CHAPTER 15 – PLANS, SECRETS AND OMENS
With Kyoko's arrival at Tsuruga Manor, Ren was late for the first time since I know him and spent the whole day distracted. He disguised it well, but I would not be the Clan Counselor nor his best friend if I could not notice that he digressed while I reported all the events that needed the Master's attention. It was also obvious, hours later that he was sterner than usual with the procreators because they dared to vandalize what should be Kyoko's room.
I do not know how he discovered that the two acted together, but I imagine it was due to his experience as a judge and to the wit of his accurate assessments. By the way, it is only because I trust Ren's ability to analyze body language and facial expressions that I can leave him alone with Kyoko, now that she no longer covers her face.
A procreator living with the Master. I only heard of such a thing with Master Hizuri, when he welcomed Julie and the two were married a few days later.
After the second night with Kyoko, Ren was late again and I wanted to warn him about his obligations, but he had such a ridiculously happy expression that I could not say a word beyond what was necessary to keep him aware of the Clan's situation and the day's appointments.
Days passed before Ren resumed his routine. I thought he had finally become accustomed to his new procreator and that soon he would return to his predictable self until Nick told me that Kyoko was the one who started pushing Ren out of the room so he would not be late. Apparently, Nick conveyed my concerns to her, who took on the task of ensuring that the Master did not set a bad example to the rest of the Clan.
A procreator expelling a Master from the room and telling him how to lead the Clan. Is the world upside down? Did I get into a parallel reality?
When I wanted to intervene in their relationship and warn Ren about the nonsense that was to allow Kyoko to dominate him, I realized that weeks had gone by and the two of them were still sharing the bed. Kyoko might have been pregnant, which would explain Ren's indulgent attitude towards her. However, when I approached him in this regard, he just shook his head and changed the subject, saying that I would be informed as soon as the heir was produced.
"As soon as". Not "if". His confidence intrigues me. Well, I have to admit that those two fornicate so much, especially since Kimiko and Ruriko left, that if even they cannot produce a descendant, there will be no continuation for humanity.
Again, Nick was the one who explained the situation to me. I should be concerned that the landlord knows more about what is happening with the Master than I do, but at the moment I am only relieved to have any source of information. After all, Kyoko is a forbidden subject to me since Ren felt my intention to eliminate her when she was still under the protection of Master Lory.
By custom, the Master does not visit the procreator while she is on her period. However, as Ren innovated by taking Kyoko to his room, she voluntarily moved into her own room as soon as the bleeding began. I need to admit she has the wits, though it is useless if Ren lost his altogether. According to a laughing Nick, Ren knocked Kyoko's bedroom door and carried her over one shoulder back to his room, while she fumbled, struggled, and called him savage and Nean... dertal? I still need to figure out what that means. It would be easier if I could ask her, but Ren still frets when I approach Kyoko.
Without the other two here, Ren allowed her to roam freely around the Manor, which resulted in some bizarre situations. One of them was Nick casually sitting on the floor outside the kitchen after being expelled from there because apparently Ren thought Kyoko was "irresistible" between spices and pots. "So I'm here waiting for the two to finish. By the noise, they are close". That day, a blushing Kyoko apologized for the lunch's delay.
On another day, Kyoko finally spoke to me. I was checking stockpiles when I came across her, hidden between crates. "Please do not tell him I'm here!" She had eyes so big and anxious, that I agreed without thinking. Seconds later, I lied to my Master for the first time when I said I did not know where Kyoko was. I think she was as surprised as I was, for she let out an exclamation that denounced her. In the next second, she was running away with a grinning Ren in her pursuit muttering "come here, tempting woman!" between Nick's laughs and encouragement shouts.
As the months passed, the mood in the Manor changed. Not that it was bad before, it just was not... inviting. After dinner, Kyoko got into the habit of sitting on some pillows in the main hall to tell Nick stories. As Ren only watched them closely, without sketching a sign of annoyance, other people began to join them to listen to her. Soon enough, she had an audience eagerly following her stories of fairies and elves, witches and wizards, talking trees and animals, cursed people with long canines who drank human blood to survive, and even some who became beasts during the full moon.
