Yamato's Change of Heart

Yamato's lips trembled. Tears welled up again. She felt like someone who had wandered through the desert for over a decade, finally reaching an oasis only to discover it was a mirage, with scorching yellow sand still beneath her feet.

Dawn saw the collapse in her eyes. He reached out, lifted her from the stone bed, and pulled her into his embrace. His body completely enveloped hers, and a steady heartbeat echoed from his broad chest.

Yamato did not resist. She was too exhausted. The combined fatigue of mind and body had drained all her strength. She buried her face in Dawn's neck, her silent tears soaking his collar.

"Though I'm a pirate, a bad man, and have no right to judge heroes, in my eyes, a selfish person can never be called a hero."

"Disregarding the miserable lives the citizens would suffer and pinning hope on an illusory future is the height of selfishness."

"He never once asked whether those citizens were willing to endure decades of hardship."

Yamato closed her eyes. She thought of the workers in the weapons factories, their eyes hollow, their faces sallow and gaunt, as though their souls had been drained away.

If they had been given a choice, would they have been willing to endure such a hell for "Lord Oden's" dream?

"A person who only thinks of himself, acts on impulse, and disregards others can never be a hero, no matter how you look at it."

The final straw fell.

Yamato finally raised her head, biting her already bleeding lips as she looked at Dawn's handsome face so close to hers. Her tears rolled down like beads from a broken string, mingling with blood and dust to leave ridiculous streaks across her face.

At that moment, every pretense collapsed.

Before the weak