Iida stepped closer to me, openly ogling me. “I can see the attraction that both of them have for you,” he said. “You're almost as pretty as that bitch is."
He reached out a hand to touch me, and I involuntarily stepped back from him. I didn't want him to touch me, even more than I had ever wanted to avoid Fairinox for the same reason. Both men were unclean, but in different ways. I'd had a hard time not screaming when he'd touched me back at the inn.
"You know, don't you?” he asked.
"Know what?” I asked. I knew something was wrong with the man. That was all. And it wasn't something I had ever sensed before, even with all the people I had met with Samojirou. How had he managed to hide that from me all the times we had met before?
"Don't play dumb,” he said gaily. That was scarier than if he had snarled it.
"I really don't know what you're talking about,” I told him truthfully.
"Kid don't have a reason to lie to you,” Mason said.
Iida looked over at Mason, a slight smile on his face. “You know he is the reason that they survived the ocean. Even those winged beasts couldn't save her."
Mason shrugged. “Not knowing the payload of the fucking things, I couldn't tell you shit about that."
"So how did you survive the storm?” Iida asked me, ignoring Mason's answer.
I shook my head. “I don't know. The ship started to break up, and the next thing I remember is that I woke up on some farm."
"In the Northlands?” Iida asked.
I nodded, not seeing any reason to lie.
"Interesting. I thought that you would be driven west, not north. I wonder why you went in that direction?"
"I don't know,” I repeated. I didn't, but I bet that it had something to do with Mason and Wolf being there. I still couldn't figure out how we had gotten through the barrier, but I had wanted to go home so badly I was glad that it happened. Tamazusa had also, I had seen that in her eyes. She probably had been the one to push us through. “What does it matter?"
"It matters,” Iida told me with a grin. “It matters whether or not I keep you or turn you over to those idiots at the Trust. Fools think that they will be able to live here. They don't know what they have gotten into. That is the most amusing part of all this."
"What the fuck are you talking about?” Mason asked.
Iida laughed. “Another fool. Why are you here? Why did Samojirou-sama trust you with his precious Sakura-chan? Or should I say ‘Inuzaka Keno'."
Mason shrugged, playing the part of the fool he was called perfectly, it seemed to me. “Sakura or Keno, the kid's a friend, and I offered to look after him. If his boyfriend has some sort of flower fixation, shit, ain't no harm in giving him a nickname. Don't know why everyone gets excited at the name Keno."
Iida frowned, thinking about his answer. “There is something here that my allies haven't bothered to tell me."
"You seem to be as thrilled with the fuckers as I am,” Mason observed.
"But that still doesn't make me want to trust you.” Iida grinned evilly. “So tell me why, do you know why you are with Inumura's wife?"
Mason kept silent. I guessed he was trying to think up a good lie. I decided that telling Iida the truth would be better, just not all of it. “Fuse-hime has decided to stay with her daughter by marriage,” I said. “And Samojirou-sama begged a favor of the lady to take me with her. And since Wolf and Mason would be useless to either Samojirou-sama or Tamazusa-sama in their Hatamoto, they decided to send them with me."
If Iida didn't know or care about McGann, I wasn't going to tell him about her. Thankfully, Mason kept his mouth shut. Why wouldn't he? It was the truth. Sort of. Leaving out the facts that both he and Wolf were avatars of my brothers and that I wasn't too sure who I was supposed to be anymore.
"An interesting answer, and one that shows your ignorance,” Iida said. “And it's well-known that the princess Fuse and Samojirou are close. I was surprised that she was willing to ally with him, though. But that might have to do with you, Sakura-chan."
"The alliance would be with Tamazusa-sama,” I blurted out. “Not Samojirou-sama. But I think that the two of them played that Game to see what happened and to amuse themselves."
"They would,” Iida snarled. “Women think that they have the power and the skill to play the Game. Their posturing sickens me."
