Flame That Burns:
To Prove Your Love

By: Missfortune

Disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue.

Warnings: Yaoi, ANGST! Death, Sap!

Notes: Part two. This part contains a three page poem. Yeah I know it's long, but once I got started I couldn't end it, so it just got longer and longer. Anyway, you can skip the poem if you want to, but it is part of the story, so just do whatever, I mean I can't force you to read it, although, those demons did force me to write this story. Hmm, I wonder.....

Logbook of Shinigami

They did it! I'm so proud of them! Who? The Ronin Warriors. Today they proved their love to get back one of their own and it was simply one of the sweetest things I'd ever seen! I know I'm babbling it's what I do best. Let me explain to you the problem.

All the Ronin Warriors are lovers. (A similar situation to mine) But there were originally just two couples, Sai of the Torrent and Kento of Hardrock were one and Sage of the Halo and Rowan of Strata were the other. They all had a mutual desire for Ryo of the Wildfire, the leader of the group but all were afraid to tell him. Eventually with a lot of help from my little Cupid, (Ah Golden curls, sweet smile, sweet lips, sweet mouth, ack I'm getting off track!) all five of them got together.

But then they acted like bakas. They were afraid of his love and eventually drifted away. They forgot their anniversary and left him alone at home to cook their banquet while they were off enjoying each other! Poor Ryo was so upset he took a walk to the ravine near their house. Unfortunately a strong wind blew him off the cliff (courtesy of my favorite Dragon god). He didn't have the will to save himself and so ended up splattered on the bottom of the ravine (eww).

I went to pick up his spirit, but he didn't want to go. Instead he wanted to stay tied to the realm of the living to protect his lovers even after what had happened. Well I thought that was horrible! I knew that he shouldn't have died. It was just wrong. So I decided to make a plan. If his lovers could prove their love for him, I'd let him come back. I don't do that very often but I just couldn't resist. So after the fight with those stupid dynasty goons or whoever they were, when Ryo revealed his angel form, I showed myself to the bakas. I gave them my offer and left before we could play 20 questions.

That night I gathered up my wayward lovers and dragged them along for the ride, I couldn't make such a big decision on my own, and they all have unique points of view. I collected Ryo and we made a grand entrance in front of the four who were gathered in the living room.

I introduced my lovers to the four. My beautiful blonde Cupid with his fluffy white wings and his bow and arrows. My dark haired dark eyed Dragon God of Justice, Shenlong with those emerald dragon wings I so adore (they sparkle so beautifully in the light). My half-masked lover with the long bang and sparkling emerald eye, Triton God of Comedy, Tragedy, Music and Patron of Animals (Basically he's a fancy male muse, but I love him all the same). My hard-eyed, dark, and intimidating lover with his big sword, Odin, God of Warriors (he is so lucky I can see past his act to the heart of gold he keeps buried down there). And then there was Ryo, who needed no introduction. He stood there wrapped in his wings, looking at the floor. He looked so small and lost. I decided to get straight to the point.

"Have you come up with a way to prove your love?" I asked.

They all nodded numbly.

"Who will go first then?" I asked.

"I will," the one called Sage said stepping forward.

Ryo looked up and I nodded at Sage to proceed. He looked at Rowan who left the room. He returned carrying a large canvas, which he handed to Sage. Sage turned the canvas around to reveal a beautiful painting. It was a portrait of Ryo sleeping in the moonlight, his skin glowing ethereally. His Jin of Virtue glowed bright red on his forehead but he looked so peaceful in sleep. Beneath him were four hands reaching up as if to touch him. Each hand bore the glowing sign of the other Ronin Warriors. Wisdom, Life, Trust, and Justice burned brilliantly on each hand. The colors of the canvas were dark and muted. The thing that really stuck out was Ryo's form. It was outlined with silver and practically glowing, lighting up the surroundings. It looked like a divine moment captured in time. Like if you held your breath, the painting would come to life. It had that much soul put into it. You could see the love put into each stroke of the brush. Each curve lovingly caressed by its bristles. The time effort and tears put into the painting. All this you could clearly see by looking at that single piece of canvas.

I was mesmerized and I wasn't the only one. Ryo walked forward as if in a trance. He reached out and touched the painting hesitantly. As his fingers caressed the canvas something strange happened. All the symbols began to glow. Ryo pulled his hand back suddenly and the signs faded back to their original painted appearances. He reached out once more and the signs glowed brightly at his touch. They glistened with life of their own. As he traced each symbol with his finger a new light began to glow. The whole canvas lit up. A white light spread across the canvas, it pulsed and writhed until it finally settled itself into a single form. The Jin of love.

I was shocked. I didn't think humans could do stuff like that anymore. I thought that they had lost all those special abilities with the growth of technology. But this Sage seems to have tapped into his energies. The strength of his emotion is quite astounding. When finally Ryo pulled away I noticed something different. His eyes held something in them that hadn't been there before. They held a small spark of life. So far so good. Now it was somebody else's turn.

"Who's next?" I ask.

"I'll go," Sai says stepping forward. "We need to go to my water garden though."

"Alright. Lead on," I agree.

