"No! I refuse to agree to this!"

"Kento, it makes sense this way."

"You're just sayin' that 'cause you get to go with Rachel! You ain't thinkin'—"

"No, Kento, you're not thinking!" Katie snapped at her brother.

"I am too! I'm thinkin' of your safety. You have no idea what's down there!"

"And neither does anybody else! That doesn't make it any safer for you, or Sai, or even Ryo to go instead!"

"I won't be there to help you!"

"Newsflash here: I don't need tour help every hour of every day of every month of every year for the rest of my life!"

"She won't be alone, you know," Rowen interjected. "There will be five other people there with her, including Kayura and Anubis."

Katie gave a frustrated growl.

"I don't need any protection! How come nobody makes this big a fuss about Rachel going?! Don't you care about her welfare at all?"

No one said anything for a moment, taken aback by her question. Sage scooted closer to Rachel without even realizing it. The uneasy silence was broken by Kento, who was still upset.

"Don't try and change the subject! You're not going!"

"That's not your decision to make!"

"Yes it is! I'm responsible for you!"

"No you're not! I am!"

The other Ronins looked at each other nervously, wincing as the siblings' voices continued to raise.

"You know what, forget it," Katie said, suddenly very calm. "I won't go. You win. In fact, just so you never have to worry again, I won't fight. No more. I'll resign." With that, she turned and stalked upstairs, slamming the door behind her.

"Great going, Kento," Rowen snapped.

"What?! It wasn't my fault!"

Sai looked down at the carpet, and the others couldn't help but snort. The blue-haired Ronin jumped to his feet. He jabbed his finger at Kento.

"You are bein' so self-centered, you can't even see it! All you care about is what you think you have to do. It's not about her safety, it's about you keeping her safe! It can't be left up to any of us. You don't think any one of your comrades, the ones who fought by your side through thick and thin, can keep her safe? You think it's harder to protect her than take down Talpa?! None of us care enough to help?!"

"That's not what I was—"

"Oh, just shut up," Rowen growled, turning and pounding up the stairs.

"Where do you think you're goin'?"

Rowen said nothing, and kept going.

"Answer me, dammit!"

There was the slam of the attic door once again as Rowen went into the girls' bedroom.

Ryo sighed. "That went well."

Hearing the commotion, Kayura walked in from the kitchen and quickly surveyed the scene.

"What happened? We seem to be missing two people."

Sai shook his head. "Kento didn't quite, um, agree with the plan we'd formulated as to who was going to go."

"And what was this plan?"

"Well, it had been Rowen, Sage, and the two girls. We figured Rowen would handle the scientific stuff, and Sage could provide some light, if necessary. Katie can take any cold, and both girls could use a little experience. Since it's just a scouting mission, it'd be perfect."

"And he didn't want her going?"

"No. And Rowen got mad and followed her."

"Can we all stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Kento bellowed. "Besides, it doesn't matter now. She doesn't want to go, remember?"

"What do you mean, Kento?" Kayura asked.

"Well, she said she quit, if I heard her right."

* * *

Walking into the room, Rowen looked around for Katie. He spotted her sitting on the floor beside her bed, face buried in her knees.

He hesitated, unsure what to say, then walked over and sat beside her.

"What do you want?"

He blinked in surprise. Man, she was pissed.

"Nothing."

Katie lifted her head slightly, and he could see she was trying not to cry.

"Hey, what's the matter? I thought you were mad."

She buried her face again.

"Just go away."

"Well, I can't exactly go back downstairs right now…"

It was quiet for a moment. "And why is that?"

Rowen laughed quietly. "I kinda blew up at Kento too."

"And why'd you come up here?"

He paused. Why had he come up here instead of his own room?

She looked over at him. "Well?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

The room became silent again. Through the floor they could hear the muffled voices still debating downstairs, and Rowen wondered what they were deciding.

"Rowen?"

"Hmm?"