I stared at the man, wondering what had happened to him that he seemed to hate women so much. But from what I was feeling, he seemed to be made of hate. I wonder if Samojirou and Tamazusa had been like this in the beginning of their time in the Dreamlands. If he survived, would Iida's hate be tempered as theirs had been? Was this why he was in the Dreamlands—he had managed to hate so thoroughly that he had turned himself into an oni? Or was the evil I felt in him because he had given himself to dark and dangerous things, beings that even tengu were reluctant to deal with? Hate and evil... had I been like this once?
"Tamazusa's a cast-iron bitch,” Mason started.
Iida seized upon that statement. I didn't know if Mason had said that just to get some sort of information from the man or not. “You understand what I am talking about! Women,” he said, glaring at me, “and those who ape them, were meant to serve, not rule. I'll make the bitch howl when I see her again!"
"You say bitch like it's a bad thing,” Mason snarled at Iida, getting closer to him. “Fuck, I'm gettin’ her the T-shirt that says that. You so much of a girlie-boy that you can't stand a woman who has a bigger set of balls than you do? She may be a bitch, but she's my bitch, so shut the fuck up!"
Iida snarled and punched him. I wasn't surprised that Mason was knocked back five feet to land against the wall and then sort of slide down it, stunned. He shook his head and spit out a mouthful of bloody saliva. I was surprised there weren't teeth in it too. Mason just grinned at him. “A little too close to the truth, asshole?"
Iida snarled and stomped out of the room. I went over and helped Mason up. “I don't think that was a good idea,” I said.
"It was so fuckin’ worth it to see him lose it.” Mason grinned but quickly sobered up. “Plus, shit, he don't like chicks. And I don't mean in the way that you and Samojirou don't seem to like them. Man has one hard-on of hate in him."
"He's evil,” I blurted out. Mason looked at me like I was insane. “Can't you feel it?"
"Man's an asshole, and that's all I feel,” Mason said. “Don't mean that I think that you're full of shit about that. Just means that I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.” He was silent for a moment. “I know that he's creeping you the fuck out."
"It's more than that,” I said. I had my own moment of silence, thinking about what I had just guessed. “What do you know about why Tamazusa-sama is here?"
Mason looked at me, and I could see him thinking. I let him, not really wanting to talk about this, but not being able to explain it any other way. After a short while he shrugged. “I think that she mentioned some shit about a dude named Satomi. She told me a little."
I nodded. “I think that Iida might be an oni."
Mason frowned and felt his jaw gingerly. “That would explain why the fucker has a punch like a damned mule.” He looked at me, and I realized there were a lot of things he wasn't telling me. I wasn't mad that he was keeping secrets from me. Those things happened sometimes. But now wasn't the time to demand the truth from him. “We just got to figure out who he's dealing with. Fuck, I hate all this crap. I ain't one for figuring out this shit. Just point me where you want me to go, and I'll take care of those fucking monsters for you. Planning and plotting, shit, that's what Trustees do, and I'm sure as fuck not one of them!"
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Chapter Sixteen
Samojirou
I arrived in Keno's room slightly before dusk. I was hoping to see my lover. Who I found was Wolf and Inukai Genpachi. Wolf looked frantic. Inukai looked... neutral was the only word that I could think of.
"I told you he'd be here,” Inukai told Wolf calm
ly.
Wolf glared at him. He wasn't used to Inukai's annoying habit of knowing far too much about things that he shouldn't.
"Read this,” Wolf practically snarled, thrusting a piece of parchment in my hand.
"Their calligraphy is terrible,” I snapped, giving it a quick glance. “Where is my consort?"
"Read it,” Inukai ordered after Wolf winced at the word “consort."
I did. The ink was cheap and ran in the oddest places. The kanji looked like it had been written by a child or one that wasn't fluent in written Japanese, and there were spots of blood on it. I frowned, trying to piece together whatever it was trying to say. When I did, I snarled, a sound that would rival Yatsufusa at his finest. It was a message from Iida, who claimed to have Keno and Mason prisoner.
"He dares!"
"He's an idiot,” Inukai agreed with me, “but one who has no real knowledge of the prizes he has. And an idiot who is willing to tell us where to find him."
"It does say nothing about Wolf being alone,” I said, trying to calm down. I wanted to kill Iida for what he had done.