We all walk through the house and out into the back yard. There is a path leading out into the woods that we follow. The first thing you notice when you enter the woods is the sound of falling, flowing water. A few more steps in, you see the gardens. It is a small series of little ponds and waterfalls all connected by small streams. There is a maze-like network of arching bridges that lead to a gazebo in the center of the gardens. Each pool seemed to hold something new. Some had different fish, koi fish and goldfish flashed around in the full moonlight. Night blossoming water lilies added their scent to the crisp night air.

Sai led us to the gazebo where there was a small shrine. He opened it and revealed the contents of the shrine to us. The shrine housed a gas flame that burned brightly and lit up the interior of the box, which was plastered, with pictures of Ryo and the rest of the Ronin Warriors. Sai reached into the shrine and pressed a switch. The water gardens around us lit up as flames burst from the ponds and streams. Fire flickered on water in a beautiful display of opposites combined.

"I thought you said that this was a water garden," I commented.

"It is. It's my garden, but I put the flames in as symbol of my love. I never did get to show it to Ryo though," Sai said studying Ryo's face.

Ryo stared off at the flames in the water. It was a truly amazing display. Ryo turned in circles to look at each individual pond with its fiery display.

"There's something else," Sai said.

"What?" I asked as Ryo turned back around to face him.

"Will somebody . . . please blow out the flame," Sai asked hurriedly, bottom lip quivering.

I stepped forward and gently blew the flame out. Suddenly all the flames around us sputtered and died. The gentle babble of the waters around us ceased. Silence reigned over the gazebo as we adjusted to the sudden change.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"If the flame in my garden ever goes out. My garden dies," came the strangled reply.

"But Sai, you love your garden," Ryo said, speaking for the first time.

"I love you more," Sai whispered.

All was silent once more. finally I spoke.

"Who goes next?"

"I do," Kento said. "Ryo, you know I'm not that great with words but, I wrote you a poem.

Sad and silent longing
For one so out of reach
You stand so high above me
A boundary I can't breech
I watch you from afar instead
Feed the visions in my heart
Food for the flame I harbor
That tears my soul apart
Too afraid to approach you
I hide in shadows instead
I'm safer with the visions
That dance inside my head
Such a lovely angel
Has never touched the earth
The gods they blessed the day
On which you came to birth
Amazing in your perfection
Beautiful in your grace
I feel so unworthy
To look upon your face
Music is your name
It chimes so sweet and true
I alternately bless and curse
The day that I met you
Why'd you have to shake my world?
And crumble my existence?
You made me see what I had missed
And shattered my resistance
I could not keep away from you
You were what I needed
But I dared not approach
No matter how my heart pleaded
Afraid to sully your flawlessness
I never ventured to touch
Afraid that I would shatter
That which I loved so much
Soon I found another
Who felt the same as I
We both had feelings for you
But continued to live the lie
In the arms of each other
We harbored our desire
Clinging to each other
You were our common fire
Trying to find just a shred
Of completeness that we lacked
We continued on like that
Until we finally cracked
Oh wondrous of wonders
The day that we found out
That we had the slightest chance
But we were still in doubt
Could you really love us back?
Was it really true?
Was there just the slightest chance?
That you could love us too?
But then we saw you needed us
We saw that we were wrong
You too, needed love and trust
Something for which we longed
And so we let you in our beds
For you were already in our hearts
And our love it flourished
But it was just the start
Soon two others joined us
In the love we shared
You were our common bond
Left our souls to the world be bared
But through sheer intimidation
And strong insecurity
We once again shied from you
And left you to be free
A blindness on our parts
Unseeing of your pain
We had nothing to loose
But so much to gain
In the end we did loose
We were running scared
We retracted ourselves
And left you cold and bared
Now I see that we were wrong
Being selfish fools
By fearing just for ourselves
We proved to be so cruel
We left you to wither cold and alone
When you should be so warm
We drifted away silently
Doing unintentional harm
We left you solitary
When the strong winds came
They swept you from the cliffs so high
The breeze blew out your flame
And so I sit and curse myself
For being blind and selfish
Now that you are out of reach
I feel completely helpless
How can I live without you?
When you were my world for so long?
How can I find the words to say
I know that I was wrong?
I don't know how to prove my love
For it was always there
It's something that lives inside of me
Intangible as air
You are the flame that warms my heart
The reason that I live
There is nothing that I wouldn't do
Nothing I wouldn't give
To hold you once more in my arms
And feel your heart beat
Nothing would be more perfect
Nothing quite so sweet
When I said I loved you
I did not tell a lie
Forever and eternity
Beyond the day I die
You'll always live on in my soul
You'll always be the one
That makes by body feel so weak
And my heart feel numb
Beyond the reach of everything
Extends my love for you
Never has anyone
Found a love so true
And so until they banish me
From existence of all kind
There will be a single thing
That I will leave behind
This love that's indisputable
And so genuine
And I'll hold the memory bittersweet
Of when you once were mine
And so if you remember one thing
From this life to the next
And in every life after
I have this one request
Deep inside your soul of souls
Where your flame resides
Remember someone loves you
As steady as the tides
So if the world should crash and burn
And the sun falls from the sky
My love for you shall give you wings
So that you may fly
Away from all the pain and sorrow
You ever felt in the world
Beautiful things are what you deserve
So with feathered wings unfurled
I'll watch you from my misery
And be happy just the same
That I was once honored
Enough to say your name
And as you fly away from here
A world undeserving of your grace
I will etch into my soul
The perfection of your face
So let no man or god deny
That which I know is true
For what lies beyond eternity
I always will love you."

