‘On the contrary.’
What had Mitsuko been saying about her?
‘And this is Yuzuki Trenton Sonkei,’ Mitsuko went on, indicating her mother.
Yuzuki bowed to Nava rather than offering a hand. Nava knew enough about the etiquette of Japanese culture to return the bow, with added depth. Mitsuko’s mother was a beauty on a par with her daughter, but shorter. She was wearing a formal kimono in dark blue with a coral-and-white flower design which threw her pale skin into sharp contrast. The height difference between Yuzuki and her husband was even greater than that between Nava and Mitsuko. Yuzuki looked like a delicate china doll beside the big man, but there was an obvious strength in her which Nava thought her daughter had inherited along with her looks. Yuzuki’s hair was probably as long or longer than Mitsuko’s and just as black, but tonight it was piled and pinned into an elaborate style which hid its length. Nava doubted that Yuzuki was the power behind the throne her husband sat upon; he did not need such a thing. Instead, they acted as a couple, their energy shared and complementary. Together, the two of them could shift the world on its axis if they felt the need, and this was the family Mitsuko had come from.
‘Our daughter speaks very highly of you, Nava Ward,’ Yuzuki said once she had straightened her back. Despite the fact that she looked like a figure out of a samurai movie, her English was as unaccented as Mitsuko’s and Michiko’s. She did, however, speak with a careful deliberation, as though selecting her words to be absolutely sure of delivering the meaning she wanted. ‘Other evidence suggests that her choice of escort is… exemplary. You are talented in a number of fields, attractive, everything one could wish for, it seems.’
‘Most people find my lack of obvious expression and apparent emotionlessness off-putting, ma’am. I also have an unpopular view of duelling and I’m entirely merciless in any combat situation.’
Yuzuki’s lips twitched, but that was about the only indication of her amusement. ‘Apparent emotionlessness? A telling phrase. Lack of mercy in combat is precisely what we would seek in our daughter’s guardian.’
‘That’s… fair,’ Nava admitted.
‘We need to circulate,’ Zackery said, ‘but we’re going to talk again later.’
‘I’ll be looking forward to it.’ Nava watched Mitsuko’s parents slide away toward another group of their guests and considered. She was not sure a ‘we’ll speak further’ comment was a good thing.
‘They didn’t frighten you off, did they?’ Mitsuko asked.
‘I’m not sure which of them to worry about more,’ Nava replied, ‘and yet, I don’t feel I really need to worry about them.’
‘They’re my parents and they scare me sometimes.’
‘I can believe that.’
The party was a sprawling affair occupying an entire wing of the house. It happened to be the wing furthest from what could be called the private wing. Here, the space was semi-public, consisting of various lounges with varying exposure to the sun at different times of the day and one room which Nava decided fitted the role of ballroom. It was huge and high-ceilinged, and it even had a small stage at one end which was currently being used by an actual orchestra. Okay, so they were not a big orchestra, but they had all the important instruments plus an electronic section which could make up the gaps. They were playing a mix of formal dance music and more modern stuff which the younger partygoers could ‘dance’ to. Nava was using the term very loosely.
‘Want to dance?’ Mitsuko asked, possibly because dancing would eliminate the need to figure out who she needed to avoid in smaller rooms.
‘You mean “jerk violently in a rhythmic manner which is almost but not quite in time to the music?”’
‘And that would be a no then. I will get you on the dance floor at some point this evening. Maybe a slow dance.’
‘Only if you brought stilts for me to wear.’
Mitsuko frowned. ‘You do have a point…’
‘Mm. I can snuggle up to your breasts and you can look at everyone else over my head.’
‘We’re not that different… Okay, so I can look over your head, but you’d have to bend down a lot to get your face in my cleavage.’
‘A lot?’
‘It wouldn’t be a comfortable dancing position. I wish we could drink. Parties like this would go so much faster if I could have a hangover in the morning.’
‘I doubt that. And the morning would be unpleasant. Alcohol is bad for you, you know. It impairs… performance.’
‘And don’t I wish we were spending the evening performing. Okay, if we’re not dancing or drinking, we’d better wander around like lost lambs and try to avoid Uncle Spencer.’
