Kitty-chan: Oh... my very last chapter... oh my... I don't know what I'll do with myself when I have all this spare time on my hands. Oh dear. Ok! The epilogue! Woo! I have officially finished A Clash of Wills: The Eleven Days! applause sign is held up Anyway... One thing! This is not a lemon! I do not write lemons! This is simply a romance, and those of you who are not fond of RyoxNaste should leave the fanfic now. This is a chappy full of squish (or fluff if you like). Anyway! This is the last time I say it for this story...TT I do not own the Samurai Toopers. They are property of Sunrise. Alright, then! Name translations one last time!

Character Names
Sanada Ryo: Ryo Sanada (Duh)
Hashiba Toma: Rowen Hashiba
Date Seiji: Sage Date
Mouri Shin: Cye Mouri
Rei Faun Shu: Kento Lei Faun
Yagyu Naste: Mia Koji
Byakuen: White Blaze
Yamano Jun: Yuli Yamano

Armor Names
Rekka: Wildfire
Tenku: Heavens/ Strata
Korin: Nimbus/ Halo
Suiko: Torrent
Kongo: Stone/ Hardrock
Kikoutei: Inferno
Go Retsu Ken: Soul Swords of Fervor

Enjoy! The stuff with ( ) next to it is translated at the end of the chapter.

"Ryo?" A feminine voice pierced his sleep and he slowly came to. "Ryo-kun, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Ryo moaned and opened his eyes half-way, squinting at the flood of bright light from the window. "Naste?" His left hand went to his temple and he managed to slugishly lift himself onto his elbows. "Where am I?"

"You're in your bedroom." She smiled and sat back. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Ryo smiled and looked down at the bundled end of his right arm he guessed was supposed to be his hand. He shook his arm a bit and narrowed his eyes. "I can't feel my right hand anymore."

"Yeah. Kikoutei's healing was only temporary. In fact, according to Seiji, it never healed you at all. It just gave you what you needed to fight, mobility and freedom from pain. Seiji says that almost all the nerves have been severed, but over a period of about a week, he can completely restore it." Naste answered, placing her hand over his injured one.

"Speaking of the land of the living, how's Shin?" Ryo inquired suddenly.

"He's fine actually. He's been really tired the last few days, but he's back to full health."

"Few days! How long have I been asleep?"

"About three days. You sleep like you're in a coma, did you know that?" She smirked. "I'm glad I don't have to get you up in the morning. I don't think I'd be able to do it."

Ryo laughed, sighed, then gave Naste a long meaningful stare. "Arigitou, Naste."

Naste cocked her head. "Huh? For what? You're the one who saved everyone."

Ryo shook his head. "I couldn't have done it without you behind me."

"How do you figure that?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"I used Kikoutei to take Takai down. But we never could've even tried to use Kikoutei if I hadn't learned how to control it. And without you… I would've given up on trying to master it. You helped me and believed in me when I had lost all hope. You're more of a Samurai Trooper than you think. Maybe even more so than we are. You keep things in perspective and remind us of what we're fighting for. I was ready to give up, but then you offered me your support and reminded me that this was necissary. Thank you, Naste." He smiled at Naste's blushing face.

Naste looked down. "Well, you're welcome. I mean, it's the least I can do for…" She trailed off as Ryo wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. She tensed for a few seconds, then sighed and relaxed, returning the hug, holding him as if she were never going to let go.

"Arigitou, Naste." Ryo whispered again running his hand along her hair.

They sat like that for a long time, and Naste came to realize that the feelings she had experienced before were simply her desire to be more than a friend, but his armor made it hard. She couldn't see him as a boyfriend before because she only saw him as a fighter. But now… over the past week and a half, she had seen a more human side to all of them. She had seen their tears. She had seen their blood. She had seen their struggle, and now there was nothing stopping her mind from accepting them more as human beings and less as soldiers. When it came to Toma, Shu, Shin, and Seiji, she simply was more informed on how to help them deal with different things. But when it came to Ryo… she wanted to be more than his friend, and there was nothing stopping her mind from accepting that either. Right now, this was the only thing in the world that she wanted. The only thing in the world that mattered. She wanted to stay in his arms, his warmth making her feel alive, and his strong body making her feel safe.

However, all good things must come to an end as Ryo pulled her away, but as he did, he allowed his lips to brush against her cheek. She blushed all the redder. "Now… what is everyone doing?" he inquired, pulling himself out of bed and heading over to his dresser.