I listened in awe as he recited the words straight from his heart. It was so poingant. You could hear the emotions in his voice. You could feel it in the air. For someone who claims not to be good with words, I must say that he is a very good poet. As he spoke the words seemed to wrap around him. I looked over at Shenlong who was grinning at his warrior of justice. When I looked at Ryo, I noticed tears sparkling on his cheeks. The small flame in his eyes was getting a tiny bit larger with every word. With every act by his lovers. At the end of the poem, silent sobs shook Ryo's shoulders.

"That was beautiful," Cupid said.

"Thank you. It needed to be beautiful for Ryo," Kento replied.

"Well, looks like it's my turn now," Rowan said stepping forward. He took out a knife and held it in his hand just looking at it for a moment.

"Rowan?" Sai questioned.

Rowan looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

"What are you going to do?" Kento asked.

He looked over at me and my jury. He focused his eyes on Ryo as he said, "I am going to cut my heart out." That said he plunged the knife into his heart before anyone could stop him. The knife stuck out of his chest obscenely as he fell to the floor.

"Noooooo!" Ryo screamed really coming fully to life for the first time that night. He ran to Rowan's fallen body. "Rowan! Rowan!" he cried out cradling him in his arms.

"I love you Ryo," Rowan said with a small smile as his blood flowed from his body.

Ryo wrapped his wings around Rowan's body. His pure white feathers turning red with blood. The rest of the Ronin Warriors knelt around them with tears streaming from their eyes.

"Rowan, I love you too. I don't want you to do this for me. I don't want you to hurt yourself. I don't want you to die!" Ryo cried caressing his face.

"I have to Ryo. I can't live . . . this way," Rowan said softly, kissing Ryo's hand.

"No! Rowan! Don't go! Don't die on me, you can't. If you love me you can't!" Ryo exclaimed near hysterics.

"I hafta p-prove it Ryo. Please understand. I-I love you all," Rowan said casting his gaze to the rest of his sobbing lovers. And then the light died from his eyes.

By that time everyone was crying. Cupid and Triton were both crying as they clung to one another. Shenlong was using one of Odin's sleeves to wipe away the tears that just kept falling and I was leaning against Odin weeping like a baby. Odin wrapped his arms around me and Shenlong and I looked up to see that even my stony war god had tears in his eyes.

I looked back at Ryo who was clinging to Rowan's body as if it would bring him back. Cupid and Triton moved closer to us.

"D-do you think they proved it well enough?" Cupid sobbed.

"Beyond a doubt," I cried back at him.

"Then don't you think you should put an end to all this misery?" Odin asked wiping at the tears on my face.

"I guess I should," I sniffled. I dashed a few more tears from my eyes. My lovers gave me teary smiles and reached out to me as I gathered the power to right the wrongs. In a bright flash of power and light everything was right once more. Ryo's living breathing mortal body cradled Rowan's very much alive form. The other three gave shouts of pure joy and tackled them in great strong hugs and desperate kisses.

All meaning was lost as they spoke out at once, words coming out in a jumble of 'love's and 'don't ever do that again's. I watched smiling as they put Ryo in the middle of them and hugged him for all they were worth. Seconds later I found myself in a similar situation as I was grabbed and pressed into a group hug.

"You know you're going to get in trouble. You brought not just one mortal, but two back to life tonight," Triton said gripping my shoulder.

"I know," I replied.

"What kind of God of Death are you?" Shenlong asked. "Giving people their lives back like that?"

"It's justice though!" I replied as he smiled at me.

"I'm so proud of you! Helping true love like that!" Cupid said kissing me.

I smiled and leaned against Odin. I yawned widely. All that excitement and the large amount of power it took to bring the Ronin Warriors back to life was catching up with me.

"You're exhausted," Odin said. "We should go home, so you can rest. You'll need your strength for in the morning when you face your father to tell him how you let two mortals go."

"It was worth it though," I say as I look over at the happy crying group.

"Come on, let's go home," Odin said. He wrapped me in his arms and we faded out, leaving the happy lovers to their happiness.

Ta da! Happy ending!

Or Maybe it's just the beginning, feedback will determine if I will go on a little longer or not.

And please if you have any decency write! I really want some opinions on this one. Did you like the story. Was the poem too much? Tell me please!

* In the beginning I was unsure whether I should do the whole mystical gods and resurection thing since it made a really sad death fic all by itself. But I just couldn't leave Ryo dead. so in step my boys. Did you recognize them? That was a fun little touch. Although I think I might have gotten a little carried away with the poem. It just wouldn't end! Hey come to think of it, neither will this note. It just keeps on going and going and going and going . . . . . . . .

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