I don't own Ronin Warriors. All OCs are mine.

Chapter 24

Sage and Cye sat in the food court, eating the rations that were being passed out now. They made small talk as they ate, talking about anything except what was truly on their mind.

Kento walked up to them with his rations in his hand, sitting down in front of the two.

"Little lite there, Kento?" Cye joked, eyeing his friend's very small portion of food.

"Yeah, yeah," mumbled Kento. "Look, there are people who need food more than me."

Sage nodded his head in approval. "Where's Rowen?"

"He's getting the others to come get food, but I don't think Ryo is gonna want to eat."

"But if we are going to be storming the castle in a few days, shouldn't Ryo get his strength up?" Cye asked them.

"Right now, his head is not where it should be." Sage sighed, staring down at the food in his hands. "Not after what Asami said."

"What did she say?"

Kento turned to him and Cye was shocked to see him with a mournful expression. "Ryo thought Asami was Tiffany and when he asked Asami how Tiffany was, she didn't give an answer."

Cye flinched and lowered the rice ball in his hands. He wasn't hungry anymore for he kept on thinking about what Tiffany was going through.

Kento snarled and punched the wall next to him, cracking it a bit. The surrounding people jumped at his outburst and some of them moved away from the men in case he had another one.

"Kento," Sage warned, eyeing the people around them.

"No, that bastard is torturing his own daughter and he doesn't give a shit about what happens to her! Tiffany had to go through that incident with Ryo and now she has to worry about this?!"

"She had to worry about the three of us as well," Rowen added, sitting down. "Cye was the only one that was on her good side."

"Where's Ryo?" wondered Cye.

Rowen shook his head. "We got our rations, but he said he would rather be alone for a little bit. White Blaze and Kalana are with him in case he does anything."

Sage saw someone coming out of the corner of his eye and turned as Iris came up beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "How are you boys doing?"

"We're fine," he answered. "Just talking about what to do next."

Iris nodded, taking a quick glance around the group. "Where's Ryo?"

"He went off by himself," answered Rowen. He gestured to the stairway. "I think he went to the movie theater."

"Ok, I think I'll go talk to him. But the reason I came over is I was wondering where Kayura went."

"She went back to her village to connect a pathway from there to here," explained Cye. "I don't know how long she is going to take."

"Oh, good. I'm running low on medical supplies and I know if you get Tiffany, I won't have enough to help her."

"We can go on a run and go get some stuff," suggested Rowen. "Give us some time to scout the area again."

Iris smiled at him. "That'll be great, thank you." She looked at the stairway and back to the group. "And don't tell Ryo about my request. Just go before he asks so that way he doesn't ask to go along. I think he needs to calm down a bit before he does anything rash."

The others nodded in agreement and, as they were talking, no one saw Asami and Mika sneaking out of the mall.

Ryo leaned up against the wall, his food rations crumbled in a ball beside him. White Blaze and Kalana laid on either side of him and Ryo was watching as they slept. His eyes soon grew heavy and it wasn't long before he fell asleep too.

When Ryo opened his eyes again, he was in a swamp area, heavy fog all around him. As Ryo observed his surroundings, there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head; an ominous feeling of déjà vu. He heard something moving behind him and he turned around, getting into a fighting stance. The rustling got louder until a hand shot out from the fog. Ryo flinched but didn't move from his position, waiting for the hand to do something but it only flailed about. He heard heavy breathing coming from underneath the fog and it wasn't until the breathing transformed into screaming that Ryo jumped into action. He grabbed hold of the hand and started to pull, getting the person a few inches out until they were dragged back under by some unseen force. But Ryo didn't give up, determined to set the person free. He closed his eyes and pulled with all his might until he fell back against the ground and the person fell on top of him. He opened his eyes, staring into the eyes of his lover.

"Ryo?" Tiffany slowly asked, tears forming in her eyes. Ryo had no words to say so he pulled Tiffany against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Tiffany hugged him back, sobbing in both relief and happiness when she felt Ryo's lips press against her head. Their moment was short lived when Tiffany remembered where they were and pushed herself away from Ryo. Her eyes were filled with fear and they kept darting around the area. "What are you doing here?"

Ryo's eyes narrowed in concern, slowly sitting up so he was eye level with Tiffany. "What-"

"How did you get in here?" They heard rustling behind and Tiffany spun around to check before turning back to Ryo. "You have to get out of here." She started pushing him away, but Ryo wouldn't move.

"Tiffany, stop." Ryo grabbed hold of her hands, noticing the scars lining her arms. "Who did this to you?" He met her eyes again and saw the tears streaming down her face.