Naste almost sighed at her disappointment that he had left, but smiled and sat up. "They're hanging out downstairs." Naste shrugged.

"Cool. Oh! One question." Ryo pulled a red t-shirt from his drawer and, with difficulty, began to wrestle it over his head. He managed to get his right arm through the right sleeve, but his head got stuck in the collar, and his left arm wouldn't get into the shirt. "I hate my left hand." He grumbled. "Help?"

Naste laughed and crossed the room to pull his shirt down over his stomach. "Who thought that a Samurai Trooper would need help getting dressed?" Ryo rolled his eyes and the pair simply froze. Ryo's head rested in Nase's hands and he held onto her arms, holding her close to him. For a long moment neither moved, until the shutting of a door down the hall snapped them back into motion. Ryo straightened and smiled at her.

"Thanks. Oh yeah! My last question is; how's the city taking the last battle?"

Naste shrugged and straigthened as well. "I dunno. They're kinda freaked and awed at the same time. They do seem more comfortable with you, though. They saw what happened to Shin, and I think it's finally sunk in how human you guys are, and how important your job is. They're still wary, but I think you're safe from mobs for now." She smiled and exited the room to allow Ryo to finish getting ready. She paused outside the door and leaned back on it. She could tell that Ryo felt the same way she did about him, on some level, but… there were mere days for them to be together before Ryo and the others went home. At least… until the next war. But even then, there was no garuntee that she would see them then. But she couldn't help herself. She wanted Ryo to stay, at the very least. She wanted him to stay near so maybe… just maybe… they could develop some kind of relationship. She longed for such a situation, but it seemed as if nothing would come of it.

Toma was walking down the hall, away from his bedroom, and paused to look over at Naste. She smiled at him. "Hey, Toma. How are you?"

Toma smiled. "Fine. How's Ryo?"

"He's woken up. He's getting ready." He motioned to the door with her thumb.

"Good! Any movement in his hand?"

"None." Naste shook her head. There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "Your parents left already?"

Toma nodded. "Yup. I'll follow in a few days. I'm going back to live with them. Now that it was revealed to the netherworld that they're my parents, I don't feel comfortable with leaving them alone."

"But Toma! Your father!"

Toma waved his hand. "It's fine, Naste. I'm not afraid to stand up to him anymore. He won't hurt me."

"You're sure?" Naste gave him a concerned look.

"I'm positive." Toma smiled and patted her shoulder before heading down the stairs. Naste smiled and headed down after him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Kanpai!(1)" chorused nine voices as glasses were clinked together.

"Congratulations to the Samurai Troopers for another Emporer destroyed!" Naste called smiling broadly.

The group wa hanging out in the park, they the only party currently occupying it. There were a few picnick tables set up with snacks on them, and the group was currently circled around the end of one of the tables, where they had placed a few bottles of champagne. The five Troopers, Naste, Sayako, and Suki-san all held tall thin glasses of champagne, while Jun clutched a glass of orange juice. Byakuen lay next to Jun, lazily snoozing quietly. Ryo's hand, now wrapped in a brace, proudly held his glass up, one of the first things he had used it to pick up since the injury. Seiji smiled and spojke next. "Congrats to Ryo for his awesome attack."

Ryo set his glass down and wrapped his arm around Shin's neck, pulling him into a head-lock. He then rubbed his fist into Shin's hair. "And congrats to Shin no Knucklehead for making sure Takai got hit."

Shin shoved him away playfully. "Ah... I wouldn't call it bravery, more like desperate hatred."

"Whatever it was, it got Takai fried." Shu laughed. Shin shrugged.

"And now for the main event!" Toma cried suddenly, reaching under the table, retrieving a small brown object and running into a nearby field. "Football!"

The teams were set, Shu and Shin vs. Toma, Seiji, and Ryo. The game began. However, the others noticed, it only lasted as a game for about the first ten minutes or so. Then, it seemed to become an all-out war. The guys apparently separated into five different teams and tried to keep the ball in their posession for more than five seconds before getting hit like a tackle dummy. It started to completely fall apart when Shu received the ball after about half an hour after the war had begun. He began to run around the field, weaving this way and that, until Seiji got ahold of his legs. Shu flew to the ground, eating dirt and grass at the bottom, but he was not beaten. He squeezed the ball under his torso, hiding it from the other's hands.