Inukai grinned at me. “So you will join us?"
"You even have to ask that question?” I snarled. “While I don't think he can take care of this himself, it would be rude not to take the man up on his kind invitation."
Wolf looked at the two of us as if we were insane. I could have been. I had just gotten Keno back, only to have him snatched away again! I was glad I was still in my armor; I had been too eager to see him to bother taking it off.
"I know the place that he has taken them,” Inukai said. “It has a bad reputation."
"It's a trap,” Wolf said.
I rolled my eyes, wondering how intelligent he was.
"Of course it's a trap!” Inukai said. “But we just have to figure out what the real trap was, where he is now, and if he has done something to the prisoners."
"Where did you find this?” I asked.
"On the samurai who was escorting them around town,” Wolf said. “From what he has told us, he was attacked in the bathroom by something that wasn't human. Then Mason and Keno were kidnapped. But why?"
"I will not tell you why Sakura-chan is a valuable hostage,” Inukai told him patiently. “Mason-san, that is the puzzle. I think that it has something to do with you rather than who he is."
Wolf looked confused. “But Keno—"
"Is not known by that name,” I said. “Or he should not be. It would be very bad for him if others knew who he was."
"He will not believe you,” Inukai said.
"He doesn't have to believe me,” I retorted. “Just so that he understands that if he keeps calling Keno by his true name, tragedy will follow. I was always aware of who he was, which is why I insisted on the masquerade that I did."
* * * *
Mason
I wasn't surprised that two of Iida's big fuckers dragged me out of our cell after backhanding Keno across the room. That was the only thing that stopped him from going after these guys.
"I think that you're going to be good bait,” Iida said as he had me hauled up on some sort of post.
"Fuck off,” I growled.
He laughed, which pissed me off. “I don't think that you'll be so defiant in a few hours."
"Pissed that Wolf ain't following your game plan?” I asked. “My heart fuckin’ bleeds for you."
Iida shook his head and just left me. Which didn't sound bad until I realized that after a couple of minutes, my arms were numb from being twisted above my head and my shoulders were killing me. And I'd had too much time to think about what was being done to Keno and if Wolf was going to be stupid enough to fall for this. I knew he would, because he thought that he owed me or something. Shit, Logan had been right. Wolf was a good man. And he'd walk into this fuckin’ trap because of that.
I had my eyes closed and was trying to shift into a more comfortable position, which I swear I had been doing for fuckin’ hours, when I heard Samojirou hiss, “Don't touch him."
I opened my eyes. Wolf, Samojirou, and Inukai were standing in front of me, dressed in dull, black armor. Wolf looked really good in that Japanese stuff. “Shit,” was the only thing that I could say. Came out more as a croak really.
"Sakura-dono?” Inukai asked.
Wolf gave me some water, and I drank it down before saying, “That bastard knows. Fuck if I know how, but shit, he knows. Fucker's double crossing the fucking Trustees too."
Samojirou looked beyond pissed at that little tidbit. “Where is he?"
"I think that he's over in the main building over there,” I said, pointing with my chin.
"This is going to hurt,” Inukai told me. I didn't know what the fuck he was talking about until he untied my arms and moved them. I screamed like a motherfucker then. Wolf stuffed a shirt over my mouth to muffle it, but I didn't think it really worked.
"You do know that we were trying to be discreet here?” Samojirou asked acidly.
"He knows that we're here,” Inukai snapped. “Why else would be leave Mason out like this? We just have to go after your blossom now."
"Asshole's eyeing him funny,” I said when I could catch my breath. My arms felt like they were on fire with the pins and needles. Wolf was rubbing them to get some sort of feeling into them. He stopped for a second when I spoke, and I could almost feel how pissed he was. “And he's freaking out about something with the guy. I don't know what's bugging him, but it's something bad."
"The man is evil,” Inukai said.
"I don't think that he's a man,” I said. “That's what was freaking the kid the fuck out."
No one said anything else after that. Wolf draped one of my arms over his shoulder. “We have to find Keno and get out of here,” he said.