Nava managed a slight frown. This was the second time Uncle Spencer had been mentioned. She was aware that ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’ were used to refer to anyone older than you in your family, not just a sibling of one of your parents, so Uncle Spencer need not be a very close relative. But why did he seem to merit specific avoidance tactics?
~~~
Uncle Spencer was a short, fat man – and Nava had never thought she would have to use ‘fat’ in a description of anyone in the Clan Worlds – with a receding hairline and watery, brown eyes. The watery eyes might have been because, no more than an hour into the party, he was as drunk as the proverbial fish.
‘He’s a hundred and thirty years old,’ Mitsuko said as they observed the man from a hopefully safe distance, ‘and a miracle of modern medicine. He’s on his fourth liver, his second pair of kidneys, and his third wife just left him. Frankly, if he wasn’t a genius with stocks and shares, he’d be bankrupt and probably clanless.’
‘How does someone born in this age let themselves go like that?’ Nava asked, genuinely fascinated.
‘He claims it’s the stress of his job. The main problem tonight is that, since he’s currently unmarried, he’ll be looking for wife number four. I mean, being married doesn’t actually stop him, that’s why he needs a new wife, but he’s worse when he’s entirely unrestrained.’
‘Hm. Do I need to protect your virtue as well as your life?’
‘First, I think any virtue I had – and I’m not sure I had any – has been thoroughly eliminated by what we’ve been getting up to for the last week or so. Second, it’s more likely to be me protecting yours. He may be drunk and lecherous, but he still knows what my father would do to him if he made a pass at me. Oh God, he’s seen us.’
Spencer was moving toward them with a grin on his face. Walking was probably not the right word for what he was doing. It was more like his body was leaning their way and his legs were doing their best to stop him from falling on his face. The combined action resulted in forward momentum which did not necessarily look like it could be countered. Somehow, he managed it just before colliding with Mitsuko and he was left standing just a little too close to her.
‘It’s little Mitsuko!’ he exclaimed. ‘I remember when you were no bigger than this.’ His hand came up level with his crotch. It was possible that he meant to lift it higher, but his belly intervened. Either way, Nava was presented with a mental image she really did not need. ‘It’s so nice to see you.’ His face was level with Mitsuko’s chest and his eyes stayed firmly fixed on her pasty-covered nipples as he spoke.
‘Hello, Uncle Spencer,’ Mitsuko said. You could barely tell that her joviality was forced. ‘I’ve been taller than that for quite some time.’
‘Yes, you’re a big girl now. Who’s your friend? Is she married?’ His head turned toward Nava, overshot, came back, registered that he was seeing eyes and angled down by a few degrees. He was nothing if not consistently lecherous.
‘This is my friend from school, currently acting as my escort and bodyguard. She’s neither married nor intending to be.’
‘Bodyguard, eh? What do you need a bodyguard for? What’s her name?’
Nava saw Mitsuko’s face shift briefly into a grimace and steeled herself for whatever was about to happen. There was something else about Uncle Spence
r which Mitsuko did not like and Mitsuko thought Nava was not going to like it either. ‘There’s been a little trouble at school, Uncle, so I need someone watching my back. Her name is Nava Ward.’
Spencer’s head snapped back around and this time he was looking up at Mitsuko’s face. ‘You need a bodyguard, so you got some clanless whore to do the job? What were you–’
Mitsuko’s face went flat and her jovial tone vanished. ‘Uncle, I know you’ve been drinking, but don’t you dare insult my friend like that.’
‘Like what? She’s a–’
‘Nava Ward will not take insult from anything you say, Spencer Trenton, which is a good thing since finding a coffin large enough for you would be difficult. However, Nava is my friend and here as a guest of my parents. If you insult her, you insult us. If my father doesn’t take the opportunity to rid the Trentons of the embarrassment you’ve become, I will. Apologise.’
Spencer’s eyes flashed. Well, they would have if they were capable of focusing properly. However, the tone of Mitsuko’s voice seemed to get through even if he could not really see the murderous calm on her face. ‘I apologise if I’ve caused you offence, Mitsuko,’ he said. ‘Please forgive me.’
