Time management? What's that?

In real news I hear Tiny Metal finally came out, but I haven't gotten around to giving it a try. To be honest I'm worried about going into it because I feel like I'll be disappointed. Thing is I know it's not Advance Wars. But I really want it to be Advance Wars. So I know it'll be hard for me to judge it as its own game.

Also, a few points here for some small details. I don't think too many of you will care but it's kind of bothering me. We're entering a mild state of 'suspension of disbelief' here. Why? Well, because gunshot wounds take fucking forever to recover from. Unfortunately, if I wanted to stay true to reality, the protagonist could never get shot in a story because they would then have nothing to do for way too long.

I also know that realistic common tanker vests didn't really offer any real protection during WW2.

BUT

Advance Wars is fucking weird anyway, because they have some weird blend of technology that makes no sense, with A-10 Thunderbolts sharing airspace with propeller aircraft and battleships that still have not been replaced by destroyers. So we'll just pretend that despite the very WW2ish tanks driving around they still have actual armor plates in their vests.

Not two weeks after the fateful battle that had liberated Yellow Comet, the nation's army was making their way across the ocean that separated them from Green Earth. Even in that small window of time, it had become even more obvious that Green Earth was beyond its last legs. Their entire country had practically been conquered already, with the final vestiges of the military crowded on the southern shores of the nation and holding on by a mere thread. Each report that came from the allied country pained an even bleaker picture.

Kanbei had of course not hesitated to mobilize his forces as soon as they were capable of moving in force again. The moment they were supplied and ready to deploy they were on their way, mostly by ship. Until they established physical contact with operable Green Earth airports, the large portion of the Yellow Comet air force that couldn't be ferried to Green Earth now would have to make the trip then.

Ironically their fleet was on their way to Green Earth just slightly ahead of either Orange Star or Blue Moon, both of who, logistically, should have been prepared for deployment sooner than them. Regardless, the full might of the allied powers would soon be facing what was allegedly the most powerful Black Hole force around. Sonja didn't believe that though. The reports from Green Earth had not mentioned anything about Sturm, and she was certain that he would make an appearance with Black Hole's most elite forces.

She was nervous about the prospect of encountering Sturm a second time. Every time she thought about that masked bastard she couldn't help but remember the massive farce she had made that day. Her childish arrogance had almost doomed them all, and in some way, the troops that had lost their lives attacking Sturm's stronghold had fallen because of her. Of course there would have been casualties regardless, but if Sonja's folly hadn't forced them to rush their assault, her allies could have had more time to formulate a better plan that could have saved more lives.

The worst part of it all was that Sonja was still certain that she would not be of great help against Sturm when they inevitably faced him this time. The strongest of all allied divisions would be needed to face off against him, and only the most experienced and talented CO's would lead them in a battle of that magnitude. Not that Sonja was incompetent, but she couldn't deny that she had a lot less real command experience than all of those around her. Even Andy of Orange Star had done more battlefield command than she had.

Though in her honest opinion she was pretty sure she still outclassed him.

Either way, she was also sure that her father would somehow try to remove her from the conflict as best he could. He probably wasn't too keen on the idea of his daughter being in close proximity to the doom invader from outer space in the first place, and that wasn't even considering the fact that she had been at that invader's mercy once already.

No, things were certainly not in Sonja's favor as far as that was concerned, and though it was unusual for her, she didn't like thinking about the problem that bothered her so much. And yet, there was nothing else to occupy her thoughts with, because she was actively avoiding the only other important thing going on right now.

Her situation with Ryu was beyond awkward. After what she had promised him those two weeks ago, she had no idea how to behave or act around him. For one, he had only just now recovered to a degree where he could function with relative normality. He'd been essentially bedridden since being wounded, though he had been extremely fortunate. While his wounds had bled heavily enough to be ultimately fatal without treatment, the armor he had been wearing on the field that day had actually prevented him from sustaining extremely critical injuries.

Then again, even if they had penetrated completely, the medics that had treated him had noted that none of the shots would have hit anything truly vital anyway.

When she had been informed of that, Sonja couldn't help but wonder if Ryu had some sort of excuse for his maddening games. Now that she had taken the time to review more of his deployments, it seemed that he really did possess such an absurd amount of luck that it would be a waste if he didn't pit it against fate.

Not that she wanted him to do that of course. No matter how lucky he was, he had practically lost already before Sonja stepped in to save him from certain death. Then again, perhaps that was luck in and of itself?