Wind whistled around them which made Tiffany flinch and start shaking in terror. Ryo brought her into his arms, trying to soothe her when he realized the wind was whispering.

"Bad girl," a low, squeaky voice said. "She's been bad."

"Needs to be punished," another said, the voice gravely and harsh.

"No mercy," a deep, sinister voice said.

More voices added in, all of them involving punishing Tiffany and fear crept up the woman's spine. She could feel their icy tendrils on her skin as they pierced her and dragged down her arms. They would make sure her legs were pinned to the ground, so she couldn't run and then assault her body with anything they got their hands on. She tried to fight them off, push them away, but they grew tired of her fighting and held her arms to the ground as well. All she could do was scream and wiggle around in hopes to get away. She couldn't see them for they were shrouded in darkness, only seeing a glimpse of their bodies when they went to strike. She had only managed to get away when they thought she wouldn't fight back. Who knows what they would do to her when they got hold of her again. Tiffany released a choked sob at the thought, inching herself closer to Ryo to try and put some distance between herself and whatever lied beneath the fog.

Ryo stared at the shifting fog before turning his attention back to Tiffany. "Hey." He gently grabbed her chin and tried to turn her face towards him, but her eyes were locked on the fog. "Tiffany, look at me." She slowly turned to Ryo, fear displayed across her face. He cradled her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away the tears. "We're coming to get you. I promise, we'll get you out and you'll be safe." He gave her a reassuring smile. "You have to keep fighting, Tiffany. Don't let them break you."

Tiffany smiled back at him, closing her eyes as she leaned her head into his hands. Ryo leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead before kissing her on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Tiffany choked out, resting her head against his. She felt something grab her legs and was pulled back under. She let out a scream, but Ryo grabbed hold of her upper arms, keeping her above the fog. "Ryo…" She tried to reason with him, but he shook his head.

"No, I'm not letting you go."

The arms snaked their way up her legs to her waist, pulling harder to get Tiffany under the fog. She felt Ryo losing his grip, his hands slowly slipping from his hold, and she knew it wouldn't be long before she was under the mercy of these creatures. She grabbed hold of Ryo, making eye-contact with him as her heart beat a mile a minute. "Tell the guys I miss them and not to stop fighting no matter what happens." Black threads slowly circled around Tiffany's chest. "If you find my mom, tell her I wished I could have spent more time with her and gotten to know more about her and my home." Hands appeared over Ryo's, trying to pry them away from his hold on Tiffany. "And if you ever see Iris again, tell her I loved working with her." Threads wrapped around Ryo and started pulling him as well. Ryo lost his grip but regained it, now holding on to her hands. The two stared into each other's eyes and Tiffany gave him a smile as tears ran down her face. "Tell everyone I love them." With a final tug, Tiffany was wrenched from Ryo and she screamed as she was dragged back under the fog.

"Tiffany!" Ryo screamed, trying to go after her but the threads tightened around him, wrapping around his throat. He gasped for air as he dropped to his knees, struggling to get out of his bonds. They only grew tighter and the world around him started to go blurry. Through his blurred vision, he saw something rise from the fog. The black tendril formed into a claw, the sharp ends pointing at Ryo before launching itself at him.

Iris suddenly appeared in front of Ryo, blocking the claw from striking him. She turned to him and released him of his bonds, holding him in her arms. Iris saw more black threads rise from the fog and she closed her eyes, a light slowly forming around them as the threads advanced.

Ryo opened his eyes, taking in a huge gulp of air and as he kept taking deep breaths, feeling a tightening in his chest. He started coughing and he blinked rapidly as his vision started to blur from the tears in his eyes. Something nudged his side and he turned his head to find White Blaze staring at him. The tiger whined and then nuzzled Ryo again, rubbing his head against Ryo's chest. Ryo then noticed his friends standing around them and Iris was kneeling beside him, all of them with worried expressions on their faces.

"What...?" Ryo started but winced when his voice cracked. He rubbed his throat, coughing to clear it.

"Thank goodness I got to you in time," Iris said, reaching behind her to get something.

"We thought we were going to lose you, buddy," explained Kento, squatting down next to Ryo. He then reached an arm behind Ryo, helping him to sit up as Iris handed him a bottle of water.

"Mia came up to check on you and noticed something wasn't right. She said you weren't breathing and called us to help," Sage explained as Ryo took a couple sips of his water.

"I believe you were having an out-of-body experience," stated Iris. "While your physical body stayed here, your soul transferred to a different place." Iris shook her head, her eyebrows furrowed. "But I don't know how you did it."