"Oi! Come on, ball hog!" Seiji cried, sitting on Shu's back and drawing a yelp from his throat.

"Mine." Shu insisted.

"Dog pile!" they heard Shin yell as he slammed into Seiji's side and climbed on top of him. Toma and Ryo immediately piled on, Ryo standing on top of them all and flexing his arm muscles as if he had taken them all down himself.

Shu wiggled around, grunting. "Oi! Get off of me!"

"Give up the ball, Shu!" Toma cried dramatically. "You cannot resist!"

Shu sighed and placed his chin in his left hand. "No. Mine."

Ryo plopped down to sit on Toma's back and scratched his head. "Maybe we should do something else."

"Yeah." Toma agreed sarcastically. "Like… get off my back?"

"Could you all get off mine?" Shu grumbled.

"Sure. As soon as Shin stops crushing my ribs." Seiji complained. Shin had tackled him from the right, forcing him to lie on Shu sideways so that Shin was sitting on Seiji's side rather than his back.

Ryo calmly slid off the top and the other four set to work of untangling themselves. As soon as they had, they returned to the snack table to re-energize before starting a game of basketball. "What was that all about?" Naste asked bluntly as Ryo stopped next to her, meaning the outcome of their 'game'.

"What? The football?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, munching on an onigiri(2).

"Yeah. It looked more like a rugby player's version of tag." Naste laughed. "It didn't look like it had any rules."

Ryo shrugged and laughed as well. "Who needs rules? You get to tackle people, and that's the fun part." He smiled at her and pushed the last bit of the onigiri into his mouth.

Naste stared at him for a long moment. A smile. I've seen Ryo smile a few times over the course of this war, but no real smiles. This one is real. I'm glad Ryo-kun got his smile back. She then looked around at the other four, who were casually chatting with each other. It was odd. This outing seemed more like a hard-earned privilage, when, to most, it would seem like a right. A right to enjoy one's self. But, it was a rarity for the Troopers. Very rarely did they get to let loose, and be themselves. Right now, they were not warriors. They were young men. As long as they weren't threatened, they were normal people. It was difficult to see that at times, but right now, Naste saw it very clearly, and she knew that this is what they wanted. "Whatever."

The five finished their snacks and headed over to the basketball court. This time, Seiji played referree while Ryo and Toma faced off against Shu and Shin. Seiji pulled a whistle he had brought along from his pocket, blew it, and the game began. The few spectators couldn't help but enjoy the game. The boys' enhanced speed and agility made it an interesting game. A few minutes in, Toma was passed the ball and got boxed into the corner by Shu and Shin. He looked around for his teammate, but Ryo was thouroughly blocked by Shu. He stood there for a few indecisive minutes, slowly dribbling the ball, before taking off toward the parking lot, bribbling all the way. Seiji blew the wistle and he, Shu, and Shin began chasing after him. Ryo stood on the court, scratching his head, watching the three chase Toma around the parking lot.

"Hey! That's out of bounds!" Seiji yelled, blowing the wistle again.

Toma turned his head a bit and yelled back, "Yeah, you can say that, but can you do anything about it?"

Seiji growled and increased his speed. His increase was followed by a rapid decrease as Toma's back suddenly appeared in his face, and he sent them both to the ground. Seiji growled at Toma, who had stopped to talk to a group of five boys on their way to use the court, then yelped as Shu and Shin landed on top of him, the sudden stop also taking them by surprise. The five boys stared awkwardly at them for a moment before one of them crouched down on his haunches to look at Shu. "Aren't you guys supposed to be the Samurai Troopers?" he inquired monotonely.

Ryo approached and offered his hand for a handshake. "Yeah. But we're normal right now. My name's Sanada. Sanada Ryo. But you can call me Ryo."

The boy eyed his hand suspisciously before tossing the basketball into the air and catching it. "So… what are some guys like you doing hanging out at a park?"

Shu lifted himself off the pile and rubbed his head. "Uh… hanging out. Why?"

Ryo lowered his hand awkwardly and smiled. "We're celebrating. We thought this was a fun place to do it. Lots of places to run around and stuff."

"Celebrating what?" Another of the boys asked.

Shin stood and shrugged. "You probably heard about the big battle that went down a little over a week ago, right? Well, that was the final defeat of our enemy there, so we're celebrating. All of us are almost fully recovered."