‘No, but if you stay out of my sight for the rest of the evening, I won’t be tempted to challenge you anyway. Go and sober up.’ Not waiting for a response, Mitsuko turned and headed for one of the room’s doors. It had a number of them. The entire wing seemed to be built like a maze. Nava wondered how many guests were only found days after gatherings like this, surviving on hoarded party snacks while they searched for the exit. She was thinking about that rather than Spencer because the foolish man had been largely expunged from her mind as soon as he was no longer a potential – if virtually non-existent – threat. The same, it seemed, was not the case with Mitsuko.
‘His first wife, Glory, was born clanless,’ Mitsuko said, a little morosely. ‘It was a whirlwind romance. She was working as a table dancer in a club in Alliance City when he met her and they were married within a month. Everyone thought she was a gold-digger, but she became more or less the perfect wife. Gave him a son and a daughter. Then she absolutely skinned him in the divorce settlement and he’s hated anyone without a clan since. Blames that on what happened rather than his drinking and bedding any woman stupid enough to let him.’
‘Your Uncle Spencer?’ Nava responded. ‘I forgot about him as soon as he was out of sight.’
‘Of course you did.’ Mitsuko’s smile was still a bit strained.
‘What happened to Glory and the children?’
‘Oh, they’re doing fine. She might have been here tonight, but if she knew Spencer was coming, she would have declined. She’s still very popular with most of the family and he’s…’
‘Tolerated?’
‘Less and less.’
Nava gave a brief nod. ‘But he’s still part of the family and he won’t be ejected just for being a lecherous loudmouth.’
Mitsuko sighed. ‘Probably not, but I think he’s getting worse. I think there’s an even chance of him really messing up and getting disowned or winding up dead in a duel.’
‘Well, don’t let him spoil the party for you. I really don’t care what he thinks or says about me.’
‘I know. And that just demonstrates how much more evolved you are than he is.’
~~~
‘Ah, there you are,’ Ruben said as he appeared beside Mitsuko as though teleported in. Teleportation was not an impossibility, but relatively unlikely. ‘Follow me.’ Nava was wondering both what this was about and what she would find to do while Mitsuko was busy when Ruben added, ‘Both of you. Father needs to see you.’
‘Did Spencer complain?’ Mitsuko asked, her expression turning down in an instant.
‘What? Not as far as I know. Father had a couple of the servants put him to bed twenty minutes ago. I swear he’s getting worse.’
‘Mitsuko said something similar,’ Nava commented. What she was going to do had been sorted out, but now she was left with wondering why Zackery Trenton needed to see her. It was useless to speculate, but she found herself unable to avoid it as Ruben led the way through the house toward the more private areas.
She had been feeling easier about the evening having put Uncle Spencer behind them. The rest of the Trentons as well as the guests from outside the family either did not bat an eyelid at her orphan status or did an exceptional job of not showing how they felt. Most seemed interested in chatting about how Mitsuko was doing or what they were both up to at school. A few were aware of the current problems at SAS2 and asked about those. Mostly, the conversations revolved around Mitsuko because the people they were talking to knew her, but some made a specific effort to at least try to include Nava. She did not exactly feel part of the family, but the evening was turning out more pleasant than she might have expected.
And now this. What did Zackery Trenton want? A question that became ‘what do all these people want?’ when they arrived at something which looked like a meeting room buried away in the middle of one of the wings. With them inside, there was the sound of locks engaging. Heavy locks. And the door had been a solid-looking thing rather than the usual relatively flimsy office door. What was going on?
‘You’ll be wondering what’s going on,’ Zackery said, ‘but I’d like to get introductions out of the way first. Sit down and we’ll get started. Ruben, would you please distribute some coffee? Some of us probably need it.’
As Ruben went to a coffee machine set to one side and Mitsuko and Nava took seats beside each other at the large oval conference table which took up much of the room, Zackery set about introducing the other people who were there. ‘This is Nobuyuki and Rhianna Greyling Sonkei,’ he said, indicating a couple sitting more or less opposite Nava. ‘They’re… Nobuyuki?’
