Word Count: chapter: 1,113||story: 11,318||Chapters: 10/30

Word spread fast, especially since no one actually tried to keep it a secret. If anything, the telling grew from moment to moment and from mouth to ear. But Shou heard the original message and tried not to listen too much to the others. Brron didn't react well when he listened to rumors more than he listened to Brron.

But the basic truth was this: Edo Phoenix and his Champion, Hell Kaiser, would arrive at the fortress in another handful of days. There, Hell Kaiser would fight against whichever of Brron's people thought they were up to the task of defeating this amazing warrior and duelist. What tales could be found about him – and they were few indeed – said that he excelled at both dueling and combat, and had brought many to defeat, while only tasting it at his master's hands.

Shou, in complete truth, didn't care. All this visit meant to him was that he would have to be on even better behavior than he'd been already. Brron wouldn't hesitate to have him executed, and likely planned to brag about 'breaking' his stubbornness.

I don't think so. Shou just buried it a little deeper, gritted his teeth together, and bided his time. Sooner or later something would give somewhere, and Shou refused to let it be him. Brron would go on a trip without him. Brron would be distracted by some sort of problem.

Anything that meant Brron wasn't watching him, and he could get out of there. It would have to be after he didn't need Imp to guide him through the fortress, since the wily creature hung by him otherwise. But once it happened… once the perfect chance arrived… he'd take it.

Until then, he did as he was told, keeping his defiance simmering so that Brron wouldn't start 'getting bored' of him and consider just having him killed. He didn't think being sold was an option.

And even if it was, whoever he sold me to would probably be worse than he is about keeping me from running off. Like it or not, he had a reputation, though one made more from stubbornness than attempts to get out of there.

There were too many factors for Shou to even think about, so he kept to what he could be certain of: there would come a time when Brron's watchfulness slipped. That would be it.

But that moment wasn't now, not with Edo Phoenix and his entourage moving ever closer toward the fortress. Servants and slaves freshened the quarters chosen for the young lord and the warriors sparred amongst themselves in every possible, searching for whoever could be the strongest to stand up to the Kaiser.

Shou stayed by Brron's side and brought him anything necessary or wanted. Imp showed him quicker ways to get through the fortress, increasing his response time, which made Brron a little more pleased with him. Not very much; Shou thought that Brron made a point to never be very pleased with anyone. Not a day passed when he didn't end up with a bruise of some kind somewhere on him, with or without a reason.

I think his reason is just because he can, Shou considered as he rubbed a salve provided by Rune over his latest bruises. He kept a supply now in his tiny room, since Rune didn't always have time to take care of everything Shou turned up with.

He hadn't yet heard Rune talking to Johan again, nor had there been any public messages from Johan. If he hadn't heard Johan's voice so clear, he would've chalked it up to some kind of trick of some kind, perhaps a bird imitating Johan's voice, or a spirit doing the same.

Rune didn't act in any way as if he were doing something that he shouldn't, either. He instructed Shou in the finer details of his duties and tended Shou's injuries, sometimes bringing him to the Holy Elf Heather, who took care of anything more than a few bruises and cuts.

Shou liked Heather. She didn't look down on anyone, and at times, he thought he saw her giving very stern and displeased looks in Brron's general direction. She never said anything, but it was enough ha the wondered if he could broach the idea of escape to her and maybe find an ally.

A few other slaves passed through Brron's fortress before Edo Phoenix's arrival. Shou even recognized one or two as being from his own village. Somehow, Mototani didn't look quite as high-bred and arrogant when his tasks consisted of more than lounging around looking attractive.

While he'd seen people that he knew, he hadn't yet run across anyone that he knew. No sign of Kenzan or Rei, Martin or Alice. Shou could not have been more grateful for that. Bad enough this happened to him. He wanted his friends to be safe, if they could be.

He didn't get as much chance to think about who he saw or didn't see as he hoped. At last Edo and his entourage arrived, and as Brron's personal slave, Shou got himself cleaned up and in what passed for his best outfit – a tunic of a bit finer weave than normal and that was it – and stood beside Brron, silent, all of his bruises either healed or where they couldn't be seen by a casual glance.

Light gleamed off of metal in the distance and Shou's first thought was that it was armor or a carriage or something of that sort. But it drew closer, and slowly it dawned on him that it was sunlight gleaming off of metallic scales.

Shou's throat dried up. He didn't think he could've said a word if his life depended on it.

At first he didn't want to believe it. But they drew ever closer and now he could recognize those scales as belonging to one of the great Cyber Dragons, coasting over the entourage in a guard pattern.

There were few enough who had won the allegiance of even one of them, and as they stood outside of the fortress walls, Shou could now see three of them. Only one person had three of them.

He stood next to Edo, clad in black leather, eyes proud and defiant, neither collar nor leash nor anything else to mark one as a slave on him that Shou could see. But if there was any deference in him at all, it was to the man who stood next to him.

Shou swallowed. Shou cranked out two small words from his burning throat. He didn't think anyone heard him and he couldn't have cared if they did.

"Big brother?"

To Be Continued

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