Disclaimer: This is my story and my story alone, I did not steal it from anyone else. It's mine, so please don't use my ideas to write your own story, thank you. If for some reason you would like to get a hold of me or tell me something please e-mail me at dangarst@juno.com. Many thanks.

The Writer

Jaya

HERO'S END

By: Jaya Garst

Started: 9/6/99

Warning: Some people may find this story rather disturbing so if you don't like disturbing things, I would suggest that you not read it. However if you do read this you do so at your own risk for I have warned you. Also comments, questions, flames whatever are always welcome. (Dangarst@juno.com) Thanks

**Okay I don't really know if this goes with this story if you don't think so please let me know, anyway. I came up with this a few days ago, and thought it might go best with this story. But anyway, here it is. Let me know what you think.**

DEATH

A cold dark place

Frozen tears

On my cheeks.

A freezing wind

Eyes closed

Screams in my ears.

Floating on a sea of evil

Silent prayers

Dark smells all around.

Rancid taste

In my mouth.

Red spots

Before my eyes.

A gentle rain

Shivers up

And down my spine

Shaking hands.

Where am I?

Oh Lord, Oh Lord

What have I become?

How did this happen?

Where am I now?

Lord Please...

HELP ME!

By: The Writer

~*~Jaya~*~

Prelude

Once upon a time there were five hero's, but then after the evil was vanquished the heros were no longer needed. At first they were all very happy not to have to fight, to be like all the other so called normal people they'd seen around them all the years, they'd been fighting. Yet as time past they slowly grew farther and farther apart, sure they still saw each other now and then, but it wasn't the same anymore. And somehow the world seemed a worse place without the evil to fight. They seemed to no longer have a set purpose in life as they'd had before. None of them knew quite where they were going. Before it had been clear, their goal was to defeat the evil and vanquish it from their world forever. Then one by one things started to get them down, little things or big things, nothing seemed to go right. They forgot the promise they'd made before the promise, that they would always be there for each other. They tried to deal with it alone, but no one can do everything alone. None dared bring their problems to the others, not wanting to bring them down with their own personal problems. Each thinking the others had perfect lives, not needing to hear about how bad their's were. So that was how it ended with the five heros who had once been a team, but now they had no one, they were alone. Afraid to seek the help of those they had once put their trust in, who'd they'd trusted with their lives, and more then that at times.......

(I don't know about you, but I have had friends, and we always used to say that we'd always be together. We said we'd always be there for each other, yet now we're apart, not together. Sure we still write, but we can't see each other since they live on the other side of the world. We were close once, but we're not as close as we once were, and we're not together. People always say they'll never loose touch, that they'll always be there for each other. If it's like that for you, then I am happy for you, and if it's, not I understand. It rarely seems to work out that we are together forever, no matter how strong a bond oh friendship we have. It's sad, but unfortunately it's true. We are people who seem to need other people, and yet we seem to let our closely friends go so easily when we aren't together all the time. I try, but it's not easy...)

Hero #1

At one time he'd been called Suiko no Shin, better known as one of the Samurai Troopers, though only by a few people. He'd help fight and banish the evil of the dynasty from our world. Now he lived on an island in the South Pacific as a marine biologist.

At first he'd been happy to lead a normal life, to be around so much water, doing something that he found fascinating. He'd even met this really nice girl when he'd first got there, they'd hit it off from the very first. They'd worked on a couple of projects together, even gone out a few times. It had been perfect.

Then one day they'd been out in the boat working on some project, he couldn't even remember now what they'd been working on. When a bomb had been dropped on them (Bomb is another term for a tropical storm or cyclone that will appear out of nowhere with no warning whatsoever, sometimes in the South Pacific, or in ocean waters. And yes this is a true fact.) The storm had been so bad that they'd decided that the only thing to do was to sit it out. So they'd locked everything down, and settled in the cabin waiting and praying for the storm to subside.

In the end they'd been thrown up against the rocks on the point of the island, about twenty km. from the city. When they'd gotten out of the boat, she'd been torn away from him, pulled back out to sea by the current. Despite everything, Shin couldn't find her, it had been all he could do to make it to shore himself.

Later that day he'd been found by a rescue vehicle as the storm subsided slightly, and taken to the hospital. The girl's body was later found washed up on the shore of one of the nearby islands. Her father had never forgave Shin, saying that it had been his fault that she'd died. Since her father was the head of the project there, Shin was soon fired.