Either way, Sonja hadn't actually had to act on her promise to him all that much since making it, since he had spent most of that time resting and otherwise being stuck in bed even when awake.

And even if he had been able to move freely, Sonja had been especially busy with things that demanded her full attention. Naturally there had been a ton of logistical work to be done in mobilizing the Yellow Comet military even though they were in such disarray after their climatic liberating battle. On top of that, she had been forced to shuffle a lot of paperwork to have Ryu come along with everyone else going to Green Earth.

Naturally there was no practical reason to bring an injured person on a military campaign. No matter how you sliced it, a wounded soldier should have been left back in Yellow Comet to recover from his wounds. So Sonja had been forced to jump a significant number of hoops to bring him along with her on the carrier that was ferrying her division to Green Earth. Ironically, she had ultimately settled on 'I'm the Emperor's Daughter, I do what I want and you aren't going to tell anyone,' once she had gotten too frustrated to continue the nonsense.

That of course bore the risk of someone finding out what they weren't supposed to, but Kanbei was on another ship entirely, and Sonja was certain she could coerce anyone else into silence if she needed to, though she didn't like the idea of using her title to force people into submission.

All of that aside, she was nervous now that Ryu was almost back to some semblance of physical competence. Despite the label of their newfound 'relationship,' Ryu hadn't really been able to make any move himself, being bedridden and all. The only indulgence he had been allowed to take was what Sonja allowed him, and her own nervousness had kept that from being much. A few chaste kisses and some nervous pawing, at the most scandalous. But even though he had been relatively in control during those times, Sonja had seen it in his eyes; that want, the desire, the frustration of being unable to do more. For all she knew he had only shown restraint because restraint was forced upon him. There was no telling what he would do now that he was regaining physical control of himself.

And yet, on the other hand, Sonja couldn't deny that she was kind of anticipating it to some extent. The war between instinct and reason within her had still not been resolved. No matter how many times she told herself that there was nothing to be excited about, it didn't calm her heartbeat in the situations that she got close to him. The worst part of it all was knowing that everything was all wrong; that their new relationship was just a twisted charade that no one could call romantic. And yet, knowing that didn't allow her to condemn it outright.

She couldn't even deny that this was a product of her own guilt more than anything else. Maybe giving into that guilt was marked an even bigger weakness for her than her once upon a time arrogance.

In an effort to distract herself from thoughts that were somehow more troubling than the battles ahead, Sonja stared out over the ocean from the bridge of her current carrier. The yellow hulls of a dozen ships broke the sea of blue before her, and if she could look behind her carrier, Sonja would have seen a dozen more. Aside from that she actually found the scenery rather bland. It was nothing but endless blue of two shades, a smattering of yellow, and a white cloud of fog off in the distance.

With the amount of ocean surrounding their country, Yellow Comet had a large navy rivaled only by that of Green Earth, though Sonja imagined that may not have been true any longer. With the recent losses the Green Earth Navy had taken, it would likely fall on Yellow Comet to provide the majority of support at sea. Neither Orange Star nor Blue Moon had very extensive navies.

In fact, those two countries were such large land masses that they had focused almost entirely on their Armies. On the flipside, both Yellow Comet and Green Earth had put more specialization into their Air Forces and Navies. At least this meant Yellow Comet could compensate for the significant losses Green Earth had suffered thus far, moreso than their other allies at any rate.

Logistically this was an issue, as it meant that Yellow Comet was shouldering an even larger burden in this war. Not only had they faced a rather formidable force in their own homeland, but they would certainly be called upon to fight many battles with the powerful Black Hole forces in Green Earth, and Sonja had no doubt that her father's elite battallion would face off against Sturm at some point.

With the four nations of Macro Land all on the same side by now, maybe the significant losses of Yellow Comet would be mitigated by assistance from the others. That of course carried the implication that they would win. While Sonja couldn't deny that the war was technically going well, what with Black Hole being kicked out of three countries and all, she felt that the most difficult fights were still ahead of them.

Moreover, no one had any clue as to what Black Hole had been doing with all of the materials and supplies they had been siphoning from the nations they had invaded. Perhaps it had been used for nothing more than unit production. But perhaps it had been used for something much worse as well. There seemed to be no end to the powerful weapons created by Lash, and who knew if she had something even deadlier than before up her sleeve?

