractive! B-but I'm a soldier, s-so..."

The young girl blushed fiercely, barely understanding her own bluntness but perpetuating it anyway. "Y-you said before that personality can be attractive... I... I asked specifically what you think of my b-body..."

Growing self-conscious for numerous reasons, Sonja wrapped her arms around herself, giving the man before her a shy glance. The mere sight of it made Ryu's heart thump out of rhythm, but it also awoke something more primal. That dark part he had tried to suppress but could do so no longer. It was an overpowering instinct, and he wanted nothing more than to give in to it.

Barely able to contain himself, Ryu suddenly stepped forward and pushed Sonja against the tree nearest to them, practically encompassing her entire body with his significantly greater mass. Thankfully they had strayed far enough from the confines of the base perimeter to avoid being spotted: God only knows what any passing soldier would think of this sight, or what they would do about it.

But for now it was just the two of them, and for Sonja that was terrifying; but also exciting. While the dominant logical part of her brain told her she may be in a very dangerous situation, some much smaller yet still powerful part whispered to her in hushed tones, telling her that maybe what was about to happen was actually what she wanted.

Being a head taller than her, Ryu gazed down at Sonja's petite form pinned to the tree beneath him. Even in his current questionable state he could tell what emotions were in her eyes. She mostly looked scared: probably of what he would or could do to her. If she knew the kind of things he was thinking of, she would probably be far more frightened than this. But there was also a sort of... hunger there, not all that different from his own. She wanted something from him: but she probably didn't really know what it was, not yet.

"Sonja..."

Unable to say anything at all, Sonja merely gazed up at him, looking like a deer in headlights, albeit a deer craving something foreign to it.

"I think you're sexy. I... I think about you all the time. No matter how hard I try, I can't get you out of my head. It... I... I want you."

The look on Sonja's face was some mix of shock and embarrassment, the combination preventing her from saying much of anything in reply, even as the slightly older man leaned towards her. "Is this the part where you court martial me... Commander?"

The tone in Ryu's voice was so strong, so commanding, that Sonja almost felt as though he were the one that truly had authority. Truth be told... she kind of liked it. She had spent her entire life giving orders, being obeyed without dissent or controversy. She knew what it felt like to have control: she had never experienced the opposite, and it made her feel... vulnerable. Never would she have thought that such a feeling could evoke anything positive, but to be powerless, to be at the mercy of this man standing over her... it was exhilarating. All the more so as he placed one hand on her chin to gently yet sternly tilt her face towards him.

"Ah, R-Ryu..."

At the exact moment her subordinate closed that final few inches of space between them, Sonja realized that she was about to do something that had terrible implications for everyone involved. What was about to happen was wrong on so many levels, and it was her duty to put a stop to it. She had almost mustered the courage to voice her dissent when Ryu snaked his tongue into her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock, her brain told her to break it off, to push him away, but her body wouldn't listen. She felt compelled by something far more powerful than her rationality to simply surrender, and for a brief moment, she did.

It was her first kiss, and for that exact reason it felt so much more invasive to have her personal space explored so thoroughly. Most people started off slow and easy, then took it further when they were more comfortable. She had gone from a complete make out virgin to this in one go. But even so, she enjoyed it. She loved this newfound feeling of helplessness under the thumb of the man she felt some inkling of affection for. For him to have his way with her, without asking or even checking to see how she felt about it, it excited her physically in ways she had never experienced before. Ways that were scary yet incredible at the same time.

For that brief span of time, it almost felt as though she had lost all reason, a concept that was completely foreign to her. But her brain proved it had not lost all functionality when one of Ryu's hands crept a little lower on her back, and the reality of the situation finally hit her with all the force of a freight train. In an instant she had shoved Ryu off of her with startling strength for a girl of her size.

"Don't touch me!"

Ryu looked stunned by the sudden shift in her demeanor, but the realization that he may have done something very wrong buried most of his carnal desires under more caring concerns, prompting him to step towards Sonja again. "Sonja, I didn't-"

Clearly in a state of panic, Sonja barely had the mind to ward him off before physically retreating. "No! Don't come near me! Don't... just stay away from me!"

With that, she sped away from the man that had essentially forced himself on her with all of the speed she could muster. Not solely because she was scared of him, but because she was scared of her own uncontrollable impulses and desires.

As for Ryu, he was left standing alone with the ocean to his back and a handful of trees to keep him company, convinced he had just committed a horrible crime against this girl that meant so much to him. Internally berating himself for being so stupid and selfish, nevermind for his lack of restraint, Ryu quickly split the skin of his knuckles with a few good punches to the tree next to him, wishing he could somehow inflict that damage on himself in some attempt to punish himself for his wrongdoing.

Sooooo... not sure if this warrants a M rating or not? I personally don't think it's at that level yet, though it will get there soon. What do you guys think? Still T for now? Or should I just go ahead and bump it up?