A third boy regarded Shin with wide eyes. "Oh. I remember that. I was there that day. I remember that you died!"

Toma and Seiji chuckled along with the others as Shin scratched his head. "Is that what they told you?" he wondered, staring at the ground.

"Well, that guy, the guy in green, said that the attack you got hit with was instantly fatal." He pointed at Seiji.

Shin shrugged. "Well, I'm fine now."

The boys continued to stare suspiciously at them until Toma stepped foreward. "Hey, you guys want to play some basketball against us? Five on five?" The other four gave some mumbles of agreement.

The one who seemed to be the leader scoffed. "You'd beat our butts, since you're supposed to have all those powers and things."

Ryo waved his hands. "Nah. We won't use our abilities. We'll play normally."

The boys seemed to discuss this for a few moments before they agreed and the group headed over to the court. The teams split up and the game began. True to their word, the boys slowed down and never once called on the more-than-human- abilities of their armors to assist them. The game ended with a score of 12 to 10. The Samurai Troopers laughed their defeat away and headed back to the snack tables. The five new boys accompanied them, and many small conversations kicked up for a few hours.

The first of the goodbyes happened soon after the finish of the game, as Jun's family packed up and left, leaving their phone number with each of them. Jun ran over to hug Ryo. "You promise to visit me at least every once in a while?"

Ryo smiled down at him. "I promise, Jun-chan."

"Oi! No more Jun-chan! I'm not a kid anymore!"

"You are a kid!" Ryo laughed as Jun's parents pulled him toward the car. He waved as the van vanished around the corner, and conversations with the new boys kicked up again.

Tima seemed to move too fast as the sun finally began to retreat below the horizon, and the Troopers bid the five newcomers goodbye. This threw into effect that now, that goodbye would have to be aimed at each other. They snacked for a while longer, busying their conversations with things such as sports and school, but finally, their minds were consumed with the idea of splitting up, and those mundane and empty conversations gave way to more solemn talks. The main point of which was where each was headed after that day. Toma was the first to answer the general question.

"I guess everyone already knows where I'm going. My mom says she's going to spend more time at home, and my dad's back at work, so things are looking up." Toma shrugged and smiled, shifting the attention to Shin.

Shin looked around, then smiled, realizing it was his turn. "I'm heading back to England to help my Mum and Sis with the pottery business. I'll be there for about a little over a year. Then, I'm coming back here to go to finish college." He looked over at Shu.

Shu smirked. "I'm heading back to China to help my parents with the restaurant. I dunno how long I'll be there, but if there's any problems, you all just give me a call, and I'll be here ASAP." Shu transferred the floor to Seiji.

Seiji bobbed his head. "I'm going to live in America with my dad. I'm training to be a police officer. With the Samurai Troopers development, I think I can do some good there." He smiled.

Before attention shifted again, Ryo spoke up. "Seiji… About what I said back in the city… during the battle."

Seiji paused and thought back to the fight. What had Ryo said?

Ryo finally spoke, and Seiji looked like he had been struck. "At least I know when enough is enough!"

Seiji shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You were just freaked out. Any one of us probably would've been in the same state, knowing what you were about to do." Ryo sighed and smiled. "It's forgotten." Seiji confirmed. Finally, the attention shifted to Ryo who paused for a long while.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. "I'm not quite sure where I'll go. I can try and go back to my job in Sendai, but with this Samurai Troopers thing, and knowing my boss… I dunno. But I'll find work somewhere." He gave a smile that tempted the others to believe what he was saying. But… none of them did.

Naste's face hardened and she stepped up to stand beside him. "Well, that can easily be cleared up. Ryo will be staying with me for as long as he needs."

Ryo paused. "Naste?"

"You guys should know by now that I want you all to stay with me whenever you get the chance. My home is always open to you. And if any of you need a place to stay until your flights arrive, you can stay with me."

Shu smiled at her. "Thanks, but my flight leaves in about four hours. I need to get going soon." Naste sighed and gave him a weak smile.

"You guys all have to promise to give me a call once in a while." She said in a motherly tone.

"I promise, Naste." Shu nodded and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for everything."

Naste nodded and pulled away. "It's the least I can do. If I can ever do more, you just tell me."

"You're doing enough." Shin confirmed.

"Shin…?" Sayako whispered, tugging at his sleeve.

"I know, Ne-san. Hang on." Shin sighed and hugged Naste. "Our flight is leaving soon, so I have to leave now."

