CHAPTER 18 – CHECKMATE

"You really know how to give a message!" That was what I heard from Lory, Yashiro and Rick. The three realized that in addition to killing Sho, I needed to make it clear to Kyoko that I did it for her. There was no other way to contact her. To other people, the details were not clear, since the world thinks that Kyoko died by the river seven years ago after being abducted and raped by an Exiled. However, if she knows where and how I killed him, she will know that I did everything for her. At least, I hope so.

I also hope that this makes her realize that I never had any alliance with the Fuwas, and that all she heard last year was just dissimulation. I hope above all that this will make her come back.

"A declaration of love in red," was how Lory called my last work. It's a sign of the times that opening the throat of the son of a bitch who raped my girl seven years ago is considered a romantic gesture. Well, as much as the name is extravagant I cannot help but think that it is the most accurate definition he could give to anything. If even that is not enough to bring her back, I will not know what to do other than wait for her to return. At least that was the hope Maria gave me when she lent me the doll Kyoko had made.

"You can keep it until mommy comes back!" Remembering Maria's words brings me some comfort. Yes, Kyoko will look for her daughter eventually, and when that happens, I will not let her leave again.

"I miss you"

Again, I'm talking to a doll. No one knows that I carry it around; after all, it is enough that they think I went crazy for talking to myself. I do not need to include "he carries a doll with him like a child" to their list of concerns with me.

"The Council is pissed at me. Well, not all of them, because at least Lory and Sawara are in my favor; however, I need to agree that it is at least inconvenient for them that I have created a second problem when they sent me to solve the first one"

I did not go crazy: I'm just hoping she'll listen to me, just like she listened to me on that damn night she left.

"You already know, right? Father and son are dead. You can get out of wherever you are hiding. Please, Kyoko. If I remember correctly, you owe me another year as my procreator"

Sometimes I try to force her to show up by saying things I know would irritate her. I want her back, even if it's to fight me.

"Don't you miss me at all? Not even the things I used to do with your body?"

Come to think of it, I may be going crazy. However, as long as there is a chance of a shadow lurking and listening to my words, I will continue to babble like a fool.

"Kyoko, what else do you want me to say? How many more times do I need to repeat that you only heard lies in that conversation? It was all a plan! A damn plan to make the Fuwas trust me, nothing more!"

Only silence answers me. The doll in my hands is so expressionless that it makes me uneasy, just like not seeing Kyoko's face under the helmet disturbed me.

Apparently, it will not be today that she will return. Tomorrow I'll try again. And tomorrow, and tomorrow...

Days later.

"Lina is pregnant, you know that? Lory is so ridiculously happy, even more than Kouki, that it's embarrassing. By the way, he never managed to make Maria call him 'grandpa'. She also does not call Kouki 'dad' or Lina 'mom'. Your little one is as willful as you. Someday, she's going to be the death of some poor bastard. Kyoko, what will we do without you? Maria is waiting for you to come back. I'm waiting for you to come back. Even Nick is waiting for you to come back! You'd be surprised at his condition; the poor fellow is almost talking as much as a normal person. I should not be jealous of your relationship, because... well, I guess you know. Yes, it makes sense that he told you, after all, that would explain why you were so comfortable with him. I know he has no physical interest in you, but even so, seeing how easily he made you smile always made me jealous. I was simply too good at disguising..."

Yashiro came to tell me that everything is ready for our departure, so I interrupt my "report" to say goodbye to the 'imaginary Kyoko' with whom I talk daily. It is time to welcome the new Master Fuwa.

As has become my habit, I go all the way noticing the people of the same height as her. As unlikely as it is to find her roaming the Fuwa territory, every chance I have of looking for her is used.

We took more time to get to the palace because of the intense flow of people who came up suddenly. Unlike me, it seems Reino is popular and attracted a crowd. There is a party going on outside the palace walls, which reminds me that perhaps it is not just the popularity of the new Master that is causing such a commotion: the unpopularity of the deceased is undoubtedly contributing to the general joy.

In the main hall, however, the energy is completely different. An ominous silence that is only disturbed by the external festivities and the annoyed murmurs of the official guests settled down. I recognize several faces, among Guild Heads, Clan Masters and Council Members. There are many others that I do not recognize, but I infer that they are Reino's guests. Searching for him, I spot him at the epicenter of the incredulous stares of some and indignant stares of others.