At one point Sonja would have looked at all of this as a challenging contest of strategy. A mere obstacle for her to surpass to prove herself. Recent events had given her a more realistic view of the situation. She was no longer measuring the war in a light as simple as 'success' or 'failure.' Now it was a matter of lives lost. How many men would lose their lives in each battle? What strategy could she use to bring as many of them home as possible?

On one hand, she felt that this was the moral stance she should have always had in regards to war. But on the other she wondered if this newfound sensitivity to the gruesome reality of war would hinder her effectiveness. While her decisions during the battle against Adder's fortress had been callous in regards to Ryu's unit, that decision had still allowed them to win the battle. It had even allowed them to win said battle ahead of schedule, putting an end to the fighting sooner and therefore conserving more strength for later conflicts.

If she were to command that battle a second time, as she was now, Sonja didn't think she would be able to make the same call. She didn't know if she could use her troops as a shield like that, even if it was the tactically sound choice.

This may have been a pointless concern. Maybe Sonja would not even be put in command of another battle before the war was over. Maybe she wouldn't have to deal with this new emotional conflict at all.

But that wasn't what Sonja wanted. To be left out of the action, to be treated as incompetent. She was a talented commander, and she knew she could contribute to this shared undertaking. She refused to be left out of the proceedings, and not even as a matter of pride. With everyone doing their part to defeat Black Hole, she couldn't just sit back and let them do all the work. No matter what her current state of affairs was, she would overcome it as necessary. She couldn't be sure until the next battle, but Sonja believed she could rationalize it well enough. She would do her absolute best to ensure everyone came alive, but she knew that they were willing to lay down their lives for their country, and if that became absolutely necessary she would order it. But only if it had to be done. She'd avoid such sacrifices at all costs if she could.

Sonja noted with a great deal of dissatisfaction that, for the first time in her life, she didn't want to think about anything that was actually at hand. She didn't want to think about the war. She didn't want to think about her personal life. She didn't want to think about anything. It was completely unheard of for her, as thinking was actually her favorite thing to do. She had always considered it a waste of time to 'not' think about something.

But of course, there was nothing available to actually take her mind off of things. She was on a military vessel, sailing for a country struggling to push Black Hole out of its territory. There was nowhere on this ship she could go that wouldn't remind her of that. And of course, if she went back to her private quarters, there was an entirely different matter that would come to the fore.

And yet she could see no reason to actually put the latter off. Contrary to what one might think, Sonja actually wasn't a terribly patient person. She could employ patience for the sake of a strategy, but she didn't like the window of time that lead up to critical events. After all, until she knew the situation she couldn't spend her time planning for it, and that left her with nothing but worry. She preferred to handle her problems as swiftly and efficiently as possible.

That being the case, she had two problems to deal with, and only one of them could be faced right now. Even filled with trepidation, she didn't like putting things off...

She turned to face the captain of the vessel on the bridge with her. "Captain, do you require my presence here on the bridge?"

The wrinkled old man shook his head. "No, Commander. Feel free to rest, we can alert you if anything important comes up."

"Thank you Captain. I'll be in my quarters if I'm needed."

As she left the room of commanders, navigators, and general crew, Sonja couldn't help but feel a little scandalous, and not in the good way. Here she was, letting her crew take on all of the responsibilities as she ran off to her quarters to do who knows what with a secret 'lover' of sorts. The whole situation made her feel dirty.

But it didn't stop her from taking the stairwell to her room. And it didn't stop her from obliviously ignoring the soldiers she passed along the way that saluted her. It didn't stop her heart from beating faster than normal as she reached the heavy steel door to her personal quarters on the carrier.

The worst part about these doors was that they couldn't be opened quietly. She would have liked to see what Ryu was up to before going in; if he were sleeping she would have an excuse to put this off until later. She didn't like waiting, but now that she was on the threshold she was anxious again, scared of the immediate future just as much as she was excited for it.

The door made more than enough noise to alert anyone in the room of her arrival, but despite this fact, Ryu did not turn to face her at all. He was sitting upright on the bed he had been confined to lately, staring blankly at the wall on the far side of the room. In his hands was that Joker card he had once strapped to the side of his helmet.

Oblivious to her presence, Sonja was able to observe Ryu long enough to see that he was lost in another place. His gaze was frozen in one place, he rarely blinked, and his body was completely still. His body was here but his mind was somewhere else, and Sonja imagined that it wasn't anywhere good.