"Me neither," Ryo answered after he was sure he could talk. "I had closed my eyes to sleep and when I woke up again, I was in this swamp-like area. I didn't know where I was, and I thought I was dreaming until I…" Ryo trailed off as he thought about everything that happened.

"Until you what?" Cye urged.

"I saw Tiffany, and even she wondered how I got in that place. I tried to help her, but those creatures pulled her back before I could do anything."

"Those threads that were around you?" Iris questioned, and Ryo nodded in confirmation. He could only imagine what Tiffany was going through now and it made his heart throb to know she was suffering. He made eye-contact with everyone as he said, "She wanted me to tell all of you that she loves and misses you. She doesn't want us to stop fighting." Ryo turned to Iris. "She said she loved working with you."

Iris silently gasped, placing a hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes. The others clenched their fists in anger and to Cye, it sounded like Tiffany was saying good-bye. Ryo took a deep breath and then stood up, his eyes flaring with refound determination. He looked at Rowen. "What did you find out about the entrance?"

"It's guarded, and we would have to either sneak or fight our way to get in," Rowen answered.

Ryo nodded. "We're going to need a diversion if we want to get in without being noticed."

"If some of us create a scene to where the soldiers follow us, the rest can get in, so it would be easier to sneak around the castle," explained Sage. "Maybe we could bring Anubis as well. The soldiers weren't created until after he was saved, and they wouldn't know."

"Iris!"

The group turned around as Yulie ran up to them, distress on the boy's face. Iris got up and met him halfway, grabbing hold of him to steady him. "What's wrong?"

"Asami and Mika, they're gone."

"What?!"

"I went in to check on them and they weren't in the infirmary. The people said they saw them leave about ten minutes ago, but they never came back."

"Have you checked the whole mall?" Cye asked.

"That's just it. When I asked the people around the mall, they said they saw two women walking towards the exit, but they did nothing to stop them. Someone said one of them was carrying the Jewel of Life."

"But how?" Sage turned to Rowen. "Didn't Kayura give you the jewel before she left?"

"Yeah, I-" Rowen felt around his neck and was shocked to discover it wasn't there anymore. "That's impossible. I put it around my neck when Kayura gave it to me."

"We have to go find them," said Ryo. "Before anything happens to them."

Mika and Asami slowly walked through the city, heading towards the castle.

"Do you remember the plan?" Asami asked her and Mika nodded. She then produced the Jewel of Life. "I thought this could help us."

"How did you get that?" Asami stared at it, stunned.

"When Rowen came in to give us rations, I used my ability to get it without him knowing."

Asami nodded, cracking a smile at her explanation. She then saw the castle in her sights and her smile faded. "Ok, let's do this."

Mika nodded and Asami put her arms behind her back, allowing Mika to grab hold of them. The two stopped just outside the lines of the castle and Mika looked up at the sky. "I offer a truce by giving this one to you!" Mika yelled, pushing Asami forward as an added effect.

Black mist formed in front of them, shaping into a man before evaporating, revealing Naga. The general smiled at them as he focused in on Asami. "Thought you could get away, didn't you?" he asked and chuckled when Asami struggled against Mika, glaring down at him. Naga looked away from Asami and towards Mika, his smile disappearing. "You said a truce? What do you mean?"

Mika pushed Asami forward a bit. "I'm giving you Asami in exchange for freedom. I want nothing to do with the Ronins or this battle. Just let me go. I'll leave this city, and give you Asami."

Naga raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her proposal. "You're not upset by Sephiran using you?"

"Oh, I'm still upset but the Ronins don't want me. I figured that if I don't want to help both sides, I'll just leave. But how can I leave when I'm not certain if I won't get captured? So, when I saw Asami, I thought this would be my only chance to get what I want." Mika took a step forward, pushing Asami along with her. "Take Asami and I'll go. I won't help the Ronins nor will I interfere with Sephiran's plans."

Naga thought about her offer and Mika stared him down but, on the inside, she was nervous. She didn't know if Naga would accept it or not and it unnerved her with the silence. She then heard Naga let out a sigh.

"All right, I'll take your deal." He held out a hand as his other hand snaked behind his back, grabbing hold of his katana. "Hand her over to me and I'll let you go."

Mika nodded, walking over towards him with Asami in tow. When they were just inches from each other, Mika stopped and glared at him which made Naga falter in confusion. "What is it, girl?" Mika let go of Asami and when Naga tried to attack, he found that he couldn't move. His eyes scanned over his lower half, trying to understand what was wrong when he met Mika's eyes and saw the smirk crawling across her face. "You bitch!"