I absorb his image with some perplexity. It's been so long since I've seen him that I've forgotten how close he looks to Julie. The male version of her, I would say.

I hear some angry comments, some joking comments. "Nonsense", "absurd" and "crazy" are the most frequent words. Yashiro seems as lost as I am, but while I'm busy analyzing the body language of those present, he is checking the situation with the people around us.

What I can identify is that the hall is divided between the "mandatory members" and Reino's personal guests. These are visibly prepared for a confrontation, which intrigues me. Why would there be people prepared to protect Reino, if this is his celebration?

"Ren, I think we'd better go"

"What do you mean, Yashiro? We just arrived!"

"..."

"Yashiro?"

"..."

"Tell me what the fuck is going on!"

I do not know why my Advisor does this. He should know by now that leaving me in the dark only serves to irritate me and make me want to find out what he's trying so hard to hide.

"...Reino has just announced his first two resolves as a Master. Two bombs, I dare say"

He shut up and I can almost taste his restlessness.

"Spit it out, man!"

"...The first is the creation of a Digger Guild"

Oh, I see. A Guild means rights, a thing the nobles do not want the Exiles to have. And just one of Diggers! Kyoko would be happy. Why didn't I have this idea? Maybe that's why Yashiro is so reluctant to tell me what's going on.

"And the second is that he has just granted land to someone else"

Amazing! Now I understand the commotion we are witnessing. Granting land is the first step towards creating a new territory. Just as I received lands from Lory and Kuu and became Master after proving my worth, Reino is fractioning his territory so that eventually a new Master will emerge.

The present Masters and Council Members are as outraged as they were when the same thing happened to me. No, they are even more pissed! I just do not understand why Yashiro is so shaken.

"How much of the Fuwa estate did he fractionated?"

"..."

"Yashiro?"

"... He did not fractionated"

"What?"

"He did not fractionated it. He gave it all to her"

Her? Oh no. I don't like the sound of it.

"Except for the palace, where he lives now, everything else... everything was granted to-"

"Kyoko"

I pronounce her name as she becomes visible in the crowd, conjured by Reino's outstretched hand. Immediately, the murmurs cease. I can understand the general perplexity, after all, the mere idea of a woman occupying the highest position would already be enough to cause upheavals in the social structure. What is happening, however, goes much further. There is simply no scale to measure the size of the tear in the social fabric that Kyoko is doing with Reino's help.

I immediately feel the painful twinge of jealousy. Reino's help, not mine.

She is dressed like a queen, if queens still existed. A kimono, if I'm not mistaken; and an even more dazzling than the one I once saw in a picture. How the hell did she get a kimono, and in such a good state, must be what everyone is wondering.

I watch her walk and my eyes cannot believe what they see. Here she is, on the last place I would think about looking for her, comfortably resting her hand on Reino's outstretched hand. I absorb her image and feel my heart clench. How many times have my hands drawn the contours of her body? How many times have I seen her naked, both in the sun and in the gloom of the room we share? I know her body maybe better than mine. Then, as much as I want to believe that I am mistaken, that my eyes are playing tricks on me, there is no way of ignoring the increased volume of her breasts, nor the roundness of her belly.

I estimate she's in her fourth, fifth month of pregnancy, at the most.

Why, Kyoko? To punish me? To get revenge? What would make you go so low as to fuck with Reino? Did he force you? No... you would not be so calm beside him if he had forced you. So was this the price you paid for the land he gave you?

I see her return the nods and greetings she receives from the people I do not know as my world crumbles. Without doubt, she has not spent the last months as hidden as I imagined if she was able to make friendships and alliances. My wish is to run to her, drag her into the first private room and demand explanations, but when I think of moving I realize I cannot. There's something holding me to the ground. I look around, but I see nothing. Until finally I feel her eyes on me.

She looks away quickly and I realize she's uncomfortable. Yes, you should feel uncomfortable! And ashamed! Do you know how many months I've been looking for you? How many months have I been worrying about you? How many desert raids have I done? Only to find you here of all places, hanging on the arm of another man, pregnant of another man! Damn, be merciful and just rip my heart out of my chest at once!

Gradually, a cold resolution replaces my initial pain and revolt until I regain some self-control and realize that the invisible force has released me. Kyoko was not that powerful before, so something must have happened. Well, screw it; if she wanted to make it clear that I meant nothing to her, she succeeded.

