Page 1 of Her Fearless Ronin

Prologue

Jiro

“Why can’t you just stay, Jiro?” Anna’s voice, usually so soft, was edged with desperation. “Why can’t you choose me?”

The weight of Anna’s words resonated in the silence, echoingagainst the walls of her tiny campus apartment. Soft raindrops streaked down the windowpane, their rhythm contrasting sharply with our heated words.

It was a place where we managed to love each other in semisecrecy, but tonight, it felt like a battlefield. “I was born into this destiny, Anna. I was only here a few months because it was my orders, my mission. This life I’ve known, this path alongside Hoka… it’s not a choice.”

Her piercing blue eyes, usually so full of love and mischief, now bore into me with accusation and pain. “If you truly loved me, you’d find a way.”

A bitter chuckle escaped my lips as I shook my head with frustration. “This isn’t about love. It never was. I’ve been transparent about who I am and where I come from. There’s nothing stopping you from joiningmeafter you’re done here.”

She took a deep breath, her voice quivering. “I don’t want that life, Jiro. I don’t want to live in fear, always waiting for something bad to happen.”

Feeling the weight of her words, I whispered bitterly, more to myself than her, “Hoka warned me… said outsiders can’t understand. They never do.”

Without another word, Anna turned, grabbed her coat, and stormed out. The door slammed behind her, and the finality of the sound urged me to action. Racing after her, I found myself on the streets, rain drenching my hair and clothes. I reached out, grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. “Anna! We can figure this out.”

But our moment was shattered by the screech of tires. Time slowed. A car approached, its windows rolling downto reveal a shadowy figure, a gun gleaming menacingly.

“No!” I yelled, pushing Anna behind me.

Pain exploded through my side as a bullet found its mark. The wet street rushed up to meet me as I fell, the world dimming. Through the haze of pain and rain, my last thought was of Anna and the cruel twist of fate that brought us to this moment.

I forced my eyelids open, the weight of them almost unbearable, and through the blinding rain, a sight more heart-wrenching than my own pain met me: Anna, her usually vibrant blue eyes now dim and lifeless, lay a few feet away.

“Anna…” I whispered, every ounce of strength left in me propelling my body to crawl closer to her. Each movement sent searing pain through me, but the need to reach her overcame it all.

Finally, beside her, I cradled her lifeless form, pressing my face into her wet hair, tears mixing with the rain. “Anna, no, baby, please don’t leave me,” I begged, my voice hoarse and broken.

The cold rain on my skin, the metallic taste of blood in my mouth, none of it compared to the agony that tore through my heart. She wasn’t supposed to be the victim. This wasn’t how our story was meant to end.

Tears streamed down my face as I held her close, wishing I could trade places, that my life could be the one to fade while she continued on. But wishes didn’t mend broken hearts, and they certainly couldn’t bring back the dead.

My vision began to blur, the pain and blood loss taking its toll. “I’m sosorry, Anna,” I murmured, clutching her to me. Closing my eyes, I silently willed death to take me too, to reunite us somewhere beyond the pain and anguish of this moment.

The sirens in the distance grew louder, but they sounded so far away as if they were echoing from another lifetime. Their wailing blended with the anguished cries in my heart, an orchestra of torment.

A familiar voice called my name… Hoka, but my eyes were too heavy. Suddenly, I felt hands, strong and urgent, pulling me away from Anna’s lifeless form. I fought against them, wanting nothing more than to stay by her side, but they persisted, prying me from the only thing that mattered.

I was loaded into an ambulance, voices and medical jargon surrounding me, but they felt distant, mere background noise. The only clarity that remained was Anna’s face, her lifeless eyes, and the gut-wrenching weight of guilt.

Weeks turned into months. As my physical wounds began to heal, the emotional ones only deepened. Every mirror was a reminder of the life I had lost, every heartbeat a cruel reminder that I was still here and she wasn’t.

I wished for amnesia, for any respite from the all-consuming guilt and pain. But life was unforgiving. It gave me memories that were both a curse and a blessing—memories of our love, our fights, our passion, and that last fateful day.

My journey became one of redemption and seeking forgiveness, not from the world, but from the silent ghost that lingered in my heart: Anna.

But how does one seek forgiveness from the one they failed so utterly? That question haunted my every waking moment.

Chapter 1

Jiro

Twelve years later.

Ghosts.

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