For the first few days he wandered around the city with nowhere to go and hardly anyone to turn to. More and more his thoughts turned to the way it had been before when it had only been the five of them, plus Nasti and Jun. When they'd always been there for each other, none of them had ever been alone, and that was what he was now. Alone. So totally and horribly alone, it was something he wasn't used to. Using the last of the money he'd been saving up Shin made his way back to Japan, back to the place that held so many memories for him. When he reached the house it was empty, and the lake had started to dry up from lack of rain. It was there that it all came to an end. Shin sat there at the edge of the lake for almost a day, living and reliving the memories that raced through his mind. His body was later found, floating under a bridge, somewhere in the city.....

(Maybe somewhere his spirit is now happy, floating on a crystal clear bed of water, with a girl who he thought he'd lost. I don't know about you, but I hope it is..!! Love can be a terrible and wonderful thing, so can friendship. If you find them, treasure them, and hold them dear to your heart. However, you have to know when to let go. It may not be easy, but there is a time to hold on, and a time to let go. Rest in peace Shin, my friend, you've done enough to make all of us proud.)

Hero #2

At one time he had been one of the Samurai Troopers, the archer. Some had thought him the smart one of the group, the one who would someday be famous for his brain. His blue hair and blue eyes had always held a light that told you he was thinking or contemplating something. He'd always seemed happy, ready to laugh or joke with the others, so happy and full of life and energy no matter what happened, or how down he got. He always made sure that the others came first, even if it cost him. He had once been called Tenku no Touma, but most only knew him by Hashiba Touma. His parents were divorced and consonantly using him to try and get at each other. At first he'd managed to deal with it. He'd managed to hide from them mostly, going to some famous college that only the really smart people went to. Then during his second year of school, his father had asked him to come help him out. He'd managed to deal with that to, always coming up with some excuse as to why he couldn't go. One day, however, without his knowledge, his father had transferred him to a school closer to home so that he could come and help out. So Touma had moved, not being able to come up with an excuse why he couldn't. At first everything had seemed to be okay, just as it had always been. Touma was strong, he could handle it. He would hang in there, just as he always seemed to do, never quite giving in. Then his mother had shown up, as if out of thin air, begging Touma to go with her on some exotic cruise around the world. He was never exactly sure why she wanted him to go, except maybe to get him away from his father. The fight when on for weeks and weeks.

At first it was just his grades that started to slip. No one noticed as he started to eat less and less, dark circles grew under his eyes from lack of sleep, and still his parents fought. No one seemed to notice or care. His father said that he should stay here and continue his school, his mother said that everyone needed a break or something like that. He never really listened to what they were saying, it all same the same anymore.

Touma had tried talking to one of his friends, but they hadn't wanted to listen. All they'd said was maybe we can talk about this later, or come and see me again once you've gotten everything together again, Hashiba. Some friends they'd turned out to be, not at all like the one's he'd had before. -Seiji- (Read on to find out what this means.) Then the news of Shin's death reached him, that was just one more string out of the worn cloth that held him together inside.

He found himself retreating more and more to his room, memories of the time when he'd had friends who'd always been there for him flooding back. He read and reread every letter he'd gotten from them in the recent years. Now they were few and far between, he began writing everything down in notebooks, letters upon letters late at night. But he never sent them, never had the nerve. He'd dialed Seiji's number more times then he could count, only to hang up when his friend answered, not having the heart to say anything to him. He knew Seiji was happy looking after the family Dojo with his grandfather, in fact every once and awhile a voice that wasn't Seiji's had answered the phone. He liked her voice, it was nice and sweet. He wished he knew her name and what she looked like, but he was glad that Seiji was happy and that he'd finally found someone to love.

At night Touma cried himself to sleep, at last it was too much, he couldn't handle it anymore.

It was crystal clear that night he knew what he had to do, it was so simple he was surprised that he hadn't thought of it sooner. Taking all the letters he written, he packed them up and addressed them. They were sent early the next day with the early morning postman. It wasn't until that afternoon, that Touma's body was found in his room. A sort of peaceful smile on his face, and a bullet through the back of his head, a picture of all of them together clutched in his other hand, and tears in his eyes.

(All Touma needed was to talk to someone else, and yet he couldn't do it. How can we all be so clueless to the pain of others. If you need help, please tell someone, you may think they don't want to hear it. But like Touma's new friends they aren't real friends. Because true friends will listen to what you have to say, no matter what it is. Let us all hope that somewhere Touma finally did find happiness for himself, for he like all the others, deserved it after all he gave up for the world. I for one believe that he got what he was looking for in the end.)

Hero #3

He had been known as Rekka no Ryo, or Sanada Ryo by most. Someone who was usually happy and full of life, ready to pull a prank or something of that sort, yet it just shows how much we can change over time without even really realizing it. Then we look back at what we were before, and what we are now, and we don't like what we've become. Yet we don't even know how we became what we are now, all we know is that's what we are.