Just after, Ren forbade horror stories. He concluded by himself that it was bad for the Clan's image that his men showed fear of every shadow they saw. I could not give him such a good advice because I very much wanted to know how the story about the boy who was afraid of the blue-clad twins ended. Did the family get out of the haunted hotel? Did the mother and the son survive? How could the man pursue them with an axe? That is so absurd and terrifying…
Gradually, the news of Kyoko's talents swept the Tsuruga territory. The skeptics laughed and discredited the rumors, saying it was impossible for a procreator to have so many skills, but the curious ones still search for a glimpse of the woman who supposedly can read, write, calculate, cook, sew, and has a prodigious imagination.
Of course, I have always feared such repercussions. As much as everything is part of the plan devised by Ren and Master Takarada, a Councilor has a very clear mission to fulfill and so much uproar adds risks to my work. Even Kyoko has already commented that I'm stressed, whatever that means. However, I cannot ignore the fact that Kyoko brought a kind of happiness to Ren that I did not imagine was possible.
I watch him constantly, intently. Though he remains tormented by his responsibilities and the cruelty of the world, the moment he meets her, it is as if heavy clouds dissipate. On the other hand, no one can say that the Monster has lost its claws. On contrary, he has become more ruthless since the criminals imagined that he had softened and dared to infiltrate his territory. It seems that now that he has Kyoko in his life, Ren is determined to cleanse the world with his own hands, a killer or rapist at a time.
In due course, rumors about the mysterious new procreator of the Tsuruga Clan reached the Council and the other Masters. As anticipated and desired by Master Lory and Ren, a small entourage from the Fuwa territory requested shelter and an audience with Master Ren. The plan was entering its second phase and I was celebrating that everything was going according to expectations. A pity that we do not consider the possibility of Kyoko be hiding an exceptional skill.
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In a second, I'm in heaven: Kyoko is nestled in my arms, gloriously naked and relaxed, tracing the usual imaginary lines in my chest and mumbling some other song I do not know.
It is not easy to extract any information from her, especially because I've never been able to do more than just ask. I do not want to be "Ren, the judge" with her because I do not want her to feel interrogated, coerced or pressured to respond. For the same reason, I also do not want to be "Master Tsuruga" with her. Yes, I want her to tell me everything, but only because she trusts me.
I care so much about Kyoko that it's ridiculous. I do not know if she knows how much power she has over me. I already wondered what I would not do for her, and when my mind went blank, I understood why Yashiro fears her mere existence.
All she told me about her past and her knowledge was that she dug a lot. From the excavation sites A to E, she unearthed relics of all kinds and sold them to all Masters, without exception, so that no one would suspect the Digger 47. Intelligent maneuver. However, before selling them she always allowed herself to enjoy for some time what she found, hence her vast knowledge.
I realized that she spoke the truth, but also realized that she had withheld information. All right, it's enough to win the war one battle at a time. In due time she will trust me completely, and then she will tell me everything she has been hiding.
The Council never suspected that someone was studying the relics; after all, the Council keep the Diggers in complete ignorance just so that they never fall into the temptation to keep the items they bring back to the surface to themselves. The Nobles do not even imagine that much of what they came to know in the last six years came from a single person. In fact, now I understand why the discoveries were so abundant in the last five years: Kyoko was the one who was locating many of the most important relics.
The question is: how? Is she like Lory? Has she, too, what he calls "keen intuition"? I could never ask. Somehow, asking "hey, what's your skill, exactly?" seems more invasive than asking "hey, are you ovulating now?" At least that is what Kyoko said that such a question was when I asked her: invasive.
When I think of all the knowledge that she has diluted across the six territories and that the Nobles are proud of foolishly believing that they monopolize it, I feel like laughing. The Council cannot imagine that it was cunningly outdone by a tiny 20-year-old woman considered dead. If it were not so dangerous for her, I would love to see the face they would have if they found out.