This was the core of her conflict. On one hand she felt scared of what Ryu was capable of. But on the other hand she couldn't stand the thought of leaving him to his suffering. She knew it was safer to maintain distance from someone like him, but she couldn't accept that. If anything bad happened to her, she would deserve it for what she had done to him.

Steeling her nerves due in large part to the compassion she felt for this man she had wounded, Sonja slowly closed the door behind her, the metallic clang not alerting Ryu to her presence any more than opening it had. Neither did the sound of her footsteps or the movement of her sitting on the bed. It wasn't until she grabbed his hand in her own that he finally returned to the real world.

The way his entire body jumped struck Sonja with even more guilt. To think that he could be so lost in terrible memories that he was startled by returning to reality was just proof of the depths of his scars.

For a brief moment, it still seemed like he wasn't really there. His gaze swiveled in her direction slowly, and for the briefest of moments it was clear that he didn't recognize her at all. But it only lasted for a second, and Sonja could clearly see the moment that he returned to reality. Objectively she knew that being able to identify a shift like that was not good at all, but on the other hand, seeing the shift from a terrible memory to happiness at her presence evoked an odd feeling in her chest that she could at least identify as being positive.

Beyond that, she could see a brief moment in which he wanted to take advantage of his newfound mobility right away. His eyes quickly left her own in favor of her body, and his hands twitched with the desire to make a move. But ultimately he managed to restrain himself, yet again. For how long he would be able to do so was a complete mystery.

After all, it was obvious that he was struggling with it enough to turn his gaze away from her completely. It was easier to stay calm if he didn't have her visage directly before him.

"S-Sonja...is there any news today?"

This had been his go-to question every day since being bedridden. Naturally Sonja had been his only source of information in all that time, though she didn't have much to say today either. Nothing of note had really occurred since the last battle on Yellow Comet soil.

"I'm afraid not. Everything is proceeding according to plan. Our fleet will officially enter Green Earth waters shortly, but we won't see the shore for a few more days yet."

"Is that so? I guess I'll still be too injured to participate by then..."

Despite the tension and awkwardness of the situation, Sonja cast a sharp glare at him. "Even if you weren't injured, you promised me that you would not return to the battlefield again. Or did you forget already?"

If there was one major problem with their newfound relationship, it was that Ryu didn't revere Sonja's position anywhere near as much as he used to. "Well, it's been two weeks without battle or my only alternative. Can you blame me?"

"Excuse you?! I am not an 'alternative!' And you have most certainly received my attention lately! How dare you!"

Ryu scoffed as he glanced at her. "Please. We both know you would have rather been anywhere other than here with me during those times. You were relieved whenever something came up that could help you get away."

Unfortunately Sonja couldn't quite deny any of that. The few times she had tried to make good on her promise to Ryu these past two weeks her heart had certainly not been in it in the slightest. But it was just because she was nervous, it wasn't like she outright detested the situation or anything.

Of course she couldn't expect Ryu to know that. He had become more and more prone to jumping to conclusions since his original injury. "I-I, that is not because I don't w-want to! I... I am a young woman with no experience in any of this! Obviously I am not used to being... b-being touched in such a way..."

Unfortunately her very real admission was not accepted by her estranged partner. "I'm sure you would be more eager if I weren't so... broken."

Any indignation that Sonja felt from his earlier comments faded into nothingness. The worst part about Ryu's condition was that he knew there was something wrong with him. He didn't talk much about his scar anymore. Maybe he realized that it wasn't truly all that bad, that it really only marred a part of his neck and some of his cheek. But he had become more and more aware of his own mental dissonance, and he seemed to hate that part of himself.

Even worse than that was that he sometimes remembered that it was Sonja's fault.

Of course he had been bedridden these past two weeks, so nothing had been borne of those moments, but Sonja had still been frightened by his anger. The shift from tender and vulnerable to downright hateful was always so sudden. While part of her tension in their few moments of awkward affection had truly been her inexperience with such things, she knew that another large part of it had been fear. Fear of what he might do if, or more likely when, he snapped.

And that fear was what drove her forward now. Moreso than her pity or her compassion, and the realization only filled her with more guilt.

"That's not true Ryu. I-I'm nervous because this is all new to me, b-but I'm glad you want me... I never thought I would be this lucky..."

