Dark Ronin - The Woman with No Master

Chapter 16

"Utsuki... Ustuki! Neeran- Oh," Ryuu bursted into the bathroom, closing it just as frantically as he came in.

"Hey, Ryuu," I said groggily as I slowly rose out of the water.

"The kids want to go out to the market today, I figured you would want to come. It'd be nice for us to get out again like we used to," he said as he waited by the door while I got dressed, "what happened to your face?" he gently grabbed the sides of my face without touching my scars, completely forgetting that I was half dressed. I removed his hand and moved past him to sit on my bed, "I'm fine; and yeah I'll come. I just need a minute to get my stuff together. Where's Ri..."

"Here Neera, the maids let me sneak some food for you," Ri Ri interrupted, hopping on my bed with a bag full of fresh delicacies.

"Um... ain't that for Tii and the ministers to taste test?" I said, eyeing her.

"Trust me, Tii won't die from a few missing sweets, especially since it was for you. Now, those old geezers are a different story, hopefully they'll choke on a few pieces," Se Ra fluttered her eyes as she stuffed a pink donut into her puffy cheeks.

Ryuu stole a powdery honey toast out of Se Ra's other hand and took off for the door, "I'll go get Tii." His lips and cheeks were now white from the powder.

"Ow, I'ma get you for that!" she yelled as we both started to laugh. Pulling my white and gold Nike sneakers on, I took a dangoball and got off the bed. I motioned for us to leave as she gave me a serious look.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you going to tell him?" she stirred on my bed, "Me and Tii were worried, so we looked through your black bag. I got a bad feeling 'bout that stuff and Uncle, especially; I don't think you should go against him alone."

"I'll be fine, don't worry. He's just another person I gotta' take down if I want y'all to be safe when I leave. Plus, I've been against stronger people than him," I reassured her.

"But still, my father went against him and well... you see where he's at," I could see tears start to well in Se Ra's eyes.

"All the more reason for me to go after him. I promise your brother and any other person here won't be hurt by him again," I spoke softly to her as I cupped her face in my hands.

"I'm not worried about us. I'm worried about you,"

"There's no need to worry 'bout me," I said as I reached for my jacket in the closet.

"There's a lot to worry 'bout with you,"

"Say what?" I pretended not to hear her.

"We have a lot to worry about with you,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well for one, you've had more than enough injuries for a lifetime this past week. Walked out of an explosion just a few days ago. I don't even know how you are standing right now. Second, it doesn't look like my Uncle's alone in this and I know you don't plan on telling Ryuu anything. Therefore, I can see that you will be incurring more injuries, if you don't die first. Not to mention, you've been popping pills like candy since you've been out of the infirmary. Are you trying to be a drug addict?" Se Ra rambled.

"It's always beautiful to know how you think about me, dear child. Now again, I'll be fine. And I only plan on telling Ryuu once I figure out what's going on. You stay out of it, you hear?" I said, squinting my eyes at her.

"Fine. But if I see you getting in too much danger, I'm telling Ryuu," she huffed. We both moved out the door and towards the car as she stuffed her face more.