Naste held onto Shin. The goodbyes that the Troopers had to say to one another were always as if they were never to see each other again, because they knew that it was, indeed, likely that they wouldn't. The Netherworld was not known to give warnings before attacking. If one of them was attacked alone, and was defeated in battle, they would be killed, never able to warn the others that something was wrong. "You be careful, Shin. I don't want to lose you twice, you understand me?"

Shin pulled away and raised an eyebrow at her. "Hai, Okasan." She laughed as he and his sister helped his mother into the car. As soon as his small family was ready, Shin returned to the group to say goodbye to the others. The minute he reached them, Shu grabbed him in a crushing embrace. He thought he could feel Shu shivering a bit. "Shu? What's wrong?"

Shu held tighter. "Ever since we were kids, you've always been the type not to think of yourself. Now you listen." He pulled away and gave Shin a stern look. "If you don't start thinking of yourself once in a while, I'm going to have to come up there and hit you over the head."

Shin smiled. "I will. I promise. Don't worry about me."

Shu stuck his finger in Shin's face. "But I do. Stop saying that! You're doing it again!"

"What do you want me to say?" Shin waved his hands around.

Shu thought for a moment before speaking. "You should say 'Alright, Shu, I promise I'll be careful. I won't get into fights and I won't try to play the hero unless it's serious. And I'll look both ways before crossing the-!'" Seiji konked Shu on the head, rolling his eyes.

"Will you stop playing the mother hen?"

"Yeah, that's Naste's job." Toma chuckled. Naste gave him a playful glare.

"I promise I'll becareful, Shu." Shin assured him. "You do the same, alright?"

"Yeah, sure." Shu nodded and gave one more hug to Shin before Shin distributed hugs to the rest of them and climbed into the car. As they drove away, Shin flashed the peace sign, giving a genuine smile. Shu turned to the others and began to give out one handed hugs to each of them. "I'll be seeing you guys. You have my email, and I'll send you all my phone number when I get home, alright?"

"You sure you don't need a ride to the airport, Shu?" Naste offered, taking a step foreward.

Shu nodded. "I'm sure. Thanks, though." Shu quickly ran to the jeep and pulled his suitcase and backpack from the trunk. He saluted and the others saulted back. "I'll be seeing you! Bye!" With that, he turned and took off down the street toward the airport, his super-human speed making him disappear fast.

Seiji glanced at his watch. "I gotta get going. My flight leaves soon, too."

Naste sighed. She knew that they had planned this party so that the boys would each have to go straight to the airports and things right from the park, but it all seemed tro be happening too fast. They all seemed to be suddenly gone. "Alright. You take care, and call me, Seiji." She ran up to hug him. Seiji nodded and returned her hug before bidding farewell to Ryo and Toma. He retrieved his items from the trunk of the jeep, but paused before taking off.

"Toma?"

Toma looked at him. "Hmm?"

"Are you… sure everything with your dad is going to be okay?"

Toma smiled. "I'm positive, Seiji. I'll be fine."

"Alright, but promise me that if anything goes wrong, you'll give me a call?"

"Seiji, you're halfway around the world!" Toma placed a hand on his hip.

"That can be fixed with a plane ride." Seiji shrugged. "I just want you to have access to me in case something goes wrong. Like it used to be in elementary and high school."

"I promise." Toma nodded.

"See ya later, buddy." Seiji nodded before turning to leave. Seiji gave them a two-fingered salute before taking off down the road.

Toma turned and shrugged. "My turn, I guess."

Ryo nodded and smiled at him. "You're staying in Japan, right?"

"Sure am. I live about… oh… thirty miles from here. We gat all three get together sometime."

Ryo nodded. "Take care of yourself, Toma."

Toma hugged Naste, then gave Ryo a firm handshake. "I will. You too. Take care of that hand."

"I will. See ya." Toma disappeared down the street, and Naste helped Ryo pick up the picnic supplies to pile them into the jeep. As soon as they were all packed up, they headed for Naste's house, Byakuen running behind the car as always. The ride home was uncomfortably silent. Ryo's gaze remained pulled to the outside, and a glazed look came over their tiger blue. As they pulled into the driveway, Naste sighed. "Ryo-kun? You going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine." He gave her a smile that she immediately identified as a fake. They unloaded the jeep and began carrying things inside. Ryo took the large picnic basket and the blanket in as Naste followed with a few bags of leftover food. Ryo walked in the door and only crossed the livingroom half-way before dropping his cargo and dropping to his knees. Naste set her bags down and ran to kneel beside him.