She felt that this moment was akin to trying to calm a wild beast. She was saying whatever she had to in hopes of placating the man next to her, hoping he would remain docile. Even if she were not entirely eager to learn of these physical pleasures in such a twisted situation, if it were going to happen one way or another it would definitely be to her advantage for him to be in a good mood.

Truth be told the fact that her first relationship was partly a charade really stung.

And yet, even though every logical part of Sonja's brain knew why this situation was so corrupted and wrong, she still couldn't suppress the initial wave of pleasure from the way he hungrily puller her towards him. If everything else just now had been a lie, that she enjoyed being wanted was the absolute truth. To know that someone desired you this strongly was encouraging to say the least, and downright arousing at the most. Were it not for those logical inhibitions holding her back, Sonja was fairly certain that she would have caved to this type of activity already.

This moment also marked the first time he had really had his way with her since the day this had all started, outside of the barracks before the final battle for Yellow Comet. When Ryu had been bedridden, Sonja had mostly been in full control. She had set the pace, and her anxiety and inexperience had set the bar at the kind of childish kisses young teenage couples played around with. Now that Ryu had enough strength in his body to take control again, he wasn't content with something like that.

Like everything she had done with Ryu so far, part of Sonja told her to be offended or insulted that he took such liberty with her, but just like the first time this had happened, the pleasure of feeling him explore as he willed drowned out any protest, and this time she knew things would stay this way. Not that she didn't have any boundaries to protect, but at this point she didn't have the will to maintain them. She had given Ryu a choice between her affections and the battlefield. And even if her feelings were too spurred by guilt to be completely genuine, he had still chosen her. She was obligated to hold up her end of the bargain, and even if she weren't, she owed him far too much to deny him now. After everything she had done to him he deserved whatever he wanted from her. Her own misgivings were completely irrelevant.

As her arms were pinned behind her back, Sonja vaguely wondered if her pride had been completely demolished somewhere in the midst of all of this. Her pride as a woman, as the Emperor's daughter, even as a skilled military strategist, they all seemed moot next to the altar of redemption. Maybe she had sacrificed them all already. After all, even though Ryu could move again, his strength was diminished enough that she probably could have forced him back any time she wanted to.

The idea of sacrifice made Sonja question whether or not her initial reasoning was true at all. Was she doing this because she felt obligated to pay some sort of debt to the man taking her now? Or was she doing it to personally atone for a mistake that kept her up at night? Was there even a difference, really?

The feeling of cool air on her shoulders completely eradicated that thought from her mind. It was difficult to think of something that complex as Ryu began to strip her uniform from her body.

The idea of boundaries she didn't want crossed came back of course, but she of course wasn't willing to defend those boundaries at this point. Besides, if only her torso was exposed, perhaps she could come to grips with it.

Thankfully Ryu did seem to become entirely enthralled with just that part of her for the time being, leaving the rest of her attire in the places they were supposed to be. On the other hand, he wasn't content to conduct his first study of her body with something as mundane as a bra in his way, but Sonja's lack of resistance despite her unease with its removal made that a short-lived problem.

Personally Sonja had never been very satisfied with her bust size. She was certainly a far cry from what any reasonable person would call well-endowed. And yet, Ryu didn't seem to mind such a thing at all. In fact, he seemed downright elated, and even though she could admit to herself that she shouldn't have been so happy to know that, Sonja really was. As she'd told herself before, even under twisted circumstances like this it felt amazing to be desired so badly.

That still didn't quell her discomfort when he descended on her exposed body with a shower of passionate kisses. It was odd, because it only made her uneasy psychologically, with her knowledge on how messed up all of this was. But physically she couldn't lie to herself for even a moment. Physically she had no qualms giving in entirely. Not for the first time, she was scared of her own ability to submit to pleasure over reason.

Maybe this just meant she was weak. Maybe the way shivers ran down her spine as he traced the curves of her collarbone was a sign of her body betraying her mind. Sonja, renowned tactician of Yellow Comet, with the highest scores the Officer Academy had ever seen, had reached a point where everything seemed to take precedence over her brain. Her emotions spurred her to intentionally submit herself to something she knew was wrong. And her body kept her locked in that state once it all started.

Honestly if she could just shut her brain out of the equation she would have felt infinitely better. Because even though her need for atonement was mildly fulfilled when she surrendered to Ryu this way, and even though the process in and of itself felt incredible once it started, that subconscious knowledge of a sick and twisted basis for their union put her constantly at odds with herself. She couldn't just relax and enjoy the situation. She was tense and uneasy, and the juxtaposition of feeling pleasure and mental discomfort at the same time almost made her feel sick.