I close my eyes and enjoy the moment: the warmth and skin-to-skin contact; the soft caress on my chest; the smell of Kyoko and sex, and the melodious sound of her humming and I think nothing can be better than that. However, my happiness is short-lived: Nick, knocking at the door and practically shouting the nasty - albeit awaited - news that a Fuwa party has just arrived and that Sho requests an audience with me, loudly interrupts us.
In this world, you can go from heaven to hell in just a second. She tried to jump out of bed, but my arms stopped her. I try to calm her by repeating words of comfort and assurance that everything is fine, but she seems unable to reassure herself. She is shaking so hard, I visualize myself tearing Sho's head off with my bare hands. Maybe that will make her happy. Surely, it would make me happy.
I decide it's best to find out at once if the Fuwas really bit the bait we so carefully worked out. The sooner this stage of the plan is completed, the sooner I will return to Kyoko and be able to calm her down properly. However, this time she will not let me out of bed.
"Kyoko, I need-"
"No, don't go! Stay here!" She is so frightened that I visualize myself beating Sho up before tearing his head off with my bare hands.
"Oh? Is it possible you're worried about me?" I give her an arrogant smile that always irritates her. Perhaps, by provoking her, she replaces fear with anger. I hate to see her down. 'Kyoko' and 'dejection' simply do not match. "Is it possible you're starting to like me?"
"L-like you? Who, m-me? Tsk, don't be ridiculous!"
Now, this is my favorite combination: pouting, blushing and indignant. "Is not it? Well, then... are you already missing me?"
"N-no! What's the matter with you today?"
"With me? It's you who are hanging on my arm and keeping me from leaving the room!" She makes such a surprised expression that I almost laugh. "Is not it normal for you to kick me out of here saying that I need to be more responsible with my obligations?"
"Y-yes, but... But..." She seems to be debating something furiously with herself. The hands that hold my arm loosen and slide through it, but still press it sometimes. She knows she needs to let me go, but she does not want to do it. Finally, she holds my hand and glances up at me. "I feel something terrible is going to happen!"
Her voice is just a startled whisper. I hold her face in both hands and dry her tears with my thumbs as I visualize myself tossing Sho's inert body for the piranhas to devour.
"Nothing will happen, Kyoko. You will stay here safe and sound. Take a bath, sew a new doll for Maria, I don't know, just stop thinking there is any threat because there isn't. The visitors will be in the West Wing, far from you, since they know that walking through the private wing without authorization is a serious transgression" Hell, I'm practically begging any deity that Sho is stupid enough to transgress in my territory. All I want now is a tiny excuse to dispatch him. "So the worst that can happen is you have to spend the next three days at most limited to the East Wing, which would not be such a big inconvenience, since that's where your favorite places are, is not it?"
Too surprised to find out that I know her preferences, Kyoko finally stops crying. Once again, I give in to the temptation to tease her.
"The garden, the kitchen, the library, everything will remain accessible to you. Even the stock, where we-"
"OK!"
"-like to meet from time to time to-"
"All right!"
"-escape from the world for some-"
"OK!"
"-minutes on that pile of crates where I-"
"Enough!"
"-love to bend you over and-"
"I GOT IT!"
She is red and restless and I cannot resist the urge to kiss her. When we parted, she was out of breath and disoriented enough to let me go without holding me back. My dressing up reminds her of her own nudity and I laugh as she hastily wraps herself in the sheets. As if there were still an inch of her body that I do not know by now.
"When I return, we will pick up where we left off"
It's a promise.
"Come back soon!"
She is frightened again, but I pretend I did not realize.
"Oh, so you're really fond of me!"
"W-what? No! And what cocky expression is that?"
"Right, right. Keep denying it to yourself, whatever. But when I return, I will make you hoarse from screaming out my name!" I give her the look that always leaves her trembling and I leave the room, closing the door harder than necessary.
Time to put the most crucial part of the plan into action.
A/N - If you're missing Kyoko's point of view, great, I've been omitting her thoughts on purpose for a few chapters already! XD
To the wonderful people who always encourage me to put this fic out despite the eventual discomfort of tendinitis, my sincere and deep thanks. You guys light up my day!