I see her interaction with everyone and I realize that the strangers are not here to protect Reino, but to protect her. If because she is a woman, and pregnant, or if because she has made alliances, I cannot say. I move to one of the windows with Yashiro always on my heels, worried about what I can do, but I ignore him as much as Lory and Kuu, who try to attract my attention. Finally observing more than just the stature of the people celebrating outside, I see that they are all Exiled. No doubt they celebrate the fact that they are finally represented.

Yes, I'm sure she'll be an excellent Master judging by the way she managed to manipulate me splendidly. How long had she planned? Was my conversation with Sho really a surprise to her? After all, if she could go somewhere else and listen to secret conversations, could not she too have listened to the plan I had made with Lory on the day we determined she would be my procreator in exchange for not handing Maria over to the Fuwas?

Oh, Kyoko. How long have you been fooling me?

I watch the people in the main hall once more. The discontents have finally realized that they cannot touch Kyoko, since there is a crowd inside and outside the palace willing to protect or avenge her, as the case may be. Not to mention it is a very serious transgression to kill a woman, especially in the condition in which she is.

In the same way, they cannot touch Reino, since he is the last Fuwa heir. To kill him now would be to create a break in the line of succession, which would culminate in a new shake in the delicate balance of power, already so weakened by Reino's announcements.

The nobles are visibly stunned. Some fools said that they will invalidate Reino's decisions, only to be immediately rebuffed by a young woman with a scar on her face: reciting the law word by word (even indicating page, article and line), she explained to the idiots that the law does not expressly prohibit women from occupying command posts, nor does it specify the maximum percentage of the territory to be transferred nor limits the transfer to men.

Very well, Kyoko. You have used the culture of submission to your advantage. You have realized that women are so underestimated that the only step they took to prevent you from climbing the social pyramid was to make them doubt their own abilities. However, you've explored yours, have not you? And when you did, you realized that there was not one compelling argument to keep you below men. Therefore, you have risen, and are taking others with you, men and women.

I congratulate you, but also ask you: why use me as a stepstone instead of an ally?

There is no turning back. The Council would have to kill everyone in here and everyone out there to prevent the news from spreading around the world like fire in the haystack: a woman will be the new Master Fuwa.

I watch her smile and wave at Taisho and the man surprisingly reciprocates both gestures. I watch her embrace Sawara affectionately in an act that, far from being unpretentious, makes it clear to everyone that she has support in the Council. Moreover, it is an act that makes clear to me the whole scheme in which I was a naive participant: Reino, Taisho, Sawara.

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

"That's enough for me. Let's get on with it; I still want to have dinner with my wife and daughter tonight"

I was not mistaken about Taisho's honesty. No, the man would not lie, and in fact, he didn't. He just told a dubious truth and let me choose which version to believe. Similarly, Sawara gave me the chance to refuse the case when he asked me if I could be impartial. In the end, I was the one who lied when I said yes and accepted the mission. The responsibility is all mine even in the relief I felt when Sawara rushed me to finish my work soon.

Was it because I killed the Exiled who saved her that she retaliated and made me a murderer to her? Was it to tell me that I'm stupid enough to again punish the wrong man for a murder crime, even though I have vowed never to repeat such a mistake? Fuck! So eager was I to kill Sho that I did not spend a second even wondering how strange it was that everything was so easy.

Easy to the point of being boring.

"Lory, did you put Sawara on the Council?"

A straightforward question, because now I do not have the stomach for amenities.

"I figured you'd ask it sooner or later. No, it was not me. He came to me and said he was thinking of running for the post, and I immediately agreed to support him. The idea seemed so good that I never wondered where it came from, and I should, since he never manifested any interest in the political career"

Lory's expression of regret is humiliating. Like me, he has already noticed the whole scheme. Too late. Like me, he too has been manipulated. Kyoko served both of us, on a silver platter, exactly what we wanted and in a way that we could not refuse: Sho's head and another ally in the Council. We jumped over the offerings with the voracity of hungry men, just as she wanted us to do.

Was your body also an offering to me, Kyoko? Your sweet flushes, your barely restrained moans, your timid caresses, and your languid glances were also part of the farce?

My feet lead me straight to her before anyone hinders me. This time she does not hold me and for a second I am surprised at how close I can get to her, despite the people who surround her protectively. Therefore, I realize they must be waiting for me to attack so they have the perfect excuse to kill me.