Ryo and Nasti had gone off together as soon as Ryo had finished High School. The others had heard later that they'd gotten married somewhere in Italy, or some place like that. Letters had been fast and furious between all of them at that time. Full of happy thoughts and dreams of the future. They had been happy together, truly happy. Then things had started to change. Ryo had gotten more and more wrapped up in his work, and things had gotten hard.

Ryo lost his job, and soon after that, they'd moved back into the old place. But it had been too full of memories for either of them to stay long. More and more Ryo had taken to going out to the city at night to escape the memories that threatened to overwhelm him as they scrambled to get back into his mind. He would come back later and later each time, more and more drunk. At last, Nasti couldn't and wouldn't take it anymore. She'd tried talking to him, but he wouldn't listen to what she was trying to tell him. He'd just shrug it off, saying she was worried for no reason, and that everything would be fine in the end (But it wouldn't be.....)

One day when he came back, she was nowhere to be found. The next morning when he was more himself, he'd found her note on the kitchen counter. That was the last straw. For days Ryo locked himself in his room, sitting on the bed, staring at nothing, tears running down his cheeks the whole time. It wasn't till weeks later when Nasti finally came back, that she found him starved to death in the room they had shared. Her picture and a picture of the others lay on the bed before him....

Days later when someone came to check on them, Nasti's body was found on the bed. Her arms were wrapped around Ryo with two large cuts on her wrists, her blood creating a dark stain of crimson red around their bodies.

(Ryo never knew of Shin or Touma's death no one had ever been able to find him. Like his father, he'd seemed to have disappeared from the face of the Earth. I think Ryo, like Touma, just needed to feel loved. He needed to know that someone out there needed him, and that he in return needed them. When Nasti left, he had no one and nothing left. He hadn't the will to keep fighting the memories, or anything else, and so he'd let himself die. Because nothing mattered, there was nothing left for him to keep on living and fighting for in his world. We all need someone, I know that from experience so don't loose your will to live. Somewhere out there, there is someone who needs you as much as you need them. Someone who's just waiting for you to come along. And I hope that someday I'll meet the person out there who needs me. Believe me I understand. I have no one yet, but believe that someone will come along for me some day, and so must you.)

Hero #4

His name is Seiji Date, a practiced Kendo fighter. He was also known as Korin no Seiji, the swordsman. He was quiet most of the time, and yet he can be loud if it he wants to. One thing you never wanted to see was Seiji when he was angry, or Seiji with his left eye uncovered. His hair has a natural tendency to fall down into his face and cover his left eye. Seiji is naturally intimidating, but with both his eyes, it would be even worse. It was to Seiji that Touma sent all the letters he'd written, some half finished, others ripped, crumpled, or tear stained, all packed neatly into a rather large box. So much like Touma, even the ripped and crumpled ones had been smoothed and neatly folded before being carefully laid in the box, in order of the dates at the tops. Seiji didn't know what to think when he heard the news of his friend's death. It shocked him, that was the only way to put it. It just totally and completely shocked him out of his mind, something that he had never thought was possible. Touma had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. There had been a time when he couldn't even imagine a life without Touma, and now he was gone. Then the news of Shin, Ryo, and Nasti's death reached him. At first he didn't even dare look at the box of letters much less read them, it hurt too much.

He would have died in his bed like Ryo if it hadn't been for his grandfather, and the girl. He wasn't even sure what her name was. She'd been coming around the Dojo more and more of late. Seiji knew his grandfather thought he liked her, and he'd probably suggest something if it kept going. But Seiji didn't care he hardly ever even spoke to her. She was kind of nice looking, he had admit that, and a rather impressive fighter much to his grandfather's delight. But he'd never felt completely comfortable around her, and now here she was trying to feed him a bowl of soup. All he could think about was how much better Shin's soup tasted then this crap. Especially when Touma feed it to him, or at least one of the other guys. He only wanted to do was curl up and die like his friends, then at least they would all be together again.

At last they got him out of bed, and in the months that followed, everyone thought that he was getting better, that somehow he was getting over the death of his friends. Yet deep down inside, he still mourned the death of Touma, and Touma most of all. Yes, he mourned for Shin, Ryo, and Nasti but it wasn't the same.

The dark circles under his eyes never disappeared and soon those around him grew accustomed to them. Even his gradual weight loss went unnoticed by those around him. (He doesn't need to loose any weight!!!) Seiji grew quieter and quieter as the days ticked slowly by, one by one. His grandfather had been pestering him for the last month to ask the girl her name. He'd finally found out that her name was Fa'ya, but that hadn't helped. Especially when all he could seem to think about was Touma, and Touma more then any of the others.

