Warning: violence ahead.

CHAPTER 17 - SHO'S COCKY GRIN

Ren returned, three days later, with no indication of Kyoko's whereabouts. It's shocking how invisible a Digger can be. It seems that no one can (or wants) to see an anonymous faceless person who spends his days amid debris. Not even other Exiles.

If I could choose, I would never have told Ren what I witnessed on the fateful night he and Sho talked. I still believe that he did not need to know the details, but he was convinced that knowing how it happened would help him formulate a plan of action.

Therefore, I told him about the sounds that drew me into the bedroom. About how she wept copiously and babbled words in disarray. About how my first thought was that she was under the effect of some drug or poison and that when I touched her to examine her, everything went dark. Then, in the darkness, I heard whispering voices, until finally I understood that the whispers reproduced what could only be the conversation that was taking place in the office. At last the whispers stopped and the darkness was lit by tens, hundreds, thousands of white dots, and that when I was hurled, I was far enough away to realize that the white dots were eyes. Empty orbits in the shadows. Shadows coming out of Kyoko. Shadows that had the form of Kyoko and the same empty eyes that she directed at me before I lost consciousness.

To my surprise, Ren immediately believed what I was saying. Like me, he regretted not knowing that she had such ability. He regretted he had not interrogated her to find out everything she was hiding. He regretted giving in to his own desires about how to treat her, since she would not be so devastated if he had acted all the time like a cold, heartless bastard. He regretted, alternatively, that he had not told her everything. Like me, Ren knew that regret would not change anything.

He was relieved when I told him about the messages I sent to Rick and Lory as he left for Kyoko. The brother arrived the next day, accompanied by Tina, since I made it clear in the message that he would be needed for an indeterminate period. Lory, in turn, responded to my message stating that he sent Ruto to look for Kyoko, and perhaps this was the news that most excited Ren, since Ruto is an excellent tracker.

His relief, however, was short-lived. First, there was the hassle of practically ousting Sho and his entourage from the Tsuruga territory, since the brat seemed keen to consume the Clan's stock and demanded to see Kyoko before leaving. I feared that Ren would lose control, so I had to intervene: I subtly suggested to Sho that it would be smarter on his part to give up that idea, since watching him now could shake Kyoko and compromise the delicate plan. Fortunately, my suggestion worked and no blood was shed.

Then Kyoko's absence was felt in the Manor in the worst possible way. The laughter and the smiles were gone. The Master fits perfectly into the zombie's description she made in one of her fanciful stories. The closest ones, who lived in the Manor and got used to (and became fond of) her, were instructed to act normally, and as the impact of Kyoko's disappearance was gradual, to the others it seemed that the novelty simply lost its appeal.

Nick, however, was the most affected after Ren. I call him Zombie # 2 in my head.

As the days passed, Maria's birthday came. At the party organized by Lory, Ren's expectation was palpable, as he looked around as if looking for some sign of Kyoko. As if there was the slightest possibility that she would appear at any minute.

In place of Kyoko, who appeared was Ruto, returning from his search. Instead of her, he brought with him a doll, or rather a perfect replica of the Digger 47. The biggest surprise to me was not the fact that Ren was able to recognize the doll as Kyoko's unfinished work, as I got used to the fact that Ren spent too much time just watching Kyoko and everything she did. Nor was it the fact that she remembered to take the toy with her when she ran away, since I long ago settled for the fact that I cannot understand how her head works.

It did not surprise me that she knew so well that they were looking for her, that she left the toy for Ruto to find at the end of a trail she created just to make the birthday present come to her daughter, since I long ago realized that that woman is a survivor, and the toughest type. Even less so, the fact that Ren exhibited the complex combination of distressed eyes and relieved smile as he watched the doll, since at least now he had an indisputable sign that Kyoko was alive, and well enough to mislead him and Ruto as if mocking the two.

No, none of this really surprised me. What struck me that night was that Maria, seeing Ren's reaction while examining the doll, pulled him down to hug him and whispered in his ear, "You can keep it until mommy comes back."

Only Ren listened. I only learned of it because he told me later.

