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 entirely from the rocky bed, and pulled her into his arms. 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 her of all strength. She buried her face in the hollow of 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 opinion, someone selfish can never be called a hero."

"Disregarding the miserable lives the people will suffer and placing hope in some illusory future is the height of selfishness."

"He never even asked whether those people were willing to endure decades of hardship."

Yamato closed her eyes. She remembered the workers in the weapons factories, their eyes hollow and their faces sallow and gaunt, as if their souls had been sucked away.

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

"Someone who only cares about himself, acts however he pleases, and never considers others can't possibly be called a hero, can he?"

The final straw fell.

Yamato finally raised her head, biting her bloodied lips as she looked at Dawn's handsome face so close to hers. Tears rolled down like beads from a snapped string, mingling with blood and dust to carve ridiculous streaks across her face.

At that moment, every disguise crumbled.

Before the weak ordinary