"Ryo-kun! Are you alright?"

Byakuen entered and nuzzled Ryo's face, purring gently. Ryo grabbed Byakuen's large head and held it close, his body shaking. "Ryo-kun!" Naste repeated. "What's wrong?"

Ryo was silent for a long time. Hot tears sprang to his eyes, but he did not allow them to fall. "Everytime…" he trailed off. Naste grabbed his arms from behind and held herself close to his back, letting him know she was there. After a few moments, he spoke again. "Everytime this happens… I die."

"What do you mean? Everytime what happens?" Naste inquired, setting her head on his shoulder.

"Everytime they leave." He whispered. "You all are… my only family. It's like losing them all over again."

"But, Ryo-kun, you'll see than again someday."

"We don't know that. I watch them go, and I can't help but feel that they won't come back, and I'll be alone… just like when my dad died."

Naste moved around to kneel ext to him, and pulled his face to look at her. "But, Ryo-kun… you're not alone. I'm here. And I promise I won't leave you." Ryo stared at her for a long while before she pulled his face close and lightly brushed her lips against his. His eyes slipped closed and she pulled him into another kiss, doing her best to keep all the feelings she had held to herself under control. Ryo returned the kiss almost immediately, throwing his own passion into it. But after a minute or so, his eyes opened and he pulled away, looking at the far wall, his face flushed and his breathing heavy.

Naste sat back and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Ryo-kun." She didn't know what she had done wrong, but she felt a heavy weight of guilt at the pained look on Ryo's face.

Ryo fingered his lips for a moment before shaking his head. "No. It's okay." Without another word, he stood and ran up the stairs. After a feww seconds, she could hear the door shut.

She stood and looked down at Byakuen. He cocked his head at her and she rewarded him with a pat on the head. "What?" He stared at her for a long while again, and she finally sighed and headed for the back door. "Why don't you go find something to eat? Like those moles that are digging up my garden?"

Obediently, Byakuen trotted out the back door and took off into the woods. Naste entered the kitchen and, on an impulse, set some tea on. As she distractedly began to put things away, she pondered over what had just happened. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but… maybe the kiss was too big a step for him. She sighed. There was something odd in the way he had kissed her, too. Well… she kissed him. He seemed like he wanted to kiss her, but he seemed… hesitant. One minute, he seemed as if that was all he wanted to do, then… he had broken it. Was something wrong between them? Naste thought he wanted it, but… maybe that was her own wishful thinking. She couldn't say that she hadn't enjoyed it. In fact, she had really liked it. But her joy had been a bit doused when he had pulled away so suddenly, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

Naste suddenly froze in the middle of putting a dish away. Was it possible that Ryo was dating someone else, and felt like he was betraying her by kissing Naste? They had been apart for a long time, and it was likely that with Ryo's looks and charismatic personality that someone else could've been attracted to him. But was the passion she felt in his lips just him being polite and returning her kiss? And what about in his bedroom about a week ago? Was the warmth she felt when he had hugged her just him saying thank you and nothing more? More and more doubts swarmed her mind as she poured a few mugs of tea and made her way upstairs. Either way, she needed to talk to him about it. She felt silly, embarassed, and frightened at the same time. Silly because she was in this awkward position at all, embarrassed that she might've just kissed someone's else's boyfriend, and frightened that Ryo might not be hers.

She reached his bedroom door and kocked quietly. "Ryo-kun? You in there?" There was no answer. "Ryo-kun? Can I come in?" When there was once again no answer, she quietly entered and found herself relieved that hew as simply sitting on his bed, his elbows rest ion his knees, and his gaze cast toward the floor. She slowly approached and held a mug out to him. "I brought you some tea."

Ryo looked up slowly and took the cup. "Arigitou." He breathed. He din't sound angry, he just sounded… drained.

Naste sat down on the extra bed and stared down at her tea for a moment before looking back up at him. "Ryo-kun… about what happened downstairs. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have-!"

"No, Naste. There's no reason to apologize." Ryo still did not meet her gaze.

"Then what's wrong?" Naste stood, and cautiously placed herself on the bed beside him. Ryo did not move. She placed her arm arund his shoulders and set her tea down. Ryo leaned agisnt her, sighing. "One doesn't sit by themselves like this and be completely fine." Ryo shuddered a bit and tunred his head to bury his face in her shoulder. "Ryo-kun… if you don't want to kiss me, you should just say it. It won't make me mad."