The next day, he celebrated Kyoko's birthday by locking himself in his chambers. Days later, Nick told me that he was worried about Ren's sanity, since he caught him talking to himself a few times. At first, he thought that the Master was imitating Kyoko's humming because he missed her; then he thought he was just too tired and had to repeat his commitments aloud and what he was thinking so he would not forget. Anyway, we began to observe him more closely and realized that Ren was really babbling.

Kyoko needs to appear, and fast. Before the damage on Ren becomes irreversible. If I used to fear her existence, now I fear how he will be without her. Besides, it is better to deal with a Master who does not concentrate on what I say because he is happy, than dealing with a Master who does not concentrate on what I say because he is suffering.

Rick, acting as interim Master, was a huge help in the months that followed. Ren disappeared for days on end looking for Kyoko, which was only possible because he was constantly covered up by Rick, Kuu and Lory. Finally, Ren spent weeks wandering around without a word, which made the situation unsustainable and forced Kuu and Lory to take the drastic measure of threatening him with the loss of territory. After all, the Tsuruga territory is nothing more than an expansion of the Takarada and Hizuri territories.

Cornered, Ren had no alternative but to return to Tsuruga territory, to his chores as Master and to the plan that, according to Lory, was not yet lost. As long as the Fuwas did not know about Kyoko's disappearance, everything would be all right. At least, that was what Master Takarada told us and what we were striving to believe, despite the constant fear that this would also go wrong.

By the way, lately there seems to be a dark cloud hovering the Tsuruga Manor. It was not so bad before, when we did not know how welcoming this place could be. Even I have to admit that I miss Kyoko's food and stories, although I agree with Ren every time he tenderly refers to her as "troublemaker". Yes, problems accompany her wherever she goes, but somehow she makes me rethink whether mere survival justifies the atrocities we commit daily on its behalf. Or, as Nick so well explained the other day, Kyoko is the kind of problem worth having to deal with if it is to get back the joy that this place has lost.

Under a dark cloud, we were constantly waiting for the bad news, hence the surprise when Lady Luck finally smiled at us. A few months to finish Kyoko's term as Ren's procreator, an unexpected visit has brought us even more unexpected news.

Master Fuwa was dead.

###

When Sawara appeared at my door, I could not imagine hearing that he had replaced Counselor Uesugui. Well, the oldest man in the world would need to be replaced sooner or later, but if something like that had happened and I only learned weeks later, it really showed me how irresponsible I was being with my duties as a Master.

Kyoko would be so mad at me…

I liked Uesugui's austere decisions, but only because they were always austere. There were no surprises with him. Sawara ran the Love Me Center for Human Reproduction in Takarada territory, so he is another ally on the Council. Not bad, Lory! Apparently, I still have a lot to learn: as my eyes turned to the Lower City, the desert, and the wastelands, Lory was pivotal in Central City and replaced a likely opponent with someone who owed him favors. Not bad at all.

"Master Fuwa was murdered. The family asked you to be the judge. I am in favor of the request, unless you tell me that you will not be able to be impartial in the investigations and the trial of the case. So, what will it be?"

"I accept"

I was stunned when I answered, but if Sawara noticed, he did not show it.

It is ironic that I only tread Fuwa territory when a crime happens inside the palace. The only difference this time is that Sawara followed the investigations. After all, when it comes to a crime against a Master, the judge is always accompanied by a Council's member.

As soon as I got to the Fuwa territory, Sho disguised the relief he felt by seeing me with a cocky grin. It was the first time something like that happened. Usually, people start shaking when they find out that I am the judge assigned to the case. Well, at least this part of the plan worked correctly: Sho identified me as an ally. Someone as rotten as him, with whom he could boast of the sordid and incriminating details enough to drag both him and his father into a summary conviction. However, the father was already dead, which only left me with a bastard to crush.