Is it also part of your plans to destroy me, Kyoko? Well, I cannot say that you were not successful, if that was your intention. Yes, you broke me in the most spectacular way possible.

"Congratulations, you got everything you ever wanted"

My words were mere whispers, but hers were even lower.

"No, not everything"

To my venomous sarcasm, she replied with a pitiful expression. Oh no, you will not fool me again with your staging of good girl!

"Did you let him get on top of you?"

At this point, her response should not matter to me, but it matters. Fuck, it was with me that you overcame the violence you suffered! As she stutters, blushes and babbles, I point to her belly and I make my second verbal blow.

"Was this the price you paid for the position of Master?"

I know I'm being rude as hell. Anyone responsible for my education would be deeply disappointed with me: Kuu, Julie, Lory, Rick, even Yashiro would say that I was rude, so I received her heavy slap with relief. I concentrated on the throbbing of my face to try to ignore how she prevented some people from attacking me and how the hall was tense with expectation until long after I apologized and walked away.

My pride was much more wounded than my face, and knowing that some people knew this only increased my humiliation.

Yashiro persisted in his idea of leaving, which was now endorsed by Kuu and Lory, but I did not want to go. Not yet. Not as long as she stayed in the hall. The discontents organized their premature departure in protest of Kyoko's ascension, what I imagined would satisfy her; after all, she could finally celebrate in peace with her friends and allies, a select group to which I obviously do not belong. Still, I do not want to leave earlier and give her the false impression that I endorse the ridiculous protest they are making.

I must be the greatest of idiots.

Strangely, I noticed her anxiety as soon as people started to leave. No doubt, there was something she wanted to do and she needed witnesses. Alarm signals instantly ringed in my head. Yes, something was missing to end the show; I just did not know what. Even less, if I was tense because I feared what she might reveal or do, or whether I was preparing to help in case something went wrong.

It is a fact: I am the greatest of imbeciles. I've been betrayed in every fucking way, but I keep caring about the things that matter to her.

To my surprise, she seeks Lory. Intrigued, some people heading for the palace exit slow down to see what she will do next. Lory, the distinguished diplomat, smiles courteously at her and opens his arms wide.

"My dear, 'impressed' cannot describe how I feel! Really, you have exceeded all my expectations!"

"I do not care about your approval, Lory. Even less about your expectations of me"

Oh, no doubt this is a way to attract everyone's attention. In a single night, she became the most powerful woman in the world, slapped the Tsuruga Monster and survived to brag about it, and disdained a Council Member and Clan Master in public.

Lory, on the other hand, was not shocked.

"Ah, you hurt me, my dear! After all, I've always had a special appreciation for you!"

"I do not want your appreciation, Counselor Lory. I just want you to do your duty"

This attracted Lory's attention.

"My duty? Why, of course! Whatever you need, if it is my duty to fulfill, I will fulfill with pleasure!"

Lory would not be intimidated, but maybe he should, judging by the satisfied smile with which Kyoko returned his automatic words.

"What a relief! After all, as a Council Member there is something that even the Great Lory cannot do. Do you remember? Almost two years ago you told me these words: as a Council Member, you cannot hide information about the Clan lineages"

Holy shit she got him! Lory, old man... this time you're fucked. Kyoko really got you!

His eyes widen almost in slow motion. Yep, cornered. Welcome to my world!

"You said it, Lory. Don't deny your own words: a Council Member needs to preserve the lineages of the Clans. Well, there is an Fuwa heiress in your possession who must be returned to her rightful place. After all, it is your duty as a Member of the Council!"

One day I wished I could see the expressions of the nobles in case they found out they were overtaken by Kyoko. Who would have imagined that my wish would come true?

There is no way out for Lory and I realize the exact moment when he realizes it. Apparently, Kyoko also noticed, because she allows herself to shed a silent tear of relief. Her voice choked, but her determined eyes burned with the passion of someone who has come a long way to get exactly where she is now.

"Give me back my baby girl, Lory!"

A/N – Calm down, everyone! Do not light the torches yet! T_T

We are in the final stretch of this fic and everything will be clarified, fear not loyal readers!

For those who do not remember, Lory's words to which Kyoko refers are at the end of chapter 9 (which is called Chapter 8 - Schemes and Blackmail).

Mutemuia, my dear! You can already predict my tricks XD