Nobuyuki was a compact sort of man who set all of the alarms in Nava’s head off. He was not especially tall and his muscle was hidden beneath a very carefully cut formal suit. If she had to guess, the man could break someone in half with his bare hands and without breaking a sweat. His black hair was cut short and a little wild. His eyes were black and hard. Despite his name, there was not even a hint of Asian ancestry about him. The chances that he was a sorcerer were high, and Nava was willing to bet that he was a fairly strong one, probably with a speciality in stealth.
‘We, the Greyling family, are the clan’s trouble-shooters,’ Nobuyuki said.
Beside him, Rhianna smirked. She was a very attractive woman of indeterminate age. Her own black hair was long and formed a dark wave down her back. She had dark-brown skin and eyes and an exotic quality about her, an air of mysteriousness which her minimalist, deeply cowled microdress denied; how could you be mysterious with that much flesh on display? She had a bust which likely exceeded Melissa’s and the looks of a model, but she fitted in perfectly beside her ninja-like killer of a friend.
‘That’s an excellent description,’ she said. ‘If there’s trouble, Nobuyuki shoots it.’
‘And you?’ Nava asked. She was not entirely happy about the way Rhianna was watching her.
‘Oh, I specialise in finding out what the trouble is before Nobuyuki gets to work.’
‘Should you be explaining this here?’ Mitsuko asked. She was frowning. Nava considered that a bad sign.
‘This room is secure, Mitsuko,’ Zackery said. ‘You know that.’
‘Yes, but–’
‘And Nava Ward is here as your bodyguard. She needs to know a few things to make the rest of this discussion worthwhile.’
‘We have checked into Nava Ward’s background,’ Rhianna said. ‘We’re quite happy that she can be trusted with the information we’re prepared to reveal. You’ll recall that she’s on a military scholarship. The ASF is quite sure of her… capacity to compartmentalise.’
Mitsuko sagged. ‘Fine. This is what I hate about Greylings. You people are always more cryptic than a crossword puzzle.’
‘And finally,’ Zackery went on, ‘we
have Hyrum Himura Sonkei.’
‘I’m the administrative liaison between the ASF and the Clan Council regarding terrorism,’ Hyrum said. He looked like a man who was used to being in charge, used to being frustrated, and rather world-weary. He had to be at least forty, but beyond that it was hard to tell because he also looked wealthy enough to hold off age as much as he wished. Dark hair cut short, hazel eyes, not really handsome but not ugly either… Hyrum Himura looked like a civil servant.
The reason for the meeting came together in Nava’s head. The same reasoning had obviously occurred to Mitsuko. ‘So,’ the Trenton daughter said, ‘this is about the attacks at the school and the possibility that the Redwing Faction are involved. You got me here under false pretences, Father. “It’s just a family gathering, but it would be good if you could attend. Michiko is missing you.” That’s what you said.’ Her eyes widened. ‘Is this why it was so easy to get an invitation for Nava?’
Zackery waved the objections away. ‘I would want to meet anyone my daughter trusted enough to make them a bodyguard. Don’t be so dramatic, Suki.’
‘We had to deal with Uncle Spencer. I think that’s worth a little drama.’
‘She has a point, Father,’ Ruben said. With the coffee handed out, he was taking a seat beside Zackery – who had the head of the table – and opposite Hyrum.
‘Hm,’ Zackery said, more or less conceding the point. ‘Let’s get started. Ruben got a briefing from the ASF and knows their viewpoint. He’ll be representing them here. We all know the circumstances but to summarise: there have been a number of attacks on the candidates for student president at SAS-squared, two of them fatal. The methods used in some of these attacks suggest that a Redwing Faction operative is behind them, though the exact motive is unclear.’
‘If the Redwings are behind this,’ Hyrum said, ‘there’s an obvious political issue since the Clan Council issued a statement to the effect that the Redwing Faction was effectively destroyed last year. We did advise against such a statement…’ He gave a shrug. ‘I’m actually surprised that it’s taken them this long. Perhaps we did more damage to them than we thought.’
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