Ryo pulled away and put his mug on the dresser, placing his head in his hands. "It's not that I don't…" he sighed. "It's not that I don't want to… it's just… I can't…"

He fell silent again. This almost confirmed it in Naste's mind. Ryo wasn't available. "You can't what?"

"I can't… Just…"

"Ryo-kun, if you're with someone else, you need to just tell me. We've been apart for a long time, and it seems assumed that we could possibly date those that we meet."

Ryo looked up, making eye contact with her for the first time. "No! It's nothing like that. I'm not seeing anyone right now."

"Then why are you so depressed?" Naste felt joy shock her senses. He wasn't seeing anyone. Meaning, she had a chance. Well, that is… if he would be straight with her and tell her what was wrong.

Ryo was quiet for a while longer before he looked at his right hand. "It's just… me being what I am-!"

Naste placed her index finger over his lips. "Ryo-kun… not 'what' you are, 'who' you are. You are a person, not a thing."

Ryo sighed and continued. "Being who I am… can you see why I can't be with anyone?"

Naste's eyes meandered about the room for a moment before returing to his face. "No. I can't think of one."

"Naste… every time there is a fight, there is a possibility that I won't come home. How can I put someone through the agony of not knowing if I'd live through the day? I know what it's like. When my dad when on his safaris, with all the animals he was getting close to, there was no guaruntee that he was return. I would worry myself sick every time he left the house. Then one day… he didn't come back. How can I put someone through that?"

Naste leaned down and wrapped her arms around him, pressing the side of her face to his chest. "Well… that's odd."

Ryo raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

Naste straightened. "For a minute, I thought I heard your heart beating."

Ryo continued to give her a blank stare. "Yeah. That's what hearts do. They beat."

Naste put a finger to her chin. "Well… that's funny. I thought hearts only beated in things that are living. You know… like humans." Once again, Ryo regarded her suspiciously. Naste took his head in her hands and pulled it close. His hands gripped her shoulders gently, and a subtle look of fear entered his eyes. "Hearts beat in normal humans. You are a normal human with an extraordinary gift. You are entitled to the same things as the rest of humanity. Why should you be denied those? You want to know how you put someone through not knowing if you're soming back or not? I live through that every day, and I've grown accustomed to it. I will stay by your side no matter what. Even if things don't work out the way we want them to, I will be behind you."

Ryo's eyes softened. "But… you'll be in danger if you stay with me."

Naste smirked. "That's never stopped me before. I've beena t the side of the Samurai Troopers for almost as long as you have had the armors. I have been in danger many times, but it doesn't scare me. I know that I can trust in you. I'm not afraid, Ryo-kun. I'm not afraid."

Ryo stared up at her for a long moment before girrping her shoulders a bit more firmly and pulling her to him, clamping his mouth over hers and closing his eyes. Naste remained still for a long moment before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing back. Ryo brought his strong left hand to clasp the back over the back of her neck, and his right arm went across her back, locking her in place. He never wanted to let her go. He placed small kisses on her lips before pulling away ever-so-slightly, then closing his mouth over hers again. Naste felt like she was in heaven. She had never felt so safe in her life, and the man that she had slowly grown to love over the period of many years, was kissing her the way she had always wanted to be kissed. After a long while, the kiss was broken, and Ryo pulled Naste close again, burying his face, this time, in her neck and placing a kiss there as well. Naste slipped her hands under his arms and gripped his shoulders, a constant smile on her face.

"Thank you, Ryo-kun." Naste sighed, kissing his shoulder a few times. Ryo was silent, but She knew anything that he wanted to say. She knew he loved her, and the kiss he had just given her said it all. She sighed again. Everything was so peaceful now. It was hard to believe that it had only been a week ago that they had been fighting for their lives. All that seemed so far away now. It was all over… the clash of wills was finally over…

…for now.

Kitty-chan: Awww... how squishy. Ah! It's done! So... freaking... long! Ok! I haven't decided if I'm going to write a sequal or not. I have a plot for one, but I'm wondering if I know enough about the military to write it. Oopsh! o hints fo' yoo! Anyway, tell me that you think! Review!

1 Kanpai: Cheers
2 Onigiri: rice ball