Chapter.37: A Shadow’s Sadness

The Party was elegant with everyone enjoying the music and dance in the room. Everyone laughed and conversed with great joy, extravagant food and wine for the adults, with juice for the kids. Sen was at his own table watching the guests have their 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 at the floor. It was hard for him to watch everyone have fun having no siblings of his own, his mother constantly on business for the family, and no one willing to talk to him without either disgust for the family or kissing up to him for favors.

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 in a short time and he was tired of it, he felt exhausted doing all these events at his age. He just wanted to be a kid, not a Yazuka boss in training.

A young woman in a wheelchair made her way to Sen with her bodyguard in tow, the woman was from the Mizuno family, Asuka Mizuno, and the bodyguard was Ren. She was invited as well being that the Mizuno family was the most powerful family at the moment, and the influence they could give to others would significantly boost their reputations.

Asuka was the kindest leader of the Mizuno family so far, she turned it around once she took over as its leader.

"Hey little Sen, you look very bored. Want me to keep you company?" Asuka asked, her gentle smile providing the comfort Sen needed.

"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. He knew too well how wicked Lady Yozora was since it was her that cost his master to lose his leg in the first place.

Asuka parked her chair next to Sen to watch him draw cherry blossoms in his sketchbook. Asuka was born with her paralysis, many underestimated her for it. She wasn't an Esper or Caster, but her intelligence and integrity were her strong points, being on the side of a disadvantage let her see things from the other side and how to be empathetic.

Sen continued his drawings in front of Asuka, was a great artist for his age, he loved drawing his favorite things like animals or flowers. He loved birds the most, he felt jealous of them for being free to fly anymore they wanted. Sen had no powers either, he was a year after the manifestation age, and he was no more than a pawn on Lady Yozora's chessboard at the moment.

Ren stood guard watching everyone at the party like a hawk making sure there wasn't a threat inside he missed. The Yozoras hosted the event to persuade the Mizuno family to be part of the wedding ceremony of 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 after she left Koutetsu when the military school didn't want her around anymore. 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. Megumi at least had some control to only rip the leg off from below the knee, even cauterize the wound once her sanity came back.

"Excuse me Ojou-San, I will make my rounds around the area. I won't be long."

"Eh, you're not gonna stay with us Ren-San?" Sen asked disappointed. Ren gave a half smile to him, he had to perform his duties as Asuka sword without fail even if it meant not being around Sen.

"I'll be back Sen-Dono, you stay here and continue your drawings." Asuka excused Ren to do his duty after his reassurance to Sen, that he was always going the extra mile to ensure her safety and Sen when they would meet. Ren began by walking through the hallways checking for any signs of a breach in every crevice of the building. From examining the doors, windows, and even the hidden cameras in the hallways and vacant rooms, 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 for the next floor to check, until he had a feeling hit his neck, the feeling someone was watching him very carefully and well hidden.

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

Ren was ready to flick his sword open from its sheath, but the person he sensed revealed themselves from the shadows willingly without the intent to start a fight. The person was a woman in a short black dress, short boots, black gloves with spider heads on them, with her hair tied up wearing a black spider mask.

"Identify yourself," Ren ordered once more. The woman didn't answer, Ren went to pull 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 had come out from under the nails of the masked woman. A perfect disguise in keeping them hidden.

"Hmm, Kuroi Miboujin Ryu(Black Widow Style). The training method passed down to train women into being perfect shadows for assassination and espionage. A speciality 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, it was the only reason they were still in circulation among the families to do business with. Handling assignments they didn't want to get their own hands dirty with.

"If you're here are you expecting the young master of the Yozora family to be in danger?" Ren questioned taking Sen's safety to heart.

"I'm always expecting and prepared for anything. The child is my charge you need not worry."

"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 in agreement. She then 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 after his rounds, 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 it wouldn't be noticeable to the dim light of the hallways. She was scrolling through her social media to see how everyone was doing during her time away, she saw the posts Natsume made on her social media account during her scrolling, it was the posts she made about Koutetsu's 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 revealed itself once the mask was off, the depression on her face was on full display. She put the mask back on after wiping her eyes to continue her security check, most she did was stop some drunks from slipping date rape drugs in the drinks among other narcotics she discovered in the rooms of the building. Rina made her way to check the vehicles parked in the VIP garage next for any tampering with the cars, On her arrival she saw that Misora was there waiting for her.

"What do you want I'm busy." She demanded.

"Well, came to check on you of course. Have to make sure you're sticking to your duties as Sen's shadow, you have been slacking off since you enrolled at the school." Misora wasn't there to check on Rina, she was there to mess with her head again as predictable as ever. 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 was a role she was forced into to for her illegitimate birth, but doing so allowed her to avoid misfortune to Sen allowing him to be safe from the enemies Lady Yozora made were abundant in her greedy plots. If not for her he would have died when he was only two, not a bother to Lady Yozora as she would have found someone else to impregnate Sen's for another grandchild.

"Do what you want I'll be heading back to the main room now that there's no signs of immediate threat" Rina tried to walk off, but she heard Misora again speak with another taunt she saved up.

"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 from her continued lust at Koutetsu.

"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 she had, Rina bit into her lip at how murderous 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, 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 with her skin breaking and bleeding. Another set of wires ripped the photo up before it pointing themselves at Misora's eyes.

The sharpness of the wires could cut solid steel. 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 and disrespect."

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 you bi***!"

The wires squeezed tighter, and the sound of bones being cracked could be heard through them. Rina released her grip on Misora's mouth, she couldn't speak with her jaw broken now just wailing in agonizing shrieks. Rina's eyes behind the mask made a sinister expression of pleasure as she watched Misora make a pitiful display of pain. It was one of the few times she felt happy to hurt someone because it was to an evil person, not for an evil scheme.

She later vanished into the shadows, making herself appear behind a curtain in the main hall 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 and 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 any longer.