Inukai frowned. “And where would he be that would anger you the most?"
Samojirou looked at him, beyond pissed, it seemed to me. It looked like he wanted to lose it right then and there. “That thing's rooms,” he snarled.
"And where are those?” I asked.
"Up,” Wolf said quietly.
"How the fuck do you know that?” I asked.
"He's been watching you the entire time,” Inukai told me.
"Motherfucker,” I snarled weakly.
It fucking figured that he'd have done something like that. But I felt a lot better. I looked up, and I swear that asshole Iida waved at me, wiggling his fingers as he hung over the rail of a balcony a couple of stories up. I was proud of the fact that I managed to get one of my arms up high enough so that he saw me giving him the finger.
Samojirou didn't say anything. He marched into the building, walking a little too fast. I heard the clash of steel as soon as he got into the doorway.
"Watch after him,” Inukai told Wolf, following Samojirou inside.
I straightened up. “Let's get Keno's ass out of here."
* * * *
Keno
I'd been hit so hard, I had passed out after Mason was taken out of our cell. When I woke up, I was in someone's room with an aching head, but I was indecently relieved that I still had my fundoshi on. I heard a pained scream from outside that made me roll off what I had been lying on and stumble to my feet. It had sounded like Mason. I was a little dizzy, but I could fight if I had to. I just had to figure out where I was. The room was in Western style with a four-poster bed, which was what I had been on. The room didn't have much else in it besides that. There was a door and a balcony door, but nothing more.
"They've come,” Iida called out from the balcony.
I glanced around the room, looking for some sort of weapon, which I didn't find. What I noticed instead was one of Iida's big guys in the room with me, approaching me with his hands out. He just grinned at me and lunged, like he was trying to catch a chicken. I dodged out of his way, knowing that once he got his hands on me, I'd be in deep trouble. He stumbled, and I darted around him and then pushed from behind so he was further off balance. It worked and he fell flat on his face.
> "Stop fooling around,” Iida ordered.
I ran to the door, yanking it open because it was a hinged Western-style type and ended up running right into another of Iida's henchmen. I tried to dart around him, but the guy filled up the entire door. He grabbed me by my arm, spun me around, and then twisted my arm behind me.
"Don't bruise Samojirou-sama's blossom too badly,” Iida told him.
The man grunted and frogmarched me out to the balcony, while the man I had pushed was up on his feet and glaring at me when I went past him.
Iida pushed my hair out of my face, making me shudder. “So pretty,” he cooed. “Would he like you if you weren't as pretty?"
A knife magically appeared in his hand, and he stroked it gently down my face, the point tracing some sort of pattern over my cheek but not breaking the skin.
"What's your connection with the Trustees?” I whispered, trying not to sound as scared as I felt.
He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Wouldn't you like to know?"
His breath smelled and felt foul. He licked my ear, causing me to involuntarily exclaim in disgust and jerk my head away from him. He slapped me with his empty hand for that. I shook my head to clear it. I felt like I wanted to pass out again, he had hit me so hard.
"You're going to have to stop being so delicate,” he said smugly. “I know that they'll give you to me. You're not one of their favorite people right now.” He clicked his tongue a couple of times. “You were a very bad boy."
"It was worth it,” I said. I knew what he was talking about. The Trustees must have been really angry with me. I guessed I'd done a lot more damage than I'd thought when I'd destroyed the servers. Enough so that they'd hurt me more than Murphy had.
"Mmm. Will you think so after I punish you for it?” he asked.
He went back to stroking my face with a finger, causing me to squish into the chest of the man holding me. Even so, I couldn't avoid his touch. My stomach churned, and I reacted instinctively. I pulled back my leg, and then I kicked him in the thigh more than where I had been aiming: his groin. Iida stumbled back, dropping the knife, and I tried to twist out of the grip of the man behind me. I thought that I had surprised him, because I was able to slip out of his grasp, my arms aching a bit from the way he had been holding me. I ran forward, more intent on trying to escape Iida than doing anything else. I wasn't proud. I knew when I was outclassed as a fighter, and I didn't want Iida to touch me again.
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