A sudden pinch in a very sensitive spot forced her to unsuccessfully stifle a moan, but more importantly it brought her focus back to the moment at hand. Unfortunately, she still had the presence of mind to realize that the situation was escalating more quickly than she was prepared for. Ryu was breathing far too heavily. His body was tense with the desire to go further. She could see it in his eyes; a longing not much different from the way he looked at her all the time, but with that hint of darkness that scared her. That darkness that cared nothing for her at all, and only for fulfilling its own wants.

The culmination of all of this was an attempt to remove what small amount of clothing was still protecting Sonja's half ruined modesty. And that was finally the point at which her ability to reason finally overpowered its opposing forces.

Wresting her hands from his control was easy. As she had already predicted, Ryu was still weak, even though he had managed to get back on his feet. Of course it helped that he hadn't been prepared for such sudden resistance, but even if it had come down to a struggle Sonja was fairly certain she could have come out on top.

More important was the look of anger on his face at being denied at this stage, made all the more frightening by the burn on his face. Sonja hated thinking hurtful things like that about his scar, but she couldn't deny them as true.

Even in his weakened state, Sonja was still worried about Ryu lashing out in some way, so naturally she tried to placate him. "R-Ryu, wait... I-I need a little more time..."

She actually needed a lot more time. Years and years of it preferably, but she hardly thought that argument would work. Unfortunately trying to subtly deflect his advances wasn't working either.

"You sure didn't need any time to think about throwing me and my crew in front of a Neotank! Oh no, that only took as much time as it took you to see us readily available as fodder! Were we allowed to say 'we need a little more time' when you have that order?! Huh?!"

Sonja wasn't quite sure why the rage and venom in those words hurt so much. It wasn't like she hadn't already been faced with the reality of her decision that day. But for some reason, it hurt so much more now when she thought she was finally making progress. Finally convincing him to forgive her.

"That's not fair..."

Unfortunately her choice of words didn't do her any favors. It only made things worse as the fury in Ryu's gaze intensified.

"Not fair? Not fair?! I'll tell you what's not fair! We were gonna make it! We were all going to make it home after another battle! But you! You killed them! You killed them because you were an arrogant failure of a commander! Baek and Shen are dead, that's what's not fair!"

At some point Ryu had managed to push her down on the bed, apparently drawing more strength from reserves unknown. Sonja wasn't really sure when it had happened, but maybe that was because her vision was blurry. Subconsciously she realized that she must have been crying.

That being the case she couldn't see the way Ryu's furious expressions shifted into regret, but even if she had been seeing clearly there might not have been enough time for the thought to register anyway. After all, just moment's after his last outburst the entire room shook with a thunderous roar, knocking Ryu to the floor.

The wounded man landed chest first on the steel surface, earning a cry of agony that he admitted was probably well-deserved. As for Sonja, she didn't even have time to ask if he was alright before the voice of the captain came over the ship's intercom.

"Commander! We're under attack from a Black Hole fleet!"

Suddenly, all of the problems and issues that had been occurring in this room were moot. Sonja forgot literally all of it as her brain went into complete overdrive for commanding a battle. At least as far as this was concerned, she was fully capable of compartmentalizing.

Now ignoring anything that was getting in the way of that, the Emperor's daughter quickly redressed herself before Ryu even managed to get back to his feet. Thankfully that helped her a lot, because she could see it in his eyes that he was itching to play some sort of role in this upcoming fight, even if it was just taking potshots at passing battle copters.

Sonja was to the door by the time he was on his feet again. "Stay here."

Considering her submissive nature in the minutes prior to this, one would not think she could speak so forcefully, but at the moment no one would mistake her for anyone else other than the Emperor's family. The authority was unmistakable.

Moreover, she was out the door before Ryu could make an objection in the first place.

So, here's the important question. Have we crossed the threshold for an M rating yet? I mean, none of this is smut, and it's not super explicit or anything, but the implications are all still there. What do you guys think? If enough of you think it would be safer to mark it as M, I'll just go ahead and do it.

Second important question, do we like this current balance of events? Obviously the twisted, psychologically wack relationship between our two main characters is going to get a lot more screen time now. Do we still want battles to crop up occasionally? I feel like it'll be good to break up this darker material with action every once in awhile.