"What should I do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're the smart one. What am I supposed to do now that I don't belong here? Should I wait until school's out and then move back home or—"

"Whoa. Slow down a minute. Who says you don't belong here?"

"You heard me down there. I told them I resigned. I gave up my right to be a Ronin."

"I think they all realize you were just upset. Nobody's gonna hold you to that."
"Kento will."

Rowen sighed. "He would only as an excuse to keep you safe. But everybody else knows better.

"You're a Ronin, whether you want to be or not. All of us are. The armor chose us, and we can do nothing to change that. There are times all of us wish we could just be normal like everyone else, and not have to worry about the Nether Realm or the Dynasty. But just running away from the problems doesn't make us safe.

"I think Kento knows deep down that no matter what, as long as you have an armor, you're in danger. They'll come after you at some point. That's what gets him so upset."

"But that's what annoys me. He's always trying to protect me. He never lets me do anything for myself."

Rowen wasn't sure, but there was something odd about the way she said that. As if she felt bad for saying it.

"But, Kate, we all look out for each other. I know sometimes he goes overboard in big brother mode, but it just shows how much he cares," he explained. He shook his head. Here I am defending him for what I just yelled at him about.

"I know…" she sighed.

* * *

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!"

Kento gulped as he found himself being shot some rather malevolent glares by his comrades. He gave a sigh of defeat, then straightened his shoulders and began his journey upstairs.

They're gonna make me grovel! This couldn't get any worse. I have to beg my sister to put herself in possible danger just because she threw a fit. Just because she wants to show she can stand up for herself. But they don't know her like I do…

Much quicker than he would have liked, Kento reached the door to the attic where the two female Ronins stayed. Bracing himself, he reached out and closed his hand around the worn doorknob, turning it slowly. He winced as the door gave a sharp creak, then peeked his head in.

He'd expected to find her on her bed, crying angry tears, just like when she used to get mad when they were kids. But instead, she sat on the floor beside Rowen, looking very, very sad.

"Um, Rowen, could you give us a minute, here?"

Rowen hesitated, looking first at Kento, then to Katie.

She nodded. "Go ahead."

He stood and walked to the door, purposely bumping into Kento's shoulder. They looked at each other for a moment, Rowen giving Kento a silent warning before heading down the stairs. Kento shut the door after him.

"Look, Kate…" he stared at the floor. "They told me to come up and apologize about everything… and well, you know, tell you I've got no right to make your decisions for you and whatnot. So, I'm sorry I guess, and of course you can go if you want, but I still—"

"Just shut up, 'Nichan," she sniffled.

He looked up to see she was about to burst into tears.

"Aw, Kate…" He knelt beside her, hugging her tightly. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry I was such an idiot," she choked. "I know you know me better than they do, and you're right about me all the time. I'm sorry I yelled at you and got mad and—"

He chuckled. "It's alright. We're both stubborn. I know you didn't mean it… And I just want to make you safe. I don't mean to make it seem like you can't do anything for yourself."

He pulled back and wiped a few tears off her cheeks. She offered a weak smile.

"C'mon, let's go back downstairs."

"I'll be down in a minute," she told him.

Kento left, and she stood up. She walked into the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water, then buried her face in a towel, sighing deeply.

* * *

Downstairs, everyone sat around in the kitchen. Anubis had arrived, and Kayura was filling him in on the plan as the others sat around, more or less silently, eating an afternoon snack that Sai had fixed. Ryo and Sage were absent-mindedly flicking a piece of tinfoil back and forth. Whiteblaze sat eye-level with the table, watching Kento eat. Noticing this, the Ronin wrapped one arm around his plate protectively.

"So, she is going then?" Anubis asked.

"Hardro—Kento seemed pretty sure," Kayura nodded. "She should be down soon."

Anubis looked concerned. "Perhaps we should go check on her. I have a bad feeling about something…"

Right on cue, Katie walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, minna," she said quietly. "Sorry about earlier…"

Kayura turned back to Anubis.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure. I just feel like there's going to be some trouble today…"