He was moody and constantly going out into the forest that surrounded the Dojo for days on end, worrying them all sick only to say that he'd needed sometime to think alone. When he got back, he gave no other explanation then that. His thoughts constantly dwelt on their last days together. The days after the dynasty had been vanquished when they had all been happy. There was no one left to fight, that they knew of that is.

It was one night about three months after the news had come, that Seiji at last forced himself to open the box to read through all the letters that it held, all the pain and sadness that he understood all too well.

That night Seiji left the Dojo and traveled back to the city, the box of letters in his hands. His body was found on his friend's graves the next morning by the grounds keeper, an arrow through his heart.

(Some may have thought as Seiji as a little more level headed then to do something like that, and yet when faced by his friends death, Seiji couldn't handle the thought of never seeing them again. He cursed himself for not trying to keep in better touch with his friends, for not seeing it before it happened. Remember when someone dies, you may feel like you can't go on without them, that you don't want to. But if you think about it, I don't think they would want you to die and give up your life just because they aren't there anymore. I think most of them would want you to go on living to make the most of the life you have, while you have it. If you believe that Seiji is now happy, that he's with the others. That at last he and Touma, are together again best friends forever, then I bet that's how it is.)

Hero #5

Shu was the only one left in the end, Kongo no Shu. His head as hard as a rock, and his stomach bigger then yours and mine put together, he had a heart always ready to give to help others. He was to protect and stand up for those he loved, and for what he believed, no matter what the costs.

He was now running his family restaurant with the help of one of his many half cousins. When the news of the death of all his friends arrived, Shu wasn't sure what to do, or to think for that matter. He didn't even make it to Seiji's funeral, way-lade by prior plans. It wasn't until later that he visited their graves, tears in his eyes as he remembered all that had happened, and what lead up to this. Something none of them had, or could have seen before.

He wondered what they all would have said if they had known in the beginning that this was how it would end. He didn't know what they would have said. It was his visit to their graves that he meet Jun, a much older, wiser, and more subdued Jun.

They talked far into the night in a little restaurant a little ways from the grave yard. Shu found out how Jun had been, and what happened since they'd all parted ways. Things had happened, and no matter what they'd done, now it would never be the same again. They'd said they'd always be together, that no matter what they would be a team, and yet look what had happened now. At last they parted ways, Shu wishing Jun the best of luck, and Jun doing the same thing. Though somewhere deep down they both knew they would never see each other again.

Leaving the restaurant to his cousin and little brother, who was only four, Shu knew what he was going to do. It was crystal clear, almost as clear as things had been when they were fighting, though not quite that clear. He knew the restaurant and his brother were in good hands, and now it was time to join the others. Time for them all to be together again, for all eternity this time. Nothing would draw them apart again, of that he was certain.

It was later that Shu's body was found hanging from the tree that stood in the center of the grave year at the top of the hill. He was buried beside his friends.

(Maybe Shu could have gone on without them, maybe he couldn't have. I'll leave it up to you to figure out for yourself. Yet what is the price of being a hero? We see a hero as someone who saves the world, but what do they give up in the process, what do they give up to save us? Do we deserve the sacrifices they make for us. Would Touma have killed himself sooner if he'd never meet the others and never become a Samurai Trooper? If he had, would as many people have mourned for his passing? What of Ryo and Nasti, would they have ever met? Would Seiji have still died, or would he and Fa'ya have ended up together just as his grandfather wanted? We'll never know, because it didn't happen that way did it? They all met, they all became heros, yet I will leave it up to you to decide what they gave up to save the world. Or would it have happened any differently if someone else had been chosen? Would they have ended up the same as Touma, Shin, Seiji, Ryo, Shu, Nasti, and Jun, or would the outcome have been different? But I suppose that's one of those questions that we'll never know the answer to, isn't it???)

Years later there would be one who would still look back and remember what these five had given for the world. People would never even know about all the sacrifices they had made. He would wonder what in this world was worth saving, if such heros could come to such ends. Jun would find a happy end, though the memories would still haunt him for as long as he lived. He would pass the stories of this five on to his children, and they to their's, so that the story and the knowledge of the five heros would never be lost or forgotten. Then you and I would never have known what was given for us, and what the price of being a hero is, so that we might not shrug off what they did for us so lightly, as if we had not known.

(Okay, for all you fanatics out there who can't stand this, I don't have a clue where I got it from. It was just some crazy idea I had when I woke up this morning. If you really don't like it and really want to tell me that be my guest. E-mail me at dangarst@juno.com If you do like it, well good, I guess. I'd love to hear from you too. I'd better go now, I was supposed to work on something else all day today. Oh well, it's only once, we got plenty of time to get other things done.)

The End

By: Jaya Garst

Finished: 9/6/99