Chapter.37: A Shadow’s Sadness

The Party was elegant with everyone enjoying the music and dance. Everyone laughed and conversed with great joy, extravagant food and wine for the adults, with juice for the kids. Sen was at his table watching everyone have fun. He would have liked to join but everyone was an adult and the children were told to stay at their tables till they could have their turn.

Sen looked at his caretaker waiting to be told when was time to go home so he could sleep. It was already the third gathering he had to attend and he was tired of it, he felt exhausted doing all these events at his age.

A young woman in a wheelchair made her way to Sen with her bodyguard in tow. The woman was from the Mizuno family, Mizuno Asuka, and the bodyguard was Ren.

"Hey little Sen, you look very bored. Want me to keep you company?"

"Hi Asuka-San. Ren-San it's nice to see you too. I'd like that actually feels weird being around these people all the time."

Ren bowed to Sen. He cared for the boy's safety in a family that was toxic, he wished for someone else to take his place so he could live like a normal kid, not a puppet for political gain. Asuka parked her chair next to Sen to watch him draw cherry blossoms in his sketchbook. Sen was a great artist, he loved drawing his favorite things like animals or flowers.

Ren stood guard watching everyone at the party, the Yozoras hosted the event to persuade the Mizuno family to be part of the wedding ceremony for the Kurogane family in the months to follow. Asuka wasn't particularly interested, and Ren never trusted the Yozoras either. Not since they hired Megumi to fight Ren's master for rights to an oil rig outpost. It was an underhanded move on their part, since Ren's master refused to kill, and Megumi at the time was still under her bloodlust's influence.

"Excuse me Ojou-San, I will make my rounds around the area. I won't be long." Asuka excused Ren to do his duty, he was always going the extra mile to ensure her safety. Ren walked around the hallways checking for any signs of a breach. From examining the doors, windows, and even the hidden cameras. He was very meticulous in his checks, any sign that could lead to an opportunity to hurt Asuka would be unacceptable to him.

He made his way to the end of the hallway leading to the elevator till he had a feeling hit his neck, the feeling someone was watching him very carefully.

"I know you're there. Come out."

Ren was ready to flick his sword open, but the person he sensed revealed themselves from the shadows. A woman in a short black dress, short boots, a black gloves with spider heads on them. She had her hair tied up wearing a black spider mask.

"Identify yourself," Ren ordered. The woman didn't answer. Ren went to grab his sword out to threaten her, but it was wrapped up by wires including around his hands stopping him from doing so.

"I am not your enemy. I'm here as protection as well. Let's be civil please." The masked woman said, her voice filtered through a voice changer in the mask to hide her real voice.

The wires untied themselves, retreating back to their owner. The wires came out from under the nails of the masked woman.

"Black widow style. A training method passed down to Kunoichi for assassination and espionage. A special of the Yozora family correct."

Ren knew the style used on him. His master told him about many assassin techniques of well-known practitioners among the families who hired professional killers for jobs. The Yozora's most distinguished trait is a family of skilled assassins for high-end clients.

"If you're here are you expecting the young master of the Yozora family to be in danger?"

"I'm always expecting and prepared for anything. The child is my charge."

"Hmph, very well. I won't interfere with your work, but if you harm Asuka Ojou-San in any way, I'll cut you down."

The masked woman nodded. She vanished back into the shadows, out of Ren's line of sight and ability to sense her presence. Ren made his return to the party, he confirmed with Asuka there was no threat in the vicinity. Not telling Sen about meeting his hidden bodyguard along the way, he wanted to preserve the child's innocence. The masked woman waited in a dark corner of the hallway to look at her phone. She had the light on the screen dimmed so wouldn't be noticeable. She was scrolling through her social media to see how everyone was doing, she saw the posts Natsume made about Koutetsu's late party. She looked at the photos of Koutetsu, her mask hiding the wet eyes behind it.

'Happy birthday Koutetsu. I promise I won't let Lady Yozora get her hands on you.'

The masked woman put the phone away. She took her mask off for a second to wipe her eyes.

Rina's face showed for a second with the mask off, the depression in them on full display. She put the mask back on to continue her security check, most she did was stop some drunks from slipping date rape drugs in the drinks among other narcotics she caught in the rooms of the building. Rina made her way to check the vehicles parked in the VIP garage,

Misora was there waiting for her.

"What do you want."

"Well, came to check on you. Have to make sure you're sticking to your duties as Sen's shadow."

Misora wasn't there to check on Rina, she was there to mess with her head again. Rina didn't want to be a shadow for Sen, she wanted to live her life and be a famous designer. She only did this because it kept Sen safe, the enemies Lady Yozora made were abundant in her greedy quest. She was stuck in a situation Lady Yozora set up to punish her in place of her Primary mother.

"Do what you want I'll be heading back to the main room now."

"You know these pictures don't do this boy justice you know."

Rina stopped in place. The mask hiding her eyes filled with hate for Misora.

"The lining on his muscles looks so good. And that scary face of his when he looks like an animal, I wonder if he's the same in private, maybe in bed at that."

Misora licked the photo of Koutetsu, Rina bit into her lip at how bloodthirsty she felt at the disrespectful nature Misora was displaying.

"Oh, what's wrong with you? You don't like it. But he isn't yours, is he? After all who would want a woman like you with hands that bloody making baby clothes in the future."

Misora cackled heavily at her teasing of Rina. The laughing stopped when her throat was being squeezed tightly. Rina's wires wrapped tightly on Misora's throat, the grip of it squeezing her to the point of life feeling like it was being wrung out. Another set of wires ripped the photo up before it pointing themselves at Misora's eyes.

The sharpness of the wires could cut diamonds. They were special wires, like Ren's sword they were sacred weapons passed down the Yozora for generations.

"I warned you, as promised this is your punishment for your ignorance."

The wires darted themselves at Misora's ear, cutting the top half off. Misora was about to scream in pain till the wires unwrapped off the throat to the mouth to muffle the sound.

"I'm done with the games from you. I may be a bastard child, but I would never look down on someone like you do. I won't kill you, but I'll make it to wear I won't have to hear your shrill voice for a while."

The wires squeezed tighter, and the sound of bones being cracked could be heard through it. Rina released her grip on Misora's mouth, she couldn't speak with her jaw broken now. Rina's eyes behind the mask made a sinister expression of pleasure as she watched Misora make a pitiful display of pain.

She vanished into the shadows, she made herself appear behind a curtain to watch Sen talk to Asuka. Rina was happy seeing the sight, she remembered her night with Koutetsu in that manner. It was painful to remember now, she wanted this all to be over, back to the school days they had. Talking at the cafe enjoying the small conversations and sweets. Rina wanted her life to be hers and only hers, she didn't want to be a toy in Lady Yozora's schemes. She wanted to belong, and not be a killer in the shadows.