Asami stepped forward, placing one hand on Naga's head and the other over his chest where his heart was located. She glared into his eyes, remembering what her daughter told her. "You will not hurt anyone anymore. Kiyomemasu!" Light surrounded Naga and he threw his head back, releasing a scream but suddenly, the light faded, and Naga was still screaming. Asami furrowed her eyebrows and then her face twisted in fear as Naga's screaming turned into laughing. He lowered his head back down, chuckling when he met Asami's fearful expression. "You really thought that was going to work on me?"

Mika flinched at their failed plan that she took her attention off Naga and it was too late before she realized what she had done. Naga grabbed hold of Asami and before Mika could get him to stop moving, he took out his katana and rammed the sword into Asami. Mika screamed in terror as Asami let out a pained gasp. She stared into Naga's cold eyes as he twisted the blade inside her and then ripped it out, making the whole a little bigger. Asami fell to her knees, her hand pressed against her wound. She felt her blood seep through her fingers and looked down, removing her hand and staring at the blood. The tip of a sword pressed against her chin and it pressed against it, forcing her head to focus her attention on Naga. The general smiled at her. "I'll give the Priestess your regards." He pulled the katana back, the tip gleaming at her.

"No!" Mika screamed, pushing her hand out. Naga froze, and Mika threw her hand to the side, making Naga fly across the way and into a building. Mika watched him go and then hurried towards Asami, kneeling next to her. Blood was pooling at her feet and Asami coughed, blood trickling down her chin.

"We have to go," Mika urged, wrapping her arms around Asami to lift her to her feet.

"I can't," Asami wheezed. "I'll only…hold you back."

"I'm not leaving you here!"

Asami looked up at her and smiled. Mika noticed her skin was turning pale and it was only a matter of time before she died from loss of blood. "I'm sorry you were brought into this mess. I should have killed Sephiran when I had the chance and none of this would have happened." Asami coughed again and more blood spilled out of her mouth. She winced in pain and she could feel death's icy grip pulling her into a slumber.

Mika stared at her and looked up when she heard rumbling. Naga slowly approached the two, his face no longer showing the grin he had on. He was furious, his mouth in a straight line and his eyes narrowed into slits. He held another katana and they dragged across the road, the scratch of the blades echoing throughout the area, almost giving the women the sound of death walking towards them.

Asami glanced back at him before turning to look at Mika. She gave her another smile and threw her arms around the young woman. She squeezed her tight, eyes shut as she stealthily took the jewel from Mika's hands. Asami then pushed her away, creating a barrier between themselves and Naga. Mika launched herself at the barrier, her fists hitting it to try and break it. She screamed Asami's name over and over again, hoping to knock some sense into her.

Asami heard the pleas but ignored them, focusing her attention on Naga. The general picked up his pace and then started running towards her. Asami held the Jewel of Life tightly in her hand and stared Naga down as he came at her. He raised his katanas and Asami used her remaining strength to launch herself at Naga, holding the jewel against his heart as the swords pierced her again.

Silence filled the area and Mika stopped her assault. She heard someone calling her and Asami's name but ignored it as the barrier dropped. Her heart stopped when she saw Asami lying on the ground, blood pooling around her. The jewel laid next to Asami's hand and blood dripped from the swords over the body. Mika's eyes trailed up to the general and the tears streamed down her face at the sight.

Sekhmet stared back at her, confusion on his face as he took in the scene below him. He saw the woman lying on the ground and her blood on his swords. He had no idea what happened from when he was taken over to where he was currently. He met Mika's eyes again, almost asking her to explain to him what happened.

The guys ran into the area, halting at the scene in front of them. Sage hurried over to Asami, placing two fingers on the side of her neck, and the others held their breath. He then closed his eyes and sighed, turning to back to the group and shaking his head.

Mika choked on a sob, her hands going to her mouth as she collapsed to her knees. She shook her head and she started screaming. Tears rapidly ran down her cheeks, her screams and cries echoing throughout the city. She was dimly aware of someone wrapping their arms around her and holding her but all she could focus on was Asami's dead body. How could she have agreed with this? Why didn't they just stay at the mall? Asami would still be alive and...Tiffany would still have her mother. At that thought, Mika broke down, lowering her head and her hands clutching it.

Cye looked down at the broken girl in his arms before looking up at Sekhmet, who was still confused at everything. Sekhmet stared at all of them before he finally spoke. "What happened?"