In the original plan, Kyoko would be the perfect bait both to attract the Fuwas and to leave them stunned and uneasy enough to become careless. In the midst of chaos, I would emerge as a companion of misfortunes to Sho and a necessary ally to Master Fuwa, someone with whom both would only benefit by joining. The idea was to manipulate them against each other, simple task considering the hatred involved. Better yet, I would have been able to gather sufficient evidence of the various transgressions that the two undoubtedly committed, and that would not necessarily be related to Kyoko. After all, I was not giving a flying fuck about the justification I would give the world to destroy them: the important thing was to exterminate them.

The plan did not go exactly as expected, but fuck it, the Master was dead, and Sho could not wait to take over the position left by his father once the investigations were over. He was so eager for it and so confident that I would, once again, be a mere puppet for the Fuwas, that he became careless.

Waiting for me was practically the same farce of seven years ago, when I investigated the disappearance of Kyoko: the covert expressions of people pretending to mourn the events, the conflicting alibis, and the vague answers. The only difference was that without Master Fuwa, no one thought of blaming someone else. Or Sho has never bothered to learn from his father that even the most careless of judges must respond to the Council, especially when it comes to the murder of a Master; or he was so confident that the game was won when he asked me as a judge, that he did not think it necessary to find a scapegoat.

At least the deceased Master knew something about politics, and if he refused to retire, I suspect it was because he did not want to be alive to see his son destroy his legacy in a few months of binges.

The crime scene investigation was so simple and quick that it managed to be disappointing and boring. I confess that I expected more, considering the hatred that the son of a bitch managed to cultivate in so many people, including me. At least more than a simple stab in the back, while the bastard worked in his office. Lifting him up from the table, I saw that he worked on some notes. A little accounting, a message about some problems on the borders, nothing that caught my eye. Until I saw my name.

Master Fuwa had written a letter to me. One that he did not have the opportunity to forward, but that was important enough to be the motive of the crime: he intended to use, once again, his father's authority to replace Sho in the line for a procreator.

Master Fuwa wanted Kyoko. The bastard was lucky he was already dead.

As I showed the letter to Sawara for him to draw his own conclusions, a man at the door caught my eye. I remembered the stoic cook who was Kyoko's mentor, so the fact that he was looking for me could only mean that he had valuable information to give me. He did not disappoint me.

"I was resting in the garden when it happened. I saw everything through that window. It was his son. His own son killed him"

I just raised an eyebrow at Sawara to get the answer I needed: "That's enough for me. Let's get on with it; I still want to have dinner with my wife and daughter tonight"

I dismissed Taisho with a thank-you and set out to find Sho. I found him fondling Shoko. I did not pay any attention to the longing glance she gave me or the annoyed look I received from Sho. I had him walk with me through the Fuwa Palace while urging him to keep talking about how good it was to have gotten rid of his father, despite the whole inconvenience of the investigation.

Sho only realized that our steps took us to the room that was Kyoko's when we arrived. He looked around scornfully before telling me that he took his procreators there to fuck from time to time. "There's something exciting in this room". Then, with a cocky grin, he asked me if I had taught her how to please a man, or if he would have to do it.

I attacked him by surprise; an attack as cowardly as his when he launched himself at Kyoko while she slept.

"You will never get a chance to hurt her again".

I pinned him to the ground, because that's what he did to her.

"Your eyes will never see her again. Your filthy hands will not touch her again. "

He struggled, screamed and cursed, but I just watched him from above, impassive, letting him absorb how weak and helpless he was against my physical strength. I wanted him to feel the desperation she felt.

"Your mouth will no longer defile her name"

I took out my hunting knife and made him take a good look at it, to feel the terror of anticipating something penetrating his body against his will.

"She will not be afraid of you anymore. You will no longer have any power over her"

And because he was terrified enough, I opened a huge cocky grin on his throat.

A / N - I greatly appreciate the reviews of the previous chapter! I was expecting sticks and stones, torches and forks, and I received affection. I was very happy, laughing for nothing! XD

As for this chapter, well... I tried to prepare you for the violence of this moment with Ren's visualizations, but maybe you did not think that he could kill Sho in cold blood, right? Oh dear...

Yes, Maria knows that Kyoko is her mother. Mutemuia dear, you got it right! XD

Kisses and, once again, thank you for accompanying me on this crazy journey!